In some lonesome Valley 4

Isabelle Marceau looked out of her window towards the town hall and oppressed the urge to raise her middle finger towards the window behind which she knew the mayor had his office.

»Thanks for getting me into this, Monsieur le Maire!«

It had sounded like a promising step in her career: becoming head of Police, albeit in a small town and just for two years. After that, she could easily get promoted to more promising positions. However, nobody had told her it would be like that.

Officially, Saint-Martin-dans-les-Alps could call itself a town, just because it was the only locality with more than 100 inhabitants within a ten mile radius. But it was just a village and in her eight months here, Isabelle had learned that almost every cliché about such villages were true here.

The mayor was an old man who held the position for some 40 years now and who had never faced opposition during the last decades. He behaved like the King of the valley, though in reality, he was just the puppet of everyone who brought money to the village. So, he had undermined every attempt of Isabelle to enforce law if it crossed the plans of any of the rich farmers or, even worse, incommoded the tourists.

Of course, this didn`t mean she had to turn a blind eye towards murder and rape, but there wasn`t a week in which the mayor did not ask her whether she could take back a ticket for D. U. I. or »think twice« about other minor offences she was about to report.

Isabelle felt frustrated. On the paper, she was the head of Police in the whole valley. Since in earlier times, Saint-Martin-dans-les-Alps had been of greater importance, this even owned her the title of »Capitaine« and she was sure that at the age of 22, she sure was the youngest Capitaine de Police in France. The facts, however, were rather grey.

She had two men under her command – Pierre, an old chauvinistic bloke who still called her »Mademoiselle« and spent his days in the office either doing the little paperwork they had or playing chess with the caretaker, and Karim, a young man of Algerian descent who was quite capable, but currently did a four weeks training at the Police Academy at Grenoble. So, in fact, Isabelle was the village`s entire Police force.

And now, she had just been visited by Guylène Delacroix. The Lady in the High Castle, as some people called her. Madame Delacroix was a businesswoman who owned a chalet on a plateau on one of the mountains that built the basin of Saint Martin. She paid more than half of the taxes the village collected and in addition, she supported almost every charity event with lavish payments. So, the mayor had told Isabelle unmistakably that he did not wish Madame Delacroix to feel unhappy and that unless she wanted her to let some dead bodies disappear, he wished Isabelle and the Police to fulfill any of her wishes. Isabelle was sure that if Guylène had some dead bodies to get rid of, the mayor would turn a blind eye to that, too.

So far, the Lady in the High Castle had done nothing than being rich and slightly mysterious. Isabelle had seen her on a few charity events and occasionally had some small talk with her. It seemed that she lived alone with a tall black woman who also took care of the chalet when Guylène was in the outer world doing business – real estate transactions, as far as Isabelle knew. She sometimes didn`t visit the chalet for weeks, but today, she had come back and for the first time in her life, she had visited Isabelle as head of the local Police.

In short, she had mentioned that she feared some criminals were about to spy on her chalet and would perhaps try to rob the place whilst she was absent. It would be kind if Isabelle found the time to have a look at the vicinity if there was anything suspicious. When Isabelle had informed her that she was low on manpower, Guylène had just raised her perfectly plucked eyebrow and said:

»Well, if the village can`t guarantee my security, I might have to look for another place to live!«

It was almost a threat. If Guylène told the mayor that she thought about moving to somewhere else, the mayor would blame Isabelle and her eight months in that dump would have been for nothing.

For a moment, she thought of sending Pierre on a patrol round, but when she left her office, she saw him sit on his desk. On it, he had placed a postcard so she had to see it. It was a portrait of Disney`s Belle and she knew that he called her that when he thought she didn`t listen.

