Chapter 42
Now fully awake after the effects of chloroform had worn off Gabriela was assessing her current situation. As she had been unconscious when they had bound her she couldn’t be sure what they done to her. The diaper remained in place, she could tell from the feeling around her groin plus there was a strange feeling around her hands and she couldn’t bend her fingers much beyond straight. Her wrists had cuffs around them and her arms were secured to her body. Finally her legs were bound together in several places. Also she had been put into some kind of oversized sleeping bag contraption. The down loft was seemed to be smothering her entire body, squashing down on every part of her. Gabriela’s entire head and body was engulfed in a massive down cocoon. The bag's soft and silky nylon shell was pink in colour and the outside of the bag was puffy, with deep creases forming under each baffle and the inside was very narrow due to the sheer amount of insulating loft. It was stuffed to the limit, yet she wasn’t sweating which she should surely be. Gabriela thought how weird it was that her captors had decided to put her in these bags.
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Having had a hectic couple of days Kirsty and Elizabeth were taking the time to relax in Elizabeth’s private carriage, enjoying dinner and another couple of drinks. “What is next on the list boss?” Kirsty asked.
“Did you make the arrangements for the operation in Copenhagen?” Kirsty nodded as she took another mouthful of her drink. “Then relax and enjoy the reminder of the trip. We have the past part of another day until we reach our destination.”
“What about our guests?” Kirsty always found it hard to relax during operations.
“We have some time so I will question the reporter tomorrow. Have the girls tuck them in for the night and then we can all enjoy a bit of a rest. They aren’t going anywhere,” Elizabeth Crawford said with a smirk.
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Having totally lost track of time since she had been brought onto the train Gabriela has no idea when it was. Come to think of it she also had no idea about where she was beyond that it was on a moving train heading somewhere. It was during that the door to the compartment opened and Vernie entered holding a tray. As Vernie approached Gabriela could smell something good and she suddenly realised that she was hungry. Vernie placed the tray onto the floor before pressing a button on the bed. Gabriela heard a whirring noise and then felt the top have half of her body rising up until it was almost in an upright position. There must have been straps holding her in place. “I am going to remove your gag but no shouting,” Vernie said, the soft burr of her southern accent soothing to Gabriela’s ears. The woman leaned in and Gabriela brought her head forward to allow easier access to the buckle. Once the gag was removed Gabriela worked her jaw after it had been forced into the same position for such a long period. Suddenly a water bottle with a straw appeared in front of Gabriela’s face which she leaned forward and took a long draw on.
“Thank you,” Gabriela said.
“Now it’s time for dinner. I appreciate that this is slight awkward and probably embarrassing but I will have to feed you. Once we get home then you will get a bit more freedom but we can’t take that risk away from that environment.” Gabriela nodded, she didn’t know why in particular but she did. It took a bit of time but eventually Vernie finished feeding Gabriela her dinner and water. That task finished Vernie removed a cloth and a bottle of chloroform from her pocket.
“Do you have to use that stuff on me?”
“I am afraid so Gabriela. Those are the rules. When you come round the gag will be back in place so don’t panic. But before I do I should ask if you need a fresh diaper?” Gabriela blushed and shook her head. The conversation now over Vernie prepared the cloth then leaned in and placed in over the lower half of Gabriela’s nose and mouth. Despite not wanting to be knocked out again in this fashion there was no way that Gabriela could avoid that happening severely bound as she was and eventually the fumes had their full effect and she slumped to one side unconscious. In the next compartment the same scene played out for Hayley and Elise as everyone got set for the night.
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The sun had just broken through an early morning haze and was streaming through the windows of the last carriage in the train as Kirsty entered and found Vernie and Nicole sitting round a small table tucking into breakfast. “Morning Kirsty,” Vernie said. Kirsty acknowledged the greeting and set about making her own breakfast before issuing orders for the day. Perrie and Gisele were getting ready in the next carriage whilst Annika had drawn the short straw and ended up with the nightshift. The women ate in silence until they were joined by Perrie and Gisele. With the gang all here so to speak Kirsty set about handing out instructions whilst finishing her glass of orange juice. “The boss wants to question Elise first thing this morning so move her into the master suite and get her prepared, apart from that standard procedure for the other two.”
“How long is it until we arrive at the dock?” Perrie asked. Kirsty took a quick glance at her watch.
“Arrival is scheduled for mid afternoon. I have told the skipper that we want the boat to meet us at three. With that in mind once you have dealt with the captives please make sure that we are ready to make a quick exit once the boat arrives.” Kirsty looked round the other women and received small nods of acknowledgement from each of them.
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It had been a fitful night of sleep for Hayley as she was not accustomed to having to sleep in the same position all the time and bound as she was currently. Unfortunately it was a situation that she thought she might have to get used to. There have been a lot of ruffling and shifting noises coming from within the down cocoon on the other bed. The young woman obviously hadn’t realised that there was no escape from her current captivity. She would learn in time that it did no good to waste energy fighting against the silky smooth fabric of these restraining devices. Then there was a different noise, that of the compartment door opened and not long after Nicole’s face loomed into view. “Time for breakfast and then we can get that diaper freshened up.” Hayley nodded and then lifted her head to allow Nicole access to the buckle of her gag. Then the whirring noise that the bed made when it was being raised started and Hayley was brought into a sitting position. As with dinner the previous evening breakfast was feed to both captives by one of their captors before both were lowered back down to a horizontal position.
“Elise we are going to change Hayley’s diaper then we will deal with you,” Hayley heard the second captor say to the other woman in the room. “I won’t replace your gag at the moment but I would advise that you remain silent.” Hayley wasn’t to be afforded the same luxury as Nicole leaned in to replace the gag, helpfully she though Hayley lifted her head and allowed the gag to be easier put back in place. Not long after Hayley heard a zip being moved as the outer restraining bag was released. Instantly Hayley felt the pressure release slightly around her body, especially her torso. Between them Nicole and Perrie extricated Hayley and the internal restraining bag from the outer one. Nicole then unzipped the internal bag and flipped it open. Hayley welcomed both the release of pressure from around and the feel of fresh air around her body. Without having to be asked Hayley swung her legs out of the bag and placed her feet on the floor, Nicole then undid the straps binding Hayley’s legs together and also the straps binding her arms to her body. Nicole then helped Hayley to stand up and, move across to the changing mat then back onto her back. Enjoying the limited freedom whilst it lasted Hayley moved her legs and arms around a bit whilst her captors prepared the fresh diaper and other implements used during a diaper change. A lot of women would find this embarrassing but in addition to being a professional Hayley had soiled the diaper during the night and wanted a fresh one on, she did not want to lie in a dirty diaper for any longer than necessary.
“Let’s get this done quickly and get you get in the restraining bags,” Perrie said. Hayley raised her arms over her head to allow Perrie unblocked access to the down suit. The suit was engineered to allow for diaper changes without having to be removed and with some assistance from Nicole it didn’t take Perrie long to complete the procedures of removing the old diaper and applying a fresh one. That job completed Hayley was helped back to her feet and across to the bed. It seemed that her relative freedom was not going to last for longer then ten minutes. This led Hayley to wonder how much longer the journey would take and what there destination was. Whilst Hayley considered this Nicole restored the bindings to her upper body and legs. Hayley swung her legs back up and into the internal restraining bag which was quickly zipped back up. Then with practiced efficiency Nicole and Perrie slipped the outer restraining bag back in place and fastened the straps securing the down cocoon containing Hayley to the bed. That job completed they turned there attention to Elise whilst Hayley squirmed about again getting as comfortable as possible fearing that it could be ten or more hours until she had relief from the restraining bags again.
The two captors went about the same process in removing Elise from the restraining bags although once Elise had been extracted from both restraining bags and was standing next to the bed rather than proceed with changing her diaper Perrie delved into a pile of fabric that was sitting on the bed and selected a white cloth and scrunched it up in her left hand. “Open wide” Perrie ordered. Elsie lips stayed clamped together for a while then she thought better of it and complied. With Elise’s mouth open Perrie took her opportunity and stuffed the cloth deep into Elise’s mouth, filling it completely. Elise moaned into the wad of fabric as Perrie picked up a bag of cotton wool pleat and a silk scarf before reaching into the bag of cotton wool pleats and produced a large wad which she placed at the centre of the silk scarf that she had folded into a wide band. Perrie picked up the scarf and centred the cotton wool over Elise’s packed mouth and held it in place whilst she took both ends of the scarf and moved behind Elise who felt the cotton wool compress as the two ends were tied together, there was a brief pause in that increase as the woman freed Elise’s auburn locks from under the gag then pulled it tighter, eliciting a muffled groan from Elise before securing the scarf with a knot. Perrie picked up another cloth and folded it into a pad, placing it at the centre of another folded scarf. Perrie lined the folded cloth up with where Elise’s mouth would be and placed it over where the cotton wool was and then tied the second silk scarf behind Elise’s head, very tightly, viciously compressing every other part of the gag, keeping everything snugly and securely in place. Elise winced as the second scarf was tightened, encasing and compacting all of the material over her mouth.
“You will cone with us Elise. The boss wants to have a word with you.” Having not made a fuss whilst being gagged Elise was now reluctant to go with these two women and through off Nicole’s hand when it was placed on her shoulder. Perrie and Nicole glanced at each other. Normally any show of resistance would be met with the application of a chloroform soaked cloth to render the captive unconscious. They found that captives soon learned to behave with that threat lurking in the background. However on this occasion they knew that the boss wouldn’t want to have to wait for the drug to wear off so they would have to do this the old fashioned way. Nicole went over to the door, opened it and beckoned Gisele inside. Then Perrie, Nicole and Gisele formed a rough semi circle in front of Elise before pouncing on the young woman. Between the three of them they wrestled the squirming Elise up into the arm and carried her bucking and thrashing toward the door. Hayley heard the commotion and tried to get a decent view of what was going on but the puffed up baffles on the hood of the restraining bags made this difficult.
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The door to her private compartment burst open and Elizabeth Crawford looked on slightly startled as she watched three of her operatives carry a thrashing pink shape across the room. The shape made extremely muffled sounds of disgruntlement through what was obviously a heavily gagged mouth. Elizabeth Crawford leaned back against the wall and watched on as Nicole, Perrie and Gisele held the young woman in place while they removed the cuffs securing Elise’s wrists, the pink down suit that she was wearing and then managed to secure the squirming captive spread eagled to her bed, wrists and ankles secured by rope to each corner of the bed. Perrie made to remove the diaper but Elizabeth Crawford intervened. “Perrie it is alright. I can take care of that.” Perrie looked round at her boss and nodded. Their job completed the three operatives exited the room and left Elise alone with Elizabeth Crawford, all of them thinking that they would not want to swap places with Elise for anything that you could offer.
“Sorry about your current predicament but I have to know what you know and more importantly who you told.” Elizabeth Crawford sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers down Elise’s face before removing some stray hairs from around Elise’s face that fallen across during the struggle. For her part Elise just glared straight at Elizabeth Crawford over the gag, still breathing heavily through her nose, chest heaving from the exertion of her earlier attempts at resistance. “How this goes depends on how much you co-operate.” Elizabeth slipped her hand down toward Elise’s waist and undid the straps keeping her diaper in place before folding it down, allowing access to Elise private areas. At this Elise tried to back away but her bindings didn’t allow her that much freedom. “Let’s get this tidied up a bit first though.” Elizabeth Crawford got off the bed and went to a small cabinet to get some items from the top draw. On her return after sliding a towel in place she set about cleaning Elise up and removing the soiled diaper. After bundling up the diaper and depositing it in a bin she returned to Elise’s side. “Now that’s better.” All through this Elise hadn’t taken her eyes from this woman. Elise sized her up, a tall, lean, attractive woman in her mid forties with an obvious kink for tying up young women. This was obviously the boss that she had heard the women in London and the man called Horace refer to during the conversations that she had overheard. A buzzing noise started and Elise felt something vibrating placed on the inside of her thigh and instantly winced at both the coldness of it and sensations that it elicited. Elise began to thrash against her bonds, panicking at what might be about to happen to her. Elise had used sex toys before but on her own, she had never allowed anyone to use them on her. “As a said to a fellow captive not that long ago if you relax this could be an enjoyable experience. I am quite the expert at this”. Elise twitched as Elizabeth Crawford moved the vibrator up one of her thighs, across and then down the other, Crawford continued to do this, lingering on Elise’s most private area, constantly, expertly altering both the vibration patterns and touch from feather light to deep pressure to change the intensity of the sensations that Elise felt.
“MMM”, “MMM”, “MMM,” Elise said whilst shaking her head violently.
“So you want to answer my questions,” Elizabeth Crawford said but didn’t remove the vibrator. Elise nodded enthusiastically, anything to make this woman stop what she was doing. “I have to warn you that if I think you are not answering truthfully then things will get worse for you.”
“AARRGG,” Elise moaned from behind her gag as the heat built and her breathing became more ragged. After a couple of seconds Elizabeth Crawford removed the vibrator and switched it off.
"I am so glad that we understand each other, Miss Rodgers. Let's remove that gag and begin the questioning, shall we?"
Afterwards
The scenery flashed passed the window as the train hustled toward its final destination. Although it did take longer Kirsty did prefer to travel by train. She believed that it gave you a better sense of where you were going. She was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in Elizabeth Crawford’s private office waiting for her boss to finish chatting with the reporter. When the door opened and Elizabeth Crawford burst through she had a serious looking expression on her face. “How did it go boss?”
“Kirsty the reporter knows too much we can’t let her go for a while. It was lucky that we obtained her when we did.” Kirsty could tell that Crawford was slightly put out by the outcome of her conversation. There was something else bothering her.
“Well now that we have her she won’t be telling tales. Especially not if we keep her gagged,” Kirsty replied trying to brighten her boss’s mood.
“It may be too late for that. It seems that she passed a letter to Hayley at the Gala Ball.” Elizabeth Crawford collapsed into a chair across from Kirsty.
“What did the letter say in it?” Kirsty asked.
“Enough, but not everything” Elizabeth Crawford replied. “I will have to see if my contact can give me any details,” she continued almost to herself. Well that was cryptic Kirsty thought.
“What about the other two captives?” Kirsty asked trying to change the topic.
“Well Hayley is a special case and hopefully a long term resident of the island,” Elizabeth replied a smile creeping across her lips, “and I like the brunette, feisty, I think that we keep her as company for Hayley, at least for the short term.”
“If there isn’t anything else I have things to attend to.” Kirsty said and got up from the chair. Elizabeth Crawford nodded and gestured toward the door.
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A face appeared over Hayley. “Would you be able to raise your head?” Having complied with that instruction Hayley found that a thickly padded sleep mask was placed over her eyes, completely shutting out any light. Unfortunately for Hayley her captor wasn’t finished as earplugs were pushed into each of her ears which blocked out any noise except those within Hayley’s own head. That job finished Nicole left the compartment and found Kirsty standing in the corridor looking out of one of the windows at the landscape flashing by. “That’s the guests set for the last leg of the journey.”
“Thank you Nicole.” Kirsty replied but her mind was elsewhere. The conversation that she had just had with her boss seemed to confirm that she had a source inside the other team but where exactly she wasn’t going to divulge. Obviously there were things that Elizabeth Crawford liked to keep compartmentalised.
In the next compartment the rest of the day passed through one interminable hour after another. Unaccustomed to being in this position Gabriela fretted occasionally at her inability to move, speak, see or hear. Every so often it became too much to bear she struggled anew, but it always ended in the same way, with exhaustion, her lungs burning from effort and her body aching at the points where she was bound, her jaws stretched apart by her gag, mouth clogged with a soft ball of fabric, head pounding from the tight blindfold pressed over her eyes and hood over her head but most of the time she lay still, accepting her present helplessness and awaiting the next development.
Nothing Personal - 4 (F/F)
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mrjones2009
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Dire prospects, very very dire ....mrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago “Well Hayley is a special case and hopefully a long term resident of the island,” Elizabeth replied a smile creeping across her lips, “and I like the brunette, feisty, I think that we keep her as company for Hayley, at least for the short term.”
Long term resident, that does not sound very promising for Hayley and Gabriele. But I do have hope, that this will be Crawfords downfall in the end, her soft spot for Hayley I wonder who the mole is .... I´m at loss here for now. It must be somebody who has access to the information Hayley got from Elise. But who? Another mystery to solve ... I like that
It cannot be Nowak. That leaves only a few other possibilities ...Another interessting thing: How will the captives transported on the Island? Totally sedated? That would be a heavy burden. It would be easier, if they were able to move under their own steam ... But knowing Crawford, she´ll have thought that through ....
Gabriela has still to cope with the comforts of the restraining system, she did not want a diaper change ... the humilation. I understand that. Hayley is beyond that stage, she copes with the situation the best way she could.
And so the journey continues ... we will know more in the near future, since its is the last leg of the journey.
The Idea of the Train [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] is ingenious!!
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mrjones2009
- Centennial Club
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Chapter 43
Paris, France
Jessica Warwick sat tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel of the car whilst waiting at the pick up point at Charles De Galle International Airport. It was the second day in succession that she had made this trip and if being honest she was frustrated at being sat on the sidelines and reduced to taxi driver having just a watching brief with Milena Novak. Having kept in touch on her phone Jessica knew that the flight from Vienna around twenty minutes ago and a steady stream of people had been coming through the automatic sliding doors from the terminal building. She hadn’t been waiting long when Christina Howard and Natalie Twain appeared through the door accompanied by Elodie, the French Secret Service Agent. Jessica hadn’t caught her second name or maybe the woman hadn’t told her. Jessica watched as Christina and Natalie exchanged a few words with Elodie before they went their separate ways. The two American’s made the short journey toward where she had parked whilst the French woman headed in the other direction. “Morning ladies,” Jessica said as two doors opened. Natalie got in the front seat and glanced across at Jessica. “Good flight?”
“Fine, thank you.” Natalie replied. Jessica indicated, found a space and pulled out into the heavy traffic. After a couple of minutes they were heading back toward the centre of Paris.
“How did you get on in Vienna?” Jessica asked.
“I think Natalie is banned from ever going back?” Christina said from the rear seat before Natalie could say anything. Jessica glanced in the mirror and saw the broad grin across Christina’s face.
“I don’t think that is quite the case,” Natalie said and proceeded to quickly run through what had happened in Vienna from when they had landed until waking up on the bench in the park. “Anyway how is Natascha?”
“As far as I know she is recovering well.”
“What did Hayley say after visiting yesterday?” Christina asked from the back seat.
“I haven’t seen her this morning. I dropped her off at the hospital yesterday afternoon and she hadn’t appeared back at the hotel by late last night and I was up early so left her to sleep in.” That did seem reasonable enough by something in the back of Natalie’s mind felt uneasy. Quickly she searched her bag for her mobile phone, found Hayley’s number and dialled.
“Something wrong Natalie?” Christina asked. Natalie waited until the call went to voicemail before answering the question.
“It is just with Hayley…you know…she has this way of getting into trouble.” Whilst answering Natalie opened the application on her phone that let her track Hayley’s mobile.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked, glancing across from the driver’s seat.
“I put an app on her phone that let’s me track it,” Natalie said. “Look I know how that sounds but she has this knack of getting into trouble and needing help.” It took a while for the application to search and locate Hayley’s phone. An expression somewhere between confusion and concern crossed Natalie’s face. The car had been stopped at a set of traffic lights and both Jessica and Christina starred at Natalie. “According to the map on the application the phone is still at the hospital.”
“Is that accurate?” Christina asked.
“It has always been in the past,” Natalie said thinking about the times in the past where it had held her rescue Hayley from distress. “I think that we had better swing by the hospital and check.” Jessica nodded and indicated to change lanes and head to the hospital.
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After finding a space in the extremely busy hospital car park Natalie, Christina and Jessica made their way toward the imposing edifice of the hospital and into the main reception. They then paused before realising that none of them could speak more than a few words of French. Christian approached the large reception desk and smiled at the woman sitting behind it. “Excuse me. Do you speak English?” The woman nodded and held up her thumb and forefinger in international sign language for a little. “I am looking for a patient. Natascha Taylor.” Christina assumed that the woman had understood her as she went about tapping on a keyboard. Christina couldn’t see the screen but the woman obvious found what she was looking as she smiled. Then she picked up pen, scribbled something on a notepad, tore off the top sheet and offered it to Christina. Taking the paper Christina noted that there were basic directions and a room number written in neat handwriting. “Thanks,” Christina applied before turning and beckoning her colleagues to follow.
Having followed Christina along corridors making several turns the small group found themselves at a bank of elevators. The doors to the middle elevator opened and they got in beside a tall doctor wearing glasses who eyed them warily, the women smiled back. “Fourth floor,” Christina said and Jessica hit the button. After dropping the doctor off at the third floor the women exited at the fourth floor. Christian checked her piece of paper and indicated right. “If the directions are correct Natascha should be in a ward in that direction. What does the application say now Natalie?” She waited for the phone to update before indicating left where there were barriers blocking the entrance to what looked like an area that was being refurbished.
“Well according to this Hayley’s phone is just down that way,” Natalie responded. “Why don’t Jessica and I take a look whilst you go and see if Natascha is still here?” Christina nodded and headed off.
Natalie and Jessica slipped between the barriers and walked along the corridor taking in the sights that surrounded them. It looked like the contractor had stopped half way through stripping out the old fit out. There was not a lot of operational lighting as they continued to walk through along the corridor and then cautiously through a set of doors into a more open area. Although the lighting was still poor in this area Hayley’s bag stood out on the brown carpet. “There is,” Jessica commented. Natalie picked up the bag and whilst rummaging through she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to find Christina striding toward her with Natascha not far behind. Even from twenty or so yards away the bruises were evident on Natascha’s face but they didn’t look too bad. “We found Hayley’s bag and her phone was inside.” Natalie produced the phone and waved it in the air.
“Well that would explain why she hasn’t answered my calls this morning.” Natascha said. “Hayley said that she would pick me up.”
“That is quite concerning. I doubt that Hayley would have not come to meet you,” Natalie said. “We had a look around, nothing else about, nothing suspicious anyway.”
“Did anything seem strange yesterday?” Christina asked whilst scanning the surroundings.
“There was nothing, well not that I picked up on. Hayley seemed like her usual self. We had a chat and caught up on things that had happened to both of us plus general stuff. She left around the time it got dark outside.” Just at that point a set of swing doors at the end of the corridor opened and Jessica walked through.
“The corridor leads to along to a set of emergency stairs and an elevator,” Jessica shared when she had joined the group. There was a silence amongst the women as they considered what could have happened to Hayley. Given previous experiences Natalie had a bad feeling and what had happened.
“This would be a good place for an ambush,” Christina commented. “There is no CCTV coverage, nobody about in the evening due to the refurbishment works, two exit points……”
“Well if you were going to do something like that then you would leave by the rear exit rather than the main entrance where there are loads of people and cameras.” Natascha commented then headed off toward the swing doors and the corridor beyond. After glancing at each other the rest of the group followed on.
On the other side of the swing doors was a short corridor with at the end an elevator on one side and a single door on the other. The group made the short walk to the elevator and stood in front of it. Natascha leaned forward and pressed the button to call the lift causing the background to light up. “Looks like it still works then,” she commented. As they waited for the lift Jessica opened the door to discover that it let you into a fire escape stairwell.
“I will take the stairs and meet you at the bottom,” Jessica said and disappeared through the door. Not long after the lift opened and Natascha, Christian and Natalie all enter and Natalie hit the button for the ground floor. It was a short journey and when the doors opened they found themselves in a far busier area of the hospital, the Emergency Room. The three of them stepped out of the lift and had a look around. There was a large desk to the right with a waiting area occupied by a number of weary looking people. To the left were several examination rooms and unlike the area of the hospital that they had just come from there was the contact movement of hurried staff making there way around the space, but despite that nobody that passed gave them a second look. Natascha nodded toward a large set of doors and Christina acknowledged the gesture before Natascha set off to take a look. Natalie and Christina found a place to stand that was out of the way and waited for Jessica to catch up. Natascha returned first to report back. “The doors lead to a car park and ambulance receiving area.”
“It would be easy to get someone out of the building this way. Nobody would give you a second look.” Christina commented.
“They are all far to busy to care,” Natalie followed up with. Just at that point Jessica turned up.
“There is nothing interesting to report on the stairwell.” Whilst waiting Christina had taken a more in depth look around this part of the hospital.
“I will say one though. There are CCTV cameras here,” Christina said pointing at a couple of locations high up in the ceiling. “I will call Elodie. We will need her to make a telephone call and get a copy of the CCTV footage.”
“Christina,” Natascha began, “I think that we should also consider moving location from the hotels. If someone is targeting us then it would be sensible to keep a low profile.” Christina considered the suggestion before nodding her agreement. “I know a place where we can stay.”
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All four women returned to their various hotel rooms and collected their belongings. To be on the safe side none of them officially checked out, just casually walked out the front entrance never to return. Natascha had managed to obtain the use of a car and picked each one of them up in turn before bringing them to what she described as a safe house on a non-descript street deep into a suburb of Paris. It was a decent place on the top floor of a block of apartments with two bedrooms, bathroom and a large combined kitchen and living area. They were settling in so Christina volunteered to make a cup of tea for everyone and was doing that when she checked the pockets of her jacket and found the letter that Hayley had given her back in the park in Vienna, it had totally slipped her mind. Whilst the kettle was boiling Christina sliced open the envelope with a knife and read the letter.
Dear Ms King
By way of introduction my name is Elise Rodgers and I am a reporter for the Daily News based in London. I am in trouble and aware of your reputation hope that you can help. I have to keep this brief due to circumstances but have noted my details below. I am being hunted by either a criminal organisation or perhaps government department regarding a conversation that I overheard at the Almost Famous fashion event in London. It was between two women, one American and the other French who were discussing the abduction and brainwashing of the former model Emily St Claire who they replaced with a double. The purpose of this was unclear but when they discovered that I could have overheard they pursued me from the building and I recently found out that my housemate was attacked in our flat the following day. It has been classed as a burglary but I believe that it was this organisation trying to track me down. I know that what I have written sounds outlandish but I need help and hope that you can offer assistance.
The letter was signed then had a mobile number and the address of a hotel in Vienna. “Well I wasn’t expecting that,” Christina commented as she walked into the main living area of the flat to look for the rest of the group and found them sitting around a table on wooden chairs.
“Expecting what?” Natalie said.
“The content of the letter Hayley handed to me in Vienna.”
“What does it say?” Natascha asked.
“Probably easier if I let you read it for yourself,” Christina responded, handing over the letter before heading back to finish making the tea. When she returned it was clear that Natascha, Natalie and Jessica had all read the letter.
“So do you think this is true?” Jessica asked holding up the letter.
“To me it sounds just bizarre enough to be true,” Christina poured out the tea as she spoke.
“Where are the biscuits?” Natalie asked which got a laugh before the group got down to the serious business of discussing what their plan of action should be. Ideally they would have started with the CCTV from the hospital and gone through that but Elodie had said that it would take a couple of days so they threw about some ideas; this was after having to explain to Jessica who Emily St Claire was. Jessica started to look through her phone as the others debated further.
“It says on social media that Emily St Claire is in Bern at the moment,” Jessica said with eyes still looking at the screen on her phone.
“She was practically a recluse for a decade I doubt she is now on social media.”
“Not directly but that doesn’t mean that people won’t be putting on sightings.” Jessica replied. Christina had to concede the point and with no other avenues of enquiry to pursue then made a suggestion.
“Jessica and I will head to Vienna and try and track down our reporter whilst Natalie and Natascha travel to Bern and try and track down Emily St Clare.”
“If we find her should we ask her straight out if she is an imposter?” Natalie asked. Once again a round of laughter broke out amongst the group.
“I was going to suggest that you start with have you been brainwashed?”
“If we manage to track her down we will follow her and see if anything seems out of the ordinary. It certainly beats sitting around a flat in Paris. Something tells me that the action had shifted from here,” Natascha said.
“Should we try that number for Elise Rodgers? If we do get her at least we can tell her to stay at the hotel.” Jessica volunteered.
“Probably a good idea. You give it a go but if you don’t get her don’t leave a message.” Christina suggested. Jessica dialled the number on the letter and waited anxiously as it rang and rang and rang until the voicemail kicked in.
“No answer I am afraid.”
“All agreed then,” Christina said. “I will ask Elodie to e-mail the CCTV footage when it is available and to ask that they keep looking for Sophia Rousseau.” The decision having been made the group split up and went about making preparations for their trips.
Paris, France
Jessica Warwick sat tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel of the car whilst waiting at the pick up point at Charles De Galle International Airport. It was the second day in succession that she had made this trip and if being honest she was frustrated at being sat on the sidelines and reduced to taxi driver having just a watching brief with Milena Novak. Having kept in touch on her phone Jessica knew that the flight from Vienna around twenty minutes ago and a steady stream of people had been coming through the automatic sliding doors from the terminal building. She hadn’t been waiting long when Christina Howard and Natalie Twain appeared through the door accompanied by Elodie, the French Secret Service Agent. Jessica hadn’t caught her second name or maybe the woman hadn’t told her. Jessica watched as Christina and Natalie exchanged a few words with Elodie before they went their separate ways. The two American’s made the short journey toward where she had parked whilst the French woman headed in the other direction. “Morning ladies,” Jessica said as two doors opened. Natalie got in the front seat and glanced across at Jessica. “Good flight?”
“Fine, thank you.” Natalie replied. Jessica indicated, found a space and pulled out into the heavy traffic. After a couple of minutes they were heading back toward the centre of Paris.
“How did you get on in Vienna?” Jessica asked.
“I think Natalie is banned from ever going back?” Christina said from the rear seat before Natalie could say anything. Jessica glanced in the mirror and saw the broad grin across Christina’s face.
“I don’t think that is quite the case,” Natalie said and proceeded to quickly run through what had happened in Vienna from when they had landed until waking up on the bench in the park. “Anyway how is Natascha?”
“As far as I know she is recovering well.”
“What did Hayley say after visiting yesterday?” Christina asked from the back seat.
“I haven’t seen her this morning. I dropped her off at the hospital yesterday afternoon and she hadn’t appeared back at the hotel by late last night and I was up early so left her to sleep in.” That did seem reasonable enough by something in the back of Natalie’s mind felt uneasy. Quickly she searched her bag for her mobile phone, found Hayley’s number and dialled.
“Something wrong Natalie?” Christina asked. Natalie waited until the call went to voicemail before answering the question.
“It is just with Hayley…you know…she has this way of getting into trouble.” Whilst answering Natalie opened the application on her phone that let her track Hayley’s mobile.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked, glancing across from the driver’s seat.
“I put an app on her phone that let’s me track it,” Natalie said. “Look I know how that sounds but she has this knack of getting into trouble and needing help.” It took a while for the application to search and locate Hayley’s phone. An expression somewhere between confusion and concern crossed Natalie’s face. The car had been stopped at a set of traffic lights and both Jessica and Christina starred at Natalie. “According to the map on the application the phone is still at the hospital.”
“Is that accurate?” Christina asked.
“It has always been in the past,” Natalie said thinking about the times in the past where it had held her rescue Hayley from distress. “I think that we had better swing by the hospital and check.” Jessica nodded and indicated to change lanes and head to the hospital.
----------
After finding a space in the extremely busy hospital car park Natalie, Christina and Jessica made their way toward the imposing edifice of the hospital and into the main reception. They then paused before realising that none of them could speak more than a few words of French. Christian approached the large reception desk and smiled at the woman sitting behind it. “Excuse me. Do you speak English?” The woman nodded and held up her thumb and forefinger in international sign language for a little. “I am looking for a patient. Natascha Taylor.” Christina assumed that the woman had understood her as she went about tapping on a keyboard. Christina couldn’t see the screen but the woman obvious found what she was looking as she smiled. Then she picked up pen, scribbled something on a notepad, tore off the top sheet and offered it to Christina. Taking the paper Christina noted that there were basic directions and a room number written in neat handwriting. “Thanks,” Christina applied before turning and beckoning her colleagues to follow.
Having followed Christina along corridors making several turns the small group found themselves at a bank of elevators. The doors to the middle elevator opened and they got in beside a tall doctor wearing glasses who eyed them warily, the women smiled back. “Fourth floor,” Christina said and Jessica hit the button. After dropping the doctor off at the third floor the women exited at the fourth floor. Christian checked her piece of paper and indicated right. “If the directions are correct Natascha should be in a ward in that direction. What does the application say now Natalie?” She waited for the phone to update before indicating left where there were barriers blocking the entrance to what looked like an area that was being refurbished.
“Well according to this Hayley’s phone is just down that way,” Natalie responded. “Why don’t Jessica and I take a look whilst you go and see if Natascha is still here?” Christina nodded and headed off.
Natalie and Jessica slipped between the barriers and walked along the corridor taking in the sights that surrounded them. It looked like the contractor had stopped half way through stripping out the old fit out. There was not a lot of operational lighting as they continued to walk through along the corridor and then cautiously through a set of doors into a more open area. Although the lighting was still poor in this area Hayley’s bag stood out on the brown carpet. “There is,” Jessica commented. Natalie picked up the bag and whilst rummaging through she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to find Christina striding toward her with Natascha not far behind. Even from twenty or so yards away the bruises were evident on Natascha’s face but they didn’t look too bad. “We found Hayley’s bag and her phone was inside.” Natalie produced the phone and waved it in the air.
“Well that would explain why she hasn’t answered my calls this morning.” Natascha said. “Hayley said that she would pick me up.”
“That is quite concerning. I doubt that Hayley would have not come to meet you,” Natalie said. “We had a look around, nothing else about, nothing suspicious anyway.”
“Did anything seem strange yesterday?” Christina asked whilst scanning the surroundings.
“There was nothing, well not that I picked up on. Hayley seemed like her usual self. We had a chat and caught up on things that had happened to both of us plus general stuff. She left around the time it got dark outside.” Just at that point a set of swing doors at the end of the corridor opened and Jessica walked through.
“The corridor leads to along to a set of emergency stairs and an elevator,” Jessica shared when she had joined the group. There was a silence amongst the women as they considered what could have happened to Hayley. Given previous experiences Natalie had a bad feeling and what had happened.
“This would be a good place for an ambush,” Christina commented. “There is no CCTV coverage, nobody about in the evening due to the refurbishment works, two exit points……”
“Well if you were going to do something like that then you would leave by the rear exit rather than the main entrance where there are loads of people and cameras.” Natascha commented then headed off toward the swing doors and the corridor beyond. After glancing at each other the rest of the group followed on.
On the other side of the swing doors was a short corridor with at the end an elevator on one side and a single door on the other. The group made the short walk to the elevator and stood in front of it. Natascha leaned forward and pressed the button to call the lift causing the background to light up. “Looks like it still works then,” she commented. As they waited for the lift Jessica opened the door to discover that it let you into a fire escape stairwell.
“I will take the stairs and meet you at the bottom,” Jessica said and disappeared through the door. Not long after the lift opened and Natascha, Christian and Natalie all enter and Natalie hit the button for the ground floor. It was a short journey and when the doors opened they found themselves in a far busier area of the hospital, the Emergency Room. The three of them stepped out of the lift and had a look around. There was a large desk to the right with a waiting area occupied by a number of weary looking people. To the left were several examination rooms and unlike the area of the hospital that they had just come from there was the contact movement of hurried staff making there way around the space, but despite that nobody that passed gave them a second look. Natascha nodded toward a large set of doors and Christina acknowledged the gesture before Natascha set off to take a look. Natalie and Christina found a place to stand that was out of the way and waited for Jessica to catch up. Natascha returned first to report back. “The doors lead to a car park and ambulance receiving area.”
“It would be easy to get someone out of the building this way. Nobody would give you a second look.” Christina commented.
“They are all far to busy to care,” Natalie followed up with. Just at that point Jessica turned up.
“There is nothing interesting to report on the stairwell.” Whilst waiting Christina had taken a more in depth look around this part of the hospital.
“I will say one though. There are CCTV cameras here,” Christina said pointing at a couple of locations high up in the ceiling. “I will call Elodie. We will need her to make a telephone call and get a copy of the CCTV footage.”
“Christina,” Natascha began, “I think that we should also consider moving location from the hotels. If someone is targeting us then it would be sensible to keep a low profile.” Christina considered the suggestion before nodding her agreement. “I know a place where we can stay.”
----------
All four women returned to their various hotel rooms and collected their belongings. To be on the safe side none of them officially checked out, just casually walked out the front entrance never to return. Natascha had managed to obtain the use of a car and picked each one of them up in turn before bringing them to what she described as a safe house on a non-descript street deep into a suburb of Paris. It was a decent place on the top floor of a block of apartments with two bedrooms, bathroom and a large combined kitchen and living area. They were settling in so Christina volunteered to make a cup of tea for everyone and was doing that when she checked the pockets of her jacket and found the letter that Hayley had given her back in the park in Vienna, it had totally slipped her mind. Whilst the kettle was boiling Christina sliced open the envelope with a knife and read the letter.
Dear Ms King
By way of introduction my name is Elise Rodgers and I am a reporter for the Daily News based in London. I am in trouble and aware of your reputation hope that you can help. I have to keep this brief due to circumstances but have noted my details below. I am being hunted by either a criminal organisation or perhaps government department regarding a conversation that I overheard at the Almost Famous fashion event in London. It was between two women, one American and the other French who were discussing the abduction and brainwashing of the former model Emily St Claire who they replaced with a double. The purpose of this was unclear but when they discovered that I could have overheard they pursued me from the building and I recently found out that my housemate was attacked in our flat the following day. It has been classed as a burglary but I believe that it was this organisation trying to track me down. I know that what I have written sounds outlandish but I need help and hope that you can offer assistance.
The letter was signed then had a mobile number and the address of a hotel in Vienna. “Well I wasn’t expecting that,” Christina commented as she walked into the main living area of the flat to look for the rest of the group and found them sitting around a table on wooden chairs.
