How Heroes are created 16

Isabelle had not listened to Harun talking to the men; she had been staring at Mike, lying on the gravel on his back.

»He can`t be dead! He just can`t be!«

After all, she had once witnessed Mike getting shot and at that occasion, his bulletproof vest had taken the blow. Later, he had saved the day – and her. However, did history repeat itself?

Then, the light had gone out and this had obviously taken some of the criminals by surprise. There was shouting, the sound of people running around and then, a few shots were fired. Isabelle heard a scream and then, the sound of someone landing in the water with a splash. The boat was shaking as Harun and his henchmen were trying to figure out what was happening and there was shouting in Arabic, Somali and English.

Then, after perhaps one minute, the neon light suddenly flickered and came to life again. At the shore, one of the Somali was keeping his hand pressed on his upper arm; obviously, one of the shots had hit him. On the other boat, Slim had fallen into the water and was just being pulled aboard again.

»Mhp! Uuhhmm!«

It was Samantha who was staring at the shore and now, Isabelle, who had been pushed aside by one of the men and now had difficulties in getting into a position allowing her to see something, squirmed and pushed herself closer to the doll board, ignoring the pain this caused between her legs.

Mike had disappeared, leaving only his jacket and shoes behind. Isabelle whimpered with relief, though a small. Mean voice deep inside her mentioned the idea that Mike had chosen the opportunity to climb up the ladder and leave the battleground.

»No! He wouldn`t do so!«

Now, the criminals had also noticed his absence and whilst those in the boats were examining the surface of the water, Harun ordered Chalid to get the man`s jacket. Chalid approached carefully. After all, he had witnessed that Mike had only recently used a grenade.

And indeed, beside the jacket, a small can was placed. It was bright red and looked like a simple plastic can one could get at a 99Cent store.

»So, what is it?«, Harun asked. Chalid bent over the can as if he expected it to explode any second. Then, taking all his courage together, he grabbed it. It was light – too light to contain something explosive. When he moved the can, he could hear a faint rustle.

»There is something in it! Like a piece of paper!«

»Well – open it!«

Chalid obeyed whilst the men closer to him either took cover or tightened the grip on their guns. However, the can only contained a piece of paper. Chalid unfolded it and read:

»Y-Yippee Ki Yay, M-Motherfucker!«

This caused the Captain to once mor burst out laughing. Some of his men fell in and he pointed at Harun.

»Obviously, this is for you!«

Isabelle could see how Harun balled his fist in anger, but he managed to shout back:

»It`s to all of us if we don`t get out of here soon! How about you stop laughing and send someone up this ladder!«

However, the Captain reminded him that Mike had mentioned that his comrade was waiting at the manhole and would gun down the first to try that. The Captain simply refused to risk the life of some of his men and instead proposed that they should just wait for the next flood.

»Once the water is high enough, we can pass the gate! The engines should be able to cope with the water pressure!«

This caused another debate. Of course, this was a simple plan, but it held the risk that the French Police would show up before the tide had risen. Harun leaned over the doll board to see how high the water was on the other side of the gate and the boat shook severely.

The water was now some two feet lower on the seaside and Harun guessed that now, the tide had reached its lowest point and that they would have to wait for a few hours. That was straining his patience and so, he ordered:

»We must get through this gap! Now!«

He quickly explained his new plan: they should try to simply push the boats through the gap. Since these weren`t that heavy, he was sure that they could make it – if they unloaded them first.

The idea was better than nothing and so, the men at the shore quickly forced Aida to leave the boat and tied her ankles, putting her into a hogtie. They also left the two wounded Somalis at the shore and then approached the gate.

Isabelle exchanged a look with Samantha who also seemed highly nervous. Where was Mike? And who would win this race against time?

It didn`t take long to get the new boat directly in line with the gate whilst the other two were to its left and right. The men left the boat in the middle and went into the other two. All boats had ropes framing their railing and so, they could easily be carried. However, the men on the two other boats hadn`t a stable position and though none of them could be called a weakling, they finally figured out that they could only get it done without the heaviest part, the outboard motor.

