Penitence 9

Johanna knelt, shivering from both being hosed with cold water again, and from the humiliation. As promised, the four women had tickled her with the feather dusters until she had lost control over her bladder, and she was almost angry about her inner strength denying her the temporary escape of fainting.

She still sported the armbinder, and her ankles were closed in a wooden block fixed to the floor. Carmen returned, sitting down on a stool opposite to her, announcing that Inga would be allowed to choose the next game.

Johanna looked up to the Swedish girl. She and Kim believed that this was just a temporary punishment for things she had done to Carmen; harsh, but justifiable. So, would she be more lenient, or even more mean?

Inga pondered; then, she whispered something into Carmen’s ear, and the smile on her captor’s face made Johanna anticipate nothing good. Like a group of chatting girls, the four exchanged the plan via whispering. Miranda then brought a leash attached to a collar and tied the latter around Johanna’s neck, threading the other end under the stool Carmen was sitting upon. She pulled, and Johanna had to bend forward, until her face was embedded between Carmen’s legs, her nose touching the bikini-clad crotch. In English, Inga announced:

»Carmen will now tell what you have done to her, and Kim and I will exact an appropriate punishment! It will allow you to show immediate regret!«

Carmen placed her hands in Johanna’s hair, brushing through her curls.

»Well, let me think: once, you wrote ›wanton bitch‹ on my pencil case, in big letters, using a permanent marker!«

Johanna let out a fluttering breath. She could remember that she had indeed done this to Carmen. Inga announced:

»Correct me if I am wrong, but ›wanton bitch‹ has got 11 letters, doesn’t it?«

»Ha ha, let the Asian do the maths«, Kim joked. Johanna gasped when the hands of both Inga and Kim hit her buttocks synchronously. They only used their bare hands, but both were considerably strong, and after the 11 slaps, Johanna whimpered, and her butt tingled. She now realized that Carmen was pressing her face closer to her crotch, so she could feel her warmth at her nose, whilst Carmen sure felt the vibrations of Johanna’s moans.

»On another occasion, they posted on my Facebook account that I had already had 17 boys with which I had gone further than just kissing!«

»That was Emilia!«, Johanna wanted to yell, but her mumbles were drowned by the smacking sound of the palms landing on her buttocks. This time, Johanna screamed and wanted to rais, but Miranda had stepped on the leash, denying her the escape. In addition, Carmen now not only pressed her face into her crotch, but she also thrust her pelvis against her, and with horror, Johanna sensed a specific fragrance.

»At my birthday!«, Carmen panted, no longer sounding calm, »they gifted me – condoms! 37 condoms!«

Johanna could not protest that this was completely made up, improvised by Carmen for 37 was a higher number. Inga and Kim reduced the strength of the slaps a bit, but on her sore skin, they tingled nevertheless, and though she knew with terrible clearness that she was abused as a human vibrator, Johanna screamed into Carmen’s lap, causing her to sigh and rub her crotch against her face.

The game went on, with Carmen, less and less able to form articulate sentences, accused her of true and fake crimes. In the end, she just yelled random numbers whilst she was getting closer and closer to her orgasm. It only ended when Carmen shivered and let her go. Miranda also released the leash, and Johanna sank to the ground, humiliated and her butt sore. She barely noticed the next shower, though it cooled her tingling flesh and washed Carmen’s juices from her face.

»Phew, thank you, Inga and Kim! That was – an amazing therapy!«

Carmen stood there, leaning against the wall, her cheeks reddened, and though her bikini was dark blue, the wet spot on her crotch was clearly visible. She was wheezing, and she said towards the other girls:

»Right now – I am feeling far less – vengeful! Perhaps we should – call it a day until tomorrow!«

She took some more to catch breath; then, she approached Johanna and bent down to the trembling and silently sobbing girl, grabbing her scalp.

»Don’t worry, we will take care you will sleep tight!«

She gave some orders in Spanish, and her henchwomen brought different items. Carmen herself brought some ear pods she put into Johanna’s ears.

