The Little Death 33

Bao was filled with adrenaline and oppressed anger as he walked towards the Porsche. He was the one in charge, but this damned Englishman still was sending him around as if he was in charge! Fuck, he had told him that only he knew where the little Policewoman was, but-

»Fuck!«

There was a folded paper impacted under the windshield wipers. Of course, he didn`t intend to pay a traffic ticket, even more as he would have to leave the Porsche behind, but it just fit the going of this cursed day. Reflexively, he grabbed the note and ripped it from under the wiper.

***

»Wow, I thought you are just a few years older than me!«

Mike had staggered towards the armchair and now stretched himself, leaning heavily on the backrest, to get the weaved bed sheet over the ceiling hook. Both Luana and Sophia stared at him, the latter having tears in her eyes from coping with her tight crotch rope. Mike turned his back towards Amy and paused, obviously panting from the effort. Then, he reached for the ends of the makeshift rope.

In the door of the display cabinet, he could see the reflection of Amy standing behind him, holding the gun in her right. Mike had exaggerated his limping, but he knew that his left knee was limiting him. His arms, however, were all right, just as he had promised Bao.

Mike knew that he had only one try. He tightened his grip on the sheet and pulled himself upwards to take weight from his left leg. Swiftly, he spun around and kicked the gun from Amy`s hand. Using the impetus, he let the sheet`s ends go and threw himself upon her. Amy gasped, but could not dodge him. Reflexively, she used her arms to soften her fall and that was when Mike hit both her carotid arteries with the edges of his hands. Then, they both hit the ground.

»Not the most elegant move, but at least, I ended up on top!«

He quickly checked that Amy was unconscious and then worked himself to his feet. Sophia mmphed, but he made a soothing gesture. Then, he limped over to the bathroom door behind which he heard the running water. As he entered, he saw that Lioba was about to lose balance whilst Ingrid was fidgeting like mad since the water had almost reached the top of the tub.

»Allow me!«

He went on his intact knee and pushed his left between Lioba`s legs to keep her from strangling herself. At the same time, he reached into the tub and searched for the tub. He heard some retching from Lioba and the thuds and gurgles from the struggling Ingrid, but then, he had reached the plug and pulled it out. Not taking his hand from Lioba`s crotch, he rose and sat on the tub`s edge.

»You put on nearly no weight during the last years!«

»Mph!«

Mike managed to get on his feet and loosened the noose around her neck. Then, still with his hand between her legs, he lowered her into the tub where now the water had fallen. He took care of Ingrid and sat up the sputtering and retching blonde, helping her to catch breath, too. Then, he said:

»Now, wait for the final blow!«

He put his finger on his lips and indeed, both Ingrid and Lioba fell silent. After a few seconds, there was a muffled explosion, followed by the beeping of a siren. Mike grinned wolfishly.

»Yippee Kay Yay Motherfucker!«

Then, he placed a kiss on Lioba`s forehead.

»I would have loved to spend more quality time with you, but the Belle tolls for me, so to say!«

He rushed out of the bathroom and quickly cut Luana`s bonds, handing her the kitchen knife then.

»Free the others and take care of her!«, he said, pointing at the unconscious Amy. Luana seemed a bit puzzled, but then, she nodded. Mike put on his jacket and grabbed his gun. Then, having taken both the cell phone and the key of the Peugeot from Amy`s handbag, he limped out and despite the pain in his knee, he took the stairs.

At the staircase, the beeping had become louder and now, it mixed with indistinct murmur from the people the car`s alarm had woken up. As he stepped out of the house, Mike could see that the Porsche was still burning.

Before he had entered the building, Mike had placed a flare grenade in the car`s engine room and tied a piece of nylon cord to the trigger he had loosened before so a small pull would cause the grenade to get loose. The other end, he had tied to a folded envelope that would do as a fake parking ticket. Unlike most action movies pretended, cars weren`t that easy inflammable, but the explosion of a flare grenade close to the tank obviously did the job.

