Venetian Carnival 5

»Seems I have come just in time!«

Shannon had stepped out on her balcony when she saw the door to the little pier open. Out stepped the man, and the scene would have looked romantically: a guy in 18th century clothes cradling a woman in a matching dress in his arms. However, as Shannon looked closer, she noticed that the woman wasn’t flailing her lower legs just for the show, and that her hands were behind her back instead of slung around her lover’s neck.

Now, the man jumped onto his boat, lowered her to the seat and reached around her; she guessed that he was fixing her handcuffs to an eyelet or something. Shannon had leaned forward, and suddenly, her eyes and that of the captive met. Even over the distance, and with the mask, Shannon knew that the other had seen her, too.

»Now, she knows my face!«, she thought, and she waved, as if these were just two people out for a Carnival trip on the canals. The woman bucked, and now, the man bent over her, holding a small box to her face and hissing something Shannon couldn`t understand. She withdrew into her room before the man could turn around.

»Seems that I have to put on a mask, too!«, she thought by herself as she went for her cupboard. The game slowly began to get more intriguing!

***

»You are still trying to ruin this, aren’t you?«

Marlene panted as Erik angrily stared down on her. The little effort of trying to signal the woman on the balcony that she was not consenting with the man in the boat had already caused her to breathe heavily, due to the tight corset. It had been to no avail, though. The woman had withdrawn, even waved down to her.

He had once again fixed her wrists to the eyelet, and then, he had strapped one of her ankles to the floor. Marlene now could wag her other calf, and from the distance, it would look as if she was draped leisurely over the boat’s seat. Erik now once again showed her the remote, letting his finger circle around the button.

»Do you know the movie ›Wedlock‹?«

Marlene nodded. In that movie, Rutger Hauer was at a high security prison where always two prisoners built pairs, but didn’t know who the partner was. Each prisoner had a collar with an explosive tied around his neck, and if they separated for mor than 100 yards, both would blow their heads off. So, since no one knew who the other was, the prisoners had to stay on the prison’s ground if they didn’t want to risk dying both.

»Well, the bomb isn’t around your neck«, he said, looking down at her lap where, trapped in her pantyhose, the egg-shaped item was hidden, »and you know who your partner is. But this thing’s sensor reaches over just five yards! So, if you try to somehow get from the boat, or send me over the railing – boom!«

Marlene mewed, and he chuckled as he sat down in the boat’s stern after he had unmoored it. Then, he slowly sailed towards the Canal Grande.

***

At the small café, the four people gathered around their table were in a bad mood: Hilmar and Marcus had followed a woman that had looked like Marlene from behind for some ten minutes; it had ended with her feeling stalked and her husband threatening Hilmar who, enraged as he was, nearly would have accepted the challenge and started a brawl. Silvana and Mariko could also just report that they had given Silvana’s number to a few people who had offered to keep their eyes open, though most had seemed as if they were rather trying to soothe a lunatic than actually taking the worried girl’s search serious.

»If only I had seen Marlene five seconds earlier! I could have photographed the man, or the license number of the boat, or-«

»Don’t blame yourself, Silvie«, Marcus said, reaching over and caressing her hand. She was grateful for the tender gesture.

»Maybe, we should stop blaming anyone but the kidnapper!«, Mariko added, and the others stared at her. So far, none of them had spoken it out loud that Marlene had been abducted. Silvana looked over her shoulder, but they were the only Germans at the café, so, they could talk freely.

»I just don’t get it! If Maya or Benita, or both, are behind whatever happened to Marlene, why are they not behind me, or you?«

She pointed at Marcus, who had also played a part in the search for the diamonds, and who also had gotten his share. Then, she asked Hilmar for Marlene’ phone, scrolled through it and dialled a number. She got up, and the others watched as Silvana did a little small talk, before ending the call, looking rather despondent.