Cursing, two of the Somalis jumped into the empty boat and loosened the screws of the motor. Then, they carefully lifted it and were about to hand it to their comrades when a strange sound could be heard. It was like a loud fart and a moment later, one of the air chambers of the boat collapsed.

»Fuck!«

The two men who were carrying the heavy engine staggered and when the boat, depraved of half its buoyancy, severely heeled, they lost balance and with a splash, both men landed in the water and the motor sank to the ground.

»You inbred bastards, you cut the skin with the propeller!«, a severely enraged Harun shouted down at the two men swimming beside the destroyed boat. He even aimed at them with his gun, but now, the Captain grabbed his arm.

»These are my men! If someone punishes them, it`s me!«

As they kept on shouting, Isabelle suddenly felt something touch her shoulder. She twitched and looked around, but there was nothing. All the men on her boat were either involved in the quarrel or watching it. However, it had been the touch of a hand, just for the fraction of a second.

»Mmhhmph?«

She tried to arch her head and to look over the doll board, but could only see the dark grey waves.

»Has this been Mike? Is he still here, in the water?«

The Captain now saw no longer a point in simply shouting at Harun and took command. In the other boat were now seven of his men, plus Slim and Pete. Also, there was the rolled carpet that contained Laila and Cordelia.

»Get this boat empty and then get it through the gap! Then, get to the ship! They shall send another boat and pick us up!«

Harun was upset about the Captain ignoring him, but he had to admit that this made sense. Though there was only a rump crew of four men left on the ship, there were more boats and then, they could finally leave.

Now, another problem appeared: The boat on which Harun was standing was now quite crowded with eight men plus Isabelle and Samantha, and the two unlucky Somalis who had fallen into the water were hanging on the ropes on the doll board.

»We can`t take the engine!«, the Captain decided, »but there are a few paddles! You will have to row, it`s just a few hundred yards to the ship!«

This was a reasonable order and so, two of the Somalis quickly unscrewed the engine and let it sink into the water. However, before they could now temporarily get overboard and manoeuvre the boat over the obstacle, there was yet another ballast in the boat.

»What about that, Captain?«

One of the men pointed at the rolled carpet. From the faint mewing coming from inside and from having peeked inside it, they knew that it contained two bound and gagged women. Instinctively, Slim and Pete positioned themselves in front of the bundle.

»We must get them to the shore! We can pick them up later!«

Then, suddenly, there was shouting from the manhole.

»Police! Give up!«

Another voice, this time female, shouted similar orders and there was the sound of people running. Then, a short volley was fired through the manhole, causing the gravel to fly around.

»Fuck!«

Two of the Somali now approached the carpet roll and when Pete stepped against them, one of them slammed the butt of his rifle into his stomach. Slim raised his gun, but was pushed from behind by a third man and landed in the water.

»Quick! Move it!«

The men now took the carpet roll and despite the frantic mewing coming from inside, they rolled it over the railing.

***

After he had switched the generator back on, David had seen no point in further waiting beside it and had returned to the pump station where a frightened Manu had been waiting for him. She had been taken by surprise by the sudden electric blackout, but now, she also wanted to know what to do.

»We must see if Mike needs help!«

So, they had sneaked down to the lowest corridor, only to see that the staircase had been destroyed, obviously by the explosion they had heard before. Through the manhole, they heard shouting and carefully, they peeked into the cave.