»Some may call this sensory deprivation, but I would say it’s rather a stimulation of some of your senses!«

Obviously not minding the others watching, Carmen took off her moist bikini bottom and pulled it over Johanna’s face, taking care the crotch part was over her nose. Before Johanna could even try to shake off the terrible hooding, Miranda put a leather hood over her entire head. It was made of thick leather, was locked at her neck and only had small openings at the nostrils, as the front part was modelled after a human face. Johanna hyperventilated as she could see nothing but blackness, forced to breathe through Carmen’s panties, and then, the ear pods came to life. The sound wasn’t too loud, but it blocked all other sounds coming from outside the hood; it was some spheric music, but it was only the background of Carmen reading a list of Johanna’s crimes towards her.

Unable to hear or see, the final cruelty came as a surprise: Miranda parted her sore buttocks, so Carmen could place the strap dangling from the armbinder in her cleft. She also splayed her labia and took care the strap ran over Johanna’s clit before threading it through the buckle at the waist strap. She pulled and adjusted, causing Johanna to produce barely audible grunts and whimpers and to twitch and buck, before she closed the buckle, the strap so tight it disappeared between her legs and bisected her pubic mound.

»Thank you, girls!«

Carmen gently patted the shoulders of Inga and Kim, as both girls seemed a bit abashed of their own cruelty.

»Just two more days, and she will have the rest of her life to recover, whilst I will finally sleep well again!«

Kim exchanged an uneasy look with Kim, but they both finally nodded and left. Carmen and Miranda also exchanged a look, but in their eyes was a sardonic sparkle.

***

It was summer, and Ferrol was a city by the sea; thus, it had been difficult for Melissa and Gabriela to find a room, though Gabriela was fluent in Spanish that only differed little from her mother tongue. In the end, they agreed to accept the only offer that did not cost a fortune: a shared single room at a modest hotel.

»I can’t believe they charged us the full price for this!«, Gabriela exclaimed as they had entered their room. It was clean, but it was also tiny, containing just a single bed, a narrow cupboard and one chair. The bathroom had not much more than a square yard, and the shower was just behind a curtain. Melissa chuckled.

»At least, it is better than the last time we had to share a bed!«

Whilst Gabriela still coped with that perspective, Melissa tipped at the tip of her nose.

»Shotgun, I shower first!«

She kicked off her sandals and draped her skirt and blouse over the chair. When she also took off her bra, she playfully waved her finger at Gabriela.

»Remember, the black 34C is mine!«

She slipped into the bathroom quick enough to not notice the way Gabriela had looked at her exposed breasts. Melissa was left with a strange choice: since they had no changing clothes, she could either sleep in her daytime panties or in the nude. Sighing, she took a quick shower, trying not to moisten the only towel too much. In just her panties, she returned, noticing Gabriela had only taken off her sneakers, socks and pants. When she returned from the shower, she still wore her T-Shirt and panties and only draped her white lacy bra over the chair’s backrest.

»White, 34B, mine!«, she joked before she reluctantly approached the bed. Melissa made room for her and asked:

»Would you feel better if I put my blouse back on? I just thought that it would crumple if I sleep in it, and-«

Gabriela shook her head and slipped into the bed. They spend a minute trying to find a position where they didn’t have to touch too much, and finally, Melissa turned towards Gabriela and put her arm around her.

»I won’t bite you!«

Gabriela smiled wryly.

»I know, it’s just – awkward! I mean, no offense, I want to say – it would be even more awkward with any other girl!«

»Speaking from experience?«, Melisaa joked, chuckling when Gabriela vigorously denied. With an impish smile, she added:

»You are the second prettiest girl I ever shared the bed with!«

She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, and she could sense how Gabriela’s curiosity grew. Finally, the Portuguese couldn’t keep her mouth shut any longer:

»Just number two, hm?«

»Maybe, you are number one – or just number five! It were so many I lost count!«

»Slut!«, Gabriela scoffed, turning her back towards Melissa, but not shaking off her arm. After some time, it was again Gabriela who broke the silence:

»You are my first – Madre de Deus, that sounded wrong!«

She turned back towards Melisaa who could see that the Portuguese was blushing slightly. She brushed over Gabriela’s nose.