Belle! It meant »beautiful« and it had occasionally been her nickname in the past. Isabelle knew that most people considered her attractive, but she was very shy about her looks and she even hated the rare occasions she had to wear her uniform with the skirt and the tight fitting blouse. Pierre never really harassed her, but he sometimes made compliments and showed that first of all, he saw the beautiful girl in her. Isabelle just wasn`t in the mood for that and so, she just said:

»Pierre, I am out for the next few hours! Just hold position!«

»Oui, Mademoiselle Capitaine!«, he said, not really looking up from his crossword. Isabelle scoffed and left the office. Then, she entered the car and decided to do a patrol round through the valley so Guylène could not complain that her personal bodyguards were doing nothing.

***

 Cordelia slightly moved her legs, trying to ease the strain in her muscles. She thought that she was standing tied to the post for some hour now. At least she guessed so from the rise of the sun since Aminata had left.

Linh had withdrawn inside, too; Cordelia had looked over her shoulder and not seen her, but she could not tell whether the Asian had hidden somewhere and was watching her and Janine. She turned her eyes towards the pool where her co-captive was still lying on her mattress, now covered with sweat, either from the strain of keeping balance or from the increasing heat.

She also sweated and her nose was itching, but there was little she could do about that. She could move up and down the post, but so far, she had always stopped when her soft flesh had touched the post between her legs. Once, it had started to vibrate for a moment, but so far, she had managed not to sit down.

However, as the time passed, standing became more and more of a challenge. Cordelia was used to doing lectures whilst standing, but when she did so, she usually did a few steps from time to time and didn`t have to spend the whole time on one spot. In addition, she was tired and it also didn`t help that she could only breathe through her nose, since a dense wad of thongs stuffed her mouth to capacity. Her jaw felt numb and she tried to ignore her mouth the best she could. If she thought too much about her horrifying gag, she would have to swallow and she wanted to avoid that, of course.

»Uuuuhhmmmm!«

Her muffled moan was just an expression of sheer helplessness and frustration rather than an attempt of alerting someone. When she went on her toes, she could look over the wall that restricted the garden and she could see people down there: a few peasants and several hikers. However, since she could see no more than small points, people looking up would also see nothing more than that. Nobody down there would notice her predicament.

She tested her bonds, but the cuffs were rock solid, despite the upholstery. Cordelia then looked down at the plastic torpedo protruding from between her legs. Sooner or later, she would have to sit down on it, just for a while to ease the pain in her legs.

»Maybe, it`s just a little irritating and after a few minutes, I will stand up again!«

Carefully, Cordelia bent her knees and sat down on the cylinder that started to buzz. It was irritating, quite irritating, though it was just below her most sensitive spot and only massaged her further down. Cordelia sat down, trying to ignore the buzzing, and after some minutes, she stood up again.

»Mph!«

Her legs protested against her standing up and she felt hardly recovered. Cordelia shook her head to get her mind clear.

»Next time, I will have to sit down for longer! But perhaps, I can-«

She arched forward her pelvis, trying to see how far she could get. Perhaps, she thought, could she get in front of the vibrator and then slide down the post, so she would be sitting and it would be above her head. Slowly, making the smallest of steps with her cuffed feet, she moved forward, feeling the vibrator buzz as she slid along it.

However, with her neck secured to the post and her arms cuffed behind it, she could not get enough distance between her middle and the post. She still felt the tip of the torpedo between her legs. For a moment, she considered thrusting forward, but she didn`t dare: perhaps, if she made one false move, this stunt would end up with herself being impaled on the vibrator – in her rear!

Shuddering, she worked herself back in a standing position. She panted and felt discouraged. Another idea came up in her mind: if she jumped up and landed on the mean toy, it would perhaps break.

She strengthened her muscles and took a deep breath, but then, Cordelia thought twice: with her feet tied to the spreader bar, she could jump up barely a few inches which would not give her much momentum. In addition, she had seen that the screw holding the vibrator was quite big. So, even if she was successful, it would take many many bumps to get the damn thing loose.

»If I had to slam on it with my fists, no problem! But I won`t do so with my labia!«

So, Cordelia took the last option: standing on her aching legs, hoping that Aminata would return soon and feeling helpless.

