Sisters 8

The hope that the two villains might not have seen them vanished when the man in the stern slowed down the engine and steered towards the buoy whilst the one in the bow drew a gun. Cordelia looked at the beach some 600 yards away, so far she couldn`t even tell who of the people were Isabelle and Samantha. If they screamed, nobody would hear them and if they tried to swim for the shore, the men could easily hunt them down.

»Now, what shall we do? Fight to the death?«, Akiko asked, trying to sound more determined than she actually was. Cordelia said:

»We have no chance as long as we are in the water. But once we are at the boat, I can maybe distract them; then, you jump overboard and swim towards the shore as fast as you can!«

Akiko`s eyes widened and she shook her head, but Cordelia forced herself to smile, though she didn`t feel the least ready to sacrifice herself.

»They are after you, not after me! And I don`t think they will kill me. I am sure I can stand the few hours until you come to the rescue with the Police!«

Akiko hugged Cordelia with one arm. Moments later, the boat had come close and the man with the gun said:

»It`s never clever to swim too far into the open water! There are sharks out there!«

»I can only see two jellyfishes!«, Akiko replied, causing the man to laugh.

»You seem to want to add to the list of reasons why I should punish you, Missy!«

He brushed over his black eye and then, he waved with his gun and ordered:

»Get on board! Both of you!«

***

»What the hell is going on there?«

Both Samantha and Isabelle had watched the swimming match of their friends, though they hadn`t seen much over the distance. They even weren`t sure who had won. Then, they had seen the approaching boat but at first, it had looked as if just some tourists or fishermen had come along.

»Maybe, Crêpe is trying to persuade them to get them closer to the beach?«, Samantha guessed. Isabelle thought that this was indeed a plausible explanation and she didn`t feel worried as she saw the two climb aboard the boat. Then, however, she noticed a metallic reflection from the hand of one of the men.

»Fuck!«

Isabelle jumped up and rummaged through her bag. Samantha was puzzled.

»What`s up?«

»One of the men has got a gun!«

She now had found the Nambu gun and ran for the shore, followed by Samantha who still hadn`t fully understood what was going on.

At the water, Isabelle saw that there was no chance she could help the two women in any way; the boat was far out of reach. There was no chance she could get there in time – except-

»Hey! You! I need your boat!«

She ran towards a young man who was just pulling a rubber boat from the water, together with his son. He looked at her and his smile vanished as he saw the gun in Isabelle`s hand. Quickly, he grabbed his child and withdrew.

»E-e-easy, Lady!«

Isabelle ignored him and told Samantha to pull the boat back into the water and to grab the oars. Then, she jumped in herself and helped her sister to frantically row towards the boat.

***

»You seem not so feisty now, eh?«

Dripping from the water, Cordelia and Akiko were sitting side by side in the boat. Once they had gotten aboard, one of the men had quickly tied their wrists behind their backs with zip ties and also secured their ankles the same way. Then, he bent over Akiko. Whilst he held the gun to her temple, he pushed the index finger of his left under the bridge between the cups of the girl`s bikini top.

»Why don`t you show me what you presented to half the island?«

Akiko stared daggers at him and he began to pull on her top when suddenly his accomplice shouted something in Maltese and pointed at an approaching rubber boat. A second later, a shot could be heard.

The moment of distraction was all that Akiko needed. She raised her bound legs and rammed her knees into the man`s stomach. With a grunt, he crouched and Akiko now pushed her legs against him, using the momentum to roll backwards like a diver. With a splash, she landed in the water whilst the man fought to keep balance, the bikini top entangled in his hand.

»Aaron, what the-«

BANG!

Another shot was fired and now, Cordelia could see the rubber boat with Isabelle kneeling in the bow. A few yards away from the boat, she could see Akiko who was fighting to keep above water with her hands and feet bound. However, before she could react, the other man shouted:

»Grab her!«

The man threw himself at Cordelia and forced her to the planks whilst his colleague started the motor. He had a gun, too, but he had so far never used it in a fight and so, a withdrawal with at least one captive seemed to be the better option.

Isabelle fired once more when she heard the engine and then saw the boat disappear. However, like the two shots before, she had fired into the air to not endanger her friends. In addition, they had to save Akiko who was still struggling in the water.

A minute later, the topless girl sat in the rubber boat, coughing and panting and still bound with the zip ties. All three looked after the boat that already was some 100 yards away.