“Expecting what?” Natalie said.
“The content of the letter Hayley handed to me in Vienna.”
“What does it say?” Natascha asked.
“Probably easier if I let you read it for yourself,” Christina responded, handing over the letter before heading back to finish making the tea. When she returned it was clear that Natascha, Natalie and Jessica had all read the letter.
“So do you think this is true?” Jessica asked holding up the letter.
“To me it sounds just bizarre enough to be true,” Christina poured out the tea as she spoke.
“Where are the biscuits?” Natalie asked which got a laugh before the group got down to the serious business of discussing what their plan of action should be. Ideally they would have started with the CCTV from the hospital and gone through that but Elodie had said that it would take a couple of days so they threw about some ideas; this was after having to explain to Jessica who Emily St Claire was. Jessica started to look through her phone as the others debated further.
“It says on social media that Emily St Claire is in Bern at the moment,” Jessica said with eyes still looking at the screen on her phone.
“She was practically a recluse for a decade I doubt she is now on social media.”
“Not directly but that doesn’t mean that people won’t be putting on sightings.” Jessica replied. Christina had to concede the point and with no other avenues of enquiry to pursue then made a suggestion.
“Jessica and I will head to Vienna and try and track down our reporter whilst Natalie and Natascha travel to Bern and try and track down Emily St Clare.”
“If we find her should we ask her straight out if she is an imposter?” Natalie asked. Once again a round of laughter broke out amongst the group.
“I was going to suggest that you start with have you been brainwashed?”
“If we manage to track her down we will follow her and see if anything seems out of the ordinary. It certainly beats sitting around a flat in Paris. Something tells me that the action had shifted from here,” Natascha said.
“Should we try that number for Elise Rodgers? If we do get her at least we can tell her to stay at the hotel.” Jessica volunteered.
“Probably a good idea. You give it a go but if you don’t get her don’t leave a message.” Christina suggested. Jessica dialled the number on the letter and waited anxiously as it rang and rang and rang until the voicemail kicked in.
“No answer I am afraid.”
“All agreed then,” Christina said. “I will ask Elodie to e-mail the CCTV footage when it is available and to ask that they keep looking for Sophia Rousseau.” The decision having been made the group split up and went about making preparations for their trips.
Change of scenery Switch: Paris 
Now the team knows that something is amiss. They found Hayleys belongings. Still wonder, who Crawfords Contact may be. Jessica? Or one of the french Operatives ....I'm not any wiser for now. At the moment, Crawford is one step ahead:
The Team knows that something has happened to Hayley, but not what and where Hayley has been taken too - and how should they find out?
They know nothing about Crawfords plans regarding Copenhagen. The danger for Gayle and Rihannon. I suspect, that Crawford will use Rihannon as leverage to coerce Gayle to work with them.
That means for now: Hayley is on her own. And regarding the Professionalism of her Captors, escape is highly unlikely - maybe Gabrielle could be an asset. But that remains to be seen
The last leg of their journey, but where to, is still foggy. The Travel Arrangements will be not very conveniant, I bet, but secure .... We can be sure though, that downfilled goodness will play its part At least I hope so, and my spider sense tells me: We will see more downfilling in the future 
Master Jones hear our humble prayers!
Switch: Paris Now the team knows that something is amiss. They found Hayleys belongings. Still wonder, who Crawfords Contact may be. Jessica? Or one of the french Operatives ....I'm not any wiser for now. At the moment, Crawford is one step ahead:
The Team knows that something has happened to Hayley, but not what and where Hayley has been taken too - and how should they find out?
They know nothing about Crawfords plans regarding Copenhagen. The danger for Gayle and Rihannon. I suspect, that Crawford will use Rihannon as leverage to coerce Gayle to work with them.
That means for now: Hayley is on her own. And regarding the Professionalism of her Captors, escape is highly unlikely - maybe Gabrielle could be an asset. But that remains to be seen
The last leg of their journey, but where to, is still foggy. The Travel Arrangements will be not very conveniant, I bet, but secure ....
We can be sure though, that downfilled goodness will play its part At least I hope so, and my spider sense tells me: We will see more downfilling in the future Master Jones hear our humble prayers! Among many other things, I like about this Saga, is the complexity of its plot, created by [mention]mrjones2009[/mention]: Many different locations - we have now:
- Paris
- Copenhagen
- Vienna
- Bern
- a train with - till now - unknown destination
- in the near future an Island somwhere in the Mediterranian? In a lake maybe?
Where the next chapter will play?
I would - totally altruistic of course - prefer the train
To be honest: This is totally selfserving
The traitor in the Team? Suspicions, feelings but no clue ... It must be someone who knows about the letter, but did not read it him- or herself? That narrows it down a bit. Jessica staying in Paris? But wouldn't that be to obvious a choice?
Definitivly good for Crawford: Copenhagen is not on the radar of the team.
A little sloppy on Crawfords Part, leaving Hayleys bag and phone at the crime scene .....
- Paris
- Copenhagen
- Vienna
- Bern
- a train with - till now - unknown destination
- in the near future an Island somwhere in the Mediterranian? In a lake maybe?
Where the next chapter will play?
I would - totally altruistic of course - prefer the train
To be honest: This is totally selfserving The traitor in the Team? Suspicions, feelings but no clue ... It must be someone who knows about the letter, but did not read it him- or herself? That narrows it down a bit. Jessica staying in Paris? But wouldn't that be to obvious a choice?
Definitivly good for Crawford: Copenhagen is not on the radar of the team.
A little sloppy on Crawfords Part, leaving Hayleys bag and phone at the crime scene .....
-
mrjones2009
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- Joined: 6 years ago
- Contact:
Chapter 44
The motion of the train had stopped some time ago and Hayley was guessing that they had now arrived at their destination. However bound as she was it was difficult to tell anything that was going on. Then she felt the pressure of the down cocoon release around her body as the zip on the external bag was pulled down and the bag removed from around her body. The fact that her captors had not yet removed the blindfold or earplugs confirmed to her that her earlier guess that they had indeed arrived at their destination was probably correct. The pressure around her body released further as the internal restraining bag was unzipped and then flipped over. Hayley was then shocked as she felt fingers brush down the side of her face as the earplug in her left ear was removed and a female voice spoke softly into in. “Hayley we are now going to go on a trip but for security reasons we can’t remove the blindfold and earplugs so I am going to explain what is going on. Once the earplug goes back in you will swing your legs out and onto the ground. Then we will remove your legs bindings and help you up then change your gag. We will then guide you where you need to go. If there are stairs or a ramp during the journey we will pat you on the bottom, once for up and twice for down. Apart from that just behave and things will go smoothly.” I don’t know what they expected me to do they way that they have me bound Hayley thought. “Now nod if you understand.” Hayley nodded, her head rubbing against the smooth fabric of the hood of the restraining bag. The earplug was quickly replaced and as instructed Hayley swung her legs out and onto the floor to find that the bindings holding her legs together were removed. Then Hayley felt a hand under each armpit as she was helped onto her feet. The hands were removed and there was a disorientating spell when Hayley was standing without any reference point until another hand landed on her shoulder then the buckled at the back of her head was released and the large padded gag was removed. Hayley instantly worked her jaw but relief was short lived as she felt something soft against her lips and despite not being a fan of having foreign objects in her mouth opened wide to accept the cloth that was forced deep behind her teeth, filling her mouth completely. Next some cotton wool was placed over her lips and secured in place with a silk scarf, that was followed by another thick pad over her mouth and that was also secured with a silk scarf. They certainly didn’t take any chances with their captives making any noise. But there was still something else. Hayley felt something, smooth and silky slipped over her head and put in place. It was obviously some sort of down filled hood or balaclava style cover for her head. It was reasonably tight and covered must of her head, Hayley reckoned the over part of her face that would be visible would be her eyes and bridge of her nose had they not already been covered by the sleep mask. This Hayley decided was overkill, just adding to the padding over her ears and mouth. But once again the sensation was not uncomfortable but would take a bit of taking used to. Once that job was completed someone grabbed the upper section of her right arm and began to lead her toward the door.
Hayley felt the strong grip even through the padding of the soft down suit. It was hard to tell exactly what was going on but Hayley assumed that she had exited the compartment as there was suddenly the feel of sunlight through glass on the exposed skin of her face. She was turned to her right and lead in a straight line for a period of time. Despite being guided along the progress was slow due to the uncertainty that Hayley felt in her movements with not being able to see or hear. Hayley felt the grip on her hand tighten and pull back slightly so she stopped. There was hand on her shoulder that spun her round then there were two pats on her diapered bottom and Hayley nodded to confirm that she understood and shuffled forward into what she could definitely tell was open space and a ramp that went downward slightly until her feet hit solid ground. There was a slight, freshening breeze as Hayley was guided over what was probably not a long distance but took several minutes to cover before she felt another tap on her bottom and she nodded again. This time the slope was an incline, shorter and steeper than the decline from the train. The temperature dropped noticeably and the breeze stopped when Hayley got to the top of the ramp and found flat ground again so assumed that she was now back inside. Hayley was lead further into the shelter then was almost manhandled so that she was spun round and then lowered onto a seat. Hayley didn’t resist as she was also then leaned forward and was rewarded when the straps that had been keeping her arms pinned against her body were removed. That was bonus Hayley thought, her wrists were still bound and the mitts made her fingers useless but at least she could move her arms again. Judging by what she could feel through the down suit Hayley thought that the seat was leather which brought back memories of a previous trip with Elizabeth Crawford. Relief was short lived as her arms were forced above her head and straps were pulled from over each Hayley’s shoulders and clipped them into a central buckle that was on another, thankfully heavily padded strap that had been brought up from between her legs. The seat seemed to have been specially designed to restrain people as these first two straps were followed into the central buckle by another strap from each side of her chest. Then all of the straps were tightened to hold Hayley securely in place. Thankfully the padding of her down suit took some of the discomfort away but Hayley still grumbled behind her gag and tried not to let her discomfort show. Hayley was sure that her captors took great pleasure in this, especially the strap between her legs. Once satisfied that the straps were tight enough and Hayley could confirm that they were, one of her captors bent over and used a strap to bind Hayley’s ankles together again. It was almost getting to the stage where Hayley wished that they had just knocked her out with chloroform. If the gag was ever removed she would make that suggestion. Hayley then thought that the journey couldn’t be that long of they would have knocked them out. Hayley sat perfectly still, well there was nothing else she could bound and secured as she was. As she sat there Hayley felt or more like sensed a lot of movement to her left and assumed that the other two captives that she had met on the train were also being secured beside her.
It was hard to tell because at some point over the last couple of days her perception of time had changed but Hayley didn’t think that the journey that they had taken in the vehicle had been that long, perhaps twenty minutes at the most. Once the motion has stopped Hayley had been removed from the vehicle and the bindings on her arms and wrists were released, however this was only to allow her wrists to be bound behind her back with leather cuffs before once again being lead across the ground and up a short flight of stairs. Hayley could have sworn that they were by the sea; it was something in the smell of the air in her nostrils. There was another short walk or indeed shuffle before more pats on the bottom followed by short flight of stairs up and then down. At the bottom of the decent Hayley felt the unmistakable swell of the motion of waves underfoot, her suspicions confirmed, she was on a boat. Feeling slightly better that she had made that deduction Hayley hardly noticed that she had been lead deeper into the bowels of the vessel and into a room. Hayley felt hands guiding her down onto a thin mattress raised off the ground, a bed Hayley assumed. As soon as she was positioned on her side Hayley felt her ankles being bound. She wasn’t lying that long before there was movement and first the smooth balaclava and then her gag were removed; which with its size and layers wasn’t a simple task. Hayley hoped that there would be some relief but it wasn’t to be as a familiar scent caught the back of her throat a split second before something soft and thick was clamped over her nose and mouth. The chloroform took effect and Hayley slipped into unconsciousness.
The darkness edges of her vision started to disappear as she started to regain consciousness. It was painful and having been blindfolded for so long it took quite a while before Hayley’s eyes adjusted to the light again. Hayley tried to lift her head but any movement just encouraged the thumping at the back of her head to increase exponentially. Perhaps she wouldn’t suggest that her captors use chloroform on a more regular basis anyway. Gently resting her head back onto the pillow Hayley closed her eyes and steeled herself for another attempt in a couple of minutes. For something to do Hayley counted to sixty five times and just as she reached forty seven on the last count Hayley heard groans coming from somewhere else in the cabin. It sounded like someone was starting to come round. This time when Hayley lifted her head it wasn’t quite as bad so was able to assess her situation. She was lying, no that was the wrong word; she was strapped to a metal bed frame with a thin mattress on top of it. There were heavy, padded leather straps around her ankles, thighs, chest and wrists holding her securely in place. From the feeling around her groin Hayley could tell that her diaper had also been changed and although strapped to the bed she hadn’t been gagged, blindfolded nor have nay earplugs in place. Glancing around the room Hayley could see that there were two other occupied beds in the cabin, with the nearest being occupied by an olive skinned and dark haired woman who was the source of the groan and in the furthest away bed was a younger woman with a fair complexion and long dark auburn hair who appeared to still be deeply unconscious. The dark haired woman continued to groin for a good couple of minutes before she turned her head and locked eyes with Hayley.
“Good morning,” Hayley said. “I think anyway.” The dark haired woman just stared at Hayley.
“My head hurts,” the woman responded.
“That will be the lingering effect of the chloroform.”
“Thanks I guessed that.” The conversation paused for a second. “Do you know what these people want with us?” Hayley was about to respond when the door to the cabin opened and Nicole and Vernie entered the room.
“You two are getting chatty,” Nicole said as she made her way to the other side of the cabin to where all three women strapped to the beds would be able to see her without having to turn their heads to an awkward angle. Vernie took up a position behind the beds and paced across the width of the cabin. It was then that the Elise started to stir from her chloroformed induced slumber.
“Now that we are all awake I can begin,” Nicole said. “Welcome aboard the Vanishing Maiden ladies,” she continued, throwing her arms wide to indicate the boat. “Now a few ground rules for journey, all purely for your own safety of course. There will be no walking around and no noise during the trip. To avoid the temptation you will be kept bound and gagged for the duration.”
“And what is or destination?” Hayley asked, see really shouldn’t have but she couldn’t resist.
“Sorry but the Boss wouldn’t want you to know. Call it a surprise. Anyway enjoy the reminder of the journey and we will be back later with refreshments. Vernie, would do the honours?” It was obviously not a question as the woman called Vernie appeared beside her with one of those large padded gags with the ball in the middle hanging from her hand.
“I don’t suppose it would help if I promised to be quiet.” Hayley offered. Vernie just shook her head slowly. Hayley, resigned to being gagged again lifted her head and opened her mouth to allow the ball to be placed inside and the buckled secured at the back of her head. Now gagged Hayley rested her head back onto the pillow and made ready to wish away the remainder of the journey to find out where they were heading. There were sounds of resistance coming from her right. These she assumed were from her fellow captives not being too pleased at being gagged. It didn’t take long for Nicole and Vernie to subdue any resistance and then they were left to their own devices.
---------
What is it with this woman and islands? Hayley thought as she was brought out onto the deck of the large cruiser just as the sun was beginning to drop in the sky. On the short trip from their cabin to the deck, far easier now that they weren’t blindfolded, Hayley had seen the name of the boat on the bulkhead, The Vanishing Maiden indeed. Hayley had assumed that Nicole had been joking earlier. Hayley had to admit that Elizabeth Crawford did have a sense of humour. The boat slowed down in anticipation of docking at the long jetty that emerged from the beach as the helmsman or indeed woman skilfully manoeuvred the boat into position, cutting the engines to let the boat drift alongside the dock. The remainder of the journey had gone without incident for the captives until Nicole and Vernie had returned and administered another dose of chloroform to render all three of them unconscious. When Hayley had come round she was lying on her side with her wrists bound behind her back, her arms secured to her body with leather straps and her wrists bound together. A quick glance confirmed that all three captives were bound identically. They weren’t left alone long as Nicole, Vernie and Perrie entered the cabin, freed their ankles and lead the captives out onto deck.
The boat nudged into the dock and a crew member timed their jump perfectly to land softly onto the t-shaped jetty. Kirsty held a rope in her right hand and with a smooth motion tossed in at the sailor who caught it easily and used it to tie up the stern of the boat. Kirsty walked along the length of the boat, shadowed by the sailor on the jetty. At the bow Kirsty tossed another rope which was tied off, that job completed the passengers began to disembark. Elizabeth Crawford was first off, closely followed by a woman that Hayley thought looked familiar but couldn’t quite place. Next were the three captives with their respective guards followed by the rest of the passengers and crew with Kirsty last. The group made their way in a line up the long wooden jetty toward a large white house that Hayley assumed was their ultimate destination. At the end of the jetty was a paved road that they crossed without pausing or checking in either direction and then onto a paved walkway that lead them through immaculately maintained lawns and gardens toward the grand white house. There was a short flight of steps onto a wide porch dotted with tables and chairs, Elizabeth Crawford ignored these and flung open the ornate double doors below the fanlight and entered the spacious reception area. Whilst walking through the gardens Hayley had noted that the house was a mixture of the past and present. It looked like the original two storey structure had been augmented by a modern extension on one side. The extension had the same amount of levels but was a far more modern structure, all steel, glass windows and cladding panels.
Entering the house through the large main doors Hayley noted that there was a welcoming committee. At the edge of this group of people stood two women wearing very familiar clothing, a gown style dress with a large bell style skirt and a short down jacket over the top. The two women were almost identical in height and looks with dark complexions and wavy shoulder length black hair. If Hayley were to have a guess she would have said that they were of South American origin. “Hayley, Agent Vasquez, Elise may I introduce Andrea Vargas and Taliana Londo” Elizabeth Crawford indicated the two women wearing the large dresses. Hayley would have formally introduced herself but being gagged made that difficult. "Now Hayley has been a guest of mine previously but let me assure Gabriela and Elise that I have no intention of harming you. Although don’t mistake that for softness. There will be dissent tolerated by my guards. Restraints, gags and chloroform can and will insure your cooperation, my dears.”
“Nice to see that you are here Ms Crawford,” said a voice that echoed round the large, open space. The entire group turned to find the source of the voice and found a woman dressed in a grey business suit and blue blouse walking toward them carrying a tablet in one arm.
“I am glad to be here Harper, please meet our guests.” Elizabeth Crawford replied indicating the bound and gagged Hayley, Gabriela and Elise.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance ladies, I trust that we will get to know each other better during your stay with us” Harper said in a clipped English accent. Hayley looked the woman up and down from her short blonde hair to her high heeled black shoes. The woman smiled but there was no warmth in the smile and it certainly didn’t reach her eyes which had a chilling hardness that sent a shiver down Hayley’s spine.
“In addition to having a Master in Business Studies from Cambridge University Harper is a high level judoka and an expert is subduing struggling women. I signed her up as soon as I met her last year. Impressive I think that you will agree.” Yeah great Hayley thought. Harper was obviously the replacement for Louise Williams.
“As per your instructions the rooms have been prepared.”
“Harper, please escort Hayley, Gabriela and Elise to their respective rooms.” Elizabeth Crawford instructed before turning and heading through a door on the left hand side of the entrance hall. “Kirsty when you are finished checking on the estate get some rest. We can catch up in the morning regarding the current situation with the operation.” Kirsty acknowledged her instructions before turning and heading to catch up with the various staff and team members that had been left at home base whilst the away team was undertaking off-site operations.
“What about me Elizabeth?” Keira asked. Elizabeth Crawford halted her progress and spun round.
“Well it is getting late Keira, probably best that I have Harper show you to your room once she has finished with our guests and save the full tour until tomorrow.” Keira looked at the woman who had been introduced earlier as Harper, all pale gray business suit, plain white blouse, bobbed blonde hair and tablet in hand. The lack of a smile told Keira that this woman was probably all business and no pleasure. Harper nodded before turning and moving toward the three bound woman in the down suits. “Until Harper returns Keira, why don’t you join me in the study for a drink,” Elizabeth Crawford started to walk away again. Keira took the initiative, picked up her luggage and made after Elizabeth Crawford. The more Keira saw and found out about this group of women the more questions she had and the stranger she thought they were. She knew that they were some sort of criminal enterprise but what was the fascination with the down clothing and now the big dresses? Keira decided to put all of those questions to the back of her mind and just enjoy what was coming. The route that the boat had taken on the final part of the journey to the dock and skirted the shore of most of the island and it did look spectacular, there were trails to be walked and beaches to be relaxed on. Elizabeth had been true to her word and given her some drugs that knocked her out for a large portion of the journey.
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Hayley, Gabriela and Elise were lead along a corridor. Hayley glanced around as she walked along the taking in the decoration and also the security arrangements, both of which looked expensive and well done. The only sounds were the footsteps on the hard flooring and the swish of fabric from their captors dresses. At the end of the corridor where the small group took a ninety degree left turn and started to ascend a staircase there was a large painting of a landscape which looked like it could have been of the island. At the top of the staircase there was a landing with a solid looking door. The group stopped and Hayley could see through the small glass window in the door that on the other side was another corridor, everything was white apart from the dark blue carpet. One of the guards, Andrea or Taliana, went into the outside pocket of their down jacket and produced a plain white card, roughly the size of a credit card and swiped it across a box next to the door. The box had three small lights at the top, one red light, one amber light and one green light. There was a slight noise and then the green light illuminated. The guard held the door open and gestured for the rest of the group to move through. Gabriela and Elise glanced toward Hayley and sensing that the younger women needed her to show no fear Hayley strode through the door and stopped a couple of metres into the corridor. “Take Hayley and Gabriela to the Austen suite and let them relax of a bit. I will escort Elise to the Shelley suite.”
“Yes Harper,” Taliana replied. Instructions handed out Harper lead Elise further down the corridor. The young reporter turned and looked over her shoulder at Hayley who tried held her gaze and tried to project some confidence and encouragement from her look. The woman that Harper has referred to as Taliana, well at least that cleared up the name of each of the women, walked a down the corridor to the second door on the right and once again swiped a card on a reader next to it. There was a faint click as the electronic lock disengaged and Taliana pulled the door open with her left hand and beckoned for Hayley and Gabriela to enter the room. “Stand about five paces into the room and stand facing forward.” Having no real alternative the two captives obeyed the instructions. They then felt the hands of their captors on then releasing the bindings that kept them secured, including the finger control mitts and the heavy gags.
“We will leave you to get acquainted with each other and your new surroundings.” With that both guards disappeared in a swish of fabric and Hayley heard the door shut and the lock engage. Free of bindings for the first time in days Hayley rubbed her wrists, moved her jaw and flexed her fingers to get full feeling and movement into them before she heard the door closed and turned round to find that Taliana and Andrea had indeed left them to their own devices. “Well this is certainly one weird experience,” Gabriela said and started to move into the room, looking around at the sumptuous decoration. Gabriela has seen some prison cells before but nothing like this. The carpet was thickly piled, the decoration was tasteful, two large beds sat with their headboards against the wall across from the door and there was a large floor to ceiling window giving a spectacular view of the island. In the far distance Gabriela could see a large boat and waved both arms wildly.
“I wouldn’t bother. It is one way glass. Nobody can see in.” Hayley said; a touch of resignation in her voice. Hayley didn’t like to burst any bubble of enthusiasm but Gabriella would have to know that it was never going to be that easy trying to escape from the clutches of Elizabeth Crawford. Hayley sat down one of the beds, rocking up and down to test the springs, the action getting a look of contempt from Gabriela.
“What are you doing?” Gabriela said, striding up until she was looking down in Hayley with hands in hips.
“Checking the bed” Hayley responded evenly.
“This isn’t a bloody hotel. We need to find a way to get out of here,” Gabriela’s voice getting higher with desperation and a touch of fear and her predicament.
“I don’t think that there would be any point at this time. There isn’t any way to open that door from the inside, plus I suspect that they are watching and listening.” Hayley watched on as Gabriela looked round the room, looking for a figure hidden in a corner before noticing a small bulb of Perspex in the corner of the room and then focusing her attention back on Hayley.
“You seem very calm given our current situation,” Gabriela said, crossing her hands across her chest.
“Call it having prior experience of being in this particular situation before,” Hayley replied, a hit of resignation creeping into her voice that surprised her.
“Well that’s another thing. You seem to be real friendly with these people, on first name terms even.”
“If you definition of friendly is being drugged, abducted, bound, gagged and now held against her will then yes we are firm friends” Hayley shot back, perhaps firmer than she intended as Gabriela took a couple of steps back.
“Sorry. It’s just that the lady who seems to be in charge makes these references and well…..” Gabriela left the end of the sentence hanging before walking over to the door and checked it out. The hinges were concealed so that there would be no joy there. The door had a window in it but it was thick Perspex and Gabriela couldn’t see out, it was obviously one way glass. These women were certainly serious about keeping their captives in place.
“Look, it is true that we have some history and I will explain but firstly as we are both in this together why don’t we get formally introduced. My name is Hayley King.”
“Gabriela Vasquez.” Hayley nodded and patted the bed next to her. “Get comfy and I will try and give you the abridged version of my history with Elizabeth Crawford.” Gabriela took a seat. “Well I suppose that I better start at the beginning, I mean my beginning with all of this…….It started what seemed like a lifetime ago when as a younger woman I entered the Police Academy.” Hayley proceeded to run through her history for Gabriela, well the important bits in general anyway. Her recruitment by Jaclyn Sanders into a shady government agency; her escapades there; her father being the Police Commissionaire; her previous run-ins with Elizabeth Crawford; ditching the government paycheque and setting her own private investigation agency before finishing off with the trip to Europe and being snatched at the hospital, “and here we are,” Hayley finished and stood up to stretch her legs. Gabriela sat in silence, staggered at the story that she had just heard. It was like something out of a pulp novel or an episode from some 1960s television series.
“What are you doing?” Gabriela asked finally regaining her sense as Hayley began working the down suit off her shoulders.
“Having a shower…….and I would suggest you have one next. After that I can hear your story and we can get to know each other. Assuming we don’t get gagged again.” Hayley slipped out of the door suit and let it fall to the floor. She waddled over to the bathroom and turned round to see Gabriela thump down onto the bed and close her eyes. It caused Hayley to glance up and she noted that there were screens built into the ceiling above roughly where your head would be if you were lying down. Shutting the door Hayley fired up the shower and checked for towels, shampoo and washing supplies and found them all easily. It was actually almost like staying in a hotel, if you excused the fact that you couldn’t check out. Hayley didn’t know how long they would have before being restrained again but decided to enjoy the shower, nice and long and hot.
After her shower Hayley exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and found Gabriela still in the same position that she had left her. The woman had obviously fallen asleep. Due to the amount of times she had been put under with sedatives Hayley knew the difference between unconsciousness and sleep. They might seem the same, but they weren’t. Hayley was tired and could appreciate why Gabriela had fallen asleep. Hayley decided to leave Gabriela for the moment and looked around to identify where the clothing would be kept and found a wardrobe. Opening it up Hayley was not surprised to find that it contained four down suits, this time in a light blue colour. Hayley selected one and took it from its hanger. Next Hayley went to a chest of drawers beside the wardrobe and opened the top drawer to find a selection of light blue packages that were folded diapers. With a deep sigh Hayley picked one and headed toward the empty bed. Hayley carefully unfurled the diaper and spread it onto the bed and then dropped the towel and manoeuvred so that she could drop her bottom onto the centre of the diaper and proceeded to secure it in place. Hayley stood up and ran her hands over the diaper and moved around to make sure that the diaper was secure and comfortable, confirming that it was she slipped on the suit and went to wake up Gabriela. “Gabriela, wake up honey,” Hayley whispered as she gently nudged her fellow captive, or was that now roommate.
“What….er…sorry. I must have dosed off,” Gabriela said as she came round, rubbing her eyes. Hayley extended a hand and helped Gabriela up from the bed.
“I think that you had better get a shower.” Gabriela nodded and headed toward the bathroom. Hayley waited until she heard the shower start before wandering over to the large floor to ceiling window and stared out of it, seeing the view without really taking anything in. Hayley’s mind must have drifted because she was startled by the sound of the door opening. As she spun round to face the door the two guards from earlier entered the room, one carrying a tray containing two plates full of food and the other carrying a massive compression sack.
“Just stay over by the window Hayley,” Taliana said. Hayley held her hands up in a gesture that projected that she understood and would comply. Hayley watched on Taliana placed the tray on one of the beds whilst Andrea put the massive compression sack on the ground and unzipped it to reveal the mass of fabric contained within. Taliana walked across to a built in cupboard and used a key to open it, Hayley’s gaze transferred to Taliana for a moment as she removed four of what Hayley would have considered normal size compression sacks from the cupboard and deposited them on the floor. That proved to be of little interest as Hayley moved back to Andrea who was struggling to remove what looked to be a very, very large restraining bag from the compression sack. Hayley glanced back to Taliana who had already removed the restraining sacks from the four compression sacks that she had removed from the cupboard. When Hayley’s eyes moved back to Andrea she had managed remove the bag from the compression sack and Hayley was wrong, it wasn’t very, very large, the bag was gargantuan and it hadn’t even lofted up yet.
“Why is there an extra bag?” Hayley asked nervously, although she probably could guess the answer.
“Hayley this one is for you.” Andrea said indicating the massive bag. “Miss Crawford has it made specifically to transport someone extremely valuable safely. However she thinks of you as special as well so asked that you are given the pleasure of using it for your induction week.” Hayley gulped as she looked from the guard to the bag lying on the floor. “Don’t worry the baffles were built to accommodate the extra down fill. All seems have been double sewn and I hear that being in it is unbelievable.”
“So why then is your colleague still preparing four bags?”
“As I mentioned previously the large bag was made with someone specific in mind, custom made you could say. That person is several inches taller than you. Miss Crawford was concerned about your comfort so didn’t want any wiggle spaces left. So you will be put in the normal twin bag arrangement before being put in this bag.” Andrea stopped talking and went back to laying out the bag. Hayley waited for further explanation but it seemed like that was as much as she was going to get. At that point the door to the bathroom opened and Gabriela was framed in the doorway but stopped as she surveyed the scene in the room.
“Stay in the bathroom until we have left the room,” Taliana ordered Gabriela.
“We will give you an hour to eat dinner and allow the bags to loft up a bit then come back to tuck you in the night,” said Andrea. With that the two guards left the room. Once the guards left Hayley walked across to the massive bag, circling it like it was a dangerous animal, ready to pounce on her without warning. Eventually she prodded the bag with her index finger and then deciding that it was safe to investigate further ran her hand over the massive restraining bag, both inside and out, feeling the silky smooth fabric both inside and out. The bag's soft and silky nylon shell was a dark navy blue in colour and the even softer nylon inside was slightly paler. The outside of the bag was puffy, with deep creases forming under each baffle and the inside was very narrow due to the sheer amount of insulating loft. It was stuffed to the limit. Then she pushed down with both hands, the bag was certainly well filled with down as it sprang back almost immediately.
“I have never seen anything like that. It looks like it would totally encase you.” Gabriela said having wandered across then seeing the look on Hayley’s face decided to be quiet for the next couple of minutes before deciding to change the subject. “Let’s get that food before it cools down.” Hayley nodded and they both made there way across to the tray of food. They ate in silence for a while before Gabriela decided to ask a question that had been bugging her. “What’s with the big, old fashioned dresses and the down suites and bags?” Gabriela asked.
“You will find that all of the guards were the dresses when on duty around here. The dresses are a personal preference of Crawford’s, she believes that women look great and project strength and elegance wearing that style of dress. To be fair it is hard to argue. Plus as she is the boss it is her rules. On the down suit and bags there probably is an element of fetish to it but she believes that it her captives are comfortable then they will have less on an incentive to escape of cause trouble and anyway I am still trying to figure out a way to escape from the restraining bags.” Hayley once again glanced at the massive bag lying on the floor; it seemed to be calling her. “Anyway, how does Gabriela Vasquez end up in this predicament?”
“To be honest I couldn’t really tell you but let me try…” Gabriela told Hayley her life story between mouthfuls of food. Gabriela started with graduating university before joining the a large International Bank and after a couple of years deciding that she wanted to do something different and joined the International Financial Fraud Agency and then finished with the case that brought her to Helen Stanley-Ramos and her unfortunate meeting with Kirsty Black. “Not as interesting as your story but we both ended up in the same place.” Hayley nodded and started to try and put together the pieces in her head. Nothing seemed to fit at the moment but Hayley knew that she was about to have a significant amount of time with nothing to do but think about it. It was then that Hayley noted that Gabriela was still wearing only a large towel wrapped around her body.
“You will need to get dressed Gabby.”
“In another down filled suit?” Gabriela asked although she knew the answer.
“Well there isn’t exactly a large choice of outfits,” Hayley confirmed. “You will also need to put on a diaper.” Hayley watched as Gabriela blushed. “No other options I am afraid.” Gabriela nodded.
“Would you help me put it on?” Hayley nodded and got up to help Gabriela. Having grabbed both diaper and suit they quickly got Gabriela into both.
“Did you recognise that tall woman that was with the group?” Hayley asked Gabriela who shook her head.
“Why do you ask?”
“It was just that she didn’t seem to be involved with keeping us captive like everybody else and if she wasn’t there for that then what was she doing? Plus her face looked familiar from somewhere.”
“In what way was she familiar?”
“It’s hard to explain. Like that person at school that was in your class but you haven’t seen since.” Hayley glanced at the bag again then had a thought. “The person that it was designed for was tall…,” she said softly.
“What was that Hayley?”
“Nothing Gabby; I was just thinking out loud.” They finished the rest of their food in silence.
“What about that young woman that arrived on the island with us?”
“No idea……..” Hayley paused as the realisation hit her. It was the young woman that had stuffed that note down her bra at the Gala Ball in Vienna.
“Are you alright?” Gabriela asked. Hayley nodded confirmation, if they were listening in Hayley didn’t want them to know that she had met the auburn haired young woman before. Having finished the meal they both got up and went to stare out of the window although with the sun having now set there wasn’t much that could be seen.
“Where do you think we are anywhere?” Gabriela asked, her gaze not leaving the window. Hayley took some time to consider the question before answering.
“It is tough to be sure. They did well to disorientate us during the journey but I would hazard a guess at somewhere in the Mediterranean.” Then the door opened and Taliana and Andrea returned, this time Vernie and Nicole, who now wore large dresses, entered behind them. It was obvious that the guards were not going to take any chances on resistance from Hayley or Gabriela.
“It’s time to get you sorted for induction week,” Taliana said, and ladies remember. Disobedience will not be tolerated.”
“What’s induction week?” Gabriela turned to Hayley and asked.
“Yeah, well about that……..”
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During the whole procedure, which the guards performed with the efficiency of a formula one pit crew, Hayley lay still and relaxed her body. She knew that she would not be getting out of these bonds and that her best option was to stay quiet and compliant for the moment. Once they had entered the room the guards had split into two pairs, Taliana and Andrea beckoned Gabriela over to the far away bed and Vernie and Nicole collected two of the regular sized restraining bags and headed to the other bed. Hayley and Gabriela glanced at each other before heading over and standing next to what was obviously their designated beds. Having first been fitted with the ankle tags then finger control mitts both captive’s wrists were secured together with cuffs. There was a special clip on these suits that allowed the cuffs to be attached to the suit to restrict movement. Despite that a strap was still placed around each captive’s upper body to pin their arms to their bodies, then came the large padded gags with the ball in the centre and three straps to bind their legs together. Once the binding was completed both captives were both placed inside the twin restraining bags, but Vernie and Nicole weren’t finished with Hayley yet.
“Taliana, Andrea we may need some help here,” Nicole said. Hayley felt slightly nervous about what was coming if it was going to take four of them to finish her encasement. There were some sounds of exertion as Hayley felt the down cocoon that she was in be shifted first one way they the next as the massive restraining bag was slipped under her. Then she felt the top of the bag be flipped over and held in place as one of the guards started to zip it up. Immediately Hayley felt the compression of the down around her legs as the bag was secured, the feeling gradually worked up Hayley’s body as the guards struggled to get the bag closed over and fully zipped up. It took them a while to complete the task and them Nicole’s head came into view. “Enjoy the night. I am sure that you will be most comfortable.” Hayley just glared at the smirk that the woman had on her face. Hayley heard the swish of dresses as the guards walked away before the sound of the door opening and closing then the soft click of the locks engaging. Then a stillness and silence descended over the room. It must have been pressure of the additional bag as despite knowing that it was useless Hayley found that she was trying to fight against the soft, thick down filled restraining bags that she was confined in. The down loft was smothering Hayley’s entire body, squashing against every part of her It felt that here entire head and body was engulfed in a massive down cocoon. It took her about an hour to get used to this unusual sensation and then she closed her eyes and tried to get as much sleep as possible. In the morning she would begin to try and piece together what she knew to try and get a theory about what was going on. It was all that she could hope to do for the next week. That and hope that her friends were trying to find her and making good progress toward that goal.