»Easy girl, don’t bring Mother Mary into that tiny bed, too!«

Gabriela stare at her with perplexion; then, she burst out laughing.

»Blasphemous slut!«, she gasped, wiping her eyes. She suddenly rose, and with a determined gesture, she took off her T-Shirt. She looked defiantly at Melissa, and the narrow bed meant that their naked breasts touched.

»Still awkward?«, Melissa breathed, realizing her voice sounded hoarse. Gabriela gulped before she answered:

»Quite – but it’s okay!«

She didn’t withdraw; instead, she cuddled a bit closer, and Melissa asked herself if Gabriela felt the same tingle in her breasts. Their faces were so close she could sense Gabriela’s breath.

»If I’d kiss her now, would it turn things more or less awkward?«

The urge inside her to give it a try was overwhelming, and she had a feeling that Gabriela was thinking similarly, but they both remained silent and just held each other loosely in their arms, trying to find some sleep.

***

It had been 1 am when Sato had not been able to sleep any longer. He tried a little walk up and down the now silent road, but it didn’t help, for it wasn’t his body that prevented him from falling asleep. It was his concerns about Babette.

When he had started his plan, it had seemed as if the biggest problem would be to find Johanna’s kidnappers. Once he had accomplished that, he would have to persuade them that they could have the same fun with Babette, whilst he could save Johanna from their clutches and carry her into the sunset. It had been a weak plan, with more imponderables than anything else, but at least, it had based on the fact that he had something to offer. And now, he felt that this had broken away, too.

He couldn’t say that he actually liked Babette, just because they had talked a bit – but he was just unable to see her as just a pawn any longer. Sato was sure that even if his plan would work out, even if Johanna would answer to his feelings, he would still feel guilty.

He returned into the barn and put the ladder back in place, silently climbing up to the hayloft. Babette was sleeping, or at least kept her eyes shut, and she was not struggling with her bonds. Sato stepped onto the platform, and when the planks creaked, the girl startled and opened her eyes.

Her reaction hit Sato directly in the heart: not her twitching from the disturbance, but the way she had relaxed when she had recognized him: Babette did not consider him a threat, and that confirmed him in his decision:

»Babette-San, please excuse for waking you up, but we have to talk!«

Since the girl was still gagged, it was a monologue, and Sato confessed to her the entire plan of him wanting to offer Babette as an exchange for Johanna. When he had finished his confession, he looked up at her. Babette’s eyes had widened, and she was staring at him, but she didn’t squirm or utter a sound.

»Anyway, I can’t follow that plan any longer! I will now set you free, and whilst you may go back to the village, I will try to find a more honest way to – finish this quest!«

He peeled the tape from her mouth and plucked the panties out. Babette panted and licked her lips, still not trying to scream, or to tell him what she thought of his plan or what a bastard he was. Instead, she whispered:

»You really love her!«

Sato was usually good in hiding his feelings, but now, he just sighed. A smile formed on Babette’s lips, and for a moment, he expected that she would accuse him, now that his defence was open. It was, however, more of a statement:

»Apart from it being mean, isn’t your plan also quite – naïve?«

Sato held her look and scoffed.

»They say that desperation isn’t a good counsellor!«

»Amantes amentes!«

Sato raised an eyebrow, and Babette translated:

»Lovers are fools! Latin! It also as the credo of my first boyfriend!«

Looking at the wine bottle, Sato asked:

»The one you lost your virginity to?«

»His successor – and also not the one who took the photos!«

She lowered her head and added:

»Don’t judge me!«

Sato chuckled, for it wasn’t him who was in the position to judge. He now realized that Babette still hadn’t asked to be released, and, following an instinct, instead of undoing the ropes, he unwrapped her feet from the blanket and started massaging them. Babette didn’t shy back, and after a while, she said, looking at the ceiling:

»Maybe, there is a way you could free Johanna – a way that doesn’t include me replacing her, and that also does not get you arrested!«

Sato’s thumbs stopped in brushing along Babette’s soles, and he looked at her with disbelief at her words.