Beside the car, he could see a person lie on the ground, covered by a blanket and surrounded by people who were obviously doing first aid. With considerable glee, Mike noticed that Bao`s hair had partially burned and also he had some burn blisters in his face. His eyes widened as he spotted Mike and he tried to get up, but the people held him back.

»You will never find her, bastard!«

With the blazing flames in his back, Mike looked down on Bao – and grinned.

»If you are still alive by tomorrow, you will know that I did find her! Lose-lose for you, cocksucker!«

Bao stammered a few words of which Mike remembered some from his time at the Marines when his comrade from Hong Kong had taught him Chinese swear words. Despite his knee injury, he levered towards the Peugeot. A muffled moaning greeted him as he entered the car.

»Patience, Cassie! I will see for a little more comfort for you soon, but now, I have to save the damsel in distress!«

***

Thierry Milla  could not believe it when he wiped his eyes and looked at his alarm clock. It was 1 am and yet, someone was ringing at the door! Hermione, who had been sleeping in front of his bed, was barking faintly and he patted her head as he got up.

»Please, don`t let it be someone telling me that something has happened to Maman!«

He quickly looked into the adjacent room. At least, his two younger siblings were still sleeping. Thierry grabbed his baseball bat and went for the door. They had no lock chain and so, he carefully opened the door, ready to land a hit on any potential burglar, though he doubted that a criminal would ring the bell.

»Monsieur Mike!«

Indeed, it was the man whose bike accident he had caused. He looked even worse than when he had last seen him and he was leaning heavily against the door frame as he now caressed Hermione who had pushed her head through the open door and was waging her tail.

»Indeed, it`s me! Thierry, I know it`s not the usual time for such things, but could you do me three favors?«

Thierry lowered the bat and nodded. The man looked not like an immediate threat and in addition, he still felt guilty for having caused the accident. Mike straightened and said:

»Well, I need a fresh T-Shirt, two bottles of water – and Hermione!«

As the boy`s eyes widened, he added:

»I only need Hermione for a few hours! In, let`s say, three hours, you will get her back, unharmed of course, and will also get the rest of this!«

Mike took an envelope from his pocket. It looked quite thick and Thierry saw Mike count five bills from it and hand it to him. He looked at his hand and saw that it were five 200 Euro bills.

»Wha- what-?«

Mike put his hand on Thierry`s shoulder.

»I know that this looks a bit weird and it would be even weirder if you knew the truth. In addition, I am maybe breaking a few laws right now. But I can promise you that if you trust me, you will help saving a life, you will be 10 grand richer and I promise that I will name my first dog Hermione, too!«

»What if it`s a male dog?«

»Then, Hermione will have a rough time at the puppy school!«, Mike chuckled.

This broke the ice and though Thierry still felt strange about it, Mike left a few minutes later, an excited Hermione on a leash. The boy looked after him, still waiting that he would wake up from this strange dream.

***

»Now, let`s see if you are as good as your owner has promised!«, Mike said as they had reached the place where he had cut the hole into the fence. Hermione, who was sitting on the passenger seat, cocked her head. He caressed the dog and then, they left the car and entered the property. Mike didn`t let her from the leash until they had reached the garage. Here, he let Hermione sit down.

»Thierry said you are the best tracker in the world! Well, if you don`t want me to consider him a liar, you better surpass yourself!«

He rummaged through his pocket and produced the pair of panties he had stolen from Isabelle`s laundry basket. Maybe, his fetish would now be good for something!

Hermione sniffed on the panties and seemed to get the scent. Mike knew from a friend of his father who was a dog trainer for the Sheffield Police how it worked in theory: he had to take something with the smell of what the dog should search and use it as a toy. Then, he had to pretend throwing the toy and the dog then would search for the scent and, perhaps, find the hidden item that smelled the same. The only problem was that he hadn`t the time to specialize Hermione on Isabelle`s fragrance.

