Adventures of Maddison B. Gates (Archaeologist) (MF/F)
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2023 7:32 am
The Cross of Coronado (Pt1)
Chatterley Manor, United Kingdom
The engine ticked as it cooled. There was silence inside the car. Maddison B. Gates tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel. She felt nervous, like sitting outside the headmaster’s office at school. There was only a handful of people that intimidated her and Lady Sarah-Jane Chatterley was one of them. “You alright Doctor Gates?” Maddison turned to her left and looked at her researcher, technical expert and friend Holliday Goodlove and nodded.
“Just trying to work out how we are going to explains this to her Ladyship.” There was a nod toward the large and imposing stone house that they were parked outside.
“It could have happened to anyone.” Maddison screwed up her face. Yeah, probably not. She supposed it was time to make a move. They would be expected having buzzed to get in at the entrance gates from the main road, well country lane. It wasn’t that long of a drive from the gates to the house. Maddison got out of the car and stretched her lithe and athletic physique. All that running, climbing and walking in the field helped to keep a girl in shape. Tall, at a little over five feet eight inches in her bare feet Maddison was something to look at with emerald green eyes, sharp features and a smile that was permanently set to mischievous. Her mane of red hair was secured in a French bun. This was a professional meeting so she wanted to look smart. Black pant suit, a green blouse and black heels finished her outfit. Well, almost. A silk scarf around her neck and subtle jewelry completed the ensemble. Opening the rear door Maddison took out and slipped on her long overcoat and fedora hat. All of her clothes were tastefully expensive and expertly tailored. Walking around to the passenger side Maddison held the door open as Holliday struggled to get out of the car with her crutches.
“How is the ankle?” Maddison asked looking down at the heavily strapped left ankle.
“The pain has almost gone,” Goodlove replied after getting herself up. “Just a bad sprain.” Goodlove wore a black skirt that stopped just above her knee, thick tights, large red platform boots, a red rollneck sweater with a brown suede jacket over that. Maddison had never really seen her wear anything else. All of Goodlove’s outfits seemed to be a variation on the same theme. Her brown hair was cut in a short bob with her big, hazel eyes behind thin rimmed spectacles. Goodlove was a pretty young woman, even if she didn’t believe it herself.
“I suppose we should get this over with.” They approached the large wooden doors, footsteps crunching on the gravel drive. Maddison offered Goodlove a helping hand on the uneven surface. On each of the set of double doors sat a brass lion’s head with a large ring in its mouth. Reaching up Maddison hammered the old knocker on the door and took a step back. When the door opened, they were confronted with a man wearing a suit and a weary expression. “Jenkins. How are we today?”
“Fine. Thank you for asking Miss Gates.” Jenkins opened the door fully and invited them to enter.
“Doctor. Doctor Gates,” Maddison mumbled under her breathe as she entered behind Goodlove. They were in a large entrance area with an imposing wooden staircase taking up one half of the width. In all the times that Maddison had been here she had never actually been up those stairs to the upper floor of the large house.
“Lady Chatterley is waiting for you in the study. Can I get you some refreshments?”
“Orange juice.”
“Coffee.” They pair made their way through the house casting admiring glances at the decorations, paintings and ornaments that adorned the walls and tables. “Is that new?” Goodlove asked nodded toward a blue and red vase.
“It can’t be,” Maddison commented as she walked by, making a mental note to examine the vase in more detail on the way out. When the found the study, the door was slightly ajar. Despite that the pair stopped and exchanged a look.
“Are you two going to stand there all day?” a female voice called from inside the room. How did she know? Maddison mouthed at Goodlove. The reply was a shrug. Maddison opened the door a little further and peered in. The main lights were out and the heavy drapes had been drawn across the large window that overlooked the extensive garden. The only light were small pools and cones created by several lamps dotted around the room. Including one next to Chatterley’s desk. Was this a bad omen? Did the darkness reflect their benefactor’s mood? Taking a deep breathe Maddison pushed the door open and entered the room. She held it open for Goodlove to enter. “Take a seat. Curtains. Open.” As the pair headed for the desk there was a whirring noise as the heavy drapes started to move slowly apart. Letting an ever-expanding beam of light spread over the room. By the time that Maddison and Holliday took seats on one side of the desk the room was bathed in natural light. “Lights off.” There was now silence in the room. It hadn’t escaped Maddison’s attention that Lady Chatterley was standing behind them. She walked between the two seats, spun round and stood looking from one seated woman to the other. Maddison took in Sarah-Jane Chatterley as the woman leaned back on her desk and crossed her arms. She had never asked the woman how old she was. Chatterley could have been thirty-five having lived a good life or fifty-five with great genetics. As far as Maddison was aware Chatterley didn’t have any living relatives and the archeologist had no idea where the woman’s money had come from. They had meet for the first time several years before at an event at Cambridge University and had exchanged numbers. Maddison hadn’t thought about the woman again until a telephone call eighteen months ago….
“I had it in my hands,” Maddison didn’t want to look up at Chatterley, she had a look that could get a little intense. Chatterley sighed and then smashed her palms on her thighs in frustration.
“You are one of the most capable people I know Maddison. What went wrong?” Maddison squirmed slightly in the chair.
“I mean, it was all going to plan.” Maddison looked at Goodlove for support.
“Indeed, it was,” Holliday confirmed with a nod.
“Then this snooping journalist got involved and…”
“A very pretty snooping journalist,” Holliday interrupted. Maddison gave her friend a look and knew that they had lost her for the next minute or so as Goodlove’s mind drifted off somewhere else.
“Her looks really weren’t anything to do with…” Maddison noted the look on Chatterley’s face. “I had better start at the beginning.
