Chapter six

Of Dr. Bernard’s original posse, only Ibrahim had remained at their hideout just outside Cairo. He acted as his assistant at the hospital, but actually, he was also the liaison officer to the man he now sat side by side, leaning against the wall of the barn the girls were locked in.

»Now, what do you think, Ibrahim?«, the other man asked. Like Ibrahim, he was from Northern Sudan and they were both dedicated to the course of Ahmad, the new Mahdi.

In 1884, the original Mahdi, a charismatic Muslim leader, had started an uprising against the British-Egyptian rule in the Sudan and they had managed to conquer Khartoum and to establish a rule for some 14 years. By the end of the 19th century, however, the combined British and Egyptian forces had conquered the land back. In fact, Ibrahim was one of the few survivors of the battle of Omdurman, where his comrades had been mowed down by Maxim guns by the thousands. But now, eight years later, there was a new hope: Ahmad, the new Mahdi.

Unlike his predecessors, Ahmad knew that a war against the British Empire could not be won by bravery alone and in addition, there were only a few thousand men left who were willing to die for his course. But he had developed a daring plan that stood a chance to succeed:

First, the British Consul General had to be killed; not by a simple assassin, but by a white woman. This would ensure two things: first, the British would see no connection to the natives and second, it would prove the British were weak, if even their leader could be killed by a girl.

Once Consul Baring was dead, the Mahdi would start his fight in the area around Wadi Halfa, at the Egyptian-Sudanese Border. He had enough men to cause General Holt, Baring`s incompetent second-in-command, to send troops and then, the real uprising in Egypt would start, led by Egyptian nationalists and other enemies of Britain. The final aim was to establish a new rule under the Mahdi – one that was strong enough to keep Egypt for some time. After a few months, Britain would send another army, but by then, they would be able to get the Turks on their side – after all, Egypt was still officially a Turkish vassal. And whilst Turkey wasn`t strong enough to withstand Britain, they were allies of Germany. So, the British would have to be careful not to provoke the Germans and in addition, the Mahdi would by then control the Suez Canal, meaning that Britain would have severe supply problems.

In the dreams of Ibrahim and the man beside him – he only knew him by his nickname, »Falcon« –, this would only be the beginning. The North of Africa, even the whole Islamic world could be the final goal. It was a dream for ambitious men – and yet, it depended on them and their allies, a corrupt doctor and his two henchmen.

Dr. Bernard had developed the concept of »brainwashing«, a vicious word Ibrahim loved. It would render the girl chosen to kill the Consul General into their puppet, but not into a brainless zombie. She would just do what they told her to do, because she had accepted them as her masters. Dr. Bernard`s therapy based on sexual coercion – not the least part why Ibrahim liked to participate in the plan!

Now, he looked at the Falcon and answered:

»The doctor has already proved to all three girls that we can force them to reach the peak of ecstasy, break their resistance to do so. The next step is to make them believe that they can only achieve relief from our hands – and that they will suffer terribly if they don`t get it!«

He smiled, imagining the picture of a girl begging him to do to her what she would have refused with disgust just days earlier. However, the Falcon asked:

»Which one do you think is the best?«

Their plan was to kidnap several girls and to choose the one who seemed most appropriate for their plan. Then, they would fake that this girl had escaped her abductors, creating enough public rumor that the Consul General would personally visit the poor damsel in hospital to see if she was well. And then, she would simply have to use the poisoned dagger against him.

»We are not sure yet. The redhead seems the most – passionate, but she also seems to have a strong will. By the way, what have you planned with the others?«

He hoped that he would be allowed to keep them for himself, but the Falcon said:

»Dead cats don`t meow. Once you have chosen the best, the others will take a long bath in the Nile. But until then, you may also have some fun with them!«

On the other side of the wooden wall, Sarah was shivering. They had all been sitting close to the two conspirators, but since they had spoken Arabic, only she had been able to understand some of their conversation. Sarah hadn`t got it all, but she had heard that there would be some cruel competition – and all but the winner would be killed!

