The Mystery of Mohács 2

The voice had spoken English, but with a strong accent and Tabea was sure she had heard that woman before. Quickly, she made a sign towards Ilona, shooing the girl into the bathroom and closing the door. Then, Tabea rushed for the door and looked through the peephole.

The grey-haired woman in the conservative blazer standing on her doormat was about to knock another time when Tabea recognized her: it was the clerk of the old library! Closing the door chain, Tabea opened the door, blocking the gap with her body.

»Yes, please?«

»Dr. Schneider, please excuse me, but maybe, you remember me from your visit at the library a few hours ago?«

Tabea pretended that her memory was coming back and looked at the old woman looking up to her. In her eyes, there was a stern expression and Tabea could imagine what she thought, seeing the younger woman with a soiled tank top and smelling from alcohol.

»Sure, she thinks I am drunk in bright daylight! Well, as long as it helps me getting her away, I can sure live with that!«

»Dr. Schneider, as you told me, the old stepladder broke when you used it. That`s not why I am here, of course. However, we are missing a manuscript. Have you taken something with you – accidentally, of course?«

»T-taken something with me?«

Tabea spoke slowly, trying to get her thoughts together whilst doing so. She knew exactly what the librarian was referring to, but how could she know about that?

»I am talking about a little old book. Maybe, when you packed your belongings, it accidentally slipped between your notebooks. Sometimes, such things happen.«

Her look made clear that she was sure Tabea had taken the book – on purpose. And since that was exactly true, the Black had difficulties in pretending the opposite in a convincing way.

»Are you calling me a thief?«

For a second, she thought of adding »is it because I am black?«, but decided against it. In a land with no black citizens, this would not work. However, she tried to look angry and hurt.

»I just said that we are missing a book since you visited the library, Dr. Schneider.«

»Just a moment!«

Tabea closed the door. She had, for a second, thought of letting the librarian in. Sure, the woman would neither look into her fridge nor her bathroom. However, there were still the cut ropes and the saliva-soaked cloths from Ilona`s bondage, together with a drying puddle of urine. So, she just grabbed her handbag with her notebooks in it and opened the door again. Ostentatiously, she rummaged through it, showing the other woman it didn`t contain any old book. The librarian frowned and said:

»Well, if you happen to find it, please, contact me. Maybe, it has slipped under your shelf.«

She handed Tabea a calling card and left. Tabea let herself sink to the floor. The bathroom door opened and Ilona looked at her with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

»Well, it seems that me saving you from that book has raised the interest of some people in that century, too!«

The sentence didn`t quite make sense even in Tabea`s ears, but suddenly, Ilona looked at her. Tabea had spoken German and when now Ilona said something, she could understand her. Not clearly, but obviously, Ilona spoke the Austrian German of the 16th century. It was worse than any dialect Tabea had heard so far, but now, they could at least communicate a little better!

Ilona`s questions seemed to center around witchcraft and sorcery, but Tabea raised her hand to stop her. Immediately, the girl fell silent and Tabea involuntarily smiled.

»So, this is how having authority feels!«

Then, she became serious again. Ilona had been about to be sacrificed or raped and then, some stranger had suddenly abducted her into a strange new world. A woman with a black skin, to make things worse for someone who sure had never seen any black people before. However, introducing Ilona to the 21th century would have to wait. Slowly, she spoke:

»Ilona, we have to leave now! Trust me!«

The librarian hadn`t believed her – and if Tabea knew anything from the movies, soon, the armed henchmen of whoever wanted that book would come and try to get it by force. She would have had absolutely no problem in handing it to them, but there still was the girl she felt somehow responsible for.

Ilona gazed at her as she took off her tank top, revealing her white lacy bra, but Tabea just put on a fresh shirt before she took her backpack and began to think what they would need for the next few days.

»I-I can`t go!«

Ilona stood there, pointing at the flimsy nightgown she was wearing. Tabea nodded. Even in that century, the girl would be slightly underdressed. She smiled assuringly and looked through her cupboard.