The motion of the train had stopped some time ago and Hayley was guessing that they had now arrived at their destination. However bound as she was it was difficult to tell anything that was going on. Then she felt the pressure of the down cocoon release around her body as the zip on the external bag was pulled down and the bag removed from around her body. The fact that her captors had not yet removed the blindfold or earplugs confirmed to her that her earlier guess that they had indeed arrived at their destination was probably correct. The pressure around her body released further as the internal restraining bag was unzipped and then flipped over. Hayley was then shocked as she felt fingers brush down the side of her face as the earplug in her left ear was removed and a female voice spoke softly into in. “Hayley we are now going to go on a trip but for security reasons we can’t remove the blindfold and earplugs so I am going to explain what is going on. Once the earplug goes back in you will swing your legs out and onto the ground. Then we will remove your legs bindings and help you up then change your gag. We will then guide you where you need to go. If there are stairs or a ramp during the journey we will pat you on the bottom, once for up and twice for down. Apart from that just behave and things will go smoothly.” I don’t know what they expected me to do they way that they have me bound Hayley thought. “Now nod if you understand.” Hayley nodded, her head rubbing against the smooth fabric of the hood of the restraining bag. The earplug was quickly replaced and as instructed Hayley swung her legs out and onto the floor to find that the bindings holding her legs together were removed. Then Hayley felt a hand under each armpit as she was helped onto her feet. The hands were removed and there was a disorientating spell when Hayley was standing without any reference point until another hand landed on her shoulder then the buckled at the back of her head was released and the large padded gag was removed. Hayley instantly worked her jaw but relief was short lived as she felt something soft against her lips and despite not being a fan of having foreign objects in her mouth opened wide to accept the cloth that was forced deep behind her teeth, filling her mouth completely. Next some cotton wool was placed over her lips and secured in place with a silk scarf, that was followed by another thick pad over her mouth and that was also secured with a silk scarf. They certainly didn’t take any chances with their captives making any noise. But there was still something else. Hayley felt something, smooth and silky slipped over her head and put in place. It was obviously some sort of down filled hood or balaclava style cover for her head. It was reasonably tight and covered must of her head, Hayley reckoned the over part of her face that would be visible would be her eyes and bridge of her nose had they not already been covered by the sleep mask. This Hayley decided was overkill, just adding to the padding over her ears and mouth. But once again the sensation was not uncomfortable but would take a bit of taking used to. Once that job was completed someone grabbed the upper section of her right arm and began to lead her toward the door.
Hayley felt the strong grip even through the padding of the soft down suit. It was hard to tell exactly what was going on but Hayley assumed that she had exited the compartment as there was suddenly the feel of sunlight through glass on the exposed skin of her face. She was turned to her right and lead in a straight line for a period of time. Despite being guided along the progress was slow due to the uncertainty that Hayley felt in her movements with not being able to see or hear. Hayley felt the grip on her hand tighten and pull back slightly so she stopped. There was hand on her shoulder that spun her round then there were two pats on her diapered bottom and Hayley nodded to confirm that she understood and shuffled forward into what she could definitely tell was open space and a ramp that went downward slightly until her feet hit solid ground. There was a slight, freshening breeze as Hayley was guided over what was probably not a long distance but took several minutes to cover before she felt another tap on her bottom and she nodded again. This time the slope was an incline, shorter and steeper than the decline from the train. The temperature dropped noticeably and the breeze stopped when Hayley got to the top of the ramp and found flat ground again so assumed that she was now back inside. Hayley was lead further into the shelter then was almost manhandled so that she was spun round and then lowered onto a seat. Hayley didn’t resist as she was also then leaned forward and was rewarded when the straps that had been keeping her arms pinned against her body were removed. That was bonus Hayley thought, her wrists were still bound and the mitts made her fingers useless but at least she could move her arms again. Judging by what she could feel through the down suit Hayley thought that the seat was leather which brought back memories of a previous trip with Elizabeth Crawford. Relief was short lived as her arms were forced above her head and straps were pulled from over each Hayley’s shoulders and clipped them into a central buckle that was on another, thankfully heavily padded strap that had been brought up from between her legs. The seat seemed to have been specially designed to restrain people as these first two straps were followed into the central buckle by another strap from each side of her chest. Then all of the straps were tightened to hold Hayley securely in place. Thankfully the padding of her down suit took some of the discomfort away but Hayley still grumbled behind her gag and tried not to let her discomfort show. Hayley was sure that her captors took great pleasure in this, especially the strap between her legs. Once satisfied that the straps were tight enough and Hayley could confirm that they were, one of her captors bent over and used a strap to bind Hayley’s ankles together again. It was almost getting to the stage where Hayley wished that they had just knocked her out with chloroform. If the gag was ever removed she would make that suggestion. Hayley then thought that the journey couldn’t be that long of they would have knocked them out. Hayley sat perfectly still, well there was nothing else she could bound and secured as she was. As she sat there Hayley felt or more like sensed a lot of movement to her left and assumed that the other two captives that she had met on the train were also being secured beside her.
It was hard to tell because at some point over the last couple of days her perception of time had changed but Hayley didn’t think that the journey that they had taken in the vehicle had been that long, perhaps twenty minutes at the most. Once the motion has stopped Hayley had been removed from the vehicle and the bindings on her arms and wrists were released, however this was only to allow her wrists to be bound behind her back with leather cuffs before once again being lead across the ground and up a short flight of stairs. Hayley could have sworn that they were by the sea; it was something in the smell of the air in her nostrils. There was another short walk or indeed shuffle before more pats on the bottom followed by short flight of stairs up and then down. At the bottom of the decent Hayley felt the unmistakable swell of the motion of waves underfoot, her suspicions confirmed, she was on a boat. Feeling slightly better that she had made that deduction Hayley hardly noticed that she had been lead deeper into the bowels of the vessel and into a room. Hayley felt hands guiding her down onto a thin mattress raised off the ground, a bed Hayley assumed. As soon as she was positioned on her side Hayley felt her ankles being bound. She wasn’t lying that long before there was movement and first the smooth balaclava and then her gag were removed; which with its size and layers wasn’t a simple task. Hayley hoped that there would be some relief but it wasn’t to be as a familiar scent caught the back of her throat a split second before something soft and thick was clamped over her nose and mouth. The chloroform took effect and Hayley slipped into unconsciousness.
The darkness edges of her vision started to disappear as she started to regain consciousness. It was painful and having been blindfolded for so long it took quite a while before Hayley’s eyes adjusted to the light again. Hayley tried to lift her head but any movement just encouraged the thumping at the back of her head to increase exponentially. Perhaps she wouldn’t suggest that her captors use chloroform on a more regular basis anyway. Gently resting her head back onto the pillow Hayley closed her eyes and steeled herself for another attempt in a couple of minutes. For something to do Hayley counted to sixty five times and just as she reached forty seven on the last count Hayley heard groans coming from somewhere else in the cabin. It sounded like someone was starting to come round. This time when Hayley lifted her head it wasn’t quite as bad so was able to assess her situation. She was lying, no that was the wrong word; she was strapped to a metal bed frame with a thin mattress on top of it. There were heavy, padded leather straps around her ankles, thighs, chest and wrists holding her securely in place. From the feeling around her groin Hayley could tell that her diaper had also been changed and although strapped to the bed she hadn’t been gagged, blindfolded nor have nay earplugs in place. Glancing around the room Hayley could see that there were two other occupied beds in the cabin, with the nearest being occupied by an olive skinned and dark haired woman who was the source of the groan and in the furthest away bed was a younger woman with a fair complexion and long dark auburn hair who appeared to still be deeply unconscious. The dark haired woman continued to groin for a good couple of minutes before she turned her head and locked eyes with Hayley.
“Good morning,” Hayley said. “I think anyway.” The dark haired woman just stared at Hayley.
“My head hurts,” the woman responded.
“That will be the lingering effect of the chloroform.”
“Thanks I guessed that.” The conversation paused for a second. “Do you know what these people want with us?” Hayley was about to respond when the door to the cabin opened and Nicole and Vernie entered the room.
“You two are getting chatty,” Nicole said as she made her way to the other side of the cabin to where all three women strapped to the beds would be able to see her without having to turn their heads to an awkward angle. Vernie took up a position behind the beds and paced across the width of the cabin. It was then that the Elise started to stir from her chloroformed induced slumber.
“Now that we are all awake I can begin,” Nicole said. “Welcome aboard the Vanishing Maiden ladies,” she continued, throwing her arms wide to indicate the boat. “Now a few ground rules for journey, all purely for your own safety of course. There will be no walking around and no noise during the trip. To avoid the temptation you will be kept bound and gagged for the duration.”
“And what is or destination?” Hayley asked, see really shouldn’t have but she couldn’t resist.
“Sorry but the Boss wouldn’t want you to know. Call it a surprise. Anyway enjoy the reminder of the journey and we will be back later with refreshments. Vernie, would do the honours?” It was obviously not a question as the woman called Vernie appeared beside her with one of those large padded gags with the ball in the middle hanging from her hand.
“I don’t suppose it would help if I promised to be quiet.” Hayley offered. Vernie just shook her head slowly. Hayley, resigned to being gagged again lifted her head and opened her mouth to allow the ball to be placed inside and the buckled secured at the back of her head. Now gagged Hayley rested her head back onto the pillow and made ready to wish away the remainder of the journey to find out where they were heading. There were sounds of resistance coming from her right. These she assumed were from her fellow captives not being too pleased at being gagged. It didn’t take long for Nicole and Vernie to subdue any resistance and then they were left to their own devices.
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What is it with this woman and islands? Hayley thought as she was brought out onto the deck of the large cruiser just as the sun was beginning to drop in the sky. On the short trip from their cabin to the deck, far easier now that they weren’t blindfolded, Hayley had seen the name of the boat on the bulkhead, The Vanishing Maiden indeed. Hayley had assumed that Nicole had been joking earlier. Hayley had to admit that Elizabeth Crawford did have a sense of humour. The boat slowed down in anticipation of docking at the long jetty that emerged from the beach as the helmsman or indeed woman skilfully manoeuvred the boat into position, cutting the engines to let the boat drift alongside the dock. The remainder of the journey had gone without incident for the captives until Nicole and Vernie had returned and administered another dose of chloroform to render all three of them unconscious. When Hayley had come round she was lying on her side with her wrists bound behind her back, her arms secured to her body with leather straps and her wrists bound together. A quick glance confirmed that all three captives were bound identically. They weren’t left alone long as Nicole, Vernie and Perrie entered the cabin, freed their ankles and lead the captives out onto deck.
The boat nudged into the dock and a crew member timed their jump perfectly to land softly onto the t-shaped jetty. Kirsty held a rope in her right hand and with a smooth motion tossed in at the sailor who caught it easily and used it to tie up the stern of the boat. Kirsty walked along the length of the boat, shadowed by the sailor on the jetty. At the bow Kirsty tossed another rope which was tied off, that job completed the passengers began to disembark. Elizabeth Crawford was first off, closely followed by a woman that Hayley thought looked familiar but couldn’t quite place. Next were the three captives with their respective guards followed by the rest of the passengers and crew with Kirsty last. The group made their way in a line up the long wooden jetty toward a large white house that Hayley assumed was their ultimate destination. At the end of the jetty was a paved road that they crossed without pausing or checking in either direction and then onto a paved walkway that lead them through immaculately maintained lawns and gardens toward the grand white house. There was a short flight of steps onto a wide porch dotted with tables and chairs, Elizabeth Crawford ignored these and flung open the ornate double doors below the fanlight and entered the spacious reception area. Whilst walking through the gardens Hayley had noted that the house was a mixture of the past and present. It looked like the original two storey structure had been augmented by a modern extension on one side. The extension had the same amount of levels but was a far more modern structure, all steel, glass windows and cladding panels.
Entering the house through the large main doors Hayley noted that there was a welcoming committee. At the edge of this group of people stood two women wearing very familiar clothing, a gown style dress with a large bell style skirt and a short down jacket over the top. The two women were almost identical in height and looks with dark complexions and wavy shoulder length black hair. If Hayley were to have a guess she would have said that they were of South American origin. “Hayley, Agent Vasquez, Elise may I introduce Andrea Vargas and Taliana Londo” Elizabeth Crawford indicated the two women wearing the large dresses. Hayley would have formally introduced herself but being gagged made that difficult. "Now Hayley has been a guest of mine previously but let me assure Gabriela and Elise that I have no intention of harming you. Although don’t mistake that for softness. There will be dissent tolerated by my guards. Restraints, gags and chloroform can and will insure your cooperation, my dears.”
“Nice to see that you are here Ms Crawford,” said a voice that echoed round the large, open space. The entire group turned to find the source of the voice and found a woman dressed in a grey business suit and blue blouse walking toward them carrying a tablet in one arm.
“I am glad to be here Harper, please meet our guests.” Elizabeth Crawford replied indicating the bound and gagged Hayley, Gabriela and Elise.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance ladies, I trust that we will get to know each other better during your stay with us” Harper said in a clipped English accent. Hayley looked the woman up and down from her short blonde hair to her high heeled black shoes. The woman smiled but there was no warmth in the smile and it certainly didn’t reach her eyes which had a chilling hardness that sent a shiver down Hayley’s spine.
“In addition to having a Master in Business Studies from Cambridge University Harper is a high level judoka and an expert is subduing struggling women. I signed her up as soon as I met her last year. Impressive I think that you will agree.” Yeah great Hayley thought. Harper was obviously the replacement for Louise Williams.
“As per your instructions the rooms have been prepared.”
“Harper, please escort Hayley, Gabriela and Elise to their respective rooms.” Elizabeth Crawford instructed before turning and heading through a door on the left hand side of the entrance hall. “Kirsty when you are finished checking on the estate get some rest. We can catch up in the morning regarding the current situation with the operation.” Kirsty acknowledged her instructions before turning and heading to catch up with the various staff and team members that had been left at home base whilst the away team was undertaking off-site operations.
“What about me Elizabeth?” Keira asked. Elizabeth Crawford halted her progress and spun round.
“Well it is getting late Keira, probably best that I have Harper show you to your room once she has finished with our guests and save the full tour until tomorrow.” Keira looked at the woman who had been introduced earlier as Harper, all pale gray business suit, plain white blouse, bobbed blonde hair and tablet in hand. The lack of a smile told Keira that this woman was probably all business and no pleasure. Harper nodded before turning and moving toward the three bound woman in the down suits. “Until Harper returns Keira, why don’t you join me in the study for a drink,” Elizabeth Crawford started to walk away again. Keira took the initiative, picked up her luggage and made after Elizabeth Crawford. The more Keira saw and found out about this group of women the more questions she had and the stranger she thought they were. She knew that they were some sort of criminal enterprise but what was the fascination with the down clothing and now the big dresses? Keira decided to put all of those questions to the back of her mind and just enjoy what was coming. The route that the boat had taken on the final part of the journey to the dock and skirted the shore of most of the island and it did look spectacular, there were trails to be walked and beaches to be relaxed on. Elizabeth had been true to her word and given her some drugs that knocked her out for a large portion of the journey.
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Hayley, Gabriela and Elise were lead along a corridor. Hayley glanced around as she walked along the taking in the decoration and also the security arrangements, both of which looked expensive and well done. The only sounds were the footsteps on the hard flooring and the swish of fabric from their captors dresses. At the end of the corridor where the small group took a ninety degree left turn and started to ascend a staircase there was a large painting of a landscape which looked like it could have been of the island. At the top of the staircase there was a landing with a solid looking door. The group stopped and Hayley could see through the small glass window in the door that on the other side was another corridor, everything was white apart from the dark blue carpet. One of the guards, Andrea or Taliana, went into the outside pocket of their down jacket and produced a plain white card, roughly the size of a credit card and swiped it across a box next to the door. The box had three small lights at the top, one red light, one amber light and one green light. There was a slight noise and then the green light illuminated. The guard held the door open and gestured for the rest of the group to move through. Gabriela and Elise glanced toward Hayley and sensing that the younger women needed her to show no fear Hayley strode through the door and stopped a couple of metres into the corridor. “Take Hayley and Gabriela to the Austen suite and let them relax of a bit. I will escort Elise to the Shelley suite.”
“Yes Harper,” Taliana replied. Instructions handed out Harper lead Elise further down the corridor. The young reporter turned and looked over her shoulder at Hayley who tried held her gaze and tried to project some confidence and encouragement from her look. The woman that Harper has referred to as Taliana, well at least that cleared up the name of each of the women, walked a down the corridor to the second door on the right and once again swiped a card on a reader next to it. There was a faint click as the electronic lock disengaged and Taliana pulled the door open with her left hand and beckoned for Hayley and Gabriela to enter the room. “Stand about five paces into the room and stand facing forward.” Having no real alternative the two captives obeyed the instructions. They then felt the hands of their captors on then releasing the bindings that kept them secured, including the finger control mitts and the heavy gags.
“We will leave you to get acquainted with each other and your new surroundings.” With that both guards disappeared in a swish of fabric and Hayley heard the door shut and the lock engage. Free of bindings for the first time in days Hayley rubbed her wrists, moved her jaw and flexed her fingers to get full feeling and movement into them before she heard the door closed and turned round to find that Taliana and Andrea had indeed left them to their own devices. “Well this is certainly one weird experience,” Gabriela said and started to move into the room, looking around at the sumptuous decoration. Gabriela has seen some prison cells before but nothing like this. The carpet was thickly piled, the decoration was tasteful, two large beds sat with their headboards against the wall across from the door and there was a large floor to ceiling window giving a spectacular view of the island. In the far distance Gabriela could see a large boat and waved both arms wildly.
“I wouldn’t bother. It is one way glass. Nobody can see in.” Hayley said; a touch of resignation in her voice. Hayley didn’t like to burst any bubble of enthusiasm but Gabriella would have to know that it was never going to be that easy trying to escape from the clutches of Elizabeth Crawford. Hayley sat down one of the beds, rocking up and down to test the springs, the action getting a look of contempt from Gabriela.
“What are you doing?” Gabriela said, striding up until she was looking down in Hayley with hands in hips.
“Checking the bed” Hayley responded evenly.
“This isn’t a bloody hotel. We need to find a way to get out of here,” Gabriela’s voice getting higher with desperation and a touch of fear and her predicament.
“I don’t think that there would be any point at this time. There isn’t any way to open that door from the inside, plus I suspect that they are watching and listening.” Hayley watched on as Gabriela looked round the room, looking for a figure hidden in a corner before noticing a small bulb of Perspex in the corner of the room and then focusing her attention back on Hayley.
“You seem very calm given our current situation,” Gabriela said, crossing her hands across her chest.
“Call it having prior experience of being in this particular situation before,” Hayley replied, a hit of resignation creeping into her voice that surprised her.
“Well that’s another thing. You seem to be real friendly with these people, on first name terms even.”
“If you definition of friendly is being drugged, abducted, bound, gagged and now held against her will then yes we are firm friends” Hayley shot back, perhaps firmer than she intended as Gabriela took a couple of steps back.
“Sorry. It’s just that the lady who seems to be in charge makes these references and well…..” Gabriela left the end of the sentence hanging before walking over to the door and checked it out. The hinges were concealed so that there would be no joy there. The door had a window in it but it was thick Perspex and Gabriela couldn’t see out, it was obviously one way glass. These women were certainly serious about keeping their captives in place.
“Look, it is true that we have some history and I will explain but firstly as we are both in this together why don’t we get formally introduced. My name is Hayley King.”
“Gabriela Vasquez.” Hayley nodded and patted the bed next to her. “Get comfy and I will try and give you the abridged version of my history with Elizabeth Crawford.” Gabriela took a seat. “Well I suppose that I better start at the beginning, I mean my beginning with all of this…….It started what seemed like a lifetime ago when as a younger woman I entered the Police Academy.” Hayley proceeded to run through her history for Gabriela, well the important bits in general anyway. Her recruitment by Jaclyn Sanders into a shady government agency; her escapades there; her father being the Police Commissionaire; her previous run-ins with Elizabeth Crawford; ditching the government paycheque and setting her own private investigation agency before finishing off with the trip to Europe and being snatched at the hospital, “and here we are,” Hayley finished and stood up to stretch her legs. Gabriela sat in silence, staggered at the story that she had just heard. It was like something out of a pulp novel or an episode from some 1960s television series.
“What are you doing?” Gabriela asked finally regaining her sense as Hayley began working the down suit off her shoulders.
“Having a shower…….and I would suggest you have one next. After that I can hear your story and we can get to know each other. Assuming we don’t get gagged again.” Hayley slipped out of the door suit and let it fall to the floor. She waddled over to the bathroom and turned round to see Gabriela thump down onto the bed and close her eyes. It caused Hayley to glance up and she noted that there were screens built into the ceiling above roughly where your head would be if you were lying down. Shutting the door Hayley fired up the shower and checked for towels, shampoo and washing supplies and found them all easily. It was actually almost like staying in a hotel, if you excused the fact that you couldn’t check out. Hayley didn’t know how long they would have before being restrained again but decided to enjoy the shower, nice and long and hot.
After her shower Hayley exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and found Gabriela still in the same position that she had left her. The woman had obviously fallen asleep. Due to the amount of times she had been put under with sedatives Hayley knew the difference between unconsciousness and sleep. They might seem the same, but they weren’t. Hayley was tired and could appreciate why Gabriela had fallen asleep. Hayley decided to leave Gabriela for the moment and looked around to identify where the clothing would be kept and found a wardrobe. Opening it up Hayley was not surprised to find that it contained four down suits, this time in a light blue colour. Hayley selected one and took it from its hanger. Next Hayley went to a chest of drawers beside the wardrobe and opened the top drawer to find a selection of light blue packages that were folded diapers. With a deep sigh Hayley picked one and headed toward the empty bed. Hayley carefully unfurled the diaper and spread it onto the bed and then dropped the towel and manoeuvred so that she could drop her bottom onto the centre of the diaper and proceeded to secure it in place. Hayley stood up and ran her hands over the diaper and moved around to make sure that the diaper was secure and comfortable, confirming that it was she slipped on the suit and went to wake up Gabriela. “Gabriela, wake up honey,” Hayley whispered as she gently nudged her fellow captive, or was that now roommate.
“What….er…sorry. I must have dosed off,” Gabriela said as she came round, rubbing her eyes. Hayley extended a hand and helped Gabriela up from the bed.
“I think that you had better get a shower.” Gabriela nodded and headed toward the bathroom. Hayley waited until she heard the shower start before wandering over to the large floor to ceiling window and stared out of it, seeing the view without really taking anything in. Hayley’s mind must have drifted because she was startled by the sound of the door opening. As she spun round to face the door the two guards from earlier entered the room, one carrying a tray containing two plates full of food and the other carrying a massive compression sack.
“Just stay over by the window Hayley,” Taliana said. Hayley held her hands up in a gesture that projected that she understood and would comply. Hayley watched on Taliana placed the tray on one of the beds whilst Andrea put the massive compression sack on the ground and unzipped it to reveal the mass of fabric contained within. Taliana walked across to a built in cupboard and used a key to open it, Hayley’s gaze transferred to Taliana for a moment as she removed four of what Hayley would have considered normal size compression sacks from the cupboard and deposited them on the floor. That proved to be of little interest as Hayley moved back to Andrea who was struggling to remove what looked to be a very, very large restraining bag from the compression sack. Hayley glanced back to Taliana who had already removed the restraining sacks from the four compression sacks that she had removed from the cupboard. When Hayley’s eyes moved back to Andrea she had managed remove the bag from the compression sack and Hayley was wrong, it wasn’t very, very large, the bag was gargantuan and it hadn’t even lofted up yet.
“Why is there an extra bag?” Hayley asked nervously, although she probably could guess the answer.
“Hayley this one is for you.” Andrea said indicating the massive bag. “Miss Crawford has it made specifically to transport someone extremely valuable safely. However she thinks of you as special as well so asked that you are given the pleasure of using it for your induction week.” Hayley gulped as she looked from the guard to the bag lying on the floor. “Don’t worry the baffles were built to accommodate the extra down fill. All seems have been double sewn and I hear that being in it is unbelievable.”
“So why then is your colleague still preparing four bags?”
“As I mentioned previously the large bag was made with someone specific in mind, custom made you could say. That person is several inches taller than you. Miss Crawford was concerned about your comfort so didn’t want any wiggle spaces left. So you will be put in the normal twin bag arrangement before being put in this bag.” Andrea stopped talking and went back to laying out the bag. Hayley waited for further explanation but it seemed like that was as much as she was going to get. At that point the door to the bathroom opened and Gabriela was framed in the doorway but stopped as she surveyed the scene in the room.
“Stay in the bathroom until we have left the room,” Taliana ordered Gabriela.
“We will give you an hour to eat dinner and allow the bags to loft up a bit then come back to tuck you in the night,” said Andrea. With that the two guards left the room. Once the guards left Hayley walked across to the massive bag, circling it like it was a dangerous animal, ready to pounce on her without warning. Eventually she prodded the bag with her index finger and then deciding that it was safe to investigate further ran her hand over the massive restraining bag, both inside and out, feeling the silky smooth fabric both inside and out. The bag's soft and silky nylon shell was a dark navy blue in colour and the even softer nylon inside was slightly paler. The outside of the bag was puffy, with deep creases forming under each baffle and the inside was very narrow due to the sheer amount of insulating loft. It was stuffed to the limit. Then she pushed down with both hands, the bag was certainly well filled with down as it sprang back almost immediately.
“I have never seen anything like that. It looks like it would totally encase you.” Gabriela said having wandered across then seeing the look on Hayley’s face decided to be quiet for the next couple of minutes before deciding to change the subject. “Let’s get that food before it cools down.” Hayley nodded and they both made there way across to the tray of food. They ate in silence for a while before Gabriela decided to ask a question that had been bugging her. “What’s with the big, old fashioned dresses and the down suites and bags?” Gabriela asked.
“You will find that all of the guards were the dresses when on duty around here. The dresses are a personal preference of Crawford’s, she believes that women look great and project strength and elegance wearing that style of dress. To be fair it is hard to argue. Plus as she is the boss it is her rules. On the down suit and bags there probably is an element of fetish to it but she believes that it her captives are comfortable then they will have less on an incentive to escape of cause trouble and anyway I am still trying to figure out a way to escape from the restraining bags.” Hayley once again glanced at the massive bag lying on the floor; it seemed to be calling her. “Anyway, how does Gabriela Vasquez end up in this predicament?”
“To be honest I couldn’t really tell you but let me try…” Gabriela told Hayley her life story between mouthfuls of food. Gabriela started with graduating university before joining the a large International Bank and after a couple of years deciding that she wanted to do something different and joined the International Financial Fraud Agency and then finished with the case that brought her to Helen Stanley-Ramos and her unfortunate meeting with Kirsty Black. “Not as interesting as your story but we both ended up in the same place.” Hayley nodded and started to try and put together the pieces in her head. Nothing seemed to fit at the moment but Hayley knew that she was about to have a significant amount of time with nothing to do but think about it. It was then that Hayley noted that Gabriela was still wearing only a large towel wrapped around her body.
“You will need to get dressed Gabby.”
“In another down filled suit?” Gabriela asked although she knew the answer.
“Well there isn’t exactly a large choice of outfits,” Hayley confirmed. “You will also need to put on a diaper.” Hayley watched as Gabriela blushed. “No other options I am afraid.” Gabriela nodded.
“Would you help me put it on?” Hayley nodded and got up to help Gabriela. Having grabbed both diaper and suit they quickly got Gabriela into both.
“Did you recognise that tall woman that was with the group?” Hayley asked Gabriela who shook her head.
“Why do you ask?”
“It was just that she didn’t seem to be involved with keeping us captive like everybody else and if she wasn’t there for that then what was she doing? Plus her face looked familiar from somewhere.”
“In what way was she familiar?”
“It’s hard to explain. Like that person at school that was in your class but you haven’t seen since.” Hayley glanced at the bag again then had a thought. “The person that it was designed for was tall…,” she said softly.
“What was that Hayley?”
“Nothing Gabby; I was just thinking out loud.” They finished the rest of their food in silence.
“What about that young woman that arrived on the island with us?”
“No idea……..” Hayley paused as the realisation hit her. It was the young woman that had stuffed that note down her bra at the Gala Ball in Vienna.
“Are you alright?” Gabriela asked. Hayley nodded confirmation, if they were listening in Hayley didn’t want them to know that she had met the auburn haired young woman before. Having finished the meal they both got up and went to stare out of the window although with the sun having now set there wasn’t much that could be seen.
“Where do you think we are anywhere?” Gabriela asked, her gaze not leaving the window. Hayley took some time to consider the question before answering.
“It is tough to be sure. They did well to disorientate us during the journey but I would hazard a guess at somewhere in the Mediterranean.” Then the door opened and Taliana and Andrea returned, this time Vernie and Nicole, who now wore large dresses, entered behind them. It was obvious that the guards were not going to take any chances on resistance from Hayley or Gabriela.
“It’s time to get you sorted for induction week,” Taliana said, and ladies remember. Disobedience will not be tolerated.”
“What’s induction week?” Gabriela turned to Hayley and asked.
“Yeah, well about that……..”
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During the whole procedure, which the guards performed with the efficiency of a formula one pit crew, Hayley lay still and relaxed her body. She knew that she would not be getting out of these bonds and that her best option was to stay quiet and compliant for the moment. Once they had entered the room the guards had split into two pairs, Taliana and Andrea beckoned Gabriela over to the far away bed and Vernie and Nicole collected two of the regular sized restraining bags and headed to the other bed. Hayley and Gabriela glanced at each other before heading over and standing next to what was obviously their designated beds. Having first been fitted with the ankle tags then finger control mitts both captive’s wrists were secured together with cuffs. There was a special clip on these suits that allowed the cuffs to be attached to the suit to restrict movement. Despite that a strap was still placed around each captive’s upper body to pin their arms to their bodies, then came the large padded gags with the ball in the centre and three straps to bind their legs together. Once the binding was completed both captives were both placed inside the twin restraining bags, but Vernie and Nicole weren’t finished with Hayley yet.
“Taliana, Andrea we may need some help here,” Nicole said. Hayley felt slightly nervous about what was coming if it was going to take four of them to finish her encasement. There were some sounds of exertion as Hayley felt the down cocoon that she was in be shifted first one way they the next as the massive restraining bag was slipped under her. Then she felt the top of the bag be flipped over and held in place as one of the guards started to zip it up. Immediately Hayley felt the compression of the down around her legs as the bag was secured, the feeling gradually worked up Hayley’s body as the guards struggled to get the bag closed over and fully zipped up. It took them a while to complete the task and them Nicole’s head came into view. “Enjoy the night. I am sure that you will be most comfortable.” Hayley just glared at the smirk that the woman had on her face. Hayley heard the swish of dresses as the guards walked away before the sound of the door opening and closing then the soft click of the locks engaging. Then a stillness and silence descended over the room. It must have been pressure of the additional bag as despite knowing that it was useless Hayley found that she was trying to fight against the soft, thick down filled restraining bags that she was confined in. The down loft was smothering Hayley’s entire body, squashing against every part of her It felt that here entire head and body was engulfed in a massive down cocoon. It took her about an hour to get used to this unusual sensation and then she closed her eyes and tried to get as much sleep as possible. In the morning she would begin to try and piece together what she knew to try and get a theory about what was going on. It was all that she could hope to do for the next week. That and hope that her friends were trying to find her and making good progress toward that goal.
Hayley and Company arrived at their final destination. A lot of downfilled goodness for Hayley. The usual restraining System is restrictive per se. But a third bag? That is overkill - even for Crawfords Standards
Induction week - that is definitivly an Euphemism At least Hayley knows what awaits she and her fellow captives. But maybe there are surprises? But I detect some sort of resignation in Hayley.
And Crawford plays her usual game it seems ... only miniimum breaks at first, so that the captives will be grateful for every morsel, or change of routine to break the monotony. Devious, but effective.
I wonder, what plans Crawford has for Hayley ... she spoke of catching up. I'm curious what she has in mind.
It will be difficult to keep up morale for Hayley not because she does not know what is in store for her, it is because of the fact, she knows Crawfords System and it's efficeny.
The dialogues between Hayley and Gabrielle were very good!
A great update!!
Induction week - that is definitivly an Euphemism
At least Hayley knows what awaits she and her fellow captives. But maybe there are surprises? But I detect some sort of resignation in Hayley. And Crawford plays her usual game it seems ... only miniimum breaks at first, so that the captives will be grateful for every morsel, or change of routine to break the monotony. Devious, but effective.
I wonder, what plans Crawford has for Hayley ... she spoke of catching up. I'm curious what she has in mind.
It will be difficult to keep up morale for Hayley not because she does not know what is in store for her, it is because of the fact, she knows Crawfords System and it's efficeny.
The dialogues between Hayley and Gabrielle were very good!
A great update!!
Somehow I have the feeling, that Keira will get acquainted with downfilled goodness sooner or later in the near futureWhat about me Elizabeth?” Keira asked. Elizabeth Crawford halted her progress and spun round.
“Well it is getting late Keira, probably best that I have Harper show you to your room once she has finished with our guests and save the full tour until tomorrow.” Keira looked at the woman who had been introduced earlier as Harper, all pale gray business suit, plain white blouse, bobbed blonde hair and tablet in hand. The lack of a smile told Keira that this woman was probably all business and no pleasure. Harper nodded before turning and moving toward the three bound woman in the down suits. “Until Harper returns Keira, why don’t you join me in the study for a drink,” Elizabeth Crawford started to walk away again. Keira took the initiative, picked up her luggage and made after Elizabeth Crawford. The more Keira saw and found out about this group of women the more questions she had and the stranger she thought they were. She knew that they were some sort of criminal enterprise but what was the fascination with the down clothing and now the big dresses? Keira decided to put all of those questions to the back of her mind and just enjoy what was coming. The route that the boat had taken on the final part of the journey to the dock and skirted the shore of most of the island and it did look spectacular, there were trails to be walked and beaches to be relaxed on. Elizabeth had been true to her word and given her some drugs that knocked her out for a large portion of the journey.
More sooner, if you ask me The restraining bag custom made for Emily St. Claire is occupeid by Hayley at the Moment but I think in this house, there is always an abbundance of good downfilled restraining bags
So, Crawford thinks Hayley special - she has a curious way to show it
Ok - Chapter 44 introduced the reader to the temporary (?) home of our captives in residence 
Nice and comfortable accomodations, thanks Courtesy of Captive Damsel Inc.
At the End of that Chapter Hayley expresses her hope that her friends may make good Progress finding her. Alas, she will have to wait I fear.
The Team knows, that Hayley is in trouble and that good old Lizzie is responsible, but that is it for now. They know not how. They have not the slightest Idea, where Hayley was spirited to. And then there is the mysterious Traitor - and Nowak ....
In Chapter 44 we have been on the Island. Where to will Chapter 45 lead us? Will we stay on the Island? Jump to Copenhagen? Visit Vienna? Or ask Emily St. Clare in Bern, if she has been brainwashed?
home of our captives in residence 
Nice and comfortable accomodations, thanks Courtesy of Captive Damsel Inc. At the End of that Chapter Hayley expresses her hope that her friends may make good Progress finding her. Alas, she will have to wait I fear.
The Team knows, that Hayley is in trouble and that good old Lizzie is responsible, but that is it for now. They know not how. They have not the slightest Idea, where Hayley was spirited to. And then there is the mysterious Traitor - and Nowak ....
In Chapter 44 we have been on the Island. Where to will Chapter 45 lead us? Will we stay on the Island? Jump to Copenhagen? Visit Vienna? Or ask Emily St. Clare in Bern, if she has been brainwashed?
Thank you for this epic Saga! 6000 Views are in sightmrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago Wow! Well over 5,000 views. Thanks to all that have read the story. Hopefully you enjoy the continuing adventures...
And hopefully lots of downfilled goodness to come in the near future!
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Chapter 45
Somewhere outside Copenhagen
She wanted to scream or kick or do something, but they had tied her well, rope had been wrapped around her wrists binding them tightly together then rope was also wrapped around her body, above and below her breasts, pinning her arms to her body. Then they had used more to tie secure her to the back of the hard back chair, her legs were secured to the legs of the chair by several coils of rope. Well at least they had used nice, black nylon rope. What Sasha hated the worst was the gag. The scarf over her mouth was tight and unyielding, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Even though the silk scarf was securely tied, it was still soft. The small apex of the scarf that extended over her chin tickled her when she shook her head back and forth during her struggles. There was also something stuffed into her mouth and not the drug laced cotton wool and handkerchief combination from earlier. She assumed, well hoped that it was a clean handkerchief or two or cloth that had been used. She tried not to think about the other possibilities. Much to her surprise, Sasha found that she couldn't make much noise through the gag. Not that she had any experience of being gagged beyond her own self bondage experience. Even then she hadn’t really tried to escape her bonds or scream for help. Obviously, these women were professionals, knew what they were doing and had done it before.
Sasha turned and looked at the woman that was similarly bound in the chair a couple of yards to her left. The woman had blonde hair, blue eyes and sharp features. They had tried to communicate when then had first come round but the gags made that almost impossible so they both had to just wait and see what was going to happen to them. Then the door opened.
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In walked three women with similar looks and expressions. If Sasha had to guess the two taller women were definitely related, probably sisters. They strode into the room and formed a small line directly in front of the two women that were bound to chairs. “Ladies, I hope that you are comfortable as there is a chance that you could be in this position for a number of days,” the woman in the centre said. Sasha guessed this made her the leader. “My name is Irina and this is my sister Yelena on my right and my colleague Ksenija on my left.” Sasha was concerned that the women had told her their names. It suggested a confidence that they were in total control of the situation. Then the women called Ksenija nudged Irina and beckoned her off to the side. Sasha looked on from the chair as Ksenija and Irina woman engaged in conversation. The chat between her two captors was in hushed tones and a language that Sasha didn’t understand so she had no idea about was being discussed. It could have been Russian or something close, maybe one of the Baltic countries. That was until then both turned to look at Sasha. “She is a cop boss” Ksenija said handing over Sasha’s wallet that contained her official identification.
“Take the gag off and we can have a conversation.” Yelena walked round to a position behind Sasha and undid the knot holding the scarf in place and removing it. This allowed Sasha to spit out the sodden wad of fabric in her mouth. “No need to remove the gag from Jane as nothing that we hear from her will make a difference at the moment.”
“MMMPPPHHH,” mumbled the gagged woman from the other chair.
“Can I have some water?” Sasha asked; her throat was dry from the cloth and the earlier sedative.
“Not at the moment. First tell us how you managed to find us?” Sasha considered this for a minute before answering and decided to tell the truth.