She looked to her left, where Emily was sitting, now calmer and finally without the persistent hiccup. Then, her eyes fell on Caitlyn who also seemed to have relaxed a bit.

»Oh my God, what else will they do to us?«

However, it was another thought that haunted her even more: how far would she go to save her life and to sacrifice the others?

***

Melissa could not believe that the man`s plan of getting her out of the hotel had actually worked. She had expected that any second, a hotel employee or a passer-by would see her predicament. However, Kazeem had maneuvered her along the corridor and to a side staircase that led to the path connecting the back yard and the street. For the girl, it had been the most strenuous 50 yards of her life.

The ropes tying her wrists to the tops of her thighs did not only cut into her flesh; on every step she took, they pushed and rubbed against her labia whilst the knotted rope also massaged her most sensitive spots. Under other circumstances, it would have been stimulating, but now, it just made the girl feel even more helpless.

Once they were standing on the path, Melissa could hear the sounds of the city, but what could she do? Blindfolded, she had no idea where to run. Gagged so thoroughly, she could not scream for help and with her knees tied, she could only take quite small steps. Of course, she could have thrown herself to the ground and flail with her lower legs, but she still felt something hard push into her ribs: the barrel of the man`s gun. So, Melissa remained still and quiet as he slowly led her to where he had left his cab.

It was a tiny, two wheeled cab, drawn by a single horse. Kazeem had left it close to the hotel and paid some money to a boy that had provided the horse with water and some hay. Also, the boy had kept watch that nobody would steal the cab.

He assisted Melissa in climbing up and taking her seat before he placed himself beside her and made the horse walk on. He threw a few coins to the boy who thanked him and even lifted his fez. If he wondered why the woman in the burqa seemed a bit dizzy and seemed to shake slightly when walking, he kept it to himself.

Kazeem needed one hand for the reins, but his other hand, hidden under the cloth of the wide burqa, still held the gun to the girl`s ribs and so, she didn`t dare to draw attention when the man had to slow down or stop the cab due to the traffic and she even remained quiet when he once or twice asked for the way.

»Good girl«, he hissed, »maybe, you will see another day, maybe, you will even remain unharmed!«

That »maybe« made Melissa shudder and she gulped, though it meant swallowing her saliva, filtered by the other woman`s vile tasting knickers.

Kazeem heard the small sound she made and continued on developing a plan. He had no idea what the plan of Linda´s potential kidnappers was, nor if he really had a valuable pawn in Melissa. But he had spent the last weeks doing literally nothing and now, he wanted to act, even if this meant acting a bit hasty.

***

»Now, I know why Melissa seemed so reluctant!«, Melanie thought, trying to dislodge the knickers stuffed into her mouth with her tongue. The silk mass filled her oral cavity and despite what she had said to Linda about being so sweet – her nether regions tasted rather salty and bitter. Perhaps, it was just the sweat.

Melanie uttered a grunt and concentrated on her bondage. Her wrists had been tied with a narrow belt, buckled very tightly by Peter, but she had some blood circulation left. Before her fingers would become numb, she needed a success!

Squirming and flexing her fingers the best she could, Melanie managed to reach the buckle and began to pick on it. Biting down on her gag, she tried to ignore the painful tingle in her hands and the perspiration on her scantily clad body. Then, shortly before exhaustion forced her to stop, she managed to loosen the buckle and to loosen her wrists.

Still gagged and tied by the other belts, this was only a minor success. The iron drawer, designed for a human corpse, was not wide enough to allow much movement. Melanie could not bend her body enough to reach for her leg straps and in addition, her arms were still pinned to her sides.

In another slow and painful process, Melanie pulled on the strap that held her arms to her waist, until she could reach the buckle of that and open it.

»Phew, there really isn`t too much air in this tiny box!«

She blinked in the darkness. Melanie knew that there had been two women stowed inside this drawer for a longer time, but she still felt the air becoming a bit stale. Perhaps, her captors had closed some air vent.

