On Mondays and and Tuesdays, the „Horrotique“ kept it`s doors closed and the cast members were free to do whatever they wanted – limited only by their usual lack of money. Stephane usually did minor roles on bigger and better reputed houses whilst Oscar visited his parents and Martin pretended that he visited his girlfriend, but since he only hid his homosexuality quite loosely, it was an open secret that said „girlfriend“ actually was a boyfriend. So, it was left to the girls to clean up the house. In this condition, Martin was quite traditional.
However, this did not take too much time and so, on the early Monday afternoon, the four women had finished their work and considered what to do. Maeva and Dorothea said they would like to have a walk in the park, together with a shared bottle of wine, but Emanuelle instead proposed a visit to the Turkish bath.
„There is one, not far from here, and it`s really not expensive!“
That sounded promising, especially to Dorothea. Since her last abduction, she had only been able to wash herself, since the theatre offered no shower and getting enough water for a hot bath was a time-killing task. She only was worried about not having a swimsuit, but Emanuelle soothed her:
„In a Turkish bath, you don`t need a swimsuit. They are separated by the sexes and so, you just have to keep on your panties.“
And so, the four girls went to the Hamam and enjoyed relaxing on the deckchairs or in the warm water, sitting in the steam bath or receiving massages – done by women who were no experts, but no bonebreakers either – that were included in the surprisingly low entrance fee.
This, of course had a reason – or, strictly speaking, two. The first had to do with the big mirror at one of the walls. It was a mirror only at the women`s side whilst on the other side, where the men`s area was, it was a huge window, allowing the male guests (who had to pay much more for this extra) to watch the women whilst these thought that there were no men around. If necessary, this window could be hidden behind a fake wall.
Of course, the Hamam was not only visited by pretty young women and so, it was always some kind of game of hazard whether the watchers would like what they saw, but the possibility of either seeing beautiful topless women or to get a glimpse of some women from the neighborhood was quite a promise and so, Charles Renard, the owner, was quite happy with the money he got, even if he had to pay some bribes to the police to look the other direction.
The second reason was that Renard had another source of money: he was what the papers called a „white slaver“.
Renard always had to smile when he heard about this word. It was associated with opium dens, creepy Orientals and prostitution. Well, this was not completely wrong, but first of all, he considered himself to be a businessman.
In earlier years, Renard had worked at the Colonial Office. There, he had come into contact with delegates from mainly North Africa and had discovered that there was indeed still an interest in European girls, though the times of the Barbary pirates were long gone.
Renard was a careful man and so, it had taken him some years to build his business. He had chosen very few, but liable men and paid them well to ensure their loyalty. In addition, he had quit his post and established the Turkish bath. Though it sounded ridiculous, the fake mirror was not only an opportunity for random checks on possible victims, it also helped with the police.
Secretly watching scantily clad women was naughty and indecent – but, in the eyes of the policemen, not a real crime. There were neither drugs nor gambling nor violence and so, they accepted Renard`s bribes and considered him to be a sleazy man who was just earning some money from voyeurs.
For eleven months of the year, that was the fact, but the real money was made on the yearly auction. Since France allowed it`s colonies some self government, but the main decisions were made at Paris, there were always several hundred persons from Asia and Africa in the capital. So, once a year, when he knew that enough of his potential customers were in town, he organized an auction of female slaves. The date varied and he only offered a few girls on every occasion.
Being careful also meant to keep business low. He could easily have expanded, but then, the police would have become suspicious. But in a big city like Paris, some people always disappeared and so, he had not been detected for some six years now.
His modus operandi was quite simple. A few weeks before the set date of the auction, he and his men looked for potential slave girls. Of course, the bath was good to get a first view, but his men – only Jean, Mahmut and Etienne were involved – also kept their eyes open during the year and checked interesting young women.
Apart from being young and pretty, they had to be single or at least without husbands and children and also no members of the upper class. Renard knew that the police was less likely to do an expensive search for the rescue of a secretary or nurse.
Some two weeks before the auction, he and his men collected as many girls as they could manage – up to eight. Renard knew that other slavers kept their victims for much longer, trying to break their will completely. However, Renard preferred another approach.
He compared his work with that of a good butcher. Some loved their filet steak rare, some medium rare and some well done. The butcher`s job was just to cut off the fat and tendons – though, in his case, not literally. He just took care that the girls got a glimpse of what their new life would be and taught them some submission. Then, it was up to the buyer if he wanted a willingless sex slave or a strong and wilful mistress. In addition, his method ensured that no girl was in his cellar for more than three weeks, minimizing the risk of getting caught.