“Honestly I have no idea who you are. I was trying to track down a thief working across Europe and when I finally managed to do so somebody had gotten their first.” Sasha looked toward Jane. “I believe that the woman sitting bound in that other chair is that thief.” Irina laughed at this for a good couple of minutes before focusing her attention back on Sasha.
“See the problem we have Mrs Police Woman is that our job was to find this woman,” Irina pointed at Jane, “but you got in the way. We have a client who is going to take her off our hands. You on the other hand……” Irina didn’t finish the sentence. Just then Irina’s phone rang. “Apologies let me get this. Yelena; would you…..” Sasha felt a hand on her jaw before a cloth was stuffed into her mouth again then the scarf was once again secured in place.
“Elizabeth. It is so nice to hear from you direct,” Irina said walking away to the corner of the room.
“I have some bad news about that redhead that I said that I would have for you.”
“I am sorry to hear that Elizabeth,” Irina replied, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “However I like that you always get to the point quickly.”
“Well it is best to get bad news out of the way. Be assured that it is nothing personal. This young woman has information that is important and time sensitive so I can’t risk it getting out.” Elizabeth Crawford said. Before Irina could raise any objection or take offence Elizabeth got straight to the good news. “Although I do have a job for you if you are interested. It is looking after someone in Bern but without them being aware. I need them kept focused and can’t have anyone, who can I put it, distracting them.” The line was silent for a while before Irina responded.
“Would you be paying the usual fee?”
“Of course; and a bonus should you actually have to do anything. I will also send my private jet to pick you up and drop you in Bern.”
“You see Elizabeth I would love to but I have an issue. I have just completed a job for another party and I currently have two packages that I have to take care of.” This time is was Elizabeth Crawford’s time to be silent and consider what to do next.
“What if I took care of them for you?”
“That would work Elizabeth. I am sure that I could talk our client into paying your fee for the woman that I was tasked with recovering.” Irina went on to explain the job that she had been engaged to perform. “The issue is that the other package is an Interpol agent that crossed my path. Unfortunately for her she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Irina stared pointedly at the bound and gagged Sasha during this part of the conversation. Sasha didn’t know what was being said but couldn’t stop herself gulping.
“That won’t be an issue. It might be interesting to have a conversation with her. I assume that you have no issue if a can move her on?”
“Not as long as I get a cut.”
“I think that we shall call that a deal.”
“Indeed Elizabeth.”
“Well the jet is being readied as we speak. I will get an away team prepared to deal with your packages and they should be in the air within the hour. Harper will be on the jet and she will give you the information on the Bern job.”
“As always it is a pleasure doing business with you Elizabeth.”
“Irina, please let your sister know that I am looking forward to her coming back.” Irina nodded even though the person on the other end of the line would not pick this up and then disconnected the call. Irina called Yelena and Ksenija across to her and once again the conversation switched to a language that Sasha couldn’t understand but her senses told her situation may have taken a turn for the worse. The conversation between the women continued for several minutes during which Sasha glanced at the other bound woman in the room who just shrugged. The conversation stopped and the brief meeting broke up and they headed back toward the bound women again. Sasha looked on as Yelena walked behind her and once again she felt the knot on the scarf of her gag being worked on.
“Ladies our time together is coming to an end but I promise you the next section of your journey will not be unpleasant……well from what I have heard,” Irina announced before turning and leaving the room. Sasha’s eyes moved to Ksenija who was currently pouring a liquid onto two large wads of cotton wool and wrapping them in a large handkerchief. Quickly putting two and two together Sasha jumped to the conclusion that the liquid was the sedative that had been used on them previously. Just at that point the scarf was released and Sasha could spit out the cloth in her mouth.
“Please you don’t have to do that. I won’t struggle, just put my gag back on and I won’t cause any trouble” she blurted out with thinking about what she was saying. Sasha did not want to be knocked out again. There was no response as Ksenija approached Sasha with the wad menacingly held in her left hand.
“What are you going to do with us?” Sasha heard the only bound woman say once her gag had been removed. Sasha stared at Ksenija who lifted the wad toward her mouth but Sasha just clamped her mouth shut. Ksenija pinched Sasha’s nose and waited until she had to open her mouth to gulp in air before stuffing the wad of cotton wool wrapped in a handkerchief firmly into Sasha’s mouth, it took several seconds of probing to get the wad fully into Sasha’s mouth. Almost instantly Sasha felt the coldness of the liquid in her mouth and that was closely followed by the numbness, like having an injection at the dentist. As soon as Ksenija removed her hand Yelena replaced the scarf over Sasha’s mouth securing the wad in her mouth. Sasha turned and watched as the two captors repeated the process with the other woman, however the sedative was starting to take affect and it wasn’t long before her eyelids closed over and she fell into unconsciousness.
Somewhere outside Copenhagen
She wanted to scream or kick or do something, but they had tied her well, rope had been wrapped around her wrists binding them tightly together then rope was also wrapped around her body, above and below her breasts, pinning her arms to her body. Then they had used more to tie secure her to the back of the hard back chair, her legs were secured to the legs of the chair by several coils of rope. Well at least they had used nice, black nylon rope. What Sasha hated the worst was the gag. The scarf over her mouth was tight and unyielding, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Even though the silk scarf was securely tied, it was still soft. The small apex of the scarf that extended over her chin tickled her when she shook her head back and forth during her struggles. There was also something stuffed into her mouth and not the drug laced cotton wool and handkerchief combination from earlier. She assumed, well hoped that it was a clean handkerchief or two or cloth that had been used. She tried not to think about the other possibilities. Much to her surprise, Sasha found that she couldn't make much noise through the gag. Not that she had any experience of being gagged beyond her own self bondage experience. Even then she hadn’t really tried to escape her bonds or scream for help. Obviously, these women were professionals, knew what they were doing and had done it before.
Sasha turned and looked at the woman that was similarly bound in the chair a couple of yards to her left. The woman had blonde hair, blue eyes and sharp features. They had tried to communicate when then had first come round but the gags made that almost impossible so they both had to just wait and see what was going to happen to them. Then the door opened.
----------
In walked three women with similar looks and expressions. If Sasha had to guess the two taller women were definitely related, probably sisters. They strode into the room and formed a small line directly in front of the two women that were bound to chairs. “Ladies, I hope that you are comfortable as there is a chance that you could be in this position for a number of days,” the woman in the centre said. Sasha guessed this made her the leader. “My name is Irina and this is my sister Yelena on my right and my colleague Ksenija on my left.” Sasha was concerned that the women had told her their names. It suggested a confidence that they were in total control of the situation. Then the women called Ksenija nudged Irina and beckoned her off to the side. Sasha looked on from the chair as Ksenija and Irina woman engaged in conversation. The chat between her two captors was in hushed tones and a language that Sasha didn’t understand so she had no idea about was being discussed. It could have been Russian or something close, maybe one of the Baltic countries. That was until then both turned to look at Sasha. “She is a cop boss” Ksenija said handing over Sasha’s wallet that contained her official identification.
“Take the gag off and we can have a conversation.” Yelena walked round to a position behind Sasha and undid the knot holding the scarf in place and removing it. This allowed Sasha to spit out the sodden wad of fabric in her mouth. “No need to remove the gag from Jane as nothing that we hear from her will make a difference at the moment.”
“MMMPPPHHH,” mumbled the gagged woman from the other chair.
“Can I have some water?” Sasha asked; her throat was dry from the cloth and the earlier sedative.
“Not at the moment. First tell us how you managed to find us?” Sasha considered this for a minute before answering and decided to tell the truth.
“Honestly I have no idea who you are. I was trying to track down a thief working across Europe and when I finally managed to do so somebody had gotten their first.” Sasha looked toward Jane. “I believe that the woman sitting bound in that other chair is that thief.” Irina laughed at this for a good couple of minutes before focusing her attention back on Sasha.
“See the problem we have Mrs Police Woman is that our job was to find this woman,” Irina pointed at Jane, “but you got in the way. We have a client who is going to take her off our hands. You on the other hand……” Irina didn’t finish the sentence. Just then Irina’s phone rang. “Apologies let me get this. Yelena; would you…..” Sasha felt a hand on her jaw before a cloth was stuffed into her mouth again then the scarf was once again secured in place.
“Elizabeth. It is so nice to hear from you direct,” Irina said walking away to the corner of the room.
“I have some bad news about that redhead that I said that I would have for you.”
“I am sorry to hear that Elizabeth,” Irina replied, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “However I like that you always get to the point quickly.”
“Well it is best to get bad news out of the way. Be assured that it is nothing personal. This young woman has information that is important and time sensitive so I can’t risk it getting out.” Elizabeth Crawford said. Before Irina could raise any objection or take offence Elizabeth got straight to the good news. “Although I do have a job for you if you are interested. It is looking after someone in Bern but without them being aware. I need them kept focused and can’t have anyone, who can I put it, distracting them.” The line was silent for a while before Irina responded.
“Would you be paying the usual fee?”
“Of course; and a bonus should you actually have to do anything. I will also send my private jet to pick you up and drop you in Bern.”
“You see Elizabeth I would love to but I have an issue. I have just completed a job for another party and I currently have two packages that I have to take care of.” This time is was Elizabeth Crawford’s time to be silent and consider what to do next.
“What if I took care of them for you?”
“That would work Elizabeth. I am sure that I could talk our client into paying your fee for the woman that I was tasked with recovering.” Irina went on to explain the job that she had been engaged to perform. “The issue is that the other package is an Interpol agent that crossed my path. Unfortunately for her she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Irina stared pointedly at the bound and gagged Sasha during this part of the conversation. Sasha didn’t know what was being said but couldn’t stop herself gulping.
“That won’t be an issue. It might be interesting to have a conversation with her. I assume that you have no issue if a can move her on?”
“Not as long as I get a cut.”
“I think that we shall call that a deal.”
“Indeed Elizabeth.”
“Well the jet is being readied as we speak. I will get an away team prepared to deal with your packages and they should be in the air within the hour. Harper will be on the jet and she will give you the information on the Bern job.”
“As always it is a pleasure doing business with you Elizabeth.”
“Irina, please let your sister know that I am looking forward to her coming back.” Irina nodded even though the person on the other end of the line would not pick this up and then disconnected the call. Irina called Yelena and Ksenija across to her and once again the conversation switched to a language that Sasha couldn’t understand but her senses told her situation may have taken a turn for the worse. The conversation between the women continued for several minutes during which Sasha glanced at the other bound woman in the room who just shrugged. The conversation stopped and the brief meeting broke up and they headed back toward the bound women again. Sasha looked on as Yelena walked behind her and once again she felt the knot on the scarf of her gag being worked on.
“Ladies our time together is coming to an end but I promise you the next section of your journey will not be unpleasant……well from what I have heard,” Irina announced before turning and leaving the room. Sasha’s eyes moved to Ksenija who was currently pouring a liquid onto two large wads of cotton wool and wrapping them in a large handkerchief. Quickly putting two and two together Sasha jumped to the conclusion that the liquid was the sedative that had been used on them previously. Just at that point the scarf was released and Sasha could spit out the cloth in her mouth.
“Please you don’t have to do that. I won’t struggle, just put my gag back on and I won’t cause any trouble” she blurted out with thinking about what she was saying. Sasha did not want to be knocked out again. There was no response as Ksenija approached Sasha with the wad menacingly held in her left hand.
“What are you going to do with us?” Sasha heard the only bound woman say once her gag had been removed. Sasha stared at Ksenija who lifted the wad toward her mouth but Sasha just clamped her mouth shut. Ksenija pinched Sasha’s nose and waited until she had to open her mouth to gulp in air before stuffing the wad of cotton wool wrapped in a handkerchief firmly into Sasha’s mouth, it took several seconds of probing to get the wad fully into Sasha’s mouth. Almost instantly Sasha felt the coldness of the liquid in her mouth and that was closely followed by the numbness, like having an injection at the dentist. As soon as Ksenija removed her hand Yelena replaced the scarf over Sasha’s mouth securing the wad in her mouth. Sasha turned and watched as the two captors repeated the process with the other woman, however the sedative was starting to take affect and it wasn’t long before her eyelids closed over and she fell into unconsciousness.
Sounds to me, that Jane and Sasha will have to get intimate knowledge of downfilled goodness very soon, and comfy travel arraangements thanks Courtesy of Captive Inc. So Hayley and Friends will have some friends in misery in short timemrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago “Ladies our time together is coming to an end but I promise you the next section of your journey will not be unpleasant……well from what I have heard,” Irina announced before turning and leaving the room. Sasha’s eyes moved to Ksenija who was currently pouring a liquid onto two large wads of cotton wool and wrapping them in a large handkerchief. Quickly putting two and two together Sasha jumped to the conclusion that the liquid was the sedative that had been used on them previously. Just at that point the scarf was released and Sasha could spit out the cloth in her mouth.
Well, the more the merrier The Island will be crowded soon And we know: Crawford knows about Bern
Let us hope, the Team gets Yelena or whoever Keep fingers crossed that Christina and Company will prevail!
Who is the traitor???
Sasha must be very very confused - and Jane will meet some old friends soon
I wonder how the induction week on the island is going?
At least, the climate on the Island is better - warmer
Small favours It will be interessting where the next chapter will lead us:
Back to the mysterious Island?
To Vienna or to Bern?
Or staying in Copenhagen?
Time, hopefully a short time, will tell The Lord works in mysterious ways 
Back to the mysterious Island?
To Vienna or to Bern?
Or staying in Copenhagen?
Time, hopefully a short time, will tell
The Lord works in mysterious ways -
mrjones2009
- Centennial Club
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Chapter 46
Hauser & Mettler Private Bank, Bern
Hannah Stanley-Ramos rose from her luxurious leather chair and almost ran around the large wooden desk to greet Emily St Clare. “A pleasure to see you again Ms St Clare,” Hannah Stanley-Ramos hoped that the strain that she was feeling didn’t show in either her voice or mannerisms. When her assistant had called through to announce the visitor she had almost jumped out of her seat. She had asked for a minute to regain her composure and remind herself that she was doing this for her daughter.
“I haven’t got long Hannah so let’s just get to it.”
“No problem Ms St Clare. If you would just like to follow me I will get you to the vault.” The two women then exited Hannah’s office and walked through several well decorated rooms to a private elevator. The attendant in the lift held the door open as they entered. “The vault please Berger,” Hannah asked, unable to stop her hands from flapping around she crossed them behind her back. The ride was short from the second floor to the basement. Once the lift car doors opened the two women stepped into a very modern looking room, clean, a lot of glass and steel plus a desk manned by two serious looking security guards. Hannah and Emily approached the desk and one of the guards produced a tray. Without having to be asked Emily put her handbag into the tray before the other guard handed her a velvet bag should Emily wish to remove anything from her box in the vault. Next Emily pressed her palm onto a Perspex sheet built into the desk, after a couple of seconds there was a buzz from the door beside the desk and one of the lights above it turned green. Next one of the guards swiped a card through a reader next to the door and a second light turned green. Hannah pushed open the doors and beckoned Emily St Clare through into a short corridor. As the women walked along the corridor, one after the other a specially designed computer program checked their biometrics, the way that they walked against the control example the database. A third green light came on above the door at the other end of the corridor. Once they reached the door at the other end they stopped.
“Thank you Hannah. I can take it from here,” Emily St Clare said.
“No problem Ms St Clare. You will have complete privacy in the vault Ms St Clare. No electronic devices are allowed inside, nor are there any audio or visual recording devices. I shall wait here. If you wish to talk to me then please use the intercom.” Emily St Clare entered the vault and took a slow walk around the room looking at each of the private steel boxes fixed into the wall in turn. There was click and suddenly the room filled with the sound of soothing orchestral music, it was coming from the intercom. Emily stopped pacing and walked toward the intercom but stopped a couple of feet short, there was also a steady, rhythmical beat behind the music that became more pronounced as the music went on. Emily thought that this was strange with classical music but closed her eyes and nodded her head in time with the beat. The beat got harder and most intense until it suddenly changed pattern before suddenly a voice broke into the music and Emily St Clare opened her eyes. The voice issued a series of instructions and Emily found that she followed the instructions from the voice without question.
“You will meet someone at the restaurant in three hours. Take a table toward the rear of the restaurant.” That was the last instruction from the voice.
On the other side of the door Hannah held her phone up to the intercom speaker and played the recording that she had been given as instructed. Having no idea what was going on Hannah was apprehensive until the recording beeped to inform her it had finished. As she placed her phone back in her pocket the door opened and Emily St Clare emerged from the vault with her velvet bag clutched in one hand. Judging by the look of the bag there was something heavy in it. “Everything alright Ms St Clare,” Hannah asked nervously.
“Fine Hannah but let’s get moving. I have a dinner booking.”
Chapter 47
Yelena raised her arm above her head to shield her eyes from the sun and caught a flash of sunlight against something metallic in the sky. Finding the spec in the sky that had caused the flash Yelena quickly identified it as a plane and followed it as it approached, getting bigger and bigger until she could clearly identify it as Elizabeth Crawford’s long and sleek private jet. The undercarriage came down from the fuselage as the plane manoeuvred to make its final approach before landing. “Looks like our ride has arrived sister,” Yelena had been engrossed at the progress of the plane that she hadn’t been aware of her sister approaching.
“Indeed it is Irina. I had better go and check on our guests.” Yelena turned and headed toward the dark blue van that they had hired for the occasion. Ksenija was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down. “Are there any problems with the cargo?” Yelena enquired of her colleague as she walked past.
“None at all,” Ksenija replied. Yelena stopped and grabbed the handle of the side door to the van and opened the large sliding door, exposing the interior of the van to the air. There was no danger to opening the door as they were at a small, abandoned private airstrip that was half an hours’ drive from the closest civilization. Yelena looked in and saw that both of their captives had awoken from the sedative that they had been given but still they weren’t going anywhere. Both were securely bound with their wrists behind their backs with several coils of rope then used to secure their arms to their respective bodies and then their legs were bound together in three separate locations. In addition to the bindings both women were gagged and blindfolded. They must have heard the door opening as the sound of muffled complaints came from the gagged mouths of the two women.
“Just relax ladies. The final part of your journey is about to commence.” Yelena said and turned around just in time to see the plane land at the end of the runway. As Yelena watched the plane slowed down, losing most of it’s momentum before slowly taxiing toward the van, Irina had casually made her away across to stand beside Yelena. They both marvelled as the large jet taxied across the apron and came to a stop fifty yards from the van and then the noise reduced significantly as the pilot cut the engines.
“Maybe one day we will have a plane like this,” Irina said to Yelena. A couple of minutes of silenced ensued before the door in the side of the fuselage opened and a set of stairs were folded into place by a striking young woman wearing the uniform of a flight attendant. The young woman stepped out of the way and three women descended to the flight of stairs onto the tarmac and began to cross the distance toward the van. They quickly fell into formation with a tall woman in a grey suit in the centre with the other two women, who were wearing full length black down jackets. The women approached and stopped about ten paces away from the van; an awkward silence fell between the two groups. The woman in the suit was obviously in charge and spoke first in order to break the silence.
“Irina Bicondova I presume,” the woman said addressing the elder sister who nodded. “A pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth sends her regards. My name is Harper and I am here to assist you with my colleagues Perrie and Tahani,” Harper said, indicating the women to either side of her.
“Elizabeth explained the situation and it is also a pleasure to meet you Harper,” Irina replied looking the woman up and down.
“I am sure that you will understand that I don’t want to be on the ground any longer than necessary…” Harper left the ending of the sentence unsaid.
“Of course I understand. The packages are in the rear of the van. My sister can assist whilst we talk over the exactly what Elizabeth requires of us.” Irina indicated toward the plane and started strolling toward it.
“How many additional passengers will there be on the flight?” Harper asked falling into step beside Irina. “I only ask as the pilot would like to know.”
“In addition to my sister and I there will be the two packages and our colleague Ksenija.” Harper nodded at the response and headed toward the plane. As they walked to the plane Yelena stepped aside to let Perrie and Tahani get a look at the two bound and gagged women lying in the van.
“Have they been diapered?” Perrie asked Yelena.
“Sorry but they haven’t. I didn’t have the correct equipment to hand,” Yelena responded. There were murmurs of discontent from Sasha and Jane lying in the van as they heard this conversation.
“Ladies, it is the rules but they will be explained in more detail when we reach our final destination,” Perrie said to the two struggling women on the floor on the van before turning her attention to Yelena. “We can take care of that on the plane. Shall we?” Yelena nodded in the affirmative. Yelena clambered into the back of the van and was soon joined by Perrie who hopped up behind her. “We are going to untie your legs ladies but do not try anything funny. If you do we will just be forced to sedate you again.” Yelena and Perrie then set about freeing their captives legs before helping them to their feet and out onto the tarmac of the apron. Once they were out in the open Yelena shut the door and Ksenija got out of the drivers seat and walked round to join them but not before locking the van then placing the key in a small container and securing it on the inside of the wheel arch with a magnate. An acquaintance would pick up the van later on that day. Yelena and Tahani grabbed one of the captives each and guided them across the space, up the short flight of stairs and into the fuselage. Once inside Perrie directed them toward a small closed off area to the rear of the plane as they walked through the main area Yelena noted that her sister and Harper had already taken seats facing each other and were engaged in conversation. As the groups walked past the seated women Harper held out a hand to stop Perrie.
“How long do you need?”
“Ten minutes. No longer than that.”
“Thanks Perrie. I shall tell the pilot.” Yelena led Jane following Tahani with Sasha to the rear of the plane and through the door and into the same room. Yelena looked around and saw what looked like a large diaper changing mat on the floor. Perrie entered behind her and immediately took charge.
“Ladies please obey instructions and nothing will happen to you. As noted we are going to place you in diapers for the duration.”
“MMMUURRR,” Sasha mumbled from behind her gag.
“It is better than the alternative. If you make a mess on the boss’s jet then you will be in trouble and so will I,” replied Perrie nodded toward Tahani who forced the bound, gagged and blindfolded Sasha down onto the changing mat. As Tahani went about removing Sasha trousers and panties Perrie removed a thick, white diaper, a couple of bottles and after some consideration what looked like a pair of pyjama bottoms from a cupboard. “Easier to get on then their original clothing,” Perrie said to Yelena by way of an explanation. After collecting her items Perrie knelt down next to the prone Sasha and felt a tapped on her on the knee. “Spread you legs and raise you bum off the mat.” Sasha did as instructed and Perrie wiped Sasha’s private parts and bum with a damp cloth and before applying a cool cream and then talcum powered was sprinkled over her and then gently patted in. Once that job was completed Perrie unfurled the diaper and slipped it under Sasha’s raised bottom, positioning in carefully. “Good girl. Don’t worry its just to clean the area and help avoid diaper rash. You can lower your bum back down now” Perrie said. When she did Sasha felt her bum land on the centre of the soft, thick diaper and instantly felt a pang of embarrassment flow through her entire body. Sasha lay perfectly still as Perrie finished the process of putting on the diaper by bringing up the front and securing the sticky tabs to keep it in place. That task completed Perrie nodded at Tahani and she helped Sasha back to her feet before forcing Jane into position on the mat. As Perrie went about the same process to diaper Jane, Tahani handed the pyjama bottoms to Yelena who took that as a hint that her job was to put on these on their captive, which she set about doing.
It didn’t take long for the captives to be diapered and put into a set of pyjama bottoms. Once that task was completed the group exited the small area and went back into the main cabin, both captives waddling with the bulk of the diapers between their legs. Yelena watched on as Perrie and Tahani led the two captives to seats toward the rear of the cabin. Yelena watched as between them they untied the captives arms and wrists before securing them in front with padded cuffs and depositing them into seats and securing them in place with several heavy straps and then using another set of cuffs to secure their ankles together. Just as that job was completed Yelena heard the engines start up. “I would take a seat Yelena,” Harper said. Yelena spun round to see Harper fastening her seatbelt. Looking around the cabin she noted that the plush seats seemed to be arranged in pairs and spotted an empty seat next to Ksenija and decided to take that. As she sat down and buckled in Yelena heard a voice behind her and turned her head.
“Who are you and where are you taking us?” Yelena spun to find that the captive’s gags had been removed but the relief wasn’t going to last long. Yelena noted that Perrie and Tahani had both picked up black rubber masks; still blindfolded the captives would be oblivious to this turn of events. Yelena watched on as the masks were lowered toward the face of Sasha and Jane. The gas from the masks must have been turned on as when they were a couple of inches from their faces both captives started squirming.
“What is that?” Jane asked just as the mask was placed over her nose and mouth. “Tell me…” Jane now pleaded but the sound was muffled and echoed behind the mask.
“Don’t worry it is just something to help you relax and make the journey pass quicker.” As soon as Perrie finished that statement the plane began to taxi toward the take off position. Perrie and Tahani quickly took the last two seats and buckled in. Yelena kept her eyes fixed on the captives and felt the plane stop at the end of the runway briefly as the pilot built up power before releasing the breaks and allowing the plane to jump forward. Just as this happened Yelena noted that both captives succumbed to the gas as their eyes closed over. Turning back to face the front of the plane she took a deep breath in preparation for lift off.
Once the place reached cruising altitude the seatbelt sign went green and the attractive flight attendant appeared as if from nowhere and took asked if anyone would like drinks or snacks. Orders made the same groups make small talk. “So we are on our way to Elizabeth’s hideaway.” Irina said, accepting her drink at the same time.
“Just a stop off in Bern on the way” Harper replied. “Let’s go over the details of what Elizabeth would like you to do.” Harper removed a folder from a pocket on the side of her seat and set it on the small table between the two seats. After running through what was required Harper enquired about the remainder of Irina’s team.
“I have made arrangements for my people to meet us in Bern. There is no need to worry on that score.” With all of the details confirmed the party settled in to enjoy the rest of the flight.
Hauser & Mettler Private Bank, Bern
Hannah Stanley-Ramos rose from her luxurious leather chair and almost ran around the large wooden desk to greet Emily St Clare. “A pleasure to see you again Ms St Clare,” Hannah Stanley-Ramos hoped that the strain that she was feeling didn’t show in either her voice or mannerisms. When her assistant had called through to announce the visitor she had almost jumped out of her seat. She had asked for a minute to regain her composure and remind herself that she was doing this for her daughter.
“I haven’t got long Hannah so let’s just get to it.”
“No problem Ms St Clare. If you would just like to follow me I will get you to the vault.” The two women then exited Hannah’s office and walked through several well decorated rooms to a private elevator. The attendant in the lift held the door open as they entered. “The vault please Berger,” Hannah asked, unable to stop her hands from flapping around she crossed them behind her back. The ride was short from the second floor to the basement. Once the lift car doors opened the two women stepped into a very modern looking room, clean, a lot of glass and steel plus a desk manned by two serious looking security guards. Hannah and Emily approached the desk and one of the guards produced a tray. Without having to be asked Emily put her handbag into the tray before the other guard handed her a velvet bag should Emily wish to remove anything from her box in the vault. Next Emily pressed her palm onto a Perspex sheet built into the desk, after a couple of seconds there was a buzz from the door beside the desk and one of the lights above it turned green. Next one of the guards swiped a card through a reader next to the door and a second light turned green. Hannah pushed open the doors and beckoned Emily St Clare through into a short corridor. As the women walked along the corridor, one after the other a specially designed computer program checked their biometrics, the way that they walked against the control example the database. A third green light came on above the door at the other end of the corridor. Once they reached the door at the other end they stopped.
“Thank you Hannah. I can take it from here,” Emily St Clare said.
“No problem Ms St Clare. You will have complete privacy in the vault Ms St Clare. No electronic devices are allowed inside, nor are there any audio or visual recording devices. I shall wait here. If you wish to talk to me then please use the intercom.” Emily St Clare entered the vault and took a slow walk around the room looking at each of the private steel boxes fixed into the wall in turn. There was click and suddenly the room filled with the sound of soothing orchestral music, it was coming from the intercom. Emily stopped pacing and walked toward the intercom but stopped a couple of feet short, there was also a steady, rhythmical beat behind the music that became more pronounced as the music went on. Emily thought that this was strange with classical music but closed her eyes and nodded her head in time with the beat. The beat got harder and most intense until it suddenly changed pattern before suddenly a voice broke into the music and Emily St Clare opened her eyes. The voice issued a series of instructions and Emily found that she followed the instructions from the voice without question.
“You will meet someone at the restaurant in three hours. Take a table toward the rear of the restaurant.” That was the last instruction from the voice.
On the other side of the door Hannah held her phone up to the intercom speaker and played the recording that she had been given as instructed. Having no idea what was going on Hannah was apprehensive until the recording beeped to inform her it had finished. As she placed her phone back in her pocket the door opened and Emily St Clare emerged from the vault with her velvet bag clutched in one hand. Judging by the look of the bag there was something heavy in it. “Everything alright Ms St Clare,” Hannah asked nervously.
“Fine Hannah but let’s get moving. I have a dinner booking.”
Chapter 47
Yelena raised her arm above her head to shield her eyes from the sun and caught a flash of sunlight against something metallic in the sky. Finding the spec in the sky that had caused the flash Yelena quickly identified it as a plane and followed it as it approached, getting bigger and bigger until she could clearly identify it as Elizabeth Crawford’s long and sleek private jet. The undercarriage came down from the fuselage as the plane manoeuvred to make its final approach before landing. “Looks like our ride has arrived sister,” Yelena had been engrossed at the progress of the plane that she hadn’t been aware of her sister approaching.
“Indeed it is Irina. I had better go and check on our guests.” Yelena turned and headed toward the dark blue van that they had hired for the occasion. Ksenija was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down. “Are there any problems with the cargo?” Yelena enquired of her colleague as she walked past.
“None at all,” Ksenija replied. Yelena stopped and grabbed the handle of the side door to the van and opened the large sliding door, exposing the interior of the van to the air. There was no danger to opening the door as they were at a small, abandoned private airstrip that was half an hours’ drive from the closest civilization. Yelena looked in and saw that both of their captives had awoken from the sedative that they had been given but still they weren’t going anywhere. Both were securely bound with their wrists behind their backs with several coils of rope then used to secure their arms to their respective bodies and then their legs were bound together in three separate locations. In addition to the bindings both women were gagged and blindfolded. They must have heard the door opening as the sound of muffled complaints came from the gagged mouths of the two women.
“Just relax ladies. The final part of your journey is about to commence.” Yelena said and turned around just in time to see the plane land at the end of the runway. As Yelena watched the plane slowed down, losing most of it’s momentum before slowly taxiing toward the van, Irina had casually made her away across to stand beside Yelena. They both marvelled as the large jet taxied across the apron and came to a stop fifty yards from the van and then the noise reduced significantly as the pilot cut the engines.
“Maybe one day we will have a plane like this,” Irina said to Yelena. A couple of minutes of silenced ensued before the door in the side of the fuselage opened and a set of stairs were folded into place by a striking young woman wearing the uniform of a flight attendant. The young woman stepped out of the way and three women descended to the flight of stairs onto the tarmac and began to cross the distance toward the van. They quickly fell into formation with a tall woman in a grey suit in the centre with the other two women, who were wearing full length black down jackets. The women approached and stopped about ten paces away from the van; an awkward silence fell between the two groups. The woman in the suit was obviously in charge and spoke first in order to break the silence.
“Irina Bicondova I presume,” the woman said addressing the elder sister who nodded. “A pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth sends her regards. My name is Harper and I am here to assist you with my colleagues Perrie and Tahani,” Harper said, indicating the women to either side of her.
“Elizabeth explained the situation and it is also a pleasure to meet you Harper,” Irina replied looking the woman up and down.
“I am sure that you will understand that I don’t want to be on the ground any longer than necessary…” Harper left the ending of the sentence unsaid.
“Of course I understand. The packages are in the rear of the van. My sister can assist whilst we talk over the exactly what Elizabeth requires of us.” Irina indicated toward the plane and started strolling toward it.
“How many additional passengers will there be on the flight?” Harper asked falling into step beside Irina. “I only ask as the pilot would like to know.”
“In addition to my sister and I there will be the two packages and our colleague Ksenija.” Harper nodded at the response and headed toward the plane. As they walked to the plane Yelena stepped aside to let Perrie and Tahani get a look at the two bound and gagged women lying in the van.
“Have they been diapered?” Perrie asked Yelena.
“Sorry but they haven’t. I didn’t have the correct equipment to hand,” Yelena responded. There were murmurs of discontent from Sasha and Jane lying in the van as they heard this conversation.
“Ladies, it is the rules but they will be explained in more detail when we reach our final destination,” Perrie said to the two struggling women on the floor on the van before turning her attention to Yelena. “We can take care of that on the plane. Shall we?” Yelena nodded in the affirmative. Yelena clambered into the back of the van and was soon joined by Perrie who hopped up behind her. “We are going to untie your legs ladies but do not try anything funny. If you do we will just be forced to sedate you again.” Yelena and Perrie then set about freeing their captives legs before helping them to their feet and out onto the tarmac of the apron. Once they were out in the open Yelena shut the door and Ksenija got out of the drivers seat and walked round to join them but not before locking the van then placing the key in a small container and securing it on the inside of the wheel arch with a magnate. An acquaintance would pick up the van later on that day. Yelena and Tahani grabbed one of the captives each and guided them across the space, up the short flight of stairs and into the fuselage. Once inside Perrie directed them toward a small closed off area to the rear of the plane as they walked through the main area Yelena noted that her sister and Harper had already taken seats facing each other and were engaged in conversation. As the groups walked past the seated women Harper held out a hand to stop Perrie.
“How long do you need?”
“Ten minutes. No longer than that.”
“Thanks Perrie. I shall tell the pilot.” Yelena led Jane following Tahani with Sasha to the rear of the plane and through the door and into the same room. Yelena looked around and saw what looked like a large diaper changing mat on the floor. Perrie entered behind her and immediately took charge.
“Ladies please obey instructions and nothing will happen to you. As noted we are going to place you in diapers for the duration.”
“MMMUURRR,” Sasha mumbled from behind her gag.
“It is better than the alternative. If you make a mess on the boss’s jet then you will be in trouble and so will I,” replied Perrie nodded toward Tahani who forced the bound, gagged and blindfolded Sasha down onto the changing mat. As Tahani went about removing Sasha trousers and panties Perrie removed a thick, white diaper, a couple of bottles and after some consideration what looked like a pair of pyjama bottoms from a cupboard. “Easier to get on then their original clothing,” Perrie said to Yelena by way of an explanation. After collecting her items Perrie knelt down next to the prone Sasha and felt a tapped on her on the knee. “Spread you legs and raise you bum off the mat.” Sasha did as instructed and Perrie wiped Sasha’s private parts and bum with a damp cloth and before applying a cool cream and then talcum powered was sprinkled over her and then gently patted in. Once that job was completed Perrie unfurled the diaper and slipped it under Sasha’s raised bottom, positioning in carefully. “Good girl. Don’t worry its just to clean the area and help avoid diaper rash. You can lower your bum back down now” Perrie said. When she did Sasha felt her bum land on the centre of the soft, thick diaper and instantly felt a pang of embarrassment flow through her entire body. Sasha lay perfectly still as Perrie finished the process of putting on the diaper by bringing up the front and securing the sticky tabs to keep it in place. That task completed Perrie nodded at Tahani and she helped Sasha back to her feet before forcing Jane into position on the mat. As Perrie went about the same process to diaper Jane, Tahani handed the pyjama bottoms to Yelena who took that as a hint that her job was to put on these on their captive, which she set about doing.
It didn’t take long for the captives to be diapered and put into a set of pyjama bottoms. Once that task was completed the group exited the small area and went back into the main cabin, both captives waddling with the bulk of the diapers between their legs. Yelena watched on as Perrie and Tahani led the two captives to seats toward the rear of the cabin. Yelena watched as between them they untied the captives arms and wrists before securing them in front with padded cuffs and depositing them into seats and securing them in place with several heavy straps and then using another set of cuffs to secure their ankles together. Just as that job was completed Yelena heard the engines start up. “I would take a seat Yelena,” Harper said. Yelena spun round to see Harper fastening her seatbelt. Looking around the cabin she noted that the plush seats seemed to be arranged in pairs and spotted an empty seat next to Ksenija and decided to take that. As she sat down and buckled in Yelena heard a voice behind her and turned her head.
“Who are you and where are you taking us?” Yelena spun to find that the captive’s gags had been removed but the relief wasn’t going to last long. Yelena noted that Perrie and Tahani had both picked up black rubber masks; still blindfolded the captives would be oblivious to this turn of events. Yelena watched on as the masks were lowered toward the face of Sasha and Jane. The gas from the masks must have been turned on as when they were a couple of inches from their faces both captives started squirming.
“What is that?” Jane asked just as the mask was placed over her nose and mouth. “Tell me…” Jane now pleaded but the sound was muffled and echoed behind the mask.
“Don’t worry it is just something to help you relax and make the journey pass quicker.” As soon as Perrie finished that statement the plane began to taxi toward the take off position. Perrie and Tahani quickly took the last two seats and buckled in. Yelena kept her eyes fixed on the captives and felt the plane stop at the end of the runway briefly as the pilot built up power before releasing the breaks and allowing the plane to jump forward. Just as this happened Yelena noted that both captives succumbed to the gas as their eyes closed over. Turning back to face the front of the plane she took a deep breath in preparation for lift off.
Once the place reached cruising altitude the seatbelt sign went green and the attractive flight attendant appeared as if from nowhere and took asked if anyone would like drinks or snacks. Orders made the same groups make small talk. “So we are on our way to Elizabeth’s hideaway.” Irina said, accepting her drink at the same time.
“Just a stop off in Bern on the way” Harper replied. “Let’s go over the details of what Elizabeth would like you to do.” Harper removed a folder from a pocket on the side of her seat and set it on the small table between the two seats. After running through what was required Harper enquired about the remainder of Irina’s team.
“I have made arrangements for my people to meet us in Bern. There is no need to worry on that score.” With all of the details confirmed the party settled in to enjoy the rest of the flight.
