The Little Death 3

When she had spoken to Sophia, Ingrid remained at the door and obviously watched the bound and gagged Luana through the glass. Sophia stepped back a bit and looked around in the room. The Asian Ingrid had addressed as Bao stood some three yards away and his silent colleague was leaning beside the door through which they had entered the lab. She could see no windows, just neon lights and a ventilation system; there was another door, but Sophia doubted that it would lead to freedom and in addition, she would have had to pass Bao to get there.

Everything in her rebelled against giving in without a fight, but she had also no intention in provoking her captors without getting anything from it. So, she tried to think about what Ingrid could have in mind, to anticipate her next step.

»Project Little Death« had gotten it`s informal name from her, an innuendo to the French »la petite mort«, a metaphor for the orgasm. Indeed, they had done research about aphrodisiacs.

For many centuries, there had been rumors about all kinds of drugs and herbs that increased lust and fiction was full of stories about the perfect drug that could turn a nun into a whore. However, even long before she had started to study, Sophia had known that most of these stories were nothing but fiction.

Of course, some dishes existed that had slight stimulating effects; having strawberries with sparkling wine was one of them. But if the woman was not in the mood, she could pour down 100 strawberries with a bottle of Champaign and would be nothing but tipsy.

Then, there were some drugs like the infamous Spanish Fly, but in these cases, the increased lust was just a side effect and like all drugs, it also came with a severe hangover, other, less pleasant side effects and the danger of addiction. So, it seemed that there was no such thing as a real effective aphrodisiac.

Some years ago, the invention of Viagra hade renewed the research on that field, but Viagra could, sloppily spoken, help those men who wanted, but couldn`t. However, most women didn`t experience bad sex because they were physically unable to have it, but because they were not stimulated enough or in the wrong way. Some women sooner or later found sensitive and resourceful lovers, others helped themselves and the rest just had more or less unsatisfying sex.

»Imagine if we could ensure that every woman that takes our product will be guaranteed an orgasm whenever she wants it!«, Leduc had announced so pompously that Lioba had whispered to Sophia:

»If he gets the Nobel Prize for that, the after-party will sure be interesting!«

However, the idea had not only been interesting as a scientific project; if they succeeded, they would all be rich. So, they had started to work on »Project Little Death« with enthusiasm, even more as the University would pay them for an entire year. They had done research on the works of earlier scholars and worked at the lab almost nonstop, but after only a few weeks, the problems had occurred:

Leduc and Moody were quarreling almost all the time and after a while, one refused to be in the same room with the other and they only communicated via a third person. Nevertheless, Leduc was a brilliant pharmacologist, but he was less brilliant in his social skills. Despite the subject of the project, he was almost the cliché of a scientists and seemed unable of a normal conversation. Or, as Lioba had put it:

»He has a way to talk about lubrication that makes me feel like the Gobi Desert!«

So, the four women had decided to keep to themselves and only talk to Leduc when it was necessary. Peter, the last of the men, had also withdrawn after just three months, though he occasionally still appeared in the lab. His mother had fallen ill and not only did he have to take care of her, he also was more and more convinced that they were burning resources that could better be used to develop a medicine against cancer. So, after four months, the project team had effectively consisted of Luana, Lioba, Ingrid and her.

All four were good in their job, but the problems had been the same: there was no such thing as a real aphrodisiac, it just was the side effect of some preparations. And most of the more effective ones were more or less dangerous psychic drugs.

»Six months` work, and we are no better off than some pusher selling Meth!«

They had tried their best to isolate active ingredients and at least Ingrid had even done some self-experiments. At least, she was the only one who had openly admitted it, though Sophia could only speak for herself that she definitely hadn`t taken that step. So, in the end, they had come to a dead point: as long as a woman was still in possession of her clear mind and free will, she could either enjoy sex or not, just as her state of arousal and the surrounding was.

Leduc had not openly accepted defeat and even back in France, he still spent a few hours on the project, accompanied by Lioba and Sophia, his assistants. But it had become more of a hobby and the two women actually only worked on it because it was Leduc who would decide whether they would keep their jobs and who wrote their certificates. However, it seemed that Ingrid had not given up on the subject, too.