Forty-eight hours earlier, La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
“Doctor Gates, a pleasure to meet you.” Julio Rodriguez reached out, took Maddison’s right hand and gently kissed the back on it. “It seems that your beauty may match your intellect.” Maddison took the compliment and nodded an acknowledgement. It seems that Julio was a charmer in addition to being a billionaire and a dealer of stolen antiquities. Allegedly. They were standing on the edge of a dance floor that had been set down especially for this occasion. A charity ball in the hall of the Rodriguez residence. Think a Bueno Aires version of Blenheim Palace. Just as the pleasantries finished the band cracked up again. A tango. “May I have this dance?” This wasn’t in the plan. She was supposed to be discreet. Dancing a tango with the host was not discreet. Especially in the outfit that she was wearing. A spectacular full length, off the shoulder dark silver dress with a slit on the skirt that exposed her long and toned legs when she walked. The dress hugged her curves in all the correct places. Her mane of auburn hair fell loose and in waves to just below her shoulders.
“Of course,” Maddison replied with a smile. She gave her purse to the suited and booted thug with a crew cut who seemed to be a constant presence by Rodriguez’s side before taking the main man’s hand and allowing herself to be led to the centre of the dancefloor. The crowd seemed to part for them and Maddison soon found themselves the centre of attention with all eyes on them.
“This is the Argentinian version Maddison,” Rodriguez whispered in Maddison’s ear as he took her in an embrace and made to lead. “I hope that you are up to it.” He winked. Maddison replied in kind. Not that ballroom dancing was her thing but she knew how to work it on the dancefloor. She knew the traditional Argentine tango fully supports improvisation and emotional interpretation in time with the music, so she would she where Rodriguez lead and play it from there. He moved and Maddison followed, Rodirguez knew what he was doing and used the beats and flow of the music from the orchestra to influence his movements and footwork. Maddison was equal to Rodriguez’s abilities and matched him. They both got lost in the music and produce a dynamic, sensual, playful, romantic, improvisational, elegant, graceful, refined, captivating, alluring and mysterious performance. There was a round of applause when then finished, holding the final pose as applause died out. Maddison looked around and noticed that the rest of the dancers had stopped to watch them. “I hope that we get a chance to catch up later. However, for the moment I must…” Rodriguez paused, trying to find the correct word, “mingle.” He raised a questioning eyebrow.
“That would be the right word,” Maddison replied breathing heavily at the exertions of the dance. “Look forward to it.” The crew cut sporting thug appeared and handed Maddison her purse before turning and following his boss away. Maddison scanned the crowd as she headed toward the bar. There were a lot of powerful and famous people in the crowd, including the US Secretary of State and the German Foreign Minister. At the bar she caught the eye of a barman and order a cocktail. She needed that combination of alcohol and fruit juice.
At the same moment, a young woman was standing just along the bar looking, no staring, at Maddison B. Gates with wonder. Trying to pluck up the courage to approach. “Alright, alright. Here we go.” As Delanie approached the woman was still catching her breath from the efforts involved in dancing the Tango, a very vigorous Tango at that. This meant that her breasts heaved ever so slightly, drawing the eye. Delanie Burkhardt stood at five foot four inches tall in her bare feet. Her long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, bright blue eyes and freckles. “That was very impressive dancing, very…very…vigorous.”
“Thank you,” Maddison replied and took a mouthful of the drink that the barman had just put down on the bar in front of her.
“Big fan. Read both of your books.” Maddison smiled and nodded. “What brings you to Bueno Aires?”
“A little bit of business. A little bit of pleasure,” Maddison replied being non-committal. “Sorry. Who are you?”
“Delaine Burkhardt. Reporter with Global Associated Press. I am covering the visit of the Secretary of State…”
“Excuse me,” Maddison picked up her glass and moved past the reporter, “just noticed someone that I have to talk to.” Delanie Burkhardt watched Maddison Gates strut away. Geez! She could watch that ass and hips all day long.
“I think that I am in love.”
“Pardon?” The barman asked. Delanie blushed, raised a hand and then moved away.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
After slipping away from the party with nobody noticing Maddison slipped the communication device in her ear from her purse. “You there Goodlove?” The archaeologist glanced around as she made her way up the main stairs of the large house making sure that nobody was following her.
“Picking you up loud and clear Doctor Gates.” Holliday Goodlove was sitting in the back of a truck about half a mile away monitoring various things on the bank of monitors in front of her. “How are things looking?”
“Clear for now,” Maddison replied.
“What was going on earlier? Your tracker went a bit weird.”
“Would you believe I was dancing the tango with our host?”
“I thought you were being low key?” Maddison hung her head at that comment.
“Well, I could hardly…” she bit back the response. “I am at the top of the stairs.”
“Right and then you are looking for the third door on the left.” Maddison walked along the corridor like she belonged and stopped at the door. She hadn’t expected this. It couldn’t be that easy. She reached out for the handle. “No, not the door.” Goodlove’s voice was like teacher telling off a pupil.
“You don’t have visuals.”
“Correct.” How did she know? “Run your hands around the frame and look for some kind of switch or lever.” Maddison clasped her purse between her knees so that she could both hands to run her fingers around the frame. Halfway down the right side of the frame she found something and pushed it. There was a soft click and a hidden panel in the wall to the side of the door popped open.
“Got it.” Maddison pulled the panel wide enough to entered and stepped inside. It was totally dark until the lights popped on. They must be motion activated. Behind her the door swung closed and clicked. “Only one way now.” Walking down the corridor Maddison came to a solid steel door with an electronic lock. The archaeologist took a small black box from her purse, activated the magnet and attached it to the electronic lock on the door. “Over to you.”