I´m looking forward to that detailed explanationmrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago “Ladies, it is the rules but they will be explained in more detail when we reach our final destination,” Perrie said to the two struggling women on the floor on the van before turning her attention to Yelena. “
Of course the explanation will be followed by a practical demonstration involving some downfilled goodness At least Jane shouldn´t be too surprised, she had encounters with Crawfords Goons already.
Interessting what is happening in Bern - I would be not surprised at lll, if Natalie and Company will have a nice little chat with Crawfords Team
- one way or the other
More and more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Till now: Crawford holds all the Aces in the Game. Her people know, with whom they have to deal in Bern. Hayley is out of the picture. So, all in all dire prospects - for now. Let us hope, that Christina has another Ace up her sleeve ....
Apropros Bern: Natalie surely will be delighted to meet good old Yelena again
How is Induction Week for Hailey, Gabrielle and Elaine going? On Hayleys Part- I guess: Lots of time to rack her brain, knowing she can do nothing else: What is going on? What Plans has Crawford with her
Gabrielle and Elaine getting used to the comforts of Captives Inc.
What I'm really looking forward to: The first Meeting of Crawford and Hayley - after Induction Week. How will Hayley act?
The Island will be really crowded soon: Hayley, Gabrielle and Elaine are already there. Sasha and Jane will enjoy the comforts of Crawfords Island too
And maybe other Damsels in Distress will join them
Gabrielle and Elaine getting used to the comforts of Captives Inc.
What I'm really looking forward to: The first Meeting of Crawford and Hayley - after Induction Week. How will Hayley act?
The Island will be really crowded soon: Hayley, Gabrielle and Elaine are already there. Sasha and Jane will enjoy the comforts of Crawfords Island too
And maybe other Damsels in Distress will join them
While waiting for more good and downfilled things to comemrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago seat. “Well I suppose that I better start at the beginning, I mean my beginning with all of this…….It started what seemed like a lifetime ago when as a younger woman I entered the Police Academy.” Hayley proceeded to run through her history for Gabriela, well the important bits in general anyway. Her recruitment by Jaclyn Sanders into a shady government agency; her escapades there; her father being the Police Commissionaire; her previous run-ins with Elizabeth Crawford;
- oh revered master [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] let us wait not to long - if anyone is interessted in the beginnings of Crawfords and Hayleys History, you should follow the link below. It is more convinient, then going down in bellies of the archived Stories Nothing Personal - The Sequel:
https://www.tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1373
Hayley working then for the Government and the beginning of Natalies and Hayleys Friendship. Also you learn how much the downfilled restraining system has been perfected by Crawford
Kirsty, Crawfords Second in Command has also her first appearance here. Christina still on the dark side of the force Besides that: The Sequel is a very good read!
If you are looking for a reason, why Crawford is attracted to Hayley - besides her indomitable spirit- you find it also in The Sequel - Chapter 2, if memory serves
"Gillian had to smirk as this. She had no doubt that Hayley would have fetched top dollar. Gillian finished gagging the lady thief and paused for a second, once again astounded at the striking beauty Hayley possessed, especially in the figure hugging black dress that she was wearing on her curvaceous 5ft 9” frame. The woman had a killer body that made other women jealous and men drool. Haley also possessed sharp features, deep blue eyes and luscious long dark blonde hair. "
-
mrjones2009
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Chapter 48
She was nervous as it was her first shift in the section of the estate where the captives or guests as Elizabeth Crawford liked to refer to them as were kept. Kirsty had volunteered to partner up with her for today which she really appreciated. It was the evening shift so it would involve serving food to the guests and perhaps changing diapers and getting the guests restrained for the evening and she was looking forward to getting started. Constance took one final look in the mirror, checking that she looked her best, specifically the large purple dress that she was currently wearing. She had to admit that she did love wearing the dresses. There was something about wearing them that made her fell strong and in control as well as intensely feminine. Kirsty had told her that was the whole point. During her second week on the island Constance has met the seamstress, an older woman who lived in one of the individual houses clustered around a cove further up the island’s coast. Constance had stood stock still as instructed whilst the seamstress took every measurement that Constance could think of, twice. Although Constance to admit that the seamstress was fantastic; the dress fit the shapely outline of her body perfectly. The quality of the material was equal to that of the workmanship involved. Constance had quickly discovered that Elizabeth Crawford did not scrimp on quality. She was also wearing a diaper, albeit a more slim line version of those wore by guests. These diapers were extremely breathable and designed only really to be used in an emergency; to prevent any accidents and avoid the worry of any staining her dress should something unplanned happen. They were basically just an alternative type of underwear. Whilst standing looking in the mirror Constance drifted back to the when she had turned up with her suitcase and agreed to join Elizabeth Crawford’s organisation and she smiled at the memory. Having been bound and gagged then completing the seven days as a captive she was relieved. There was still a part of her that thought that it was all a rouse to kidnap her and extort a ransom from her family. It had been strange being kept bound and gagged in the restraining bags for that length of time. It was a weird sensation. It didn’t bother her in the slightest, there wasn’t anything that you could do but it gave you time to think, to concentrate on the important things, which she enjoyed. She also enjoyed the comfort of the restraining bags. It was bizarre, bound and gagged but as comfortable as she has ever been. Even wearing the diaper hadn’t been too bad, yes embarrassing but there was also a sense of security that it gave that she appreciated as well.
Constance waked over to the cupboard, removed one of the short down jackets and slipped it on. Once again her mind drifted this time to the intense training regime and how surprised she was to admit that she was enjoying it. The training gave her focus for the first time in her life. She found that she enjoyed the physical exercise so undertook addition sessions with Kirsty in addition to the mandatory sessions on the schedule. Constance could tell that her body had changed slightly, the muscle tone slightly more obvious and a little less body fat in certain areas. There were classes in unarmed combat, how to follow people, how to pick locks and other useful skills. She also had training on how to subdue people with holds and also how to correctly and safely administer chloroform and other sedatives in addition to being instructed on the correct procedure and knots to use when binding someone. In fact the only awkward part of the training was the sessions that involved learning techniques designed to get captives to divulge information but Constance thought that you had to take the rough with the smooth.
The island was beautiful; idyllic would be a good word to describe it. Constance was currently staying at the main house with several other team members. But there were also a small number of houses of the island that were occupied by some team members and other employees such as the seamstress, gardeners and the aircrew. The accommodation was great, spacious and luxurious, easily comparable to a four star hotel and had its own television and entertainment system. Kirsty had said that all of the rooms were soundproofed so no need to worry about disturbing the neighbours. There was beach to retreat to plus all the facilities that you could wish for, it was almost like a holiday camp. There was an on-site health and beauty spa, gym and tennis court. In addition to that all of the operatives who she had met were friendly, welcoming and willing to pass on their experience and skills, even Antonija the taciturn Croat. The main benefit was the amount of foreign language phrases that she was picking up. Also in addition to the clothes that she had brought along she had been supplied with a wardrobe full of quality clothing plus a state of the art mobile and laptop. Then there was a knock at the door. When Constance answered it Kirsty stood there wearing a large green dress similar to Constance’s own. “You look great Kirsty….but are you not a bit early?”
“Probably, I like to be early. Can I come in?”
“Sorry, of course. Please do.” Constance opened the door fully and stepped out of the way, allowing Kirsty to enter.
“How are you enjoying life so far Constance?”
“Great, I love everything about it so far,” Constance replied a wide grin breaking out over her face.
“That’s good. Now there is just one more thing that we have to discuss and it is slightly awkward.” Kirsty gathered her skirt and sat down on the edge of the bed. She patted a space next to her and Constance joined her. “As you will have noticed there are no men on the island.”
“I did notice that,” Constance replied. Kirsty was still trying to find the best way to broach the subject.
“Did you find the box of toys under the bed?” Constance didn’t reply but the reddish tint spreading across her cheeks answered the question. “We are very relaxed here and how can I put it…..frustrations can grow and on occasions the girls help each other out with that.” Kirsty could tell that she had now gone red as the wide smile was back on Constance’s face.
“I think that I get the idea Kirsty.” Kirsty exhaled, relieved that this particular conversation was over.
“Well then I think we should better head down to start our shift. We wouldn’t want to be late on your first shift.”
Crawford’s office
“I trust that your shift went well?” Elizabeth Crawford asked.
“It passed without incident. It was good to catch up with Constance and must admit that I did enjoy being back wearing the dresses again,” Kirsty replied although she had changed back into more relaxed wear before meeting the boss who had asked her to drop in after her shift but had been coy about what the conversation would be about.
“Please take a seat Kirsty.” They were meeting in Elizabeth Crawford’s private study which was off her bedroom. This was slightly unusual as meetings were normally taken in the larger study in the ground floor of the main building, a room that also doubled as a well stocked library. Kirsty took a seat at a small table where two chairs had been arranged so that they faced each other with the table just to the right. “Can I get you a drink?”
“That would be great, thanks.” Elizabeth Crawford poured two drinks into thick glass tumblers and added a couple of ice cubes to each before sitting both on the small table and taking the seat across from Kirsty. There was a moment of silence as if Elizabeth Crawford was contemplating something and Kirsty got the feeling that her boss was preparing to tell her something important.
“How are the arrangement’s going for Copenhagen?”
“I managed to make most of them on the journey here; it was just a case of putting them into motion once we had arrived. Christine and Antonija are on their way in Novak’s jet and I have put them in contact with our local asset and they should be arriving in Copenhagen in the next….” Kirsty paused to check her wristwatch, “couple of hours. They are going to set up surveillance on the hotel and find a way to make the snatch without raising suspicion.”
“Good, good…..” Elizabeth Crawford seemed to drift away again.
“Is there something bothering you boss?” Kirsty asked.
“Sorry, just lost in thought. It has been a hectic period with all that has been going on.” Kirsty nodded her agreement and sipped at her drink before, partly summoning up the courage to ask the next question.
“If you don’t mind me asking what was in that vault?” Kirsty asked Elizabeth Crawford. A smile started to creep in at the sides of Elizabeth Crawford’s mouth, a knowing smile devoid of any trace of warmth. Kirsty watched on, she could almost see the cogs turning in Crawford’s head running through the options, deciding whether or not to let Kirsty have this particular piece of information.
“Do you remember those rumours about St Clare’s husband?” Kirsty nodded.
“That he didn’t make his money legitimately.” This time Elizabeth nodded.
“Well they were more then just rumours.” Elizabeth took a mouthful of her drink. “Plus it was more than money and contacts he was collecting. He had a relationship with the Broker that in addition to a lot of money earned them a lot of useful information. They had to store both somewhere….”
“So they stored it in a bank vault?”
“Yes, on a hard drive with a safety deposit box. It was the safest place that they could think to keep it.” There was silence again as both women sipped at their drinks. “The rumours are that it is a treasure trove of dodgy deals and blackmail material in addition to the details of various bank accounts held in banks across the globe.”
“So what is with all the subterfuge? Why not replace St Clare with an imposter? Why not just steal the information or leverage someone to get it for you?” All sensible questions Kirsty thought. Elizabeth Crawford considered her response. She had been careful to compartmentalise this operation so that nobody knew all that was going on, she felt that it was safer that way. But given that the plan was now fully in motion she thought that it would be safe to confide fully in Kirsty.
“In addition to the usual security measures there is a biometric scanner to get past.”
“Biometric scanner?” Kirsty said raising an eyebrow as she didn’t really understand the implication.
“It measures the gait of the person entering the vault against a held example and if it doesn’t match then the alarm goes off. There are only four examples held against the safe deposit box.”
“So only the Broker, St Clare and St Clare’s husband…” Kirsty said before pausing. “So who is the fourth person?”
“Well our friend the Broker is an intelligent woman. The fourth person is her representative who checks that the information is still there. The representative also takes fresh data to update the information when they visit. And before you ask I don’t know who this is. Our contact at the bank doesn’t know either as the Broker deals with a different executive. In addition the hard drive containing the information is security protected by an algorithm that is updated by the Brokers representative when they visit. If the correct answer isn’t entered then the data on the hard drive is dumped.”
“That’s why you need the mathematician.” Kirsty exclaimed. Crawford nodded.
“It is also why we need to move quickly to persuade the mathematician to crack that code.”
“I will make sure that Christine understands the time sensitive nature of grabbing the mathematician.”
“I knew that you would understand the situation. There are some other matters that we need to discuss. I didn’t want to expose any of our team to meeting directly with Emily St Clare to pick up the hard drive. So believe it or not I have arranged for one of the Broker’s couriers to meet and then deliver the hard drive to Harper in a more isolated location.” Kirsty had to take a second as she had been taking a mouthful of drink when Elizabeth was taking. “I know using the Broker’s couriers is ballsy but then you have to live life on the edge.”
“Well when you put it like that Elizabeth,” Kirsty replied having regained her composure.
“That then does however leave the small matter of the couriers. They are loose ends and will be able to identify Harper. I don’t like loose ends Kirsty. This operation is too important and the potential treasures so bountiful to risk anything.” Kirsty nodded, immediately knowing what her boss was hinting toward. “It doesn’t have to be for long. Just long enough for us to confirm the information that we have. I suspect that the broker will find out soon enough that the information has been stolen and probably not long after who has it.” Kirsty would have to make the arrangements quickly if she wanted to intercept the couriers as the exchange was due to happen in the next forty eight hours.
“That just leaves one final loose end and it is a potentially troubling one.”
“What is that boss?’ Kirsty replied genuinely interest. It wasn’t often that Elizabeth Crawford would admit to being troubled.
“Another drink before we continue?” Kirsty looked at her glass and nodded. Elizabeth Crawford took both glasses back to the bar, poured drinks into both and then returned to her seat. “Now, I have concerns about Milena, more so than I had about Dubois, especially as the American’s have those agents embedded with her and with what she knows about the plan…..”Although Elizabeth Crawford had stopped talking Kirsty knew the woman well enough to now that she was still deliberating something so waited. It didn’t take that long. “I am more troubled about Novak talking if she makes a mistake or the American’s finding something by accident than I was about our French contact. She has a lot more information on the operation than I am usually comfortable with someone outside the organisation having.”
“What do you suggest?” Kirsty asked the question but she already knew that Elizabeth Crawford had all of this planned out. Kirsty knew that Elizabeth had strong reservations about the American agents joining up with Novak but the businesswoman had argued that it would be better to have them close and keep a close eye on them rather than have them monitoring her without knowing.
“Leverage, we need some leverage.” Kirsty had to stop herself from smiling; Elizabeth Crawford did indeed have a plan for every eventuality. “I have it on good information that her niece is getting married at the weekend.” Kirsty had to give the woman credit; she did seem to know everything.
“But won’t Milena be attending the wedding?”
“No she will not. Although they are each other’s only living blood relation the niece doesn’t know anything about Novak. The sisters fell out early in life and Novak’s sister moved to Spain and married a local before moving to England. When tragedy struck Novak has just kept an eye on her niece from afar, helping as an anonymous benefactor when required.” Kirsty pondered this information and ran the calculations through her head.
“Giving the timing we are stretched on resources and you have asked a lot of the girls.”
“I understand. I suggest that you let Constance that new recruit that you like so much undertake the heavy lifting on planning at the early stage. If she is as promising as you make out then it shouldn’t be an issue.” Kirsty picked up her glass and took a long drag of her drink to consider what Elizabeth Crawford had said. To be honest she didn’t know whether this was a test and her boss was hoping that Constance would fail.
“I have every confidence in Constance will be able to pull this off,” Kirsty replied confidently.
“Good. I shall send you the details first thing tomorrow. There is a bit of time as the wedding isn’t until next weekend.” Another slightly odd silence fell over the room. Kirsty decided to ask a straight question.
“Can I ask why you have gone to this trouble boss?” This time it was Elizabeth Crawford’s time to take a drink and consider a response.
“Why am I doing this Kirsty? That is a good question.” Kirsty could sense that Elizabeth wanted to tell her something else but was reluctant to do so. Kirsty didn’t fill the silence with any further conversation to see if that tempted her boss into saying something. “I want to go straight.” Kirsty eyes almost popped out of her head, this was certainly not the answer that she expected.
“But why now?” Kirsty asked, still in a state of shock.
“I am on the most wanted list for most police forces and government agencies around the world. Watching your back all the time for law enforcement can be tiring and I fancy being able to go where I want when I want to. I am in the position where I have substantial assets that if I can go legitimate then I can use them to build legal businesses.”
“And the information on the Broker’s hard drive will assist that?” Kirsty asked starting to put two and two together.
“Yes. It will give me some leverage with important people to get things started plus act as a deterrent against anybody that wants to have a go at me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is not just politicians and officials that have skeletons in the closet. Some of my former and current associates may be concerned when they find out what I have planned. The information that the Broker has is literally and figuratively where the bodies are buried. Hopefully the threat of that information coming out will prevent any strikes against me.”
“What are the timescales?”
“I don’t know at the moment. It depends on exactly what the information is and how I can use it.” Kirsty was glad that there were no firm timetables at the moments as she was having trouble processing the information.
“What about me…..us……the girls I mean?”
“All the girls will have their own choice to make and I won’t force them. I will promise to keep them all employed should they wish. I already have some legitimate investments, such as with Novak and some property. Going legit would allow me to use the resources that I have to grow these investments.”
“And abducting Novak’s niece isn’t going to put that in jeopardy?”
“Not in the slightest. It is just an insurance policy; her niece will be released at the right time. Plus Novak is a business woman when it all comes down to it.” Kirsty played with the tumbler in her hands as it was now empty again. The recent revelations prompting her to take larger mouthfuls than she normally would. “Would you like another drink Kirsty?” Elizabeth asked noticing the empty glass.
“No thanks boss. If it is alright with you I would rather get some fresh air before I turn in for the night.”
“No problem, I understand.” Kirsty got up to leave. “I would ask that you keep this to yourself for now,” Kirsty just nodded, still reeling from this revelation. As she walked toward the door Kirsty heard Elizabeth Crawford say something but couldn’t make out what it was.
“Sorry boss. I couldn’t make that out.”
“I said that it would be handy to have Louise back in the near future.”
“Doesn’t Louise still have time left on her sentence?”
“Don’t bother yourself with that. I will make may own discreet enquiries.” Kirsty exited the room and made her way along the corridor, down a flight of stairs and out into the night air. The revelations from Elizabeth Crawford had hit her hard, it was totally unexpected and she was having trouble processing this. Kirsty decided to go for a walk before retiring for the night, hoping that a good nights’ sleep and a morning run would help to clear her head. Then she felt a vibration in the pocket of her jeans. Removing her mobile Kirsty looked at the screen and then cursed under her breath, how could she have forgotten that the plane was due to arrive. Kirsty started walking briskly toward the front door whilst putting a telephone call into Nicole. “Sorry about the short notice. Could you meet me at the front door with a car? We need to make a pick up at the air strip.” Kirsty listened to the reply and thanked her colleague.
She was nervous as it was her first shift in the section of the estate where the captives or guests as Elizabeth Crawford liked to refer to them as were kept. Kirsty had volunteered to partner up with her for today which she really appreciated. It was the evening shift so it would involve serving food to the guests and perhaps changing diapers and getting the guests restrained for the evening and she was looking forward to getting started. Constance took one final look in the mirror, checking that she looked her best, specifically the large purple dress that she was currently wearing. She had to admit that she did love wearing the dresses. There was something about wearing them that made her fell strong and in control as well as intensely feminine. Kirsty had told her that was the whole point. During her second week on the island Constance has met the seamstress, an older woman who lived in one of the individual houses clustered around a cove further up the island’s coast. Constance had stood stock still as instructed whilst the seamstress took every measurement that Constance could think of, twice. Although Constance to admit that the seamstress was fantastic; the dress fit the shapely outline of her body perfectly. The quality of the material was equal to that of the workmanship involved. Constance had quickly discovered that Elizabeth Crawford did not scrimp on quality. She was also wearing a diaper, albeit a more slim line version of those wore by guests. These diapers were extremely breathable and designed only really to be used in an emergency; to prevent any accidents and avoid the worry of any staining her dress should something unplanned happen. They were basically just an alternative type of underwear. Whilst standing looking in the mirror Constance drifted back to the when she had turned up with her suitcase and agreed to join Elizabeth Crawford’s organisation and she smiled at the memory. Having been bound and gagged then completing the seven days as a captive she was relieved. There was still a part of her that thought that it was all a rouse to kidnap her and extort a ransom from her family. It had been strange being kept bound and gagged in the restraining bags for that length of time. It was a weird sensation. It didn’t bother her in the slightest, there wasn’t anything that you could do but it gave you time to think, to concentrate on the important things, which she enjoyed. She also enjoyed the comfort of the restraining bags. It was bizarre, bound and gagged but as comfortable as she has ever been. Even wearing the diaper hadn’t been too bad, yes embarrassing but there was also a sense of security that it gave that she appreciated as well.
Constance waked over to the cupboard, removed one of the short down jackets and slipped it on. Once again her mind drifted this time to the intense training regime and how surprised she was to admit that she was enjoying it. The training gave her focus for the first time in her life. She found that she enjoyed the physical exercise so undertook addition sessions with Kirsty in addition to the mandatory sessions on the schedule. Constance could tell that her body had changed slightly, the muscle tone slightly more obvious and a little less body fat in certain areas. There were classes in unarmed combat, how to follow people, how to pick locks and other useful skills. She also had training on how to subdue people with holds and also how to correctly and safely administer chloroform and other sedatives in addition to being instructed on the correct procedure and knots to use when binding someone. In fact the only awkward part of the training was the sessions that involved learning techniques designed to get captives to divulge information but Constance thought that you had to take the rough with the smooth.
The island was beautiful; idyllic would be a good word to describe it. Constance was currently staying at the main house with several other team members. But there were also a small number of houses of the island that were occupied by some team members and other employees such as the seamstress, gardeners and the aircrew. The accommodation was great, spacious and luxurious, easily comparable to a four star hotel and had its own television and entertainment system. Kirsty had said that all of the rooms were soundproofed so no need to worry about disturbing the neighbours. There was beach to retreat to plus all the facilities that you could wish for, it was almost like a holiday camp. There was an on-site health and beauty spa, gym and tennis court. In addition to that all of the operatives who she had met were friendly, welcoming and willing to pass on their experience and skills, even Antonija the taciturn Croat. The main benefit was the amount of foreign language phrases that she was picking up. Also in addition to the clothes that she had brought along she had been supplied with a wardrobe full of quality clothing plus a state of the art mobile and laptop. Then there was a knock at the door. When Constance answered it Kirsty stood there wearing a large green dress similar to Constance’s own. “You look great Kirsty….but are you not a bit early?”
“Probably, I like to be early. Can I come in?”
“Sorry, of course. Please do.” Constance opened the door fully and stepped out of the way, allowing Kirsty to enter.
“How are you enjoying life so far Constance?”
“Great, I love everything about it so far,” Constance replied a wide grin breaking out over her face.
“That’s good. Now there is just one more thing that we have to discuss and it is slightly awkward.” Kirsty gathered her skirt and sat down on the edge of the bed. She patted a space next to her and Constance joined her. “As you will have noticed there are no men on the island.”
“I did notice that,” Constance replied. Kirsty was still trying to find the best way to broach the subject.
“Did you find the box of toys under the bed?” Constance didn’t reply but the reddish tint spreading across her cheeks answered the question. “We are very relaxed here and how can I put it…..frustrations can grow and on occasions the girls help each other out with that.” Kirsty could tell that she had now gone red as the wide smile was back on Constance’s face.
“I think that I get the idea Kirsty.” Kirsty exhaled, relieved that this particular conversation was over.
“Well then I think we should better head down to start our shift. We wouldn’t want to be late on your first shift.”
Crawford’s office
“I trust that your shift went well?” Elizabeth Crawford asked.
“It passed without incident. It was good to catch up with Constance and must admit that I did enjoy being back wearing the dresses again,” Kirsty replied although she had changed back into more relaxed wear before meeting the boss who had asked her to drop in after her shift but had been coy about what the conversation would be about.
“Please take a seat Kirsty.” They were meeting in Elizabeth Crawford’s private study which was off her bedroom. This was slightly unusual as meetings were normally taken in the larger study in the ground floor of the main building, a room that also doubled as a well stocked library. Kirsty took a seat at a small table where two chairs had been arranged so that they faced each other with the table just to the right. “Can I get you a drink?”
“That would be great, thanks.” Elizabeth Crawford poured two drinks into thick glass tumblers and added a couple of ice cubes to each before sitting both on the small table and taking the seat across from Kirsty. There was a moment of silence as if Elizabeth Crawford was contemplating something and Kirsty got the feeling that her boss was preparing to tell her something important.
“How are the arrangement’s going for Copenhagen?”
“I managed to make most of them on the journey here; it was just a case of putting them into motion once we had arrived. Christine and Antonija are on their way in Novak’s jet and I have put them in contact with our local asset and they should be arriving in Copenhagen in the next….” Kirsty paused to check her wristwatch, “couple of hours. They are going to set up surveillance on the hotel and find a way to make the snatch without raising suspicion.”
“Good, good…..” Elizabeth Crawford seemed to drift away again.
“Is there something bothering you boss?” Kirsty asked.
“Sorry, just lost in thought. It has been a hectic period with all that has been going on.” Kirsty nodded her agreement and sipped at her drink before, partly summoning up the courage to ask the next question.
“If you don’t mind me asking what was in that vault?” Kirsty asked Elizabeth Crawford. A smile started to creep in at the sides of Elizabeth Crawford’s mouth, a knowing smile devoid of any trace of warmth. Kirsty watched on, she could almost see the cogs turning in Crawford’s head running through the options, deciding whether or not to let Kirsty have this particular piece of information.
“Do you remember those rumours about St Clare’s husband?” Kirsty nodded.
“That he didn’t make his money legitimately.” This time Elizabeth nodded.
“Well they were more then just rumours.” Elizabeth took a mouthful of her drink. “Plus it was more than money and contacts he was collecting. He had a relationship with the Broker that in addition to a lot of money earned them a lot of useful information. They had to store both somewhere….”
“So they stored it in a bank vault?”
“Yes, on a hard drive with a safety deposit box. It was the safest place that they could think to keep it.” There was silence again as both women sipped at their drinks. “The rumours are that it is a treasure trove of dodgy deals and blackmail material in addition to the details of various bank accounts held in banks across the globe.”
“So what is with all the subterfuge? Why not replace St Clare with an imposter? Why not just steal the information or leverage someone to get it for you?” All sensible questions Kirsty thought. Elizabeth Crawford considered her response. She had been careful to compartmentalise this operation so that nobody knew all that was going on, she felt that it was safer that way. But given that the plan was now fully in motion she thought that it would be safe to confide fully in Kirsty.
“In addition to the usual security measures there is a biometric scanner to get past.”
“Biometric scanner?” Kirsty said raising an eyebrow as she didn’t really understand the implication.
“It measures the gait of the person entering the vault against a held example and if it doesn’t match then the alarm goes off. There are only four examples held against the safe deposit box.”
“So only the Broker, St Clare and St Clare’s husband…” Kirsty said before pausing. “So who is the fourth person?”
“Well our friend the Broker is an intelligent woman. The fourth person is her representative who checks that the information is still there. The representative also takes fresh data to update the information when they visit. And before you ask I don’t know who this is. Our contact at the bank doesn’t know either as the Broker deals with a different executive. In addition the hard drive containing the information is security protected by an algorithm that is updated by the Brokers representative when they visit. If the correct answer isn’t entered then the data on the hard drive is dumped.”
“That’s why you need the mathematician.” Kirsty exclaimed. Crawford nodded.
“It is also why we need to move quickly to persuade the mathematician to crack that code.”
“I will make sure that Christine understands the time sensitive nature of grabbing the mathematician.”
“I knew that you would understand the situation. There are some other matters that we need to discuss. I didn’t want to expose any of our team to meeting directly with Emily St Clare to pick up the hard drive. So believe it or not I have arranged for one of the Broker’s couriers to meet and then deliver the hard drive to Harper in a more isolated location.” Kirsty had to take a second as she had been taking a mouthful of drink when Elizabeth was taking. “I know using the Broker’s couriers is ballsy but then you have to live life on the edge.”
“Well when you put it like that Elizabeth,” Kirsty replied having regained her composure.
“That then does however leave the small matter of the couriers. They are loose ends and will be able to identify Harper. I don’t like loose ends Kirsty. This operation is too important and the potential treasures so bountiful to risk anything.” Kirsty nodded, immediately knowing what her boss was hinting toward. “It doesn’t have to be for long. Just long enough for us to confirm the information that we have. I suspect that the broker will find out soon enough that the information has been stolen and probably not long after who has it.” Kirsty would have to make the arrangements quickly if she wanted to intercept the couriers as the exchange was due to happen in the next forty eight hours.
“That just leaves one final loose end and it is a potentially troubling one.”
“What is that boss?’ Kirsty replied genuinely interest. It wasn’t often that Elizabeth Crawford would admit to being troubled.
“Another drink before we continue?” Kirsty looked at her glass and nodded. Elizabeth Crawford took both glasses back to the bar, poured drinks into both and then returned to her seat. “Now, I have concerns about Milena, more so than I had about Dubois, especially as the American’s have those agents embedded with her and with what she knows about the plan…..”Although Elizabeth Crawford had stopped talking Kirsty knew the woman well enough to now that she was still deliberating something so waited. It didn’t take that long. “I am more troubled about Novak talking if she makes a mistake or the American’s finding something by accident than I was about our French contact. She has a lot more information on the operation than I am usually comfortable with someone outside the organisation having.”
“What do you suggest?” Kirsty asked the question but she already knew that Elizabeth Crawford had all of this planned out. Kirsty knew that Elizabeth had strong reservations about the American agents joining up with Novak but the businesswoman had argued that it would be better to have them close and keep a close eye on them rather than have them monitoring her without knowing.
“Leverage, we need some leverage.” Kirsty had to stop herself from smiling; Elizabeth Crawford did indeed have a plan for every eventuality. “I have it on good information that her niece is getting married at the weekend.” Kirsty had to give the woman credit; she did seem to know everything.
“But won’t Milena be attending the wedding?”
“No she will not. Although they are each other’s only living blood relation the niece doesn’t know anything about Novak. The sisters fell out early in life and Novak’s sister moved to Spain and married a local before moving to England. When tragedy struck Novak has just kept an eye on her niece from afar, helping as an anonymous benefactor when required.” Kirsty pondered this information and ran the calculations through her head.
“Giving the timing we are stretched on resources and you have asked a lot of the girls.”
“I understand. I suggest that you let Constance that new recruit that you like so much undertake the heavy lifting on planning at the early stage. If she is as promising as you make out then it shouldn’t be an issue.” Kirsty picked up her glass and took a long drag of her drink to consider what Elizabeth Crawford had said. To be honest she didn’t know whether this was a test and her boss was hoping that Constance would fail.
“I have every confidence in Constance will be able to pull this off,” Kirsty replied confidently.
“Good. I shall send you the details first thing tomorrow. There is a bit of time as the wedding isn’t until next weekend.” Another slightly odd silence fell over the room. Kirsty decided to ask a straight question.
“Can I ask why you have gone to this trouble boss?” This time it was Elizabeth Crawford’s time to take a drink and consider a response.
“Why am I doing this Kirsty? That is a good question.” Kirsty could sense that Elizabeth wanted to tell her something else but was reluctant to do so. Kirsty didn’t fill the silence with any further conversation to see if that tempted her boss into saying something. “I want to go straight.” Kirsty eyes almost popped out of her head, this was certainly not the answer that she expected.
“But why now?” Kirsty asked, still in a state of shock.
“I am on the most wanted list for most police forces and government agencies around the world. Watching your back all the time for law enforcement can be tiring and I fancy being able to go where I want when I want to. I am in the position where I have substantial assets that if I can go legitimate then I can use them to build legal businesses.”
“And the information on the Broker’s hard drive will assist that?” Kirsty asked starting to put two and two together.
“Yes. It will give me some leverage with important people to get things started plus act as a deterrent against anybody that wants to have a go at me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is not just politicians and officials that have skeletons in the closet. Some of my former and current associates may be concerned when they find out what I have planned. The information that the Broker has is literally and figuratively where the bodies are buried. Hopefully the threat of that information coming out will prevent any strikes against me.”
“What are the timescales?”
“I don’t know at the moment. It depends on exactly what the information is and how I can use it.” Kirsty was glad that there were no firm timetables at the moments as she was having trouble processing the information.
“What about me…..us……the girls I mean?”
“All the girls will have their own choice to make and I won’t force them. I will promise to keep them all employed should they wish. I already have some legitimate investments, such as with Novak and some property. Going legit would allow me to use the resources that I have to grow these investments.”
“And abducting Novak’s niece isn’t going to put that in jeopardy?”
“Not in the slightest. It is just an insurance policy; her niece will be released at the right time. Plus Novak is a business woman when it all comes down to it.” Kirsty played with the tumbler in her hands as it was now empty again. The recent revelations prompting her to take larger mouthfuls than she normally would. “Would you like another drink Kirsty?” Elizabeth asked noticing the empty glass.
“No thanks boss. If it is alright with you I would rather get some fresh air before I turn in for the night.”
“No problem, I understand.” Kirsty got up to leave. “I would ask that you keep this to yourself for now,” Kirsty just nodded, still reeling from this revelation. As she walked toward the door Kirsty heard Elizabeth Crawford say something but couldn’t make out what it was.
“Sorry boss. I couldn’t make that out.”
“I said that it would be handy to have Louise back in the near future.”
“Doesn’t Louise still have time left on her sentence?”
“Don’t bother yourself with that. I will make may own discreet enquiries.” Kirsty exited the room and made her way along the corridor, down a flight of stairs and out into the night air. The revelations from Elizabeth Crawford had hit her hard, it was totally unexpected and she was having trouble processing this. Kirsty decided to go for a walk before retiring for the night, hoping that a good nights’ sleep and a morning run would help to clear her head. Then she felt a vibration in the pocket of her jeans. Removing her mobile Kirsty looked at the screen and then cursed under her breath, how could she have forgotten that the plane was due to arrive. Kirsty started walking briskly toward the front door whilst putting a telephone call into Nicole. “Sorry about the short notice. Could you meet me at the front door with a car? We need to make a pick up at the air strip.” Kirsty listened to the reply and thanked her colleague.
-
mrjones2009
- Centennial Club
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Chapter 49
The undercarriage bumped onto tarmac and the passengers felt it through their spines. A slightly distorted voice came over the planes intercom. “Sorry about that landing folks. Not my best,” the pilot said by way of an apology. The jolt helped Sasha Conteh to regain her senses having been very groggy for the last five minutes. They, whoever they were, must have removed the mask from over her nose and mouth which meant the knock out gas was no longer being administered, however she was still bound securely to the chair. At least they had also removed the blindfold and not replaced the gag that had been in her mouth, for which she was grateful. Taking the opportunity to look around the plane Sasha fist impression was that the interior of the fuselage had been tastefully and expensively fitted out. Also noted were the other occupants of the plane, her fellow captive Jane who was similarly bound and secured to a seat, the Russia called Yelena from earlier plus three women who she assumed were Harper, Perrie and Tahani. The names that she had overheard back at the airport. Sasha locked eyes with Jane and shrugged hoping that it conveyed I have no idea what is going on. Next Sasha took a look out of the window as the plane taxied; it looked like a small private airfield but there were no distinguishing features. It could have been anywhere with a flat green field.
“Where are we?” Jane asked as the plane came to a halt and the whine of the engines decreased before disappearing completely.
“That is not an important question at the moment,” Harper said rising from her seat. “The question you should be asking yourself is what are we going to do with you?” Harper threw out that comment whilst picking up papers and putting them into a satchel along with a tablet. Perrie approached Sasha with several items in her hand.
“I hope that you aren’t going to cause us any issues Sasha?” Sasha wanted to resist in some way but knew that her situation was almost hopeless so shook her head. “That is a good choice. Now open your mouth please.” Sasha complied and was rewarded with a soft, thick cloth being forced into her mouth. Perrie then next folded a silk scarf into a band and tied it over Sasha’s mouth in order to keep the cloth packing in place. As Perrie fidgeted with what Sasha took to be a sleep mask she stole a glance at Jane who was being similarly gagged by the large and intimidating Tahani. That view was soon blocked out as Perrie applied the thick sleep mask over Sasha’s eyes. “I am going to unbind your ankles then undo the straps and let you out of the seat.” Being unable to reply Sasha just nodded her understanding. Once Perrie had completed that task she helped Sasha to her feet before patting her on the diaper. “I see that you have used the diaper and you complained and moaned about wearing one. I told you it would be worthwhile.” Sasha knew that she was blushing but could do nothing about it. Lastly Perrie slipped a strap around Sasha’s torso and used it to pin Sasha’s arms to her body. Perrie grabbed Sasha’s upper arm and led her to the front of the plane and to the top of the stairs, Sasha could tell that they were now outside due to the soft breeze on her face, well the bits that weren’t covered with soft fabric.
Kirsty and Nicole leaned on the vehicle that they had brought to the airfield and waited for the plane’s door to open. When it did Harper quickly made her way down the steps and across to them. “I hope that you had a comfortable flight?” Kirsty asked.
“Yes it was. Thanks for asking. We have two guests so best keep the discussions minimal until we get back to the house.” Kirsty looked over Harper’s shoulder as the two captives were being led toward the vehicle by Perrie and Tahani.
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After a short walk Sasha felt the grip on her arm tighten and took this as a sign that she should stop walking. “We are going to put you in a car,” Perrie said softly into Sasha’s ear. A hand was placed on Sasha’s head and she let herself be guided down into a seat in the car where her ankles were once again quickly cuffed together. Sasha sat in silence as the sounds of people and bags being put into a car sounded around her before several doors slammed and the engine started.
