Penitence 4

»If things go on like this, I will ruin a set of clothes every day!«

Sato looked at his dirty T-Shirt, and the trousers that had gotten ripped when he had slipped through the hole in the barbed wire, followed by crawling towards a broken window, allowing him access to the warehouse.

At least, he was inside now. In the darkness, it looked like what one could expect from such a facility: big shelves, some of them filled with boxes and pallets. Was Johanna hidden in one of them?

He ducked behind the next box when he heard voices and steps.

***

The back door had indeed been open, and so, Gabriela held the bolt cutter like a weapon whilst Melissa let the torch wander over the shelves. The girls stepped onto a free space in the middle of the room where Melissa spotted some tire tracks.

»Maybe, that was where the van was parked!«

She crouched to closer inspect a spot where she could also see footprints. However, it only proved that someone had loaden something from the van. There was nothing like a piece of clothing (unlikely, given the fact Johanna had been naked) or some blonde hair, let alone any hint where Johanna was kept now.

She gasped when suddenly, the neon lights went on with a flicker, and two men stepped out of the darkness. Melissa didn’t need a translator to understand the taller one was asking them what the hell they were doing inside the warehouse.

She rose and straightened, though she still didn’t look too impressive, compared to the athletic 6`man in the shabby FC Porto tricot. His companion was smaller and younger, almost a teenager, but he held a baton. Melissa’s heart sank when she looked over her shoulder and saw two more men had materialized behind them.

Beside her, Gabriela said something, and Melissa noticed she was forcing herself to sound calm and confident. She only understood the word »Policia«; so, Gabriela was trying to convince the men that this was an investigation.

The tall guy didn’t seem impressed.

»Uuh, Policia!«, he jeered, followed by a sentence that made Gabriela reach for her back pocket. Melissa understood: she was reflexively feeling for her Police badge that now was either in the car or at her apartment. In German, she whispered:

»If you have a gun, now would be an excellent moment to draw it!«

»It’s in the boot of the car!«, Gabriela answered through gritted teeth. Then, she continued to negotiate with the four men that had now encircled them. Melissa noticed that she got more and more nervous and meek, and the body language of the men showed that they were enjoying the scene. She stepped forward and hoped that they all understood English:

»Look, we are sorry for interrupting your circle-jerk, or whatever you guys were doing! So, if you just step out of our way, no one gets hurt!«

The gang leader seemed to think about her words. Then, he said something in Portuguese that caused his comrades to chuckle and step closer. Melissa looked at Gabriela who had grown pale and stammered:

»Th-they say we c-can go i-if – if we-«

Two red spots appeared on her cheeks, and she made a gesture that left little to imagination. The tall man positioned himself with his thumbs hooked in his front pockets, thrusting out his pelvis.

»Me first, Senhoritas!«

Melissa panted. Once again, she looked for the door, but the other three men stood in their way. She put her hands on Gabriela’s shoulders.

»We do whatever it takes to survive, Gaby!«

The Portuguese wanted to protest, but Melissa just repeated:

»Whatever it takes, Gaby!«

She approached the tall man, taking care her hips swayed. Having reached him, she went on one knee, allowing her skirt to slide up her thigh, and looked up at the man who almost drooled. Melissa licked her lips and started to fumble on his zipper.

Then, she quickly jumped up, ramming her knee between the man’s legs. The tall man groaned and staggered, but Melissa already attacked the one with the baton.

»Kiyaa!«

With a front kick, she hit his chest. Melissa wasn’t heavy, and she was wearing sandals, and so, he just stumbled backwards, but he lost his baton. Melissa grabbed it and let it swish through the air as she spun around. The tall guy had sunk to his knees, his hands pressed against his balls, and one stood there, like petrified from what was happening whilst his comrade and Gabriela were encircling each other in fighting positions.

Melissa attacked the one standing around, hitting the tall guy’s ear in the progress. The man tried to dodge the baton, only to run into a kick from Melissa that sent him to the ground.