They could only see parts of it. There were two black men sitting on the gravel; the one David had knocked out earlier who now had a bandage around his head and beside him another one with a makeshift bandage around his arm. Also, they saw a woman, tied in a hogtie and lying on her side. She was naked and had her face covered with a pair of panties whilst her mouth was wrapped with tape. Manu breathed:

»That`s Aida!«

David knew that Aida was one of the baddies and he frowned, but Manu continued:

»Believe me, it must be her! Samantha and Isabelle are redheads, Cordelia`s taller and Laila – well, she`s better endowed!«

»I could see by myself this isn`t Cordelia – but where is she? And where is Mike?«

However, from their ankle, they couldn`t see more and only heard that the men had obviously manned the boats and were quarrelling about something. David whispered:

»We must distract them somehow! If Mike is still down there, he might be glad about some help!«

»As long as you don`t insist on grabbing my ankles and lower me down, so they get once more distracted by my boobs!«

Quickly, they had decided to make as much noise as possible and to pretend to be at least a dozen Policemen. David just hoped that the criminals would not realize that they all sounded the same and that the male part had a Scottish accent.

***

The shot had come unexpected, but Mike had worn his bulletproof vest as usual and so, he had only another hurting rib and some bruises from landing on the gravel. He had hoped that no one would check if he really was dead before the lights would go out and this time, luck had been on his side.

The message in the can, he had prepared earlier and so, it took him just ten seconds to get rid of his jacket and shoes. Then, he had slid into the water, approaching the boats near the gap where he could see their silhouettes, as some light came in from outside.

He had dived when the light had gone on again and then, he had hid so close to the boat that the rounded board hid him from sight. He had a short plastic tube, allowing him to only have his eyes and ears above water whilst he still could breathe.

He had then overheard the plan of getting the boats through the gap and had reached for the knife he had strapped to his ankle. It was a short knife, but more than enough to pierce the inflatable boat. The attack had worked out excellent and Mike had even dared to shortly reach up for Isabelle before hiding again.

First, when he then had heard the distraction caused by David and Manu, he had considered it perfect timing, but then, the men had rolled the carpet overboard and a high-pitched mew had been cut short by a splash.

»Fuck!«

Mike dived under the boat, avoiding the bodies of the men already swimming there. The water was quite brackish, but at least, it was quite shallow and so, the carpet had just sunk some two yards. Now, Mike could see bubbles coming from both sides and it slightly moved from the frantic struggles of the two girls.

He reached for the belt that held the roll together and cut it open. The carpet opened and Mike now saw that the two naked women that were desperately fighting their bonds were somehow tied together, face to crotch. He felt that there wasn`t much time, neither for them nor for him, until they would run out of oxygen.

»At least, they can`t claw into my arms whilst struggling!«

He reached between Laila`s crotch and Cordelia`s face and felt the belt threaded through the Arab`s crotch rope. He didn`t dare to cut that and so, he unbuckled it and gave it a hard pull. He knew that this would tighten the crotch rope, but now, Cordelia`s head came free. She squirmed and bucked, but Mike could now reach for Laila`s nape and remove that belt, too.

Cordelia had panicked when suddenly, the carpet had been rolled and then, there had been water and the carpet had sunk. Laila had also struggled and both had completely been unable to do anything than pull on their bonds frantically.

In front of her inner eye, Cordelia saw David and she wished that she could have seen him one more time. Now, she would die, drown whilst being gagged with another woman`s underwear, tied with her lips touching Laila`s crotch. It was strange, but Cordelia felt embarrassed, in addition to her panic.

There!

The carpet suddenly opened and then, she suddenly could move more freely. Her head was no longer pressed against Laila`s pubic area! Cordelia squirmed and suddenly, he head pushed through the surface. It was just for mere seconds, but it allowed her to get a bit of air into her lungs and this somehow put the switch in her head back to rational.

Cordelia was a good swimmer and now, though she was still bound and even hogtied, she managed to use her body`s buoyancy and her strength and agility to keep her head above water.

Beside her, the head of Laila suddenly popped up and she then felt a grip on her arm. Then, there was suddenly a third head.

»Allow me!«

Mike now chose a slightly rough method of transporting the two girls: he grabbed their scalps and, by getting his body under theirs, he managed to keep their heads above water and could also hide himself.

Not that anyone really took notice of him. The two men at the shore had grabbed their guns and withdrawn to a corner, staring up to the manhole where David and Manu still were shouting and trampling. At the gate, there was a commotion of several men swimming around one of the boats and trying to get it through the gap whilst on the other boat, some eight men stood gathered.

