Sisters 2

Immediately after her initial panic had decreased, Michiko started to work on getting free more methodically. She still had no idea who her kidnappers were, but at least, they had gone for the moment.

She had squirmed on her mattress to explore her prison. Not that there was much to explore: obviously, it was a tiny closet that had the size of the mattress and Michiko felt walls made of the ubiquitous Maltese sandstone and a heavy wooden door.

The tape around her wrists turned out to be too tight to get rid of it, but at least, Michiko managed to get the hood off her head by rubbing her head against the wall. Now she could breathe more easily, though she still could not see much since only a few strays of light came through the small gaps between the door and the wall. She was indeed locked inside a closet of some two square meters and since she could not hear a thing, Michiko guessed that she was somewhere in the rural areas of Malta.

She once again tried to pick on her bonds and she also thought of rubbing the tape covering her mouth against the walls, but decided against it: it had been wound around her head several times and she would rather scrape her skin than get it off.

»Uuhhhmmmm!«

Michiko screamed through the cloth stuffing her mouth, but then, she considered another idea: the weak spot of her prison was the door. She shifted her position until she could lean her upper body against the wall; then, she bent her legs and kicked against the door as hard as she could.

THUD!

The sound was dissuasively faint and the door hardly shook from the effort. Michiko kicked against it a few times more, but then, one of her heels got stuck. She managed to slip her foot from it, but now, with her sole unprotected, she didn`t want to try it again. Panting, she wriggled the other shoe from her foot and then, she thought of a better idea.

»Prrt! Prrt!«

»Mph!«

Michiko twitched as two short vibrations of the cell phone inside her panties told her that another message had just arrived. It was frustrating to have the phone so close and yet unreachable! Then, looking at her right pump that still stuck in the door, she suddenly knew how she could, perhaps, could call for rescue.

Wriggling her hips, Michiko pulled on her skirt with her bound hands, gathering it around her hips. Despite her being alone and she was doing it for the goal of getting free, she blushed when her panties became visible.

»If my kidnappers come back right now, it will be quite embarrassing!«

But Michiko persisted. She rolled close to the door and then, by arching her back and thrusting forward her pelvis, she rubbed her pubic mound against the stuck shoe. Slowly, millimeter after millimeter, the cell phone came closer to the waistband. Michiko panted and felt sweat all over her body, but she kept on moving and finally, the cell phone dropped on the mattress.

Michiko tried to reach for it when she heard approaching steps.

»Oh no, not now!«

She heard the rattling of a chain and then, the door was opened. Two masked men stood in the entrance, dimly lit by the vanishing sun. One bent down and picked up her cell phone, shaking his head. The other one pointed to the ceiling of her prison. When Michiko looked up, she could see a red light and she knew that they had watched her struggles all the time and had just interrupted her when she had thought she had a chance of calling for help.

»Mmmhhrrrrmmmm!«

Michiko let out a scream of sheer frustration. The men now bent down to her and grabbed her. Despite her struggles, she was carried inside the small house, rather a hut. The room had no carpet and was only furnished with a table and a few chairs. Michiko was dumped on the table and now, the one who had taken her phone looked at it, but was unable to unlock it. Snorting angrily, he went for the table and grabbed Michiko`s scalp so she mewed through her gag. With his other hand, he held the phone close to her fingers.

The frightened girl needed two attempts to unlock the phone with her trembling fingers. The man let her go and then scrolled through her unanswered calls and messages since her abduction. Suddenly, he frowned and showed the phone to his colleague.

Michiko could not understand what the whispered conversation was about, but she noticed that the two men were speaking Japanese! In addition, she knew that the missed messages most likely were from her employer or from Akiko who of course texted in Japanese, too! So, her kidnappers were from her home country!

The man who obviously was the leader finally shrugged and turned towards Michiko.

»It seems your little sister is spending the night with a friend and will be home late! That means it will be a little longer before the two of you can reunite!«

It was the first time one of her kidnappers had spoken to her and the few sentences told Michiko that at least this man was indeed Japanese. She even was sure that he was from the area around Osaka. Then, her eyes widened even more and she let out a fluttering breath.

Slowly, finger by finger, the man took off the leather glove from his left hand and then flexed his hand and fingers ostentatiously in front of her eyes. Michiko could see a glimpse of a tattoo on the back of his hand. In addition, the man was missing the last joint of his little finger. It was as if he had just told her that he was a member of the Yakuza.

She felt a shiver run down her spine. What had the Japanese Mafia to do with her? She was just the secretary of the ambassador in a small country that had hardly any relationship with Japan and her father was considerably wealthy, but neither very rich nor important.

