Seven Summits 1

The images that he was watching on his big TV screen, though most of them snapshots, showed a bunch of pretty girls, and he was still into them, but nevertheless, his memory wandered back to a man who had been middle-aged back then, and who had passed away some years ago: He was thinking of Dennis Hopper, and his role as the antagonist in »Speed«.

In one scene, the good guy, played by Keanu Reeves, had accused him of being crazy, and Hopper had replied by saying: »Poor people are crazy, I am excentric!«. Since then, he had loved this saying, and over the decades, when his wealth had grown, it had become his mantra.

Not that he had done »ordinary« excentric things, like spending all his money on a luxury palace, fancy cars or buying an island for himself. In fact, he had managed to turn the three Million his parents had inherited to him into something close to half a Billion. However, now, he could easily live from the interest charges, and he felt that he had to do something to not end up as a bored rich old man.

Though he had lived by the quote of Mr. Hopper, he hadn’t watched the movie for years, and he had to look up the role name he had had in it. He quickly googled, and it told him it had been Howard Payne. Shrugging, he compared it to his real name, finding them both quite ordinary. There was nothing fashionable in Howard Payne – but on the other hand, it would perhaps be useful to fly under the radar.

»So, I am Howard Payne now! Well, it could have been worse!«

There was a knock on the door, and he changed the slide show of the girls to a screen saver before replying to his butler who announced that his visitors had arrived. He smiled. Perhaps, his nom du guerre wasn’t too impressive, but if these two would meet his expectations, he would at least have two capable henchmen!

***

»They have seen us!«

Helena Stock grabbed her friend’s arm when the light went on, and though Eileen Schmitt knew it was just the parking lot`s motion detector, she gasped and involuntarily looked around if there was perhaps someone. Then, she put  her hands on her hips.

»Very funny, young Lady!«

Being short of her 20th birthday, Eileen was just eight months older than Helena, but since she was 6’, towering her friend about eight inches, she could literally look down on Helena who now cocked her head and grinned.

»Aww, you look so sweet when you are trying to look angry! Sweet and«, she made her voice sound hoarse, »sensual!«

Eileen smiled, and she couldn’t help blushing and tugging on the hem of her mini-dress. She had ordered it online, and it had turned out to be daringly short. So, the shy blonde had decided not to wear it, but Helena had persuaded her to give it a try. In her opinion, Eileen looked gorgeous in the skimpy dress, and she was sure that she also enjoyed how she drew attention wearing it, though she had to be a bit cautious when sitting down.

»Soon, I will slam you down on the mat, making you regret your stupid idea!«

Eileen behaved as if they were intending to rob a bank, though the worst that could happen was to be reprimanded by the sport hall’s janitor. When she unlocked the door, she looked over her shoulder, as if she was expecting a Policeman to jump out of the bushes.

Both Helena and Eileen had been friends since school, but whilst Eileen had started studying in the autumn after their final exams, Helena had worked for a few months and therefore started half a year later. Since she hadn’t known too many people, she had hung on Eileen, and when her friend had told her she had started Karate, she had joined the lessons, too – and now, she had even developed some ambition.

Having practiced for half a year longer, Eileen already had a yellow belt, and in two weeks, there would be the next graduation exams where Helena wanted to get one, too, whilst her friend was working on her orange belt already. Their Sensei, a real Japanese named Tamiko Fujimoto, was the epitome of a strict Asian teacher, and she had told the two girls that they would only pass the exams if they intensified their training.

So, Eileen had organized the key to the sports hall, and the two girls had decided to do an extra training on the weekend. However, when suddenly all of heir friends seemed to have decided to go home on Friday, Helena had proposed to do some Midnight training, just the two of them.

»If Sensei Tamiko hears about it, she will be proud that we chose training over having cocktails and throwing ourselves on the next boy around!«

In the end, Helena had used her last weapon, threatening to poke Eileen’s side whenever she would try to talk to a boy or have a drink in public.