Mike now felt the ground under his feet. He let Cordelia go and cut her hogtie. Then, he once again grabbed her arm until she could stand, too.

»You better stay here, and if there is shooting, you get below water!«

»Mhmm!«

Cordelia nodded. Her legs still felt wobbly from having almost died and she was scared to death, but at least, she now had a chance of seeing another day.

Laila had lost her consciousness and Mike had to improvise. He cut her hogtie, too. Then, he blew some air into her nose. To see if she was still alive, he then pulled on her crotch rope. The girl twitched and he repeated the procedure. Now, Laila opened her eyes and some water ran out of her nose. She then breathed and when Mike pulled on her crotch rope a third time, she twitched and squirmed and screamed through her gag.

»There!«

Just as Mike had managed to get Laila in a position allowing her to stand in the water, someone pointed at them from the boat. It was Pearce.

Mike quickly got away from the two girls, keeping his head under water. When he had to breathe again, he had brought enough distance between himself and the two damsels that if they shot him now, they would not hit Cordelia or Laila.

However, now, there were still half a dozen guns waiting for him.

***

When the Somalis had thrown Cordelia and Laila overboard, Pearce had bent down to Isabelle.

»Don`t worry, Sweetie, you are staying with me!«

Whilst the others had either tried to help the swimming men to get the boat over the obstacle or were anxiously watching the shore, Pearce had sat beside Isabelle and his left hand had once again wandered between her legs. He had massaged her bisected pussy as if it was a stress ball whilst he had let his eyes wander over the water.

Though the waves of pain made her whimper, Isabelle had also watched as suddenly, Cordelia`s and then Laila`s heads popped up and then, the two somehow manged to stay above water and even slowly got closer to the shore. She had bitten down on her gag as she then spotted Mike, but unfortunately, Pearce had also seen him.

»I must do something!«

However, Isabelle was tied and so stringently hogtied that her back was forced into a hideous bow. Her crotch rope was torturing her and she could not even scream to distract the men.

Then, she realized she had one tiny chance to help Mike.

Isabelle arched her strained shoulders and squirmed a little. Pearce still had his hand between her legs and now, she felt that his little finger had slipped under her crotch rope.

»Hhrrrrrmmmm!«

Isabelle thrust out her pelvis. The crotch rope tightened even more and she saw bright sparks dance in front of her eyes from sheer pain, but she was not the only one that got hurt. Pearce screamed as his finger was squeezed and he instinctively yanked his hand free. On the crowded boat, he hit Ali who stood beside him and the staggering man landed in the water. Whilst falling, he pushed Jemal against the Captain, who, angrily, slammed his fist into his face. Chalid wanted to go against the Captain, but this got him sent overboard, too, by one of the Somalis. Now, only Harun, the Captain, two of his men and the last pilot were trying to balance on the boat. Pearce had dropped his gun and was massaging his finger.

Suddenly, someone came down the rope ladder. It was a tall man in a ragged T-Shirt and he held a submachine gun.

»Freeze!«, he shouted.

Once David had seen the head of Cordelia appear in the water, gagged, but definitely alive, nothing could hold him back. He knew that the magazine was empty, but he just could no longer just shout from the sideline.

»Don`t even think about it!«

It was Mike who had drawn his revolver and pointed it at the two Somalis at the shore who were aiming at David. Now, it was kind of a Mexican Standoff: David aimed at the men in the boat whilst the two Somalis were ready to shoot at him, but were threatened by Mike.

Cordelia couldn`t take her eyes from David that looked so different from the polite and shy scholar she was used to date. He had hooked one leg into the rope ladder and held the submachine gun as if he had never done anything else. She knew she had to remain silent, for if she distracted him now, she could risk his life. And yet, the sight of him, in his ragged shirt and with the determined expression in his eyes, let a warm tingle stray through her body.