Now, the blonde turned towards Sophia and to her dismay, Sophia saw that her cheeks had reddened and her nipples were poking through her tight top. Obviously, it had aroused her to watch Luana in her plight.

»Sophia, I am sure you have already figured out why you are here. Unlike Leduc, I have always seen both in you – the excellent scholar and«, she stepped in front of Sophia and let her eyes wander over her, »the passionate, yet unfulfilled woman!«

Sophia shied back to the wall and stared at Ingrid as if she was a vicious snake. She let out a faint moan and felt just too paralyzed to even think of running away. Ingrid continued to look at her and then, she suddenly smiled and asked:

»I am forgetting manners – would you like that tape off?«

The frightened Sophia suspected something mean, but she definitely wanted to get rid of her bonds and the gag! So, she nodded and Ingrid produced a cutter from her coat`s pocket.

»Hold still!«

She cut the tape encircling Sophia`s wrists and she peeled it off. Then, as Ingrid did not say anything against it, she picked at the tape covering her mouth. It was very sticky and when she had just peeled off an edge, Ingrid sighed.

»Pussy!«

With a swift move, she took the tape edge and then yanked it away with one quick pull. Sophia shrieked, but Ingrid just used her other hand to pull the sodden panties from her mouth. Whilst, Sophia coughed and panted and rubbed her lips, Ingrid let the panties dangle in front of her eyes.

»You remember back in Harvard, when we were talking about panties and thongs? You considered panties more convenient than thongs – maybe, you think different now!«

She giggled whilst Sophia placed her hands on her hips and breathed:

»How dare you, Ingrid?«

The blonde shrugged and kept looking at Sophia`s moist panties.

»They are cut – well, you won`t be needing them anymore«, she murmured, more to herself, before putting the garment into her pocket. Then, she managed to smile apologetically at her captive.

»What did you say, Sophia?«

Fuming, Sophia tried to slap her, but surprisingly fast, Ingrid grabbed her right wrist with her left whilst her other hand darted forward and grabbed her chin, painfully squeezing her jaw between her thumb and index finger. In the corner of her eye, Sophia also saw Bao approach, but it seemed the man waited for a command from Ingrid.

»So, you want to keep things interesting?«

Sophia was angry, but she was also able of analyzing her situation as if it was a mathematical problem. In addition, the equation was easy: Ingrid was taller, stronger and obviously a better skilled fighter and besides, her two henchmen were in the same room as her. If she tried to hit Ingrid, even if she managed to do so, she would pay much too high a price. As she stopped struggling, Ingrid eased her grip.

»So, will you be a good girl, Sophia?«

»Fuck off!«, Sophia hissed, staring daggers at Ingrid as she let her go. The blonde turned for the table and Sophia clenched her fists, oppressing the urge to jump on her back and to scratch her face. As Ingrid swung around again, she was holding a pen and a clipboard.

»Just let me see if I got this right. You are still 28, aren`t you? I remember you were the youngest of us, though Luana had skipped a class. Now, please, get over there!«

She pointed at a corner where Bao was standing beside a contraption she knew all too well from attending a doctor: an upright measuring bar. Before the man could touch her, Sophia leaned against the bar and Bao adjusted the measuring device whilst Ingrid noted on her clipboard:

»That`s 5`2``. I would have guessed so, but we should be as precisely as possible. And speaking of that – strip!«

»What?«

»You don`t want to falsify the weighing, do you?«

She added a few words in what seemed to be Chinese towards Bao and the man produced a plastic bag that he opened in front of Sophia. Then, she said towards her captive who still stood motionless:

»Please, put everything inside the bag, including your jewelry!«

»No!«

»So what? Bao`s a gentleman and Greg – well, he follows orders, at least when I am around. There is no need to be afraid.«

Like a dog who had heard his name, Greg now slowly approached, too. He slowly flexed his fingers and Sophia suddenly felt very vulnerable.

