Combining Business and Pleasure 14

After she had screamed until exhaustion had stopped her, needing a valve for her pain, fear and frustration, Melissa hung in her bonds, staring at her image in the wall mirror. She tried to figure out if there was a chance of escaping their fate.

Any minute, the thugs could return, to pick them one by one, stowing them to get them from the ship and sell them into slavery. It sounded ridiculous, but it was what was lying ahead of them, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Melissa pulled on her bonds, but with the rope around her neck, she could not raise to her arms tied to the dumbbell bar, and since her crossed wrists were blocked by the bench’s feet, she could also not crawl forward. Her fingers were taped, and her gag would have prevented her from chewing through the ropes anyway.

Angrily, she pulled on the bar. On each side, heavy weight rings were attached, maybe 200 lbs on each side, too much for bench pressing. Melissa knew that even if she had been able to lift the bar and get it from its brackets, it would have landed on her chest, most likely breaking her ribs.

Again, she pulled, and there was a metallic clink coming from the weights. Melissa could see the reflexion in the mirror, and it told her that the weights were secured by a screw on each end. The same screw as they had been used at the gym of her Police Academy. Once, when one of her male colleagues had trained, it had come loose from him moving the bar, and the weights had landed on the ground.

»Moving the bar! Weights landing on the ground!«

Melissa flet like electrified. If she could move the bar, she could perhaps get the screw loose. And then, by moving the bar the little she could, she could perhaps cause the weights to fall off.

It would be straining, the sound of the falling weights would most likely alarm the kidnappers, and even if she managed to be successful, she would still be bound and gagged.

However, it was the only alternative to waiting like a lamb waited for the slaughter, and so, Melissa kept on moving the heavy bar, sweat pouring down her body.

***

When approaching the arrest cells, Conradi saw a small group of men staggering through the corridor, accompanied by some laughter and oppressed curses.

»I should have left you in the cell, for sobering!«

The voice spoke English, and Conradi recognized it as Davenport’s. Behind him, Jeb was leaning against the wall, obviously drunk, and aided by a man Conradi had never seen before. He wore no uniform, and he reminded him of the young Edward Fox, in »Day of the Jackal«. Davenport spotted him and showed a grim smile.

»This fuckhead could persuade the guy guarding him to get him some drinks – and see how that ended!«

They maneuvered themselves around him, and with the help of Davenport and the young man, Jeb managed to stumble forward, trying to sing a song. Conradi oppressed the urge to grab Davenport’s lapel and to ask him what he had done to his folder. There were other priorities, and one of them was to get Sato back.

The lobby of the arrest cells smelled of tobacco, despite the open porthole, and the seaman more hanging than sitting at his desk also looked wasted. A deck of cards was lying on the desk, and Conradi could see that the lid of Sato’s cell was open.

»Excuse me!«

The seaman looked up, tried to sit straight and let out a burp.

»S-Sorry, S-sir!«

Though he was more than a bit drunk as well, Conradi understood what had happened: obviously, Jeb had still had some cash, and he had persuaded the man to get him some alcohol, inviting him to join in his bender. He shook his head, and he presented the written note from the Captain to the man.

»I have the permission to have my man released! Are you able to open the door, or do I have to help myself?«

The seaman made a heroic attempt to get to his feet, but finally fell back into his seat and pointed at a hook at the wall. Conradi took the key dangling from it, and he opened Sato’s cell.

»Ataru, I-«

Sato was sitting on his bunk, the collar of his shirt open. He stared at the opposite wall with glassy eyes, and he held a half empty Gin bottle loosely in his right.

»Arrest cells with cabin service! Now, I have seen it all!«

Sato looked at him, his expression showing shame, sadness and drunken stupor. Conradi understood: by questioning Sato’s qualities as a bodyguard, he had also questioned the man’s honour, and Sato had obviously also bribed the guard to get some liquid help against his feelings of guilt.