“Everyone in with their belts on,” Nicole said from the driver’s seat. There was no response but the car pulled away. Sasha squirmed around a bit to get comfortable, not being used to wearing a soiled diaper but had just got into a bearable position when another of the passengers said.
“Home, sweet home,” and Sasha guessed that they had arrived at their destination. The car stopped and the process was reversed as the bindings were removed from Sasha’s ankles and she was helped out of the vehicle and surprisingly found that her blindfold was removed. The night was starting to close in so having the blindfold removed didn’t hurt Sasha’s eyes too much and they adjusted quickly as both she and Jane were led the final twenty or so paces towards a spacious and impressive looking house. Once through the doors Sasha had to admire the architecture and decoration of the grand entrance, despite her current predicament.
“Andrea, Taliana please escort our guests to the Nebraska suite and make them comfortable.” Sasha was brought back to her current predicament when the dark haired woman who had picked them up from the plane spoke these works to two other women who were standing in the middle of the entrance hall. It was only then that Sasha noticed what they were wearing, large dresses like those you would see in films set in the eighteen hundreds with down filled jackets. “I am sure that Ms Crawford will want to have a conversation with both of them in the near future.”
“MMMPPPHHH,” Jane who had been completely silent until this point couldn’t help but make a sound from behind her gag. Sasha didn’t recognise the name but obviously Jane did but her attention was quickly back to the two women approaching her and had to admit that she was taken aback by the appearance of these women as they strode toward both her and Jane and took control of them, leading them along a corridor then up a flight of stairs where they were confronted by a solid looking metallic door with a glass window in it. One of the guards swiped a card on a controller and there was a buzzing noise as the locks disengaged and the guard pushed the door open to allow the group through, Sasha noted that the guards made sure that the door was closed and locked behind them. As she was led down the corridor Sasha noted that the decoration in this area of the house was more utilitarian than in what she assumed were the public areas of the house. Toward the end of the corridor the group stopped in front of a door and once again the guards swiped a card and the same buzzing noise sounded again and the door opened. The two captives were shoved into the room by the two guards and their bindings and gags were quickly removed.
“We will be back in an hour to secure you for the night. I would use the time wisely.” Andrea said. “Please feel free to use the facilities and put your clothes in the bin provided. You will be provided with all the garments that you require during you stay” The instructions given both guards turned in a swish of fabric and left the room. The door locked behind them and Sasha and Jane were left to their own devices.
“We need to talk.” Jane said to Sasha before heading toward the bathroom. Sasha didn’t really take in what Jane had said as she was still taking in the room that they were locked in. It was like a very good twin suite at a good hotel with an en-suite bathroom. “Did you hear what I said?” Jane came back into the main room and headed toward Sasha.
“To right we have to talk lady,” Sasha replied. “Let’s start with your name Miss Cat Burglar?”
“This is not the time to get into that,” Jane replied, looking round the room. “My name is Jane Robbie for your information.”
“I am sorry but I am an Interpol Agent and have been tracking you around Europe. You will have to pay for your crimes at some point.” Jane couldn’t help but laugh at this statement. Sasha stood staring at Jane before scanning the room again; her eyes fell on four large sleeping bag contraptions lying open on the floor of the room. “What do you think those are? Why would we need sleeping bags? There are two perfectly good beds in the room.” Jane just shook her head at that statement.
“You are right, we certainly need to talk. Take a seat on the bed and I will explain exactly how much trouble we are in at the moment.”
“Look I don’t know who you think…..”
“Shut up for a minute and sit down!” Jane voice took on a harsher tone than even she expected but she had to get the gravity of their situation over. Sasha looked on stunned before obeying the command. “Let’s start with your name?”
“Sasha Conteh.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you Sasha. Now where should I start this story?” Jane took a second to compose her thoughts before coming to a conclusion. “About a year ago I met….no that’s not the correct phrase; I came into contact with two women called Hayley King and Natalie Twain one of whom was an agent with American intelligence and the other is a police officer….” Jane then went on to tell the story of what she got involved with last year with Hayley, Natalie and Elizabeth Crawford whilst filling in as much background on Elizabeth Crawford and her organisation as she had. When she had finished Sasha just stared at her open mouthed. “Now I appreciate that was a lot to take in so if you have any questions please ask them……well after I have had a shower.” Jane then turned and headed for the bathroom, leaving Sasha to her thoughts.
“Wait if this Elizabeth Crawford is involved in organised crime surely I would have heard of her.” Sasha said this to out loud but to nobody in particular as Jane already had the shower running.
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Sasha was still running all of the information in Jane’s story through her head when she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with one of the large, high quality towels that were on the rack in the bathroom. Most of what Jane told her defied belief and she had to admit that she was finding it hard to believe the word of somebody who was after all a career criminal. She then used one of the toothbrushes and toothpaste provided to clean her teeth, yes she knew it was bizarre but there was no reason to let oral hygiene slip. Wrapping the towel around her Sasha opened the door and stepped into the bedroom and stopped dead at the site that greeted her. The two guards with the large dresses were standing, looming over Jane who was sitting on the bed. Jane was wearing what looked to a light blue one piece suit, similar to a ski suit but puffier and Jane’s wrists were cuffed and lying in her lap and where her hands should be were two large blue mitts that were the same colour as the suit.
“Don’t panic Sasha. This is Taliana and Andrea. Just do as they ask and everything will be alright.”
“I suggest that you listen to your room mate Sasha. There is nowhere to go. Compliance and obedience will be rewarded and any disobedience will be punished.” Andrea stated evenly. There was something dangling from Andrea’s hand, from this distance Sasha could tell that it was some kind of pad with straps on either side like a large wristwatch. Taliana moved to stand to the side of Jane and then without any warning Andrea thrust the pad toward Jane’s mouth with Taliana placing a hand behind her head, it was then that Sasha noted that there was a large ball shaped object at the centre of the pad that went directly into Jane’s mouth. Andrea then reached around Jane’s head and secured the pad over Jane’s mouth using the buckles on the straps. Sasha watched on with grime fascination as the thick pad over Jane’s mouth compressed as the straps were tightened to secure the gag in place. That job completed the two guards turned their attention toward Sasha.
“Don’t worry we have one for you as well. But first things first lie down of that changing mat so that we can put a diaper on you,” Taliana said. It was then that Sasha noticed the mat sitting on the floor. Sasha took a second to think but with no other options she dropped the towel and lay down of her back on the mat.
As Sasha was lying down under the watchful gaze of Taliana, Andrea walked across to a large built in wardrobe and pulled out a light blue down filled suit out of it, even from her position on the floor Sasha could tell that it was identical to the suit that Jane was wearing. Then Andrea leaned further into the wardrobe and into a box that was sitting on the corner of the wardrobe and pulled out a large, thick adult diaper. Sasha noticed that the smooth external shell of the diaper was also light blue. Nice that they were keeping it colour co-ordinated she thought. Taliana kept a wary eye on Sasha who had decided to submit to whatever they had in store at the present time and look for a way to escape later. Andrea strode across the room and handed the suit to Taliana before after taking care with the large skirt on her dress kneeled down on the floor next to Sash on the plastic changing mat. “Next time we should do this on the bed,” Andrea commented. Sasha found something interesting on the ceiling and concentrated on that, a couple of seconds Sasha felt a tap on her hip and took this as a sign to raise her bottom from the mat. Sasha then felt her bum and private area being wiped with a damp cloth and cleaned before a cool cream was applied over her delicate areas and then talcum powered was sprinkled over her and then gently patted in. “You can lower your bum back down now” Andrea said. When she did Sasha felt her bum land on the centre of the soft, thick diaper. Sasha lay perfectly still as Andrea finished the process of putting on the diaper by bringing up the front and securing the sticky tabs to keep it in place. Taliana then helped Andrea up from her knees before she then offered Sasha a hand, which was accepted. As soon as Sasha was on her feet Taliana thrust the light blue down filled suit at her. Sasha looked at the suit for a second, before taking it from Taliana and slowly slipping it on. First the left leg then the right before slipping her arms through the smooth nylon arms and shrugging the suit over her shoulders and zipping it up fully to the neck. Sasha couldn’t help but run her hands over the smooth surface of the suit and admire how comfortable it was and actually how flattering the cut of the suit was despite its bulk.
“Put you ands out in front,” this time the instruction came from Taliana who held what looked like two large mittens in one hand. Sasha glanced at Jane’s hands and then back at Taliana.
“What are those exactly?” Sasha asked.
“They are finger control mitts. They remove the temptation to try and pick at knots and buckles.” The answer was supplied by Andrea and was stated as if Sasha would understand that explanation and accept it. Which was true as Sasha could not do anything else so held out her hands are instructed and the mitts were slipped on each hand. The mitts had a small buckle at the wrist section which Taliana tightened to lock the mitts in place. Sasha winced as the buckle was secured and tried to wriggle her fingers. The mitts were thickly padded and severely limited the movement of her fingers. That combined with the silky smoothness of the fabric on both the inside and outside of the mitts meant that trying to pick something up almost impossible, rendering her hands useless. Then Sasha watched as Taliana placed padded cuffs on her wrists, just above the end of the mitts, locking them together with not much of a gap, restricting independent movement. “You can lower your arms now.” Once again Sasha complied with the instruction and no sooner had they been lowered than Taliana placed a padded strap around her body and tightened it to secure Sasha’s arms to her body.
“Now time for your gag, please open you mouth,” Sasha who had been looking down at her bound and mittened hands jumped slightly then did as instructed. Andrea picked up another of what Sasha recognised as one of those large padded gags with a ball in the middle that had been used on Jane. The large soft ball at the centre of the gag was forced into her mouth, almost completely filling it. Sasha instantly reacted and closed her mouth around the ball as the pad was pushed against her lips. Sasha felt it push down on her lips as Andrea used the buckle at the back of Sasha’s head to secure it in place, Tatiana kindly held Sasha’s hair out of the way before the buckle was tightened completely. “Sasha you sit down on the edge of the bed whilst we get Jane properly secured. Then it will be your turn.” Sasha nodded and sat on the bed, they had obviously finished with her for know. It was now that Sasha thought back to her own self bondage experience when she had been gagged. The gag that she was now wearing was completed different and although tighter and more effective it wasn’t uncomfortable, more awkward like she could get used to wearing it after a while. That in itself was a worrying thought.
“Now Jane just do as we say and this will go a lot easier.” Sasha heard that and turned her attention back to what was going on across at the other bed. Taliana picked up three further padded leather straps and used two of the larger straps to bind Jane’s legs tightly together around the thighs and just below the knees, this was in addition to the cuffs that had already been places around her ankles. Sasha couldn’t tell for see but would have sworn that Jane grunted into her gag as each buckle was tightened. Taliana then helped Jane to her feet whilst Andrea picked up one of the sleeping bag looking contraptions and put it onto the bed, opening it up. Then both Andrea and Taliana aided Jane as she hopped into a position where she could lower her bottom down into the bag before swinging her legs up and into the bag. Jane lay down in the bag and Andrea flipped the top back over, covering Jane before zipping it up to secure Jane inside. “Now let’s get you into the second restraining bag and comfortable” Andrea said. Sasha watched up intently and with a slight sense of dread as what was currently happening to Jane would surely also be happening to her in the not too distant future. Andrea and Taliana picked up a second larger bag between them and made their way toward the prone form of Jane on the bed. “Now Jane, just lie still we put you in the second restraining bag.” Sasha watched on as Taliana and Andrea lifted Jane’s legs and slid her into her second bag. Sasha heard the sound of the two nylon surfaces against each other as the women went about the business of slipping the rest of Jane’s nylon and down encased body into the larger, second bag. Finally getting the hood under Jane’s head Sasha watched on as the two women struggled to bring the two halves of the external bag together and fighting against the loft of the internal bag managed to get the centre zip up to the top before locking it off. As their two captors went to pick up the remaining two restraining bags from the floor Sasha looked at Jane who now seemed to be lost, encased in a massive, down filled, silk wrapped cocoon.
“Jane, just relax and don’t move around to much. The bags will loft up some more over time and will feel tighter so don’t panic about that,” Taliana said.
“Now let’s finish with Sasha and so we can get started with our other duties.” Andrea said to Taliana. They both turned to look at Sasha who gulped.
The undercarriage bumped onto tarmac and the passengers felt it through their spines. A slightly distorted voice came over the planes intercom. “Sorry about that landing folks. Not my best,” the pilot said by way of an apology. The jolt helped Sasha Conteh to regain her senses having been very groggy for the last five minutes. They, whoever they were, must have removed the mask from over her nose and mouth which meant the knock out gas was no longer being administered, however she was still bound securely to the chair. At least they had also removed the blindfold and not replaced the gag that had been in her mouth, for which she was grateful. Taking the opportunity to look around the plane Sasha fist impression was that the interior of the fuselage had been tastefully and expensively fitted out. Also noted were the other occupants of the plane, her fellow captive Jane who was similarly bound and secured to a seat, the Russia called Yelena from earlier plus three women who she assumed were Harper, Perrie and Tahani. The names that she had overheard back at the airport. Sasha locked eyes with Jane and shrugged hoping that it conveyed I have no idea what is going on. Next Sasha took a look out of the window as the plane taxied; it looked like a small private airfield but there were no distinguishing features. It could have been anywhere with a flat green field.
“Where are we?” Jane asked as the plane came to a halt and the whine of the engines decreased before disappearing completely.
“That is not an important question at the moment,” Harper said rising from her seat. “The question you should be asking yourself is what are we going to do with you?” Harper threw out that comment whilst picking up papers and putting them into a satchel along with a tablet. Perrie approached Sasha with several items in her hand.
“I hope that you aren’t going to cause us any issues Sasha?” Sasha wanted to resist in some way but knew that her situation was almost hopeless so shook her head. “That is a good choice. Now open your mouth please.” Sasha complied and was rewarded with a soft, thick cloth being forced into her mouth. Perrie then next folded a silk scarf into a band and tied it over Sasha’s mouth in order to keep the cloth packing in place. As Perrie fidgeted with what Sasha took to be a sleep mask she stole a glance at Jane who was being similarly gagged by the large and intimidating Tahani. That view was soon blocked out as Perrie applied the thick sleep mask over Sasha’s eyes. “I am going to unbind your ankles then undo the straps and let you out of the seat.” Being unable to reply Sasha just nodded her understanding. Once Perrie had completed that task she helped Sasha to her feet before patting her on the diaper. “I see that you have used the diaper and you complained and moaned about wearing one. I told you it would be worthwhile.” Sasha knew that she was blushing but could do nothing about it. Lastly Perrie slipped a strap around Sasha’s torso and used it to pin Sasha’s arms to her body. Perrie grabbed Sasha’s upper arm and led her to the front of the plane and to the top of the stairs, Sasha could tell that they were now outside due to the soft breeze on her face, well the bits that weren’t covered with soft fabric.
Kirsty and Nicole leaned on the vehicle that they had brought to the airfield and waited for the plane’s door to open. When it did Harper quickly made her way down the steps and across to them. “I hope that you had a comfortable flight?” Kirsty asked.
“Yes it was. Thanks for asking. We have two guests so best keep the discussions minimal until we get back to the house.” Kirsty looked over Harper’s shoulder as the two captives were being led toward the vehicle by Perrie and Tahani.
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After a short walk Sasha felt the grip on her arm tighten and took this as a sign that she should stop walking. “We are going to put you in a car,” Perrie said softly into Sasha’s ear. A hand was placed on Sasha’s head and she let herself be guided down into a seat in the car where her ankles were once again quickly cuffed together. Sasha sat in silence as the sounds of people and bags being put into a car sounded around her before several doors slammed and the engine started.
“Everyone in with their belts on,” Nicole said from the driver’s seat. There was no response but the car pulled away. Sasha squirmed around a bit to get comfortable, not being used to wearing a soiled diaper but had just got into a bearable position when another of the passengers said.
“Home, sweet home,” and Sasha guessed that they had arrived at their destination. The car stopped and the process was reversed as the bindings were removed from Sasha’s ankles and she was helped out of the vehicle and surprisingly found that her blindfold was removed. The night was starting to close in so having the blindfold removed didn’t hurt Sasha’s eyes too much and they adjusted quickly as both she and Jane were led the final twenty or so paces towards a spacious and impressive looking house. Once through the doors Sasha had to admire the architecture and decoration of the grand entrance, despite her current predicament.
“Andrea, Taliana please escort our guests to the Nebraska suite and make them comfortable.” Sasha was brought back to her current predicament when the dark haired woman who had picked them up from the plane spoke these works to two other women who were standing in the middle of the entrance hall. It was only then that Sasha noticed what they were wearing, large dresses like those you would see in films set in the eighteen hundreds with down filled jackets. “I am sure that Ms Crawford will want to have a conversation with both of them in the near future.”
“MMMPPPHHH,” Jane who had been completely silent until this point couldn’t help but make a sound from behind her gag. Sasha didn’t recognise the name but obviously Jane did but her attention was quickly back to the two women approaching her and had to admit that she was taken aback by the appearance of these women as they strode toward both her and Jane and took control of them, leading them along a corridor then up a flight of stairs where they were confronted by a solid looking metallic door with a glass window in it. One of the guards swiped a card on a controller and there was a buzzing noise as the locks disengaged and the guard pushed the door open to allow the group through, Sasha noted that the guards made sure that the door was closed and locked behind them. As she was led down the corridor Sasha noted that the decoration in this area of the house was more utilitarian than in what she assumed were the public areas of the house. Toward the end of the corridor the group stopped in front of a door and once again the guards swiped a card and the same buzzing noise sounded again and the door opened. The two captives were shoved into the room by the two guards and their bindings and gags were quickly removed.
“We will be back in an hour to secure you for the night. I would use the time wisely.” Andrea said. “Please feel free to use the facilities and put your clothes in the bin provided. You will be provided with all the garments that you require during you stay” The instructions given both guards turned in a swish of fabric and left the room. The door locked behind them and Sasha and Jane were left to their own devices.
“We need to talk.” Jane said to Sasha before heading toward the bathroom. Sasha didn’t really take in what Jane had said as she was still taking in the room that they were locked in. It was like a very good twin suite at a good hotel with an en-suite bathroom. “Did you hear what I said?” Jane came back into the main room and headed toward Sasha.
“To right we have to talk lady,” Sasha replied. “Let’s start with your name Miss Cat Burglar?”
“This is not the time to get into that,” Jane replied, looking round the room. “My name is Jane Robbie for your information.”
“I am sorry but I am an Interpol Agent and have been tracking you around Europe. You will have to pay for your crimes at some point.” Jane couldn’t help but laugh at this statement. Sasha stood staring at Jane before scanning the room again; her eyes fell on four large sleeping bag contraptions lying open on the floor of the room. “What do you think those are? Why would we need sleeping bags? There are two perfectly good beds in the room.” Jane just shook her head at that statement.
“You are right, we certainly need to talk. Take a seat on the bed and I will explain exactly how much trouble we are in at the moment.”
“Look I don’t know who you think…..”
“Shut up for a minute and sit down!” Jane voice took on a harsher tone than even she expected but she had to get the gravity of their situation over. Sasha looked on stunned before obeying the command. “Let’s start with your name?”
“Sasha Conteh.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you Sasha. Now where should I start this story?” Jane took a second to compose her thoughts before coming to a conclusion. “About a year ago I met….no that’s not the correct phrase; I came into contact with two women called Hayley King and Natalie Twain one of whom was an agent with American intelligence and the other is a police officer….” Jane then went on to tell the story of what she got involved with last year with Hayley, Natalie and Elizabeth Crawford whilst filling in as much background on Elizabeth Crawford and her organisation as she had. When she had finished Sasha just stared at her open mouthed. “Now I appreciate that was a lot to take in so if you have any questions please ask them……well after I have had a shower.” Jane then turned and headed for the bathroom, leaving Sasha to her thoughts.
“Wait if this Elizabeth Crawford is involved in organised crime surely I would have heard of her.” Sasha said this to out loud but to nobody in particular as Jane already had the shower running.
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Sasha was still running all of the information in Jane’s story through her head when she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with one of the large, high quality towels that were on the rack in the bathroom. Most of what Jane told her defied belief and she had to admit that she was finding it hard to believe the word of somebody who was after all a career criminal. She then used one of the toothbrushes and toothpaste provided to clean her teeth, yes she knew it was bizarre but there was no reason to let oral hygiene slip. Wrapping the towel around her Sasha opened the door and stepped into the bedroom and stopped dead at the site that greeted her. The two guards with the large dresses were standing, looming over Jane who was sitting on the bed. Jane was wearing what looked to a light blue one piece suit, similar to a ski suit but puffier and Jane’s wrists were cuffed and lying in her lap and where her hands should be were two large blue mitts that were the same colour as the suit.
“Don’t panic Sasha. This is Taliana and Andrea. Just do as they ask and everything will be alright.”
“I suggest that you listen to your room mate Sasha. There is nowhere to go. Compliance and obedience will be rewarded and any disobedience will be punished.” Andrea stated evenly. There was something dangling from Andrea’s hand, from this distance Sasha could tell that it was some kind of pad with straps on either side like a large wristwatch. Taliana moved to stand to the side of Jane and then without any warning Andrea thrust the pad toward Jane’s mouth with Taliana placing a hand behind her head, it was then that Sasha noted that there was a large ball shaped object at the centre of the pad that went directly into Jane’s mouth. Andrea then reached around Jane’s head and secured the pad over Jane’s mouth using the buckles on the straps. Sasha watched on with grime fascination as the thick pad over Jane’s mouth compressed as the straps were tightened to secure the gag in place. That job completed the two guards turned their attention toward Sasha.
“Don’t worry we have one for you as well. But first things first lie down of that changing mat so that we can put a diaper on you,” Taliana said. It was then that Sasha noticed the mat sitting on the floor. Sasha took a second to think but with no other options she dropped the towel and lay down of her back on the mat.
As Sasha was lying down under the watchful gaze of Taliana, Andrea walked across to a large built in wardrobe and pulled out a light blue down filled suit out of it, even from her position on the floor Sasha could tell that it was identical to the suit that Jane was wearing. Then Andrea leaned further into the wardrobe and into a box that was sitting on the corner of the wardrobe and pulled out a large, thick adult diaper. Sasha noticed that the smooth external shell of the diaper was also light blue. Nice that they were keeping it colour co-ordinated she thought. Taliana kept a wary eye on Sasha who had decided to submit to whatever they had in store at the present time and look for a way to escape later. Andrea strode across the room and handed the suit to Taliana before after taking care with the large skirt on her dress kneeled down on the floor next to Sash on the plastic changing mat. “Next time we should do this on the bed,” Andrea commented. Sasha found something interesting on the ceiling and concentrated on that, a couple of seconds Sasha felt a tap on her hip and took this as a sign to raise her bottom from the mat. Sasha then felt her bum and private area being wiped with a damp cloth and cleaned before a cool cream was applied over her delicate areas and then talcum powered was sprinkled over her and then gently patted in. “You can lower your bum back down now” Andrea said. When she did Sasha felt her bum land on the centre of the soft, thick diaper. Sasha lay perfectly still as Andrea finished the process of putting on the diaper by bringing up the front and securing the sticky tabs to keep it in place. Taliana then helped Andrea up from her knees before she then offered Sasha a hand, which was accepted. As soon as Sasha was on her feet Taliana thrust the light blue down filled suit at her. Sasha looked at the suit for a second, before taking it from Taliana and slowly slipping it on. First the left leg then the right before slipping her arms through the smooth nylon arms and shrugging the suit over her shoulders and zipping it up fully to the neck. Sasha couldn’t help but run her hands over the smooth surface of the suit and admire how comfortable it was and actually how flattering the cut of the suit was despite its bulk.
“Put you ands out in front,” this time the instruction came from Taliana who held what looked like two large mittens in one hand. Sasha glanced at Jane’s hands and then back at Taliana.
“What are those exactly?” Sasha asked.
“They are finger control mitts. They remove the temptation to try and pick at knots and buckles.” The answer was supplied by Andrea and was stated as if Sasha would understand that explanation and accept it. Which was true as Sasha could not do anything else so held out her hands are instructed and the mitts were slipped on each hand. The mitts had a small buckle at the wrist section which Taliana tightened to lock the mitts in place. Sasha winced as the buckle was secured and tried to wriggle her fingers. The mitts were thickly padded and severely limited the movement of her fingers. That combined with the silky smoothness of the fabric on both the inside and outside of the mitts meant that trying to pick something up almost impossible, rendering her hands useless. Then Sasha watched as Taliana placed padded cuffs on her wrists, just above the end of the mitts, locking them together with not much of a gap, restricting independent movement. “You can lower your arms now.” Once again Sasha complied with the instruction and no sooner had they been lowered than Taliana placed a padded strap around her body and tightened it to secure Sasha’s arms to her body.
“Now time for your gag, please open you mouth,” Sasha who had been looking down at her bound and mittened hands jumped slightly then did as instructed. Andrea picked up another of what Sasha recognised as one of those large padded gags with a ball in the middle that had been used on Jane. The large soft ball at the centre of the gag was forced into her mouth, almost completely filling it. Sasha instantly reacted and closed her mouth around the ball as the pad was pushed against her lips. Sasha felt it push down on her lips as Andrea used the buckle at the back of Sasha’s head to secure it in place, Tatiana kindly held Sasha’s hair out of the way before the buckle was tightened completely. “Sasha you sit down on the edge of the bed whilst we get Jane properly secured. Then it will be your turn.” Sasha nodded and sat on the bed, they had obviously finished with her for know. It was now that Sasha thought back to her own self bondage experience when she had been gagged. The gag that she was now wearing was completed different and although tighter and more effective it wasn’t uncomfortable, more awkward like she could get used to wearing it after a while. That in itself was a worrying thought.
“Now Jane just do as we say and this will go a lot easier.” Sasha heard that and turned her attention back to what was going on across at the other bed. Taliana picked up three further padded leather straps and used two of the larger straps to bind Jane’s legs tightly together around the thighs and just below the knees, this was in addition to the cuffs that had already been places around her ankles. Sasha couldn’t tell for see but would have sworn that Jane grunted into her gag as each buckle was tightened. Taliana then helped Jane to her feet whilst Andrea picked up one of the sleeping bag looking contraptions and put it onto the bed, opening it up. Then both Andrea and Taliana aided Jane as she hopped into a position where she could lower her bottom down into the bag before swinging her legs up and into the bag. Jane lay down in the bag and Andrea flipped the top back over, covering Jane before zipping it up to secure Jane inside. “Now let’s get you into the second restraining bag and comfortable” Andrea said. Sasha watched up intently and with a slight sense of dread as what was currently happening to Jane would surely also be happening to her in the not too distant future. Andrea and Taliana picked up a second larger bag between them and made their way toward the prone form of Jane on the bed. “Now Jane, just lie still we put you in the second restraining bag.” Sasha watched on as Taliana and Andrea lifted Jane’s legs and slid her into her second bag. Sasha heard the sound of the two nylon surfaces against each other as the women went about the business of slipping the rest of Jane’s nylon and down encased body into the larger, second bag. Finally getting the hood under Jane’s head Sasha watched on as the two women struggled to bring the two halves of the external bag together and fighting against the loft of the internal bag managed to get the centre zip up to the top before locking it off. As their two captors went to pick up the remaining two restraining bags from the floor Sasha looked at Jane who now seemed to be lost, encased in a massive, down filled, silk wrapped cocoon.
“Jane, just relax and don’t move around to much. The bags will loft up some more over time and will feel tighter so don’t panic about that,” Taliana said.
“Now let’s finish with Sasha and so we can get started with our other duties.” Andrea said to Taliana. They both turned to look at Sasha who gulped.
Wow! Not lots of downfilled goodness in chapter 48 but a lot of revelations! Crawford finally revealed her plans. And ambitious plans too. Maybe to ambitious this time? There are a lot of pieces on the board and not much margin for error. The fact that Lizzie plans to retire definitly surprised Kirsty. And I sense some doubts on her part - her surprise was genuine. What we do not know - for now - is, where Hayley fits in Crawfords Schemes.
I liked the opening of Chapter 48 very much: Constances thoughts and insights about her new life as Part of Crawfords Organization. The dialogue with Kirsty about certain things and tools
Chapter 49 was equally good, but in a complete different way. While Chapter 48 was very important for the total plot, Chapter 49 illustrated rather nicely the dificulties of Sasha realizing in what a predicament she really is. Her doubts about Janes Story are absolutely understandable. But she will have enough time to think things through - doubtless she will appreciate the comforts of the Enhanced Restraining System in due time
I liked the opening of Chapter 48 very much: Constances thoughts and insights about her new life as Part of Crawfords Organization. The dialogue with Kirsty about certain things and tools
Chapter 49 was equally good, but in a complete different way. While Chapter 48 was very important for the total plot, Chapter 49 illustrated rather nicely the dificulties of Sasha realizing in what a predicament she really is. Her doubts about Janes Story are absolutely understandable. But she will have enough time to think things through - doubtless she will appreciate the comforts of the Enhanced Restraining System in due time
Difficult to adjust, I thinkmrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago “Enjoy the night. I am sure that you will be most comfortable.” Hayley just glared at the smirk that the woman had on her face. Hayley heard the swish of dresses as the guards walked away before the sound of the door opening and closing then the soft click of the locks engaging. Then a stillness and silence descended over the room. It must have been pressure of the additional bag as despite knowing that it was useless Hayley found that she was trying to fight against the soft, thick down filled restraining bags that she was confined in. The down loft was smothering Hayley’s entire body, squashing against every part of her It felt that here entire head and body was engulfed in a massive down cocoon. It took her about an hour to get used to this unusual sensation and then she closed her eyes and tried to get as much sleep as possible. In the morning she would begin to try and piece together what she knew to try and get a theory about what was going on. It was all that she could hope to do for the next week. That and hope that her friends were trying to find her and making good progress toward that goal.
I hope Hayley coped well - and I miss her -
mrjones2009
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Chapter 50
Bern, Switzerland
The restaurant was one of the most sought after eateries in all of Switzerland, never mind Bern. Emily St Clare had entered fifteen minutes ago and immediately been shown directly to a pre-booked table at the back of the place. Funnily she didn’t remember asking for this table, or even making the booking for that matter. On her previous visits to this restaurant she had always sat at one of the booths at the full height windows that overlooked the lake. The waiter was that unobtrusive that he seemed to almost materialise next to the table. “Would you care to order a drink?”
“Not at the moment. I am waiting for someone.” The waiter slipped way. ‘Who am I waiting for?’
Emily scanned the restaurant and noticed a woman enter and walk up the maitre d’. The woman wore a headscarf and large sunglasses, she also carried a large bag over her shoulder. The bag looked familiar to Emily and as she glanced down it was clear why, it was identical to the one that Emily was carrying, that was strange she thought. It was an expensive and exclusive bag and the odds of two women in the same restaurant having it were large. The maitre d’ pointed at Emily and the woman strode over and effortlessly slipped into a chair across from her and slid her bag under the table, adjacent to where Emily had placed hers before removing her coat, sunglasses and headscarf.
“Have you eaten here before?” The woman asked, picking up the menu.
“Yes,” Emily replied.
“What would you recommend?”
“The speciality of the place is seafood so anything with gills,” Emily said. Once again the waiter seemed to appear from nowhere to take their order. Emily was a bit perplexed as she was sure that she didn’t know this woman but felt comfortable enough to talk to her. They decided to skip straight to the main course with just a glass of wine each rather than a bottle. They both enjoyed the meal and talked politely throughout. After the plates had been cleared from the table the woman put on her coat, headscarf and sunglasses them stood up to leave. “Thanks for the meal.” The woman bent down and picked up one of the bags and left. Emily settled the bill then picked up her bag. Looking inside it was empty. She could have sworn there was something inside. When would she bring such a large bag and have nothing in it. That did seem strange but Emily decided to shrug it off and got out her mobile to summon her driver. It was time to get back to the hotel.
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It hadn’t taken Natascha Taylor long to track down Emily St Clare in Bern. The woman had high standards so there was ever only going to be two or three hotels that matched them and she would stay at. A quick call to headquarters and Natascha had confirmation of the hotel and indeed room number where Emily St Clare was staying. Then it was just a case of Natascha trailing St Clare and seeing if something happened. Natascha had followed St Clare to the bank that morning and then onto the restaurant. There was no chance of Natascha getting into the bank but the restaurant was another matter. She gave it ten minutes before entering the restaurant and casually looking around, identifying St Clare at a table toward the back of the restaurant where she was talking with another woman. A waiter approached their table and deposited two glasses of wine; it looked like they would be at the table for a while. In additional to a restaurant there was also a bar so Natascha decided to have a drink and wait.
In the end it turned out to be two drinks before Natascha noted that St Clare and the other woman had finished having dinner. The woman sitting opposite St Clare started to put her coat on, it was decision time for Natascha. Should she follow St Clare or the new mystery woman? In the end it was an easy decision as she could pick up St Clare back at her hotel. The mystery woman it was then. Natascha had paid for her drinks rather than running up a tab so she was free to leave whenever she wanted. As the mystery woman walked past the bar Natascha suddenly became very interested in the selection of spirits sitting on the shelf behind the bar. She let the woman exit the restaurant and left before hurrying out onto the street and settling in a discreet distance behind her.
The mystery woman obviously had some sort of training as she seemed to take random turns and employ standard tactics to avoid being trailed but Natascha had better training and a bit of experience so was able to follow the woman through the busy streets until she entered into a large department store. Natascha slipped through the same door as the woman and then paused, the woman had stopped and was now having a discussion with another woman who was wearing the uniform of a stewardess; she could even identify the airline. Natascha pretended to be very interested in a display of bathroom furniture but kept an eye on the two women as the stewardess handed the mystery woman a garment bag and then the both headed toward the escalators to the first floor. After dragging herself away from a particularly nice toilet brush Natascha boarded the escalator and got to the first floor just in time to see her target enter the changing rooms. Natascha wound her way through the racks of clothes; the first floor was the women’s department, grabbing a couple of items as she went before also entering the changing room. Just as she did the stewardess exited a cubicle and the two came face to face. There was an awkward stand off until Natascha took a step to her left and made her way round the stewardess before taking the vacant cubicle next to where she assumed the mystery woman occupied. Natascha had no interest in trying on the clothes she just wanted to keep close to the woman from the restaurant so sat in silence and listened carefully to what was going on in the neighbouring cubicle. After ten minutes Natascha heard the cubicle door open and counted to ten before exiting her own cubicle just in time to see the mystery woman exit the changing area but now wearing the uniform of a stewardess but still carrying the bag that she had when she exited the restaurant.
The mystery woman met her friend and exited the department store so Natascha Taylor followed the two women, now both outfitted as stewardesses, along the street at a discreet distance; using the crowd as cover so that they wouldn’t notice her having come face to face with one of them earlier. The two women joined the queue at a bus stop and Natascha let several people get between them before joining the queue. It took about five minutes for the next bus to arrive and everyone from the queue got on. Natascha had earlier purchased a tourist travel pass that could be used on all public transport so had no problem in getting on the bus. Natascha avoided eye contact with the two stewardesses as she made her way toward the rear of the bus to take a seat five rows behind the women that she was following.
The trip was uneventful as the bus made its way out of the city centre into more residential neighbourhoods where the crowd on the bus thinned until there were only a handful of passengers left. That left Natasha more exposed to being detected and when the two stewardesses got up and exited the bus at the next stop she wasn’t in a position to follow. Fortunately the driver must have fancied a break or was running ahead of schedule as he sat at the bus stop for a couple of minutes which allowed Natascha to watch from the bus window as the two stewardesses entered a house not that far away, she would get off at the next stop and work her way back to the house.
Dusk was starting to fall as Natascha Taylor casually walked past the house that the stewardesses had entered about half an hour earlier. Scoping out the house Natascha noted that there was a single light on in one of the upper floor rooms. She walked round the block and found the house that was located directly behind the target house and then slipped through an unlocked gate into the rear garden before vaulting the fence and landing softly in the rear garden of the target house. Silently Natascha approached the rear door of the house and took out her lock picking kit from her small shoulder bag. It didn’t take her long to deal with the two locks on the door and make her way inside, carefully closing the door behind her. Natascha paused and listened intently for noises within the house, there was nothing apart from the sound of a shower running upstairs. Making the calculations in her head Natascha concluded that one of the women was in the shower and the other was probably in bed. Slipping on a pair of black leather gloves Natascha began to search the ground floor of the house, working her way from the kitchen through the hall and into the living room and found nothing. There was nothing to give any indication about who these women were or what they were doing, it was almost sterile. She carefully made her way from the living room, through into the dining room. As she searched the cupboard to the side of the room Natascha heard a noise and spun round to that she was now ten steps away from the two stewardesses, fully clothed and more worryingly Natascha noted that one of them was holding a short barrelled pistol pointed at her sternum. Natascha froze at the sight of the pistol and almost comically raised her hands in a gesture of surrender whilst cursing her own assumptions and being so careless. There was an awkward silence before one of the stewardesses spoke. “Wait, I recognise her Hilary. She was in the changing rooms at the department store.” Natascha’s head dropped slightly, she now thought that she was in serious trouble.
“So were you following me?” Hilary asked. “How long have you been following me? Was it from the restaurant?” That was a lot of questions and Natascha wasn’t going to answer any of them, especially not with a gun pointed at her chest.
“Well have it that way. But you have given us a problem that we now have to deal with. Ainslie better make sure our visitor stays quiet for the moment.” The shorter blonde stewardess approached Natascha with intent, slowly untying then slipping off the silk scarf with the printed logo of the airline from around her neck. “Use some stuffing as well. I don’t want to hear anything from her.” Ainslie reached into the outside pocket of her uniform jacket and produces a large white handkerchief. Ainslie scrunched up the handkerchief and forced it into Natascha’s mouth. Ainslie then folded her neck scarf into a wide band and tied it over Natascha’s mouth, keeping the handkerchief in place.