Suddenly, something drew his attention. Renard had another one sided window at his office. He preferred not to have a bunch of sweaty, half naked men around when he observated the market. A group of four women had just arrived. Three of these he knew, they were actresses at a small theatre not far away. All of them were considerably pretty. The two brunettes would sure make a sum and the Tahitian of course looked exotic, though his customers were not that interested in girls from outside Europe.
But now, they had brought a friend – a tallish blonde with hair that reached to her hips and long, shapely legs. When she took off her towel and placed herself on the masseuse`s bench, even the experienced Renard licked his lips when he saw her magnificient boobs.
„Charles?“
A man had entered without knocking. Only his partners were allowed to do so and indeed, it was Etienne who disturbed him. First, he wanted to show Dorothea to him, but Etienne seemed concerned and so, Renard closed the curtain and turned his full attention to his most liable man.
„Jean and Mahmut have just arrived. They have brought two girls.“
„Well – good.“
Since his men knew his priorities and he trusted them, he let them collect women without looking at them before. He had not been disappointed by his henchmen`s choices so far. And since the auction`s day was only a few days ahead – this year, he had had to cancel the original date and bring it forward - , this definitely was good news. However, Etienne seemed concerned.
„One of them is a Romanian student. But the other-“
„Oh, come on, Etienne, what is it? Is she ugly or underage?“
Renard, though being a criminal, had some limits and one of these was that he only allowed girls of age to be taken. In addition, when grown up women disappeared, the police asked less questions.
„She-she`s quite pretty and she has become 19 two month ago. However – I know her.“
Now, Renard frowned. He had always thought that Etienne had no relatives in Paris, but if that was the case, it would be a severe problem. However, Etienne continued:
„Her name is Mitsouko Yamakawa.“
Now, Renard froze in motion.
„From the Yamakawa shipping company?“
Etienne nodded and now, Renard filled a glass of Whiskey for himself and poured it down. These fools! All the time, he had told his men to keep their fingers from the rich and prominent girls. Their relatives could pay private investigators and put pressure upon the police to take special care of this kidnapping!
„It seems that they wanted to expand business by some ransom kidnapping. They even have prepared a letter to her father, but I have told them that you would like to talk with them before and that you sure would not be happy.“
„Oh, that`s right!“, Renard fumed. He padded Etienne`s shoulder and hissed, laboriously oppressing his anger:
„Tell them as soon as they have stowed our new guests, I expect to see them in the other office!“
Etienne nodded and disappeared. Renard filled another glass. The other office was in the cellar. The one sided mirror wasn`t sound proof and he expected to become loud at his wilful men.
A high ransom would be nice, but the risk was even higer. So, he made a decision. If a letter would be written to Mitsouko`s father, he would do it, telling him that his daughter was all well, but he would never see her again. The auction was only a few days ahead and a Japanese would sell quite well. He would have appreciated to make some extra money, too, but to avoid imprisonment, Mitsouko had to disappear.
Before he left, he glimpsed through the window. The blonde now was lying on the bench, clad only in her white panties, and obviously enjoyed getting kneaded by the strong masseuse. He smiled thinly. Even without the ransom money, he would not face a bad year in business.
***
„Mmhhhmmmmmmmm! Uuuuuuhhmmmmmmm! Mmmhhhrrr!“
Mitsouko thrashed about on the bed she was tied upon and screamed through her gag, trying to get some potential rescuer`s attention.
„Mmhhmmph!“
Madalina was only a few yards away, but she could not help her friend and was scared to death, too. The trip in the van actually hadn`t lasted long, but being tied into a ball position, thoroughly gagged and stuffed into her own laundry basket, it seemed like an eternity.
The basket had toppled over and so, Madalina had been lying on her side. The fact that they hadn`t taken out her laundry before putting her inside had been a blessing in disguise: the cloths provided some upholstery, but also, the air inside her stuffy prison now was mixed with the fragrance of her used laundry. A pair of her panties had come to land on her head and she had only partially been successful in shaking it off.
From time to time, when Madalina had stopped moaning and mewing to catch breath, she had heard a faint sound. So, obviously Mitsouko was close, but as helplessly bound and gagged as herself.
When the van had stopped, she had heard someone step at the load area, but it seemed that they had taken care of Mitsouko first.
„Mmmhhmmmph! Hhhhrrrrrmmmmm! Uuuuhhhmmmmmmm! Mph!“
Madalina had pulled on her bonds, squirmed as much as her stringent ties allowed and screamed through the scarf filling her mouth to capacity. She had heard distant noises and so, she was sure she could alert someone if just she was loud enough. However, after a while, she heard steps and then, the laundry basket was lifted and carried away.