From behind her, she heard a curse and a high-pitched yell.

»Gaby?«

She spun around, only to see Gabriela still in fighting position. There was blood on her hand, but given the fact that her opponent was kneeling and held a hand to his nose, it seemed it was coming from him. She positioned herself beside Gabriela, the baton in both hands, ready to fight off an attack that would never come.

The tall man now had risen to one knee, one hand still between his legs whilst the other was pressed on his ear, blood gushing between his fingers. His comrades had gathered around him, staring with disbelief at the two amazons. Melissa stepped forward, hitting her palm with the baton.

»Is one of you Joao or Tiago?«

When the four just stared at her, she repeated the names. She realized that especially the name of Tiago seemed to ring a bell, for one of the men whispered something of which Melissa only understood one word:

»Masmorra!«

»What’s Masmorra?«, she asked. However, the three men now ran away from them, and the tall guy rapidly came to his feet and staggered after them. Melissa followed them, only to see them disappear through a side door beside the main gate. Little later, she heard the sound of a starting engine and spinning tires. Melissa checked the door before returning to Gabriela, swinging the baton.

»Next time these thugs want their ›batons‹ polished, they will sure ask more nicely!«

Then, she saw that Gabriela had sunk to one knee and was panting heavily whilst she was trembling like aspen foliage. She dropped the baton and slung her arm around the girl’s shoulders.

»Was it your first real fight?«

Gabriela nodded. Melissa knew the problem: like herself, Gabriela had been trained for unarmed combat – but it was a big difference between facing an opponent on the mat, where there were rules and limits, and getting into a real brawl. She remembered a situation four years ago, when she had still been a Policewoman and had participated in throwing down an escalating demonstration. On that occasion, she had had a short encounter with a skinhead wielding a baseball bat, and once the adrenaline had ceased after the riot was over, she had felt her legs getting wobbly and almost thrown up.

She brushed through Gabriela’s hair.

»You did great, Gaby – and we won!«

She forced herself to laugh, and with some exaggeration, she added:

»Geez, I could hear how the nose bone of that asshole cracked!«

When Gabriela looked up to her, she was still pale, but she showed a wryly smile.

»Really?«

With the help of Melissa, she came to her feet. The two girls hugged, and Melissa could feel that Gabriela no longer trembled. She decided that her colleague had recovered enough for an important question:

»Who or what is a Masmorra?«

Gabriella frowned.

»It’s a prison!«

»Did they mean that they better run, before they end up in prison?«, Melissa wondered. Gabriela shook her head.

»Criminals usually refer to the prison as ›prisão‹, or ›Hilton‹! Masmorra refers to – oh my God!«

Gabriela grabbed Melissa’s shoulders, her eyes sparkling:

»A ›Masmorra‹ is like a carcer – and maybe, they were referring to the old prison! It was used until 1974, when the dictatorship ended, but now, it’s just a ruin!«

In other words, it was an abandoned place, maybe with still functioning cells. A place that was ideal to keep Johanna prisoner!

»Is it far from here? I mean, can we go there now?«

Melissa was like electrified, and she could see that Gabriela was a bit reluctant. With a smile, she added:

»We will just have a look, and this time, we won’t forget your gun!«

Gabriela nodded. Then, she staggered towards one of the shelves.

»All right, just give me one minute, I-«

»You need to check if you need a fresh pair of panties!«, Melissa mocked. Gabriela spun around, her hands on her hips.

»No, filha de puta!«

Then, lowering her head and blushing slightly, she added:

»I just need to pee!«

»You go, girl!«

Melissa smiled when Gabriela showed her the middle finger before withdrawing to a dark corner. She went to where she had dropped her handbag during the brawl. The girl was tough, she just needed some more experience!

Gabriela hid behind a large box, opened her trousers and peeled them down together with her panties before squatting. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth, and something cold and hard pressed against her neck.

