Penitence 8

In the early afternoon, Carmen returned into the cellar, accompanied only by Miranda. Whilst the Spaniard was still clad in just her bikini, Carmen had put a transparent robe over hers. Miranda carried a tray, and when she placed it on the torture rack, Johanna could see some fruits and protein bars.

Her gag was removed, and Miranda pulled the two pairs of panties from her mouth. Johanna considered refusing to eat, but having not eaten for 24 hours, her body demanded its right, and she was also determined not to break. Instead, she tried to look tough:

»So, what do you have planned for me next, as afternoon-entertainment, so to say?«

After an orange, a banana and two protein bars, poured down with some more water, Johanna felt strong enough to hide her fear. Miranda had been surprisingly gentle in feeding her, holding her head and not forcing her. She now even dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and Carmen also seemed relaxed.

»Are you familiar with the saying: ›don’t try to add more years to your life, but more life to your years‹?«

»Yes«, Johanna replied with a drawling voice. Carmen picked up the lacy pair of panties that had stuffed her mouth and held it to Johanna’s lips. When she reflexively closed her mouth, Miranda grabbed her hair and pinched her nose, thus allowing carmen to stuff the garment back into her mouth, slowly, but thoroughly, and adding the second pair on top. Then, the gag mask was replaced, and Carmen smiled:

»Inga and Kim are coming soon, and I don’t want you to tell them what I am telling you now: in two days, an old friend of mine will visit me – actually, he’s an old friend of my late husband, though he isn’t that old in comparison!«

Johanna would have loved to tell her that she should come to the point, as she could feel that Carmen was about to reveal her fate.

»It’s the man I told you about, the guy from Africa. However, I told Kim and Inga that his next stop is in Germany and therefore, he will take you with him to set you free on some public place, naked and in a crate, as the finale of my revenge on you! Since this marks the end of their duties towards me, both were happy to hear that, and they promised to assist me in making you suffer, as long as your ordeal will be over so soon!«

Carmen smiled and once again let her finger run over Johanna’s body.

»You will indeed leave my home, together with him, naked and crated – but your destination will be another direction than your home country! Inga and Kim sure wouldn’t approve of that – if only you could tell them!«

Johanna panted. It was Carmen’s old plan, only the time schedule had changed. To her dismay, her captor suddenly put her hands over her face and sank to the floor, obviously sobbing.

Moments later, Inga and Kim, also in their bikinis, entered, bending over her whilst Miranda showed Johanna a sardonic smile. She bent over her and whispered in English:

»Seems that you still managed to hurt Carmen – and she wants you to pay for it!«

When the Swedish and the Korean looked up, the look in their eyes told Jihanna that they had bought the charade and were determined to teach her another lesson.

***

Having slept just three hours, and none the night before, Sato had dozed off and now was sleeping with his back turned towards Babette who could see that the rain had stopped.

She shifted her position, carefully not to wake up Sato. Her arms were still bound, and she still sported the crotch rope, but her legs were free and she was ungagged. Since Sato had run back into her life, she hadn’t been that free without him controlling her.

The road they were on was quiet, but there had been other cars, and perhaps, she could have a head start – if she managed to get out of the car. Babette raised her leg, until her toes touched the door lock. Carefully, she pulled the lever and pushed against the door, holding her breath as it opened. There was a faint screech, and Sato mumbled something in his sleep, but Babette managed to get first one, then her second foot onto the damp gravel. She took a deep breath and got to her feet, once again looking at the sleeping Sato as she silently pushed the door close with her butt.

Before the rain had started, they had passed a village. Babette had no idea how far it was behind, maybe two miles, maybe four. However, every step would get her closer to rescue and further away from Sato, and so, she walked on, turning her head after every 50 steps.

Her confidence grew as she no longer could see the car, for she had passed a turn. Now, even if Sato would wake up right now, she would be warned by the sound of the engine. Perhaps, she could hide in the ditch if-

In front of her, she heard a roaring sound, and then, three shadows approached her. Babette could see it were three men on motorcycles, and she cheered and hopped on the spot as they came closer.