Indeed, her chances of being noticed would not have been that bad. The Turkish bath had ordinary business buildings on both sides, but at the backside, there was a rather large, vacant area that was quite neglected. Sometimes, children were playing there and indeed, had she been able to scream, she would have been recognized for sure.
Madalina was carried down some steps and then, the basket was put to the ground and opened. Madalina was heaved out of it and dumped on a bed. she blinked, but with her head bent to her knees, she could not see much. However, her captors quickly undid her bonds.
Before Madalina could do much, all the ropes had been removed, but her wrists had been tied to the upper posts of her bed. Her ankles were tied to the ends of a two foot bar with leather straps, forcing her to keep her legs open. The position wasn`t painful, but her skirt had been crumpled up during the transport and she knew that if she moved her legs too much, it would slide further up, revealing her panties to her kidnappers.
A moaning caught her attention and turning her head, she could see Mitsouko on the adjacent bed. she was tied the same way as Madalina, but two things had changed. With horror, Mitsouko realized that her skirt and her white stockings had been removed. She knew that, though now being a college girl, Mitsouko still dressed up like in high school and so, she wasn`t wearing garters. Below the waist, she now was covered only by her panties and her white silk underskirt that ended five inches above the knee.
Then, Madalina realized that Mitsouko sported another kind of gag. It was black and looked like it was made of leather. It looked a bit like a bra`s cup and covered her mouth and went over her chin. Madalina could see straps that secured this leather cup in place. Two went from it`s sides and were tightly buckled at the back of her neck. Two more went from the upper part upwards, framing her nose before they met at the top of her forehead from where another strap went over her head to the back of her neck, preventing the gag from slipping down and forcing the Japanese to keep her jaws closed. According to how muffled her cries were, Mitsouko`s mouth was still packed with cloth.
„These are easier to be undone when we feed you!“
Drawing by hugues66
The Arab had stepped beside her, grabbed her scalp and began to unwind the tape around her face. He worked quickly, but not too gently and Madalina yelped when the final layer tore on her hair. Before she could even try to work the balled up scarf from her mouth, a similar leather cup was pressed against her lower face and buckled in the back of her neck. Madalina tried to resist, but the man pulled the other strap upwards, threaded the end through the buckle and pulled it tight until Madalina had to bite down hard on her gag and could not open her jaw any more. Satisfied, the man now buckled that final strap.
„Mmhhhhhrrrrrrr!“
Without warning, the Arab had taken one of her nipples through the blouse and bra and swueezed it hard. She reared up in her bonds and screamed, but soon, she realized that her new gag was even more effective in silencing her.
„Just try to relax, Ladies, we will be back in a few hours and get you some food. And, first of all: forget Paris!“
„Mmmhhhhmmm?“
The blonde laughed:
„Well, the last thing you will ever see of the city are these rooms. Not the most pleasant memory, I presume.“
He left the room, followed by the Arab who was taking Mitsouko`s skirt and stockings with him. Whilst the skirt was intended to become a proof to her father that they indeed had his dughter in their clutches, he had taken the stockings for aesthetic reasons: the petite Japanese had shapely legs and should not hide them under these rather unerotic clothing.
For a while, the two girls pulled on their bonds and tried to scream through their gags. Then, when exhaustion forced them to calm down a bit, Madalina examined their prison. It was a room without windows, but lit by several strong electric lights. It looked like a cellar, but the floor, walls and even the roof were tiled. She could see it had three iron doors: the one their captors had just left through and another one that stood open and obviously contained a small bathroom. The third door was locked, but Madalina could see that it had a shutter, like the door of a prison cell.
The room was empty, except for the beds. Each had two handcuffs welded to it`s upper bedposts. There were eight beds altogether and Madalina shuddered from the conclusion: they were awaiting company.
***
„Lucky you“, Sandrine pouted. After they had left the Hamam, the owner had offered them some tickets from his house lottery. Maeva, Emanuelle and Sandrine had won a free cup of tea on their next visit, but Dorothea had an invitation to the inauguration of the new sauna that had recently been established and would take place this evening.
„Well, if one deserves it, it`s me“, Dorothea giggled. This was followed by a moment of silence. Dorothea had told the others only that she had got in the ways of some criminals, but refused to reveal any details, for the safety of both herself and the others. This was of course an
exaggeration since none of her kidnappers had followed her, but she wanted to persuade them that calling the police was not the best idea. But of course, her new friends were more than curious about who had put her in her predicament and whom she was hiding from.