»How kind! Preventing me from dying from thirst by making me suffocate before!«

She increased her efforts and could loosen the belt. Now, her forearms were free, allowing her to work on the belts above and below her breasts. Panting heavily and covered with sweat, Melanie had to pause. She was about to doze off, but she knew that once she fainted, there would be no awakening.

She could have reached for her gag now, but getting some air was more important. She had been placed with her feet facing the opening and so, Melanie lifted her knees and tried to push herself and the drawer forward. It rested on rails, just like an ordinary drawer and slowly, millimeter after millimeter, it worked. Melanie could see a thin ray of light at the bottom – and that meant fresh air, too!

However, the padlock kept the drawer closed and she could not get the gap between the door and the wall wider than about an inch.

»At least, now, it will be starving and not suffocating! The question is whether that has improved my situation!«

***

Linda had screamed into her gag and tried to fight her tight bindings when she had heard that the wheelchair had reached an area where other people were around. However, a hand touched her shoulder and Dr. Bernard whispered:

»Remember this is a lunatic`s asylum and I am a doctor working here. Everybody will think you are just one of my patients that needs to be heavily restrained for her own good and for the safety of my staff!«

And indeed, nobody seemed to be interested in Linda`s plight, though a few persons even greeted Dr. Bernard. However, the doctor was quite nervous.

Using the hearse to get the three girls to their hideout outside Cairo had been the only possibility, but of course, many people had seen it – and sure, some were asking who had died without the hospital`s officials not knowing about it. Dr. Bernard could feign a story about a poor unknown patient that had died, but of course, such persons were fetched by the employees of the local cemetery; the hearse was only meant for prominent dead bodies.

»I will say that I sent it for being repaired or something like that! It`s my last day here anyway!«

He had only returned to fetch his spare money and some of his medicines and drugs. But now, he needed something to get the blonde out of the town unseen.

»There!«

In front of them, an automobile was standing with its engine running. It was the modern vehicle the Royal Hospital for transporting patients. The white van with the red cross painted on its side was a present by a high member of the Rolls Royce Motor Company whose life had been saved by one of the hospital`s surgeons. Now, it was used to transport wealthy patients. As they approached, a nurse was carefully pushing a wheelchair bound old man down a ramp, talking to him calmly all the time.

The driver was standing nearby, smoking a cigarette. Dr. Bernard quickly gave orders: Peter, the only one capable of driving an automobile, should ascend the driver`s seat whilst Selim should get Linda inside the van via the ramp. He himself would tell the real driver something about an emergency.

His heart bumped, but the driver seemed more interested in the view of the nurse`s backside as she slowly pushed the old man to one of the buildings.

»No problem, Doc! Just don`t run into a market booth! I had been in trouble for doing so last week – it`s the damned breaks!«

Relieved, Dr. Bernard wanted to enter the van when he heard another voice:

»Hey, Effendi, a word, please!«

Dr. Bernard spun around. There, a tallish man was standing, wearing a djellaba and a fez. Beside him stood a woman in a burqa who was shaking slightly and was held by the man in a vice grip. Dr. Bernard wanted to tell the man to go his way when he recognized that he had a gun in his right, pointing at the woman`s side.

»Effendi, I am afraid you have something I want and vice versa!«

Kazeem had arrived at the hospital`s entrance when Dr. Bernard and his posse had just been leaving. First, he hadn`t really noticed the trussed up and hooded woman in the wheelchair and then, he had thought that it wasn`t his business. But then, he had recognized the woman`s skirt: white, with a broad red stripe close to the hem. It was the same Linda had been wearing when she had left the hotel earlier. This couldn`t be a coincidence!

»What do you want from me?«, Dr Bernard asked in a low voice, trying not to attract the driver`s attention. The man answered:

»Well, I am sure that Melissa Arlen matters to you! And the woman you have just pushed inside that horseless vehicle matters to me! So, how about a simple swap?«

Kazeem could see how the doctor`s brain was working. After a few seconds, he asked:

»Here? In front of half the hospital`s staff?«

Kazeem smiled.