»I-I couldn`t help her!«, Akiko breathed and Samantha put her arm around her. Isabelle also had tears in her eyes. She and Cordelia had argued against Akiko`s plan to place her as a bait – and now, it was Cordelia who had to pay the price!

However, their own situation wasn`t much better. They were clad in just their bikinis (or, in Akiko`s case, just her thong) and on board of a rubber boat whose owner sure had already called the Police. Now, they would have a lot to explain once they had rowed back to the shore.

***

Hank and Aaron had speeded away from the coast for some minute before they had stopped the engine again, noticing that nobody was following them. Cordelia had screamed, but the loud engine had drowned her cries. Now, Aaron approached her.

»What do you want from me? I am no the ooouuhhmmph!«

The man had grabbed Akiko`s bikini top from the planks and pressed it against her lips. Cordelia fought and gritted her teeth. The garment was flimsy, but it still was wet with sea water and she tasted the salt on her already parched lips. However, she was no match for Aaron who simply pinched her nose shut and then worked the fabric into her mouth. Cordelia retched as he tightly wound some rounds of tape over her mouth.

»Uuhhmmph! Ghhhmmm! Nnngggg!«

She squirmed and still tried to get rid of the vile tasting gag, but the men just used more zip ties on her: one went around her legs, just above the knees; a second forced her elbows together, leaving just a few inches between them. Then she had to sit up, leaning against the railing, and Aaron drew his knife. Cordelia desperately looked around, but could only see another boat at the horizon, no help for her.

»You are less keen on showing what you have to offer than your almond-eyed friend, aren`t you?«

Cordelia let out a mew when he brushed over her breasts with the knife. He obviously didn`t want to hurt her, but the blade felt nevertheless threatening. The other man grinned and said:

»She seems to like it!«

Having been in the water, her nipples still were hard and they were clearly visible through her swimsuit. Cordelia shuddered as Aaron encircled her right nipple with his index finger. Then, he grabbed it playfully.

»Nnnggg!«

She expected him to pinch her nipple, but instead, he plucked on the cloth and pulled it away from her skin. Then, carefully, he cut through it, producing a hole through which her aureole and the top of her breast now pierced. Cordelia could not help blushing.

He repeated the humiliating procedure to her left breast; then, he brushed over her belly with the knife – and went even deeper. Cordelia let out a fluttering breath as she felt the blade brush over her pubic mound.

Again he gathered the cloth and cut a hole in it. Then, he looked closer and his fingers approached her crotch.

»Uuuhmmph! Mhhhmmmm!«

Aaron secured her legs with his knee and pushed her against the railing with his left arm. Then, he pushed two fingers through the hole in her swimsuit and brushed over her pubic mound. With a lewd grin, he announced:

»She`s shaved down there!«

»Grass doesn`t grow on a busy road, eh?«, his companion chuckled and though they withdrew from her, Cordelia couldn`t have felt more embarrassed.

One of the men took out his phone, but since the conversation was in Maltese, Cordelia could not understand anything but a word that could have meant »Japanese«. It was a longer call and finally, the man said towards Cordelia:

»There`s someone who wants to meet you!«

***

As they had approached the beach, there had been a bunch of people watching them from the distance. Isabelle could recognize the man she had stolen the rubber boat from stand close to a tallish man who distinguished himself from the others for he was wearing long trousers. As the crowd saw that they came back, some gesticulated and the tall man approached the shore.

»Inspector Dumaresq, Malta Police! Please, do not make things worse!«

Isabelle scoffed, but when she thought twice, she had to admit that the man was right from his point of view: they had stolen a boat and frightened a few people, but so far, no one had got hurt and in addition, they had an explanation for their behavior, albeit one that didn`t sound that reasonable. Isabelle sighed.

»Well, we had to inform the Police anyway. Wait here for me, girls!«

Samantha nodded and Akiko just stared into the direction where the boat had disappeared. When still in the water, she had managed to bring her hands to the front, but with no tool on board the rubber boat to cut the zip ties, she was still tied hand and foot and seemed to have lost all wittiness for the moment.

Slowly, Isabelle slid into the water that only reached to her hips. She ostentatiously held the gun by its barrel to show that she didn`t intend to continue shooting. Though her bikini had more cloth than Samantha`s and Akiko`s together, she felt quite underdressed as she approached Inspector Dumaresq.

Akiko and Samantha watched as Isabelle handed the weapon to the man. To their surprise, he didn`t put her into handcuffs but instead, he shooed away the bystanders and talked to her. Then, they walked away from the beach.