»You wouldn’t dare!«, Eileen had protested, followed by a shriek when Helena had poked her ribs. Being taller and with more experience, Eileen was the better fighter, but her ticklishness gave Helena an advantage she could use aside the mat. So, the two girls had packed their gym bags and went for the now lonely sports hall.

Once inside, Eileen had closed the blinds of the skylights before switching on the lights. Then, they had quickly changed for their Gis and flip-flops, and Eileen had fought to open the screeching door to the storage room, where the mats were. Since one measured one square metre, they had decided that 16 would be enough for them to train.

»Just start, I am looking for a plug-in for my phone!«, Helena said, but Eileen just told her to shut up. Then, she whispered:

»I-I think I heard something!«

For a moment, Helena thought that Eileen was trying to prank her, but then, she saw the concern in her eyes, and she also fell silent and listened. There was nothing but the distant sound of a car, and she was about to switch on the music on her phone when there was a single sound, like an oppressed sneeze. Suddenly, Helena had a suspicion: Eileen had asked someone of the dojo to hide in the storage room, to scare her! She wanted to say something when she noticed the expression on Eileen’s face: her friend was scared, and it didn’t look as if she was faking.

»M-maybe, it’s just a mouse!«

As on keyword, there was once again the high-pitched ache, and the two friends looked at each other. They were both dressed up for doing Martial Arts, so, they couldn’t just run away, screaming like frightened little girls. In addition, it was unlikely that a serial killer was hiding right here.

»Watch my back!«

Eileen went into a fighting position, and Helena switched on the light, which took some of the room’s eerie atmosphere. Now, it was just a room crammed with all kinds of sporting utensils. Helena looked around and pointed at a corner, where the rolling platforms with the piled training mats were parked. The sound seemed to come from that part of the room!

They carefully approached, and when they couldn’t see anything suspicious, but once again heard the mew, they pushed aside one of the mat wagons, revealing something that didn’t look as it did normally. Usually, the grid box behind the mats contained the padded mitts for training hard beating and kicking, but now, they were lying around, and the box was filled with what looked like a rolled-up blue training mattress that barely seemed to fit in.

»Mph!«

The sound could be heard again, and now, there was no doubt it came from inside the box. Helena bent forward and touched the lid, only to see that the box was locked.

It took Eileen all her courage to get to the dressing room and fetch the keys. After some trying, they found the key to the padlock and could open the lid. When they stared down on the rolled mattress, it seemed to move slightly. Now, they could see that something was tied around it: at first, it looked like a tension cord, but then, they saw it was a white Karate belt, like the one Helena was wearing right now.

The girls maneuvered the box into the hall, where they could both work on the tight knots. Now, they could see that indeed something the size of a human being seemed to have been rolled inside the mattress, and again, there was the faint moaning. Helena felt a shiver run down her spine, and her fingers trembled when she picked on the belt. When it came loose, they tried to pull on the mattress; then, they decided to push the box over instead.

Not daring to breathe, the girls watched as the mattress rolled out of the box and then slowly unfolded, presenting its content to their eyes. It was a woman, and she was naked, except for a variety of coloured straps tying her up.

Helena and Eileen stared down on the nude front of the woman, seeing that her legs were folded, whilst a yellow belt was tied around her thighs. A blue one crossed between her breasts and disappeared under her armpits, and Helena gasped when she saw that there were iron clamps on the woman’s nipples. Eileen, however, shuddered at the sight of the black belt that had been tied around the woman’s waist, with the ends disappearing between her legs, bisecting her shaved pubic mound. Her head was hidden under a black hood. She now twitched and mewed, and the two girls came to their senses and approached her. trying to find a way to free her.

As they bent over the trussed-up woman, they could see further details of her bondage: her arms were tied at wrists and elbows, in a way her elbows touched, and it had been done by a green and an orange belt whilst a brown one tied her ankles to her wrists. Eileen turned for her wrist ties, whilst Helena looked for the strap securing her hood. She had a terrible suspicion who the woman could be: she knew that Sensei Tamiko held a 3rd Dan, the third black belt, and she also kept her previous belts as a memory. Except for two of the black belts, all had been used to truss up the woman.

