By sheer coincidence, Lien had decided to take a shortcut to get back to where she had left Carmencita and Emilia and so, she avoided the road. This was the reason she missed the only person that was using this road at that early hour, or rather two persons, though only one of them was noticeable by anyone but the closest viewer.
On the first view, there was nothing unusual on the small, two wheeled cab that was drawn by a single horse. They were seen in masses in and around the cities and it was only a bit uncommon that one used such a small vehicle for a longer trip. A closer look would have told the viewer that the cab driver, though dressed in a suit and wearing a Western haircut, was a Chinese.
Some months ago, Cheng had decided that his future was in America and so, he had cut off his braid and changed into a more Western appearance. For a Chinese man, cutting off his braid was more than just an aesthetic matter: now, if he would ever return to China, he could be punished severely by the government. But since the government would sentence him to death anyway, this was just another reason to never travel to China again. Instead, he now visited Mexico.
Cheng had needed one week to admit that he missed Lien and wanted her back. Then, it had taken him two more weeks to organize business in a way that would allow him to search for her, no matter how long it took. This search now lasted for more than four months.
Though there were only very few Chinese women in the West, America was a big country and it had taken him some time until he had heard some rumours about the „Chinese wildcat“ or „The yellow fighter“ or whatever the men had called a little Asian girl that could defeat three grown men with her bare hands. It seemed that Lien somehow was aware that he was following her, for she never stayed long at one place. But by following her tracks, he had now found out that she was travelling throughout Mexico.
However, a few hours ago, he had been resting when he had heard the sound of horses. Cheng had sneaked closer and seen a group of five women who had withdrawn to a group of rocks little after he had detected them. Just when he wanted to get back to his cab, Cheng suddenly frowned. He knew two of these women. The last time he had seen them, he and his accomplices had packed them into a box that was to be sent to China and they had been naked, gagged and bound face to face. How on earth did they get to Mexico? Cheng knew that the ship carrying what turned out to be his last load of female slaves had reached China without problems and that the girls had been sold to a rich Chinese man. But obviously, the black girl and her brown haired friend had made it back to this continent.
He wasn`t sure if this was a problem, but he decided to be sure. Unfortunately, he could not just get over and ask, and he could not overpower all five women and take them with him. But he could buy himself some time by abducting one of them.
So, Cheng had sneaked close to Andrea and had knocked her out with a nerve pinch. Knowing that he had only some 15 minutes, Cheng acted quickly. He looked over to the four girls, but they were sleeping soundly and in addition, the top of the rock on which Andrea had been sitting protected him from view. Then, he decided to play a little game with the girls. He took off Andrea`s jacket, blouse, skirt and boots, leaving her in her camisole, knickers and gartered stockings. The red underwear perfectly matched the unconscious woman`s brown hair, but Cheng arranged the clothes in a way that it looked as if Andrea had dematerialized from within and he draped them over the rock. On that, he positioned a letter he had written just before he had approached. Then, he loaded Andrea on his shoulder and quickly went to his cab some 500 yards away.
The cab had a wooden chest leashed to it`s backside, but it was filled with Cheng`s clothes and other items he would need. But Cheng did not think of putting Andrea inside this chest anyway. The upholstered bench of the cab looked like that of any other of these vehicles: quite comfy, but meant only for one person – or for two persons who knew each other quite well. Cheng reached for a hidden lever and then, he could fold back the seat. Underneath, there was a little space. it`s floor and walls were heavily uphostered, as was the inside of the lid. Cheng had designed this hidden space for transporting Lien if she would turn out to be unwilling to come with him, but now, Andrea would be the first to enjoy his hospitality.