»I just called Monica Bloch under a pretext! Seems that she’s fine!«

Monica had also been involved in their last adventure, and she would have been the main object of Benita’s or Maya’s grudge. Mariko, who was coping surprisingly well with the fact that her new friends had been dealing with real criminals, now asked:

»What if it isn’t them? I mean, did you make any other enemies?«

Marcus shook his head, but Silvana pondered. Of course, there had been their adventure in Egypt. But the man who had kidnapped her was still in Africa, and he didn’t even know about Marlene. There was also the villainous cousin of her friend Sibel, but since Sibel had posted a status update from London just hours ago, it also didn’t seem as if she was in trouble.

»The problem is, you don’t have to make enemies to fall victim to a criminal! So, maybe, it’s someone we have never met! It could be anyone around here!«

***

Shannon had changed into a costume that would allow her to move fast whilst she could also enjoy her love for disguises: a tight black spandex suit mixed with red boots that looked fancy, but allowed running and jumping, also a bright red cape and a broad-rimmed hat with feathers. She now looked like a generic superheroine or a cosplayer, but together with a Venetian eye mask, she would look like one of the many tourists and could move freely.

She had concluded that the man would get somewhere to the Canal Grande, since he and his captive were dressed in matching costumes. A gondola would have been more fitting, but perhaps, he had no allowance to steer one, or he just didn’t want to get tired from staking forward.

It would be a bit difficult to find a boat among hundreds of others, but Shannon was sure that they were heading for the Piazza San Marco. Here, they could stop at the Lagoon, keeping some distance from other boats whilst still being close enough to watch the crowd enjoying the Carnival, with nobody noticing that one of the passengers was there against her will.

Whilst getting there on foot, Shannon considered what to do next. The obvious thing would have been to get to the man’s house, prepare a trap and just knock him out once he and his captive came back from their trip. However, this was a backup plan at best, for it lacked all the thrill and adventure she was longing for.

Her thoughts wandered to the two girls that had been looking for the man’s captive, the blonde and the Asian. They would sure spice up things a bit. A plan began to build in her mind. A plan that would turn this into a really entertaining game.

The Lagoon was indeed crowded with boats, but Shannon could narrow it down quickly, for she could sort out the water taxis, bigger boats or such filled with cheering people. So, after a few minutes, she had spotted them, some 50 yards away from the pier, and keeping a few yards off from the next boat. The man now was sitting beside the woman, and it looked as if they were chatting and watching the Piazza with the people in their elaborate costumes, and the thousands of tourists gathering around them.

»How cozy! Time to startle the two lovebirds a bit!«, Shannon thought and changed her binoculars for her phone. It had a good camera, allowing her to zoom and take a picture of the boat on which one could see some details.

***

The crowd on the Piazza looked as if she could touch it, and Marlene could also hear the voices of the people on the boat close to them. Again, she just couldn’t believe that nobody noticed her predicament, but like when they had passed the Canal, no one seemed to notice that her hands were tied behind her back, and that her mask was hiding her gagged mouth. To a passer-by, her pose looked natural.

Erik now sat close beside her, his arm around her shoulder, and his hand was caressing her neck. Marlene’s chest heaved, but when she had vigorously shaken her head, he had just reminded her of the bomb.

»I am such a coward! If he presses the button, he will kill himself, too!«

She had no clue whether that would keep Erik from pressing the button, or if this was his idea of a romantic death. There was only one way to find out, but though Marlene despised herself for it, she still didn’t dare to go that step.

»There are people around! He can’t get – too far!«

Erik’s hand brushed over her throat and then wandered deeper, to her ample cleavage. Marlene let out a fluttering breath, but managed to hold still. From the boat bobbing next to theirs, a man shouted something in Italian. Without taking his hand from her cleavage, Erik shouted back, smiling. Then, he bent over her and whispered:

»He offered that he could come over and help if you didn’t like my companionship! I told him that you are just a bit shy!«

Marlene tried to get eye contact with the man, but he just showed a »thumps up«-gesture and then took a glass one of his friends offered him. Obviously, he was considering her just a bit coy. Erik now pulled her closer towards him and his hand cupped her breast.

»You better look the part, or the fireworks will start early this Carnival!«

Her gag prevented her from getting kissed, but he continued to fondle her breast, and Marlene could read from his eyes that he would make her pay if she didn’t participate in his game. So, she forced herself to hold still, and she even moved a bit under his hands, as if she was enjoying the massage.