As if he could read her thoughts, the man said:

»Soon, you will understand, Michiko-san. But for now, it is more important that you learn about some rules!«

He stretched out his hand and his accomplice handed him her cell phone. He scrolled through it and found a picture of Akiko who was holding a cocktail glass in her hand. Showing the photo to Michiko, he said:

»She doesn`t hold traditional values very high, does she?«

He dropped her phone to the stone floor and then literally crushed it under his heel. He then grabbed Michiko`s scalp and brought his masked face close to hers.

»You, instead, sure understand these values. You know how important obedience is – and punishment for failure!«

With his free hand, he grabbed one of the chairs and placed it so the backrest touched the table. Then, with the help of his colleague, he grabbed Michiko and forced her to kneel on the seat. The girl felt the top of the backrest press against her belly and she balanced not to topple over.

The silent man now took off his belt and slapped on the table with it, causing Michiko to squeal through her gag. The other man chuckled and said:

»You don`t deserve being whipped – yet!«

The other man used the belt to tie Michiko`s thighs to the chair`s backrest and the Yakuza bent her upper body down to the table. Then, she felt him pull her skirt up her thighs.

»Uuhhmmph! Nnngggg!«

Ignoring her pleading and squirming, the man crumpled her skirt around her hips, exposing her butt. Then, he even tugged the skirt into the waistband of her pantyhose before he brushed over her buttocks.

»It was your first attempt to call for help and therefore, I will be lenient!«

He raised his hand and Michiko mewed when a second later, he painfully slapped her buttocks. Ten times, he hit her and though he only used his hand and her panties and pantyhose offered some protection, her buttocks tingled painfully and Michiko was panting heavily from pain, fear and embarrassment when he stopped, not bothering to cover her butt again.

The other man unbuckled the belt and then, to her surprise, her arm and leg bonds were removed. Michiko wanted to reach for her gag, but the Yakuza just raised his hand.

»You will be given food and water later and I don`t want you to talk now – just listen!«

Michiko stood on wobbly legs and quickly adjusted her crumpled skirt. The man and his colleague showed no weapons, but she didn`t dare to even try to head for the door.

»Now, your punishment isn`t over yet, Michiko-san. However, you may be pleased that what follows won`t hurt – physically.«

The girl could almost see his sardonic smile under his mask. Now, he took the chair and sat upon it in a way he could place his arms on the backrest.

»As a sign of your obedience, you will now remove three items of your clothing. You may choose which, but your jewelry doesn`t count!«

Michiko shook her head no, but the man just added, in a voice as if he was oppressing a yawn:

»Four items!«

The gagged girl raised her hand and moaned, signaling him that she would do what he demanded. Quickly, she thought which parts of her clothing she could sacrifice without revealing too much.

Her business jacket had fallen open from her attempts to free herself and since she was wearing her white silk blouse underneath, she took it off and threw it to the floor. Then, she undid the knot of her scarf with trembling fingers. She feared that the man would consider it an accessory rather than clothing, but when the flimsy silk landed on the floor, he just said:

»Two to go!«

Michiko cursed the fact that she had already lost her shoes. Currently, she was still not showing more than when she was off duty, but the next item would be more than that. Slowly, she bent forward. The other man who had stepped behind her let out a whistle and she blushed, but then, she reached under her skirt.

She almost died from humiliation, but she managed to pull down her pantyhose without revealing her panties or pulling them down with it. She rolled it down her legs and took it off. The sandstone felt warm and rough under her feet and she looked at the man with pleading eyes.

»Only one left!«

Reluctantly, Michiko unbuttoned her blouse, starting by the sleeves, just to buy a few seconds. Underneath, she was wearing a slip and so, only the straps of her white bra and her armpits would be exposed if she took it off. Carefully, she pulled the blouse from her skirt and then threw it to the pile of discarded clothes beside her. The Yakuza rose from his chair and nodded approvingly.

»Good girl!«

His silent accomplice now approached, holding a bag in one hand and an iron bucket in the other. He put the jacket and the blouse into the bucket and the scarf and pantyhose into the bag. Michiko let out a fluttering breath and her cheeks reddened as he brought the pantyhose to his nose before stowing it.

»Just burn it outside, Michiko-san won`t be needing it anymore!«

The man obeyed and the gagged girl mewed at his words. Then as he picked a black sack from a corner, she shied back until the wall stopped her. The Yakuza opened the sack and Michiko recognized it was made of silk.