Taking two pairs of handcuffs, Cheng tied Andrea`s arms behind her back at wrists and elbows. A third pair secured her ankles. He knew that once inside the narrow box, she would be unable to move anywa and so, he did not have to tie her up more stringently. Gagging her, however, was a different matter. The box would absorb some noise, but since it had air holes, it wasn`t completely soundproof. Cheng went for his chest and took out a collection of silk scarves. Then, he put Andrea`s head in his lap and began stuffing the largest of these into her mouth. Since she still was unconscious, she did not try to fight the intruding mass with her tongue and her muscles were relaxed, allowing him to get a second scarf into her widely opened mouth, stuffing the cloth deep into her throat and puffing out her cheeks. Now, he slung a third scarf around her neck. Instead of tying it off in the back of her neck, he brought the ends to her open mouth and knotted them over the wadded scarfs, securing the gag and pushing in the giant gag a bit further. This cleave gag, he secured with a small leather belt he buckled tightly over the scarf. Since the silk upholstered the belt, he could pull it even tighter without hurting Andrea`s skin.
Now, Cheng had four scarves left. The first of these, he folded into a narrow band and tied it over the top of Andrea`s head, crossing the ends under her chin. With some effort, he forced her to close her jaws the little bit she could before knotting the scarf off. This two was secured by a leather belt. The next scarf, he tied over her mouth, covering her face from nose to chin. The next one was tied over her nose and mouth, hiding the other gagging scarves completely. The last cloth, a very fine one, he used to hood her entire head before he knotted it off in her neck. The silk bulged slightly whenever Andrea breathed out and from her weak movements, Cheng could sense that she was about to wake up. Quickly, he lowered her into the upholstered box, making her lie on her back. The woman barely fit into it, her head and butt pushing against the ends of the box whilst her shoulders and hips pressed against the sides. Cheng folded her legs – the girl now weakly tried to fight him and made small sounds through her stifling gag – and pressed them against her body. Then, with some effort, he closed the lid until he heard the lock click shut. Although he could not see it, Cheng knew that now Andrea`s folded legs were trapped between the lid and her body whilst she could not move at all. Cheng listened very closely, but he could only hear the faintest of sounds from underneath the seat. Quickly, he went over and looked at the girls, but they still were sleeping. Pleased, he went back to his cab. It was not before he had reached it that he could hear a very small sound. If the cab was driving or if he was in a village, the other noises would hide Andrea`s presence completely. Cheng jumped on the seat and continued his trip. The last thing he had heard was that Lien was on her way to a town called Torreon.
Drawing by hugues66
***
At San Juan monastery, only two of the four persons currently living there were sleeping, though they were all more than tired. Inside the torture chamber, Elisabeth was desperately trying to find a way out of this, although her situation had slightly improved, compared to her transport.
When they had entered the cool cellar, lit only by a few holes in the ceiling, she had whimpered with fear when she saw that there were indeed a torture rack, an iron maiden and all the things one expected to find in a torture chamber. The men had allowed her to take a good look at everything, but then, they had carried her to a heavy armchair. It was old and dusty and the leather upholstery was torn, but it obviously was just an armchair, nothing else. They had freed her from her ties, allowed her to stretch her limbs, but hindered her from touching her gag. Then, Pedro and Kilian had held her arms whilst Heinrich had wrapped her wrists with her silk stockings. Elisabeth soon found out that this was meant as an uphosltery. After they had made her sit in the chair, Kilian had taken a pair of handcuffs from a hook at the wall and tied her wrists behind the backrest, slinging the short chain of the cuffs around a horizontal bar between the chair`s rear legs before doing so. Now, Elisabeth could not reach for her gag or get up, but the position could almost be called comfortable. Now, Kilian asked her:
Drawing by hugues66
„You want to be dressed a bit more?“
Elisabeth looked up to the man, but there was no mockery in his eyes. Emphatically, the naked girl nodded. Kilian continued:
„Unfortunately, we have forgotten your knickers upstairs and so, we will have to use those you are wearing in your mouth. That is, of course, if you promise not to scream or to say a word. One peep, and you will not only be gagged again. If you break that promise, we will use some of the things around here to teach you better behaviour. Do you understand?“
Elisabeth`s first reaction was to kick the man with her unbound legs, or to spit into his face once she was ungagged. The thought of having to put on another woman`s underwear that in addition was soaked with her saliva was disgusting. But it was even more disgusting to have these stuffed into her mouth. And then, there were the items Kilian had spoken about. She knew only a few of the torture devices, but her little knowledge was enough that she sure did not want to experience any of them. So, she swallowed her defiance and nodded slightly.