»I will fight him, but I won’t risk my life for just some groping!«

***

»Unknown number!«, Silvana frowned as she received a message on her phone. Then, her face grew pale as she saw what she had just gotten.

»What’s up?«

Marcus bent over her, and Mariko and Hilmar also looked at the display of the phone. The picture showed two people on a boat, sitting side by side. Both were dressed in Rococo costumes. The man had his arm around the woman’s shoulder, and his hand was just trying to find a way into her costume, and the woman seemed to rather endure than to enjoy the touch.

»Just saw this boat at the Lagoon, close to the Piazza! Could be your missing friend. Cheers, Shan!«

Silvana read the message and remembered the American woman they had bumped into. So, she had indeed tried to help them with their search!

Hilmar now enlarged the picture and his expression grew grim.

»I can’t say for sure, because of the mask, but she looks close enough!«

With no other plans anyway, the four worked their way through the crowd until they had reached the Piazza San Marco. Here, they tried to find the two persons and their boat among the dozens that were gathered here. And during Carnival, their costumes were rather a disguise than a distinguishing detail.

»There!«

Mariko, who had sharp eyes, had focussed not on Marlene she didn’t know anyway, but on the man who was sporting a crimson jacket. She pointed at a small motorboat, some 30 yards away from the pier. In it, the man had bent over the woman, looking as if they were kissing, despite both still wearing their masks.

»Marlene!«

Hilmar had a strong voice, and just now, the noise of the crowd seemed to have ceased a bit. The man startled, and the woman now raised her head. Silvana could now see that again, her arms were behind her back, and she saw the man pull his hand from her dress.

»Marlene!«

Now, the woman reared up, looking as if she was trying to get up from her seat. The man stared back at the pier, noticing Hilmar who now suddenly reached for his pockets.

»Hold this!«, he shouted at Marcus, handing him his phone, keys and wallet. Then, he jumped into the Lagoon.

»Come on, we must do something!«

Mariko pulled on Silvana’s arm, dragging her towards a gondola. The gondoliere had been sitting inside his boat, and now raised for his potential customers. Mariko pointed at the boat and with some gestures, she tried to explain what was happening. The gondoliere wanted to demand his fee, and to keep Mariko from jumping on his gondola, but the girl just punched his stomach. Silvana stared at the scene, when Mariko pulled her with her. They both landed on the gondola that was pushed from the pier by their impetus.

»Come on, grab the stake! We must get them!«

However, Silvana was staring at the nearby boat, where Marlene had managed to wriggle off her mask. Still, her lips were pressed together, but she was squirming, and her eyes looked like saucers. Hilmar had almost reached the boat and now grabbed the railing.

»Nooo!«

Silvana screamed as the man now raised his sword and hit Hilmar’s fingers. With a cry of pain, Hilmar fell back into the water, and now, the man started the boat’s engine.

The enraged Mariko had meanwhile found the stake, but she could also see that she would not be able to follow the boat with the slower gondola. So, she pushed the stake into Silvana’s hands.

»Help Hilmar, I’ll get them!«

Before Silvana could even say something, Mariko had jumped onto a moored boat close to them, then onto the pier and then, she sprinted after the boat, trying not to lose eye contact with it.

»Silvie! Get back to the pier!«

It was Marcus, who was arguing with the angry gondoliere, finally handing him 200 Euro from Hilmar’s wallet. Silvana staked the gondola back to the pier, and when Marcus prevented her from getting scolded by the gondoliere, she suddenly screamed.

Hilmar was climbing onto the pier, wet and muddy, but obviously alive. When he approached them, he rubbed his right hand, but Silvana noticed he still had all his fingers.

»Seems he only had a plastic sword! But it hurts, nevertheless!«

Hilmar stared at the direction where the boat had left, panting from his watery stunt.

»It was her! I saw her eyes, and dammit, it was her!«

Silvana told him that Mariko had ran after them, when they suddenly heard some curses in Italian. The still angry gondoliere threw something at them. Marcus took it, and it turned out to be Mariko’s handbag. Silvana cursed.