She removed the hood, and now, she could see long black hair in a dishevelled braid. There was little else to be seen, as the woman’s eyes and mouth were covered by what looked like bandages. The one over her eyes turned out to be one of the missing black belts, and Helena worked on the knots whilst Eileen gasped at the discovery of another cruelty: the woman’s thumbs were locked inside what seemed to be mini-cuffs, and a similar contraption tied her big toes.

»Sensei Tamiko! Who did this to you?«

»Mmmhhmph!«

The belt had come off her eyes, and when two pads fell off, the woman who indeed was Tamiko blinked at Helena and her nostrils flared, showing her impatience to be set free. Helena tried to find the start of the black bandage wound around the lower half of her face, and Eileen had now removed her wrist and ankle ties, allowing her to stretch her legs.

The bandage turned out to be very sticky, and so, Eileen had also undone the elbow ties when it came off, revealing the last belt had been tied over her mouth underneath. Helena picked on the knots at Tamiko’s nape, and Eileen breathed:

»W-we better call the P-Police!«

»Mhhrrmm! Nnngg!«

Tamiko vigorously shook her head, rolling her eyes as Eileen reached for Helena’s phone. The girl dropped the phone, and Tamiko calmed down a bit, allowing Helena to untie the belt. Now, her mouth turned out to be crammed full with something white, and it seemed that despite her efforts, the exhausted woman could not get it out of her oral cavity. Reluctantly, Helena picked an edge of the dense wad and pulled. It felt damp from Tamiko’s saliva, and then, she could see the gag had a lacy edging.

»Yuk!«

Helena withdrew her hand and wiped her fingers on her Gi when she saw that it had been a pair of panties that had stuffed the Japanese’s mouth. Tamiko panted, but she forced herself to look at Helena and smiled wryly.

»Yuk, indeed!«

***

Salome Mkapa wasn’t sure whether she should feel amused or disappointed: on the one hand, it proved how even something originally good-intentioned could backfire, on the other hand, it meant that she was lacking talent.

It had started with one of the University’s left-wing activist groups accusing the main theatre of intending to let a white actress play a role designed for a black woman. The director, fearing a backlash in the media, had then started a casting for black actresses, »between 18 and 26, fluent in German and talented on stage«. Even in a University town like Würzburg, this didn’t fit too many people, and so, Salome had decided to give it a try. After all, she was 22 and, thanks to a scholarship and her parents belonging to the rich families in Tanzania, she was now in Germany for two years. Salome still had an accent, but she spoke and read fluently, and in addition, she had participated in the drama group of her school at Darussalam. So, she had considered herself to be more than qualified.

However, there had also been some black Germans at the rehearsal, and Salome had to admit that at least two of them had been better actors than her. Well, though she now could only blame her talent for not getting the job, her life didn’t depend on it, and so, Salome decided to call it a day. She left the theatre and lit a cigarette.

»Excuse me?«

Salome spun around and her eyes fell on a woman that looked smaller than her, despite her standing on a higher step on the stairs. Well, Salome measured 5’11’’, and she was wearing high-heeled boots, so, she was used to literally look down on most women and quite some men.

She thought that the woman wanted to ask her for fire, or maybe scrounge for a cigarette, but instead, she began:

»I saw you at the rehearsal-«

Now, Salome looked closer. The face of the blonde woman didn’t ring a bell, but there had been a few dozen people in the auditorium, and it had been darkly lit. Trying to sound politely interested, she asked:

»So?«

The woman reached her her right hand, and Salome felt she had a firm handshake.

»I am Milena Popp! And I  haven’t been here by accident! Actually, I was hoping I would see someone like you!«

The last sentence was accompanied by a creepy gaze, but then, Milena laughed.

»Sorry, I couldn’t resist!«

She then explained to Salome that she was the director of a small amateur theatre, and that they were looking for a black actress, too.

»Of course, we can’t pay much – nothing, to be precisely! But if you were intending to play for fun, we could offer you a place on stage!«

Salome pondered.

»Will I have to wear a raffia skirt and a bone in my hair?«

Again, Milena laughed, though Salome noticed a short glistering in her eyes.