He felt the urge to either slap the apathic Japanese, or to grab his hair, pull him over to the sink and let some cold water run over his head. Instead, Conradi folded his hands in front of his chest and bowed slightly. The gesture made Sato straighten.

»Martin-San! I must excuse!«

The Japanese failed in closing his collar buttons, but at least, he managed to sit up. Conradi looked at him.

»Ataru, it’s me who has to excuse. I – I need your help!«

With surprising swiftness, Sato came to his feet. He staggered, and he put his hands on Conradi’s shoulders as he fought for balance. Conradi looked at him, and he was doubting that the man would be of much help.

»Davenport?«, he grunted, and Conradi shook his head.

»It’s about my wife! Leonora’s gone – and I have to find her!«

This had a sobering effect on Sato, though Conradi wasn’t sure if the man was all by himself. The Japanese roughly hugged him; then, he went for the sink and washed his face. With the water dripping from him, he then barked:

»Let’s go!«

There was something frightening in Sato’s sudden determination, and Conradi reached for the Gin bottle, taking a sip. Then, he said:

»I think she might be together with this masseur! I need to question the man and-«

Sato surprised him with a wolfish grin. Having tired to drink away the loss of both Johanna and the trust of his boss, he now had gotten some hope: Conradi had come back, and he still wanted him in his service! He perhaps would have some difficulties in walking straight, but these were minor issues.

They reached the elevator, and a few minutes later, they were standing in front of the massage studio. A few passengers that were around looked at the two obviously drunk men now staring at the closed door. Conradi, who had drunk some more of the Gin on their way, now imagined Karim’s face, his oily smile, and he imagined the man’s hands on Leonora’s breasts.

»Ataru!«

»Martin-San?«

Sato and Conradi looked at each other, panting, and somehow understanding each other. Conradi then stated:

»Ataru – when it comes to the woman you love, you sometimes have to take desperate measures! Do you agree?«

»Hai!«

Conradi saw that now, the half a dozen passengers and one of the crew members were staring at them. He chuckled.

»Fuck it, I am rich, so, I will get away with almost everything!«, he thought. He showed a wide grin and ordered:

»Mr. Sato – open that door! For Leonora!«

»For Leonora and Johanna!«, Sato replied. Before Conradi could ask who that was, the Japanese positioned himself in front of the door, and with a yelled »Kiyaah!«, he kicked the door open. The watchers gasped, and the two men stumbled inside the studio.

Though the opening door caused a loud crack, Leonora didn’t react to it. Perhaps, she would have even ignored a detonating bomb.

Karim had continued massaging her middle, and though he had either insulted her or told her how he would get rid of her if his plan failed, her body had reacted to the caresses. His fingers had slid inside her, and then, he had thrust them deep inside her, squirming them as he slowly withdrew. By doing so, he sent shivers through her womb Leonora had hardly ever felt before, and she had moaned and closed her eyes, rearing up to feel him even more.

»A true horny slut!«

This was about the nicest he had said to her, but he had continued pushing his fingers inside her, hard and fast when entering, slow and squirming them when withdrawing. Leonora had writhed and moaned, unable to oppress her arousal.

Now, Karim, who was also occupied with what he was doing, heard the noise from behind. He turned his head, and just as he noticed the shadow of the approaching man, a hand grabbed his hair and pulled him away from Leonora, throwing him to the floor. As he looked up, he spotted Conradi.

»Oh, Mr. Conradi, I-«

Conradi’s fist hit him; the businessman wasn’t used to fighting, and so, Karim just shook his head and got to his feet. At that moment, Sato intervened:

»Take care of your wife, Martin-San! I’ll take care of him!«

The little interruption had allowed Karim to grab the knife from the table, and now, he faced the Japanese. He knew that his plan had failed, but he would not go down without a fight.

»Go to hell, you-«

Sato dodge his attack, and Karim’s triumph when his opponent landed on his back was short-lived, as Sato kicked away his legs, sending him to the ground, too. His arm was grabbed and then yanked upwards behind his back, sending such a wave of pain through his shoulder that he dropped the knife. Sato forced him to his knees.