They stopped beside her, and the first one took off his helmet. He was blonde and sported a beard, obviously no Spaniard or Portuguese, and he said something in a language that sounded Scandinavian. Babette decided that he would understand English:

»Help me! I got kidnapped and-«

She fell silent as she noticed the way his eyes wandered over her body. With the jacket still knotted at her waist, her panties were exposed, and her cleavage also left little to imagination. He said something in a drawling voice, and his companions also removed their helmets. One was beardless, resembling a young Dolph Lundgren, and the third was a Viking like his comrade.

They slowly dismounted and Babette told them that she had been kidnapped by an armed man who was just half a mile behind. However, she could have spoken Chinese as well, as two of the men stared at her partially exposed breasts whilst the third focussed on her panty-clad pubic mound, bisected by the crotch rope.

»Please, this isn’t a joke!«

»Oh, we are not joking!«, the first Viking said, stepping behind her. He slung his muscular arm around her, trapping her arms, and the beardless also approached, chuckling as he pushed his finger into the crotch rope and playfully pulled on it.

»No, please!«

»I thought we should save you!«, the third one said, reaching for the lapels of Babette’s jacket. He yanked it open, exposing her boobs, causing his friends to hoot and whistle. With a grin, he added:

»The question is: are you grateful?«

Babette squirmed and tried to kick one of the men’s shin, but being barefoot, she caused no damage on his leather boots. When the beardless groped one of her breasts, she screamed, and he answered with a laugh.

»Playing hard to get, eh?«

»Stop it!«

The voice was loud, and though the man still kept Babette in his vice grip, the three bikers turned towards its origin. There stood Sato, and he looked at the three.

»Let her go and piss off!«

After a moment of silence, all three burst out laughing.

»Or what?«

Whilst the third held Babette, the other two approached Sato. The beardless mockingly went into fighting position and yelled »Banzai!«, whilst his comrade produced a chain and wielded it.

Sato drew the gun and fired, shattering one of the bikes’ front light.

»Or the next bullet hits your balls!«

The beardless had frozen in motion, and his comrade had dropped his chain. They had expected beating the Japanese up; maybe, a serious brawl, for the guy perhaps knew some Karate. A gun, a real gun, however, was a different thing.

»Now, let her go and piss off!«

The man holding Babette jumped away from her as if she was poisonous, and they all staggered towards their machines. Sato shook his head.

»On foot! You see the small chapel down the road? The gun ranges up to that, so don’t stop before you have reached it!«

Since the chapel was some 300 yards away, it was a more than optimistic guess, but obviously, the men didn’t want to discuss the range of firearms. Instead, they accelerated, and soon, they were running towards the chapel. Sato shook his head as he approached Babette.

»In Japan, we say a man who shows up to a shooting armed with just his fists is an idiot!«

He gently brushed over her arm.

»Are you okay?«

Babette nodded, feeling too relieved to realize that she hadn’t actually been rescued. Sato took the chain from the ground, noticing it was a chain lock, with the key still in it. Seeing that the three bikers were still running towards the chapel, he quickly chained two of the bikes’ wheels together and took off the ignition keys. Then, he again grabbed Babette’s arm and led her to the third motorcycle.

»You must be exhausted!«

»This is absurd!«, the rational voice inside Babette’s head protested. However, she didn’t protest as Sato helped her mount the chopper, having her sit in front of him, since her arms were still bound. Her crotch rope pressed against the tank, and yet, she felt as if a White Knight was riding away with her into the sunset as Sato drove off, though he didn’t go faster than 20 mph and the ride stopped after less than a kilometre.

He helped her dismount and led her to the car, even wiping her feet with an old cloth. Babette looked at him and only now was able to realize what had happened.

»Somehow, you saved me!«

»I didn’t take care of you well enough!«, Sato replied ambiguously and reached for the panties and the roll of tape. Babette looked at the damp garment.