“Will be as quick as I can,” Goodlove said. Although there was nothing to tell Maddison what the box was doing or the progress being made, she stared at it intently.
“Come on. Come on,” Maddison mumbled as she looked nervously down the corridor at the panel, expecting it to open at any moment. Then there was a click and the green light came on. “Bingo!”
“Should be good to go now.” Maddison pushed open the steel door and hurried inside. Inside the room Maddison ignored the various display cases and headed straight for the back wall. There was a painting.
“The Just Judges by Jan van Eyck,” Maddison gasped. “That has been missing since nineteen thirty-four.”
“Just stick to what we came for,” Goodlove cautioned.
“Alright.” Maddison removed the painting to reveal a safe. This was an old-fashioned security measure. Luckily Maddison had the combination. “Twenty-three. Four. Twelve. Fifty-one.” The door clicked, Maddison pulled it open and smiled. “Looks like Chatterley’s intelligence was correct.” Maddison took the item that she had come for and stashed in on her person before closing the safe and rehanging the picture. “Time to go.”
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
Hurrying round the corner whilst glancing over her shoulder Maddison received a shock when she bumped into another body. Once she recovered Maddison found herself looking at her host for the evening. “Maddison. Where are you going in such a rush?”
“I was just keen to get back on the dancefloor,” Maddison replied after regaining her composure.
“Can I ask why you are up on this level of my house?” Rodriguez raised an eyebrow. “Get lost trying to find the toilet?”
“No, no,” Madison replied. “Just admiring the place. Lovely house you have,” she said putting a hand on Rodriguez’s arm. There were sounds of muffled complaints that Maddison instantly recognised a heavily gagged woman being dragged. Rodriguez stepped back so that Maddison could see a bound and gagged women being dragged between two of the suit wearing, crew cut sporting thugs. Then things clicked in Maddison’s head and she placed the woman’s face. It was that reporter, Delanie something or other, from earlier. Her wrists were obviously tied behind her back and loops of rope could be seen above and below the young woman’s breast, pinning her arms to her back. Delanie’s cheeks bulged unnaturally with packing and a scarf had been cleaved in her mouth to prevent the packing from being spat out.
“I think there is something of mine that you have. Give me it back or your friend gets hurt.”
“I have no idea what you are taking about.” Maddison decided to bluff it out. An evil smile crept over Rodriguez’s lips.
“There is a motion alarm on the painting.” Maddison tried not to react. Hearing footsteps behind her she found two further crewcut suits blocking that means of escape.
“What painting?” Acting all innocent.
“Shoot her in the kneecap Jose.”
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Maddison shouted holding up her hands for calm as Crewcut Jose pulled out a black pistol. “She is not my friend. Hardly know the woman. Met for the first time tonight.” Nobody else said anything.
“UUMMNNOO!” Delanie screamed as Jose jammed the pistol into the back of her right knee.
“Alright. Alright.” Maddison’s shoulder’s slumped as she reached round and removed the Cross of Coronado from the specially designed pocket in the small of her back of her dress. Slowly and reluctantly, she handed the artifact over to Rodriguez.
“That belongs in a museum,” Maddison stated as Rodriguez admired the item up close. “Are you going to let us go now?” Rodriguez laughed silently and then nodded over Maddison’s shoulder. She had been here before. On several occasions. “I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask not to be tied up?”
“Take Miss Gates and her new friend to one of the spare bedrooms and make them comfortable.”
“It's Doctor. Doctor Gates,” Maddison mumbled under her breathe as one the thugs from behind her grabbed her upper arm and dragged her off down the corridor.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
“mmuuhhpp…uummpphhh…oohhmm…” Maddison mumbled as she squired around, searching for a weakness in her bindings. She rolled over and came face to face with Delanie Burkhardt who was lying next to her on the double bed. Maddison was concerned the younger woman hadn’t quite grasped the seriousness of their situation. Rodriguez was not going to just let them leave. “uummppff…uurrmm…mmammoouudd…” Delanie raised a questioning eyebrow. Maddison groaned in frustration. She wanted the reporter to roll over so that she could look at her bindings. See if there was something that she could pick at with her nails.
“Are you tied up again?” Goodlove’s voice burst into her head.
“uummhh…hhuummhh…” Maddison replied.
“Must be a big gag. I can’t understand a word you are saying.” Maddison rolled her eyes. Yes, it was a large gag. Rodriguez’s goons had stuffed not one, but two cloths into her mouth and then used a scarf to cleave gag her and prevent the packing from being expunged. That was followed up by a second silk scarf folded into a band and then tied over her mouth. Maddison had tried to rub off the scarf but it was tightly tied and felt like it was welded in place. Then they had tied her wrists behind her back with rope. Very securely they were tied too. The rope had been tied wrapped around the wrist on half a dozen occasions, cinched and then knotted away from prying fingers. Her arms were pinned to her back with rope that had been wrapped around her body and then her legs were tied together in four places with rope, at the ankles, just below and above the knees and then around the thighs. A thoroughly professional job. Once tied to their satisfaction the thugs had dumped the two bound and gagged women on the bed. Despite a good hour of squirming and thrashing Maddison had made no headway on getting free.
“Your tracker has you somewhere in the east wing of the house,” Goodlove continued. “Should I try and sneak in?”
“MMOOHH!” Maddison called into her gag. That would be too dangerous. It would be a complete disaster if Goodlove got nabbed as well. They could only hope that something else happened.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
Another hour of frustrated attempts to get free passed when the door opened and Rodriguez, Jose and another thug walked in. Their host walked in and smiled at them before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Well, that is the party finished and the last guests have left the property.” A sad look came over his face. “That means that we have to take care of you. Can’t have you staying here. That could be a bit awkward.