»Martin-San! If you want to beat him now-«

Conradi stood bent over Leonora, covering her face with kisses whilst trying to work on her gag. Sato saw tears run down the naked woman’s cheeks, and he decided that the two needed a few moments. So, he pushed up Karim’s arm a little more, causing the man to wince.

»Let’s go!«

He forced the man, still on his knees, to get to the corridor where now a bigger crowd had gathered, including a few crewmen. Karim suddenly turned his head and hissed:

»Let me go – or Johanna will die!«

He had quickly counted two and two together, telling him that this was the Japanese from whose room Andreas had kidnapped the blonde. The perplexed Sato eased his grip a bit, and Karim added:

»Let me go, and I tell you where she is!«

Under normal conditions, Sato would just have added pressure to his arm again, but now, with his worries about Johanna stoked, and after half a bottle of Gin, he let Karim go, and the Berber pushed him away with his other arm. To the crewmen, he shouted:

»A-arrest this man – he has gone crazy!«

Two confused seamen stepped towards Sato who needed just a few punches to convince him to let him go. However, as he looked after Karim, he saw the man ran towards the deck. With a curse, he followed him, the passengers giving way to the enraged Japanese.

Inside the studio, Conradi had meanwhile removed the tape and bandage from Leonora’s mouth and now plucked a washcloth from her mouth. As she still croaked, he also pulled a sodden pair of white panties from her mouth, wondering for a moment that these weren’t his wife’s. Looking down on the still naked, bound and exposed Leonora, he whispered:

»Can you forgive me, Nora?«

He hadn’t used her pet name for some time, and Leonora blinked, trying to focus him through her tears.

»Sh-shouldn’t I a-ask that?«

»Perhaps, we should meet in the middle and forgive each other!«

He kissed her, and now, Leonora’s tears of embarrassment were replaced by such of relief. When he withdrew, she breathed:

»You fought for me!«

Conradi chuckled.

»Actually, Sato did the fighting!«

Before they could continue, some people entered the room, and Conradi heard the voice of Captain Schmidt.

»Mr. Conradi, I must insist-«

»Captain Schmidt!«

Leonora’s voice was a bit hoarse, but it was steady and loud enough to stop the captain who stood there, accompanied by two of his men. The Captain stared down at the naked woman, tied to an office chair with her legs bent over the armrests, so he could see every bit of her nude, sweat-glistering front. Her makeup was ruined, and her hair hung in dishevelled tresses. Yet, she embodied quite some authority as she said:

»Captain, my husband will be available to you in 15 minutes! But now, I would beg you to leave us alone for a little, so he can help me getting into something more decent!«

One of the crewmen had to break the etiquette by poking Captain Schmidt’s side. The man, who still stared at the nude woman in front of him, cleared his throat.

»Eh, of course, Ma’am, sorry!«

They withdrew, and Conradi looked down on Leonora with admiration.

»Maybe, I should have you do my negotiations!«

He gathered the knife from the floor and cut her bonds, aiding her to get over to the main room where he found a bathrobe for her. When he draped it over her shoulders, Leonora sighed:

»It’s unfair, somehow! You are banging your secretaries for years, and I step aside once and end up bound and gagged by a blackmailer!«

She did, however, not shy back as he closed his arms around her.

»I would feel much better with my version! That Babette worked for Davenport, and that me hiring her for her looks will cost me quite a sum! And yet, I would pay even twice, for it brought you back into my arms!«

Leonora giggled, and he fell in.

»Geez, that’s even cornier than what you said on our second date! And by then, we still were young!«

He let his eyes wander over her nude body.

»You haven’t changed a bit!«

Leonora pressed herself against him.

»What do you think, how much of the 15 minutes do we still have?«

***

BUMP!