»I see you are really a traditional Japanese girl, shy and modest. Following our traditions. I must say that I appreciate that, as I am following traditions, too!«

Michiko saw him take a coiled rope from the sack and when he unrolled it and let it run through his fingers, she stared at it as if it was a poisonous snake.

»I hope you appreciate the old tradition of Shibari, Michiko-san!«

The girl shuddered. Though she had never looked for such things, she of course had a vague idea of Shibari, the art of tying up a person, especially a woman. The masked man now formed a large noose and threw it over her head as if he was a cowboy throwing his lasso. When he pulled her closer and took care that both ends had the same length, Michiko felt the hemp brush over her nape and she shuddered as she involuntarily stepped closer to the man.

»Now, just stand still with your hands by your sides until I say otherwise!«

Michiko obeyed, panting through her nose as the man tied a single knot into the rope around her neck and then pulled until the noose was smaller, but still loose, with the knot resting between her breasts. He then stepped behind her and pulled the ends under her arms. Michiko felt how the ropes now pushed against the lower sides of her breasts, uplifting them a bit as he tied a second single knot at the small of her back, right above the clasp of her bra. She noticed that he pulled the ropes tight, but took care they didn`t hurt her.

Now, she had to bring her arms behind her back and surprisingly gentle, he folded them so her forearms were parallel. He wrapped the rope around them a few times and then tied three knots to fix the tie, but Michiko felt the tie was still rather loose.

»Maybe, I can slip my hand through it when they leave me alone!«

The Yakuza now took one of the dangling ends and slung it twice around her right upper arm before letting the end dangle down; then, he repeated the procedure with her left arm, using the other end of the rope. Then, he pulled.

»Uuhhmmm!«

Michiko moaned and felt the strain in her shoulders as he pulled her upper arms closer together. He didn`t get too far and stopped as her wrists were close to her elbow joints and then, he slung the ends under her arms and stepped in front of her. Tying a knot above her abdomen, he pulled and Michiko felt how her arms were forced close to her upper body. After some adjusting, the man brought the ends to her back again and tied them off with three tight knots. Now, Michiko felt that the rope bondage still wasn`t painful, not even very inconvenient. It was more like her arms were held in a tight – well, very tight – embrace. In addition, the rope, though it looked rough, was indeed very smooth.

However, when the girl tried to move, she felt the tight grip of the bondage and now, she could no longer even think of slipping her hands from the ties, as her arms were held in their straining position.

Now, the silent man had returned and he also admired his accomplice`s rope work. Michiko cringed under his gaze: though she still was quite modestly dressed, she felt exposed with the ropes emphasizing her medium sized, but firm breasts and unable to move her arms, except for a weak fluttering of her fingers.

The Yakuza now grabbed her upper arm and led her into a corner where a blanket was lying. Michiko had to get on her knees and he crossed her ankles whilst the girl tried to keep her thighs as close as she could without toppling over.

He used the rope ends to tie her ankles in a way that would allow her some movement, but not to stand up, let alone hopping for the door. Michiko felt that she could even sink to her side and lie down, but that would include the risk of her skirt sliding up her thighs, exposing her panties to her captors.

»Now, let`s wait for the arrival of your little sister!«

***

»I am sure it was the Champaign!«, Samantha ached, causing Isabelle to scoff.

»Sure, the four cocktails and whatever you had in your room were totally innocent!«

It had turned out that in one condition, Akiko fit the cliché of a typical Japanese: she couldn`t take much alcohol. Akiko had been just in high spirits until midnight when Isabelle had paid for three flutes of real Champaign and they had toasted to Samantha`s coming of age. Then, however, in the midst of a dance, she had suddenly staggered towards the bathroom, followed by Samantha.

Luckily, it had been spared to Isabelle to hold Akiko`s hair whilst she threw up, but now, she and her little sister were both half escorting, half dragging Akiko towards the hotel. She hadn`t completely passed out, but keeping a direction seemed too hard for her to accomplish. At least, the little chatterbox had fallen silent for the moment.

»Her elder sister will be delighted!«, Isabelle said a little gleefully. Akiko mumbled something in Japanese and Samantha pleaded:

»Oh, you mustn`t tell her, Michiko`s pissed anyway!«

The two girls had sent several selfies to Michiko and she hadn`t reacted to one of them. After some time, she hadn`t even read the messages, according to the still grey hooks.

»Usually, she sooner or later says something like ›you are a disgrace to our family‹ or things like that,  but she never does more than some nagging! But if she falls completely silent, she`s really angry!«

So, Isabelle and Samantha agreed upon that Akiko should stay with Samantha for the night. The next morning, Samantha would bring a freshly showered and sobered Akiko to her sister and take care that she would not get into real trouble. Isabelle sighed.