»You – you would help me?«

Babette demandingly wriggled her toes, and Sato continued his massage.

»In your eyes, I betrayed your superior – and one could say that by what you did to me so far, I paid for that! And for me, I could see it as a punishment for falling for a man that was only after Conradi’s papers and used me as a pawn! So, we are even – and Johanna definitely is innocent!«

Sato bowed, and Babette giggled when his forehead touched her big toes in the progress.

»For a naïve girl, you have wise thoughts!«

***

Carmen stood at the open window of her bedroom, looking down at the veranda where she could see Kim and Inga sit together, the Korean having a cigarette whilst Inga sipped from her wine. She knew that they were talking about what had happened in the cellar. What their part in it  had been. And how they were able to cope with it.

There was a knock at the door, and Carmen, knowing it was Miranda, told her to come in. The Spaniard stepped behind her, placing her hand on her shoulder.

»I brough them their – treats!«

Carmen smiled. When she had hired the two, they had been reluctant, though they felt obliged to do something for the woman whose late husband had freed them from slavery. After all, of the four women Enrico had bought free, these two had come when she had contacted them.

She had told them her exaggerated sob story, offered them money – especially to Inga who could fly a helicopter – and also convinced them that the punishment would only be temporary – just a lesson Johanna should be taught. And now, her sentence was even shorter. Nevertheless, carmen had noticed that they were not keen on committing torture, and so, she had relied on her own experience with drugs, serving them a well-dosed amount of pills that soothed their feelings without dulling their senses. It was a drug cocktail that some prostitutes took to cope with their job, and though these usually took the pills on purpose, they also worked if they were mixed into the food, taking care that Inga and Kim didn’t think too much about what they had to do.

»Luckily, you are loyal for the right reasons!«

When they had married, Enrico Vega had been 66, 41 years older than Carmen. There had been no doubt that she had been attracted by his wealth, but that didn’t mean that Enrico was keen on a platonic relationship. Instead, he had been quite vital, and he hadn’t ended his affair with his household help, then 23 years old Miranda, just because he was married.

It had ended up in a menage a trois that had been surprisingly consensual: both Carmen and Miranda had come to the conclusion that satisfying Enrico’s needs was much easier if they worked together, and when Enrico had been on one of his business trips without them, Miranda still had shared the bed with Carmen. After Enrico’s death, she had stayed, though she had inherited an apartment and a considerable sum, and she still worked for Carmen, though she considered the Spaniard what was closest to a real friend. In her arms, she could let go and cry, and only Miranda knew all her darkest secrets and plans.

»The day after tomorrow, Ben will arrive!«

Miranda slung her arms around Carmen. Ben had left no doubt that he also wanted to know better what was underneath Carmen’s clothes, and to please him, she would have to pretend flirting with him. Miranda brushed Carmen’s hair aside and playfully bit her earlobe.

»Maybe, we should go to bed, and see how we can enjoy tomorrow – or last day we will have Johanna for ourselves!«

***

Though she was completely exhausted, both physically and psychologically, Johanna couldn’t find sleep. She still sported the tight armbinder, and her shoulders still ached, only to really hurt if she tried to shift her position. Not that much shifting was possible: with her ankles locked in the block, she had to lie on her belly, and all she could do was to ease the pressure on one of her thrust out breasts by squeezing the other against the concrete floor.

However, Johanna avoided movement if possible, for whenever she did so, the dull pain of her agonizingly tight crotch strap turned into a white hot iron, forcing her to twitch and squirm which only worsened her suffering.