»Fuck! Her phone’s in it! So, even if she finds them, she will be on her own! All we can do now is wait for her to return!«

Of course, that wasn’t what Hilmar wanted to hear, but he had to admit that he needed some dry clothes before he could either wait for Mariko or try to search the entire city of Venice for a small vessel. Marcus handed him his belongings, and they went back for their hotel.

***

Marlene sobbed as the boat searched its way through the canals. She had seen not only Hilmar, but also Silvana and Marcus, plus some Asian girl, trying to get to her! Rescue had been so close! She had screamed through her gag when Erik had hit Hilmar’s fingers, even though it had been a plastic sword, and even though she had seen that Hilmar had reached the pier before the boat had been too far off.

»Now, he is warned, and he will hide somewhere!«

Erik kept the boat on a considerably low speed, but even though they passed several other boats, none seemed to notice that Marlene’s lips were sealed with transparent tape, or that her arms were cuffed behind her back. Maybe, they considered her sick or drunk, for nobody seemed to be interested in the bound and gagged woman so close to them.

»Maybe, you weren’t ready for such a trip yet, Marlene! But don’t worry, though you are the teacher, I will make sure that you’ll receive a lesson you’ll never forget!«

***

Mariko was a slender and sportive girl, and so, she still could keep pace with the boat, despite it sailing at a speed of some 6 to 8 mph and her having to push through the crowd and to cross several bridges. At least, there were less and less people now, and she was getting closer when the boat vanished into a side canal. Mariko had to do an extra way to get to the next bridge, and she was sure she had lost the boat, when she got a glimpse of the crimson jacket at a corner.

Panting, Mariko reached the corner, and there, on the other side of the canal, she could see that the boat had stopped at a little pier. The man had grabbed Marlene’s arm and was now dragging her from the boat. As Mariko wanted to say something, she suddenly heard a sound from behind. Before she could turn around, something hit her neck, and everything went black.

Shannon pulled the unconscious girl into the darkness of a corridor and then watched as Erik forced Marlene inside the house. When the door had fallen shut, she reminded the message Silvana had sent her minutes ago:

»You were right, can we please meet asap? If we are not at our hotel, we are at the ›Imperatore Nerone‹, room 27. Thanks, Silvana!«

She had frowned: despite its imperial name, the hotel was little more than a flophouse, making the hotel of the girls look fist class in comparison.

»Well, it doesn’t affect my new plan!«

She bent down to the still unconscious Mariko and hoisted her over her shoulder. Now, with the two men aside the girls, the game would become quite entertaining – but only if she made sure her pawns got a few hints from her!

***

For obvious reasons, Silvana had had no intention to stay alone at her hotel room, and so, she had just left a message for Mariko and followed the men to their hotel. On his way, Hilmar had been able to buy some clothes that were overprized and didn’t fit properly, but at least, they were dry. Then, the waiting began.

Blushing, Silvana stepped out of the bathroom some hour later.

»The moment you realize that the fact I could hear every word of your conversation means you just could hear me pee!«

This caused Marcus to chuckle, and even Hilmar joined in. Silvana pouted:

»Glad I could cheer you up!«

Hilmar, now dressed in grey sweatpants and a red T-Shirt with the Rialto Bridge on it, grunted:

»I hope that we will soon get cheered up by your friend returning, even more if she’s accompanied by Marlene and the Police!«

It was now some two or three hours since they had separated, and the mixture of tension, lack of sleep and the inability to do something was tearing on their nerves. Suddenly, the phone beside the double bed rang. Hilmar frowned and grabbed the receiver.

»Pronto?«

Marcus and Silvana heard him speak in Italian he could speak intermediately. Then, he looked at them and said:

»It was the receptionist! He says that a message for us has arrived, but we should see for ourselves!«

All three walked down the stairs. At the lobby, the grumpy receptionist pointed at something large standing there: it was a big pink suitcase, and what was even more strange was that it was wrapped with some bright red cord with lots of small bells attached to it.