Before loosening her gag, Kilian took a white cloth from his pocket and balled it up. Elisabeth recognized it as one of her handkerchieves and she was almost relieved that her new gag would not only be much smaller than the wadded knickers, it also would be clean.
Kilian loosened the silk belt tied between her lips and helped her to spit the knickes out. Then, he grabbed her scalp once more, firmly, but not brutal. Taking the handkerchief, he gently wiped some saliva from her chin and from between her breasts. Elisabeth panted and blushed all over, but she persisted and did not utter a sound, except for a small sigh. When he approached her mouth, she deliberately opened her lips and allowed him to gag her. Indeed, this gag was much more convenient than her first one. He retied the silk belt, but this time, he tied it a bit less stringent. It still would prevent her from spitting the gag out, but it no longer cut into the corners of her mouth.
Now, Kilian took the black pair of knickers and carefully shook them out. Then, he bent down and took one of Elisabeth`s ankles.
„Mmhhmmm!“, she protested and tried to pull her leg back.
„If you prefer to stay naked“, Kilian said and raised up again, looking down on her nude body. The girl`s eyes widened with horror from the terrible choice. She definitely did not want this man to touch her, but on the other hand, there was no way she could put on the knickers by herself, tied as she was. And being dressed, even if it was just that little piece of silk, was something Elisabeth wanted more than anything else.
„Uuuhhmmmmmm!“
With a moan of sheer frustration, she lifted her legs which she kept pressed firmly together a bit and looked pleadingly at Kilian. The man smiled and pulled the knickers over her feet. Of course, to allow him getting them up her legs, she had to open them a bit. Elisabeth closed her eyes when she felt the damp silk slide up her legs.
Kilian did nothing quickly. He took himself almost three minutes to put Heidi`s knickers on her. Elisabeth cringed when she felt his breath on her pubic hair and she grunted with disgust when she felt the damp material clinge to her body. But finally, she was wearing the knickers and when she opened her eyes again, she could see that the wet cloth still was opaque.
„Now, since you behaved well, you will get a little reward.“
„Mhm?“
Kilian loosened his tie and draped it loosely around her neck, draping the ends over her breasts. The tie ended just one inch below her breasts and it was just some three inches wide – but if she did not move around too much, it just covered her breasts. It was a ridiculous bit of modesty, but Elisabeth suddenly felt grateful.
Now, the three men left, leaving Elisabeth alone with her fears. Once upstairs, they drew matches to find out who had to do the first watch and Heinrich lost. Before Kilian and Pedro retired, Kilian spoke to them. He spoke French. It was the only language Heinrich and Pedro spoke more or less, too, but they had to be careful, since Elisabeth, being an aristocrate, was fluent in French, too.
„I have not treated her that friendly because I like her. But do you remember your baptism of fire?“
Pedro and Heinrich frowned. What was he talking about? Heinrich knew that Kilian knew everything about his first fight, since they had fought side by side in a skirmish three years ago. And Pedro was a man in his thirties who had a scar from a shot on his arm, meaning he also knew what being in a fight meant.
„You-you want to make a soldier out of her?“, Pedro asked with disbelief.
„No“, Kilian laughed, „but perhaps, you remember that the anticipation of being in a fight, the imagination of someone firing at you, was even worse than the battle itself. Once it occured, it was hard, but not as hard as we have feared, and after the battle, we were almost relaxed. It was because now, we knew what was expecting us.“
The others nodded. It was an obvious thing that fear itself was even stronger than the thing one feared about. But what did this have to do with their captive?
„For Elisabeth, the thought of being raped by us is even more terrifying than if we would kill her. And that`s why we will keep our pants on and not have our fun with her.“
Now, Pedro and Heinrich looked as if he had become mad, but suddenly, the Mexican seemed to understand.
„You mean, if her greatest fear comes true-“
„Exactly. As long as she thinks that it could be even worse, she will be too afraid to try anything that could harm us. If we play our cards right, we will have the most docile captive we ever had to take care of.“
After a while, the others nodded.