“That will do for now. We can improve on the gag when we get upstairs.” Natascha didn’t like the sound of that but there wasn’t much that she could do about it at the moment, not with a gun pointed at her. Once the gag had been applied Ainslie ran her hands over Natascha’s body searching it for anything of interest and removed her bag plus anything that was in the pockets of her jacket. With a gun aimed at her she had no option but to comply. “Do as we say and you won’t get hurt but don’t try us. Follow Ainslie and no funny business.” Natascha nodded and followed the blonde stewardess out of the dining room, through the living room and back into the hall. Ainslie turned left and Natascha paused for a split second, noting that the front door was only a couple of yards to her right. Any thoughts of trying to reach the door were vanquished from her mind by Hilary placing a hand on her shoulder and jabbing the muzzle of the pistol into small of her back. “I wouldn’t try anything silly at this point.” Natascha silently conceded the point and continued to follow Ainslie up the stairs and into a bedroom at the rear of the house. “Now take a seat on the bed and don’t make any sudden movements. Ainslie, check the room for something that we can use to secure our new friend.”
“No problem Hilary,” Ainslie replied and set about her task.
Natascha sat on the end of the bed and stared intently at Hilary who was holding the gun steadily on her. Ainslie was busy looking through the top drawer of one chest of drawers in the room. “Looks like other ladies that have used this house have left us some useful items.” Natascha turned to see Ainslie reach into the drawer and take out a bundle of silk scarves.
“They will do nicely” Hilary commented.
“There are some handkerchiefs as well.” Ainslie brought her loot over to the bed and dumped the pile down beside Natascha. Then Ainslie sat down herself and start to go through the pile, selecting several large white handkerchiefs. As Natascha looked on Ainslie formed these into the large wad and placed them into the centre of a scarf which she folded so that the scarf now had a thick, soft pad in the centre of it. Next Ainslie untied the scarf that was over Natascha’s mouth, which meant that Natascha automatically lifted her hand to her mouth to remove the stuffing.
“Don’t even think about it” Hilary said from her standing position. Natascha put her hand back onto her lap. Ainslie picked up another handkerchief and started to force it into Natascha’s mouth alongside the one that was already in there. Natascha moaned as Ainslie forced the whole handkerchief into her mouth, the amount of stuffing in her mouth meant that Natascha couldn’t close her mouth fully. Ainslie then picked up the scarf the handkerchiefs rolled in it and placed the padded section over Natascha’s mouth, leaning round Ainslie secured the scarf tightly at the nape of Natascha’s neck. Then Ainslie folded another scarf into a wide band and used it as a final layer of gag. Placing it over Natascha’s mouth Ainslie also tied this tightly at the back of Natascha’s head, compressing the padding already in place over Natascha’s mouth and reinforcing the gag.
“HGTYHG,” Natascha moaned in complaint as the final layer of the gag was applied.
“Please be quiet and place your hands behind your back,” Ainslie said. Natascha knew that this was probably her last chance to get away and glanced up again but only found Hilary smiling at her from over the muzzle of a gun. Natascha placed her hands behind her back and instantly felt the smooth feel of silk around her wrists as they were secured together by one of the scarves by Ainslie. That was quickly followed another round her stomach that pinned her arms to her body. Ainslie quickly moved to securing Natascha’s legs together using scarves at the ankles, just below the knees and then around the thighs.
“Get her lying down on the bed” Natascha heard Hilary say. With a little help from Ainslie, Natascha managed to swing her legs onto the bed. It was ungainly but it was effective. Natascha wriggled her way up the bed until she was lying with her head on one of the pillows then looked up to find both of the women looking at her, Ainslie putting her branded scarf back on. “Now, don’t you move whilst Ainslie and I have a chat.” Leaving the bound and gagged Natascha laying on the bed the two stewardesses exited the room and closed the door behind them. “What are we going to do with her?” Ainslie asked indicated with her thumb toward the door.
“I don’t know. Let’s contact the Broker and see if she has any ideas.” Hilary replied. “But first let’s check her bag and see if there is any form of identification.”
Left to her own devices Natascha tried her gag. The amount of stuffing and padding along with the design of the gag made making any noise almost impossible, well noise that anybody could hear outside the room. Even Natascha could only hear a soft, whimpering mewing noise when she tried to make a noise loud enough to attract attention. Natascha had thought originally that the gag was over the top but had to admit that she understood that she had to be silenced effectively given the residential neighbourhood where the house was located. The scarf around her wrists didn’t have any give in it and the knot was positioned so that she couldn’t get to it with
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Broker’s Safehouse - Bern
“Unfortunately you seem to have come across a representative of the American Intelligence Community” said the voice at the other end of the phone. Hilary Burton couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Hilary had called the Broker barely thirty minutes ago to explain the situation. The Broker had asked for some time to make enquiries, the return telephone call came quicker than expected and it wasn’t the most welcome news.
“Do you have any advice on the next move?” Hilary enquired.
“This is not my area of expertise.” The Broker replied taking a moment to contemplate the current situation. “Did she mention how she managed to get a lead on you?”
“No, she wouldn’t tell us anything and well we aren’t expert in interrogation techniques. We just tied her up and left her upstairs.”
“It really would be good to find out how the agent knew about you.”
“I think that she was actually following the contact and then picked me up at the meet.” Hilary replied. There was a pause before the Broker continued. “I think I know someone who could be of assistance with this matter.” Hilary could hear the smile along the telephone line. “I will call you back.” Then the line went dead.
“What do we do now?” Ainslie asked. Hilary shrugged.
“Wait for the return call I guess.”
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It really should have crossed The Broker’s mind earlier. Of course there was someone that could help her out, for a hefty fee no doubt. The Broker scrolled through her contacts and selected the number that she was looking for. The phone was answered after only three rings. “Hello,” said the voice at the other end of the line.
“I have a package that I need put into storage for a while.” Elizabeth Crawford had to suppress a laugh; this was turning out to be an interesting telephone conversation.
“Would it be possible to obtain information from this package whilst in your care?”
“Just send me an e-mail with what you need and I will certainly do my best to get it for your promptly,” Elizabeth Crawford replied. “The usual fees will apply of course.”
“I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”
“Now, will the package need picked up at a specific location?”
“Yes and I will put all of the detail in the e-mail. Goodbye.” Conversation the line went dead and Elizabeth Crawford smiled like a kid on their birthday.
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Ainslie picked up the ringing mobile. “Hello,” said the unmistakable voice of the Broker. “I have made arrangements for your problem package to be picked up. Just make sure that package is secure and then leave the house.” Ainslie recounted the one message from the Broker to Hilary before they both finalised packing their bags and getting ready to leave for the airport where they had a flight to catch. Before they left they made the trip back up to the bedroom to check on Natascha. When they entered the room they found Natascha where they had left her lying on the bed.
“Now we are going leave now but somebody will be along to collect your shortly agent Taylor.” The use of her name got a reaction as Natascha’s eyes widened over her gag. “Yes we know who you are and we have made the appropriate arrangements.” Hilary added. “Ainslie better secure her to the bed in case she tries to roll away.” Ainslie grabbed another scarf from the pile and used it to secure Natascha’s bound ankles to the end of the bed. “It was nice to meet you Natascha but I doubt that our paths will cross again,” and with that comment the two stewardesses left the bedroom and Natascha to her own devices.
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Elizabeth Crawford couldn’t believe her luck as she looked at the e-mail that the Broker had sent; she was specifically interested in the photograph that was attached. It was of the same woman, Natascha Taylor that Hayley had been in Paris with. Not only was she getting an American Intelligence Agent but as bonus she was also getting a close friend of her favourite captive. The possibilities that this afforded her floated around her head and a wicked smile teased her lips but immediate business first. Elizabeth Crawford reached for her phone and hit redial. “Kirsty, I have another package for you to pick up for you in the same location. I will send you the details but you are going to believe it.”
Bern, Switzerland
The restaurant was one of the most sought after eateries in all of Switzerland, never mind Bern. Emily St Clare had entered fifteen minutes ago and immediately been shown directly to a pre-booked table at the back of the place. Funnily she didn’t remember asking for this table, or even making the booking for that matter. On her previous visits to this restaurant she had always sat at one of the booths at the full height windows that overlooked the lake. The waiter was that unobtrusive that he seemed to almost materialise next to the table. “Would you care to order a drink?”
“Not at the moment. I am waiting for someone.” The waiter slipped way. ‘Who am I waiting for?’
Emily scanned the restaurant and noticed a woman enter and walk up the maitre d’. The woman wore a headscarf and large sunglasses, she also carried a large bag over her shoulder. The bag looked familiar to Emily and as she glanced down it was clear why, it was identical to the one that Emily was carrying, that was strange she thought. It was an expensive and exclusive bag and the odds of two women in the same restaurant having it were large. The maitre d’ pointed at Emily and the woman strode over and effortlessly slipped into a chair across from her and slid her bag under the table, adjacent to where Emily had placed hers before removing her coat, sunglasses and headscarf.
“Have you eaten here before?” The woman asked, picking up the menu.
“Yes,” Emily replied.
“What would you recommend?”
“The speciality of the place is seafood so anything with gills,” Emily said. Once again the waiter seemed to appear from nowhere to take their order. Emily was a bit perplexed as she was sure that she didn’t know this woman but felt comfortable enough to talk to her. They decided to skip straight to the main course with just a glass of wine each rather than a bottle. They both enjoyed the meal and talked politely throughout. After the plates had been cleared from the table the woman put on her coat, headscarf and sunglasses them stood up to leave. “Thanks for the meal.” The woman bent down and picked up one of the bags and left. Emily settled the bill then picked up her bag. Looking inside it was empty. She could have sworn there was something inside. When would she bring such a large bag and have nothing in it. That did seem strange but Emily decided to shrug it off and got out her mobile to summon her driver. It was time to get back to the hotel.
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It hadn’t taken Natascha Taylor long to track down Emily St Clare in Bern. The woman had high standards so there was ever only going to be two or three hotels that matched them and she would stay at. A quick call to headquarters and Natascha had confirmation of the hotel and indeed room number where Emily St Clare was staying. Then it was just a case of Natascha trailing St Clare and seeing if something happened. Natascha had followed St Clare to the bank that morning and then onto the restaurant. There was no chance of Natascha getting into the bank but the restaurant was another matter. She gave it ten minutes before entering the restaurant and casually looking around, identifying St Clare at a table toward the back of the restaurant where she was talking with another woman. A waiter approached their table and deposited two glasses of wine; it looked like they would be at the table for a while. In additional to a restaurant there was also a bar so Natascha decided to have a drink and wait.
In the end it turned out to be two drinks before Natascha noted that St Clare and the other woman had finished having dinner. The woman sitting opposite St Clare started to put her coat on, it was decision time for Natascha. Should she follow St Clare or the new mystery woman? In the end it was an easy decision as she could pick up St Clare back at her hotel. The mystery woman it was then. Natascha had paid for her drinks rather than running up a tab so she was free to leave whenever she wanted. As the mystery woman walked past the bar Natascha suddenly became very interested in the selection of spirits sitting on the shelf behind the bar. She let the woman exit the restaurant and left before hurrying out onto the street and settling in a discreet distance behind her.
The mystery woman obviously had some sort of training as she seemed to take random turns and employ standard tactics to avoid being trailed but Natascha had better training and a bit of experience so was able to follow the woman through the busy streets until she entered into a large department store. Natascha slipped through the same door as the woman and then paused, the woman had stopped and was now having a discussion with another woman who was wearing the uniform of a stewardess; she could even identify the airline. Natascha pretended to be very interested in a display of bathroom furniture but kept an eye on the two women as the stewardess handed the mystery woman a garment bag and then the both headed toward the escalators to the first floor. After dragging herself away from a particularly nice toilet brush Natascha boarded the escalator and got to the first floor just in time to see her target enter the changing rooms. Natascha wound her way through the racks of clothes; the first floor was the women’s department, grabbing a couple of items as she went before also entering the changing room. Just as she did the stewardess exited a cubicle and the two came face to face. There was an awkward stand off until Natascha took a step to her left and made her way round the stewardess before taking the vacant cubicle next to where she assumed the mystery woman occupied. Natascha had no interest in trying on the clothes she just wanted to keep close to the woman from the restaurant so sat in silence and listened carefully to what was going on in the neighbouring cubicle. After ten minutes Natascha heard the cubicle door open and counted to ten before exiting her own cubicle just in time to see the mystery woman exit the changing area but now wearing the uniform of a stewardess but still carrying the bag that she had when she exited the restaurant.
The mystery woman met her friend and exited the department store so Natascha Taylor followed the two women, now both outfitted as stewardesses, along the street at a discreet distance; using the crowd as cover so that they wouldn’t notice her having come face to face with one of them earlier. The two women joined the queue at a bus stop and Natascha let several people get between them before joining the queue. It took about five minutes for the next bus to arrive and everyone from the queue got on. Natascha had earlier purchased a tourist travel pass that could be used on all public transport so had no problem in getting on the bus. Natascha avoided eye contact with the two stewardesses as she made her way toward the rear of the bus to take a seat five rows behind the women that she was following.
The trip was uneventful as the bus made its way out of the city centre into more residential neighbourhoods where the crowd on the bus thinned until there were only a handful of passengers left. That left Natasha more exposed to being detected and when the two stewardesses got up and exited the bus at the next stop she wasn’t in a position to follow. Fortunately the driver must have fancied a break or was running ahead of schedule as he sat at the bus stop for a couple of minutes which allowed Natascha to watch from the bus window as the two stewardesses entered a house not that far away, she would get off at the next stop and work her way back to the house.
Dusk was starting to fall as Natascha Taylor casually walked past the house that the stewardesses had entered about half an hour earlier. Scoping out the house Natascha noted that there was a single light on in one of the upper floor rooms. She walked round the block and found the house that was located directly behind the target house and then slipped through an unlocked gate into the rear garden before vaulting the fence and landing softly in the rear garden of the target house. Silently Natascha approached the rear door of the house and took out her lock picking kit from her small shoulder bag. It didn’t take her long to deal with the two locks on the door and make her way inside, carefully closing the door behind her. Natascha paused and listened intently for noises within the house, there was nothing apart from the sound of a shower running upstairs. Making the calculations in her head Natascha concluded that one of the women was in the shower and the other was probably in bed. Slipping on a pair of black leather gloves Natascha began to search the ground floor of the house, working her way from the kitchen through the hall and into the living room and found nothing. There was nothing to give any indication about who these women were or what they were doing, it was almost sterile. She carefully made her way from the living room, through into the dining room. As she searched the cupboard to the side of the room Natascha heard a noise and spun round to that she was now ten steps away from the two stewardesses, fully clothed and more worryingly Natascha noted that one of them was holding a short barrelled pistol pointed at her sternum. Natascha froze at the sight of the pistol and almost comically raised her hands in a gesture of surrender whilst cursing her own assumptions and being so careless. There was an awkward silence before one of the stewardesses spoke. “Wait, I recognise her Hilary. She was in the changing rooms at the department store.” Natascha’s head dropped slightly, she now thought that she was in serious trouble.
“So were you following me?” Hilary asked. “How long have you been following me? Was it from the restaurant?” That was a lot of questions and Natascha wasn’t going to answer any of them, especially not with a gun pointed at her chest.
“Well have it that way. But you have given us a problem that we now have to deal with. Ainslie better make sure our visitor stays quiet for the moment.” The shorter blonde stewardess approached Natascha with intent, slowly untying then slipping off the silk scarf with the printed logo of the airline from around her neck. “Use some stuffing as well. I don’t want to hear anything from her.” Ainslie reached into the outside pocket of her uniform jacket and produces a large white handkerchief. Ainslie scrunched up the handkerchief and forced it into Natascha’s mouth. Ainslie then folded her neck scarf into a wide band and tied it over Natascha’s mouth, keeping the handkerchief in place.
“That will do for now. We can improve on the gag when we get upstairs.” Natascha didn’t like the sound of that but there wasn’t much that she could do about it at the moment, not with a gun pointed at her. Once the gag had been applied Ainslie ran her hands over Natascha’s body searching it for anything of interest and removed her bag plus anything that was in the pockets of her jacket. With a gun aimed at her she had no option but to comply. “Do as we say and you won’t get hurt but don’t try us. Follow Ainslie and no funny business.” Natascha nodded and followed the blonde stewardess out of the dining room, through the living room and back into the hall. Ainslie turned left and Natascha paused for a split second, noting that the front door was only a couple of yards to her right. Any thoughts of trying to reach the door were vanquished from her mind by Hilary placing a hand on her shoulder and jabbing the muzzle of the pistol into small of her back. “I wouldn’t try anything silly at this point.” Natascha silently conceded the point and continued to follow Ainslie up the stairs and into a bedroom at the rear of the house. “Now take a seat on the bed and don’t make any sudden movements. Ainslie, check the room for something that we can use to secure our new friend.”
“No problem Hilary,” Ainslie replied and set about her task.
Natascha sat on the end of the bed and stared intently at Hilary who was holding the gun steadily on her. Ainslie was busy looking through the top drawer of one chest of drawers in the room. “Looks like other ladies that have used this house have left us some useful items.” Natascha turned to see Ainslie reach into the drawer and take out a bundle of silk scarves.
“They will do nicely” Hilary commented.
“There are some handkerchiefs as well.” Ainslie brought her loot over to the bed and dumped the pile down beside Natascha. Then Ainslie sat down herself and start to go through the pile, selecting several large white handkerchiefs. As Natascha looked on Ainslie formed these into the large wad and placed them into the centre of a scarf which she folded so that the scarf now had a thick, soft pad in the centre of it. Next Ainslie untied the scarf that was over Natascha’s mouth, which meant that Natascha automatically lifted her hand to her mouth to remove the stuffing.
“Don’t even think about it” Hilary said from her standing position. Natascha put her hand back onto her lap. Ainslie picked up another handkerchief and started to force it into Natascha’s mouth alongside the one that was already in there. Natascha moaned as Ainslie forced the whole handkerchief into her mouth, the amount of stuffing in her mouth meant that Natascha couldn’t close her mouth fully. Ainslie then picked up the scarf the handkerchiefs rolled in it and placed the padded section over Natascha’s mouth, leaning round Ainslie secured the scarf tightly at the nape of Natascha’s neck. Then Ainslie folded another scarf into a wide band and used it as a final layer of gag. Placing it over Natascha’s mouth Ainslie also tied this tightly at the back of Natascha’s head, compressing the padding already in place over Natascha’s mouth and reinforcing the gag.
“HGTYHG,” Natascha moaned in complaint as the final layer of the gag was applied.
“Please be quiet and place your hands behind your back,” Ainslie said. Natascha knew that this was probably her last chance to get away and glanced up again but only found Hilary smiling at her from over the muzzle of a gun. Natascha placed her hands behind her back and instantly felt the smooth feel of silk around her wrists as they were secured together by one of the scarves by Ainslie. That was quickly followed another round her stomach that pinned her arms to her body. Ainslie quickly moved to securing Natascha’s legs together using scarves at the ankles, just below the knees and then around the thighs.
“Get her lying down on the bed” Natascha heard Hilary say. With a little help from Ainslie, Natascha managed to swing her legs onto the bed. It was ungainly but it was effective. Natascha wriggled her way up the bed until she was lying with her head on one of the pillows then looked up to find both of the women looking at her, Ainslie putting her branded scarf back on. “Now, don’t you move whilst Ainslie and I have a chat.” Leaving the bound and gagged Natascha laying on the bed the two stewardesses exited the room and closed the door behind them. “What are we going to do with her?” Ainslie asked indicated with her thumb toward the door.
“I don’t know. Let’s contact the Broker and see if she has any ideas.” Hilary replied. “But first let’s check her bag and see if there is any form of identification.”
Left to her own devices Natascha tried her gag. The amount of stuffing and padding along with the design of the gag made making any noise almost impossible, well noise that anybody could hear outside the room. Even Natascha could only hear a soft, whimpering mewing noise when she tried to make a noise loud enough to attract attention. Natascha had thought originally that the gag was over the top but had to admit that she understood that she had to be silenced effectively given the residential neighbourhood where the house was located. The scarf around her wrists didn’t have any give in it and the knot was positioned so that she couldn’t get to it with
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Broker’s Safehouse - Bern
“Unfortunately you seem to have come across a representative of the American Intelligence Community” said the voice at the other end of the phone. Hilary Burton couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Hilary had called the Broker barely thirty minutes ago to explain the situation. The Broker had asked for some time to make enquiries, the return telephone call came quicker than expected and it wasn’t the most welcome news.
“Do you have any advice on the next move?” Hilary enquired.
“This is not my area of expertise.” The Broker replied taking a moment to contemplate the current situation. “Did she mention how she managed to get a lead on you?”
“No, she wouldn’t tell us anything and well we aren’t expert in interrogation techniques. We just tied her up and left her upstairs.”
“It really would be good to find out how the agent knew about you.”
“I think that she was actually following the contact and then picked me up at the meet.” Hilary replied. There was a pause before the Broker continued. “I think I know someone who could be of assistance with this matter.” Hilary could hear the smile along the telephone line. “I will call you back.” Then the line went dead.
“What do we do now?” Ainslie asked. Hilary shrugged.
“Wait for the return call I guess.”
----------
It really should have crossed The Broker’s mind earlier. Of course there was someone that could help her out, for a hefty fee no doubt. The Broker scrolled through her contacts and selected the number that she was looking for. The phone was answered after only three rings. “Hello,” said the voice at the other end of the line.
“I have a package that I need put into storage for a while.” Elizabeth Crawford had to suppress a laugh; this was turning out to be an interesting telephone conversation.
“Would it be possible to obtain information from this package whilst in your care?”
“Just send me an e-mail with what you need and I will certainly do my best to get it for your promptly,” Elizabeth Crawford replied. “The usual fees will apply of course.”
“I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”
“Now, will the package need picked up at a specific location?”
“Yes and I will put all of the detail in the e-mail. Goodbye.” Conversation the line went dead and Elizabeth Crawford smiled like a kid on their birthday.
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Ainslie picked up the ringing mobile. “Hello,” said the unmistakable voice of the Broker. “I have made arrangements for your problem package to be picked up. Just make sure that package is secure and then leave the house.” Ainslie recounted the one message from the Broker to Hilary before they both finalised packing their bags and getting ready to leave for the airport where they had a flight to catch. Before they left they made the trip back up to the bedroom to check on Natascha. When they entered the room they found Natascha where they had left her lying on the bed.
“Now we are going leave now but somebody will be along to collect your shortly agent Taylor.” The use of her name got a reaction as Natascha’s eyes widened over her gag. “Yes we know who you are and we have made the appropriate arrangements.” Hilary added. “Ainslie better secure her to the bed in case she tries to roll away.” Ainslie grabbed another scarf from the pile and used it to secure Natascha’s bound ankles to the end of the bed. “It was nice to meet you Natascha but I doubt that our paths will cross again,” and with that comment the two stewardesses left the bedroom and Natascha to her own devices.
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Elizabeth Crawford couldn’t believe her luck as she looked at the e-mail that the Broker had sent; she was specifically interested in the photograph that was attached. It was of the same woman, Natascha Taylor that Hayley had been in Paris with. Not only was she getting an American Intelligence Agent but as bonus she was also getting a close friend of her favourite captive. The possibilities that this afforded her floated around her head and a wicked smile teased her lips but immediate business first. Elizabeth Crawford reached for her phone and hit redial. “Kirsty, I have another package for you to pick up for you in the same location. I will send you the details but you are going to believe it.”
Well, at the moment awfull many things are going Crawfords way ..... Natascha captured? The Traitor in the Team? There are not many persons left on the side of the Home Team ... but since [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] is a master of surprises, I hope for the best and try to be optimistic. But for now, the prospects are very very dire ...
That is way too much luck, if you ask memrjones2009 wrote: ↑4 years ago Elizabeth Crawford couldn’t believe her luck as she looked at the e-mail that the Broker had sent; she was specifically interested in the photograph that was attached. It was of the same woman, Natascha Taylor that Hayley had been in Paris with. Not only was she getting an American Intelligence Agent but as bonus she was also getting a close friend of her favourite captive.
She could gain leverage and tame Hayley this way - if she really gets Natascha in her Clutches. The only hope for Natascha is Natalie - but Natalie is on her own. Maybe she is under surveillance too? And if she is captured too, well that would mean, that the only person left too keep fighting will be Christina. Who else? And the odds are definitivly not in her favour, she would have to fight a steep uphill battle. At the moment the chances for a happily ever after for the Heros seem very very slim - the Baddies seem to hold all the aces for now. I-
mrjones2009
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Chapter 51
Bern, Switzerland
Charlotte Saltzman looked at her watch for what must have been the twentieth time in the past hour, wishing the time away until the bank closed and the employees would pile out of front door heading towards home. There was one particular employee of the bank that Charlotte was looking for when that happened. Charlotte had travelled to Bern to confront Hannah Stanley-Ramos as the woman had not replied to any telephone messages or e-mails and Charlotte really needed to talk to her. Charlotte hadn’t heard from her partner Gabriela Vasquez since she had gone to visit Hannah Stanley-Ramos several days ago and neither had Charlotte been unable to make contact. It was time to take direct action and that was to speak with the person who should have been last to see her partner. Night had closed in as the first of the employees started to filter out of the building, as time went on the employees became more regular before Charlotte finally caught sight of the person that she wanted and made a direct line across the road toward Hannah Stanley-Ramos. Her target saw her and veered away down the main street at a brisk walk, “Hannah, we need to talk….” Charlotte shouted. Hannah turned back before looking around and ducking into an alleyway between two tall buildings. Charlotte broke into a run and followed Hannah into the alley, as she rounded the corner Charlotte noted that Hannah was struggling with a damaged heel on her shoe and quickly caught up with her and perhaps being a bit more aggressive than planned grabbed Hannah and pushed her against a wall.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there agent……………” Hannah was pretending not to remember Charlotte’s name.
“Charlotte Saltzman. You will remember my partner Gabriela Vasquez.”
“Yes I remember Gabriela,” Hannah said nervously whilst looking everywhere but at Charlotte. “Em…..tall woman, very beautiful…”
“She came to see you three days ago at your apartment in Paris.”
“I think I remember,”
“What happened? Did Gabriela say anything? Did something go wrong?”
“That is a lot of questions?”
“Hannah, my partner hasn’t been seen or heard from for days! The last place that anyone knows where she was is your apartment,” Charlotte screamed at the bank executive. Before the conversation could go any further there was a shout from the end of the alley from which they had entered. “Is there something wrong?” Charlotte turned to look at who had made that comment. The voice was definitely female and eastern European. There were three silhouettes framed in the alley’s mouth, the central of the three was a woman and she was joined on either side by rather large looking men.
“We are fine thanks,” Charlotte replied but even she heard the lack of confidence in her own voice. Nothing happened for about thirty seconds, a bit like a standoff until the three figures started walking into the alley. Something told Charlotte that she should leave and leave quickly so let go of Hannah and broke into a sprint toward the other end of the alley.
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“Alright so that had been a bad idea” Charlotte said under her breath as she strode purposefully along the street, the overhead lights and neon signs of the various bars that littered this area of town throwing her shadow onto the pavement. Once she had exited the alley Charlotte had turned left and run at full pace before taking a right turn and then slowing down to avoid standing out. As she walked the crowd continued to thin, she deduced that she was waking in the wrong direction and away from the section of Bern that was busy after the working day finished. Suddenly she was aware of something behind her, the unmistakable sound of heavy shoes on tarmac. And they were matching her pace exactly. Hoping that this was just a figment of her imagination Charlotte quickened her pace and the steps behind her increased in pace to match; neither losing nor gaining ground. Ignoring a light not to cross the road Charlotte bolted across and back onto the sidewalk with another glance over her shoulder she noted two large men in dark coats behind her, they turned and looked a dark blue SUV that pulled up beside them. Turning back to look forward Charlotte counted to ten before breaking into a sprint again, rounding a corner and ducking down an alley.
Charlotte looked over her shoulder as she ran down the dark alleyway, the passage smelling of stale odours, the slight breeze plucked at her hair and pushed bits of litter around her feet. The passage seemed to narrow and the buildings close in oppressively as she continued further down its length. She could hear the car engine ticking over as it slowly made its way down the street, its occupants looking for her in all directions. Suddenly a doorway appeared from the darkness and she jumped into it, flattening herself against the door behind. “Are you sure she came down this alley?” The woman’s voice said again.
“I think so, she couldn’t have run further on,” a male voice replied. Charlotte risked a glance out from her hiding spot and spotted a man methodically searching the alley by swinging a torch from side to side. Then without warning the door opened and Charlotte half stumbled and was half pulled into the corridor behind the door. An arm was placed around her waist and pulled her tight against a body, definitely a female body judging by the physique. Charlotte was about to protest but before that could happened a hand firmly coverer her mouth, “Ssshhh” whispered a voice in her ear. Charlotte listened and heard the noises of people searching outside the door; then the door buckled as it was bashed from the outside to test if it was open.
“She didn’t come down here” a deep voice said from the lane outside. “The doors are all locked and there is nothing behind the garbage bins.” There was no more noise from outside for a couple of minutes but the hands remained firmly in place around Charlotte’s waist and over her mouth. “Patience” said the voice as if reading Charlotte’s mind. The accent was American, east coast if she had to guess. Then after another minute or so the hands were removed and Charlotte was allowed to spin around and face the woman. The pool of dim light coming from the broken fitting further along the corridor didn’t do her any favours but Charlotte froze as she took in the face of the woman, she was strikingly attractive, dark hair falling around a round face, with sharp features, thin lips with a playful half smile across them and wonderful deep set brown eyes.
“You have a strange way of saying thanks.” Natalie said. Charlotte didn’t know if it was the emotions of the past couple of days, how attractive the woman was or something else but for some reason she lunged forward and kissed the woman fully on the lips.
“Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first,” the woman asked.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Natalie Twain and I am a police officer.”
“I am assuming judging by the accent not around here,” Charlotte asked having now regained her composure.
“No back home in the States.”
“Then how did you end up helping me out in Bern?” Charlotte asked before adding. “And thanks by the way.”
“That is a reasonable question with a very, long answer. Probably it is best answered when we get somewhere safe; like our house.”
“Are you alone?”
“No there is someone else in Bern with me. Which does remind me that I haven’t heard from Natascha in a while?” Natalie removed her phone from the pocket of her jacket and looked at the screen. There were no message or missed calls. “Let’s get moving before your friends decide to come back.”
“About that kiss…..” Charlotte let the end of the sentence drift away unsaid as Natalie had already turned to walk back up the poorly lit corridor. Not really having any other options she turned and hurried after Natalie not knowing what she was getting involved with.
Chapter 52
Copenhagen, Denmark
“Good evening ladies my name is Karolina Opheim.” Christine and Antonija nodded at their contact and took seats opposite her in the booth.
“Have you been able to make the arrangements?” Christine asked getting down to business. They had managed to put together the fine details of their plan on the flight from Novak’s private airstrip. It had taken the intervention of Elizabeth Crawford directly pointing out that Novak wouldn’t be making the trip to ensure that Christine and Antonija weren’t sedated for the duration of the journey, Novak had even sent Schmidt along for the ride but fortunately she had agreed to stay with the plane. They weren’t planning on being on the ground for long.
“Yes I have managed to obtain both the ambulance and the invitations for the conference that will get into the hotel.”
“That is good news. The plan will be for Antonija and me to infiltrate the hotel and subdue the target then we will call you to bring up the stretcher so that we can get the target out of the hotel.” There weren’t many ways to get someone out of a hotel unnoticed when they didn’t want to go with you. However nobody ever questioned a potential medical emergency.
“I will park close to the rear entrance for a quick getaway,” Karolina said and stopped as a waitress approached the booth.
“Would you like to order?” The waitress asked in Danish. Karolina responded by asking for ten more minutes and the waitress disappeared to serve another table. “We have a couple of hours so let’s grab some food.” Christine and Antonija glanced at each other before nodding.
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Nobody gave them a second look as they walked confidently across the foyer. That was most of the battle in a situation like this; you had to act like you belong. Christine and Antonija were both dressed to blend in with the academic crowd, sensible and with a satchel slung over a shoulder. Elsa had provided the room number for their target. They decided to take the lift and waiting silently for the car to arrive, nodding a greeting to anybody that joined them. A single ding signalled the arrival of the car and when the doors opened they steeped back to allow people to exit the lift. Once the car had emptied Christine and Antonija stepped inside and took a position toward the rear, after everyone else had entered a man who was standing closest to the buttons asked for floor numbers and was greeted with a chorus of voices calling them out. Someone made a quip about bingo in English and was greeted with snorts of laughter from most of the occupants.
When the lift reached the floor that they wanted Christine and Antonija weaved through the crowded lift and out into a generically decorated corridor. They both stood still until the lift doors had closed and then headed off in the direction of the room that they wanted, door the corridor and then turn right. They paused in front of the door and glanced at each other before Antonija raised her right hand and moved it toward the door.
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Gayle was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling with her hands under her head running through the speech that she was due to give this afternoon again when there was a knock at the door. For a moment Gayle wondered who would be knocking on her door this early before remembering that she had arrange to meet Rhiannon for breakfast. Swinging her feet down onto the floor Gayle bounced up from the bed, headed to the door and flung it open only to be slightly taken aback by what or more accurately who was standing on the other side. It wasn’t Rhiannon but two women that she hadn’t seen before. On her right was a tall, blonde woman with ice blue eyes and on her left was a shorter woman with shoulder length brown hair.
“Doctor Hutton,” the shorter of the two women said. Gayle, still stunned at it not being how she expected at the door didn’t reply. But she did turn and look at the taller of the two women whose ice blue eyes were fixed on her intently. There was something off putting about the way that the woman was looking at her. “Doctor Hutton, are you alright?”
“Sorry, I was expecting someone else.” Gayle stammered; her sense of unease growing. “How can help you?”
“Well, we found your last paper fascinating and wondered if you had some time to discuss it further.” Gayle thought that this was a bit strange. Not the fact that someone wanted to discuss a paper or theory with her, only nobody had knocked on her door so early in the morning to do so.
“There will be a question and answer session tonight, after my presentation.”
“On I appreciate that Doctor Hutton, it is just that Antonija,” the shorter woman indicated the ice eyed blond, “and I are really interested in discussing this with you…..my name is Christine,” the woman said extending a hand. Gayle didn’t reach out to take it, leaving Christine’s hand awkwardly in space. There was something unsettling about both the women and this situation.
“Sorry but I am busy right now. But hope to see you tonight.” Gayle started to close the door. Out of the corner of her eye Gayle noticed the woman who had introduce herself as Christine nod and Gayle felt the door stop before it was forced backward with enough force to make her stumble back a couple of paces into the small corridor that led to the main bedroom before falling over onto the floor. Before Gayle could process what was happening the two women had entered her room and closed the door. “What are you mmmppphhh…” Gayle couldn’t finish her sentence because Christine had forced a wadded up cloth into her mouth, the shock of that distracted Gayle for a split second, the sensation of hands all over her body brought her back to her senses and she started to struggle against her attackers.
“Get her on her stomach,” Christine said. Gayle was thrashing about now, lashing out with elbows but even when her blows hit their intended targets they either glanced off or were absorbed by the down jackets that her attackers were wearing. Suddenly Gayle felt herself tiring and then strong hands get a firm grip on her and throw her onto her stomach like she was a doll.
“HHYYUUTT,” Gayle shouted but the cloth in her mouth meant her words were unintelligible. Then Gayle felt a heavy weight press in the small of her back as both of her arms were wrenched back and at that point she knew the fight was over. Quickly her wrists were pulled together and secured with what felt like rope.
“Let’s get her up on her feet,” said Christine and with that Gayle felt two pairs of hands at her armpits and she was hauled up onto her feet where she was spun around and came face to face with Christine who pressed a wide section of white micro foam tape over Gayle’s mouth to seal in the cloth. “Sorry about the tape but we had to be quick.” Gayle just glared at the woman. “That is not a welcoming look Antonija. I don’t think that Doctor Hutton is pleased to see us. Take her to the bed and keep an eye on her whilst I pack up her belongings.” The plan was to take everything from the room and hope that everyone assumed that Doctor Gayle Hutton had just left the conference and not told anyone. Gayle was led over to the bed before a firm shove unceremoniously dumped her face first onto the bed. As soon as she landed her legs were whipped onto the bed and her ankles secured together another length of rope. Then Gayle felt someone very close to her ear.
“Do not move,” said an eastern European tinged accent softly into her ear. There was a hint of menace in the voice that made Gayle think that it would be better to lie perfectly still, which is exactly what she did.
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Knock. Knock. It was the unmistakeable sound of someone banging heavily on the door to the room. Gayle had been lying still as instructed watching as the two women packed up all of her belongings and they had just about finished when the knocking came and all three women paused. Suddenly Gayle sensed an opportunity to get help.
“Quickly get the door” Antonija hissed at Christine just as there was another knock, this time heavier and more insistent. As if reading her mind Antonija paced over to the bed and firmly clamped a hand over Gayle’s stuffed and tapped mouth, further muffling her attempts to get attention from whoever was on the other side of the door. Christine slipped off her down jacket and headed toward the door.
“Can I help you?” Christine asked the security guard that she found on the other side of the door.
“We had a report of suspicious activity on this floor. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?”
“Nothing at all” replied Christine. The security guard craned his next to look over the woman’s shoulder
“Well if you see anything Doctor Hutton please call reception. Just pick up the receiver and dial zero.”