»All right, now, we have to put some weight into our side of the scale!«, Mike thought. He wasn`t really worried about the two men he aimed at. These were more boys than men, people who had not become pirates for fun and adventure, but to help their families to survive. In addition, both were wounded.

However, on the boat, there were still five men. He hadn`t seen what had happened, but somehow, there was now only Harun and one of the white guys standing with guns in their hands. Pearce was kneeling and examining his left hand. Of course, there was also the Captain and his two men, but Mike had the feeling that perhaps, he would be open for negotiations.

He could only observe the boat with one eye and therefore, he could not try to communicate with Isabelle of whom he could once more just see a bit of her body whilst he had a good view on Samantha. Then, he saw that Pearce suddenly was raising from the ground and bending over Isabelle.

»Bitch!«, the politician spat, showing the redhead the abrasion on his finger her stunt had caused. It was a minor wound, but it hurt terribly. In a fit of rage, he raised his hand to slap her, when suddenly, the whole boat was illuminated by a greenish light. There was a swishing sound and then, the light had gone.

»What the-«

***

Once he had told Mike about the turbulences in the water, Tintin had crouched behind one of the rocks and tried to have an eye on the entrance to the cave, the ship that was some 300 yards in his back and the stairs leading down from the hill to the bay. He now could see an illuminated gap under the rocks. It was impossible to make out details, but there were people and he could hear indistinct shouting.

»Manu!«, he thought when suddenly, the light inside the cave went out and then, he could hear some shots. He reached for the phone in his pocket. Now, it would be time to call the air cavalry.

His hand felt something else Mike had given to him. It was a small can the size of a pepper box and on one end, it had a circle of six coloured points. On the other hand, it had a short rope handle and it resembled the cylinder of a revolver – in more than one condition.

»If it comes to the worst, you must draw attention to the ship – somehow!«, Mike had told Tintin and handed him the device. It was a signal gun – or rather, not a real gun, but it could be used to shoot up to six fire balls. Usually, these devices were used during shipwrecks.

»Okay, but what shall I do? Attract the attention of those on the ship, too?«

Then, he saw something else at the cave in front of him. Something was slowly pushing through the narrow gap – the bow of an inflatable boat. Without thinking, Tintin aimed at it and pulled the handle.

The signal gun wasn`t meant for shooting at targets and so, the green fire ball only flew somewhere near the gap, more than five yards away from the boat, though Tintin was just some 20 yards away. But he caused some irritation and when the next signal followed, he could see the face of someone pointing at him.

»For Manu!«, Tintin shouted and fired the third ball. Then, seeing the gun in one of the men`s hand, he jumped. The rock hit his ankle, but then, he landed in the water. There was a shot, but then, the men on the boat ducked as the last fire ball almost landed on the boat.

Mike had instinctively jumped forward as the surreal illumination had caused distraction and so, he was able to reach the two Somalis before they even realized he was there. He kicked the rifle to the ground and pistol whipped the other. None of them got really injured, but since they were wounded already, he now had disarmed them and as they had to look into his revolver now, they froze in their movements.

A shot was fired. It was Harun who had aimed at him, but hit the guy with the wounded arm. The boy cried and suddenly, the Captain slammed his fist in Harun`s side. He was a bulky man and so, he could send the Prince into the water. Pearce approached him, but followed Harun only seconds later. The Captain shouted a name and Mike understood: the boy Harun had shot was his son.

»Let`s help him!«, Mike shouted at the other man. He was the one with the concussion and he stared at Mike with widened eyes, but offered no resistance as he now bent over the bleeding man. After a few seconds, he shouted towards the Captain:

»It`s not too serious! I think he will make it! But now, we can perhaps talk like civilized people!«

The Captain stared at him. Then, he nodded and gave an order and moments later, the boat approached the shore.

***

Isabelle could not believe that everything was about to be over. She had been expecting the slap from Pearce when there had suddenly been bright lights and the boat had swayed like mad. Then, there had only been the Captain and his two men left on the boat and she had heard Mike`s voice.