»Here, start with that!«

Ilona held the thong Tabea had handed her with two fingers, obviously not knowing what to do with the tiny garment. Tabea giggled:

»Of course, underwear wasn`t invented in your time! Anyway, I haven`t got garters or corsets for you.«

When Ilona still looked puzzled, Tabea sighed and opened her belt. She lowered her jeans a bit, revealing her own panties. With a gesture, she told Ilona to put on the thong. Reluctantly, the girl stepped into the black garment and pulled it up her legs. Her eyes widened with uneasiness as the string backside settled between her buttocks, but Tabea smiled and showed her a thumb up. Then, she looked at Ilona`s breasts.

»Well, you are certainly not a 34DD!«

»Hm?«

»Forget about it, we will get you something more decent asap!«

She handed Ilona a green tunic. Together with the narrow belt, it would look like a dress on her. However, Ilona still had no shoes. Tabea sighed. It would be hard anyway to walk the streets with Ilona. Streets filled with cars, lights and other things that would terrify the time travelling girl.

Quickly, she put some clothes and her sponge bag into her backpack. She also put her laptop in it and thought of taking the book, too. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

»Room service!«

Since this wasn`t a hotel, it was a ridiculous excuse, but before she could think of an answer, the door was kicked open with such ferocity that the door chain was ripped from the wall. A bulky tall man was approaching her, showing a grin.

»Seems you have-«

Tabea did not let him finish his sentence. With a yell, she kicked him where it hurt most. Tabea was wearing light chucks, but the kick was strong enough the man squirmed with a grunt and pressed his hands between his legs.

»Ilona, quick!«

She slammed the edge of her hand against the man`s neck and headed for the door – only to run into another man. Meanwhile, a third one had grabbed Ilona, clamping her mouth shut. He was pressing a gun into the girl`s ribs and seemed to have no problem in keeping the petite Ilona under control.

»In there!«, the man shouted in broken English and pushed against Tabea`s chest. She thought of hitting him, but then, she saw the gun in his hand and besides, they had Ilona. Defensively, she raised her hands and stepped back.

The men entered, pushing Ilona against Tabea. When they tried to close the door, a voice could be heard. It was one of Tabea`s neighbors, obviously asking what was going on there. Tabea could not understand what the attackers` leader told him, but her neighbor apologized and disappeared. When the man turned back to them, she could see him let an ID card slide back into his pocket.

Now, the man she had attacked pointed at her and said something in an angry tone. The leader laughed and then, he ordered Tabea and Ilona to lie down on their bellies.

Tabea felt her wrists being grabbed and a moment later, something pulled them painfully together. Zip ties, she thought, when a whimper from Ilona told her she was receiving the same treatment.

After their ankles had been restrained, too, the leader grabbed Tabea`s hair.

»Where is book?«

»Fuck you, I have no idea what you are talking about!«

The man shook his head slowly and Tabea expected him to slap her. Instead, he just produced a roll of silver duct tape. Despite her resistance, he taped her mouth shut and little later, Ilona was gagged, too.

The two girls were thrown on the bed and watched helplessly as the three men began to search the flat. They threw everything to the floor, her books, clothes, everything. Tabea held her breath as one of them even opened the fridge, but he just gave it a short look as he got distracted from his colleague who had discovered Tabea`s laundry drawer.

Indeed, it took their attention away from the fridge, but the next minutes were the most humiliating experience Tabea had ever made. The three goons were reaching around her bras, commenting on the size of the cups and making groping gestures, looking at her. She could not help emitting a moan, though she could not understand what they were saying. The tone was more than clear and when they took her panties, sniffing on them and rubbing them against their crotches, only her dark complexion hid she was blushing all over.

After some time, however, the men realized that the book wasn`t there. Tabea knew what would follow now: an interrogation, maybe accompanied by some sexual abuse. However, one of the men suddenly grinned and pointed at her bunch of keys, still dangling from the door at the inside. He took them and sorted out a small key with a number plate on it.