»Don’t worry, you may finish first!«, a male voice whispered into her ear.

***

Babette carefully moved her head, and to her great relief the noose that had tightened during her struggles loosened a bit. Not enough for her to get more range, but at least, she now could breathe again. Well, more or less.

Her mouth was stuffed with her own worn panties and a washcloth, kept in place by a scarf that cut into the corners of her mouth. Above, another scarf, two pairs of panties (at least, fresh ones this time) and her pantyhose also covered her nose, so, each bit of air had to pass through four layers of Satin, Silk and Nylon, and thanks to her previous fighting, the cloths were now damp with sweat. Babette knew that she had to concentrate on breathing, avoiding any fast movements, or she would faint – or even choke.

The hogtie was inconvenient, and being secured to the bed, she could also not roll onto the floor and try to reach the door. Faintly, she heard the sound of the TV – apparently some Portuguese game show with a host that sounded as if he was on speed. Babette knew that the sound would make her own muffled screams unhearable to anyone passing by.

She explored her bonds, but there was no escape either. Perhaps, she would have been able to pick on the knots in the pantyhose, though these were very tight. Above, however, Sato had tied the rope, and the ends of that were fixed to the bedframe, way out of her reach. She would have to wait until the Japanese returned.

»Why is he doing this to me? Conradi has made sure I won’t go to the Police!«

No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t find an answer to that question. Her curiosity also would have to wait until Sato returned.

***

Melissa’s eyes widened when she heard steps and turned around. Gabriela stood there with her pants down, and a hand clamped over her mouth. Beside her stood a man, and he was pressing what looked like a gun into her side.

»Drop the bag, and put your hands behind your head!«

Melissa obeyed, and the moment she realized the man had spoken German, she recognized him. It was the Japanese bodyguard of Martin Conradi!

Sato pushed Gabriela towards her, and the girl staggered and landed on the ground, though she managed to stay unhurt. He had not only waited until she had finished peeing, much to her embarrassment, but he had at least allowed her to pull up her panties, though not her trousers.

»Now, take off your shoes and socks!«

Sitting on the ground, Gabriela followed the order. Melissa, her hands at her nape, said:

»Our backup will be here any minute!«

Sato showed a thin smile.

»If you had backup, you wouldn’t have taken these four dumbasses all by yourselves! By the way, it was quite impressive!«

»Oh, thanks for the compliment!«, Melissa spat. Gabriela had taken off her sneakers and socks, and Sato now told her to put her hand behind her head and to get up as well. Gabriela hesitated. The problem wasn’t getting up without hands, but the fact that her trousers were still around her ankles. Sato made an inviting gesture with the gun and she obeyed, even as he made her step out of her pants. Her T-Shirt just covered the essentials.

»T-Shirt, too!«

»No!«

Gabriela put her hands on her hips. Sato remained calm as he stated:

»Do it, and you may keep your bra and panties!«

When the girl reluctantly did what she was told, Melissa couldn’t help recognizing her choice of underwear. Bra and panties matched, both were white and lacy, and Melissa wondered if Gabriela had been expecting a date after their planned dinner. She guessed that the underwear had cost at least 150 Euros, a lot of money for a Police Constable.

Sato didn’t make any lewd comments, he didn’t even really gaze at her. However, his next order was even worse:

»Now, do the same to your colleague! Start with the shoes!«

Gabriela looked apologetically at Melissa when she squatted to open the sandals. She forced herself to whisper that it was okay, and that it wasn’t her fault.

Losing her shoes hadn’t been embarrassing, but now, Gabriela had to remove Melissa’s blouse, and to do so, she had to unbutton it first. Melissa knew that her posture, with her hands folded at the back of her head, raised her breasts, and she felt that Gabriela’s fingers were ice cold and trembled slightly.