The Captain barked a few orders in Somali and once they were close to the shore, he jumped overboard and ran for his son. The two pirates quite unceremoniously dumped Isabelle and Samantha to the ground and then steered towards the bunch of swimmers again: the Captain had given order that they should take Harun, his henchmen and the pilots prisoners and also make sure that the other Somalis cleared the second boat.

David had jumped from the ladder when someone else climbed down rapidly. To Isabelle`s surprise, a busty blonde, dressed only in a pair of white panties, threw herself on Samantha.

»Is there someone who needs a nurse?«

David had meanwhile stepped into the water. The gun, he had dropped, and he approached Cordelia. She still stood with the water reaching to her neck and she suddenly once more thought that now, he would see her naked for the first time.

He cradled her in his arms and though this caused her crotch rope to tighten, Cordelia sighed with relief and leaned her forehead against his chest as he carried her to the shore. He then bent over her. With a frown, he plucked a dark brown hair from her lip, but then, he began to unwind the bandage between her lips.

»M-my he-hero!«, she croaked when he had pulled the two pairs of sodden panties from her mouth. Her lips were parched and she was still tied and crotch roped and yet, she wouldn`t have changed the kiss that followed for anything else.

Laila had watched the scene with a mixture of relief and envy. Where was her knight in shiny armour? Then, she suddenly saw someone approach her from the water. It was a blonde man and he was swimming towards her. She had no idea who he was, but when Tintin also cradled her and carried her out of the water, Laila decided that such details didn`t matter now.

»Last, but not least, eh?«

Mike sank to the ground beside Isabelle and looked at her tight bondage.

»Just imagine I said something remarkable, Belle!«

He pulled her closer and then, he carefully cut the agonizing crotch rope. Isabelle whimpered when it came off, but then, when she felt Mike´s hand instead, she bit down on her gag. She knew that soon, the pain would cease.

With one hand, Mike pulled the pantyhose and then the pair of panties from her head and then, he worked on her gag. Isabelle drooled all over her chin when the panties came off and Mike whispered:

»I can`t wait, too!«

The kiss, however, was interrupted when the Captain patted Mike`s shoulder.

»You said something about negotiations, man?«

***

It had turned out that the wound of the Captain`s son was not too bad and so, in his relief, he was quite open for what Mike had to say. In fact, in the end, he shook Mike´s hand, slammed his prank on his shoulder and even offered him one of his cigars.

Half an hour later, the flood gate had been lowered a bit and two boats left the cave. The first one was the one that still had the engine. It was crowded by the Captain, his men and Aida, who, still trussed up, crotch roped and gagged, sat between two men who were very interested in groping her boobs.

»It was part of the deal«, Mike said towards his friends. They were all sitting in the second boat that was considerably slower for they only had the paddles. After all, they only had to get to the next bay where Mike and David would fetch the cars.

»We agreed that they will frighten her a bit, but not go too far. They will fondle her a bit, maybe also spank her, but nothing more. Tomorrow, thew will put her in a boat, naked as she is, and set her on land. She will lose some of her dignity, but she will be better off than those!«

He pointed back to the shore where Harun, Pearce and their henchmen were sitting in a row, all tied hand and foot. Mike had decided that the French Police could take care of them.

»Perhaps, they will find out the full extent of Harun`s plan! Though I am quite sure I know it more or less. Obviously, Harun wanted to use the Harriers for attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, so his Government would have thought they were attacked by some neighbouring country. And then, he would have tried to cause a war – a war in which Saudi Arabia would gain dominance over the Arabian Peninsula. And then, who knows where this would have stopped! After all, Harun`s quite prominent in the line of succession and the actual king is an old man.«

Laila nodded. Her own investigations had gone in the same direction. She was dressed in Tintin`s wet T-Shirt and one of Aida`s panties, but didn`t seem to mind her clearly visible aureoles. She frowned and looked at Mike.