»Actually, you would play the role of a Somali refugee in Germany! Are you from Somalia?«

Since she had a noticeable accent, Salome wasn’t offended by the fact Milena immediately considered her a foreigner.

»Tanzania! Darussalam, to be precisely!«

»Tanzania! The home of the Kilimanjaro!«

Milena then excused that that was about all she knew about Tanzania. She then added an offer to introduce Salome to the other three members of the cast.

»It’s just some 300 metres away, and right beside the ›Café Ludwig!‹ So, we could have an Espresso there, and if you don’t like us, you have lost half an hour, but won a free Espresso!«

Since Salome had no other plans, she smiled at Milena.

»If I can get a Latte instead, I am in!«

They walked along the street, and Milena started telling her more about the play. It sounded a bit generic, but it would allow her to play the main character in a serious role, and she really didn’t need an extra few bucks. So, she just listened to Milena talking as she suddenly turned left, into a narrow lane.

»We will be quicker that way!«

Salome had never been there, so, she trusted her new friend and followed her. In the middle of the road, a van with the hazard lights on was parked. The girls had to squeeze through the gap between the car and the wall, and suddenly, Milena spun around.

»What-«

With a swishing sound, the van’s side door opened right beside Salome, and a moment later, strong arms were slung around her. She opened her mouth to scream, only to see Milena hold a spray can to her face. She sprayed something smelly into her face, and the scream turned into a croak before it had even reached some volume. Milena’s face became blurred, and then, she collapsed and everything became black.

***

Both Eileen and Helena wanted to know what had happened, and Tamiko grimaced.

»Before – would you mind – helping me with the – the last knots?«

It took the girls a few moments to realize she was referring to the bel tied through her crotch, and a blushing Eileen then worked on the knots above Tamiko’s butt. Helena, wanting to do something helpful, plucked the clamps from the Japanese’s nipples, and she let out a sharp hiss; obviously, they had been quite painful, and now, as circulation returned to her buds, it hurt even more.

Once the belt had come loose, Tamiko brought her hands to her front. She was still tied at her thumbs and big toes, and there were no tools around to open these cuffs. She looked up to her rescuers, and then, after a deep sigh, she said:

»Thank you, for whatever reason brought you here! I thought I had to stay – like this until the Volleyballers had their match on Saturday afternoon!«

»But – what happened? Sh-shall I call the Police now?«

Helena rose her phone, but again, Tamiko shook her head, managing to look stern and determined. Then, she stated:

»I will explain everything to you – but not here! Could you – could you help me get to my apartment, please?«

The girls were bursting with curiosity, but they helped Tamiko to get to her feet and then, Eileen held her arm whilst she hopped towards the teachers’ changing room. Here, she hissed a Japanese curse that sounded quite angry. In the room, there was a pile of clothes, and they had all been cut to pieces. To Helena’s surprise, it looked as if it had been two sets of clothing.

»H-has there been someone with you?«

Tamiko hesitated, but she then realized that she couldn’t keep the truth from her rescuers. She nodded and pointed at the remnants of a bright blue blouse.

»I-I met here with Yini, a friend of mine from Hongkong! She’s a Sifu in Gong Fu, and we wanted to prepare a mixture of Karate and Gong Fu techniques, for the next training session!«

Tamiko sometimes invited other Senseis, also from other Martial Arts, so her pupils could see and try other techniques, too. However, it seemed that their combined fighting skills hadn’t prevented them from getting assaulted.

»Suddenly, when we were changing, someone burst inside, and they sprayed something on our faces. I – I passed out, and when I regained consciousness, I was – in the state you found me! Before they left, a voice told me that if I ever wanted to see Yini alive again, I should keep the Police out of it!«

Helena noticed that Tamiko was suffering more from the humiliation of not having been able to defend her friend than from her own ordeal. Now, the Japanese hopped towards the door, and when Eileen reminded her she was still stark naked, she smiled grimly.

»I know! But I think I won’t need help now!«

She entered the corridor and then, she reached the door leading to the Ladies’ room. After a minute, the girls heard the flush, and then, Tamiko returned.

