Following the tracks of the posse that had tried to rescue her, Arina found more things that proved the men had been in quite a hurry, obviously because some of them were wounded. At a small group of trees, where there was a well, they had rested and seemed to have prepared some of the stretchers the Indians used for transporting their luggage and that could be drawn by horses, for she found one two yards long stick. She decided to take it with her as a provisional weapon. However, her best find were a water hose and a bag that still contained some little loafs of bread. Arina rested for a while, ate some of the bread and filled the water hose. Now, equipped with about a gallon of water and something to eat, she was sure she would reach safety before noon.
***
When Hawk and Malcolm entered the hut, they were greeted by a moan of a woman tied to the post and hooded by a pair of white knickers. They could tell from the dress and the small size of the bound and gagged girl that it was Winona. There was no sign of their original captives, however.
„Oh Winona, you had one job!“, Malcolm said with a slightly threatening subtext.
„Mmmhhhmmmm!“
Winona shivered. Malcolm had been friendly and guardedly so far, but she had no idea what he did to people who had made a mistake. What shi did know was, that he had had no problems in sending Viola and Cassandra to the cells of the Special Branch which would have been no picknick for the two women. He also had shown little compassion when he had first seen her, naked bound and gagged.
Malcolm slowly pulled the knickers from her head. Then, he sat down and spoke:
„Winona, there`s no real reason why we should not just leave you here for god-knows-who to find you. However, we have to go after these two and Hawk has to stay here. One of us has to do some preparations for our departure and he`s the least suspicious, since it`s his hut. So, you may help me finding the two runaways. After all, I am sure you are still keen on the money. Though, after yourt failure, your share has reduced to 100 bucks. Nod if you agree.“
After a few seconds, Winona nodded, trying to show not too much of relief.
***
Cassandra had almost involuntarily went for the bank house. It seemed to be the most obvious place for her to go. However, when she entered her office, she found Garth and the other men rummaging through her drawers.
„What the hell you think you`re doing?“, she shouted.
To her dismay, none of the men showed some mortification. Instead, they seemed to be quite upset.
„The money! It`s all gone! Where is it?“, Garth asked, building up in front of her.
Cassandra considered quickly what had happened and how she could get him back into his position as a loyal henchman. She of course did not remember how she had been abducted from the cellar, since she had been stunned, but to her, it was clear that her abductors had taken the money. She had heard them talking only about some 3.000 Dollars, but she could not think of why they should have left the rest in the safe.
„I-I was attacked by two men. They have kidnapped me, but I managed to escape. They have the money. If you help me to get it back, I will pay you 100 bucks each.“
Garth hesitated and there was a murmur among the men. Cassandra was just about to believe that she had regained control over them, when a loud knock was heard from the window.
All spun around. In the window, Winona was sitting, pointing at them with a small pistol.
McAllister and Dan reached for their guns, but Viola hissed:
„The first one to try that is a dead man.“
The men hesitated. They were five armed men and the Derringer had only two bullets in it. It almost looked like a toy gun, even in Viola`s slender hands, but on blank distance, it was a deadly weapon. She could kill only two of them before they could gun her down, but none of the group wanted to be number one and two. For a few moments, they all just stared at each other. Then, Garth spoke.
„Well, there must be a reason that you are here. Let`s talk, now that we are here alltogether.“
„Who has put you in charge?“, Cassandra blurted, noticing just a second to late that this was not the right moment to insist on her rank as his employer. When he looked at her menacingly, she lowered her head, accepting her subordinate role for the moment.
„She has told you only half the truth“, Viola continued. She had seen her chance in the fact that her opponents were divided in their opinions.
„The men who took us have only a part of the money. The rest must have been taken by my men. Obviously, that treacherous riffraff has left without thinking of me. However, I know where they are now. It`s four against the six of us, but we have surprise on our side, so, with a little bit of luck, we might be able to divide the sum by six.“
Cassandra could not help admiring Viola for how fast she had taken the part as a leader of the gang. However, she had also heard her speaking of six persons. Together with her, they were seven.
She tried to sneak out of the room, but Viola warned the men and two of them grabbed Cassandra by her arms. Now, the black haired woman jumped inside and closed the window.
„Before we can leave, however, we have to make sure she isn`t going anywhere.“
Cassandra tried to play her last trump.
„If you follow her, you are outlawed criminals, hunted down by justice. Just get her and we will hand her over to the Marshal. Then, you will still be honourable men.“
However, Garth was not a complete fool.
„If we follow her, we will be outlawed criminals with our pockets full of gold!“
He took a coiled rope from his belt and wanted to tie Cassandra`s wrists, but Viola interrupted him.