»Okay, the French will arrest Harun and Pearce – but what will happen to the Somalis? I mean, they still have the fighter jets!«

Mike nodded and then, he grinned:

»They will go to Somalia, together with the Harriers. Maybe, they will just sell them, together with the ship, and live from the money, but if they do what I proposed, they will pretend that they still have them. Actually, it was your father who gave me the idea!«

Laila`s eyes widened and she cuddled closer to Tintin. Since he had freed her, he had become her protector and so far, none of them seemed to find this arrangement unpleasant.

»My father?«

»Yeah, Admiral Steele. When he asked me if I could look after you, he told me that he had done some research and pretended that I had only been good in sports and languages. However, my favourite subject was history and I had to think of an episode of WW2.«

»Mike, you are doing it again!«, Isabelle complained. She was covered by a part of the tarpaulin and sat close to him, cuddled against his side whilst he was rowing the boat. Mike kissed her and added:

»During the war, the German battleship ›Tirpitz‹ was stationed in a Norwegian fjord. She hardly saw any action, but her sheer presence caused the British to have parts of the fleet ready, just in case she might do something. The concept is called ›fleet-in-being‹!«

Laila was a journalist and so, she understood:

»I see! The Saudis will hear that Harun and Pearce got arrested – and that the Harriers have mysteriously disappeared. So, the Saudi Government will still fear that somewhere out there, some fighter jets are in the hands of terrorists.«

Mike nodded. The assumed threat would force Saudi Arabia to use parts of their logistics to cope with it. And so, they would be less eager to threaten the weaker countries around them. It was a small pain in their ass, but at least, it would perhaps help to keep them under control.

»I called Bishop and he will make a deal with the Government of Somaliland – unofficially, of course. As long as they keep the Harriers well stowed and don`t use them, they will get some money from our Government. Perhaps, they will use it to make Somaliland a bit more save and stable. BTW, that would make up an excellent story for ›Changing World‹!«

Laila smiled.

»I will consider it!«

She leaned against Tintin and added:

»After I have had a few days off!«

***

They reached an adjacent bay that could be reached by ca and so, Mike and David fetched the cars whilst Tintin waited with the girls of whom Laila in her borrowed panties and the wet T-Shirt was the most dressed. They managed to reach Tintin`s house and Mike left with Isabelle whilst the others occupied the different rooms.

At Manu`s room, she and Samantha stood opposite to each other. So far, they had only exchanged a kiss once Manu had ungagged Samantha, but since they had shared the same blanket during the trip, they had been able to feel each other quite a lot. Now, Manu, who still only sported Isabelle`s panties, looked at Samantha who was in the nude. Manu stammered:

»Wh-When Isabelle a-a-and I were – t-tied together, th-they – they made me b-believe she was y-you!«

Samantha nodded. With a hoarse voice, she breathed:

»I am hurt!«

She took Manu`s hands and added:

»Hurt that you couldn`t distinguish Isabelle and me – but I think that was just because you didn`t know me well enough. But I am also hurt by what these thugs did to me!«

She placed Manu`s hands on her breasts. Her nipples indeed still tingled a bit from the clamps, but now, this was washed away by a much stronger, more blissful feeling. Manu kneaded her boobs and then, she whispered:

»They were really mean to you! I mean, they also placed clamps here!«

She went to her knees and placed kisses on Samantha`s labia. The redhead caressed Manu`s hair and then, the blonde groped Samantha`s butt.

»Let`s not forget the hook in your rear – right between your lovely cheeks!«

She clawed her fingers into Samantha`s buttocks and the redhead thrust her pelvis forward. Manu let her go and looked up to her.

»You want me to go easy on you?«

»Maybe – after you have shown me your rough side!«

***

Beside them, David was lying on Tintin`s bed as Cordelia returned from the bathroom. She was wearing one of Manu`s bathrobes and had obviously used the opportunity to shower and do her hair. When she approached, David noticed that she had also borrowed some of Manu`s perfume. He sat up and she took his hand.