***

Aminata had left the chalet via the exit down by the garage, but she was walking, since she didn`t intend to go shopping in the village. Instead, she walked for just some half a mile until she saw Guylène`s grey Mercedes approach. When the car stopped, she slid on the passenger seat.

A few hours ago, Guylène had texted her that she would come earlier and that she needed to talk to Aminata alone. So, they had agreed upon meeting outside the chalet whilst Linh thought Aminata was buying a few things – to make this even more convincing, Guylène had bought some food and wine before getting to the valley.

»Now, what`s up, Mistress?«

The relationship of the two women was rather cordially and so, Aminata calling Guylène »Mistress« was rather a joke than a sign of subordination. But nevertheless, Aminata was as loyal as Guylène could wish.

»In Frankfurt, I had some difficulties with my business partners. Especially my deal with the Qataris didn`t find many friends.«

Aminata nodded. She was no expert in real estate business, but even she knew that there could be made much money, but it also attracted unscrupulous people who had no problem in bending the law. People like Guylène and also like these businessmen from Qatar she had made a deal with. It had to do with houses in Munich that were worth some 100 Millions.

»Procter from England and Kawayama from Japan both blamed me for the deal, for I had of course negotiated with them, too. It was the usual quarrel in our business – but when I left yesterday evening, Procter shook my hand, smiled like a shark and said: ›Enjoy the mountainside‹!«

It took Aminata just a second to understand what that meant: Guylène had always strictly separated her business and her private life. Nobody knew where she spent her free days – and now, one of her business rivals mentioned the mountainside, indicating he knew where to find her.

»So, what do you want to do? Leave for Monte Carlo or just wait what will happen?«

At Monte Carlo, Guylène`s yacht was towed. She smiled.

»Unfortunately, I sold the yacht two weeks ago. But I think with you and the security system, we should be quite save up there. In addition, I have just been to the local Police!«

She told Aminata that she had told the Police officer, Capitaine Marceau, that she was afraid of burglars and had asked her to have an eye on the vicinity. Aminata frowned.

»Do you think involving the Police is a good idea? After all, we currently have three guests who could raise suspicion.«

Guylène scoffed.

»I know – and it is even worse! I thought that Linh would just stay with me for a few days on her way to Marseille. However, the German Police have arrested her partner and also freed most of her last bunch of girls. And they have seen me!«

The two women quickly considered the amount of damage: the description the captives could have given would be too vague to get Guylène into danger and even Alex, Linh`s partner, only knew her first name and that she was from France. So, if she kept her head low for a few months, nothing would happen.

»However«, Guylène added, »to afford a business break of half a year or so, I had to fix my deal with the Qataris. So, I spent them a visit before I drove here.«

Aminata raised an eyebrow, waiting for Guylène to continue.

»It turned out that for fixing the deal and paying me ten percent in advance, they insisted on a bonus. A non-monetary bonus, so to say.«

The Black understood.

»You promised them one of our guests you didn`t originally invite.«

Guylène raised two fingers.

»Both. A feisty former German Policewoman and an even feistier Asian. Actually, they were quite delighted and they are currently waiting for my call.«

»I thought you and Linh were friends?«

»Acquaintances. And after all, if she hadn`t planned her last deal so badly, I would not have to hide and wouldn`t need the money from the Qataris so badly. I would say it is all her fault!«

»Fair enough!«, Aminata said. Then, with a smile, she added:

»If you allow me to prepare Linh for her new life, I am in!«

***

»This must be it!«

According to the tracking device, Janine was just some 500 meters away, straight ahead from where they were standing. Nancy examined the mountains in front of them and then, she pointed at a flat building.

»There!«

Katja followed her finger and saw the building, too. Actually, they could only see a part of it, as it was placed on a small plateau. All they could make out was a flat roof and a wall, securing the plateau from the almost vertical rock beneath. Nancy guessed that it was at least 100 meters from the foot of the mountain up there.