»Just do it, Gaby! I won’t die from it!«

»Wha-whatever it t-takes«, Gabriela replied, and she continued the unbuttoning, trying to touch Melissa’s breasts as little as possible. She had chosen a black bra with a little lace, and she was glad it covered her breasts rather than emphasizing them.

Her boobs and Gabriela’s now touched slightly as the girl reached around her waist to open the zipper of her skirt. Once open, it slid down her legs, and Melissa blushed slightly when she saw Sato look at her crotch. Her panties weren’t revealing, just plain bikini briefs made of white cotton. However, they were covered with small red Polka dots and looked quite girlish. When she saw that Gabriela also looked at her panties, Melissa snapped:

»Sorry, I didn’t anybody except me seeing them!«

Now, Gabriela blushed, and Sato chuckled. From his jacket, he produced a bunch of zip ties (he had thought of taking some from his car) and threw them to the Portuguese. Melissa had to lean against a post, and Gabriela was ordered to tie her wrists behind it.

»D-does it hurt?«

»A little tighter, I am afraid«, Melissa replied. She was sure that Sato would control her bonds and didn’t want Gabriela to get punished. The girl had to tie Melissa’s ankles, too. Then, she had to lean against the adjacent post, and Sato tied her the same way.

»This is nothing personal, I just need a head start!«

He picked Gabriela’s socks and produced a roll of duct tape.

»Any last words?«, he asked Melissa, balling up one of the socks. She stared daggers at him, but her voice was calm:

»I spare them for my report at your trial!«

She didn’t fight as he stuffed the sock into her mouth, though she couldn’t oppress a small retch. Obviously, Gabriela had worn them for the entire day.

Sato sealed her lips with a few strips of tape and went to Gabriela who looked at him with eyes like saucers, her chest heaving. However, when he asked her whether she had something to say, she answered in a high-pitched, but steady voice:

»What’s ›son of a bitch‹ in Japanese?«

Sato raised an eyebrow.

»Why do you want to blame my mother for my mistakes?«

He gagged her with the second sock and some tape. Then, he neatly folded their discarded clothes and took them with him, together with Melissa’s handbag. After a short bow, he left them alone.

Taking the back door this time, Sato landed on a street with only two cars parked in it. He fumbled the keys from Gabriela’s trousers and opened the doors of a blue Seat, similar to his own, but more modern, and placed the clothes on the passenger seat. He remembered that the two girls had mentioned being Policewomen; he knew that the taller one had been a member of the ship’s security, but maybe, the smaller one was indeed a Policewoman. He opened the glove box where he found two things: a wallet with an ID card, and a holster with a gun.

Sato put the gun into his belt. His lighter gun had once again looked convincingly enough, but now, he would perhaps have to fire real shots. He studied the ID card. Unfortunately, it showed Gabriela’s photo, so, nobody would believe in him being a Policeman. He closed the door and went for his own car, on the way studying Google Maps for the way to the old prison the girls had talked about.

With a little bit of luck, Johanna was there, and he could finally redeem himself!

***

Johanna had managed to doze off when she was woken up by the sound of approaching steps and two men talking to each other in Portuguese. She could see that Tiago seemed nervous whilst Tiago was trying to remain calm. To Johanna, he said:

»We have to rush things up a bit! Seems you will meet the Caudillo earlier than expected!«

Johanna could see that Joao was carrying a bag and was pulling what looked like a sack truck behind him, and Tiago grinned:

»The Caudillo was very explicit in his orders of how to transport you – but he has already paid in full, and so, his wishes are our orders!«

Her feet were released from the cell door, allowing Tiago to open it. Before Johanna could even think of running onto the corridor, both men entered, and the sack truck was placed on the floor. Tiago and Joao now each picked a roll of tape, and they started to wrap her legs, Tiago from her ankles to her knees whilst Joao did her thighs, brushing over her pubic mound as he did so.