Hannah gasped when the first of the weights landed on the floor with a loud noise, despite the floor being padded with mats. In the reflexion of the mirror, she had been able to watch Melissa move and turn the bar her wrists were tied to. At first, she had thought she was trying to free her hands, but by her constant efforts, the screw holding the weights on the bar had come off, and now, Melissa doubled her efforts to push the bar back and forth. She was hyperventilating, and on each breath, she felt the rope around her neck rub over her throat. Her muscles ached, but still, their captors hadn’t returned.

»If nothing else, maybe, one of the weights will fall on one of their feet!«

She had to pause and catch breath when the first 20 kilo weight dropped. There were still four more on the right, and five on the other side. However, the other screw had also loosened, and now, with a little less weight, moving the bar had become a little easier. Biting down on the strange panties stuffing her mouth, Melissa doubled her efforts, and more weights fell. It sounded as if the whole room was collapsing, and she feared that she would be heard through the whole ship.

»Mhuuhhmmph!«

Her shoulder was almost dislodged when the last weight came off on the right side, causing the dumbbell to jump from its brackets. This caused the last weights to drop, allowing Melissa to lower the now empty bar to her chest.

She realized that she hadn’t gained much; with her hands tied and taped to the bar, she could not remove the neck rope. However, she now was able to move forward, allowing her to get her bound legs over the lower end of the bench. Melissa squirmed and struggled, and she managed to get to the floor, allowing her to crawl closer to Suzette, until the rope connecting her neck to her ankles that was still entangled with the bench’s feet, stopped her.

The musician had watched Melissa’s struggles, and now, she leaned back and stretched her arms. They were cuffed at wrists and elbows, but her fingers were free, and when she forced herself forward as much as she could, involuntarily pressing her sole against Hannah’s crotch in the progress, she could reach Melissa’s taped hand.

»If I continue like this, my fingers will be so numb that I won’t be able to hold my bow anymore!«, the girl thought, but she continued picking, and in the end, Melissa’s fingers came free, and though the Policewoman was now completely exhausted, she tried to help picking on the knots of her wrist tie.

»Uuuuuhhmmmph!«

When her right hand came free, Melissa immediately loosened the neck rope and pulled the noose over her head. Then, she lay on her back, wheezing and unable to do anything for a while. She heard a constant humming, and she wondered why there were some angry wasps in the gym. Only when she realized it was Suzette and Hannah, she continued to free herself.

When she had untied her other hand and her ankles, and was just reaching for her gag, she could see the door open.

***

Andreas cursed in his thoughts whilst he tried to keep up his façade of a petty Officer doing his duty. He and Sammy had just stowed the box with Johanna when he had reached a call via his pager every crew member had to carry in case of emergencies. So, he had little choice than to appear at the bridge where an enraged second Officer informed him that obviously, there was a veritable manhunt aboard the ship.

»Seems like Karim has kept one of the passenger’s wives as a captive, and now, the man’s bodyguard is after him!«, a fellow petty Officer reported to him, and Andreas had grown pale.

So, Karim’s great plan had failed after just a few hours, with him and the others still aboard, and with just one of the girls being stowed! He pretended to look after the man on the run, trying to withdraw from the manhunt, so he could get back to the gym. However, before he could do so, he had to get rid of his colleague who was following him, obviously quite keen on finding Karim.

***

»Mmmhhmmmmm!«

Babette had screamed at the top of her lungs, and she had waited until there had been a pause in the faint noises coming from the adjacent cabin. Her massive gag reduced her scream to a hum, and though she could not hear any details, she knew that she had not been able to alert the people next door.

Since John and Davenport had left, Babette had tried everything to get loose, but to no avail. Her arms, tied at wrists and elbows, and wrapped in tape from the tips of her fingers to her upper arms, were reduced to a single, barely moveable limb, and if she struggled too much, the strain in her shoulders would turn from inconvenient to agonizing.

Speaking of agonizing, the rope that went through her crotch and was tied to her hogtied legs also didn’t forgive any sudden movements – a lesson the girl had learned the hard way. So, after a few minutes, she had just been lying on her side, staring at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand, telling her that it was shortly after 11pm.