»Well, we could of course-«

Before he could finish his sentence, the doctor jumped back, pointed at Kazeem and yelled:

»Security! Arrest this man! He tried to attack me!«

He had jumped behind the van before Kazeem had reacted. Now, he stood there, the gun in his hand. There was still Melissa, but the doctor had just proven that he didn`t care for her life. In addition, he now could see three men approaching, all armed with guns.

Since they hadn`t drawn their weapons yet, he could have shot them, but Kazeem knew that there were more of them around and besides, he did not want to end in a shootout. So, he decided that Melissa could do him one last favor.

He fired into the air, causing the running guards to stop. Then, with one yank, he ripped the burqa from Melissa. As he had hoped, the view of the stark naked girl distracted the men for the three seconds he needed to sprint towards the gate. He ran into one of the narrow ways and whilst walking removed his djellaba and fez. Panting, he finally stopped behind a dust heap, waiting for anyone who would follow him. However, after some time, it seemed that he had escaped.

»Damn fool I am!«

He would have thought that the men would show some loyalty towards their female accomplice, but this doctor hadn`t hesitated to sacrifice her, just to get rid of him. Now, he still had Linda whilst he had lost his hostage.

Kazeem put his gun back in its holster and checked his purse. He still had more than a thousand Pounds and so, he was still in the game, though he knew neither where to search nor what to do when he had found her.

But as usual, Kazeem was determined not to give up as long as he still was alive!

***

Emily wondered why Sarah was screaming through her gag as Ibrahim entered the barn, followed by another man. He wore European clothes, but sported a black beard and was also an Arab.

Of course, Sarah hadn`t been able to tell her fellow captives what she had heard and so, she feared for the worst when the two men entered. However, Ibrahim just ordered them to line up side by side. Then, the other man walked the row, as if he was a General inspecting his troops. Indeed, he had a military attitude. Involuntarily, Emily took a stand, though none of them looked very impressive: naked, covered with sweat and sand and forced to thrust out their boobs by the cruel armbinders.

The stranger kept his arms folded on his back, but he let his eyes wander over their bodies. Caitlyn tried to cross her legs in a vain attempt to hide her pubic area and Sarah just stood there trembling with fear. However, the man stopped at Emily.

»You definitely have the most to offer«, he commented, looking down at Emily`s boobs. She gulped, but forced herself not to lower her head.

»In addition, you also seem to be the most – hygienic!«, he added, looking deeper now. Emily could not help blushing when he mentioned her epilated pubic mound.

Beside her, Sarah was whimpering. The deep, atavistic fear for her life made her feel strange emotions: envy because Emily drew more attention because of her bigger breasts; hatred because the redhead had shaved – down there. Sure, this man now would consider Emily more worthy to survive than her!

»They could all need a bath!«, the stranger now said towards Ibrahim. That caused another muffled shriek from Sarah who of course associated the word »bath« with being drowned in the Nile. However, Ibrahim answered:

»We only have water from the well, Falcon!«

The man scratched his beard as if this was a riddle to solve. Then, he ordered:

»Get as many buckets with water as possible, Ibrahim!«

It was an order and Ibrahim obeyed as if the man was his superior, Emily noticed. She tried to steel herself for either having to wash herself in front of the men or to be washed by them. However, some water would do good after all these hours inside the stuffy barn.

Bit by bit, Ibrahim brought four wooden buckets filled with water. Then, he also brought a bar of soap. The man he had called »Falcon« now faced the three captives again.

»Time to prove your obedience, girls! Any volunteers?«

To the surprise of both Caitlyn and Emily, Sarah stepped forward, blinking nervously at the man she couldn`t see properly. Falcon laughed:

»Are you flirting with me?«

»She`s short-sighted!«, Ibrahim explained. Sarah let out a sigh. She did not want these men to notice anything that would »diminish her value« in their eyes.

»Well, you have other senses!«, Falcon laughed. Then, he asked Emily:

»Will you be a good girl?«

As an answer, Emily tried to kick him. Falcon jumped back and laughed. Then, he said something to Ibrahim in Arabic.