»It seems our guest needs some help – just like the other one did.«

Greg stepped closer and now, Sophia could see a wolfish smile on his face.

»N-no, stop, I-I will d-do it!«, she stammered. Watched by three pairs of eyes, she started by removing her earrings and necklace, just to delay the inevitable. When she had put the jewelry in the box, she loosened her scarf.

»If it`s real silk, give it to me«, Ingrid ordered and, after a short hesitating, Sophia obeyed. Then, she knew that she would have to start the real stripping. Slowly, she tugged her blouse from her skirt and then unbuttoned it, revealing her white, rather plain bra. She thought of starting to plead, but then, she decided against it and put the blouse into the bag.

As she worked on the zipper of her skirt, Sophia remembered that she was no longer wearing her panties. Her pantyhose was quite opaque, but transparent enough that her captors would see her-

Blushing all over, Sophia pushed her left hand into her skirt to shield her pubic area as she lowered it with her other hand. She stepped out of it and then put it into the bag, too, anxious not to turn her butt to any of the three.

»Now, there are still a few grams of clothing on you. But before – what`s your bra size?«

Startled, Sophia stared at Ingrid.

»Wha-what do you need that for?«

Ingrid giggled.

»Just personal, totally unscientific curiosity! But if you don`t want to tell me, we have an alternative!«

She looked at Greg, but before she could say anything or the tall man could move forward, Sophia spat:

»I am a 34B!«

She tried to show her contempt towards Ingrid, but at the same time, she felt how her cheeks burned from embarrassment. Ingrid obviously noted that information, too. Then, she looked at Sophia and said mockingly:

»Awww, you look as if you had to expose your boobies to all of us! Well, that will make it easier, since that is what you are going to do next!«

In fact, it did not make things easier and Sophia trembled when she unclasped her bra and then wriggled it off, trying to shield her breasts whist taking it off. Ingrid took the garment from her and examined the label.

»34B, indeed. Now, put your hands behind your back!«

She let the bra slide into the bag and then, she and the two men looked at Sophia who, though she felt as if she would have to cry soon, slowly placed her palms on the back of her head, exposing her breasts. She noticed all too well how the position was slightly uplifting them and knew that her captors were fascinated by her heaving chest, but she could just not calm down her breathing.

»A bit small, but nice and pert«, Ingrid commented after what seemed ages of staring at the helpless girl. »You won`t need a bra to keep them where they should be. Now, off with the pantyhose!«

As if under a terrible spell, Sophia for the second time on this day peeled down her pantyhose whilst others were watching. She heard the scraping of Ingrid`s pen as she slowly spelled the word »untrimmed«. Sophia knew that she was referring to her pubic hair.

As she wanted to put the crumpled nylon into the bag, Bao took the pantyhose from her. Ingrid said something in Chinese and to Sophia`s horror, the man brought the pantyhose to his nose and sniffed before he replied. then, whilst both were chuckling, he handed it to Ingrid who put it into her coat`s pocket, too.

»Now, step on the scale!«

Sophia did as she was told and two seconds later felt Ingrid`s breath on her nape as the blonde bent over her.

»116 lbs. Seems one needs a little bit of exercise!«

Playfully, she slapped Sophia`s butt. The naked woman slowly turned around, one arm shielding her breasts whilst she covered her pubic mound with her other hand. She knew that the three had seen everything already, but it was a last, faint act of defiance.

Ostentatiously, Ingrid looked at her watch.

»Geez, it`s 6 pm already! Sophia, I know it`s Friday afternoon, but you have to catch up with how far we got with our research so far! Get over to the desk, please!«

»This is madness!«, Sophia blurted and Ingrid arched her head back and laughed.

»Of course it is – but if we will succeed, we will be rich and that makes it an eccentricity! If you guess from what film I stole that, you will be allowed to sleep on top – later!«

Bao grabbed Sophia`s arm and led her to a desk where a computer was in waiting mode. The imitation leather of the seat`s upholstery felt chilly on Sophia`s bare backside as she was forced to sit down. Greg came to action and positioned her lower arms on the armrests where Bao secured them with four narrow belts, two on her wrists and to just below her elbows. Greg had bent over her, his face so close to her naked breasts that she felt his breath on them, causing her to shiver. As he looked further down, Sophia instinctively pressed her thighs together. Greg laughed and Bao produced two more belts. They tied her knees to the armrests, too, so Sophia had to sit with her legs slightly open.

