Blonde Needles in a Giant Haystack 22

»It could be worse!«

The words brought little solace to Johanna, and yet, they were perfectly true. She was still sitting back to back to Gabriela, still had to chew on the other’s panties and a sock, and her bound wrists still rested in the Portuguese’s lap. With her ankles tied to the ends of a stick, the strange man could look directly at her exposed middle, but so far, he hadn’t taken too many advantages.

This didn’t mean that he had been gentle or respectful. What he did respect was the »droit de seignior« of the Sheikh, thus leaving the two girls trussed up as they were and not having his way with them. Well, almost not.

What he had done had been, after he had had a frugal meal inside the tent, was noticing that both Johanna and Gabriela were shifting uncomfortably. It was due to the embarrassment of the man having seen them in the throes of passion, and also from fear and anger. However, the primal urge was simply the call of nature – and the man had noticed that too, as he had, with a gleeful grin, poured some water into a bowl, grinning as the girls had cringed at the splashing sound.

»You need to relieve yourselves?«

Johanna had stared daggers at him; as he had continued looking down at her, her chest had heaved, and her cheeks had turned crimson before she finally had nodded.

»And what about you?«

When he had stepped over to look at Gabriela, Johanna had seen the Portuguese ball her fists in her lap. Then, she had also nodded, and the man had fetched a large flat metal bowl, pushing it under their butts before undoing the knots in their crotch scarves. It was a humiliating task, as the cloth was still damp, and it had been pulled deep between their labia. Johanna had felt a tingle when the crotch scarf came off, and she had tried to lower her head, but the man had grabbed both their scalps and forced them to look at him whilst he had waited.

For a minute or so, they had been able to defy him; then, he had released Gabriela’s hair – only to tickle Johanna’s flank. Whimpering and squirming, she had no longer been able to hold back and peed, and, in a strange act of solidarity, Gabriela had done the same. The man had withdrawn the bowl and dabbed their middles with a moist cloth before thoroughly reapplying the crotch ropes.

He then had made the black girl squat over the bowl and, by tickling her sides, too, had forced her to relieve herself, too. Once he had washed her, he had taken the bowl outside and returned, arranging the Black in a way he could use her lap as a cushion for his head.

All the time, the three captives had been gagged, and Dalanda also had her eyes blindfolded, thus not allowing any conversation between them. However, he had told that he would leave in the morning, taking the black girl with him – and according to his attitude, her fate would be worse than theirs, even if the Sheikh would keep them as his playthings.

»As I said – it could be worse!«

***

Sometimes, it’s small coincidences that cause major changes. In the case of Sato and Marco,  it was the latter wanting to have a last cigarette before returning inside the caravanserai. Since he had to lean on Sato, he only had one hand free, causing him to drop his lighter that rolled down the sandy hill they were just ascending. When he wanted to get after it, Sato offered him his lighter, but Marco shook his head.

»It’s a present of my elder brother!«

Seeing the man suffer from his injuries, Sato sighed and told him to stay behind whilst he climbed down the dune to get the lighter. He had to get into a small mould, and when he had finally found it, he looked up, having noticed a movement in the corner of his eye.

From his position, he could see the improvised paddock where the captured horses were kept. However, it hadn’t been their occasional moves that had drawn his attention but three men approaching them. Two of them seemed to carry something large and bulky.

»What the-«

Sato reached for his gun and ducked whilst he watched the scene. The luggage turned out to be a large sack the men now tied to one of the horses’ back. One of them kept the animal’s rein and looked around whilst the two others sneaked back to the caravanserai, only to return with a second sack little later.

When this was put onto a second horse, Sato could see what was protruding from it: two pair of naked feet. Since the other sack had about the same size, this made four captives altogether – and there were four women inside the camp. Four, including Ana and Melissa!

Obviously, Marco’s instincts as a soldier prevented him from calling for Sato or stumbling down the hill. Instead, the Black had taken cover and also drawn his gun, waiting for Sato to get back to him once the three men had mounted three more horses, silently leaving the paddock.

»Who the fuck were they?«

»I reckoned one of them – he’s one of the Sheikh’s men!«

Now, the obvious thing to do would have been to raise the alarm and have the Colonel’s men pursue the kidnappers. However, Marco seemed as hesitant as Sato.