The man left, only to come back with two long sticks and a coiled rope. Despite Emily`s resistance, he tied the stick to her ankles, forcing her to stand with her legs spread. Then, he did the same to Caitlyn who endured the humiliating tie with less defiance. Anxiously, the two girls watched Ibrahim tie a noose and threw the other end of the rope over the only ceiling beam.

»Stand back to back!«, he ordered. With their ankles tied wide apart, this wasn`t an easy task, but finally, Caitlyn and Emily were standing as ordered, their sheathed arms touching. Ibrahim put the noose around Caitlyn`s neck, then pulled some slack out and tied the other end around Emily`s neck, letting the rest dangle. Now, they could still breathe without problems, but not duck or try to get away.

»Sarah, come here!«

Again, Emily was surprised about the obedience in the petite girl`s behavior. Ibrahim removed her armbinder, but told her not to touch her gag. Then, he took one of the buckets and poured the water over Caitlyn and Emily, causing the girls to splutter and writhe in their bonds. He repeated the procedure, then, he handed the third bucket to Sarah.

»Now, soap and wash your friends! Better do a good job!«

»Mmhhmph! Uuhhmmm!«

In a grotesque pantomime, Sarah tried to show Ibrahim that she needed a towel, but he just said:

»Use your hands! Start with the redhead!«

Now, Sarah seemed seriously embarrassed, but Emily bit down on her gag, looked at her and nodded slightly.

»Do it, I won`t die from it!«, she tried to say with her eyes. Sarah now was blushing all over, but she took the soap, created some foam and began to rub it over Emily`s body, trying to keep her head down and not touching her breasts or her loins.

»Oh Sarah, I am afraid they will force you to go there, too!«

And really, Falcon, who was standing beside Ibrahim, watching the ordeal, told her to soap Emily`s boobs now.

»Soap them until we can see how much she likes it!«

Sarah groaned, but then, she began to rub soap over Emily´s breasts. She looked at the redhead with a wild expression, obviously both horrified and apologetic. Emily closed her eyes, trying to cope with the strange girl`s hands kneading her boobs. Again and again, the men forced Sarah to do it another time and Emily understood: they wanted to »see how much she liked it«. Emily sighed. She was as far from feeling aroused as she could be, but on the other hand, she had no other escape. And so, she kept her eyes closed and tried to imagine that someone else – Linda! – was massaging her breasts – and that that person did a better job than the slightly clumsy Sarah.

It worked. Emily felt a warm tingle in her boobs and she knew that her nipples had grown hard. To her embarrassment, Ibrahim pinched then with his fingers before he told Sarah:

»All right – you may wash off the soap now – then, you will go between her legs!«

***

»You look like a real Sir, Effendi!«

Kazeem looked at the mirror the tailor was holding and had to admit that he indeed looked good in his new suit. Even better, he looked like someone completely different from the man who had caused the rumor at the Royal Hospital.

After leaving his cover, he had visited a bathhouse and a barber where he had not only gotten rid of his beard except for a trimmed mustache, but also had the barber dye his grey temples. Now, dressed like a rich man, he showed no resemblance to the shabby fellow in his djellaba he had been a few hours ago.

Kazeem had decided he needed to get back to the hospital. The doctor would sure have disappeared, together with Linda, but if he had left any tracks, they would be at the Royal Hospital. He went to the bazar and bought a cane and a leather suitcase, then, he went to more hidden roads to get a few other things. It was getting dark when he approached the hospital.

***

Melanie, no longer threatened with suffocation, had dozed off from sheer exhaustion. When she rose from her sleep, she tried to figure out how much she had improved her situation:

»Pro, my arms are free and I can breathe now! (She had removed the gag earlier) Contra, I am still locked inside that metal box, my legs are getting numb, I am mad with thirst and I need to pee badly!«

The last inconvenience didn`t help her to concentrate, but Melanie looked at the small gap between the drawer`s opening and the frame where she could see the padlock.