»A veritable fortress. Well, I feared that this would not be easy!«

They kept on watching the chalet for some more minutes, but there was nothing that looked helpful, like a ladder leading upwards or a cable car. Katja took out the map they had bought before leaving the village and found the place.

»It shows a building, but there`s no further description. But on the other side, there is a road that comes close to that mountain. Maybe, there`s another entrance on the other side.«

»After all, they must have come here by car«, Nancy admitted. She looked closer and cursed.

»There is no direct way to that road. The best we can do is to get back to the hotel and go there by car.«

Nancy lowered her head and massaged her temples. Slowly, Katja stepped closer and brushed over Nancy`s cheek.

»You were hoping it would have been easier, didn`t you?«

Silently, Nancy nodded. Katja slung her arms around her and Nancy took a deep breath, allowing her friend to take some of her tension off her. She gulped and then, she said:

»Let`s go back!«

Katja let her go and stepped two steps back. Then, she yelled:

»You need something to cheer you up?«

Nancy raised her head and looked at Katja. With a smile, she grabbed the hemline of her skirt and lifted it, revealing a pair of bright yellow with the radioactive sign on them. Nancy`s lips trembled and involuntarily, she smiled.

»You naughty little girl!«

Katja grabbed Nancy`s hand and when they walked back towards the village, she felt indeed a little better. However this adventure would end, it had brought her Katja!

***

Neither of the girls had noticed the man who had been standing nearby, obviously watching birds with his binoculars. He had, however, also had an eye on the two blondes.

He had seen them pointing at the chalet. So, if they really were after Guylène, too, they had just shown him where to go.

He had then watched the short conversation of the two – and a strange, but nevertheless nice to watch stunt by the smaller one, when she had lifted her skirt. But when they returned to Saint Martin, he decided to give the chalet a closer look instead of following them.

With his binoculars, he still could only see the wall and the windows of the upper floor. So, he decided to get up the hill to his left to maybe get a better angle.

The hill was covered with high firs and spruces and became very steep, but after some 200 yards, he saw a hunter`s perch. It looked solid and was some six meters above the ground and so, he climbed up and then looked at the chalet through his binoculars again.

This time, he saw a stripe of green grass and at the left the edge of what could have been a swimming pool. Also, he could see the glass front of the ground floor – and the head of a person. She seemed to be standing there and according to her shoulder-length brown hair, it was a woman. He could only see her head and a bit of her shoulders, but according to that, she was either naked or wearing a strapless bikini or tube top or something like that. He was almost sure that this wasn`t Guylène he knew from seeing earlier and from the photos his employer had sent him.

»So, she has a guest. But let`s see if I can get a better view!«

The tree was big and so, he decided to climb a few meters higher to see a bit more. He placed his backpack on the perch, took the binoculars around his neck and climbed up until he thought that the branches would no longer carry him. Again, he looked – and this time, he saw something that amazed him.

The standing woman was indeed naked, at least down to her waist where the wall didn`t allow him to see more. It looked as if she was leaning against something in a strange way: her arms were slung around the post or whatever it was and she repeatedly moved down a bit, only to rise again after a while.

»What strange kind of gymnastics is this?«, he thought. Then, he heard the sound of a car.

He gave it a short look and would have ignored it, but it was a Police car. Of course, they sometimes did random patrols even on such remote roads, but to his astonishment, the car stopped close to where a path led from the road towards the forest he was in. Then, a woman stepped out.

She was dressed in civilian clothes: blue jeans and a light turquoise pullover. She was wearing her red curls in a ponytail and sported sunglasses she now pushed up her forehead. When she came closer, he could see the holster at her belt.

»Maybe, she just needs to pee!«

He remained motionless. Of course, he had so far done nothing worse than maybe climbing a tree without the owner`s permission, but it would look a little suspicious and so, he just hoped that she would not see him.

However, the woman came closer towards his tree. Then, he heard her climb up the ladder to the perch.

»Damned!«

His backpack was still lying down there and there was no chance she would not see it! He slowly changed his position so he could see what was happening.