»He! Haven`t you forgotten something?«, Samantha yelled, but Isabelle went to where their belongings were. After a short while, she came back to the beach, followed by the Inspector. The girls could see that she was carrying something.

Isabelle went back to the boat and when she came closer, Samantha could see that she was showing an assuring smile.

»He believes us! At least, for the moment! He will take us back to town, but he has told the people that we had mixed alcohol and pills and therefore did our prank with the boat. Here!«

She had brought her small pocket knife and Samantha cut Akiko`s ties. Then, Isabelle handed her a T-Shirt, too. Gratefully, the Japanese put it on and then, they brought the boat back to the shore.

»Just remember: no one except for the Inspector needs to know about the abduction!«

Dumaresq played his role well: they had to apologize to the boat owner and his son and then, he waited for them to change their clothes and pack their belongings, though he insisted to put the bags into the trunk of his car. Only now, Isabelle noticed that he was wearing no uniform and the car was a normal one, too.

»What about our car?«, Samantha asked and the man suddenly smiled. He looked around and, seeing that nobody was standing close, he whispered:

»Well, if you feel able to drive, you may follow my car. We will not go to the police at once, but I will get you to Miss Ihara`s place first. It`s the most obvious place for the kidnappers to contact you to tell their demands!«

Samantha, overwhelmed that they had found an ally, nodded eagerly and insisted that Akiko joined the car with her. Dumaresq allowed it, insisting that Isabelle drove with him.

When they started, Isabelle expected the Inspector to lecture her about blocking the work of the Police and getting innocents into danger. But instead, he was just having some phone calls, all in Maltese that sounded vaguely Arabian to her ears. She guessed that he was calling his colleagues and could only imagine what he told them about her or women in general.

Isabelle would have even more surprised if she had understood the conversation: the man was neither a real Inspector nor was his name »Dumaresq«. It was just the name he had chosen for his fake Police ID because there was no one with this name in the Maltese Police squad. His real name was also a mystery to many people, but the persons he had just talked to knew him under the name »Caine«.

***

The two men had decided that it was too risky for them to be seen with their victim and so, they had forced her to lie down on the ground and then had draped a tarpaulin over her. The cloth was heavy and breathing was difficult for the helpless woman. The zip ties cut into her skin and she felt as if she was choking on the salty bikini top in her mouth.

After what felt like hours, the boat slowed down and the tarpaulin was lifted. When she was carried through the shallow water, Cordelia could see they were in some remote bay, but before she could make out more, she was carried inside a small hut where the men quite unceremoniously put her on a mattress.

»At least, you got one of them!«

Cordelia lifted her head as she heard the female voice and her eyes widened as she saw the woman that looked exactly like Linh. The Asian looked at her, focused on the holes in her swimsuit that exposed her nipples and a part of her pubic mound and she frowned.

»What have you done to her? I told you to leave her untouched!«

»Just some fun!«, Aaron grumbled and the woman looked at him with an expression of sheer contempt. Then, she ordered:

»Now, get back to your homes. We will call you if we need you again!«

The woman showed no weapon and was smaller than the two men, but none of them dared to resist and they left the hut. The woman turned towards Cordelia and shook her head as she again mustered her bare breast tops.

»Men! Anyway, I will now ungag you, but remember: if you scream, only I will hear you. If you scream really loud, maybe, the two who brought you here will hear you, too. In both cases, you wouldn`t like the consequences. You got me?«

Cordelia nodded. She knew that help was far and she would have done everything to get the terrible gag from her mouth.

The woman wound the tape from her mouth and she spat out the sodden top, coughing and licking her lips. Without a word, the Asian held a bottle of water to her mouth and she greedily drank and rinsed her mouth. Then, she breathed:

»Who are you? And what do you want from us?«

»I am Tao. You may not know me, but we have a common acquaintance: my twin sister Linh!«

Cordelia gulped. Of course, an identical twin was the obvious explanation; so obvious that neither she nor Isabelle had thought of it. Then, she felt a shiver run down her spine. What if Linh and Tao did not only share their genes, but also their business?

As if she had read her thoughts, Tao showed a humorless smile:

»Oh, I know how Linh earns – or rather earned – her money and I can assure you that I am not her business partner. But I must know what happened to her – and you and your friend seem to know at least something.«

Cordelia tried to sit up, aching in her tight bonds.