»Is that really necessary?«

»We might soon meet other people, and most likely, they are nicer than those bikers! I can’t take risks!«

Babette, who wanted to avoid having to chew on the other woman’s used underwear, tried a different approach:

»You could wait until we reach the next village! After all – before we meet anyone, you wouldn’t have to close my jacket!«

Her breasts were still exposed, and Sato had of course realized it. He looked at her boobs in a way that made her blush slightly and finally, he grinned.

»Deal, Babette-San! As you said, I somehow saved you, so, I somehow deserve a reward!«

»All men are the same!«, Babette sighed, and Sato pointed at the rear window.

»So, I shall bring you back to your biker friends?«

»At least, they were honest about what they were planning to do with me!«

She knew that this sentence had been a mistake. Sato stuffed the panties back into her mouth and taped it shut, not bothering to hide the gag with the mask, or closing the jacket. As he drove on, he just said:

»Some answers aren’t easy to give – so, please, don’t ask!«

***

Melissa and Gabriela had taken the highway, and during the thunderstorm, they had done a pit stop at a resting place North of Vigo. They had confused a woman at the restrooms when they had reached their confused bras over the plywood wall separating the cabins, and they now sat on a table, sipping coffee and deciding what to do next.

»So, with the new phone, I have some 40 Euros in cash left, and my account is playing the Funeral March anyway!«

Seeing the many unanswered calls and messages from her Department, and fearing she could be tracked, Gabriela had thrown away her phone and changed for a prepaid one, quite expensive at the highway shop. Melissa scoffed.

»Maybe, you shouldn’t spend so much on silk lingerie! Or is your boyfriend paying the bill for that?«

Gabriela grimaced.

»What boyfriend? It’s just – all day, I have to prove that I am at least as tough as the guys! So, I am trying to keep a small part of my femininity alive!«

Melissa brushed over her arm.

»Sorry if I sounded judgemental! Anyway, I think I have enough money on my account to afford a hotel room for a few days! Maybe, I will even pay for some clothes to change, though I am afraid you will have to rely on plain cotton panties for a change!«

Gabriela cocked her head.

»White, with small red Polka dots!«

They both chuckled, but then, Gabriela grew serious. She looked around, but they had the corner of the café for themselves, and they were speaking German anyway.

»What they did to you on the ship – was it much worse than what this Japanese did to us?«

»Well, it was no picknick!«

Melissa hoped that she could change the subject, but Gabriela looked at her, not with curiosity, but with compassion, and now, it was her who caressed Melissa’s arm. Suddenly, the urge to tell someone was overwhelming:

»They kept us completely naked, so, no cute panties with Polka dots! And two of the men, they – they whipped me! With Martinets, so, there was no lasting damage – but believe me, you don’t want to feel those on your bare tits!«

Gabriela took Melissa’s hands and pressed them.

»Also, there was that woman, and she – she tried to – break my resistance otherwise! Instead of a whip, she used – a vibrator!«

»Madre de Deus!«

Melissa shook her head.

»She didn’t hurt me physically, but she – she tried to – to tease me! And if she had continued, I – I mean, I – I would have-«

Melissa’s voice broke, and she began to sob. Gabriela sat beside her, taking her in her arms, ignoring the other guests looking at her. Melissa enjoyed her embrace for a while before she forced herself to look up and smile wryly.

»Seems we also have to waste some money on handkerchiefs and makeup!«

Gabriela handed her a napkin, and Melissa cleaned her nose.

»Thank you!«, she breathed, and Gabriela brushed through her hair.

»You are tough, Melissa!«

»Even without feminine lingerie!«

Now, they both laughed as they hugged. Feeling much more confident, they finished their coffee and went for Gabriela’s car.

***

Johanna tried to signal to Inga and Kim that she needed to speak, but two pairs of panties in her mouth made all intelligible conversation impossible, and her trying to signal with her eyes was just ignored by the two who removed her handcuffs and sat her up, forcing her arms into a leather sheath. It ended in a single glove made of stiff leather, and Johanna felt that she couldn’t move her fingers at all.