»Now, Hermione, if you don`t want to see Uncle Mikey cry, you better do a good job!«

Again, he let the dog sniff on the panties; then, he went outside the garage and loosened the leash. When Hermione looked expectantly, he faked throwing the panties into the dark. Hermione ran a few yards and then, she stood with her head raised.

»Maybe, I overestimated her intelligence!«

Hermione suddenly disappeared between two cars. Mike cursed. If he lost the dog, he could add Thierry`s broken heart to the list of his failures. He saw a broom leaning in a corner and, taking it as a crutch, he limped into the direction Hermione had run.

»Woof! Woof!«

Mike knew enough about dogs to know that this was a bark of excitement and joy. He accelerated and hoped that he would not just see how Hermione was chasing a rabbit.

»Woof!«

In the dark, the rows of parked cars were like a maze, but finally, Mike found Hermione who was encircling an old BMW that looked as if it had seen its best days in the last century. Panting, he asked:

»I hope you are sure! Otherwise, we two will have a huge problem with each other!«

The dog barked and gladly took some of the goodies Mike gave him. Then, he took a deep breath. He had deliberately provoked the Chinese, even taken some beatings from him, to cause him blab some information. And indeed, he had hinted that Isabelle was hidden somewhere, still alive. And since the man hadn`t had much time, Mike was sure that she was hidden somewhere on the areal.

However, if he was wrong, if Hermione had just considered this a game, he knew he would have no second shot. He looked up to the dark sky and sent a prayer to God before he slowly opened the lid of the trunk.

»Belle?«

Inside the trunk, he saw something flesh-colored. He reached forward and felt plastic foil covering something warm and soft. The package didn`t move or make a sound.

»Have I come too late? Come on, you were supposed to grieve on my grave, not vice versa!«

Mike dropped the bag containing the water bottles (he had remembered Bao mentioning heat and thirst when he had asked Thierry about these) and heaved the cocoon from the trunk. Isabelle`s skin looked unhealthy red and when he carefully cut the saran wrap, he not only noticed the stench of sweat, but also that she was not only warm, but hot.

»Hot and wet, just as I like you the most, Belle!«

He saw that a black thong was pulled over her face and he ripped it away. He could only see the white in her open eyes and still, she hadn`t moved. He embedded her head on his lap and began unwinding the tape from her mouth. His other hand felt for her heart. His fingers cupped her ample breast and again, the hotness was unnatural. But there, he sensed a faint heartbeat! Also, he now could see that her chest was slightly heaving! A wave of relief ran through him.

»You just saved this Chinese cocksucker`s miserable life, Belle!«

He had removed the tape, revealing a scarf tied between the girl`s lips. He reached for the knot, only to find a zip tie securing the gag. He cut it and then, there was just the dense packing in her mouth. Hermione whimpered and Mike handed her the edge of the panties the dog pulled from Isabelle`s mouth. When Hermione began to shake her prey around, he saw it had actually been two pairs of panties.

She now breathed more easily, but still hadn`t moved. Mike took one of the bottles and poured some water over her face and chest. To distract him from looking at her not reacting to anything, he cut the tape and zip ties tying her wrists and legs. When he bent over her lap, he was almost overwhelmed by the strong fragrance coming from her pussy and even in the dark, he could see her clit and labia were unnaturally swollen.

»Chhh!«

It was a sound, almost inaudible, but it had come from her mouth. Mike bent over her and could see that now, he could see her eyes again, her eyelids slightly fluttering.

»Chhh!«

»Is that your new nickname for me or are you blaming me for being late?«

He took her head in both his hands and kissed her lips. Isabelle croaked and he carefully instilled her some water she greedily drank. Then, she tried to raise her head. Mike helped her and she looked at him.

»You – you came!«

»Of course, Jolie Belle!«, Mike whispered and blinked. Obviously, he had gotten some dust in his eyes. Isabelle suddenly groaned and her body stiffened.

»What the-«

The girl squeezed her eyes and weakly wriggled her hips and again, the strong fragrance from between her legs reached his nose.