„Hey, I`ve been in that sarcophagus, too, and after you had sat in it with your naked butt!“, Maeva protested.
This remark caused some laughter and the uneasy moment was over. Being a Tahitian woman, Maeva, like Oscar, had to play all roles with an exotic background and so, it had been her to be the title role in „The Curse of the Pharao`s Daughter.“ It was the usual funny „damsel in distress“-stuff, but Dorothea always shuddered slightly when she saw the sarcophagus.
But now, she wanted to forget about her ordeal.Dorothea even offered to swap the ticket against a bottle of wine, but the others decided that indeed she should test if the sauna was worth a look.
„But two bathes a day will make your skin rough“, Emanuelle remarked.
„If that were true, Maeva would look like an old balloon“, Sandrine mocked.
Maeva poked her friend`s side. Since she had been born on a tropical island, the others often joked about her having lived like a savage wearing only a grass skirt and a flower garland around her neck. For a while, the four girls kept on joking, then, they decided to get back to the theatre.
***
Renard had told Mahmut and Jean in very harsh words what he thought about their plan of getting into ransom kidnapping, though he could understand them. In a good year, they made a million from selling all damsels together. But Mitsouko would have brought that sum alone. However, this kind of crime offered too many risks.
„Well, time to get our guests introduced to their new life!“
The others nodded. Both Jean and Mahmut still were a bit angry about losing the money after they had planned the abduction so well and even managed to trick the two bodyguards, but they understood Renard`s poit of view. After all, he had kept them all out of prison since they had established their white slavery ring and each of them had quite a sum securely stowed in Switzerland.
What followed now was part of the routine. Renard would do the talking whilst they all would just have to wait. Renard knew a lot about psychology from his years at the Colonial Office and he used some more or less subtle method to manipulate his captives without using physical violence. One detail was that neither he or his men ever wore masks. The message was that where the girls were going, no one would be interested in the fact they could identify their kidnappers.
Both girls moaned and slightly squirmed in their bonds when the four men entered, but they fell silent when Renard raised his hand and waited, just like a strict school teacher. Then, he began his little speech:
„Ladies, welcome to my humble home. Let`s not waste time with preliminaries. As you may have concluded by yourselves, you are here since there is a market for beautiful girls and we want to profit from that market. It`s nothing personal, it`s just business.“
„Mmmmhhhhmmmmphh!“
Whilst Madalina just stared at him with widened eyes, Mitsouko screamed into her gag and rattled with her arm chains. Now, Renard smiled and explained to her in a matter-of-fact tone as if he was a waiter telling his customer that salmon was out and he could only offer him something else:
„I know that you have been told that this is just a ransom kidnapping. But unfortunately, we had to change plans. Well, look at the positive side: if we sell you into slavery, your father won`t have to pay a cent!“
Now, Mitsouko became really frantic, but again, Renard just waited, looking at the struggling Japanese as if she was just a rebellious little girl at the candy shop. He knew that by simply ignoring her fury, he could express his power and her helplessness better than by beating her. After a while, Mitsouko stopped moaning and just looked at him with fear in her eyes.
„Thanks for letting me continue. Now, here are our house rules, which are only few and in addition, they are quite simple. In your future life, obedience will be very important and so, you will learn to obey. So, rule number one is: whenever you are asked a question that can be answered with yes or no, you nod or shake your head. Did you understand that?“
After some seconds, Madalina shyly nodded her head, but Mitsouko was too perplexed and full of panic to even react. Renard continued:
„It seems that Madalina`s a bit faster on the uptake. Anyway, disobedience will be punished. The severeness of punishment depends on the grade of disobedience, but any escape attempt will be punished very severely. Is that understood?“
Again, only Madalina nodded. Etienne frowned. If Renard would not punish the Japanese for not reacting to his questions, he would lose his credibility. But he knew his superior for seven years now and was sure that he had something in mind by not reacting now.
„Where was I? Ah, rule number three: you will be fed every morning and after breakfast, each of you will be given 15 minutes in the bathroom – alone, if nothing has happened that should be punished. Any additional visit to the bathroom will cost extra.“
„Mmhhmmm?“
Now, Renard grinned. The two girls seemed to have some ideas what he meant with „extra costs“. However, he would not start with sexual payment if he could start the humiliation on a low level and then escalate it more and more.