Hilmar tried to get from the receptionist what had happened, but he only could tell that some guy had just rolled in the suitcase, tearing him from watching a film in his office. Without saying more than »Room 27!«, he had slammed 50 Euro onto the desk and had left.

»Well, sorry for the disturbance!«

Hilmar handed the man another 50 Euro, and the receptionist just shrugged and returned to his office. Hilmar then looked at Marcus.

»A hand, please!«

The hotel had no elevator, and so, they had to carry the suitcase up the stairs. It jingled on every move, and it was also considerably heavy. Silvana felt a shiver run down her spine: the size of the suitcase would allow to stow a human body in it!

Once at their room, Hilmar locked the door whilst Marcus and Silvana ripped off the cord with the bells. Now, as they bent over the suitcase, they could hear a faint sound from inside. Marcus took a deep breath.

»Whatever’s inside, it’s alive!«

The suitcase had a numbers lock, and with no crowbar or something like that, they had to try the numbers, forcing them to listen to the faint mews for another few minutes until the locks snapped open. Carefully, they opened the lid.

»Fuck!«

Their eyes fell on a woman, folded in three. Her knees touched her forehead, whilst her heels dug into her buttocks. Lots of cords made sure she was staying in her ball position. She was naked, her body glistering from perspiration, and a black hood was covering her head. They could say that these weren’t the buxom forms of Marlene, but Silvana had seen this body before.

»M-Mariko?«

»Uuuhhmmm!«

With no knifes or scissors, they had to undo the tight knots with their hands. When Silvana had loosened the rope tying her neck to her knees, Mariko stretched with a groan, revealing another detail: a tight crotch rope was bisecting her pubic mound.

»I think, you better handle this, Silvie!«, Marcus said and went for Mariko’s hood secured by some rounds of tape. Silvana nodded and reluctantly searched for the knots of the crotch rope, only to realize they had been pulled deep between her friend’s labia.

»I-I think I w-will start with her w-wrists!«

As a response, Mariko bucked and mewed. Hilmar, who had started by her feet, had decided to untie the thin cord around her big toes first, and he had obviously tickled her whilst doing so. He chuckled:

»This one’s as ticklish as Marlene!«, he thought as he tried not to touch her soles as he now worked on her ankle bonds.

Meanwhile, Marcus had peeled off the tape from her head and took off the hood. Mariko stared at him, blinking with her eyes. The lower half of her face was covered by a black bandage.

»Uuuhhmmm! Mmhhmmmm!«

Silvana had managed to untie Mariko’s wrists, but now, she discovered another cruelty: the crotch rope had been pulled over her elbow ties, and the only knots were those between the girl’s labia. Silvana could either reach for them, or try to loosen the elbow ties to get some slack into the crotch rope. She decided for the latter, causing some pulling on the tight cord in the progress. Mariko mewed and weakly flailed her now free lower legs.

»Hold still, or we will wait until tomorrow, when we can get some scissors!«

»Ghhmph!«

Marcus had unwrapped the bandage, only to reveal some pieces of tape keeping a copious amount of packing inside Mariko’s mouth. He pulled it off, trying to find a compromise between speed and tenderness, and he now saw the tight strip of cloth tied between the girl’s lips. This was knotted at her nape, and when it came off, Marcus noticed it had left red marks on Mariko’s cheeks.

Now, he could pluck the dense packing from her mouth, which took some time, despite Mariko trying to help with her tongue. It turned out to be a large nerf ball, followed by a pair of socks and a small piece of black lacy cloth that had a strong resemblance to Mariko’s favourite thongs. When these came out, followed by some saliva, the girl suddenly twitched and yelped. Silvana had finally removed the elbow ties, and when the crotch rope loosened, this sent a shiver of pain through the exhausted Mariko’s body. She drooled even more, and then coughed and panted whilst her three rescuers sat around her, looking at her with a mixture of compassion, curiosity and fascination.