»Well, I am no gynecologist, but I can have a look!«

He put his hand at her pubic mound. Isabelle whimpered and as he felt between her legs, Mike frowned. The skin was feeling hot, but dry, as if she had fever down there, and as he brushed over her labia, they didn`t feel just swollen, but somehow – cramped.

»LD«, the girl croaked and Mike cuddled against her, placing one hand on the back of her head so he could kiss her whilst his other hand still carefully caressed her middle.

»Forget about LD, now you have a real Royal Marine!«

He continued to cover her face with kisses and whispered nice things into her ear, all the while tenderly massaging her. Isabelle occasionally sighed, but then, she suddenly kissed him back. At the same time, he could feel that she was relaxing in the most beautiful way. She reared up her womb against this hand and then, he felt moisture and his fingers slid inside her.

Isabelle arched back her head and let out a deep groan. The mixture of the double-dosed aphrodisiac and her inability to soothe her growing arousal, combined with her fear, had caused a cramp in her vagina, but now, things were getting better – no, more than that! The relief of the ceasing pain mixed with the blissful tingle and the love for the man by her side and Isabelle did nothing to hold it back. She was too weakened to ride the wave of passion, but she felt like a Champaign bottle that had been shaken and now was opened. Her orgasm wasn`t earth-shaking, but it brought her sweet, sweet relief!

»Th-thank you!«, she breathed. Mike kissed the exhausted girl`s lips. She had fainted again, but this time, her lips showed a slight smile and her chest was heaving steadily. Mike held her in his arms and looked at Hermione who was lying on the ground a few yards away, chewing on a stick.

»The best tracker in the world!«

The dog looked up shortly and then concentrated on her stick again. Mike took out the cell phone and made a phone call to Bishop.

***

Two hours later, Mike turned into the street where Lioba lived. He had brought Hermione back to Thierry who now most likely thought that he was a criminal lunatic. However, the boy had gotten his dog back and now was 10.000 Euro richer and in addition even had a story to tell.

»And he doesn`t even know the exciting parts!«

He looked at the passenger seat where Isabelle sat, cuddled against him as much as the safety belt allowed. She was wearing the T-Shirt he had gotten from Thierry and the panties he had used to get Hermione on her track. Mike had carried her to the car, staggering from one parked car to the next, and since then, she had spent most of the time sleeping. At least, she hadn`t noticed yet that occasional faint noises were coming from inside the suitcase on the backseat.

»This sure is another point where her and my sense of justice differ!«

In the street, the burned out wreck of the Porsche was still there. Bao was gone, but now, with all captives freed, Mike no longer cared whether he was in hospital or jail. Even if he escaped, he had lost everything he had come for – including the data and the samples of LD. He could only try to leave the country unseen.

»Now, what is it, Belle? Do you feel strong enough to face your hardest rival?«

»R-rot in – in h-hell!«, Isabelle breathed and he kissed her. She needed his assistance to walk the few yards to the elevator, but somehow, Mike would have felt bad by carrying Isabelle over the doorstep of Lioba`s apartment.

At her door, he was surprised by a gun pointing at him. However, when he recognized Luana, he praised her for being so cautious. She was wearing one of Lioba`s short dresses that looked midi on her. In the living room, Mike grinned mockingly.

»Miss Thorne!«

Amy glanced at him and sent a fuming grunt through her gag. Obviously, her three former captives had been thirsty for revenge: the naked blonde was lying on her back – or rather would have been lying had it just been for the hogtie. However, she was sporting a tight crotch rope that was fixed to the ceiling hook so she had to rest only on her lower arms and legs and had to thrust up her pelvis to not get bisected in two. The lower part of her head was wrapped with tape and as a crowning touch, a pair of panties had been pulled over her head. Mike recognized them as one of Isabelle`s and guessed that she was chewing on at least one more. Isabelle gasped; Mike had briefed her about what to expect, but he wasn`t sure how much she had actually understood in her weakened state.