With her and Yini’s clothes shredded, they had to figure out something to cover Tamiko. So, the girls quickly changed into their original outfits. With her toes cuffed, Tamiko could not put on trousers, but at least, Eileen could drape her Gi jacket over her shoulders. Helena had meanwhile found that Tamiko’s handbag was still there; her cell phone had been stolen, but her keys and the purse were still in it.

»Well, if you trust me to drive, I think we can get you to your car!«

»Well, there is a little problem!«, Tamiko had to admit. said »little problem« was that the Sensei and her friend had come with their electric scooters. These were still where they had left them, but it meant that Helena had to help Tamiko balancing on her scooter whilst Eileen pushed the other one. At least, the way to Tamiko’s apartment wasn’t far, and since it had an elevator, she also didn’t have to do much hopping.

Except for a few  Asian paintings, the small flat looked almost disappointingly European. They aided Tamiko to her armchair, and then, she told Helena where to find her toolbox. With the help of a pair of pliers, they finally managed to break open the little cuffs without hurting Tamiko. With a sigh of relief, she massaged her thumbs and big toes, obviously not minding the Gi had slid from her shoulders. Eileen cleared her throat.

»Y-you want me to g-get a bathrobe for you?«

Tamiko seemed to wonder why for a second, but then, she smiled and told her where to find one. She also told the girl to get the knife from the board in her bedroom. Eileen returned, and whilst the Japanese put on the bright orange silk robe with the Lotus flowers on it, Helena looked at the knife that looked like a miniature Samurai sword. Once dressed, Tamiko drew it and tested the blade with her thumb.

»We have to check the letter box, if the kidnappers have left a note! But tonight, I am not sure whether to trust my fighting skills!«

She wanted to get up, but when she staggered, Helena took the knife and then went for the letter box instead. After all, it was just a few steps from the door to the elevator, plus a few more in the lobby. She returned safely, holding a few brochures in her hand.

»That’s all, I am afraid! But now, tell us – who is Yini, and who could have an interest in kidnapping her?«

Tamiko shook her head.

»I have no clue! I mean, she and I are more acquaintances than close friends, but I know that she is working for a bank in Frankfurt, where she earns not bad, but not enough to call her rich. Her parents are very middle-class, too, and though she’s not a big fan of the Chinese Government, she can’t be called a dissident or even a regime critic either!«

Helena offered to make some tea, but obviously, Tamiko didn’t trust her to do it right, and so, they both went to the kitchenette, preparing some. When they returned, they saw that Eileen had emptied her gym bag, producing a pile of colourful belts.

»I – I brought them with me, Tamiko Sensei! After all, they matter to you, and once they have been washed-«

Tamiko brushed over Eileen’s arm before she remembered her role as a Sensei and bowed towards her. Then, she bent down to one of the black belts, and Helena recognized it as her third Dan – her highest rank, and also the belt that had been tied between her legs. Eileen once again reached into her bag and with two fingers, she held up the still damp panties.

»Maybe, you need these, too?«

Tamiko scoffed.

»These aren’t mine!«

Then, she took the damp garment and let them dangle from her finger, examining them.

»And though we were narcotized before Yini undressed, I doubt they are hers either! She’s about my size!«

Helena could see that these panties had indeed belonged to a much bigger person. she took the panties, using the sheathed knife to do so.

»M-maybe, they belonged to one of your attackers!«

»Well, they definitely belonged to someone before they ended up in my mouth!«, Tamiko breathed, and though it wasn’t ready and much too hot, she sipped from her tea to get another taste in her mouth. The girls also shuddered, imagining how Tamiko must have suffered, naked, bound and gagged with another woman’s used underwear.

»Anyway, I have to thank you for your help! Now, I think I can stay and wait by the phone by myself! Of course, you may finish your tea first!«

Helena hesitated, for Tamiko had always been a person of respect to her. Then, however, she placed her hand on the Japanese’s arm.

»If you want, we can also stay with you – at least until the morning!«

Eileen was a bit surprised by that offer, but she also nodded. When Tamiko looked up, there was an expression of gratefulness in her eyes.