»Luckily, I am the cool elder sister!«

»Oh, you are, Isabelle-chan!«

Akiko suddenly rose and tried to kiss Isabelle`s cheek, but she turned her face away. The Japanese definitely needed more than just a Tic-tac!

»I will ask at the lobby if they have a toothbrush for her!«

They reached their hotel and there, Isabelle told her sister to keep Akiko upright whilst she steered towards the lobby. However, when she reached the desk, a person rose from one of the chairs.

»Isabelle, thanks to God!«

At the restaurant, Cordelia had hidden her face behind the menu and watched until Linh had left. She had been unable to eat something, but ordered a drink whilst she had thought what to do. Her first idea was to call the Maltese Police, but then, she had thought twice: Isabelle had told her that Linh`s final trial had been just one week ago. The Asian had been sentenced to two years due to lack of evidence for some of her crimes, but at least, the sentence had been without parole. And if Linh had escaped, sure Isabelle would have known.

»I must talk to Isabelle!«

Though the hotel »New Dolmen« was just some half a mile away, Cordelia had called a taxi. The streets were still crowded, but she had had no intention to see Linh again. At the hotel, the helpful clerk had told her that the Marceau sisters had left earlier and she had remembered that tonight was Samantha`s birthday. Unable to get back to her own hotel, she had decided to wait for Isabelle in the lobby of the »New Dolmen«.

At least, the Policewoman came back earlier than she had feared and though she seemed a bit tired and tipsy, she immediately understood that something was wrong and she said:

»Samantha, get Akiko to your room and have an eye on her! I will look after you two in the morning!«

She asked the clerk for a toothbrush and handed it to Samantha who giggled, but seemed to understand what her elder sister wanted. Akiko staggered towards Cordelia.

»Dr. White!«

This time, her curtsey was rather clumsy and she nearly landed in one of the potted palms. She showed the plant the finger, but a giggling Samantha brought her towards the elevators. Isabelle sighed:

»They grow up so fast!«

Then, she turned serious and asked Cordelia to follow her to her room. Here, Cordelia told the Policewoman that she had seen Linh. Isabelle frowned.

»Are you sure it wasn`t just another Asian woman that looked like her?«

Cordelia shook her head.

»Believe me, after more than a week in the clutches of this woman, I know her! But how is that possible? I mean, when I was waiting for you, I looked through the news and there was no prison escape mentioned!«

Isabelle nodded. The last time she had heard about the Asian was when she had read about her being sentenced to two years without parole. A rather ridiculous sentence for what she had done, but nevertheless, she should not be here!

»Look, Cordelia, I don`t know the local Police, but if they are like my colleagues, they won`t start a search just because you saw someone that looked like a criminal. At least, we have to be sure that it is Linh!«

»I know what I saw«, Cordelia snapped, but she knew that Isabelle was right. She remembered having read that every man had seven doppelganger all over the world. In addition, for her as a European it was sometimes difficult to distinguish Asian people. She asked:

»Can`t you call your colleagues and ask them?«

Isabelle oppressed a yawn.

»Tomorrow, I will call the prison at Grenoble. Maybe, they haven`t told the press about an escape, but they will sure tell me. Then, if we know for sure she`s on the run, we will inform the local Police about her!«

From the adjacent room, they heard a dull thump, followed by some muffled giggling. Isabelle scoffed.

»Okay, if I don`t have to escort my adult little sister and her reasonable friend to the hospital, we can meet here at 8 am. Do you – do you want to stay here?«

Cordelia looked at Isabelle`s single bed and shook her head. It had been a kind offer and she would have felt better if she had not been alone, but she neither wanted to share the bed with another woman nor to sit on the chair for the entire night.

»I will take a taxi!«

And so, she paid another ten € for a few hundred meters. Once she had gotten her key and was on her way to the elevators, she heard the hotel door. When she looked over her shoulder, she almost petrified and quickly hid behind a column.

Linh walked to the lobby and for a terrible second, she thought that the Asian would ask if a Dr. Cordelia White was staying here. However, the clerk just handed her a key.

»Here you are, Miss Nguyen! Good night, Mam!«

Cordelia didn`t dare to breathe when Linh passed her cover and then waited for the elevator. Linh was living at her hotel!

Only when the other woman had disappeared inside the lift cabin, she dared to take her cell phone. Cordelia cursed: she only had Isabelle`s landline number at Saint-martin-dans-les-Alps, but not her cell phone number. Of course, now that Linh was at her room, she could have run to Isabelle`s hotel, but then, she had another idea.