»Belle, before you lecture me about how to treat prisoners – without her, I would have saved you at least 30 minutes earlier!«

Lioba, dressed in her silk bathrobe, approached and hugged him. Then, after shortly hesitating, she also hugged Isabelle. Then, she pointed at her rival.

»Get well soon – for fingernails to the death it will be then!«

»D-deal!«, the girl replied. She managed to smile wryly and grab Lioba`s hand before she had to sit down on the armchair. Sophia, also wearing one of Lioba`s dresses, appeared from the bedroom and Lioba explained:

»We put Ingrid on my bed. After she almost drowned, we wanted to spare her having to remain in the bathtub. We are not as monstrous as her!«

»Almost not!«, Mike thought who had seen the feather Sophia had been hiding behind her back. Obviously, she had still felt a bit vengeful towards the blonde.

Mike let himself fall on a chair and let out a sigh. Then, he fumbled the car key from his pocket and said towards Luana:

»There is still the suitcase! Could you get it up here whilst I am having a drink, served by one of the most beautiful gingers in the room!«

»How hard has this Chinese hit you? Your compliments are getting worse and worse!«, Lioba commented, but handed him a bottle of Slivovitz. He uncorked it and took a long gulp. Then, he handed the bottle to Lioba who also drank. Then, she held the liquor to Isabelle.

»I am not sure if I can already hold it!«, the girl replied. Lioba sat down on the armchair`s armrest and held the bottle to her lips.

»Come on, girl, have some! After all, you are much nicer when you are drunk!«

Isabelle, who had just swallowed some of the Slivovitz, coughed.

»You don`t know me drunk!«

»Maybe – but I know you when you are sober and that can only be improved!«

»How dare you, Carpathian Bitch?«, Isabelle pouted. Then, her lips trembled and she burst out laughing. Lioba dropped a curtsey and then raised the bottle.

»To you, Stubby Legs!«

Mike took the bottle from her hand.

»Maybe, the two of you are more bearable when I am drunk!«, he mumbled and took another sip. The two redheads now seemed to laugh at him. At that moment, Luana and Sophia returned with the pink suitcase. Mike placed the bottle on the floor and told the two to open the lid. Cassandra raised her head and upper body and stared at him. She looked sweaty and disheveled from her involuntary trip, but managed to sit straight. Isabelle looked at the black girl that was bound and gagged and only sported a garter belt and silk stockings, if one didn`t count the thong over her head. Her breasts were thrust out since Amy had tied her elbows, too, and her pubic mound was bisected by a white rope.

»Belle, this is Cassandra Parker aka The Forbidden Fruit aka Traitor Girl!«

Isabelle just slowly shook her head and Cassandra let her eyes wander from Mike to the trussed up Amy and back again. Mike sat up and focused her.

»You may be interested that I had a phone call with Mr. Bishop. He will be here in a few hours. At first, he sounded a bit upset about you, but then, we had a talk and he became – more forbearing.«

Cassandra`s chest heaved as Mike made his dramatic pause. For a few seconds, he enjoyed her mix of fear and impatience and then, he continued:

»You will get a trial for high treason, but as you know, even we do no longer hang people for such things. On the contrary, I am quite sure that after a few month, the accusation will be dropped and you may leave the country.«

Now, not only Cassandra, but also Amy stared at him in disbelief and Mike took his time to take another sip from the Slivovitz before he continued:

»To be precisely, your pretrial detention will last exactly as long until we have exchanged the agents you could leak and your information has become worthless. If you no longer have anything interesting to tell, you are no longer a traitor girl and may be set free!«

Again, Cassandra´s chest heaved. Naked, bound and gagged, she seemed to have difficulties in appreciating she was spared liquidation or livelong imprisonment. Mike turned towards Amy.

»I also talked about you with Bishop. He is not your greatest fan right now, but he was open to my suggestion to offer you two alternatives – his and mine. Are you interested, Amy?«

Now, Amy was panting, rather with rage than fear. Mike just waited until she nodded slightly. He rose from the chair and approached the trussed up blonde.