»I am glad I didn’t raise any cowards in my dojo!«

***

Maureen McMurdo took a deep breath as she staggered out into the still warm air of the German July. The bar at her student’s hostel was officially a common room, so the parties there developed more or less spontaneously, with everyone bringing something to the table. Sooner or later, more and more people ignored the sign prohibiting smoking, and Maureen was sure that her clothes would take some two days of airing, though she had only been sitting beside the smokers.

She had, however, been less repulsive when it had come to drinking; first, it had been to prove some of the guys that had mistaken her for an American that one of the differences between American and Australian girls was that the latter could stand a few stiff drinks. Then, they had all been amused by her Aussie dialect, with some of them trying to imitate it. Maureen had tolerated them repeatedly yelling “Straya!« or »Mate!«, and she had continued to drink with them. Only when one of the boys had started to make jokes like »Maureen Mc Murdo – triple M with double D!«, she had decided that she needed a break and left the room.

»I am sure you will miss it sooner or later!«

Maureen staggered when she turned around, and she leaned against the wall, staring at the person who had talked to her. The other girl smiled and held something to her face. Maurine squeezed her eyes and was able to recognize her own cell phone.

»Seems it fell out of your pocket when you were sitting at the couch!«

Maureen mumbled a »Thank you!« and reached for the phone, but dropped it. With surprisingly good reflexes, the other girl grabbed it before it shattered on the floor. Then, she gently took Maureen’s arm and asked:

»Do you live here, too? Maybe, you could need a little help!«

It took the drunk Australian a few attempts to stammer »House B, apartment 14«, and the other girl led her along the path that connected the different houses. After a few steps, she put her arm around the stumbling girl and steadied her. Maureen excused, but the other girl shook her head.

»I blame Michael! He put some extra into your drinks!«

Maureen’s eyes widened.

»A-a roofie?«

Now, the other girl shook her head.

»If so, I would have called the Cops! No, he just changed the amount of Rum and Coke in your Cuba Libres! And you poured it down like water!«

Before Maureen could comment on that, the other girl suddenly led her towards a sideway and behind a hedge. Maureen protested, but her new companion placed a hand on her mouth.

»Shhh! I just saw Michael! Obviously, he’s looking for you! As said, he is quite harmless, but you sure don’t want to hear him begging for sex!«

This caused Maureen to chuckle, and the other girl joined in. Then, she pulled her with her, whispering that Michael was still around. Obviously, they had landed at the parking lot, for Maureen suddenly found herself leaning against a van.

»Just stay here and keep your pretty mouth shut! I will just see if the air is clean, and we can get you to your apartment!«

before Maureen could say something, she had rushed around the car. Maureen looked at the sky, trying to get her head clear, and also trying to stand without having to lean against the car. In both cases, she failed miserably.

»Ey, where are you, mate? Don’t leave me alone heee-!«

She shrieked when suddenly, the wall behind her disappeared. No, no wall, there had been the van, and Maureen vaguely realized that the door behind her must have opened. She fell backwards, but was stopped by someone who held her in a tight grip. Too late, the girl realized that the arms were also clamping hers, and when she opened her mouth, something was pressed over her mouth and nose from behind.

»Uhhmm? Mhmmph!«

Maureen could smell something sweet, and then, she suddenly sobered from one moment to the next! This was chloroform, and she was getting narcotized. Maureen struggled, but the grip around her arms tightened, and the cloth was pressed harder against her face. Then, she felt that someone took her ankles, and she was pulled inside the van.

»Mhhrrrmmmm!«

The door was closed, and then, there were two pairs of arms pinning her down, and Maureen felt how the chloroform made her feel more and more groggy. The fumes filled her lungs, and her desperate struggles only made things worse. Then, she heard a voice, the voice of the girl that had helped her just minutes ago:

»Don’t be afraid, Maureen, we won’t leave you to Michael! However, you would maybe prefer his presence now?«

Maureen screamed into the soaked cloth for one last time. then, her groans turned to pants, and her struggles became helpless twitches. A minute later, she had passed out.

***