»I-I know nothing! I heard that she`s dead and-«

Tao raised her hand and her smile had an almost horrifying resemblance to Linh`s, though what she said sounded less threatening:

»Then, the interrogation won`t last too long. Maybe, I won`t even need your friend if I think you told me everything. If so, I will only keep you as long as my – business on this island will last; just to make sure your friend won`t call the Police. In a few days, you will be free and never hear from me again!«

She sat close beside Cordelia and then, she added:

»However, if I have the feeling that you are lying or trying to fool me – well, just remember who my sister is. And when we were younger and quarreled, it was not only me who was on the receiving end!«

***

They reached the part of Valetta where Michiko`s flat was some hour after they had left Ghajn Tuffieha. When he had finished his phone calls, Dumaresq had started asking questions about the abduction. To Isabelle`s relief, he hadn`t insisted on the point that they hadn`t informed the Police. Instead, he wanted to know more about Cordelia and though he hadn`t asked anything actually creepy, she suddenly felt a bit awkward; as if Dumaresq was interested in Cordelia more as a woman than as a crime victim.

They waited until Samantha and Akiko had reached the house, too before getting upstairs. At the door, Akiko suddenly stopped and looked at the doorframe.

»Look!«

The door looked as it had looked a few hours before, but Akiko said:

»When we left, I wetted one of my hairs and place it at the door. Now, it has gone! Someone`s in the flat!«

Isabelle wanted to say that this had been just the wind when she saw Dumaresq draw his gun. He stepped back – and suddenly, he grabbed Samantha and pressed the gun under her chin. The girl squealed and both Isabelle and Akiko froze in their tracks. The man hissed:

»Knock on the door, Akiko!«

He emphasized his order by pushing the barrel harder against the soft flesh under Samantha`s chin. Akiko obeyed and Isabelle looked desperately for some help, but they had the staircase for themselves.

The door opened and their eyes fell on a man; it was a Maltese holding a gun in his hand and Isabelle recognized him: it was Marc, the man who, together with the woman who looked like Linh, had forced them to strip and then bound and gagged her and Cordelia the day before.

»Let`s get inside, Ladies!«, Dumaresq ordered, his smile now looking rather predatory. He still held Samantha in his vice grip and so, the other two saw no other chance than to follow his order and enter the apartment.

***

Mike had quickly gone for his hotel to change into another outfit and had put on a cap so the people working at the undertaker would not recognize him as he observed the building. Not that such precaution really would have been necessary: a morgue wasn`t a bank or a prison and so, it had been no problem to get into the back yard where he could hide behind some big dustbins if someone came.

Near the ground, he saw a row of barred windows and when he looked, he could see a large tiled room with a stainless steel table standing in the center and rows of big drawers at one wall. He guessed that this was the room where autopsies could be held or corpses be prepared for public lay outs, with the drawers being the cooling boxes for dead bodies.

Mike could see no further alarm system. Sure, the undertaker considered the iron bars to be enough to abhor potential grave desecrators. Sawing them would make considerable noise, but Mike was already developing some ideas when he suddenly heard a sound and hid between two garbage containers.

The person that came strolled alongside the wall almost ostentatiously casual whilst looking at the windows, just like Mike had done minutes before. In addition, he recognized the man: it was the Asian who had introduced himself as Vinh Phong, Linh`s brother in law.

»Two fools, one thought!«

Obviously, Vinh also didn`t believe whatever the undertaker had told him and wanted to assure himself about what had happened to Linh.

Mike quickly rendered the situation: if that man was part of the plot to get Linh out of prison, he would not expose himself that way. So, he perhaps was a potential ally. Mike stepped from his cover.

»Monsieur Phong, I-«

The Vietnamese spun around and, without warning, tried to land a kick. However, Mike had been practicing Ju Jutsu since he had been six years old and so, his reflexes were fast. He dodged the kick and tried to land a blow by himself, only to be blocked by Vinh, too.

A short battle ensued. As often when two skilled fighters met, it was much about blocking and dodging with no one really hitting the other hard. However, Mike had one advantage: his opponent was practicing Vietnamese Martial Arts that were mainly influenced by Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do. Thus, he was an excellent kicker and also knew how to use his fists, but Mike had the average in lever techniques and so, he managed to grab his opponent`s arm and get him into a grip where he could break his arm if necessary. Vinh panted and fought, but Mike did not ease.

»I haven`t been Sheffield`s Junior Champion for nothing!«, Mike gasped. Vinh stopped his struggles, turned his face towards Mike – and smiled.

»Owls or Blades?«

He used Mike`s bafflement to free his arm, but when he launched his counter-attack, Mike had recovered from Vinh`s knowledge about Sheffield`s football clubs and they kept on struggling.