»They are heading towards the Sheikh! And where he is, Dalanda should be as well!«

»And Johanna, too! Can you ride?«

Marco looked at the horses still in the paddock. He scoffed.

»Maybe slow pace, and only for a few miles! How about you?«

To save Johanna, Sato would have loved to jump into the saddle, gallop after the men and fight them single-handed. However, he just sighed, feeling a bit like an idiot when he had to admit that he couldn’t ride at all. Perhaps, he could have been able to persuade the horse to carry him and to leisurely walk the way he wanted, but he definitely could not chase a mounted posse.

»There are Jeeps – inside!«, Marco said with a drawling voice.

Two minutes later, they approached the gate, where the two men on guard let them inside. They pretended to visit the latrines; instead, they approached the few cars parked nearby the staples. There were two trucks and three Jeeps, and another guard was leaning beside one of the latter.

As they had agreed upon, Marco approached the man, exaggerating his limp to look less dangerous. He asked for fire, offering the guard a cigarette in exchange. When he lit his, Sato attacked and slammed the edge of his hand at the guard’s neck. With an ache, he collapsed.

»That was almost too easy!«, Marco hissed as the pulled the unconscious man behind the trucks, taking his rifle. In one of the Jeep, the keys were still there, so Marco would not have to short-cut it. However, the last obstacle was the gate. It was some 20 yards away, its two wings closed by a large wooden hinge. Sato looked at the open yard; there was no one at the inside of the gate, but on the other side were two armed men, and here and there, he could see small groups of men either sleeping or resting.

»We could light a fire for distraction! There should be enough petrol around!«, Marco suggested. Sato shook his head.

»The alarm would wake up the entire garrison! I’ve got an idea, just slowly drive towards the gate! If it works, we are out in a minute!«

»And if not?«

»We are doomed!«

Marco scoffed and started the engine. Sato approached the gate on foot whilst Marco followed him with the Jeep. From nearby, a guard showed up, rather curious than alert. When he recognized Sato, the Japanese raised a bundle of papers.

»Please, open the door! We have special orders from the Colonel!«

Marco, waiting in the car, repeated Sato’s plead in French. The guard scratched his head, looking around if there was any superior he could ask. Sato pointed at the coat of arms on the papers, showing the symbol of the Kingdom of Morocco.

»We have to go to Agadir asap! Special order from the Colonel!«

He repeated the words »Agadir« and »Colonel«, Marco adding some cryptic descriptions of an important diplomatic mission. The guard, obviously, not the most gifted among his comrades, finally shrugged and removed the hinge. Another discussion with the two men outside followed, and then, the Jeep slowly drove into the darkness. Sato, who had entered the seat beside him, whispered:

»Now, if the Gods wants us to prevail, the man I knocked out will only recover after we have passed that curve in front of us!«

Marco showed a humourless smile.

»There’s only one God! However, we might also need the help of your Asian demons! Where did you get these documents you showed to the guard?«

Sato decided to ignore the insult on his Gods and smiled.

»When we passed the border, we got some provisory travelling documents! I thought that since they are showing the Moroccan coat of arms and since quite a lot of the people here are illiterate, I will give it a try!«

Marco wasn’t sure whether to scold Sato’s recklessness or to admire his courage. So, he just let out a sigh of relief when they passed the curve, saving them from shots fired by the gate guards. He took a deep breath and stepped on the gas.

***

The alarm had interrupted the prolonged conversation at the Colonel’s office where both Ben and John, the latter acting in the name of Andrew Davenport, had been trying to buy the Colonel’s loyalty. The Arab was showing confidence, as his capture of the Sheikh had just made him the undisputed ruler of that part of Western Sahara.

Ben had the advantage that he was acting in his own right whilst John had to follow orders, though Davenport seemed to have given him quite a free hand. He also had the advantage of Jean who understood Arabic. The conversation was held in French, but occasionally, the Colonel spoke to his second in command, and whatever Jean could overhear, he reported to Ben. Nevertheless, there was the fact that Andrew Davenport simply was richer than him.

Moments after the alarm, a soldier burst in and reported what had happened. Before Jean could translate, the Colonel focussed both Ben and Jean with a stern look.