At the upper end were two straps that were brought over her shoulders, crossed between her breasts and buckled to the armbinder. A second strap was tied around her waist, pressing her arms against her back, and Kim pointed at another strap, dangling from the tip of her sheathed fingers.

»The crotch strap, too?«

The combination of her crotch and a leather strap made Johanna mew, but Carmen shook her head.

»It would be counterproductive for the first game!«

This did little to soothe Johanna, but she got distracted as both Inga and Kim now pulled on the laces of the arm sheath, tightening it to the extreme and only stopping when her elbow joints were crushed together. Johanna ached from the strain in her shoulders, and she blushed when Carmen cupped her thrust out breasts.

»Just like two ripe melons, presented without any shame! Who’s the slut now, Johanna?«

She kneaded her breasts, and in German, she added:

»My friend will love them, too!«

Her feet were released, and Johanna was made to stagger a few steps, under a ceiling hook from which a chain was dangling. This was fixed to an eyelet on Johanna’s right shoulder strap and then, Inga pulled, forcing Johanna onto the tips of her toes, so she could fix the chain’s other end to the eyelet on the left side.  She was still trying to keep balance when the two girls tied upholstered cuffs around her knees, attached to chains they now threaded over two other ceiling hooks.

»Uuhhmmmm!«

Kim pulled, forcing her to raise her leg until her knee was at the height of her breasts. Not only did this expose her nude middle, Johanna now had to balance on one leg. Kim fixed the chain, and now, Inga pulled on the other one.

»Mhhrrmmmmm!«

Johanna now dangled in the air, kept only by the chains, The straps dug into her armpits, and her shoulders were even more aflame, though her leg chains carried just enough of her weight that her arms wouldn’t dislodge. Carmen stepped behind her.

»We could now play ›The Human Pinata‹!«, she laughed and slapped Johanna’s exposed buttocks, so she mewed into her gag and helplessly swayed from her chains. Then, she reached for Johanna’s hair and forced her to look at her.

»However, we are doing something different – for starters! Less painful, but more innovative, though maybe a bit embarrassing!«

Miranda brought a big rolled cloth, and with the help of the others, she draped it on the floor, directly under Johanna. It looked like a simple white tablecloth, but it had a large circle painted on it, consisting of four equal segments in different colours, red, yellow, green and blue.

The four women each placed on one of the segments, forming a circle around their dangling victim, and Carmen announced:

»This game, I call ›The Human Oracle‹!«

She handed something coloured to each o the girls, and when she rose her own stick, Johanna could see what it was: a feather duster.

»The rules are simple!«, Carmen explained, raising her voice to drown Johanna’s squeals as they all four started to tickle her with the dusters. She twitched, but she could only sway around and flail her lower legs, allowing her no escape from her tormentors.

»We will play until you lose control over your bladder! And on whose field you pee, the girl is allowed to say what game we are playing next!«

***

Not wanting to risk that an angry biker posse would suddenly follow them, Sato had zigzagged through the area for some time, avoiding to stop in one of the small villages, though he had closed Babette’s jacket again, and hidden her gag under the COVID mask. Finally, when the afternoon was turning into the evening, he stopped at a barn some half a mile behind a village. It looked abandoned and ramshackle, but he could park behind the shed, avoiding to be detected from the road.

He led Babette inside, and he saw that a wooden ladder led up to the hayloft. Sato tested if it still was stable; then, he put Babette over his shoulder and carried her upstairs. Except for some debris and dirt, it was empty, and he made the girl stagger towards an iron ring in the wall. She moaned when he took off her jacket, but he just draped it on the floor before he made her sit down. Whilst he tied her ankles to the ring, he explained:

»The village has a small supermarket! I will now get us some food, and I promise to hurry! Just don’t expect any gastronomic miracles!«

He climbed down the ladder, removing it as an additional precaution, and a minute later, Babette heard the car engine. She tested her bonds, but after hours bound, her limbs felt numb and she was tired. Perhaps, she could have rubbed the tape against the floor and ungag herself, but she felt that it would get her nowhere. Sato had chosen the place because no one would hear her, and what if those who perhaps did were as nice as the three bikers?