»The stuff you are going to read will be quite hot, so, you better take care of some air circulation down there!«

Ingrid had stepped behind Sophia and she felt something brush over her chest. A moment later, she felt a tight grip around her neck and had to straighten her upper body not to choke.

»Your scarf really is lovely, Sophia. I could strangle you without leaving a mark.«

Sophia ached as a response and Ingrid loosened the noose a bit; just to allow her to breathe more easily. Then, the blonde purred:

»Close your eyes!«

When Sophia didn`t do so immediately, she tightened the noose once again until she closed her eyelids. The scarf remained tight around her neck and at the same time, she felt Ingrid`s hand brush over her face.

»I am sure that you are way above petty revenge like trying to bite me!«

Tender fingers raked over her closed eyes, her cheeks, playfully poked her nose. Sophia panted through gritted teeth when Ingrid`s index finger slowly encircled her lips. It remained there, soft as a breeze, when Ingrid said:

»Now, I have to make sure you will concentrate on your research. No chatting, I am afraid. You know what that means, Sophia?«

Ingrid paused, obviously waiting for her to answer. Sophia cleared her throat and croaked:

»You will gag me again!«

»That`s true«, Ingrid sighed as if she really felt sorry for having to do so. She loosened her grip on the scarf and began to caress Sophia`s hair. The tied up woman opened her eyes and forced herself to speak calmly:

»Just do it and don`t play games with me!«

»Okay, okay!«, Ingrid responded, withdrawing her hands and seeming rather amused.

»Now, will you accept your gag like a big girl – or will you start playing games, forcing me to play mine? I mean, I don`t mind pinching your nose shut or to squeeze your nipples, but-«

Sophia just looked at her with enforced quietness. When Ingrid reached for her coat`s pocket, she took a deep breath, but then, she opened her mouth. She had expected the blonde to stuff her panties into her mouth again, but instead, Ingrid was balling up her pantyhose. Sophia let out a fluttering breath, but managed to keep her mouth open. Her panties had been mean, but her hose wasn`t any better. She had been wearing them for a long, warm day and for some time, the crotch part had been in direct contact with her womanhood.

Sophia forced herself to breathe through her nose and not to fight when Ingrid slowly worked the smooth, but slightly scratchy nylon ball into her oral crevice. She tasted a vile mélange of herself and could not help emitting a retching sound whilst she oppressed the urge to swallow.

When Ingrid had stuffed the entire hose behind her teeth, Bao reached her something with dangling straps. It turned out to be a mask made of black rubber and Ingrid pressed it over Sophia`s lower face. The mask smelled strange and it was shaped in a way it cupped her chin, forcing her to bite down on her gag when Ingrid worked a hole in the mask over her nose. Once it was in place, it covered everything below Sophia`s eyes and she had to bend her head. Bao gathered her shoulder-length hair and Ingrid buckled the mask at her nape.

»Too tight?«

»Gllgg!«

»If you say so!«

Mercilessly, Ingrid pulled the straps one notch tighter. When she let Sophia go, she almost hyperventilated, though her nose was free. The mask had molded to her face, pressing against her lips, cheeks and chin and it already felt very hot and uncomfortable. Ingrid watched the panting girl for a while, a cold smile on her lips. Then, she grabbed the scarf that was still hanging around Sophia`s neck. The helpless woman mewed, but the blonde just tied a double knot, so loose the scarf didn`t affect her breathing. Then, she let the ends dangle between her breasts so the tips were touching her pubic mound, feeling slightly irritating.

»Now, as you see, the computer`s still on.«

Ingrid took the computer mouse and pushed it into Sophia`s right hand. The chair was a gaming chair rather than one designed for work and so, it had a small pad under where her hand rested and she would be able to use the mouse, even with her wrist tied.