»I really discovered a completely new side of you today – Dave the Brave!«

»So, that silly nickname got established now?«, David complained though his grin showed that he didn`t really bother. Cordelia smiled and arched her shoulders a bit, just enough that David could see she was naked under the bathrobe.

»Well, I also could see new sides of you, my beautiful Lady!«

He looked into her eyes and added:

»However, there is one difference. I could well live with the fact that today, I have rescued you for the last time in our lives. But I would die if I were never allowed to see you again as I saw you some hours before!«

He plucked on her bathrobes belt and Cordelia withdrew her hand from David´s, but only to shrug her shoulder so the bathrobe slid to the floor.

»My beautiful Lady!«, David whispered and reached for her hands.

***

In the living room, Tintin had prepared the couch for Laila and then, he said:

»If you need something, I am in the kitchen!«

There, he intended to sleep on his inflatable mattress. However, Laila, now dressed in one of Tintin`s pyjamas, stopped him.

»The couch is wide enough for two!«

Tintin gasped. Then, he murmured:

»You – you don`t have to do that, if you don`t want to!«

Laila frowned.

»Is that what you are thinking? That I will sleep with you, as some kind of – reward?«

Tintin`s jaw dropped and Laila`s expression softened.

»Sorry, it wasn`t meant that way. You know, I am grateful. After all, you have risked your lives!«

»I haven`t done very much«, Tintin protested, but Laila put her index finger over his lips.

»Don`t say that! Anyway, I don`t want to offer you some – reward. It`s just – I could need someone to hold me tight! Someone whom I can trust!«

She came closer and as Tintin slung his arms around her, she cuddled against him. Then, Laila suddenly started to sob. Tintin held her, caressing her shoulders and hair, whilst Laila let out all the tension and fear of the previous days. Then, when she finally stopped, Tintin finally broke the silence:

»You – you need a handkerchief?«

Laila sniffled and shook her head. Then, she went on her tiptoes and kissed Tintin.

»Thank you!«, she breathed.

They sank down on the couch and Laila cuddled her back against his front. She took his arm and put it around her, pressing his hand against her ample breast. She sighed and though Tintin didn`t dare to do more, he gently kneaded her breast. Laila whispered:

»Protect my dreams!«

She yawned and Tintin held her until she had fallen asleep not a minute later.

***

»So, here we are!«

Mike stopped the car at the hotel`s parking lot. Beside him, Isabelle looked up to him. She was wrapped in a blanket, but still stark naked underneath. He kissed her and then asked gently:

»Do you want to play the ›I am a poor victim‹-card and need me to carry you to my room?«

Isabelle pouted.

»I am a poor victim! And yes, I want to be carried! I am wax in your hands – isn`t that what you want to hear?«

Mike shook his head.

»Nah! Wax that hot doesn`t keep it`s shape! You`d become a blob!«

Isabelle stared at him with disbelief. Then, she began to giggle.

»Maybe, that`s why you always have to rescue me – for I would definitely not stay because of your compliments!«

»Hey, I just called you ›hot‹!«, Mike complained and bent over her. They kissed once more and then, Mike cradled her in his arms and carried her up to the room. Isabelle sighed when he placed her on the floor and closed the door. She looked over to the bed that was some two yards away.

»Carry me for the rest of the distance, too! I am a poor weak girl!«

Mike took the blanket from her, once again took her in his arms and gently placed her on the bed. Then, he playfully waved his index finger.

»Perhaps, you are just a complaining blob, taking advantage of my good nature!«

»Rot in hell! If I weren`t too weakened, I would leave this bed immediately!«

In fact, it took all her strength to keep up their banter. Some parts of her, especially the most delicate ones, indeed hurt and her body was covered with red marks from her tight bondage. Mike took off his clothes and she could see that he also had some new bruises and scars as a souvenir from her rescue.

»However, since you are too weak to run away, we have to make the best out of it!«

He placed himself beside her and kissed her.

»Sweet blob!«

»Rot in hell!«

The End