„First, we should discourage her from calling for help too loud. Perhaps, if she`s feeling underdressed, she will think twice of alerting someone.“
Cassandra understood her only too well and with six armed opponents surrounding her, she saw no point in being defiant. For the second time this evening, she opened her dress and took it off.
„Good. Now, your underskirts“, Viola ordered.
Cassandra was about to obey when she remembered that she wasn`t wearing any knickers: they were stuffed into the little redhead`s mouth. She hesitated and smiled a bit nervously:
„Please, no! I will not cry for help in just my underwear, please, leave me -NO!!!“
Cassandra screamed when Garth, tired of the delay, ripped away her underskirts with as brutal yank, revealing her naked pussy, framed by her white garter belt and stockings.
„Wow!“, Leyland coughed and the others leaned forward to take a closer look. Only Viola remained calm.
„Look all the way you want, but tie her to the chair.“
Two men grabbed the arms of Cassandra who had tried to cover her pubic area with her hands. The bank manager screamed, but Alan stepped behind her and slung his arm around her lower face, stifling her screams with his biceps.
„Mmmmhrrrr! Uuhhhmmmmmph! Ghhhhrrrmmmmmmph!“
Cassandra moaned and squirmed, but she was no match for the three men. Whilst Alan kept her silent, the others tied her arms at wrists and elbows and tied her hands to the rear horizontal beam of the chair, forcing the backrest`s top to dug into her armpits. Cassandra, who had sat with crossed legs to have a little cover from being viewed, now tried to kick the men. Since she was still wearing her black half-boots, she managed to hit Leyland`s shin before they were able to tie her ankles to the cair`s rear legs, forcing her to sit with her crotch open. Cassandra now pressed her knees together as far as she could, but Garth, now smiling wolfishly, cut two more pieces of rope and tied her knees to the chair`s front legs. Now, the bank manager could not close her thighs any more and flushed violently whilst still screaming into the arm gagging her.
Viola had torn one of her silk underskirts in half. She put a knot in the middle of one piece, then, she balled up the other. Cassandra knew what was coming, but she had no chance. Viola leaned forward and the very moment Alan withdrew his arm, she squeezed one of her nipples. Cassandra let out a squeal, half from pain, half from surprise, only to get her mouth stuffed full. Viola then placed the knot between her lips and, with the help of Alan, pulled the ends tight before knotting them off in her neck.
„Mph!“, Cassandra moaned, loking at her attackers with a mixture of fear and anger. Viola drew the knife from her bootleg.
„Just for one last thing. You sure admit that it looks a bit strange if you are bottomless, but not topless!“
„Nnnnnggg! Uuuuhhhmmmphhh! Mmhhmmmmm!“
Viola did nothing fast. She playfully cut the straps of Cassandra`s camisole. Then, she cut it open from the upper to the lower seam, just between her thrust out breasts. Like a magician presenting the white rabbit, she pulled away the cur garment, exposing Cassandra`s boobs to the five men who looked greedily.
Drawing by hugues66
„Mmhhhrrr!“
„Let`s go, we have some gold waiting for us“, Viola insisted.
But, to Cassandra`s horror, Garth said:
„Each may do one grab at her before. Just as a foretaste of what we will do to her once we are back!“
***
As the hours slowly – very slowly! - passed, Zenobia had come to the conclusion that she And Andrea would die before sunrise. They both had tried everything they knew and had not been able to loosen a single knot of the ropes binding them to each other and individually. Andrea, who was older and who had suffered more during the last 20 hours, had already a few times staggered. She had always been able to regain balance immediately after, but Zenobia, whose legs were aflame too, knew that they were only prolonging their terminal fate. More and more often, she had to stand on one leg to get the other some relief. Even this small movements made the rope between her legs move.
Suddenly, a crazy memory broke it`s way to her mind: when they had been teenage girls, a short time before the war, she and a fellow slave girl had talked about having sex with men. Her at that time 15 years old friend, being quite impatient, had then said: „I sure won`t die as an old virgin!“
Now, Zenobia was still young and she was no virgin either, but she was about to die. And here, so close to her nude body, was the woman she loved, equally nude and constantly rubbing against her. Zenobia knew that this was not quite the moment for getting aroused, but, on the other hand, how many moments were left to Andrea and her.
„Uuuhmmmm! Mhhmmmmm! Hmmmmmmph!“
Almost involuntarily, she once again began to move in her bonds. She felt the crotch rope tease her and this time, she did not stop.