»You have no access to the internet, I am afraid, but I have downloaded the pertinent encyclopedias and added an FAQ. Now, for two last things!«

Ingrid took something that looked like another mouse and placed it under Sophia`s left hand. Then, as if on second thoughts, she secured it to the armrest with a piece of tape. Sophia looked at the small item. It looked almost like a computer mouse, but it was pink and had a cable protruding from it.

On the other end, an also pink, egg-shaped thing was attached and Sophia recognized it as what it was the moment Ingrid placed it between her legs.

»Nnnggg! Uuhhmmph!«

She vigorously shook her head and squirmed in her bonds as the egg touched her pubic mound, but Ingrid just taped it to the seat.

»Since you are not allowed to chat, get some coffee or to surf the internet, you may get some relief by that little toy! Feel free to use it whenever you like!«

Ignoring Sophia`s grunt, Ingrid produced a pair of big headphones.

»They are connected to the computer, so you may watch the videos or listen to the audios«, Ingrid explained before placing the headphones on Sophia`s ears. Immediately, all noise was blocked and Sophia once again gasped, shivering from the way the earphones cancelled all sounds from the outer world.

Obviously, she had twitched her hand, because the screen had opened and now, she could see a picture of Harvard University. On the desktop, there was only one folder, titled »PLD 2.0«.

»Project Little Death 2.0«, Sophia thought. She looked around, but Ingrid and the men had withdrawn and it seemed that they had blocked the chair so it wouldn`t rotate. Due to being tightly restrained and since the backrest was high and slightly curved, Sophia could not see much of what was going on to her left, her right or behind her. Cursing into her gag, she finally clicked on the folder. Partially, it was because she knew to have better chances of escaping, she had to know her abductors better.

Another part of her was just curious, despite the odds.

***

»Maybe, I am really as bad as Belle pretends I am!«

Mike had checked his phone regularly if Isabelle had sent him a message, but at the same time, he had started his preparations for doing what Bishop had asked him to do.

His former superior`s wish was quite simple on the paper: he wanted Cassandra back, though rather under his control than in his arms. With her knowledge about the Americans` plans concerning the British Virgin Islands, she could be used as a weapon to get some concessions from the USA instead. They sure did not want the world to know about their neo-imperialistic plans in the Caribbean.

»After a while, they may bail her out, but if not, we won`t keep her forever either. No one intends to kill Cassandra, she will just have to stay with us for a few years.«

Mike knew that this would perhaps not be the most pleasant years, but after all, Cassandra had indeed committed high treason.

»Maybe, I am just trying to justify my death wish in front of myself!«, Mike thought by himself when he did his research about his target.

According to Bishop, Cassandra was residing at the »Nice Hilton«, a hotel close to the famous beach. He had even been able to give him her room number, but not very much additional information.

»I am quite sure she has some kind of security around her, but I didn`t dare to send someone, to not shoo her up prematurely.«

Mike was a man who liked to improvise, but one of his favorite movies was Zinnemann`s »Day of the Jackal« and he had also read the book twice, following the protagonist`s meticulous preparations of his assassination attempt.

The Jackal had, at least in the movie, started by making a list with the topics »where?«, »when?« and »how?«. Well, he knew where he had to go and he also had quite a narrow time slot, but how to get Cassandra into his clutches would be the problem. In Mike`s case, an assassination would have been easier: the girl would not be as highly protected as the President of France. However, the problem would be that not only would he have to get away fast, but also be able to take his victim with him.

So, Mike checked the hotel`s website, only to see the usual information and the usual photos. He also scrolled through the user comments, but there was nothing like »human traffickers operating in the basement, but good breakfast, therefore three stars«. So, he would have to go there and see.

At Saturday, with still no sign from Isabelle, Mike spent a last visit to his parents, telling them he had to go on a business trip again. Then, he mounted the only real luxury he had bought from his newly riches, a Triumph bike that was a modern version of the one Steve McQueen had ridden in »The Great Escape«, another one of his favorite movies.