Then, there was her gag and hood. The two pairs of panties in her mouth had soaked off all her saliva, and her mouth felt parched. Still, they tasted vile, and she avoided moving her tongue, or gulping if possible. Each breath forced her to smell the scent of Carmen’s arousal, and the tight hood was hot, inconvenient and dark.

The earphones still played the spheric music and Carmen’s reading of her sins, accompanied by some descriptions of what she might do to her. Johanna had wailed and struggled until exhaustion and the line of fire between her legs had stopped her, and now, she was just lying there, trying to let her mind break free if her body couldn’t.

Again and again, Sato appeared in her escapist dreams, and though she vaguely remembered that he was a criminal, and without him, she also wouldn’t be in her current predicament, she would have loved to change her actual situation for being bound and gagged, maybe even naked, in the clutches of the Japanese.

***

The owner of the small bakery grinned when he watched the Asian return to his car, balancing two paper mugs of coffee and a bag with some sweet croissants. It would have been easier if the girl on the passenger seat would have assisted him, but from what he could see, the blonde not only was strikingly pretty, but also half the man’s age. Obviously, he had to serve her to make her stay.

The real reason Sato had gone to the bakery alone had been that despite no longer being bound and gagged, Babette only wore her panties and the crumpled jacket, together with her sandals, and they didn’t want to raise attention. He handed her one of the mugs and the bag and put his coffee into the mug holder.

»So, you decided not to scream, or run for help!«, Sato commented, pointing at the Policeman on his bike some 100 yards away.

»Damned!«, Babette commented, and when she sipped from her coffee and Sato started the car, she thought that this would indeed have been a reasonable option. At least, when it came to her part in the whole situation.

They drove to a place where some trees offered a little shadow and had their breakfast. Though they hadn’t slept till Sato’s confession, none of them was tired, and they talked about details of what Sato now called his – or rather their – »Plan C«.

»Now, our first stop should be somewhere where they sell clothes, so we can operate independently! After all, they know you, but not me!«

So, Sato stopped at a bigger petrol station and after some time, he returned with a coloured beach dress he tossed to Babette. Since he had already seen her breasts, she took off the jacket and pulled it over her head. To her surprise, it fit quite well.

»The girl at the shop asked me about your size, and I said ›Sydney Sweeney‹!«, Sato explained which Babette decided to take as a compliment.

He had also asked if there was anyone offering helicopter flights. The kidnappers sure had not rented a pilot for an abduction, but another chopper pilot would most likely know if there were other helicopters in the area.

There was one company offering such sightseeing flights, and they were happy to see that though the office hadn’t opened, there were two men working on one of the choppers. Babette looked at Sato and asked:

»Do you trust me?«

Sato shrugged.

»If you are trying to run away, I would be where I would have been if you had left when I wanted to let you go! However, if you are trying to get me arrested – remember I still have the gun!«

Babette scoffed.

»Fair enough!«

She tugged on the dress, making sure it emphasized her cleavage, and checked her appearance in the mirror. She was without makeup, but had at least brushed her hair and put on some deodorant. Hopefully, they would focus on the fact she was wearing no bra.

Sato watched her prance over to the men and talking to them. He had the gun ready on his lap. Babette would not be so stupid as to pint at him if she wished to betray him, but she could tell them to call the Police, and so, since he couldn’t understand their dialogue anyway, he listened for eventually approaching sirens.

Babette seemed to use all her charms when talking to the men, as she was smiling, seemingly randomly touch their arms and once »accidentally« dropped something. It seemed that she even tried to stoke a little rivalry between the two men, as to Sato, they looked a bit like two competing peacocks.

Finally, Babette took a small note from each of them and placed them in her cleavage. Dropping a gracious curtsey, she left, and Sato chuckled as the two looked after her bobbing buttocks as she walked away.

»Two minutes longer, and they would have fought to the death over you!«

Babette smiled coquettishly and plucked the notes from between her breasts.