It was the key of the locker Tabea had at the University. Currently, this locker contained some books, her raincoat and a pair of walking shoes, but obviously, the man thought that she had hidden the book there. Indeed, the whispered conversation contained the word »University«. After a few seconds, the leader grinned down on her, waving the bunch of keys.

»We back in two hour. If book there, good. If not-«

He grinned, leaving it to the girls` imagination what the consequences would be. Then, he and one of the men left whilst number three remained at the flat to guard the captives. Tabea sighed with relief that their guard wasn`t the man she had hit. However, this man wasn`t a gentleman either.

He took out a knife and whilst Tabea managed to remain silent, Ilona let out a whimper. With a wolfish grin, he grabbed her hair and brought her face close to his crotch. Ilona mewed and squirmed and Tabea desperately tried to do something to help her new friend.

»Mhhmmph!«

She crawled closer to the man who grinned down on her. He said something that seemed to imply she would have to wait for her turn to please him.

Tabea made a decision. With her wrists and ankles restrained, she hardly stood a chance against an armed man. However, there was a little chance – if he was distracted. With another moan, Tabea turned on her back and brought her elbows together.

This of course made her big boobs thrust out even more and the man grinned, putting away his knife and bending over her. Roughly, he began to knead her breasts. With a grunt, he ripped open her shirt, revealing her lacy bra. Tabea, enduring the groping waiting for her chance, saw that he had a bulge in his pants. She gulped with fear and disgust; then, she began to rock her hips in a way he couldn`t ignore.

He grunted something and pushed one hand between her thighs. Tabea groaned, but forced herself to open her legs a bit. Then, when he touched her crotch, she trapped his hand and threw herself to the side.

Kneeling above her and with his hand between her clenched thighs, the man fell over and they both landed on the floor, Tabea on top of him. Before he could recover, she rolled from his body, desperately trying to get into a better position.

The man now had recovered from his surprise and got to his feet. Except for a small bruise, he seemed unharmed and now, his look was all hatred. Still lying on her back, Tabea crawled backwards until the door stopped her.

Now, her attacker reached for the knife still lying on the bed. Ilona mmphed, but he ignored the girl and turned back to Tabea who looked around for anything that could help her in the unfair fight. She had done several lessons in self-defense, but whilst being bound and gagged, this was a difficult task.

She raised her legs and pulled them towards her body, as if she was trying to kick him once he approached. He laughed and made a step forward and when Tabea kicked, he easily jumped to the side.

He stepped on the urine puddle and slipped, landing on his back for the second time within a minute. When he looked up, he could see something above his head and a moment later, Tabea´s heels slammed down on his face.

Quickly, Tabea looked for the knife that had fallen from his hand. She wormed over to it and brought her hands to the front. Keeping her eyes on the unconscious man, she managed to cut her hands free, followed by her ankles. Ignoring the pain in her limbs, she jumped to the bed, ripping the tape from her mouth.

»Quick!«

She freed the girl and when she heard the man on the floor groan and saw he began to move again, she pushed Ilona towards the door. The girl understood and opened it. Tabea was about to follow her, but then, her eyes fell on the still open door of her fridge. Quickly, she opened the freezer, grabbed the little bundle and then jumped out of her flat, kicking on the man`s hand.

At the corridor, Tabea grabbed Ilona`s arm. Her first impulse was to storm down the stairs, but at that moment, she heard an all too familiar voice from below. Without hesitating, she ran up the stairs, pulling the staggering Ilona with her.

Her flat was a student`s hostel, quite luxurious for Hungarian standards. It had three floors and offered some 60 small apartments, similar to hers. It also had a flat roof that could be used for sunbathing or drying laundry. It was there where the stairs ended.

»A kingdom for a good idea!«, she panted. The roof offered only two exits: the stairs and a fire ladder. Tabea headed for the latter and looking down, she could see the men hadn`t had that idea yet.