„Mmmph!“
Andrea protested weakly, but Zenobia just closed her eyes and kept moving. She moved her bound arms to increase the pressure on her most intimate part and soon, the rope slid between her now wet labia. Now, she almost jumped when the rough hemp got in touch with her clit and massaged it in the rhythm of her movements.
„Uuuhmmmmm! Mmmhhhmmmmm! Hmmmmmm! Uuuhhhhhhh!“
Zenobia rubbed her sweaty breasts against her friend`s and made circling moves with her hips, grinding her pubic mound against Andrea`s. Suddenly, she felt that Andrea had adjusted to her moves.
„Mhhmmmmm?“
Zenobia blinked and could seed that Andrea now had her eyes closed, too, and was moaning quietly.
„She-she`s into it! She`s enjoying it, too!“
Zenobia had forgotten all about they were bound to die. All that counted was the sweet moment of pleasure! She pressed against Andrea and began to accelerate the back and forward of her pelvis.
„Uuuhmmmmm! Mhhhmmmmmmmm! Nnnnnnnggg! Hhhhrrrrrrmmmmm!“
„Mhmmmmm! Uuhhmmmmmmm! Mhhmmmm!“, Andrea responded.
Zenobia felt that the peak was not far. She slowed down a bit to reach that point together with Andrea, but her arousal soon forced her to get on again.
„Uuuhmmmmmm! Hhhrrrrrrr! Mph! Mph! Mhhmmmmmmm!“
„Mhmmmm! Hhhrrrmmm!“
„Oh my god, are you all right?“
Arina had been walking through the area, not really knowing where she was exactly. Then, she had seen from the distance a group of some five dead trees.
„That must be Dead Tree Valley“, she thought. She had only seen that place on a card once and had remembered it`s name only because of it`s picturesque name, but she remembered that it was some twelve miles south of White Skull. She decided to go there and to wait for the sunrise to be sure where South was.
When she had reached the little group of trees, she had seen a more than disturbing image in the increasing brightness of the awakening day. Two naked women, one black and one white, were standing close to each other, having nooses tied around their necks that went over a horizontal branch above their heads. Both were twitching and moving in a way Arina could not explain to herself and when she approached, she could sense a strange fragrance. It was sweat, but mixed with an odour she remembered from the few occasions when she had explored her body in some secret and lonely sessions in the barn, but that sure was only a coincidence.
Drawing by hugues66
When she spoke to the women, the white one tore open her eyes, blushed all over and tried to draw back from the other, but the blach girl just kept on thrusting her pelvis against her, panting heavily, grunting through her gag and keeping her eyes closed.
„Mhhhmmph! Nnnngggg!“, Andrea moaned, frantically trying to stop Zenobia from going on.
„Miss, please, can I help you?“, Arina asked, not knowing what to do and feeling a bit overwhelmed.
However, it was too late. Zenobia suddenly let out a deep and surprisingly loud groan and her whole womb began to spasm. She staggered and it was only when Arina grabbed her Arms and propped her up to prevent her from hanging herself that the Black sensed she was no longer alone with Andrea.
The next minutes were worse than dying a slow and painful death for Zenobia. Arina had no knife and had to remove their bonds with only her fingers and a sharp piece of rock and so, she had to remain standing face to face – and boobs to boobs and loins to loins – to Andrea, who once again looked her in the eyes, her face red from embarrassment and with a starnge expression in her blue eyes. Zenobia tried to formulate an excuse with her eyes, then, she turned away her view, feeling more ashamed than relieved that their lifes would not end here and then.
Arina had sawed through the nooses and taken them off. With a sigh of relief, both women had stepped away from each other before they had sat down, assisted by Arina. Now, they fully felt the exhaustion from being forced to stand for such a long time.
Arina had now cut the leather strings wrapping Andrea`s fingers and was working on the knots around her wrists. The reporter mmphed weakly, trying to tell her that she should ungag her first, but Arina obviously did not understand. When after what seemed ages, she had freed Andrea`s wrists and elbows, she turned over to Zenobia and freed her arms too.
„Mmmhhhmmmm!“
They saw Andrea half sitting, half lying on the ground, picking helplessly at the leather strings securing her gag with numb fingers.
„Mmph!“
Gathering her last remnants of strength, Zenobia took the piece of rock from Arina and sawed through the leather on Andrea`s gag. The rock fell from her fingers after only a few seconds, but now, Arina had understood. She sawed through the strings and pulled the knotted cloth from Andrea`s mouth. Reluctantly, she then picked at the big white wad of cloth that was wedged into her mouth. Though Andrea helped with her tongue, it took the two girls another minute until the frilly white knickers that belonged to Zenobia landed on the ground.