“mmoohh…uummpphhh…oohhmm…” Maddison and Delanie mumbled in unison.
“Don’t worry ladies. I wouldn’t do anything as crude as kill you.”
“UUMMPPHH!” Delanie exclaimed.
“I said I wouldn’t do anything as crude as kill you. Not in my makeup. However, I have made arrangements for you to go on a little trip to somewhere that you can stay out of the way for…well, until I say otherwise.” Another chorus of moans and groans from the two bound and gagged woman. “That doesn’t sound appreciative. Do you know how much this is costing me?” He smiled and got up from the bed before nodded and Jose and the other rent-a-thug. Jose approached and grabbed at Maddison’s legs. He got a firm hold and despite Maddison bucking and thrashing around easily pulled her down and then hoisted her over his shoulder and into a carrying position. The other thug did the same with Delanie and the two of them started to walk out of the bedroom. They hung a left and Maddison had a good view of Jose’s buttocks as she swung slightly from side to side as the man walked down the corridor. They were some bumps and groans as they went throw a door and then down a several flights of stairs. They were through another door and Maddison felt the temperature drop. She looked around and then suddenly they were outside. The other thug with Delanie over his shoulder continued to follow. Trying to peak at where they were going Maddison saw the outline of a vehicle, like a van or truck look ahead in the darkness.
“Where are you going?” Goodlove said into Maddison’s ear.
“aaee…oonntt…hhoo…” Maddison moaned as she felt Jose take a couple of steps. “OOHHMM!” Suddenly, she was falling through the air and she landed with a thump onto something heavy and made of fabric. The landed knocked some of the wind out of her. There was a similar thump followed by a groan to her left as Delanie was deposited next to her in a…Maddison looked around, a laundry basket. They were in a large laundry basket almost full of sheets and table covers.
“uummgg…” Delanie grumbled as more sheets were dumped on top of them to disguise their presence in the basket. Then there was a thud as the doors of the van were closed and the van pulled way. Where were they going?
Holliday Goodlove sat behind the wheel of the unmarked van and looked at the tracker. There was a strong signal from Maddison and it was moving, coming toward her location. “Are you alright? You are moving toward me?” The response was a barely audible mumble. “Alright. No need for that language.” A car went past. Then a bus. Thiry seconds later a laundry van. Goodlove looked at the tracker. According to that Maddison has just gone past her. “The laundry van!” Gunning the engine Goodlove pulled in behind the laundry van and got close enough. What to do now though? Then she came up with a plan. It wasn’t a great plan. Hell, it wasn’t even a good plan. It was in fact, probably a bad plan but it was all that she had at the moment. She had to get ahead of them. Her phone was on a holder on the dashboard and she leaned over and zoomed out on the map of the area. Thinking about the route that they would take she pulled off from behind the laundry van onto a different street and floored the accelerator into the floor of the van. “Hang on Maddison.”
Fifteen minutes later Goodlove was sitting looking at the tracker on the screen as it got closer. A mixture of really fast driving and ignoring red lights had gotten her ahead of the laundry van. She was now sitting at a junction waiting on them. The road that the laundry van was on lay in front of her with an embankment leading down to a park below on the other side. Timing would be key. Putting the van in gear she waited until the last second and as the laundry van came into view mashed her foot onto the accelerator. The van launched forward across the road. “This was not a good idea!” Goodlove screamed just before she rammed the laundry van. The force was so much that it toppled the laundry van over onto its side and it lay on the edge of the road, half over the drop down the embankment. In the collision Holliday had banged her head on the steering wheel and she looked up to see that there was a large dent on the front of the laundry van. It sat on the edge for five seconds before it started to tip over the edge. “Oh. No!” The van overbalanced and toppled down the embankment. As Holliday took off her seatbelt and hopped out of the van there was a series of crashes as the van flipped down the slope. Holliday looked over the edge at the damaged van. “Doctor Gates!” She scurried down the embankment and slid to the front of the van. The two men in the cab groaned and were covered in blood. “Wear your seatbelts in future boys.” Then she made her way to the rear doors of the now battered van. As she did Holliday turned her ankles in a rabbit hole. “AARRGGHH!” Her walk became a shuffle come hop. She hauled open the door. “Doctor Gates!”
“uumm…mmhhnn…” a very muffled response from somewhere. There were four large laundry baskets in the rear of the van and a lot of sheets strewn around.
“Doctor Gates!” Another muffled call and Holliday started to dig through the laundry, eventually finding a pair of squirming, bound legs. Fortunately, the mass of laundry had protected Maddison during the tumble down the embankment. She continued to dig until she uncovered all of Maddison. “Doctor, a pleasure to see you.”
“mmiihh…uummhhh…mmooaa..” Holliday leaned into remove the gag when she heard movement from her right. She paused. Maddison shrugged and then suggested that Holliday remove the gag. The sound again. Holliday moved off and started digging.
“Who is this?” Goodlove asked seeing the second bound and gagged woman.
“oocchhtt…uuggss…aatter...mmuuhh…,” Maddison grumbled.
“mmuupphh…nnhhmm…” Delanie mumbled as the last piece of laundry was removed from over her person.
“Let’s get these ropes off you,” Holliday said. “My you are very pretty.” Maddison resigned herself to waiting for her turn to be freed for her bindings. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to um…touch…that was an accident…I really was just trying…um…loosen he rope around…”
Chatterley Manor, United Kingdom
“That is an interesting tale,” Chatterley offered now that Maddison had finished filling her in on the events of their trip to Argentina.
“Delanie Burkhardt,” Goodlove cooed, “a very pretty reporter.”
“What do we do now?” Maddison asked.
“They will try and sell. That is when we make our move.” There was a glint on Chatterley’s eye that told Maddison that she knew something that they didn’t.