»Come on, girl!«

Just when they had reached the ladder, the door opened and the first of the men stumbled on the roof, holding a gun. He saw them, but when he fired a shot, they were already out of reach.

They had reached the second floor when they heard steps from above. Tabea once more pulled on Ilona`s arm and then pulled her inside through an open window.

Five seconds later, the man had reached the window. Looking down and seeing what had happened, he shouted something to his colleague who had just left the building and was heading for the ladder. He nodded and went back inside. Now, the girls were trapped between them!

He climbed inside and found himself on an empty corridor. There were two rows of doors on each side and in the middle, he could see the glass door leading to the stairs. There was no sign of the two fugitives, but if they had reached the stairs, they would run into his colleague. He smiled and reached into his left, fishing for his ID card that would make anyone fall silent who would dare to ask him why he was running around with a gun in broad daylight, shooting at people.

Once he had left the corridor, the door next to the window opened. From the outside, it looked just like another apartment door, but behind it, there was a small facility room. Tabea let out her breath and took her hand from Ilona`s mouth. She had pushed the frightened girl inside, trapped her between the wall and her body and clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

»Seems they are downstairs again«, she whispered, pointing to their feet. Ilona nodded and Tabea gave her a small hug. She was more than scared, having not only encountered a portal to another time, but also been bound, gagged and molested, not to mention her fight against the man and their escape. Quite strenuous for just a few hours!

However, Ilona had also been ripped from her century, exposed to a world of cars, electricity and modern weapons, only to be assaulted once again. Her only friend was Tabea, a woman she had problems communicating with – and also a Black. And yet, she still hadn`t freaked out.

Tabea knew that her strength was vanishing, too. She was a sportive woman, but not used to be attacked or chased by armed men. However, the danger still was quite close.

Gathering all her courage, she put her finger to her lips and told Ilona to stay hidden whilst she would look downstairs. At least, she could be quite sure that all three criminals now were at the floor below and so, she did not have to fear an attack from behind.

She still had the knife and though it would be of no much use against a gun, it helped to feel the weapon in her hand as she sneaked down the stairs. At the corridor where her flat was, she could hear some commotion. There were voices of at least a dozen people, including three uniformed men. Obviously, someone had called the police.

Her first impulse was to run to the officers and to tell them that the three men had assaulted her. Then, however, she remembered her torn shirt. She tried to fix it and to cover her bra-clad breasts and in the few seconds it took her, she could see the leader of the criminals negotiating with the police. Neither he nor his men were in handcuffs and it seemed as if he was in charge, not the officers. Tabea could not understand the conversation, but obviously, the man was about to convince the policemen that they had done nothing wrong – and according to the behavior of the men in uniform, they believed him!

During the last years, Hungary`s right wing president had started flirting with dictatorship and so, Tabea wasn`t that surprised that there were powers that stood above the law. However, why were they so interested in her?

Of course, there was the book, but if they knew all about it, why had it been hidden under an abandoned shelf and not locked away at some well hidden place? And if they had no idea it had been in the old library, why did they know that it was in her possession now?

And yet, the librarian seemed to have lost no time in getting to her. Obviously, she had gone to the shelf and seen from the traces in the dust that Tabea had fished something from under it.

To get access to the library, she had had to fill a paper with her name and address and so, it had been no wonder that the woman had found her so fast. But usually, library clerks did not have armed enforcers to get stolen books back!

Now, the police officer even saluted towards the leader of the criminals and said something that included two words Tabea knew: »Fekete nö – black woman«. Obviously, the police was now hunting for her, too.

Tabea ducked deeper as the policemen walked down the stairs. Little later, the criminals followed and Tabea could see that the one she had beaten up had his face plastered and that he was limping. However, the joy was spoiled as she saw that they were taking her laptop and bags with other of her belongings with them.

Now that the show was over, her neighbors went back to their rooms, too and the floor was empty again. Tabea went through her possibilities: she could hand herself and Ilona to the police herself, hoping that they would believe her more than whoever was behind her and the book. Or, she could try to hide in the city – a black woman with no money, a ripped shirt and a girl from the Middle Ages to take care of!