Meanwhile, Zenobia, who felt some feeling back in her fingers, had collected another piece of rock and worked on her own gag. When she was able to get Andrea`s black knickers from her mouth, she panted from relief.
Arina went over to where she had deposited the water hose. Zenobia crawled to Andrea, embraced her shortly and began to stammer:
„A-Andrea, w-w-what has ha-happened just-“
A weak smile appeared on Andrea`s exhausted face. She tried to caress Zenobia`s cheek, but her hand fell down.
„D-dear, it`s okay. We have b-been in an extreme situastion.“
„No! It wasn`t just the situation! I love you!“, Zenobia wanted to say, but before she could utter a word, Andrea`s eyes twisted and she collapsed in Zenobia`s arms.
„Water! Help!“, she cried, but Arina had already brought the hose. They loosened the cloth around Andrea`s neck and moistened it and, whilst Zenobia cooled the unconscious reporter`s forehead, Arina spilled some water into her mouth. After a while, Andrea opened her eyes and rose a bit. Arina helped her to drink some water, but prevented her from quenching her thirst too hastily. Then, when Zenobia drank, Andrea spoke with a hoarse voice.
„Thank you, you`ve saved our lifes!“
It was now that Zenobia fully realized that they indeed were rescued. She started to cry with relief.
„My, my, pull yourself together, dear“, Andrea breathed before she started to sob, too. Soon, Arina joined in, too.
***
The same time, some ten miles south, Viola and her new accomplices had reached the meeting point of the gang. It was some two miles outside the city, in a little grove, but one didn`t need the skills of an investigator to see that nobody had been there for several days.
„So, where`s our money now?“, Garth shouted at Viola. They had went to the hideout immediately, giving Cassandra`s horse to Viola.
The robber queen thought frantically about how she could save the situation. She still had only her Deringer whilst the men had revolvers and rifles. She could only hope that she would be able to frighten them once more. At least, she was quicker on the draw than any of them and these men did not seem to be too brave.
„Where`s your answer? Do you expect us to leave the city with bare hands?“
„How about 300 bucks each instead?“, a female voice suddenly said. Viola and the men rose and looked to the tree from where the voice had come. A little redhaired woman wearing a green dress stepped from the shadow of the tree. In her hands, she held a shotgun.
Winona and Malcolm had decided to split up for their search. Whilst Malcolm wanted to search the bank house, Winona should look through the vicinity of the town. She first had refused, for this was the more dangerous job, but Malcolm had said that, instead of her, he had the skills to brak locks, and so, he had equipped her with Hawk`s horse and an unloaded shotgun. More by coincidence than by careful research, she had spotted Viola and the five men and had followed them.
„What are you talking about?“, Garth, who had quickly recovered from surprise, asked.
„It`s a trap, she was with the men from the insurance company!“, Viola warned, but Winona continued talking:
„She`s right – partially. But these men tried to betray me from my share. They have taken some of the money, it`s 3.000 Dollars.“
Viola knew she was telling the truth and fell silent, interested in what the redhead had to say. Alan, who had always been good in calculating, insisted:
„If there`s 3.000 bucks and you give only 300 to each of us, that doesn`t sound fair to me.“
Winona looked at him cooly:
„If you don`t want, it`s nil. Don`t try anything stupid, I know how to use this.“ She pointed at the group with her shotgun. „Besides, it`s me who get`s in the line of fire first. I need you as a backup, but I will first have to go there alone, for my former – colleague will be suspicious if someone else approaches.“
Viola still had the feeling that they were running into a trap, but the men sure were intrigued by the idea of getting at least a small fortune. 300 Dollars would be enough to spend three month in the saloons and brothels of Tucson – or to get an excellent horse, if one wanted to spend his money on a more reasonable thing. It was far from being enough to support the Mexican revolution, but it was far better than what was the alternative – having nothing but five armed men against her. So, Viola agreed to listen to Winona`s plan, too.
***
Some hour after their rescue, Arina, Zenobia and Andrea had made the best out of their situation. Andrea and Zenobia had repaired the straps of their nightgowns, and, after having dried them on a stone, had put on back their knickers too. It was a strange feeling to know that they had been in the other`s mouth for several hours, but such minor things did not count after all they had went through. They had drank the rest of the water and eaten the bread Arina had brought with her and now, they still felt tired, but strong enough to go on the three or four hours` walk back to town. They had told each other their experiences – leaving out some of the more delicate details, of course and they were just considering wether they just start right now or to recover a bit more, when Zenobia, who had just relieved herself behind a rock, suddenly darted toward them:
„Someone`s coming! An Indian woman!“
They looked at the said direction, covered by one of the dead trees trunk, and saw indeed a female figure some 200 yards away. To their surprise, she was wearing only a pair of leather boots – and a pair of black and red knickers.