»It is not very big! If I could reach it and if I had some wire, I could sure open it!«

»Sure, and if I had wheels, I were a stagecoach!«

However, suddenly, she remembered that she had indeed some wire. She wound her upper body and managed to unhook her brassiere and take it off. To support her breasts, the cups had a wire in it and Melanie took it out. it looked both strong and flexible enough for her plan.

Then, she tried to grab the padlock with her toes. It seemed to take hours and again and again, the small lock slid from her increasingly sweaty toes, but finally, she had pulled it to where she could see it.

»Now, If I can forget about the fact that my bladder is about to burst, the rest is child`s play!«

Melanie squeezed her thighs together and forced herself to stay calm. Steadying the lock with her foot, she began to poke around in the keyhole with the wire she had bent for that purpose. Compared to a safe, it was an easy lock and after some straining minutes, it opened.

Impatiently, Melanie now brought her feet in the gap and wriggled and squirmed, working the opening bigger and bigger. Finally, she could raise her upper body. With a determined move, she rolled over the edge of the drawer and landed on the cold floor. She had done it!

Melanie had no time to undo her legs. Before, she yanked down her knickers, crouched and relieved herself, unable to oppress a long, deep sigh.

»Phew, that sometimes is better than sex!«, she breathed as she pulled up her knickers and freed her legs. Then, she examined the morgue if she could find anything needful.

It seemed that not very much of her luck was left. The men had taken all her clothes with them, even her boots. Her brassiere had been ruined by herself and so, she only had her knickers – together with those that had gagged her and originally were Linda`s. Also, she had a collection of belts and a piece of wire. The latter, she was sure, could be helpful if she wanted to open the door of the morgue, but then, she would need something to cover herself. Melanie was not one who could be called prudish, but even she had no intentions in exploring the hospital nearly naked.

Then, she heard that someone was at the door, trying to open it. Quickly, Melanie hid behind the door, ready to attack.

***

The hospital`s guards had been chivalrous enough to cover Melissa`s nakedness and to get her inside before too many people had seen her naked, bound and gagged. In addition, due to her gag and blindfold, even the guards only noticed who she was when they had freed her. One of them wanted to call the police, but Melissa told him that she had been overpowered by some unknown men who had stripped and bound her, but otherwise done her no harm. She told that she would not be able to identify anyone.

Her superior sent her to a doctor who gave her some sedative and sent her to bed where she wept until she slept from the medicine and sheer exhaustion. However, after some hours, she was awake again and still suffered from the horrors of what had happened. Her thoughts did not center around Kazeem or Melanie, but Dr. Bernard.

Melissa had not lied to the guards to protect Dr. Bernard – the bastard who had not even hesitated to risk her life! Somehow, she had always known that it had just been an affair for him, but she had hoped that he had at least some feelings for her. But now, he had just thrown her away.

Her grief was more and more replaced by anger and she decided to ruin this man. Of course, any policeman would laugh at her if she accused him of just not being an honest man, but he had also persuaded her to participate in an attempted kidnapping. So, he had some criminal activities going on – and now, he had left the hospital with the ambulance van, more or less stealing it! The chief doctor was said to be mad with rage and only hadn`t called the police to avoid a scandal.

Many people had known that Melissa had been the doctor`s love affair and if he turned out to be a criminal on the run, her reputation would suffer, too – unless she managed to find some evidence and could present it to the police before everyone started calling her a gangster`s bride.

Melissa slipped into her bathrobe and went down the stairs of the now quiet hospital. There was only one nurse at the reception, but Melissa managed to get to the cellar unseen. She knew that Dr. Bernard had regularly been in the old morgue – though there hadn`t been any corpses for years and in addition, he was no pathologist.

»If I find evidence of whatever he has done and can give it to the authorities, then, I will be the hero of the day – or at least, they will not consider me his accomplice!«

She took the key from the board at the wall and opened the iron door to the old morgue. Melissa feared to see something terrible, but the room was empty. She could vaguely see that one of the drawers was open and then, a strange stench reached her nose.

»Is that – urine?«, she asked herself and made another step into the dark room.

Then, she heard a noise from behind the door. Before Melissa could react, something hit her neck and everything went black.

***