Ilona! Before all, she had to look after the poor girl! Tabea sneaked back to the corridor and headed for the facility room. The girl was still there, scrolling through the damned book. When Tabea slipped into the chamber, she looked at her with big eyes.

»You- you are a witch!«

One day before, she would have laughed, but now, she just shook her head, suddenly feeling weak and tired. She sank down, close to Ilona who looked at her with a strange mixture of fear and curiosity. Tabea pointed at the book and asked:

»You can read that?«

Ilona looked up.

»Not all. Magic not, story yes!«

The next hour was a whispered conversation in a strange mishmash of modern German, ancient German, a few Latin words and sometimes a few pieces of Hungarian. However, Ilona managed to tell Tabea that she was the daughter of Imre Hunyadi, one of the Kings` military counselors and one of his best officers. Tabea knew that the Hunyadi were important noblemen, but had never heard of an Imre so far. At least, she now knew from which time the girl was; she had called the King »a man of 18, just like me«. Ludwig had been born in 1506, meaning she had been ripped out of 1524 or 1525 by Tabea`s rescue attempt. Her mother was a Bavarian noblewoman which explained why she spoke German, too.

The book, a crude mixture of a one sided love story, a description of how to commit a crime and some magic spells, was written by some Bela, a young man in her father`s service. Ilona had believed he admired her, but obviously, he had been literally obsessed. As the picture had implied, he had at one night attacked her in her sleep, bound and gagged her and taken her to a hidden cellar where he and an older man in a black cloak had stripped her naked and placed her inside a pentagram, enchanting some strange songs. Ilona had had no idea what all that horror had been about.

»Then, you saved me – took me to this evil world!«

Tabea smiled wryly. For Ilona, it really had been out of the fire and into the frying pan. However, they still were alive and not defeated. Then, she heard a small growl. It had come from her stomach, reminding her she hadn`t eaten since breakfast. In addition, she was tired, thirsty and needed to relieve herself.

Suddenly, she heard steps outside the closet. Then, the door was opened with a yank and the girls stared into the muzzles of two guns. Both Tabea and Ilona gasped and when Tabea raised her hands, Ilona did the same.

The guns were held by two policemen and now, the leader of the criminals also approached, smiling down at them. In quite fluent English, he said:

»My mother always told me that, if I had lost something, I should go back my way until I found it!«

Of course, this was not a movie! In reality, even jerks like this man and some corrupt policemen were able to do some basic research. Suddenly, Tabea felt very, very tired and when the men ordered them to get up and out of the chamber, she did so without protest.

A third policeman cuffed their wrists behind their backs and then, the criminal said:

»So, you are a fighter, Black Beauty? You broke my colleague`s nose!«

He added something in Hungarian and the policeman produced a third pair of cuffs, tying Tabea`s elbows together. This forced her to thrust out her boobs, covered only by her bra as her shirt fell apart.

»Please, I am a German citizen and-«

»We know, Dr. Schneider«, the man interrupted her, pronouncing her title as if it was something awkward, »but here, you are under Hungarian jurisdiction. And today, you have added quite a lot to your criminal record: theft of national treasury, attacking a member of the Secret Police – not speaking of your crimes against, well, decency.«

»Pardon?«

»How would you call it, Dr. Schneider? We found you together with that girl, both scantily clad. In Hungary, we are not very fond of homosexuals!«

It was becoming ridiculous! Tabea wanted to protest, but when she opened her mouth, something soft was pressed against her lips. She tried to resist, but the second man grabbed her hair and forced her to her knees whilst the other one wedged the nerf ball into her mouth. Ilona was gagged the same way, enduring it without daring to fight.

A wide strip of duct tape was put over Ilona`s mouth, but when the man approached Tabea, the criminal – or obviously, he was a member of the Secret Police! – produced a long zip tie. He put it between Tabea`s open lips and pulled it tight. She winced, for this not only pushed her gag even deeper into her oral crevice, the hard plastic also cut into the corners of her mouth. The man laughed and then, the policeman taped her mouth shut. In her case, the tape was tightly wrapped around her head several times.