Chatterley Manor, United Kingdom
The engine ticked as it cooled. There was silence inside the car. Maddison B. Gates tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel. She felt nervous, like sitting outside the headmaster’s office at school. There was only a handful of people that intimidated her and Lady Sarah-Jane Chatterley was one of them. “You alright Doctor Gates?” Maddison turned to her left and looked at her researcher, technical expert and friend Holliday Goodlove and nodded.
“Just trying to work out how we are going to explains this to her Ladyship.” There was a nod toward the large and imposing stone house that they were parked outside.
“It could have happened to anyone.” Maddison screwed up her face. Yeah, probably not. She supposed it was time to make a move. They would be expected having buzzed to get in at the entrance gates from the main road, well country lane. It wasn’t that long of a drive from the gates to the house. Maddison got out of the car and stretched her lithe and athletic physique. All that running, climbing and walking in the field helped to keep a girl in shape. Tall, at a little over five feet eight inches in her bare feet Maddison was something to look at with emerald green eyes, sharp features and a smile that was permanently set to mischievous. Her mane of red hair was secured in a French bun. This was a professional meeting so she wanted to look smart. Black pant suit, a green blouse and black heels finished her outfit. Well, almost. A silk scarf around her neck and subtle jewelry completed the ensemble. Opening the rear door Maddison took out and slipped on her long overcoat and fedora hat. All of her clothes were tastefully expensive and expertly tailored. Walking around to the passenger side Maddison held the door open as Holliday struggled to get out of the car with her crutches.
“How is the ankle?” Maddison asked looking down at the heavily strapped left ankle.
“The pain has almost gone,” Goodlove replied after getting herself up. “Just a bad sprain.” Goodlove wore a black skirt that stopped just above her knee, thick tights, large red platform boots, a red rollneck sweater with a brown suede jacket over that. Maddison had never really seen her wear anything else. All of Goodlove’s outfits seemed to be a variation on the same theme. Her brown hair was cut in a short bob with her big, hazel eyes behind thin rimmed spectacles. Goodlove was a pretty young woman, even if she didn’t believe it herself.
“I suppose we should get this over with.” They approached the large wooden doors, footsteps crunching on the gravel drive. Maddison offered Goodlove a helping hand on the uneven surface. On each of the set of double doors sat a brass lion’s head with a large ring in its mouth. Reaching up Maddison hammered the old knocker on the door and took a step back. When the door opened, they were confronted with a man wearing a suit and a weary expression. “Jenkins. How are we today?”
“Fine. Thank you for asking Miss Gates.” Jenkins opened the door fully and invited them to enter.
“Doctor. Doctor Gates,” Maddison mumbled under her breathe as she entered behind Goodlove. They were in a large entrance area with an imposing wooden staircase taking up one half of the width. In all the times that Maddison had been here she had never actually been up those stairs to the upper floor of the large house.
“Lady Chatterley is waiting for you in the study. Can I get you some refreshments?”
“Orange juice.”
“Coffee.” They pair made their way through the house casting admiring glances at the decorations, paintings and ornaments that adorned the walls and tables. “Is that new?” Goodlove asked nodded toward a blue and red vase.
“It can’t be,” Maddison commented as she walked by, making a mental note to examine the vase in more detail on the way out. When the found the study, the door was slightly ajar. Despite that the pair stopped and exchanged a look.
“Are you two going to stand there all day?” a female voice called from inside the room. How did she know? Maddison mouthed at Goodlove. The reply was a shrug. Maddison opened the door a little further and peered in. The main lights were out and the heavy drapes had been drawn across the large window that overlooked the extensive garden. The only light were small pools and cones created by several lamps dotted around the room. Including one next to Chatterley’s desk. Was this a bad omen? Did the darkness reflect their benefactor’s mood? Taking a deep breathe Maddison pushed the door open and entered the room. She held it open for Goodlove to enter. “Take a seat. Curtains. Open.” As the pair headed for the desk there was a whirring noise as the heavy drapes started to move slowly apart. Letting an ever-expanding beam of light spread over the room. By the time that Maddison and Holliday took seats on one side of the desk the room was bathed in natural light. “Lights off.” There was now silence in the room. It hadn’t escaped Maddison’s attention that Lady Chatterley was standing behind them. She walked between the two seats, spun round and stood looking from one seated woman to the other. Maddison took in Sarah-Jane Chatterley as the woman leaned back on her desk and crossed her arms. She had never asked the woman how old she was. Chatterley could have been thirty-five having lived a good life or fifty-five with great genetics. As far as Maddison was aware Chatterley didn’t have any living relatives and the archeologist had no idea where the woman’s money had come from. They had meet for the first time several years before at an event at Cambridge University and had exchanged numbers. Maddison hadn’t thought about the woman again until a telephone call eighteen months ago….
“I had it in my hands,” Maddison didn’t want to look up at Chatterley, she had a look that could get a little intense. Chatterley sighed and then smashed her palms on her thighs in frustration.
“You are one of the most capable people I know Maddison. What went wrong?” Maddison squirmed slightly in the chair.
“I mean, it was all going to plan.” Maddison looked at Goodlove for support.
“Indeed, it was,” Holliday confirmed with a nod.
“Then this snooping journalist got involved and…”
“A very pretty snooping journalist,” Holliday interrupted. Maddison gave her friend a look and knew that they had lost her for the next minute or so as Goodlove’s mind drifted off somewhere else.
“Her looks really weren’t anything to do with…” Maddison noted the look on Chatterley’s face. “I had better start at the beginning.