»So, it’s one more hour before the ship is docked! Plus some extra time for John and Davenport to leave and get a taxi! By next morning, when the cabin service finds me, they will be halfway to the States!«

The idea of having to spend another ten to twelve hours bound and gagged made her scream through her gag. With her mouth stuffed full by three pairs of panties – all well worn, and one of them not even her own –, and with the many layers of bandage, cloth and tape holding them inside her oral cavity, all she managed was the humming sound, or some throaty chortling, barely audible even to her.

»You are not dumb, just a little naïve!«

These had been more or less John’s last words towards her, and the damn bastard had been so right! She had fallen for him like a schoolgirl, thought that he was not only a good lover, but also a loyal partner – maybe even more. Babette had seen herself as something like an agent or detective, the tough and plucky girl that discovered the evil deeds of Conradi. And now, she was lying on a bed, naked, bound and gagged, and all she had achieved was to have failed miserably.

»Maybe, I am just qualified as a poster girl for dumb blonde memes!«

***

Melissa had trained Martial Arts at the Police Academy, and she had the element of surprise. So, she had been able to get behind the entering Yema and sling her arm around her neck before the Chinese had even realized that she had managed to free herself.

Blocking the hold by grabbing her wrist with the other hand, she was strangling Yema whilst she looked for the men. However, it seemed that Yema had come alone. Only now, she realized the other’s fingers clawing into her arm, desperately trying to break free, and she heard the faint retching of the Chinese. Melissa felt the terrible, vital urge to break Yema’s neck, but she was able to keep her self-control and stopped when she collapsed.

»Mmmrrmm!«

Spurned by the excited moans of Hannah and Suzette, the still naked and gagged Melissa rummaged to Yema’s pockets. She found the little gun, and a bunch of keys, but none of them were for the handcuffs. Spontaneously, she rushed for the gym door and, having found the right key, she locked it from the inside.

»I have to restrain her! If the others return, I can’t keep her under control!«

When she bent over the unconscious woman, she thought that they would also need some clothes if they wanted to fetch help. So, she unbuttoned the grey frock and removed it, noticing Yema only wore a T-Shirt, bra and panties underneath. Since they were three, the T-Shirt would come useful! Remembering how the woman and her accomplices had treated her, she decided to also take off Yema’s bra, and finally, she peeled down her panties, too.

With the ropes that had fixed her wrists to the bars, she tied Yema at wrists and ankles. When she heard her moan and her lids fluttered, indicating she was regaining her consciousness, Melissa grabbed the gun and pointed at her.

»Mmhrrrmmm!«

Only when she wanted to shout »Freeze!«, she realized that she still was gagged. However, when she grabbed Yema’s hair and forced the barrel into her mouth, the Chinese understood what she was expected to do. In helpless rage, she watched Melissa open the straps of her harness gag with her left after she had unwrapped the tape. Since she didn’t dare to lower the gun, it took some time for her to remove her gag, but finally, she could pull the sodden panties from her mouth. With a devious grin, she held them to Yema’s face.

»What did you say, bitch? An interesting melange of sweat, arousal and a man’s deodorant? Well, now, you may add my saliva to the list!«

Yema’s togue was no match against Melissa’s hands, combined with her gleeful rage. Though the Chinese had a small mouth, she managed to cram the whole pair of Johanna’s panties inside. Lacking tape, she secured the gag in place with the harness gag, buckling the straps as tight as she could. Yema whimpered, and Melissa let out a frightening laugh.

On the top of Yema’s head, the harness gag had an iron ring attached to it. Melissa tied the long rope that had been around her neck to it and then threaded it through an eyelet at the ceiling. She pulled, forcing the hogtied Yema to balance on her knees, or to topple and hang from her gag.

»Nnngg! Mmhhmmp!«

»Oh, this will be way more inconvenient, bitch!«

She forced the dangling end between Yema’s legs and brought it up to the eyelet again, pulling the slack out until Yema screamed into the panties stuffing her mouth, and the rope bisected her crotch. Melissa tied the rope off.