So, she waited, trying to relay a bit. After some 30mminutes, the car returned, and she saw the ladder being put to the opening. Before his head appeared, Sato placed the folded blanket from the car and a plastic bag on the hayloft.

He removed the jacket from under her, replacing it with the blanket. Then, he removed her ties and the gag, only leaving her ankles fixed to the ring, so Babette had to lie on her side and watched him improvise a tablecloth with a dishcloth on which he placed bread, cheese, olives and some fruits, also two bottles of water and one with wine. He had even thought of a candle, and Babette mocked.

»Romantic candlelight dinner, hm?«

Sato shrugged.

»You may put on your jacket if you like!«

This reminded Babette that she was still only clad in her panties, but now, she shrugged.

»I have a tendency of spoiling my clothes when eating! Besides, you have seen everything already!«

»Seen – and enjoyed!«, Sato admitted with a slight bow, and Babette chortled. They had dinner, and Babette realized that she was starving, having eaten nothing since Sato had overpowered her in the elevator some 24 hours before. When they shared the wine, drinking from the bottle, Babette once again giggled.

»Reminds me of another time I was wearing nothing and shared wine from a bottle! I was 16 back then!«

»How did it end?«

»I lost my virginity!«

She chuckled.

»At least, this won’t happen again tonight!«

Sato also laughed, and Babette took the opportunity to get through his armour:

»I know, I am risking to get gagged again – but what do you have planned for me? And has this Johanna something to do with it?«

Sato took a few deep breaths, and he sipped from the wine. Babette saw him look for the crumpled panties, but he decided against it.

»She has got everything to do with it! Johanna spied on Mr. Conradi; obviously, she befriended with some journalist and tried to listen to him negotiating with Davenport! So, it was my job to – send her a warning!«

»I guess you didn’t place the head of a horse in her bed!«

Sato grinned humourlessly.

»I threatened to take photos of her – in the nude!«

Babette shuddered.

»That’s how Conradi assured my silence on his financial inaccuracies!«

Sato raised an eyebrow.

»How did he get these? I thought you didn’t have a real affair?«

Babette reached for the bottle and took a sip.

»Some photos from when I was 18, he must have found them somewhere on the internet!«

When Sato still looked a bit questioningly, she blurted:

»My then boyfriend took them, and he promised that they were just for – personal use! I had no idea they are that easy to find!«

Now, Sato couldn’t oppress a grin.

»Is it possible that you are a little naïve, Babette-Chan?«

She noticed that he had changed to the more informal suffix »-Chan«, and though she tried to look angry, her lips trembled, and her cheeks slightly blushed.

»The last man to say that to me was Davenport’s henchman!«

»Jeb?«

Babette rolled her eyes.

»Geez, I might be a little naïve, but I have got some standards! I am talking about John! He made me believe that he was after Conradi for an investigation story, and that we were practically on the same side! Well, and when he got what he wanted, he left me naked, bound and gagged, whilst he and Davenport left!«

Sato held the bottle to her, and she took another sip. Then, he admitted:

»You are naïve, Babette-Chan – but I didn’t act smart either! Back to Johanna, she refused to let me do the photos, and I didn’t want to force her, so, she had to stay with me for the night!«

Babette’s eyes widened.

»Did you-«

Sato shook his head.

»Nothing more than a foot massage!«, he stated, now drinking some. Babette stretched her arms.

»She must have enjoyed that! Oh, and speaking of that-«

She looked pleadingly, and Sato sighed. He untied her ankles, and as he stood there, bent forward and loosening the knots, she thought for a moment that this was an opportunity to kick him once her legs were free, and then to run away. However, the moment passed, and she didn’t protest as he placed her feet in his lap and started to caress and rub them.