»Mph!«

»That`s what they all say!«

Now, their ankles were cuffed, too, and then, tight black hoods were pulled over their heads. They were thin enough to still allow breathing, but they cut off all light.

»All right, let`s go!«

This was accompanied by a sharp slap on Tabea`s butt and then, she felt a vice grip on her arm, forcing her to stagger forward as fast as her bound feet allowed. When they had reached the stairs, the man quite unceremoniously hoisted her over his shoulder and when she was carried down, she again felt a hand groping her buttocks. Tabea tried to squirm, but this only got her another slap, so hard she still felt the tingling when she was put to her feet.

»Your friend has been more cooperative so far and so, she will be allowed to take place at the back seat! In your case, however-«

He did not finish his sentence, but Tabea could hear the characteristic sound of an opening boot`s lid. Before she could react, one man grabbed the short chain between her elbow ties whilst another one took her feet. Tabea was placed inside the boot, on her belly, and her legs were pulled upwards until her heels touched her elbows. She mewed with pain and fury, but was only rewarded by a laugh. Then, she heard a zipping sound and when they let her go, she realized that the chains of her ankle and elbow cuffs had been fixed together by a zip tie, forcing her to remain strictly hogtied.

»Enjoy the ride, Black Beauty!«

Again, he slapped her butt. Then, the lid was shut and a few seconds later, the car started. Tabea`s muffled screams were absorbed by the engine`s sound.

Luckily for her, the car seemed to stay inside the city and didn`t get too fast. Bundled up as she was, she had no possibility to avoid rolling around at every curve. Her thrust out boobs had to upholster the bumps and she felt how her nipples got sore from rubbing over the rough carpet inside the boot.

Exhausted, she panted through her nose, trying to concentrate on breathing. Just some ten hours ago, her greatest concern had been that she would find nothing of interest in the old library. And now, her wish had come true in the cruelest way possible. She was bound, gagged, blindfolded and carried off by some evil part of the government.

How could that be possible? Hungary was a modern European state and though it had turned to the political right, it was far away from being a brutal dictatorship. Tabea still hoped that all her predicament would turn out to be a terrible misunderstanding.

When the car had entered a long straight road, the bumps and the rolling decreased and Tabea could relax a bit. Her thoughts wandered to Ilona who had the doubtful privilege of sitting at the backseat. At least, in the boot, nobody could touch and grope her. She still remembered with horror as the man she had beaten up had kneaded her breasts and she shivered when she thought that the end of that trip would only be the beginning of new torture.

As on keyword, the car slowed down and finally came to a halt. The lid went open and the zip tie keeping her hogtied was cut. Then, she was pulled out of the car and staggered when she was put to her feet.

»Not so feisty now, Black Beauty, eh?«

This time, she lost balance as he hit her buttocks, but a hand on her arm prevented her from falling. Then, she was led along a gravel path and inside a building where she was sat on a wooden stool. A moment later, the hood was pulled from her head.

Tabea greedily sucked in fresh air through her nose. Then, she looked at her new prison. Beside her, Ilona was sitting on a similar chair, still bound and gagged and obviously scared, but otherwise unharmed.

The room proved Tabea`s suspicion right: their abductors were no ordinary policemen – at least, that wasn`t an ordinary prison. The room looked more like the office of a successful manager and only the plain stools they had been placed upon did not quite fit the furniture.

In front of them, a huge desk was standing. Behind it was an upholstered chair with the backrest turned towards them. When Tabea mmphed, the chair spun around, revealing a middle aged man wearing a plain, but expensive suit. He looked at them and showed a surprisingly friendly smile.

»Please excuse that joke with the chair, but I am a great fan of the old James Bond movies! Unfortunately, I haven`t got a white Angora cat! However, my plans could be described by ambitious, though my goal isn`t the world – just central Europe!«

***