„Each extra visit to the bathroom will cost you one piece of garment. The same is if you want to have something to drink apart from breakfast. Once you are naked, we will think of another payment. Is that understood?“
Now, Madalina too was too shocked to react. It would be impossible to wait for 24 hours until they could get to the bathroom, but how could he expect them to give them their clothes deliberately? Mitsouko protested through her gag, but Renard again raised his hand, now looking a bit less friendly.
„Now, let`s see. We have already taken Mitsouko`s stockings and her skirt, but it has now been the third time she forgot to answer a question and so, she has lost that capital. Now, if you would need anything else, we would start with your blouse or your underskirt, just as you like.“
„Mmhhrrmm!“
„Madalina, on the other hand, has only once forgotten to nod and so, it`s just one garment for punishment.“
Renard approached, followed by Jean. Madalina tried to crawl backwards, but her chains kept her trapped and so, she just gazed at the two men.
„Shall I take your panties?“
„Mmhhmmph! Uuuhhmmm!“
Vigorously, Madalina shook her head. Renard laughed and pulled up her skirt. Frantically, Madalina squirmed and thrashed about with her bound legs, but Jean just grabbed the spreader bar and pulled it to the bed`s end, forcing her to stretch her limbs and to stop struggling except for some twitching.
Playfully, Renard let his index finger run over her panty clad crotch. The girl screamed through her gag and threw her head from one side to the other.
Then, Renard began to hook her left stocking from her garter belt. Madalina mewed when he slowly, very slowly rolled it down to her ankle. Jean released the leather strap and grabbed her lower leg, allowing Renard to get the stocking from her foot, then, he retied her ankle. Renard just threw the stocking to the floor and laughed.
Madalina now felt tears running down her cheek. Though nothing really bad had happened, she felt as humiliated as never before in her life. Blushing, she saw that her skirt still was crumpled up, revealing her lacy white panties. She tried to adjust it by squirming on the bed and shifting her hips, but to no avail. Then, she saw that Renard had stepped over to Mitsouko.
„Now, have you finally understood the rules?“
The Japanese just looked at him, panting through her nose, her eyes showing a mixture of fear and hate. Slowly, Renard shook his head.
„Some never learn! Two garments for that!“
Madalina closed her eyes, but she heard Mitsouko`s desperate moans as the two men bent over her and ripped her blouse and her underskirt from her, leaving her in just her bra and panties. When Renard asked her again if she had understood now, she stared daggers at the man, but then, she nodded reluctantly. Immediately, Renard became as friendly and jovial as before and even padded her head.
„Now, girls, since none of you has planned the day that way, you maybe now want to visit the bathroom. Mitsouko?“
Blushing all over, the Japanese shook her head violently. She was embarrassed by having to discuss things like visiting the bathroom with a man. Besides, she only had her bra and panties left and felt more than naked already.
„Madalina?“
The adressed groaned through her gag with frustration. Everything within her told her to persist and not to take part in this humiliating game. But she hadn`t been to the bathroom since the last morning and unlike Mitsouko, she had some „capital“ left. It would not mind if she lost her second stocking, too, even if the man would take it from her. So, she nodded, reddening like a beetroot as the man smiled at her.
„Don`t dare to touch your gag or your foot ties, even when you are inside the bathroom! You got me?“
Madalina remembered to nod just in time and so, Renard uncuffed her hands. Madalina rubbed her wrists and resisted the urge to reach for her gag straps. Instead, she wanted to pull down her skirt, but then, she remembered something. She unhooked her left stocking, took it off and quickly handed it to Renard.
„Good girl. Now, go, you have 15 minutes!“
Obviously, he expected her to walk with the bar tied to her ankles. She staggered towards the door, knowing only too well how ridiculous it looked. Then, she closed the door behind herself and took a deep breath.
Then, she looked for a lock, but there was none. Instead, a hand from outside reached in and turned an hourglass. Then, he closed the door again. Madalina now feverishly worked on the buckles of her gag. When it came off, she yanked the scarf from her mouth and panted, but could fight down the urge to scream for help. The room had no window and it contained nothing but a toilet, and a small sink.
Before she could think of anything else, she had to follow nature. With some difficulties because of the spreader bar, she peeled down her panties and sat down. Then, she looked at the hourglass. The precious moments of relative freedom trickled away all too fast. Suddenly, all dams broke and she buried her face in her hand and wept.
She was unable to stop and so, she gasped with surprise as the door was opened and Renard looked down on her. His eyes then fell on the muzzle gag and the damp scarf lying on the floor between him and Madalina.
„Oh, Madalina. You have to admit that this has to be seen as an escape attempt, don`t you?“
***