„We should have taken the maids with us, too“, Heinrich grumbled and the men laughed. Then, Kilian and Pedro went to sleep whilst Heinrich climbed up the curch`s tower and watched the area.
***
Lien could not believe her eyes when she came back to where she had left the two bound and gagged women. They were gone and following the tracks, she saw three horses looking for some grass and found her former captives sleeping, accompanied by two other women. To her surprise, she knew one of these from seeing. She was the black girl that had helped her and Princess Jinjin and that had ended up in a transport box to China, together with her friend. What was she doing here, and why had she befriended with the two criminals?
„Wake up, Ladies!“, she yelled and kept her revolver pointed on the four women. They gasped and tried to get up, but Lien told them to behave. Then, they had to line up side by side, with their hands folded in their necks.
„W-where`s Andrea? What have you done to her?“, Zenobia blurted.
Lien cursed her lack of caution. There had been three horses, but only two more girls than those whose horses she had taken with her, meaning that one person was around somewhere. She had not seen Andrea, but that did not mean that she was not currently aiming at her.
„You monster, you`ve killed her, you-“
Waving her hands, Zenobia approached her. Then, with a surprisingly quick and unexpected move, she kicked the revolver from Lien`s hand. Zenobia`s Kung Fu training in China had been short, but intensive and Lien hadn`t expected physical resistance from her. But now, the Black made a mistake by throwing herself on Lien.
Zenobia`s few weeks of training met Lien`s years of practice and soon, the Chinese was sitting on the other`s chest, pinning down her arms. But her triumph was short-lived, as the other girls had not been lazy in the meantime. With two guns pointing at her and Paloma waving a long stick, Lien did not dare to attack them all. Slowly, she went from Zenobia`s body and raised her hands.
„Let`s tie her up, and better do a good job!“, Zenobia ordered. Whilst Carmencita and Emilia still aimed at her with their guns, Zenobia cut some ropes. She had not recognized Lien, since she had been already tied up and gagged in the cellar of Madame Yini`s teahouse when Lien had been brought there, but she knew from experience that Chinese martial arts experts often also were escape artists. So, she decided to restrain that girl extra secure.
Zenobia started by folding her arms behind her back until her forearms were parallel and tied her wrists to the opposite elbows, taking care that the knots were all out of reach for Lien`s fingers. Then, she tied a noose around the girl`s neck, letting the end dangle between her breasts. Reaching between Lien`s legs from behind, Zenobia took the rope`s end, threaded it over her tied forearms and pulled it tight before knotting it off. Now, Lien`s arms were pulled downwards, further securing them, and the rope between her legs would cause pain on every sudden move. Lien had not made a sound so far. Now, Zenobia went for her bag whilst the two others still guarded the bound Chinese.
„I should have taken her clothes“, Emilia, who was still only dressed in her knickers and the borrowed camisole, said. But that would have meant untying Lien and in addition, she was smaller than Emilia.
Drawing by hugues66
Zenobia had found a pair of silk stockings and her knickers she had been wearing before going out for shopping the day before. It were those she had put on after her bath with Andrea and since she had worn them only a while before, they were relatively clean. She forced them into Lien`s mouth and tied one of the stockings between her lips. Still, the Chinese made no sound at all. The other stocking, she forced over the girl`s head. Then, she fetched the stick Paloma was holding. It was some two yards long and some two inches in diameter.
„Now, do a front split“, Zenobia told Lien in Chinese. She had learned the language quite well during her month in China and now, Lien emitted a surprised grunt. Then, she obeyed, stretching her left leg to her front and her right leg straight behind. This position made the crotch rope cut even deeper into Lien`s pussy and butt, but if that hurt her, she did not show it.