At that time of the night, guests came back only occasionally and therefore, the clerk was not sitting at his desk all the time, but spent the time in the adjacent office, watching TV, and only appeared if someone rang the bell. Cordelia sneaked towards the desk and saw that the young man was watching »Basic Instinct«. She knew the movie and she also knew that the famous scene during the interrogation would be in about two minutes. So, the clerk would sure not turn his eyes from the screen.

She looked around and then, she sneaked behind the desk. On the computer screen, she saw a chart with names and lots of green and red points and she quickly understood the system: the names marked in green were the guests who were currently at the hotel or at least had gotten their keys from the reception. Cordelia quickly took a photo of the screen and then, she rushed back to the elevator.

At her room, she scanned the photo with her heart bumping. The penultimate line said:

»White, rm 23, arr 1:24«

It was easy to understand that it meant she had room number 23 and had gotten her key at 1:24 am. Then, she read the next line:

»Nguyen, rm 58, arr 1:26«

At least, Linh was not living on her floor. Cordelia wondered that she resided under her real name. Of course, Nguyen was in Vietnam what Smith was in England, but it was strange anyway.

»I wonder how she managed to get here! I mean, don`t they demand a passport at the airport and also at the check-in?«

On the other hand, if Linh had organized a fake passport, then why didn`t she use an alias? This was getting stranger by the minute!

Cordelia checked twice if her door was locked and then, she pushed her nightstand against it. Since her room had no balcony, she now felt save enough to wait for 8 am, though she knew that she wouldn`t find much sleep.

***

At the kidnapper`s hideout, the time passed slowly. The Yakuza seemed to wait for a sign from his accomplice who was waiting for Akiko at Michiko`s flat as he was repeatedly looking at his cell phone. The silent man meanwhile was playing a game on his phone and Michiko just sat there, trying to shift her legs without exposing too much below her waist. Suddenly, the Yakuza stood up and looked at her.

»I think we could eat something! Have you had dinner, Michiko-san?«

Michiko stared at the man with disbelief. He should have known that she had spent the last hours bound and gagged in his and his accomplice`s clutches! He didn`t seem to wait for an answer, but instead stepped over to her and freed her ankles. Then, he assisted her standing up and led her to the table where she had to sit down. The man tied her upper body to the backrest with the dangling rope ends of her bonds and then, he said:

»You will now be given something to eat and drink. When you are ungagged, you will not ask any questions, you will not scream and you will only speak when you are asked a question. If you break any of these rules, we will strip you naked and you will get 20 on your butt and another 20 on your soles. Did you get me?«

The Yakuza hadn`t raised his voice, but somehow, his calm voice made the threat even more horrifying. Michiko nodded fearfully.

»Good. Now, for one last thing!«

He took a black cloth, stepped behind Michiko and tied it over her eyes. She mewed questioningly and he explained:

»We want to eat, too, and we want to get off the masks for a while anyway. But don`t mind, I will feed you!«

He now unwound the tape from her mouth and though it hurt a bit when this tore a few fine hair from her nape, Michiko didn`t dare to whimper. He then helped her to work the sodden lump from her mouth and Michiko panted and licked her parched lips.

A glass was brought to her lips and she gratefully drank some. Then, something pushed against her lips. She reluctantly opened her mouth and felt it was a piece of sushi, held by chopsticks. Michiko wasn`t hungry at all, but she didn`t dare to resist and so, she plucked the sushi piece from the chopsticks and slowly chewed it. It was surprisingly tasty and even flavored with some wasabi and ginger.

It felt strange to be fed whilst being tied and blindfolded, but it wasn`t as much an ordeal as she had feared. The man patiently waited for her to finish her bite before he offered her the next and he sometimes wiped some soy sauce from her lips with a wet cloth. After the meal, again a cup was held to her lips. It was warm, almost hot, and Michiko sensed the smell of Sake.

»Kanpai!«

He toasted and made her drink one bowl. Again, Michiko tasted that this was good stuff, not the cheap Sake from the supermarket she sometimes bought because there wasn`t much choice at Malta.

»Some more, Michiko-san?«

She wanted to shake her head, but then, she breathed:

»No, thank you, eh-«

She suddenly felt the urge to call the man by his name and he seemed to understand that for he said in a gentle voice:

»You may call me – Hitoshi!«

The moment of hesitation told Michiko that it was an alias, but somehow, it helped her to cope with her situation better.

»Thank you, Hitoshi-san!«

He gently dabbed her lips and Michiko thought that Hitoshi took some more time than necessary. Then, he said:

»Now, Michiko-san, it is time to gag you again!«

***