Forty-eight hours earlier, La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
“Doctor Gates, a pleasure to meet you.” Julio Rodriguez reached out, took Maddison’s right hand and gently kissed the back on it. “It seems that your beauty may match your intellect.” Maddison took the compliment and nodded an acknowledgement. It seems that Julio was a charmer in addition to being a billionaire and a dealer of stolen antiquities. Allegedly. They were standing on the edge of a dance floor that had been set down especially for this occasion. A charity ball in the hall of the Rodriguez residence. Think a Bueno Aires version of Blenheim Palace. Just as the pleasantries finished the band cracked up again. A tango. “May I have this dance?” This wasn’t in the plan. She was supposed to be discreet. Dancing a tango with the host was not discreet. Especially in the outfit that she was wearing. A spectacular full length, off the shoulder dark silver dress with a slit on the skirt that exposed her long and toned legs when she walked. The dress hugged her curves in all the correct places. Her mane of auburn hair fell loose and in waves to just below her shoulders.
“Of course,” Maddison replied with a smile. She gave her purse to the suited and booted thug with a crew cut who seemed to be a constant presence by Rodriguez’s side before taking the main man’s hand and allowing herself to be led to the centre of the dancefloor. The crowd seemed to part for them and Maddison soon found themselves the centre of attention with all eyes on them.
“This is the Argentinian version Maddison,” Rodriguez whispered in Maddison’s ear as he took her in an embrace and made to lead. “I hope that you are up to it.” He winked. Maddison replied in kind. Not that ballroom dancing was her thing but she knew how to work it on the dancefloor. She knew the traditional Argentine tango fully supports improvisation and emotional interpretation in time with the music, so she would she where Rodriguez lead and play it from there. He moved and Maddison followed, Rodirguez knew what he was doing and used the beats and flow of the music from the orchestra to influence his movements and footwork. Maddison was equal to Rodriguez’s abilities and matched him. They both got lost in the music and produce a dynamic, sensual, playful, romantic, improvisational, elegant, graceful, refined, captivating, alluring and mysterious performance. There was a round of applause when then finished, holding the final pose as applause died out. Maddison looked around and noticed that the rest of the dancers had stopped to watch them. “I hope that we get a chance to catch up later. However, for the moment I must…” Rodriguez paused, trying to find the correct word, “mingle.” He raised a questioning eyebrow.
“That would be the right word,” Maddison replied breathing heavily at the exertions of the dance. “Look forward to it.” The crew cut sporting thug appeared and handed Maddison her purse before turning and following his boss away. Maddison scanned the crowd as she headed toward the bar. There were a lot of powerful and famous people in the crowd, including the US Secretary of State and the German Foreign Minister. At the bar she caught the eye of a barman and order a cocktail. She needed that combination of alcohol and fruit juice.
At the same moment, a young woman was standing just along the bar looking, no staring, at Maddison B. Gates with wonder. Trying to pluck up the courage to approach. “Alright, alright. Here we go.” As Delanie approached the woman was still catching her breath from the efforts involved in dancing the Tango, a very vigorous Tango at that. This meant that her breasts heaved ever so slightly, drawing the eye. Delanie Burkhardt stood at five foot four inches tall in her bare feet. Her long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, bright blue eyes and freckles. “That was very impressive dancing, very…very…vigorous.”
“Thank you,” Maddison replied and took a mouthful of the drink that the barman had just put down on the bar in front of her.
“Big fan. Read both of your books.” Maddison smiled and nodded. “What brings you to Bueno Aires?”
“A little bit of business. A little bit of pleasure,” Maddison replied being non-committal. “Sorry. Who are you?”
“Delaine Burkhardt. Reporter with Global Associated Press. I am covering the visit of the Secretary of State…”
“Excuse me,” Maddison picked up her glass and moved past the reporter, “just noticed someone that I have to talk to.” Delanie Burkhardt watched Maddison Gates strut away. Geez! She could watch that ass and hips all day long.
“I think that I am in love.”
“Pardon?” The barman asked. Delanie blushed, raised a hand and then moved away.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
After slipping away from the party with nobody noticing Maddison slipped the communication device in her ear from her purse. “You there Goodlove?” The archaeologist glanced around as she made her way up the main stairs of the large house making sure that nobody was following her.
“Picking you up loud and clear Doctor Gates.” Holliday Goodlove was sitting in the back of a truck about half a mile away monitoring various things on the bank of monitors in front of her. “How are things looking?”
“Clear for now,” Maddison replied.
“What was going on earlier? Your tracker went a bit weird.”
“Would you believe I was dancing the tango with our host?”
“I thought you were being low key?” Maddison hung her head at that comment.
“Well, I could hardly…” she bit back the response. “I am at the top of the stairs.”
“Right and then you are looking for the third door on the left.” Maddison walked along the corridor like she belonged and stopped at the door. She hadn’t expected this. It couldn’t be that easy. She reached out for the handle. “No, not the door.” Goodlove’s voice was like teacher telling off a pupil.
“You don’t have visuals.”
“Correct.” How did she know? “Run your hands around the frame and look for some kind of switch or lever.” Maddison clasped her purse between her knees so that she could both hands to run her fingers around the frame. Halfway down the right side of the frame she found something and pushed it. There was a soft click and a hidden panel in the wall to the side of the door popped open.
“Got it.” Maddison pulled the panel wide enough to entered and stepped inside. It was totally dark until the lights popped on. They must be motion activated. Behind her the door swung closed and clicked. “Only one way now.” Walking down the corridor Maddison came to a solid steel door with an electronic lock. The archaeologist took a small black box from her purse, activated the magnet and attached it to the electronic lock on the door. “Over to you.”
“Will be as quick as I can,” Goodlove said. Although there was nothing to tell Maddison what the box was doing or the progress being made, she stared at it intently.