Zenobia secured her legs in the spreaded position by tying the stick to her ankles and knees. Then, she bent down to Lien and hissed:
„If you have hurt Andrea, this will nothing in comparison to what I will do to you next!“
Then, she went to where Andrea had been last – and gasped with surprise. Draped over a rock, Andrea`s jacket, skirt and blouse were lying. But the blouse`s sleeves were stuck into those of the jacket. Sure, Andrea had not taken her clothes off, but someone had arranged it that way. Then, she saw a folded paper lying on the skirt. It was a short message written in Spanish and said:
„Have taken your friend to Mazatlan. Viva Mexico!“
„What the hell is that?“
From behind, the others had approached. Zenobia showed them the letter, fighting back her tears. Suddenly, Emilia frowned:
„If this was written by a Mexican rebel, then he is almost illiterate. Five spelling mistakes in these few words.“
„And besides, why should a member of the revolutionary army take Andrea to Mazatlan – a city that is still in the hands of the Imperial army?“
Zenobia forced herself to concentrate on what the two Mexican girls were saying, despite her fears and sorrows for Andrea.
„Y-you mean-“
„Yeah, this is a fake, and not even a good one. Whoever has taken Andrea is neither a Mexican nor has he taken her to Mazatlan.“
Zenobia hesitated. Who on earth was interested in kidnapping Andrea and to play foolish games with her? Xenia LaFayette, of course, had an interest in luring her into a trap – but why hadn`t she taken the opportunity of getting her? After all, they had been sleeping just a few yards away from Andrea`s position!
„Maybe, we should ask her?“, Paloma considered, pointing at Lien. The Chinese was still sitting in her front split. Miraculousely, she had managed to maintain her position with her upper body upright and had not fallen to her side.
For obvious reasons, Carmencita and Emilia had no interest in ungagging Lien, for this could tell the others about what really had happened to them and who they really were.
„I don`t think that she`s an accomplice of your friend`s abductor. Otherwise, she would have used that to make us letting her go.“
Zenobia nodded. This was becoming weirder by the minute. She didn`t know that it was just the fact that Cheng had improvised and made some mistakes by doing so. Cheng`s intention had been to make Zenobia and her friends go to Mazatlan, giving him some time to find Lien. Once he had her back in his arms, he would let Andrea go, too, for then, he would have a head start of a few days and could be back in San Francisco where he could prepare for any possible attempt of Andrea and Zenobia to get him behind bars. It had been just an attempt to buy some time, but his lack of knowledge about the Spanish language and Mexican policy had caused some confusion now.
„You mind if I take her clothes?“, Emilia said to Zenobia, pointing at Andrea`s clothes still lying there. The Black nodded absent-mindedly and Emilia got dressed. Meanwhile. Carmencita looked for tracks.
„There! On the road! There has been a small coach or a cart, and it is heading towards Northwest!“
It was the direction towards Torreon, where they wanted to go anyway. And now, they had five horses and three guns alltogether. With the Chinese out of their way, that meant that they had only to overpower Arina, plus maybe the other showgirls, once they had reached the cart.
„We must follow these tracks! Let`s fill the canteens and then, we go!“
„But, what about her?“, Paloma asked, once more pointing at Lien.
Zenobia thought about that. Obviously, this Chinese had nothing to do with Andrea`s abduction, but she had tried to assault them. Also, it would be no good idea to take her with them. So, she said:
„We will leave her here. Sooner or later, someone will find her. After all, this is a major road.“
So, the four women mounted their horses and left Lien behind. The Chinese could only vaguely see them dissappear through the stocking hooding her head, but once she could no longer hear the horses, she started to work on her bonds.
***
„Isn`t that animal cruelty?“, Marita asked when looking at the mule that was leashed to their cart. However, her tone signalled that she wath rather making a joke than being really concerned about the mule`s well-being.
They had considered for a while what to do with Inez and Viola and finally had decided to make them their newest attraction - „The Janus-headed Lady Godiva“.
First, they had stripped both girls to their knickers. Then, they had forced Inez and Viola to lean back to back and had told them to hook their arms into that of the other. Then, they had tied their wrists in front of them and threaded a short rope between both women`s legs and connected their wrist ties. This rope did not only prevent them from bringing their hands up, it also forced them to stay with their butts pressed firmly together. Then, they had all four helped together to get the two pantyclad girls on the back of the mule. When they had tied their ankles together under the animal`s belly, both Viola and Inez were quite a sight. Viola, who was sitting in the right direction, was wearing her hair not that long. Her raven hair just reached the tops of her naked breasts, but helped not a bit to cover them from view. Inez, facing the mule`s backside, was little better off, since her long hair fell over her boobs, but she sure did not appreciate their predicament either.