“Thanks you. I will.” That conversation finished Christine shut the door on the security guard and waited until she could hear the footsteps of the guard making their way along the corridor before turning and heading back into the main suite where her partner had Gayle, who was now struggling having seen perhaps her last chance of help disappear, pinned to the bed. Gayle craned her neck and watched Christine enter the room after answering the door. Christine paused to pick up her down jacket and put it back on before reaching into the outside pocket of the jacket and removing a bottle and a thick cloth. Christine poured some of the liquid from the bottle onto the cloth and rubbed it deeply into the fabric. Gayle watched this and knew immediately what was about to happen. The liquid was chloroform and these two women were about to use it on her. As the woman approached holding the chloroform laced cloth menacingly in her left hand Gayle tried to plead with the women through her well gagged mouth. Antonija who was pinning Gayle to the bed rolled so that Gayle was now lying face up with her attacker holding her in a bear hug. Gayle was struggling intensely now and Antonija wrapped both of her legs around Gayle to subdue her further. Then Christine placed her right hand behind Gayle’s head, Gayle retched as the fumes from the cloth were brought closer and invaded her nostrils. Then the cloth was clamped over Gayle’s nose and gagged mouth. There was nothing that Gayle could do with the woman’s hand on the back of her head; she could only inhale the fumes or hold her breath and that was at best a temporary delay of the inevitable given her current predicament. Unfortunately the rest of the journey into darkness was familiar and the end came quickly as he eyes slammed shut.
“Antonija you wait here with her and I will go and help Karolina,” Christine said once Gayle was unconscious. Antonija didn’t respond but took a seat on the end of the bed which Christine took as a tacit indication that Antonija agreed. Christine took out her phone and sent Karolina a text to let her know that she was on her way. The plan was that Christine would head down to the rear entrance of the hotel where Karolina would park the ambulance. Christine would get changed into a paramedic uniform before bringing a stretcher up to the room with Karolina and then using the stretcher to get Gayle out of the hotel without being asked too many questions.
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Rhiannon knocked on the door to Gayle’s door for the second time and this time it opened, but to her surprise it wasn’t Gayle who answered but a tall, blond woman wearing a down jacket and jeans. “I am with the hotel security team,” the woman said by way of explanation.
“Is something wrong?” Rhiannon asked suddenly concerned about Gayle. The woman didn’t answer but opened the door wider and beckoned Rhiannon to enter. After she had the woman closed the door behind her and indicated that Rhiannon should walk down the short corridor toward the main room. Rhiannon did with the tall woman looking close behind. On reaching the main room Rhiannon stopped at the sight that confronted her, Gayle being strapped onto a gurney by two women. Before Rhiannon could react the tall woman grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent Rhiannon from screaming for assistance.
“What will we do with her Christine?”
“Knock her out and leave her here tied and gagged. By the time the maid service has found her tomorrow morning we will be long gone.” Rhiannon didn’t like the sound of that nor the fact the woman called Christine was now approaching her wielding a white cloth. This wasn’t her first rodeo and she knew that they planned to use a chloroform soaked cloth to knock her out. The tall woman removed her hand and Christine immediately pressed the cloth over Rhiannon’s nose and mouth whilst simultaneously placing her other hand behind Rhiannon’s head so that the cloth was kept firmly pressed in place. Rhiannon instantly recognise the scent given off by the fumes on the cloth, however despite her previous experience with chloroform she couldn’t help but panic now that the cloth had been applied. Rhiannon reacted as any normal person would to being attacked by struggling to try and escape and by trying to scream for help but the sound was effectively muffled by the soft thick cloth that Christine had pressed over her face. Her struggling was also ineffective as the woman that had grabbed her pulled her tightly against her body so there was no leverage and also was very strong. As the pungent, sweet smelling aroma continued to come off the cloth and invade her nostrils Rhiannon knew that she was in trouble and was going to be put under, her position was such that she knew that she couldn’t avoid it. At least she knew that these women planned to leave her here in the hotel room rather than take her somewhere else. Which meant that she hadn’t been targeted just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Gayle on the other hand had been targeted.
The struggle meant that she involuntarily began to take deeper and deeper breathes drawing the fumes from the liquid deep into her lungs. After about forty five seconds of struggle Rhiannon began to notice that her arms and legs were starting to feel numb and her strength was ebbing away. This must be the effects of the chemical I have to break free she thought to herself. Unfortunately the fumes had weakened her enough that her efforts became more feeble with every passing breathe so she stopped taking breathes. Standing in front of the young woman Christine noticed this and smiled “It’s too late for that trick young lady. You can’t hold your breathe for that long and trust me the chloroform has had enough time to weaken you already that there is no chance of escape. My colleague and I do this for a living. The chloroform will just put you to sleep for a while, nothing to worry about really. My advice would be not fight it, take deep breathes and enjoy the rest.” Suddenly all the fight drained out of Rhiannon and her limbs seem to lose all of their power and her eyes closed over. “Put her on the bed and bind her securely.” Antonija just nodded and carried the unconscious Rhiannon across to the bed and deposited her on it.
“Almost finished with this one,” Karolina said from the other side of the gurney after securing the last of the straps that secured Gayle in place. Christine threw a blanket over Gayle to hide the heavy leather straps before slipping a mask over Gayle’s nose and mouth. The mask delivered oxygen mixed with a mild sedative that along with the chloroform in Gayle’s system would keep her knocked out for the duration of the trip to the airfield. Christine turned round to watch Antonija bind the dark haired woman who had knocked on the door. Antonija had professionally bound the woman with the black nylon rope by binding her wrists behind her back and used a longer length of rope to wrap around her body below her breasts, pinning her arms to her sides. Then further lengths of rope were used to bind the woman’s legs at the ankles and just above the knees. Christine completed the binding by forcing a cloth into the woman’s mouth before plastering a section of white micro foam tape over the woman’s mouth.
“No need to take the doctor’s stuff as they will know that she has been taken,” Karolina said. The other two agreed their agreement and Antonija made for the door to the room and opened it. Karolina and Christine wheeled the gurney with Gayle strapped to it out of the room and along the corridor toward the lift. During their journey to the ambulance parked at the rear of the hotel they did get some looks and glances but as planned nobody queried what they were doing.
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The drive to the private airfield where The Silent Lady sat awaiting their arrival was short and Karolina drove it carefully. Although using an ambulance made it unlikely that you would be stopped you did still stand out a little so speed limits and traffic signs were all obeyed. Christine had described the jet, The Silent Lady, before they had set off and Karolina was able to locate it easily once they had entered the apron of the airfield. Karolina carefully reversed the ambulance up to the steps of the plane and killed the engine. She felt the vehicle move on its springs as Antonija and Christine went about their business. Then the thump of the rear doors closing rang out, which was followed by two loud thumps on the side of the ambulance, the signal that her colleagues had finished and Karolina could pull away. As she headed toward the exit Karolina glanced at in the wing mirror and saw Antonija and Christine carrying the unconscious Gayle between them. At the top of the stairs a blonde woman greeted them and for some reasons the hairs on the back of Karolina’s neck stood up.
Doctor Schmidt beckoned them into the fuselage of the plane and directed them toward one of the sleeping pods that were sitting in the main compartment. Although it was a bit awkward Antonija and Christine finally managed to put Gayle into the pod then stepped back and watched on with a professional detachment as Schmidt went about stripping Gayle, placing her in a pair of silk pyjamas and strapping her down to the pod. Then Schmidt folding over the padded blanket and secured that it place before turning to face Elizabeth Crawford’s two operatives. “Now ladies if you wouldn’t mind stripping off and putting on the pyjamas lying on the other two pods,” Schmidt said with a broad smile that didn’t reach her eyes. It was then that Christine noted that the pyjamas were indeed sitting on the other two pods.
“I told you on the flight out that we weren’t complying with you boss’s bizarre rule,” Christine replied.
“Is that right?” Both Christine and Antonija turned to where that voice had come from to find Milena Novak standing in the door to the flight deck pointing a gun at them. “You looked surprised ladies. I am a fully qualified pilot so was in the cockpit for the trip out helping The Red Baron with the controls.” Christina and Antonija glanced at each other before Antonija made a move, lunged toward Novak and there was a soft thump before she put a hand to her throat. “Don’t worry, it is just a sedative,” Novak said as Antonija dropped to her knees before slumping to the floor and coming to rest next to one of the pods.
“I hope that you appreciate what you are doing here Ms Novak,” Christine said raising her hands.
“Please put you hands down, this isn’t some western film Christine. Now please strip off everything apart from your bra.” Christine looked around looking for another option. There wasn’t one so reluctantly Christine started to strip. First off was her down jacket, which was eased off and onto the carpet, next Christine unzipped her down gilet and slipped that off. The next item of clothing to be removed was her boots, then her jeans and then her white t-shirt which left her standing there is noting but her underwear. “The panties have to go as well. Alternative garments will be provided….courtesy of your airline,” Novak said with a smile. Christine slipped of her panties and Schmidt handed her a set of silk pyjamas.
“Put them of and then lie on the pod,” Schmidt instructed. Christine unfolded the pyjama bottoms and noted that the weight as she bent down to put them on.
“Built in diaper Christine,” Novak answered the unasked question. Christine slipped them on and noted that they were tight around the groin and bottom but supposed they would have to be with the diaper. She then put on the top and lay down in the middle of the nearest pod, resting her head in the centre of the large, soft silk covered pillow. Christine had noted the heavily padded leather straps that Schmidt had used to secure Gayle earlier so it was no surprise when Schmidt picked up her left arm and slipped it through a loop. Schmidt then tightened the loop around Christine’s left wrist and fixed the strap in place using a buckle. Schmidt moved swiftly to undertake the same procedure with Christine’s right arm then swung a strap over Christine, laying it just below Christine’s breasts and then secured it in place, pinning Christine in place. Schmidt then repeated the trick with further straps over Christine’s hips and thighs, finishing with a second set of loops around both ankles. After Schmidt had completed the task Christine tested the straps but needn’t have bothered, she was securely held in place. Although surprised at this turn of events Christine was not concerned as once Elizabeth Crawford found out about this there was either a rescue mission launched or a settlement reached. Knowing her boss it would probably be the former and she would not like to be in Milena Novak’s shoes when that happened.
“Just relax and enjoy the flight Christine. It will be the quickest and most comfortable that you have or ever will take.” As she turned her head from where Novak voice was coming from and back to Schmidt Christine noted that Schmidt now held a black rubber mask in her hand.
“There isn’t any need for a sedative Milena,” Christine stated, hoping to convince her now captor.
“Well there is for the start of the flight and for the end but maybe let you come round for the middle. Now deep breathes like a good girl.” There was nothing that Christine could do now to avoid the forthcoming nap. As the mask was lowered toward her Christine could hear the hiss of the gas start as Schmidt activated the pump. Schmidt gently placed the mask over Christine’s nose and mouth blocking out the fresh air, now Christina was forced to breathe in the gas. Christine noted that there was a scent to the gas and then raised her head to allow Schmidt to secure the mask in place. Christine could feel the pressure around her nose and mouth increase as the rubber mask pressed against her skin as the buckle was tightened. “Don’t want any of the gas leaking.” Schmidt said as she straightened up and admired her handiwork. “Now just relax and breathe normally, the gas will do the rest.” Christine couldn’t help but think at this point that Kirsty had been correct, Schmidt was seriously creepy. Finally the good doctor produced a thickly quilted, silk covered duvet from a drawer below the sleeping pod, placed it over Christine and secured it in place using clips. Christine could feel it press down lightly onto her body. “Don’t want you getting chilly during the flight.”
“Now help me with the other one,” Novak said to Schmidt. Now able to place her gun down Novak grabbed Antonija under the arms and waited for Schmidt to grab her ankles which allowed them to lift the unconscious woman onto the last vacant sleeping pod. Christine turned her head to watch this but quickly turned her head back to the ceiling when she realised that the gas was starting to take effect and the darkness started to creep into the edges of her vision before it took over completely and she fell into unconsciousness. Novak and Schmidt undressed Antonija before putting her in a pair of silk pyjamas and securing her in the same fashion that Christine had been previously, finishing off with the quilted duvet and rubber mask. As Schmidt finished off that job Novak returned to her seat and instructed the pilot to make preparations to take off and head for home.
“Next time, get them both to strip and it will save my back. Or at least shoot the smaller one,” Schmidt commented taking the seat opposite Novak as the plane began to taxi.
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” was all that Novak said as both women put on their seatbelts.
“How do you think Elizabeth Crawford is going to take this?” Schmidt asked.
“I don’t really care.” Novak responded. “Whatever is on that hard drive it is worth a lot of money and I want it. The money I mean.” Then the pilot released the brakes and they were both thrown back into their seats as the plane jumped forward.
Bern, Switzerland
Charlotte Saltzman looked at her watch for what must have been the twentieth time in the past hour, wishing the time away until the bank closed and the employees would pile out of front door heading towards home. There was one particular employee of the bank that Charlotte was looking for when that happened. Charlotte had travelled to Bern to confront Hannah Stanley-Ramos as the woman had not replied to any telephone messages or e-mails and Charlotte really needed to talk to her. Charlotte hadn’t heard from her partner Gabriela Vasquez since she had gone to visit Hannah Stanley-Ramos several days ago and neither had Charlotte been unable to make contact. It was time to take direct action and that was to speak with the person who should have been last to see her partner. Night had closed in as the first of the employees started to filter out of the building, as time went on the employees became more regular before Charlotte finally caught sight of the person that she wanted and made a direct line across the road toward Hannah Stanley-Ramos. Her target saw her and veered away down the main street at a brisk walk, “Hannah, we need to talk….” Charlotte shouted. Hannah turned back before looking around and ducking into an alleyway between two tall buildings. Charlotte broke into a run and followed Hannah into the alley, as she rounded the corner Charlotte noted that Hannah was struggling with a damaged heel on her shoe and quickly caught up with her and perhaps being a bit more aggressive than planned grabbed Hannah and pushed her against a wall.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there agent……………” Hannah was pretending not to remember Charlotte’s name.
“Charlotte Saltzman. You will remember my partner Gabriela Vasquez.”
“Yes I remember Gabriela,” Hannah said nervously whilst looking everywhere but at Charlotte. “Em…..tall woman, very beautiful…”
“She came to see you three days ago at your apartment in Paris.”
“I think I remember,”
“What happened? Did Gabriela say anything? Did something go wrong?”
“That is a lot of questions?”
“Hannah, my partner hasn’t been seen or heard from for days! The last place that anyone knows where she was is your apartment,” Charlotte screamed at the bank executive. Before the conversation could go any further there was a shout from the end of the alley from which they had entered. “Is there something wrong?” Charlotte turned to look at who had made that comment. The voice was definitely female and eastern European. There were three silhouettes framed in the alley’s mouth, the central of the three was a woman and she was joined on either side by rather large looking men.
“We are fine thanks,” Charlotte replied but even she heard the lack of confidence in her own voice. Nothing happened for about thirty seconds, a bit like a standoff until the three figures started walking into the alley. Something told Charlotte that she should leave and leave quickly so let go of Hannah and broke into a sprint toward the other end of the alley.
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“Alright so that had been a bad idea” Charlotte said under her breath as she strode purposefully along the street, the overhead lights and neon signs of the various bars that littered this area of town throwing her shadow onto the pavement. Once she had exited the alley Charlotte had turned left and run at full pace before taking a right turn and then slowing down to avoid standing out. As she walked the crowd continued to thin, she deduced that she was waking in the wrong direction and away from the section of Bern that was busy after the working day finished. Suddenly she was aware of something behind her, the unmistakable sound of heavy shoes on tarmac. And they were matching her pace exactly. Hoping that this was just a figment of her imagination Charlotte quickened her pace and the steps behind her increased in pace to match; neither losing nor gaining ground. Ignoring a light not to cross the road Charlotte bolted across and back onto the sidewalk with another glance over her shoulder she noted two large men in dark coats behind her, they turned and looked a dark blue SUV that pulled up beside them. Turning back to look forward Charlotte counted to ten before breaking into a sprint again, rounding a corner and ducking down an alley.
Charlotte looked over her shoulder as she ran down the dark alleyway, the passage smelling of stale odours, the slight breeze plucked at her hair and pushed bits of litter around her feet. The passage seemed to narrow and the buildings close in oppressively as she continued further down its length. She could hear the car engine ticking over as it slowly made its way down the street, its occupants looking for her in all directions. Suddenly a doorway appeared from the darkness and she jumped into it, flattening herself against the door behind. “Are you sure she came down this alley?” The woman’s voice said again.
“I think so, she couldn’t have run further on,” a male voice replied. Charlotte risked a glance out from her hiding spot and spotted a man methodically searching the alley by swinging a torch from side to side. Then without warning the door opened and Charlotte half stumbled and was half pulled into the corridor behind the door. An arm was placed around her waist and pulled her tight against a body, definitely a female body judging by the physique. Charlotte was about to protest but before that could happened a hand firmly coverer her mouth, “Ssshhh” whispered a voice in her ear. Charlotte listened and heard the noises of people searching outside the door; then the door buckled as it was bashed from the outside to test if it was open.
“She didn’t come down here” a deep voice said from the lane outside. “The doors are all locked and there is nothing behind the garbage bins.” There was no more noise from outside for a couple of minutes but the hands remained firmly in place around Charlotte’s waist and over her mouth. “Patience” said the voice as if reading Charlotte’s mind. The accent was American, east coast if she had to guess. Then after another minute or so the hands were removed and Charlotte was allowed to spin around and face the woman. The pool of dim light coming from the broken fitting further along the corridor didn’t do her any favours but Charlotte froze as she took in the face of the woman, she was strikingly attractive, dark hair falling around a round face, with sharp features, thin lips with a playful half smile across them and wonderful deep set brown eyes.
“You have a strange way of saying thanks.” Natalie said. Charlotte didn’t know if it was the emotions of the past couple of days, how attractive the woman was or something else but for some reason she lunged forward and kissed the woman fully on the lips.
“Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first,” the woman asked.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Natalie Twain and I am a police officer.”
“I am assuming judging by the accent not around here,” Charlotte asked having now regained her composure.
“No back home in the States.”
“Then how did you end up helping me out in Bern?” Charlotte asked before adding. “And thanks by the way.”
“That is a reasonable question with a very, long answer. Probably it is best answered when we get somewhere safe; like our house.”
“Are you alone?”
“No there is someone else in Bern with me. Which does remind me that I haven’t heard from Natascha in a while?” Natalie removed her phone from the pocket of her jacket and looked at the screen. There were no message or missed calls. “Let’s get moving before your friends decide to come back.”
“About that kiss…..” Charlotte let the end of the sentence drift away unsaid as Natalie had already turned to walk back up the poorly lit corridor. Not really having any other options she turned and hurried after Natalie not knowing what she was getting involved with.
Chapter 52
Copenhagen, Denmark
“Good evening ladies my name is Karolina Opheim.” Christine and Antonija nodded at their contact and took seats opposite her in the booth.
“Have you been able to make the arrangements?” Christine asked getting down to business. They had managed to put together the fine details of their plan on the flight from Novak’s private airstrip. It had taken the intervention of Elizabeth Crawford directly pointing out that Novak wouldn’t be making the trip to ensure that Christine and Antonija weren’t sedated for the duration of the journey, Novak had even sent Schmidt along for the ride but fortunately she had agreed to stay with the plane. They weren’t planning on being on the ground for long.
“Yes I have managed to obtain both the ambulance and the invitations for the conference that will get into the hotel.”
“That is good news. The plan will be for Antonija and me to infiltrate the hotel and subdue the target then we will call you to bring up the stretcher so that we can get the target out of the hotel.” There weren’t many ways to get someone out of a hotel unnoticed when they didn’t want to go with you. However nobody ever questioned a potential medical emergency.
“I will park close to the rear entrance for a quick getaway,” Karolina said and stopped as a waitress approached the booth.
“Would you like to order?” The waitress asked in Danish. Karolina responded by asking for ten more minutes and the waitress disappeared to serve another table. “We have a couple of hours so let’s grab some food.” Christine and Antonija glanced at each other before nodding.
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Nobody gave them a second look as they walked confidently across the foyer. That was most of the battle in a situation like this; you had to act like you belong. Christine and Antonija were both dressed to blend in with the academic crowd, sensible and with a satchel slung over a shoulder. Elsa had provided the room number for their target. They decided to take the lift and waiting silently for the car to arrive, nodding a greeting to anybody that joined them. A single ding signalled the arrival of the car and when the doors opened they steeped back to allow people to exit the lift. Once the car had emptied Christine and Antonija stepped inside and took a position toward the rear, after everyone else had entered a man who was standing closest to the buttons asked for floor numbers and was greeted with a chorus of voices calling them out. Someone made a quip about bingo in English and was greeted with snorts of laughter from most of the occupants.
When the lift reached the floor that they wanted Christine and Antonija weaved through the crowded lift and out into a generically decorated corridor. They both stood still until the lift doors had closed and then headed off in the direction of the room that they wanted, door the corridor and then turn right. They paused in front of the door and glanced at each other before Antonija raised her right hand and moved it toward the door.
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Gayle was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling with her hands under her head running through the speech that she was due to give this afternoon again when there was a knock at the door. For a moment Gayle wondered who would be knocking on her door this early before remembering that she had arrange to meet Rhiannon for breakfast. Swinging her feet down onto the floor Gayle bounced up from the bed, headed to the door and flung it open only to be slightly taken aback by what or more accurately who was standing on the other side. It wasn’t Rhiannon but two women that she hadn’t seen before. On her right was a tall, blonde woman with ice blue eyes and on her left was a shorter woman with shoulder length brown hair.
“Doctor Hutton,” the shorter of the two women said. Gayle, still stunned at it not being how she expected at the door didn’t reply. But she did turn and look at the taller of the two women whose ice blue eyes were fixed on her intently. There was something off putting about the way that the woman was looking at her. “Doctor Hutton, are you alright?”
“Sorry, I was expecting someone else.” Gayle stammered; her sense of unease growing. “How can help you?”
“Well, we found your last paper fascinating and wondered if you had some time to discuss it further.” Gayle thought that this was a bit strange. Not the fact that someone wanted to discuss a paper or theory with her, only nobody had knocked on her door so early in the morning to do so.
“There will be a question and answer session tonight, after my presentation.”
“On I appreciate that Doctor Hutton, it is just that Antonija,” the shorter woman indicated the ice eyed blond, “and I are really interested in discussing this with you…..my name is Christine,” the woman said extending a hand. Gayle didn’t reach out to take it, leaving Christine’s hand awkwardly in space. There was something unsettling about both the women and this situation.
“Sorry but I am busy right now. But hope to see you tonight.” Gayle started to close the door. Out of the corner of her eye Gayle noticed the woman who had introduce herself as Christine nod and Gayle felt the door stop before it was forced backward with enough force to make her stumble back a couple of paces into the small corridor that led to the main bedroom before falling over onto the floor. Before Gayle could process what was happening the two women had entered her room and closed the door. “What are you mmmppphhh…” Gayle couldn’t finish her sentence because Christine had forced a wadded up cloth into her mouth, the shock of that distracted Gayle for a split second, the sensation of hands all over her body brought her back to her senses and she started to struggle against her attackers.
“Get her on her stomach,” Christine said. Gayle was thrashing about now, lashing out with elbows but even when her blows hit their intended targets they either glanced off or were absorbed by the down jackets that her attackers were wearing. Suddenly Gayle felt herself tiring and then strong hands get a firm grip on her and throw her onto her stomach like she was a doll.
“HHYYUUTT,” Gayle shouted but the cloth in her mouth meant her words were unintelligible. Then Gayle felt a heavy weight press in the small of her back as both of her arms were wrenched back and at that point she knew the fight was over. Quickly her wrists were pulled together and secured with what felt like rope.
“Let’s get her up on her feet,” said Christine and with that Gayle felt two pairs of hands at her armpits and she was hauled up onto her feet where she was spun around and came face to face with Christine who pressed a wide section of white micro foam tape over Gayle’s mouth to seal in the cloth. “Sorry about the tape but we had to be quick.” Gayle just glared at the woman. “That is not a welcoming look Antonija. I don’t think that Doctor Hutton is pleased to see us. Take her to the bed and keep an eye on her whilst I pack up her belongings.” The plan was to take everything from the room and hope that everyone assumed that Doctor Gayle Hutton had just left the conference and not told anyone. Gayle was led over to the bed before a firm shove unceremoniously dumped her face first onto the bed. As soon as she landed her legs were whipped onto the bed and her ankles secured together another length of rope. Then Gayle felt someone very close to her ear.
“Do not move,” said an eastern European tinged accent softly into her ear. There was a hint of menace in the voice that made Gayle think that it would be better to lie perfectly still, which is exactly what she did.
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Knock. Knock. It was the unmistakeable sound of someone banging heavily on the door to the room. Gayle had been lying still as instructed watching as the two women packed up all of her belongings and they had just about finished when the knocking came and all three women paused. Suddenly Gayle sensed an opportunity to get help.
“Quickly get the door” Antonija hissed at Christine just as there was another knock, this time heavier and more insistent. As if reading her mind Antonija paced over to the bed and firmly clamped a hand over Gayle’s stuffed and tapped mouth, further muffling her attempts to get attention from whoever was on the other side of the door. Christine slipped off her down jacket and headed toward the door.
“Can I help you?” Christine asked the security guard that she found on the other side of the door.
“We had a report of suspicious activity on this floor. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?”
“Nothing at all” replied Christine. The security guard craned his next to look over the woman’s shoulder
“Well if you see anything Doctor Hutton please call reception. Just pick up the receiver and dial zero.”
“Thanks you. I will.” That conversation finished Christine shut the door on the security guard and waited until she could hear the footsteps of the guard making their way along the corridor before turning and heading back into the main suite where her partner had Gayle, who was now struggling having seen perhaps her last chance of help disappear, pinned to the bed. Gayle craned her neck and watched Christine enter the room after answering the door. Christine paused to pick up her down jacket and put it back on before reaching into the outside pocket of the jacket and removing a bottle and a thick cloth. Christine poured some of the liquid from the bottle onto the cloth and rubbed it deeply into the fabric. Gayle watched this and knew immediately what was about to happen. The liquid was chloroform and these two women were about to use it on her. As the woman approached holding the chloroform laced cloth menacingly in her left hand Gayle tried to plead with the women through her well gagged mouth. Antonija who was pinning Gayle to the bed rolled so that Gayle was now lying face up with her attacker holding her in a bear hug. Gayle was struggling intensely now and Antonija wrapped both of her legs around Gayle to subdue her further. Then Christine placed her right hand behind Gayle’s head, Gayle retched as the fumes from the cloth were brought closer and invaded her nostrils. Then the cloth was clamped over Gayle’s nose and gagged mouth. There was nothing that Gayle could do with the woman’s hand on the back of her head; she could only inhale the fumes or hold her breath and that was at best a temporary delay of the inevitable given her current predicament. Unfortunately the rest of the journey into darkness was familiar and the end came quickly as he eyes slammed shut.
“Antonija you wait here with her and I will go and help Karolina,” Christine said once Gayle was unconscious. Antonija didn’t respond but took a seat on the end of the bed which Christine took as a tacit indication that Antonija agreed. Christine took out her phone and sent Karolina a text to let her know that she was on her way. The plan was that Christine would head down to the rear entrance of the hotel where Karolina would park the ambulance. Christine would get changed into a paramedic uniform before bringing a stretcher up to the room with Karolina and then using the stretcher to get Gayle out of the hotel without being asked too many questions.
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Rhiannon knocked on the door to Gayle’s door for the second time and this time it opened, but to her surprise it wasn’t Gayle who answered but a tall, blond woman wearing a down jacket and jeans. “I am with the hotel security team,” the woman said by way of explanation.
“Is something wrong?” Rhiannon asked suddenly concerned about Gayle. The woman didn’t answer but opened the door wider and beckoned Rhiannon to enter. After she had the woman closed the door behind her and indicated that Rhiannon should walk down the short corridor toward the main room. Rhiannon did with the tall woman looking close behind. On reaching the main room Rhiannon stopped at the sight that confronted her, Gayle being strapped onto a gurney by two women. Before Rhiannon could react the tall woman grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent Rhiannon from screaming for assistance.
“What will we do with her Christine?”
“Knock her out and leave her here tied and gagged. By the time the maid service has found her tomorrow morning we will be long gone.” Rhiannon didn’t like the sound of that nor the fact the woman called Christine was now approaching her wielding a white cloth. This wasn’t her first rodeo and she knew that they planned to use a chloroform soaked cloth to knock her out. The tall woman removed her hand and Christine immediately pressed the cloth over Rhiannon’s nose and mouth whilst simultaneously placing her other hand behind Rhiannon’s head so that the cloth was kept firmly pressed in place. Rhiannon instantly recognise the scent given off by the fumes on the cloth, however despite her previous experience with chloroform she couldn’t help but panic now that the cloth had been applied. Rhiannon reacted as any normal person would to being attacked by struggling to try and escape and by trying to scream for help but the sound was effectively muffled by the soft thick cloth that Christine had pressed over her face. Her struggling was also ineffective as the woman that had grabbed her pulled her tightly against her body so there was no leverage and also was very strong. As the pungent, sweet smelling aroma continued to come off the cloth and invade her nostrils Rhiannon knew that she was in trouble and was going to be put under, her position was such that she knew that she couldn’t avoid it. At least she knew that these women planned to leave her here in the hotel room rather than take her somewhere else. Which meant that she hadn’t been targeted just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Gayle on the other hand had been targeted.
The struggle meant that she involuntarily began to take deeper and deeper breathes drawing the fumes from the liquid deep into her lungs. After about forty five seconds of struggle Rhiannon began to notice that her arms and legs were starting to feel numb and her strength was ebbing away. This must be the effects of the chemical I have to break free she thought to herself. Unfortunately the fumes had weakened her enough that her efforts became more feeble with every passing breathe so she stopped taking breathes. Standing in front of the young woman Christine noticed this and smiled “It’s too late for that trick young lady. You can’t hold your breathe for that long and trust me the chloroform has had enough time to weaken you already that there is no chance of escape. My colleague and I do this for a living. The chloroform will just put you to sleep for a while, nothing to worry about really. My advice would be not fight it, take deep breathes and enjoy the rest.” Suddenly all the fight drained out of Rhiannon and her limbs seem to lose all of their power and her eyes closed over. “Put her on the bed and bind her securely.” Antonija just nodded and carried the unconscious Rhiannon across to the bed and deposited her on it.
“Almost finished with this one,” Karolina said from the other side of the gurney after securing the last of the straps that secured Gayle in place. Christine threw a blanket over Gayle to hide the heavy leather straps before slipping a mask over Gayle’s nose and mouth. The mask delivered oxygen mixed with a mild sedative that along with the chloroform in Gayle’s system would keep her knocked out for the duration of the trip to the airfield. Christine turned round to watch Antonija bind the dark haired woman who had knocked on the door. Antonija had professionally bound the woman with the black nylon rope by binding her wrists behind her back and used a longer length of rope to wrap around her body below her breasts, pinning her arms to her sides. Then further lengths of rope were used to bind the woman’s legs at the ankles and just above the knees. Christine completed the binding by forcing a cloth into the woman’s mouth before plastering a section of white micro foam tape over the woman’s mouth.
“No need to take the doctor’s stuff as they will know that she has been taken,” Karolina said. The other two agreed their agreement and Antonija made for the door to the room and opened it. Karolina and Christine wheeled the gurney with Gayle strapped to it out of the room and along the corridor toward the lift. During their journey to the ambulance parked at the rear of the hotel they did get some looks and glances but as planned nobody queried what they were doing.
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The drive to the private airfield where The Silent Lady sat awaiting their arrival was short and Karolina drove it carefully. Although using an ambulance made it unlikely that you would be stopped you did still stand out a little so speed limits and traffic signs were all obeyed. Christine had described the jet, The Silent Lady, before they had set off and Karolina was able to locate it easily once they had entered the apron of the airfield. Karolina carefully reversed the ambulance up to the steps of the plane and killed the engine. She felt the vehicle move on its springs as Antonija and Christine went about their business. Then the thump of the rear doors closing rang out, which was followed by two loud thumps on the side of the ambulance, the signal that her colleagues had finished and Karolina could pull away. As she headed toward the exit Karolina glanced at in the wing mirror and saw Antonija and Christine carrying the unconscious Gayle between them. At the top of the stairs a blonde woman greeted them and for some reasons the hairs on the back of Karolina’s neck stood up.
Doctor Schmidt beckoned them into the fuselage of the plane and directed them toward one of the sleeping pods that were sitting in the main compartment. Although it was a bit awkward Antonija and Christine finally managed to put Gayle into the pod then stepped back and watched on with a professional detachment as Schmidt went about stripping Gayle, placing her in a pair of silk pyjamas and strapping her down to the pod. Then Schmidt folding over the padded blanket and secured that it place before turning to face Elizabeth Crawford’s two operatives. “Now ladies if you wouldn’t mind stripping off and putting on the pyjamas lying on the other two pods,” Schmidt said with a broad smile that didn’t reach her eyes. It was then that Christine noted that the pyjamas were indeed sitting on the other two pods.
“I told you on the flight out that we weren’t complying with you boss’s bizarre rule,” Christine replied.
“Is that right?” Both Christine and Antonija turned to where that voice had come from to find Milena Novak standing in the door to the flight deck pointing a gun at them. “You looked surprised ladies. I am a fully qualified pilot so was in the cockpit for the trip out helping The Red Baron with the controls.” Christina and Antonija glanced at each other before Antonija made a move, lunged toward Novak and there was a soft thump before she put a hand to her throat. “Don’t worry, it is just a sedative,” Novak said as Antonija dropped to her knees before slumping to the floor and coming to rest next to one of the pods.
“I hope that you appreciate what you are doing here Ms Novak,” Christine said raising her hands.
“Please put you hands down, this isn’t some western film Christine. Now please strip off everything apart from your bra.” Christine looked around looking for another option. There wasn’t one so reluctantly Christine started to strip. First off was her down jacket, which was eased off and onto the carpet, next Christine unzipped her down gilet and slipped that off. The next item of clothing to be removed was her boots, then her jeans and then her white t-shirt which left her standing there is noting but her underwear. “The panties have to go as well. Alternative garments will be provided….courtesy of your airline,” Novak said with a smile. Christine slipped of her panties and Schmidt handed her a set of silk pyjamas.
“Put them of and then lie on the pod,” Schmidt instructed. Christine unfolded the pyjama bottoms and noted that the weight as she bent down to put them on.
“Built in diaper Christine,” Novak answered the unasked question. Christine slipped them on and noted that they were tight around the groin and bottom but supposed they would have to be with the diaper. She then put on the top and lay down in the middle of the nearest pod, resting her head in the centre of the large, soft silk covered pillow. Christine had noted the heavily padded leather straps that Schmidt had used to secure Gayle earlier so it was no surprise when Schmidt picked up her left arm and slipped it through a loop. Schmidt then tightened the loop around Christine’s left wrist and fixed the strap in place using a buckle. Schmidt moved swiftly to undertake the same procedure with Christine’s right arm then swung a strap over Christine, laying it just below Christine’s breasts and then secured it in place, pinning Christine in place. Schmidt then repeated the trick with further straps over Christine’s hips and thighs, finishing with a second set of loops around both ankles. After Schmidt had completed the task Christine tested the straps but needn’t have bothered, she was securely held in place. Although surprised at this turn of events Christine was not concerned as once Elizabeth Crawford found out about this there was either a rescue mission launched or a settlement reached. Knowing her boss it would probably be the former and she would not like to be in Milena Novak’s shoes when that happened.
“Just relax and enjoy the flight Christine. It will be the quickest and most comfortable that you have or ever will take.” As she turned her head from where Novak voice was coming from and back to Schmidt Christine noted that Schmidt now held a black rubber mask in her hand.
“There isn’t any need for a sedative Milena,” Christine stated, hoping to convince her now captor.
“Well there is for the start of the flight and for the end but maybe let you come round for the middle. Now deep breathes like a good girl.” There was nothing that Christine could do now to avoid the forthcoming nap. As the mask was lowered toward her Christine could hear the hiss of the gas start as Schmidt activated the pump. Schmidt gently placed the mask over Christine’s nose and mouth blocking out the fresh air, now Christina was forced to breathe in the gas. Christine noted that there was a scent to the gas and then raised her head to allow Schmidt to secure the mask in place. Christine could feel the pressure around her nose and mouth increase as the rubber mask pressed against her skin as the buckle was tightened. “Don’t want any of the gas leaking.” Schmidt said as she straightened up and admired her handiwork. “Now just relax and breathe normally, the gas will do the rest.” Christine couldn’t help but think at this point that Kirsty had been correct, Schmidt was seriously creepy. Finally the good doctor produced a thickly quilted, silk covered duvet from a drawer below the sleeping pod, placed it over Christine and secured it in place using clips. Christine could feel it press down lightly onto her body. “Don’t want you getting chilly during the flight.”
“Now help me with the other one,” Novak said to Schmidt. Now able to place her gun down Novak grabbed Antonija under the arms and waited for Schmidt to grab her ankles which allowed them to lift the unconscious woman onto the last vacant sleeping pod. Christine turned her head to watch this but quickly turned her head back to the ceiling when she realised that the gas was starting to take effect and the darkness started to creep into the edges of her vision before it took over completely and she fell into unconsciousness. Novak and Schmidt undressed Antonija before putting her in a pair of silk pyjamas and securing her in the same fashion that Christine had been previously, finishing off with the quilted duvet and rubber mask. As Schmidt finished off that job Novak returned to her seat and instructed the pilot to make preparations to take off and head for home.
“Next time, get them both to strip and it will save my back. Or at least shoot the smaller one,” Schmidt commented taking the seat opposite Novak as the plane began to taxi.
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” was all that Novak said as both women put on their seatbelts.
“How do you think Elizabeth Crawford is going to take this?” Schmidt asked.
“I don’t really care.” Novak responded. “Whatever is on that hard drive it is worth a lot of money and I want it. The money I mean.” Then the pilot released the brakes and they were both thrown back into their seats as the plane jumped forward.