Now, the Policewoman had reached the perch. With a sound of amazement, she then bent over his backpack before looking down if the owner was somewhere close. When she put the backpack down, he hoped that she would leave, but instead, she began to work on the buckles to have a look inside.

***

»Maybe, the owner`s address is written inside!«, Isabelle thought as she opened the ownerless backpack. Back in Paris, she would never have done that, but she doubted that some terrorists had hidden a bomb on a perch in a remote forest. She had decided to get close to the chalet and have a short look at all possible places from which the building could be observed. Since Saint-Martin-dans-les-Alps didn`t offer much to do in her free time, she had done hiking trips through the valley quite often and so, she knew about such places, including this perch.

»Now, what do we have here?«

In the backpack, she saw a crumpled pullover, but underneath, she saw two rolls of silver duct tape. Isabelle frowned and reached deeper inside the backpack. Then, there was a sudden noise behind her. Something landed on the little platform and before she could spin around, something hit her neck and everything went black.

***

»Mmhrrrrrrmmmm! Mmhhmmmmm!«

Cordelia screamed into the wad of thongs stuffing her mouth. She could no longer stand it and had sunk down on the stick that had begun to vibrate immediately. Unlike before, she just remained sitting, trying to ignore the irritating buzzing. However, she had now been standing in the sun for some two hours and so, she had sweated. Following gravity, some of the sweat had landed on the stick, making it slippery and thus, she was sliding forth. Since there was still the danger of impaling her rear, Cordelia had pushed herself back, but her feet were weak and tired, too and so, it became a constant moving, back and forth, back and forth, riding the vibrating stick.

»So, you found how to get some fun out of it!«

Cordelia twitched as suddenly, Aminata stepped into her view. Beside her, Guylène was standing, now pushing her sunglasses up her forehead and looking at her naked, sweat-clad captive. In French fashion, she bent forward, kissing both of Cordelia`s cheeks. Then, licking her lips, she complained:

»All I tasted was this tape on your cheeks!«

Again, she bent forward and this time, she placed a soft kiss on each of Cordelia`s nipples. The gagged woman cringed and moaned, but Guylène just brushed over her shaved pubic mound with her index finger. She then licked it and asked:

»So, you are no longer Curly?«

»It`s ›Titsabobbing‹ now, Mistress!«, Aminata informed her. Now, Linh arrived, too, and whilst the two women exchanged kisses on their cheeks, Aminata grabbed the still buzzing vibrator and screwed it from its socket. Once she had pulled it away, Cordelia sank to the ground with a groan of relief. Aminata wanted to punish her for sitting down without permission, but Guylène interrupted her.

»Let her go – for the moment. Instead, we should see for our other guest!«

The three women walked down to the pool where a now completely exhausted Janine still managed to keep balance on her mattress. Linh now whispered something into Guylène`s ear and she giggled. Then, she went on her tiptoes and whispered something to Aminata.

A moment later, both Linh and Aminata undressed to their bikinis. Soundless, they slid into the water and approached Janine`s mattress. Aminata, who could just stand, went to one side whilst the Asian swam to the other. Then, she grabbed the edge and yelled:

»Surprise!«

Janine twitched and let out a muffled scream as Linh pulled on the mattress, causing her to fall off. It took perhaps some three seconds before Aminata had managed to cradle the squirming and panicking woman in her arms, but during these, Janine suffered all the agony of drowning.

Giggling, they carried Janine out of the pool and towards Cordelia. There, they embedded her silk-hooded head in Cordelia`s lap. To her horror, her co-captive now sobbed whilst their captors watched without any sign of pity. Then, Guylène clapped her hands.

»All right, I am starving! Aminata, take care of, what did you call her, Titsabobbing! Linh, will you please see for your pet?«

Cordelia offered no resistance as Aminata loosened her from the post and carried her inside. She was given a cold, refreshing shower and then, the Black unwound the tape from her mouth and one by one picked the sodden thongs from her mouth, throwing them into the sink. Cordelia ached and greedily drank some of the water she was offered. Aminata said:

»You still stink from sweat, Titsabobbing! Get inside the shower and stay there for at least ten minutes!«

Cordelia obeyed. To her surprise, the Black locked her inside the bathroom, but didn`t supervise her and so, she deliberately soaped her body and shampooed her hair before rinsing it with hot water. After the shower, she still felt tired, but at least clean and a bit better.