Drawing by hugues66
„We shall not forget to braid her hair before we reach the next village!“, Aurora laughed.
„Mhhrrrr!“
Inez fumed through her gag and stared daggers at the showgirl. Viola emitted a grunt, too, but she was already trying to find a way out of this. Revenge would be sweet, but before, she would have to get free!
The cart now was slowly on it`s way to Torreon. According to Isabella`s card, the Town was still some 150 miles away, but there would be small towns and villages on their way. However, the card was nine years old and in addition, there were two things the girls didn`t know: when the new road had been finished some three years ago – whatever one could say against the Austrians or the French, they were quite efficient in building roads - , this way had become more and more unimportant for travelling. So, quite a lot of people had left their houses and settled a few miles further south. Others had left because of the insecure situation during the war or because they were afraid of the Apache who still lived around and controlled parts of the area. In other words, there would be hardly an inhabited settlement between Torreon and where they were now.
„I hope this Chinese will be back soon! If these thugs are all behind bars, I will feel much, much better“, Isabella said.
„Perhaps, we can even make her a part of the show“, Aurora proposed.
And so, the four girls were gossiping and continuing their way to no man`s land.
***
Heinrich was a soldier who knew how to behave in enemy`s land, but he also was tired and had to keep himself awake. Besides, they were not under siege and so, he lit his pipe. It was that little spark of light that alarmed Heidi and Mitzi of his presence. So, the two girls crawled through the bushes to approach the monastery unseen.
„They are hiding there, just as they have said“, Mitzi said when they were ducking behind a huge bush. They were still some 200 yards away from the monastery`s walls.
On their way, they had thought of what they could do. they had even thought of making it to the capital and to tell the Emperor himself about what the governor and this French Captain had dared to do. however, it would be a journey of several weeks – weeks in which Elisabeth would be in the clutches of her abductors. In addition, they knew that now, with the Lady out of their way, these cowards would not hesitate in withdrawing to the South. If they came back and the city was in the hands of the rebels, all would have been vain.
Heidi`s plan was to free Elisabeth and then to send a letter to the governor that their plan had failed and that he would be hanged if he didn`t try to hold the city against the advancing troops of Juarez. In the meantime, they would bring their Mistress to a town that was more secure. Ther, she could recover from her abduction and wait if Torreon would fall. It was not the best plan, but the only one that maybe could work, given the fact that they had no one on their side to help them.
„They are three, and we are two. Of course, they are also stronger than us, but maybe, we are smarter. They don`t know that we are already here. They sure think that we are bound and gagged back in Torreon or maybe, someone has just found us. I am sure that the other two are sleeping. So, if we can get inside, we have a chance of getting them, one by one. At least, we both know how to use these.“ She padded on her revolver. Mitzi, however, was concerned.
„But this man up there will see us. If he has a rifle, he can shoot us before he is in our reach.“
Heidi nodded. But she had already thought of a solution. She pointed at the sky where some black clouds were gathering.
„In a few hours, there will be a thunderstorm. Then, we can make it to the wall. You see that crack over there? There, we can get inside and then, we will just hide until we know where the others ar sleeping and if there are spots in the court the guard in the tower can`t see. It`s still quite a risk, but we owe it to our Mistress to at least try it.“
Mitzi shuddered, although it had become quite warm in the morning sun. Heidi was a brave woman, but she was just a lady`s maid. Of course, she knew how to shoot, because her father, a passionate hunter, had tought her when she was a little girl. But she had never in her life shot a human being and unlike the deer, these men would not run away if she failed. Instead, they would get her and kill her instead. And if they caught her alive-. Mitzi tried to shoo away these thoughts and ducked deeper behind the bush whilst Heidi was watching the monastery.
***