»No matter if Belle makes a move or if I do the job, I will have to get to France anyway! And if I do so by bike, that`s my glass of Whiskey!«

He knew that he somehow had already made a decision, for hidden in the bike`s frame was a gun and a fake passport and he also was carrying some 20.000 Euros in cash with him, stored in different hiding places. Unlike the gun and the passport, this wasn`t illegal, but could have raised the suspicion of a controlling Policeman, just like the bag that contained a coiled rope, a few rolls of tape, zip ties and a few other things that might come handy.

Mike rode to Dover where he checked in for two nights at a small hotel. He undressed to his shorts and lay down on the bed, in his hand a small plastic zip bag from his baggage. It contained a pair of Isabelle`s panties, the last one he still had from her. Mike opened the bag, noticed that some of her fragrance was still on them and closed his eyes, listening to the silence of his phone that received no messages whilst thinking about whether he would spend the next week in Nice or Marseille.

***

Sophia was a scientist and so, she had been able to ignore for the moment that she was naked, bound and gagged and in the clutches of a woman who definitely had gone mad. She had read some of the folders, starting by the compilation of what they had reached when the official project had stopped. Then, she methodically checked the rabbit hole of what Ingrid called science.

Soon, she knew that Ingrid hadn`t reached very much in the field of isolating specific ingredients of the drugs and herbs they had tried; actually, Leduc, Lioba and her had been more successful on doing so, though they were far from calling it a breakthrough. For a moment, Sophia had to think of her colleague who was also in severe danger of getting kidnapped by Ingrid and her henchmen, but then, she got intrigued by another folder.

Back in Harvard, Ingrid had done a clandestine field study. The disguise had been the usual test that was done quite often at Universities: students (in this case only females) were offered to take a certain pill and would get 50 Dollars if they described the effects a few days later. Ingrid had promoted her product as a drug that would help to calm down without getting too tired and without getting addicted. As usual, some students had been in the control group and were just given a Placebo.

The evaluation had, however, been quite disappointing: only a few of the girls had spoken about their sexual encounters after taking the pill at all and it seemed that they seemed to have enjoyed it a bit more than usual, but not in a significant way.

Sophia clicked on a link to a video file and twitched as suddenly Ingrid`s voice broke the silence whilst the face of her captor appeared on the screen.

»So far, the prototype of LD seems only able to cause some stimulation. Of course, I only used a considerably small dose on the study, since I am not sure about side effects.«

To Sophia`s dismay and fascination, Ingrid continued by describing an experiment she had done herself with a higher dose. However, she admitted that she was too biased to get a reliable result. She smiled into the camera and said:

»It was good and dirty, but maybe, just because I wanted it to be so desperately!«

Sophia twitched and screamed into her gag as a hand suddenly touched her shoulder. A moment later, Ingrid took the headphones from her.

»I see you have come to the point of why you are here, Sophia!«

Sophia mewed and pulled on her bonds, suddenly brought back into reality – a reality where she was kept a naked prisoner of a madwoman and was forced to chew on her own worn pantyhose! Ingrid caressed her hair and, when Sophia wouldn`t calm down, she tightened her grip on her captive`s scalp and forced her to look at her.

»Actually, there is more than one reason I need you. First of all, I of course need you as a scientist and an expert on the matter. I hope that money and scientific reputation will be enough to motivate you, but if necessary, I can also become quite – persuasive!«

»Mph!«

»Then, as you may have guessed, I also need a reliable test object. Someone who is reluctant to getting aroused. At least when the process will be watched and evaluated!«

Sophia`s eyes widened and she stared at Ingrid`s face. Right now, she fully embodied the mad scientist of some comic book. Ingrid smiled and encircled one of Sophia`s nipples with the nail of her index finger as she continued:

»Finally, I now have a possibility to evaluate the – test rows more sincerely, since now, I have a control group, though it will be only one person in each group. And, speaking of that, you may have forgotten about time, but it has become late and I want you to meet Luana – your former colleague, actual colleague – and, last but not least, my other Guinea Pig!«

***