»Their numbers, just in case we might need a pilot, or want to book a sightseeing flight – though I am afraid that the offer for a free flight is only for me!«

She told him that she had asked for such a flight, and as she had heard about the prices, she had pretended that a friend had told her about another company with choppers coloured in yellow and red that only demanded half the sum. When they had insisted that this was the only company around, she had played dumb and asked by whom her friend could have booked the flight.

»I described the chopper to them, and finally, one of them admitted that there was such a helicopter, though they said that if my friend had used it, it must have been at least two years ago, for the owner has died meanwhile! Some rich guy, an Enrico Vega!«

Sato typed the name into his phone, and they looked what the world wide web knew about a  man of that name. Having added »Ferrol« to the search, they found a necrology and a few articles about a businessman who had been born in Ferrol, spent most of his life in Madrid and who had then returned to his birthplace for his retirement.

»An old rich guy spending his money for a blonde sex slave is almost a cliché – but according to these men and to the internet, he is dead!«

To not raise too much suspicion, Babette had not dared to ask for the address of that man, but they were confident to find the place, to see what it looked like.

»At least, it is a point to start! Good work, Babette-Chan!«

Sato glimpsed at her cleavage as he bowed towards her, and Babette felt as if he was paying honour to her breasts. Well, they had played an important role in her investigation.

»Now, finding a mansion should not be that difficult! Getting inside, however, usually is!«, Sato concluded and started the engine.

***

At about the same time, Melissa and Gabriela were among the first guests in the breakfast room. They had slept well, and waking up in each other’s arms had been  a little awkward, but in an exciting way, though they had both tried to laugh it off by jokingly accusing each other who had cuddled against whom. Now, showered and dressed, though in their clothes from the previous day, they tried to enjoy the dry toast with not too tasty jam and sipped from their coffee as they were looking at Gabriela’s phone.

»The most obvious place to start a search for the ›Caudillo‹ would be his birth house. There’s even a little museum, but it only opens at 10, and I doubt that she is kept there!«

Having a sudden idea, Gabriela checked another address. Melissa saw that she was looking for the City Hall, and even without knowing Spanish, she could see it would open in some 20 minutes. Gabriela finished her coffee and made Melissa follow her to her car, and they reached the City hall when it was just opening to the public.

»What do you want, ask them about descendants of Franco who still live here?«

It was indeed Gabriela’s plan, though her approach was more delicate. She pretended to be a student from Porto who had to do research for her Bachelor thesis on the subject »A difficult Heritage – Ferrol and its most infamous Son«, and that her goal was to talk to people who had still known the dictator, preferably some relatives of him. Melissa could do little but to look at some brochures whilst Gabriela talked to one of the clerks. Once, it sounded as if they were having an argument, but Melissa saw no point in intervening, as they seemed to settle it down after some time.

»The good man told me that the title of my thesis would throw a bad light on the Caudillo, and I told him it was only a working title, and that my Professor is left-wing! Phew, I threw all my knowledge about history in that conversation!«

She had pretended that she wanted to talk to the relatives of Franco who were still alive today, and the clerk had finally told her that she would have little luck with that.

»There’s a 90 year old cousin in the retirement centre, a grand-nephew whose family has distanced from Franco and refuses to talk about him for decades – and last year, another grand-nephew passed away – and his widow is a foreigner!«

Though this sounded rather dissuasive, they checked both addresses on the map. The grand-nephew lived not too far from the birth house, and the house looked not as if a helicopter could land on its roof, at least not with any of the neighbours noticing it.

»The widow lives outside the city, at what looks more like a real mansion! But aren’t we looking for a man?«

Melissa grimaced.

»Too bad I escaped before I could have a look at our potential buyers!«

Gabriela didn’t get the irony and brushed over Melissa’s arm, and the touch felt pleasant, so, she didn’t shy back. Then, however, she pointed at the mansion on the map and stated:

»We should at least have a look! You are right, it would be unusual for the kidnapper to be a woman – but hey, this is the 21st century, women can be everything – some can even turn out to be criminals and assholes! This place is where you can land a helicopter unseen, and it is as good a place to start as anyplace else!«

***