»Now, you’ll think twice of lowering your body!«

She put her hands on Yema’s shoulders and pressed. The Chinese whimpered, shaking her head and staring at Melissa’s grimace with widened eyes.

What saved her was the glimpse Melissa got of herself in the mirror. Abashed by her own ferocity, she jumped back and panted, forcing herself to find back to the reasonable Policewoman she actually was. Glancing at Yema one last time, she went for Suzette and started to pick on the tape of her gag.

»Sorry, the bitch hasn’t got the keys to the cuffs! Once I have ungagged you, I will put on the clothes and-«

»Mmhhmmmph! Uuhhmmmmm!«

Suzette stared over her shoulder, and Melissa slowly turned around. Her nape hairs rose when she saw the door handle move up and down, followed by some faint slamming against it. She darted forward and grabbed the gun.

Again, there was a knocking, barely audible due to the effort Sammy had put in getting the room soundproof. Obviously, they still thought that Yema had locked herself in.

In the few seconds she had until the other criminals would realize something was wrong, Melissa checked her options. The door was made of solid metal, and she had left the key in the opening, but with a crowbar, they would be able to enter sooner or later. She had the gun, but they were two, and perhaps, they had access to heavier arms, or a smoke grenade. Anyway, it would endanger Hannah and Suzette if they had a shootout inside a room.

She noticed a shadow behind her, and she spun around, expecting that Yema had somehow managed to free herself. However, it was a group of three crewmen who had entered the Aerobic room. Melissa’s relief was replaced by fear: if her colleagues would enter the other room, they would run into two armed men! She had to warn them!

She screamed, but the men, talking to each other, didn’t hear her, only one of them looked up and looked around, but, seeing nothing, he just shrugged. Then, he pointed to the door and said something, obviously indicating they should turn to the next room.

»No!«

Instinct took over, and Melissa fired at the one-way mirror that separated the two rooms. The mirror was made from a similar glass car windows were made off: it was very solid, but if the impact was too hard, it broke to myriads of small shards.

The men had heard the muffled shots, and then, their jaws dropped as one of the wall mirrors exploded into a cloud of shards. They stared at a naked brunette, aiming at them.

»Don’t go into the other room!«

Melissa’s ears were ringing from the shots, and she could barely understand her own voice. She lowered her gun, and she sank to her knee, her strength suddenly fading. She heard one of the men order his colleague to get some help; then, he carefully approached her. Noticing Suzette and Hannah, accompanied by Yema, he gasped:

»Oh my God! You are all naked!«

»No shit, Sherlock!«, Melissa snapped. Then, she giggled hysterically, leaning against the man and feeling unable to stop laughing.

***

A few dozen passengers watched the docking of the »Mauretania II«, though they couldn’t see much of Porto, except for some distant lights: the pier for such a big ship was outside the old harbour, meaning that they would have to rely on the bus shuttle the next morning. However, a few people had gathered around the gangway door, waiting for the gangway to be lowered. Among them were Davenport who puffed his trademark cigar, and John who tried to keep Jeb, who was sitting on a bench and snored from toppling over.

One thing was strange: two armed seamen stood by the gangway door. A petty officer had explained that a criminal was on the loose, and they didn’t want him to leave the ship unseen, of course.

»For your own safety, we beg you to excuse the delay! As soon as the man is caught, you may leave immediately – and if you need a taxi, the shipping company will be happy to pay!«

Davenport and John, each of them with a bag that was just small enough to not look suspicious, weren’t concerned about the extra 50 Euro for a taxi; they had seen the group of uniformed men standing on the pier, waiting for the gangway to be lowered. They were members of the Portuguese Police, and though they were after someone else, their presence made them slightly nervous.

»I hope that we trussed up Blondie well enough!«, Davenport thought, and though he didn’t know it for sure, he knew that John thought the same.

***