“Come on. Come on,” Maddison mumbled as she looked nervously down the corridor at the panel, expecting it to open at any moment. Then there was a click and the green light came on. “Bingo!”
“Should be good to go now.” Maddison pushed open the steel door and hurried inside. Inside the room Maddison ignored the various display cases and headed straight for the back wall. There was a painting.
“The Just Judges by Jan van Eyck,” Maddison gasped. “That has been missing since nineteen thirty-four.”
“Just stick to what we came for,” Goodlove cautioned.
“Alright.” Maddison removed the painting to reveal a safe. This was an old-fashioned security measure. Luckily Maddison had the combination. “Twenty-three. Four. Twelve. Fifty-one.” The door clicked, Maddison pulled it open and smiled. “Looks like Chatterley’s intelligence was correct.” Maddison took the item that she had come for and stashed in on her person before closing the safe and rehanging the picture. “Time to go.”
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
Hurrying round the corner whilst glancing over her shoulder Maddison received a shock when she bumped into another body. Once she recovered Maddison found herself looking at her host for the evening. “Maddison. Where are you going in such a rush?”
“I was just keen to get back on the dancefloor,” Maddison replied after regaining her composure.
“Can I ask why you are up on this level of my house?” Rodriguez raised an eyebrow. “Get lost trying to find the toilet?”
“No, no,” Madison replied. “Just admiring the place. Lovely house you have,” she said putting a hand on Rodriguez’s arm. There were sounds of muffled complaints that Maddison instantly recognised a heavily gagged woman being dragged. Rodriguez stepped back so that Maddison could see a bound and gagged women being dragged between two of the suit wearing, crew cut sporting thugs. Then things clicked in Maddison’s head and she placed the woman’s face. It was that reporter, Delanie something or other, from earlier. Her wrists were obviously tied behind her back and loops of rope could be seen above and below the young woman’s breast, pinning her arms to her back. Delanie’s cheeks bulged unnaturally with packing and a scarf had been cleaved in her mouth to prevent the packing from being spat out.
“I think there is something of mine that you have. Give me it back or your friend gets hurt.”
“I have no idea what you are taking about.” Maddison decided to bluff it out. An evil smile crept over Rodriguez’s lips.
“There is a motion alarm on the painting.” Maddison tried not to react. Hearing footsteps behind her she found two further crewcut suits blocking that means of escape.
“What painting?” Acting all innocent.
“Shoot her in the kneecap Jose.”
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Maddison shouted holding up her hands for calm as Crewcut Jose pulled out a black pistol. “She is not my friend. Hardly know the woman. Met for the first time tonight.” Nobody else said anything.
“UUMMNNOO!” Delanie screamed as Jose jammed the pistol into the back of her right knee.
“Alright. Alright.” Maddison’s shoulder’s slumped as she reached round and removed the Cross of Coronado from the specially designed pocket in the small of her back of her dress. Slowly and reluctantly, she handed the artifact over to Rodriguez.
“That belongs in a museum,” Maddison stated as Rodriguez admired the item up close. “Are you going to let us go now?” Rodriguez laughed silently and then nodded over Maddison’s shoulder. She had been here before. On several occasions. “I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask not to be tied up?”
“Take Miss Gates and her new friend to one of the spare bedrooms and make them comfortable.”
“It's Doctor. Doctor Gates,” Maddison mumbled under her breathe as one the thugs from behind her grabbed her upper arm and dragged her off down the corridor.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
“mmuuhhpp…uummpphhh…oohhmm…” Maddison mumbled as she squired around, searching for a weakness in her bindings. She rolled over and came face to face with Delanie Burkhardt who was lying next to her on the double bed. Maddison was concerned the younger woman hadn’t quite grasped the seriousness of their situation. Rodriguez was not going to just let them leave. “uummppff…uurrmm…mmammoouudd…” Delanie raised a questioning eyebrow. Maddison groaned in frustration. She wanted the reporter to roll over so that she could look at her bindings. See if there was something that she could pick at with her nails.
“Are you tied up again?” Goodlove’s voice burst into her head.
“uummhh…hhuummhh…” Maddison replied.
“Must be a big gag. I can’t understand a word you are saying.” Maddison rolled her eyes. Yes, it was a large gag. Rodriguez’s goons had stuffed not one, but two cloths into her mouth and then used a scarf to cleave gag her and prevent the packing from being expunged. That was followed up by a second silk scarf folded into a band and then tied over her mouth. Maddison had tried to rub off the scarf but it was tightly tied and felt like it was welded in place. Then they had tied her wrists behind her back with rope. Very securely they were tied too. The rope had been tied wrapped around the wrist on half a dozen occasions, cinched and then knotted away from prying fingers. Her arms were pinned to her back with rope that had been wrapped around her body and then her legs were tied together in four places with rope, at the ankles, just below and above the knees and then around the thighs. A thoroughly professional job. Once tied to their satisfaction the thugs had dumped the two bound and gagged women on the bed. Despite a good hour of squirming and thrashing Maddison had made no headway on getting free.
“Your tracker has you somewhere in the east wing of the house,” Goodlove continued. “Should I try and sneak in?”
“MMOOHH!” Maddison called into her gag. That would be too dangerous. It would be a complete disaster if Goodlove got nabbed as well. They could only hope that something else happened.
La Casa Grande Rodriguez, Bueno Aires
Another hour of frustrated attempts to get free passed when the door opened and Rodriguez, Jose and another thug walked in. Their host walked in and smiled at them before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Well, that is the party finished and the last guests have left the property.” A sad look came over his face. “That means that we have to take care of you. Can’t have you staying here. That could be a bit awkward.
“mmoohh…uummpphhh…oohhmm…” Maddison and Delanie mumbled in unison.