She was placed on the sack truck and more tape was used to tie her feet to the little platform. Then, the contraption was lifted, and with a hand on her left breast, Joao took care Johanna didn’t topple over. Her already bound legs were now taped to the sack truck, followed by more layers, welding her upper body to the frame from her waist to below her breasts.

Her wrists were released, and the collar was removed, but now, they brought her arms together behind the sack truck and taped them together as close as they could get them. They couldn’t make her elbows meet, but her breasts were thrust out nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the men were using the fourth roll of tape as they secured her arms to the frame, wrapping it around her torso as well. Johanna now could only shake her head, or wriggle her fingers and toes. Joao now opened the padlock and removed the gag mask. Before Joahnna could spit out the panties, they were wedged even deeper into her throat, and Joao then pressed against her jaw, forcing her to bite down hard on her gag and to close her mouth. With his other hand, he gathered her hair, allowing Tiago to wrap transparent tape over her lips and around her head, pulling each of the at least ten layers extremely tight. Johanna’s jaw already felt numb, and when they let her go, she realized she could not move her jaw in the slightest.

»Gllggg!«

Tiago placed her glasses on her nose and secured them to her ears with two small pieces of tape. Joao grabbed the handles of the sack truck, and Johanna was pushed along the corridor and into the yard where now, only a few stars lit the black sky. In a corner, she could see a third man, most likely the one who had been on the tower during the day. He stared at her with a mixture of fear and fascination. From somewhere outside, there was some shouting, but Tiago just padded Joao’s shoulder and grinned:

»They will soon piss off – and once our precious good«, he squeezed Johanna’s breast with his free hand, »is on her way, we will also piss off!«

***

A short struggle had told Melissa that her bonds were simple, but effective. Gabriela had, on her own order, pulled the zip ties so tight they cut into her skin, and the post was round, so, there were no sharp edges to work with.

»Mph!«, she commented, trying to express more calmness than she felt. It wasn’t just the embarrassment of being found like that, bound gagged and in just her bra and panties. What if the four thugs returned? They had been very explicit before, and now, they also held a grudge against her and Gabriela. If they would show up, they would both be forced to swallow much worse things than their saliva filtered by Gabriela’s sweaty socks!

Gabriela at least didn’t panic, though she was constantly wriggling and squirming, panting through her nose. Melissa lowered herself into a sitting position, as if to show that saving their breath was all they could do for now. However, the Portuguese continued her efforts, and after a while, accompanied by a groan, her hands suddenly appeared in front of her.

She landed on the ground, but not caring at all, she began to peel on the tape over her lips. With a sound of disgust, she spat out the sock and after some wheezing, she looked at Melissa, showing a triumphant smile.

»When he tied me up, I balled my fists and tensed my muscles! Together with the sweat, it was just enough to free my hands!«

Melissa felt a wave of relief and admiration. Using the bolt cutter, Gabriela freed her ankles and then also cut Melissa’s bonds, leaving it to her to remove the tape and to spit out the sock. The two girls hugged, and Melissa padded Gabriela’s shoulder.

»You are as tough as a veteran!«

Gabriela scoffed, looking down on herself.

»A veteran in lacy underwear!«

They sneaked towards the side door they had entered through, and they could see two things: their car was still standing where Gabriela had parked it – and close to it stood a group of teenagers, smoking and drinking beer.

»Please, go away!«, Gabriela muttered, and Melissa took a deep breath.

»This Japanese said something about a head start! Whatever he has in mind, time is on the agenda! We must at least call your colleagues!«

The problem was that both their cell phones had been taken away from Sato, and Gabriela’s car radio was also where the bunch of youngsters was. Melissa adjusted her panties.

»They don’t look as if they are dangerous! I will get out and distract them, so you can get into the car and then pick me up!«

Gabriela shook her head.

»We will stand this together! As you said, we won’t die from it!«

They took each other’s hands, and, straight and calmly, they approached the car. After a collective gasp, the boys hooted and whistled.