»In the morning, I had to leave her, because – because Conradi and I had set the trap for you! And when I returned to my cabin, I saw Jeb, bent over her and – Well, I saw red, and I attacked him! And whilst he and I were fighting in the corridor, Johanna was still in my room, naked, bound and gagged – ready for the White slavers to take her with them!«

Babette sat up on her elbows whilst he seemed to stare at some point 1000 yards away, still massaging her feet. She tried to put the clues together:

»So, I am here because you are mad at me, because if I hadn’t been, you wouldn’t have had to leave your cabin, and Johanna would not have been abducted?«

It seemed that her words had fetched Sato back to where he was now, and she could see in his eyes that their bonding time was over. He gently placed her feet on the floor and rose.

»This is one part of the answer, Babette-San – the smaller part, I have to admit! I will tell you the rest when time and I are ready – which will be soon!«

The formal »-San«, and the expression in his eyes told her that any discussion was futile. She did not protest as he shoved the lacy panties back into her mouth and taped five pieces of duct tape over it. When he tied the end of a long rope around her neck, she mewed with alarm, but Sato only handed her a packet of handkerchiefs.

»You have five minutes! There’s a bush outside!«

Leashed like a dog, Babette climbed down the ladder and left the barn. She considered trying to undo the leash and try to escape before he would recognize it. She was only clad in her panties, but it would be a small price for her freedom if some villagers saw her boobs, and they could not be all such thugs as the three bikers.

It was a reasonable thought, and Babette was wondering why she didn’t put it into action and instead just did her business, not even removing her gag though her hands were free, and returned to the hayloft when he gently tugged on her leash. Sato seemed pleased that she had returned without any difficulties, and he bowed before he took off the leash.

»Sorry for having treated you like a dog, Babette-San! Maybe, it’s a solace that I actually like dogs!«

Whist she still was standing, he tied her wrists in front of her, followed by her ankles. Then, he snugly wrapped her into the blanket and used the entire long rope to turn her into a tight parcel. Only her head protruded from the cocoon, as he had left a little bit of the blanket to cover her feet once he had gently lowered her to the floor. He folded her jacket and placed it under her head.

»Comfy – I mean, according to the circumstances?«

She nodded, and Sato bowed.

»Oyasumi, Babette-San! I will sleep in the car!«

He put out the candle, and since some moonlight came in through the gaps in the roof, Babette could still see him climb down the ladder before removing it. She sighed and thought:

»Perhaps, it’s just my naivety or the alcohol speaking, but I wouldn’t have minded if he had stayed!«

***

Melissa had taken over the wheel, allowing Gabriela to have a prolonged phone call of which she only understood single words. It seemed that the Portuguese was trying to soothe someone whilst at the same time getting something from him, and she was more than curious when Gabriela finally finished the call.

»That was Cristiano, my Grand Cousin! The only one at the Police of Porto who doesn’t either want me fired or my head on a plate! Anyway, I could persuade him to tell me a little about the ongoing investigation!«

Melissa had to oppress her impatience when Gabriela told her that her colleagues were trying to put most of the blame on Tiago and Joao, so her brother would only face a minor sentence, especially if he agreed upon testifying against his accomplices.

»Being his relative, Francisco wasn’t allowed to participate in the first interview – but one of his close friends was, and Vasco told them all he knew – which unfortunately wasn’t too much!«

»Gaby – are you telling me that the result of one hour of talking is-«

»Acalmar, Melissa! He could at least give them the name of the person who – bought Johanna! Or rather the nickname! It’s ›Caudillo‹!«

Melissa frowned.

»Wasn’t that the title of General Franco?«

»One of his titles! And he was born in a city we will soon see, and which is«, she looked at the Navi, »just 37 kilometres ahead!«

»Ferrol! You mean-«

Gabriela smiled triumphantly:

»I am sure they are not actually celebrating their most famous son, but we can now narrow our list of suspects down to those who live at or near Ferrol, own a helicopter and have some relation to General Franco!«

»Say your prayers, Caudillo, we are coming after you!«, Melissa replied and accelerated the car.

***