„It`s that Apache woman I told you about“, Arina hissed, „but she seems to be alone.“
„What shall we do? Hiding?“, Andrea asked.
Arina shook her head: „No. She will see that we are here and will alert the man. She seems unarmed, but he has got at least a rifle and a knife. No, we have to overpower her and leave her here. If he`s not around, we have a head start. If he is, we have a hostage.“
The other women shivered, but it was the only suitable plan and so they quickly prepared for taking Nascha by surprise.
To the Apache woman`s honour, it has to be said that she was tired from two more or less sleepless nights, one of them in tight bondage and gagged, and hadn`t had proper food or drinks for quite a time, too.
So, she just stumbled onto the little clearing built by the rocks and trees without checking the area before. Simultaneously, Arinas and Zenobia jumped from their covering, grabbed her by her arms and wrestled her to the ground. Before Nascha could scream, Andrea was kneeling on her chest and pressed the wadded up cloth that had formerly cleave-gagged her to her mouth.
Now, the woman fought and screamed into the cloth, but by using all their strength, the three others managed to tie her hands and feet and to hogtie her whilst Andrea could stuff the wad into her mouth and secure it with Zenobia`s former cleave-gag. When the Apache woman was lying to the panting three`s feet, they allowed themselves a short triumphant smile, but suddenly, Arina screamed:
Drawing by hugues66
„The man! He`s coming, too!“
***
„It really would not have been necessary that you changed your dress for my visit“, Malcolm said, dipping his hat to Cassandra.
He had seen that the bank house was still not visited by anyone and so, he had decided to search the house and now, he stood in the bank manager`s private office.
Cassandra let out a muffled grunt and blushed all over. She sat there with her bare breasts thrusted out and with her legs parted, revealing her equally uncovered pussy. The clothes she still was wearing – her garter belt, the stockings and the half-boots – only emphasized her nakedness.
„Mmmhhmmph! Uuuhhmmmph!“
„Oh, there`s no need to be formal. After all, we already know each other. I am afraid, your employees are no longer content with your leadership qualities?“
„Mmmhhhrrrmmmph!“
Malcolm carefully checked her bonds and the tightness of the gag, ignoring Cassandra`s struggles or her pleading moans. Then, he took the remaining underskirt from the floor and tore it in half.
„Well, I am afraid I have to ensure that you will stay here for the time being. Your – employees have done quite good work, but we sure can improve to that!“
„Mmmhhmmmph! Nnnnnnnnngggg! Uuuhhmmmmph!“
he took one of the cloths and tied it over Cassandra`s mouth, inforcing her gag. The other one, he tied over her eyes. Then, he opened the heavy cupboard and emptied it to the floor. Cassandra squirmed and creamed into her gag when he pulled her over and put her into the cupboard, still tied to her chair. The woman barely fit in, but he managed to position her inside and to close the door. It was a strong cupboard, made from heavy oak planks, and her moaning could barely be heard from outside.
Malcolm looked around. The two windows could be secured by iron grids and the door was reinforced by iron bands. Once locked, it could not even be opened by a crowbar, one would need a ram. Of course, sooner or later those who had bound and gagged Cassandra would find a way inside, but he just hoped that they would not dare to make too much noise on broad daylight when there were people around. Today was Sunday, so the bank was closed, but of course, there would be people around.
However, when he looked outside the window, something else drew his attention. On the horizon, he could see the hill behind which their hut was located. And a dust cloud was getting closer to it.
***
Winona told the others to stop when they were still a bit away from the hut, went down from her horse and went alone for the last metres. The villains dismounted and hid in the bushes surrounding the building. When Winona had reached the door, Hawk came out.
„Winona, why are you here? Where`s Malcolm?“
What happened now, had not been planned that way by Winona. She wanted to raise the Deringer – she had swapped with Viola – and to tell Hawk to give them the money and nobody would get hurt.
However, the little pistol`s trigger was quite sensitive and Winona`s hand not as steady as a rock and so, she accidentally fired the two rounds into his chest from blank distance.
Hawk was blown backwards and landed heavily on the floor. The other gang members left their covering and ran for the door, but Winona just sank to her knees, pale as snow.
„I-I k-killed him“, she stammered, too shocked to think clearly.
Viola, who understood the other woman`s dilemma, went over and put an arm around her whilst the others rummaged the hut, looking for the gold. They sat side by side, coping with the outburst of violence they had caused, when suddenly, they felt two gun barrels pointing at their temples.
***