»Allow me!«

When Melissa reached for the side door, the teenager leaning there was too perplexed to do or say something, he just stepped back, allowing her to enter the car. Gabriela also could get inside without further problems, and Melissa padded the pile on her lap.

»He indeed left our clothes! Now, let’s get to this old prison – but once you see a quiet spot, you stop, so we can get dressed!«

The boys waved as they drove on. Gabriela ignored them; she had already switched on the radio and was asking for support.

***

The old prison was encircled by four brick walls, each some five yards high. It stood in the middle of nowhere, some two miles outside the city, and according to Google Earth, there were buildings on two sides of the walls. Sato could also make out the watchtower in the dark. He had parked behind a rock some 200 yards away, for there were two cars parked in front of the building. Also, he could see four men, two of them hammering against the iron door. Sato could see the football shirt one of them was wearing, and he would have betted his new gun that these were the men that the two Policewomen had just beaten up in the warehouse.

Sato drew the gun and checked the magazine. He had eight shots, and he could see no weapons on the four men. However, if he killed them, he would still be where he was now, for like these thugs, he wanted to get on the other side of the door.

Obviously, whoever was inside didn’t want visitors, and after a while, the tall man angrily kicked against the door, and they returned to their car, cursing. Sato ducked as they left; then, he carefully sneaked closer, using every cover the barren terrain offered.

Now just some 40 yards away from the door, he ducked behind a bush. He could see that the other car looked expensive, a black Porsche Cayenne. Definitely not the car of a cheap gangster!

He looked to both sides when he heard an approaching motor, but there was no car on any side of the road. Then, he realized the sound was coming from above. Reflexively, he crawled deeper under the thorny bush, staring at the small helicopter that flew just a few dozen yards above his head.

»The Police!«, he thought.

The chopper stopped above the prison yard, and on its bottom, a strong search light now illuminated the ground. Sato frowned. If this was a Police mission, why did they expose themselves like that? In addition, this wasn’t a Police helicopter. It was painted red and yellow, and had a big coat of arms on its side. Sato took a photo when he saw that something was dangling down from the chopper: a rope, or maybe a chain.

The helicopter kept hovering for another minute; then, it slowly rose, and Sato could see something was dangling from the chain. Whilst the chopper flew back, directly over his head, the load was pulled upwards, but for one second, Sato could see that it was a woman: a naked woman, fixed to some contraption with lots of black tape. Her hair was blonde, and for the fraction of a second, he could see she was wearing glasses.

»Johanna!«

The sound of the helicopter drowned his yell, and yet, just before it disappeared in the darkness, he was sure that Johanna had seen him, too.

He fought down the irrational urge to run after the helicopter. As the sound of it ceased, he now could hear another noise that seemed to come closer soon: Police sirens. He guessed that they were only a mile away and would be here within one or two minutes. Obviously, the two girls had already managed to free themselves and to alert their colleagues.

»And I thought I was good in tying up women!«

The iron door opened, and before his rational side took over, Sato fired. With a yell, the man withdrew, and the door was closed again. Sato cursed. Hadn’t he been so impulsive, he would have gotten them!

However, with the Police here any moment, neither a shootout nor a brute force interrogation of the thugs was an option. So, he forced himself to aim and fired at the Porsche’s tires, flattening them. He then sprinted to his car and drove off, knowing that now, at least, the criminals would be unable to escape and would be caught by the Police.

On his way back to Porto, he saw the approaching Police cars, no less than four, and at least according to Google Earth, the old prison had o second exit.

»Just leave one of them alive, so you can interrogate him!«, he said to himself whilst he had to realize he had failed. He had found where Johanna was held captive, but he had been a few minutes to late. Had it been him forcing the two Policewomen to strip? Or that he hadn’t even tried to work together with them? Anyway, Johanna was gone, and all he had was a photo of a helicopter, plus a more than vague plan B!

***