»Owls forever!«, he croaked as Vinh was trying to wrestle him down. Since Mike had been old enough to know what football was, his father had attended the games of Sheffield Wednesday, aka »The Owls«, with him and he still was a strong supporter, though the team`s glory days were long gone. His fandom included the rivalry towards Sheffield`s other club: United, or »The Blades«.

He landed a punch on Vinh`s ribs that made the man cough, but then, the Vietnamese raised his knee and hit his thigh painfully. As the brawl went on, Mike asked:

»Is this – about football – or Linh?«

Vinh hissed:

»What do you know about her?«

He had stopped attacking and so, Mike also let him go. Panting, they stood opposite to each other, ready to launch the next attack.

»I know enough to doubt that we will find her dead body down there!«

For a few seconds, Vinh mustered him. Then, he nodded. He looked down on his trousers and shirt that had suffered during the fight, as had Mike`s.

»For a European, you really know how to fight!«

Mike bowed and Vinh did the same. Then, he said towards the Vietnamese:

»For an Asian, you know a lot about British Football!«

»I have been three years at the University of Edinburgh!«

Since he had asked Mike about his preferred football club, Vinh had spoken English and now, he noticed a strange mixture of both Vietnamese and Scottish accent in it. Smiling, he asked:

»Hearts or Hibs?«

»Hanoi Panthers!«, Vinh replied. Mike stretched his hand and when Vinh took it, he said:

»Maybe, we should go somewhere where they serve something better than French beer and change the subject from football to something else. How about discussing how to find a way to get into that morgue unseen?«

»There`s an Irish Pub not far from here!«, Vinh said, thus mutually agreeing to an at least temporary alliance of the two men.

***

Cordelia had come to one conclusion: Tao definitely was a much kinder person than her twin sister, but she was no angel either.

The interrogation about her experiences as Linh`s captive had been short and matter-of-factly; it had seemed that Tao already knew some of the details and only wanted Cordelia to confirm her knowledge. So far, however, she had given no evidence what her part in the whole story was.

After Cordelia had asked Tao`s questions to her obvious satisfaction, the Asian had cut the zip ties binding her, but not before showing her the gun in her belt and reminding her who was in charge. Then, Cordelia had been allowed to get into what seemed to have been a horse box in previous time and to relieve herself. To do so, she had to pull down her shredded swimsuit and Tao now placed two pieces of clothes on the shoulder-height partition wall of the box.

»Maybe, you would like a change of clothes.«

It was a white T-Shirt and an equally white pair of panties. Both looked as if they came from Tao`s laundry basket rather than her drawers, but at least, they were dry and not crusted with salt. So, she completely took off her swimsuit and stepped into the panties. They were designed for a woman of Tao`s measurements and so, they were fitting almost inconveniently tight. However, they still were better than still having to wear the damp swimsuit or staying naked.

The T-Shirt also was at least one number too small and Cordelia felt uncomfortable though the essentials were covered now. Then, she saw that Tao had cut several lengths of rope and pointed towards a round pillar at the middle of the room.

»Well, at least, these ropes are more convenient than zip ties!«, Cordelia thought as she sat down and leaned against the post.

Tao pulled her arms behind the pillar and tied her wrists, followed by her elbows, though she didn`t actually make them meet. More ropes encircled her arms and her upper body at her waist and above and below her breasts, welding her to the post. Then, Cordelia heard the ripping of tape.

Tao prepared five pieces of tape, each some ten inches in length, and placed them side by side on Cordelia`s right leg. Then, she held up her hands.

»Left or right, it`s your choice!«

In her right, she held Akiko`s bikini top that had gagged her previously, from her left dangled a pair of nude pantyhose. The latter looked as if it had been worn before, but even the taste of the Asians sweat, feet and crotch would be better than that of sea water.

»L-left«, she croaked and allowed Tao to work the pantyhose into her mouth and to seal her lips with the pieces of tape she carefully applied. Then, Tao reached for her cell phone.

»Now, I will tell my partner that I am convinced you told me everything and therefore, I won`t need to interrogate your friend, too. So, with a little bit of luck, you will be my guest for only a few days!«

Whilst Tao dialed a number, Cordelia frowned. So far, the Asian had only spoken about Isabelle, but not even mentioned Akiko or Samantha. Perhaps, this had been just a coincidence, but it could also mean another, rather frightening thing:

Tao and the kidnappers of Michiko were two different parties!

***