»Bishop would send you behind bars for some years. He would not survive this trial unharmed, but I think it would be 5 to 8 years for you. Unless you decide for my idea which will get you out in 5 to 8 minutes!«

Again, he waited and the others who partially had suffered from Amy, too, watched curiously, too. Amy, who knew that Mike had something mean in mind, fought some inner demons before she nodded again. With a smile, Mike drew his knife and cut the rope that held her crotch rope to the ceiling. Quite unceremoniously, Amy landed on her butt. Mike turned her onto her belly and cut her ankle ties, but then connected the dangling crotch rope to her bound wrists. Then, he watched as Amy, aching and staggering, came to her feet. Mike put away the knife and opened the door.

»You are free to go, Amy!«

The blonde stared at him in disbelief. She was stark naked and still tied and gagged! Mike grinned:

»It`s warm outside and your hotel isn`t that far away. However, I am sure that the women you mistreated so badly will provide you with clothes – if you accept to be spanked in exchange!«

Sophia and Luana nodded in unison, the latter waving her hand as if to get it warm for slapping Amy`s buttocks. Lioba smiled maliciously.

»I am sure I have some nice leather belts in my drawer!«

Amy stared at them, panting through her nose. Then, she slowly staggered out of the door, her cheeks aflame. Mike closed the door behind her and let out his breath. Then, he looked at the remaining girls and sat down again.

»Now, for one last thing. Come closer, Ladies!«

All four gathered around him and he explained him his latest idea.

***

Some time later, both Luana and Sophia entered the Audi. They would spend the night at the latter`s flat, since Sophia had a hidden reserve key allowing her to get in. Since she was still missing her glasses, Luana would be driving, but right now, she just sat there and looked at her friend.

»So, this is finally over!«

Sophia blinked and cleared her throat before she replied:

»You mean, everything will be like before the whole affair started?«

Luana let out a fluttering breath and Sophia took her hand. When she spoke, her voice sounded hoarse, but steady:

»Or, we could follow a different approach. We will go to my apartment, have a long, hot shower and some sleep. If by tomorrow, we still want to get back to our old lives, so be it!«

Her thumb caressed the back of Luana`s hand and the Taiwanese smiled.

»The scientist in me appreciates your reasonable approach, based on empiric studies – and the woman in me says ›get me into that fucking shower right now‹!«

***

The trial was a surprise to Lan, as was the whole pretrial detention. The conditions were almost comfortable, compared to a Chinese prison, and to her great surprise, the judge seemed to focus on Ingrid and Bao (Kang and Feng had managed to escape justice) whilst she was treated as the voice of reason who had prevented worse. Even Luana and Sophia left out considerable parts of what Lan had done in their testimonies and her lawyer seemed almost too good for a public defender. It was as if someone with considerable influence was behind all this.

It was on the second day of the trial when the man spilled the beans:

»I think I can reduce your sentence to some two years. However, you won`t have to spend a single night in prison if you sign this document!«

It was from the French Government; obviously, they were very interested in all the inside information Lan could give them about the Chinese Military and Intelligence. In exchange, she would be put into a witness protection program.

»You would have to hide for a few months, but then, you could start a new life as a French citizen, with a new name and identity!«

Lan hesitated. It would be a betrayal of her country and the only person for whom she had considered such a step, Sistine, had been absent since her arrest and even not appeared at the court in person. The lawyer suddenly smiled enigmatically.

»You must not decide this immediately. I will now leave you alone with the Police Officer who would take care of you as long as you`d need protection and help in getting accustomed to living in France – if you decide to sign, of course.«

He left and instead, a woman entered. Her uniform looked a bit too tight on her buxom body and she was unable to hide her smile. Lan`s jaw dropped at the sight.

»Now, if you have finished staring at me, will you start by signing the document or by congratulating me to my promotion to be the liaison Officer of your witness protection program?«, Sistine asked and slowly approached Lan.

The End