“Don’t worry ladies. I wouldn’t do anything as crude as kill you.”
“UUMMPPHH!” Delanie exclaimed.
“I said I wouldn’t do anything as crude as kill you. Not in my makeup. However, I have made arrangements for you to go on a little trip to somewhere that you can stay out of the way for…well, until I say otherwise.” Another chorus of moans and groans from the two bound and gagged woman. “That doesn’t sound appreciative. Do you know how much this is costing me?” He smiled and got up from the bed before nodded and Jose and the other rent-a-thug. Jose approached and grabbed at Maddison’s legs. He got a firm hold and despite Maddison bucking and thrashing around easily pulled her down and then hoisted her over his shoulder and into a carrying position. The other thug did the same with Delanie and the two of them started to walk out of the bedroom. They hung a left and Maddison had a good view of Jose’s buttocks as she swung slightly from side to side as the man walked down the corridor. They were some bumps and groans as they went throw a door and then down a several flights of stairs. They were through another door and Maddison felt the temperature drop. She looked around and then suddenly they were outside. The other thug with Delanie over his shoulder continued to follow. Trying to peak at where they were going Maddison saw the outline of a vehicle, like a van or truck look ahead in the darkness.
“Where are you going?” Goodlove said into Maddison’s ear.
“aaee…oonntt…hhoo…” Maddison moaned as she felt Jose take a couple of steps. “OOHHMM!” Suddenly, she was falling through the air and she landed with a thump onto something heavy and made of fabric. The landed knocked some of the wind out of her. There was a similar thump followed by a groan to her left as Delanie was deposited next to her in a…Maddison looked around, a laundry basket. They were in a large laundry basket almost full of sheets and table covers.
“uummgg…” Delanie grumbled as more sheets were dumped on top of them to disguise their presence in the basket. Then there was a thud as the doors of the van were closed and the van pulled way. Where were they going?
Holliday Goodlove sat behind the wheel of the unmarked van and looked at the tracker. There was a strong signal from Maddison and it was moving, coming toward her location. “Are you alright? You are moving toward me?” The response was a barely audible mumble. “Alright. No need for that language.” A car went past. Then a bus. Thiry seconds later a laundry van. Goodlove looked at the tracker. According to that Maddison has just gone past her. “The laundry van!” Gunning the engine Goodlove pulled in behind the laundry van and got close enough. What to do now though? Then she came up with a plan. It wasn’t a great plan. Hell, it wasn’t even a good plan. It was in fact, probably a bad plan but it was all that she had at the moment. She had to get ahead of them. Her phone was on a holder on the dashboard and she leaned over and zoomed out on the map of the area. Thinking about the route that they would take she pulled off from behind the laundry van onto a different street and floored the accelerator into the floor of the van. “Hang on Maddison.”
Fifteen minutes later Goodlove was sitting looking at the tracker on the screen as it got closer. A mixture of really fast driving and ignoring red lights had gotten her ahead of the laundry van. She was now sitting at a junction waiting on them. The road that the laundry van was on lay in front of her with an embankment leading down to a park below on the other side. Timing would be key. Putting the van in gear she waited until the last second and as the laundry van came into view mashed her foot onto the accelerator. The van launched forward across the road. “This was not a good idea!” Goodlove screamed just before she rammed the laundry van. The force was so much that it toppled the laundry van over onto its side and it lay on the edge of the road, half over the drop down the embankment. In the collision Holliday had banged her head on the steering wheel and she looked up to see that there was a large dent on the front of the laundry van. It sat on the edge for five seconds before it started to tip over the edge. “Oh. No!” The van overbalanced and toppled down the embankment. As Holliday took off her seatbelt and hopped out of the van there was a series of crashes as the van flipped down the slope. Holliday looked over the edge at the damaged van. “Doctor Gates!” She scurried down the embankment and slid to the front of the van. The two men in the cab groaned and were covered in blood. “Wear your seatbelts in future boys.” Then she made her way to the rear doors of the now battered van. As she did Holliday turned her ankles in a rabbit hole. “AARRGGHH!” Her walk became a shuffle come hop. She hauled open the door. “Doctor Gates!”
“uumm…mmhhnn…” a very muffled response from somewhere. There were four large laundry baskets in the rear of the van and a lot of sheets strewn around.
“Doctor Gates!” Another muffled call and Holliday started to dig through the laundry, eventually finding a pair of squirming, bound legs. Fortunately, the mass of laundry had protected Maddison during the tumble down the embankment. She continued to dig until she uncovered all of Maddison. “Doctor, a pleasure to see you.”
“mmiihh…uummhhh…mmooaa..” Holliday leaned into remove the gag when she heard movement from her right. She paused. Maddison shrugged and then suggested that Holliday remove the gag. The sound again. Holliday moved off and started digging.
“Who is this?” Goodlove asked seeing the second bound and gagged woman.
“oocchhtt…uuggss…aatter...mmuuhh…,” Maddison grumbled.
“mmuupphh…nnhhmm…” Delanie mumbled as the last piece of laundry was removed from over her person.
“Let’s get these ropes off you,” Holliday said. “My you are very pretty.” Maddison resigned herself to waiting for her turn to be freed for her bindings. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to um…touch…that was an accident…I really was just trying…um…loosen he rope around…”
Chatterley Manor, United Kingdom
“That is an interesting tale,” Chatterley offered now that Maddison had finished filling her in on the events of their trip to Argentina.
“Delanie Burkhardt,” Goodlove cooed, “a very pretty reporter.”
“What do we do now?” Maddison asked.
“They will try and sell. That is when we make our move.” There was a glint on Chatterley’s eye that told Maddison that she knew something that they didn’t.