Aminata came back, a pile of clothes over her arm. She told Cordelia to towel herself dry and to use the hairdryer and the brush, too. Then, she ordered:

»Put these on!«

It was a pair of black pantyhose. When she pulled it up her legs, Cordelia noticed that it was at least one number too tight and the material was so transparent that it did little to nothing to hide her middle from view. Aminata then handed her a pair of black high-heeled pumps and also a white, rather transparent shirt. To Cordelia`s dismay, the buttons except for those at the sleeves had been removed and Aminata insisted that she knotted it off below her breasts. Clad like that, Cordelia felt slightly wanton and even more naked than before, but when Aminata offered her to put up some makeup, she decided to put up some lipstick and eyeliner, just to look less like the distressed victim of crazy kidnappers she was for over a week now.

Aminata then cuffed her ankles and led her into the living room where Guylène was sitting by the table where a cold lunch had been prepared. She looked at the approaching Cordelia and Aminata whispered:

»Show some grace, if you know what`s good for you!«

So, Cordelia straightened and walked towards Guylène. The high heels and her ankle cuffs forced her to sway her hips slightly and obviously, Guylène liked what she saw, for she stood up, kissed Cordelia`s cheek and then helped her to take her seat.

»And here`s our other guest of honor!«

Cordelia looked at Janine who was led in by Linh. She also had her ankles cuffed and was otherwise unrestrained. However, Cordelia was more fascinated by the way her co-captive was dressed.

Janine wore white fishnet stockings with a matching lacy garter belt and white bootees, but no panties. Thus, framed by the garters, her shaved pubic mound looked even more naked and vulnerable. She also sported a white lacy bra, but its cups were so transparent that one didn`t need a closer look to spot her aureoles. Unlike Cordelia, she was wearing no makeup and her look was still showing a glimpse of defiance.

When Janine was sitting, they had their meal and Cordelia had to admit that though the food was cold, it was excellent. She just felt nervous by the way Guylène let her eyes wander over her scantily clad body and she remembered all too well that this woman had bought her to become her toy or pet.

After the meal, Guylène said:

»Linh, could you please tie our guest`s hands? Aminata has promised to make a special cocktail from her home country, just for the two of us!«

»As long as it doesn`t contain Scorpion poison or things like that«, Linh joked, but quickly cuffed Cordelia`s and Janine`s wrists behind the backrests of their chairs whilst Aminata disappeared in the kitchen. Little later, she came back with two glasses filled with a bright red liquid. Guylène took the glasses and handed one to the Asian.

»To the future!«

The two women toasted and then sipped from their glasses. Guylène shuddered slightly whilst Linh licked her lips.

»Phew, I always forget how strong your ›Dakar Sunrise‹ is!«, Guylène said with a smile and took another small sip. Linh did the same and looked at Aminata who stood motionless beside Guylène, still holding the tray. She asked:

»It`s a bit strong, but also delicious, though a little too sweet for my taste. What are the ingredients, or is it a family secret?«

Aminata smiled and Cordelia now noticed that she had put some lipstick on her full lips, too. Her smile looked more than a little lascivious.

»Well, it`s actually just some Senegalese liquor, comparable to white rum, some Cointreau, lime juice, Grenadine, pineapple juice – and, in your case, some strong, fast-working narcotic!«

Her smile became broader and Linh looked at her with a wryly smile. Then, her eyes widened and the glass fell from her hand. Staggering, she croaked:

»Y-you rat! I-I-I-«

She tried to get up, but then, she again staggered and stumbled against Janine who let out a shriek of surprise. Then, with twisting eyes, Linh collapsed on the floor.

***