»Phew!«, she finally broke the silence. Marcus reached for his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, and Hilmar filled a glass of water and handed it to Silvana who let Mariko sip from it. The girl flexed her fingers and moved her limbs, as if she was testing if they still worked. Then, she took a deep breath and whispered:

»The good news is – I found his hideout! Bad news – he’s got an accomplice!«

***

»I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use that room, but it seems that you and your – entourage don’t leave me a choice!«

Erik had removed Marlene’s handcuffs, but he was holding the remote control. More, however, she was frightened by the way his eyes sparkled: Erik was angry, not because she had actually done anything, but because things hadn’t gone his way. In a way, he was still a spoiled brat.

»With your friends around, I have to make sure you’ll behave like a good girl! Now, take off your dress!«

Marlene obeyed, able to watch herself in the mirror behind Erik. She opened the laces and buttons, and the dress fell down to her ankles. Erik made her undo the underskirts and the crinoline, too, but insisted she kept on the boots, the pantyhose and the tight corset, though these items didn’t cover anything she would have loved to be covered: her boobs were even emphasized by the corset, and the pantyhose was so transparent she could also have been naked.

He cuffed her ankles in front of her body, then, she had to get into the adjacent room that turned out to be a storage room of some kind.

»Most Venetian houses don’t have cellars, so, the storage rooms are at the ground floor – like in this house, too! However, since I am hardly here, and I have a fridge upstairs, I have – modified it a bit. Maybe, I was inspired by some gothic novels!«

The room was dark and seemed to have no electricity. Erik had grabbed a chandelier and now lit the three candles on it, so Marlene could see she was standing in front of some wooden bench. She had to lie down, and Erik leashed her ankles to the lower end, pulling the straps tight. Then, he grabbed the chain of her handcuffs and raised it over her head, fixing it to something. Marlene then heard a screech, and her arms were pulled, so her body was stretched.

»It’s like a real torture rack, but I will spare you the real suffering, like dislodging your shoulders, or placing spikes under your back!«

Indeed, when he stopped turning the screw, Marlene was forced to lie with her limbs stretched, uncomfortable, but not painful. Erik, who looked like a devil more than ever, now that he was illuminated by the candles behind him, held the remote control to her face.

»Wanna see something funny?«

»Mmhrrrrmmmm!«

Marlene screamed into the panties filling her mouth and reared up as he pressed the button. It took her a few seconds to realize that exactly nothing had happened. Erik laughed.

»You really thought it was a bomb, didn’t you? Nah, it’s just my garage door opener, plus some egg vibrator – but the latter ran out of batteries! So, I will have to make sure that you will be entertained – otherwise!«

He fished the egg from her pantyhose whilst the panting Marlene was coping with the mixture of relief that there was no bomb, and the horror of realizing she would have been able to try to call for help when they had been on the canal.

Erik once again pushed his hand into her pantyhose, cupping her pubic mound. Marlene squirmed and protested through her gag, and he asked:

»You don’t like that?«

She vigorously shook her head, and to her surprise, Erik withdrew, only adding to her embarrassment by sniffing on his fingers before he reached over her. Marlene would not have wondered if he had produced a whip, or some glowing red iron, but instead, he placed a wooden tray with legs over her belly. It looked like one she owned herself, meant for placing a plate and a cup on it when she had breakfast in bed.

»I think you want me to leave the lights on!«

Erik now placed the chandelier on the tray, turning it until one of its arms was above her breast, the other above her lower abdomen. Then, he fixed the tray to the board she was lying upon, even testing that it would remain in place, even if Marlene accidentally touched it in her attempts to get free from her bondage.

»However, I am quite sure that you’ll appreciate when, finally, the candles have burnt down! Maybe, we should call this Venetian Waxing!«

Again, he laughed, and though his laughter didn’t actually echo, to Marlene, they could also have been at a real dungeon, with him wearing a red hood. He left the room, and Marlene helplessly stared at the chandelier. There was already some wax pearling down the candles, and sooner or later, hot drops of wax would land on her body, either on her heaving chest or at her lower belly.

»Hrrrrrmmmmmm! Mmhhmmmmmm! Uuuhhmmmmmm!«

Marlene squirmed and twitched, only to find out the tightness of her bonds. She was alone with her fear, alone with the current horrors, and those to come soon, symbolized by the flickering candles she was staring at like a rabbit stared at a venomous snake.

***