»Your Japanese friend and one of your mercenaries just knocked out one of my men, fooled the guards at the gate and stole a car!«

Ben frowned at John, but the blonde American seemed as puzzled as him. Jeb, who had more or less dozed off during the long talks he couldn’t understand, came to his feet, not sure whether he should stay calm, try to run or prepare for a fight.

»One of my men? Whom are you talking about?«, Ben asked, just to buy a few seconds, though he already had a suspicion. Since he had come back from the dead, Marco had changed, and that was not a result of his wounds.

»The black guy that came with these two!«, the Colonel replied, pointing at John and Jeb. He glanced at Jean, as if him sharing Marco’s skin colour was a proof he knew more about the whole affair. At that moment, another man entered the room. He wore the uniform of a petty officer, and when he saw the group of foreigners, he decided to do his report in French:

»Mon Colonel, we just looked after the prisoners! The Sheikh’s still here – but three of the other captives are gone, too!«

The petty officer seemed to be quick on the uptake, for he had already asked the door guards who had confirmed that Sato and Marco had definitely been alone, and the small Jeep had not offered any cover for three hidden men. Then, however, the young man hemmed and hawed, and the Colonel impatiently ordered him to proceed.

»With three enemies on the run, we routinely looked after your – after the blonde girl! She – she’s gone!«

»What?«

Not only the Colonel seemed upset, but also Ben, as Carmen had been in the same room as Inga. A terrible premonition befell John, and indeed, the man reported that Carmen, Ana and Melissa had vanished, too.

The petty officer had already sent two men to the paddock, and they reported that indeed, five horses were missing, too. Whilst Ben and John again exchanged looks, trying to figure out whether the other party had something to do with that, the Colonel panted as if he had run a marathon. Then, he suddenly slammed his fists onto his desk.

»That has changed the situation quite a bit, hasn’t it? Well, first and foremost, I am an Officer, and I am responsible both for my men and for my country!«

John, who had just briefed Jeb about what had happened, looked up, and Ben also tried to figure out what that was supposed to mean. To their amazement, the Colonel now showed a wolfish grin.

»Both of you have tried to make me offers I can’t refuse! Well, now, it’s on me to make such an offer! Whoever of you brings me back my Mistress will get the deal!«

The triumphant look on his face showed that he was glad having found a solution for at least this dilemma, and so, after another 30 minutes, three more Jeeps left the caravanserai. Two of them were occupied by Ben and his remaining five men; the Colonel had them equipped with water, provision, fuel and ammunition and also handed them copies of maps of the area. In the third car, Jeb was driving, grumbling towards John:

»That’s hardly fair! They are more, and they have two men who speak Arabic! We-«

»We have that!«, John explained, patting an oblong box on the load behind him, hidden under a burlap sack. With a grin, he added:

»I placed  it there when the men were distracted by your complaints about the size of your boots!«

Jeb had been quite vocal in complaining, and since he was a tall and bulky man, the two guards at the depot had tried to please him, rummaging through the clothing department to find a pair of boots his size. Jeb glimpsed at the box.

»What is it? A rocket launcher?«

John shook his head.

»One of their drones! As the Colonel has stated, it is time for this country to take a step to the 21st century!«

***

Naked, bound, gagged and blindfolded, Dalanda could do little but just lying on her back and suffer as time slowly passed by. Her limbs were numb from the perpetual bondage, her jaw hurt, and her throat felt sore, despite the man having given her something to drink. Dalanda was exhausted, but the feeling of the Phantom’s close presence prevented her from dozing off.

He had embedded his head on her lap, and she felt his fuzzy hair grind over her pubic mound whenever he turned his head in his sleep. The man had turned onto his side, and whenever he breathed out, hot air breezed over her right inner thigh, and Dalanda could almost feel that occasionally, a little drool dripped onto her labia.

From beside her, she could hear an ache from one of the what she guessed two more bound and gagged women inside the tent. She had no idea who they were, as the Phantom had only talked very little to them and obviously just left them trussed up as he had found them.

Dalanda felt the urge to scream and thrash, but she knew that it would get her nowhere. All she could achieve was that the Phantom woke up and would molest her further. So, she forced herself to breathe calmly and to lie as still as possible.

There! She startled, and only her strict bondage prevented her from twitching enough to wake up the Phantom. There was no doubt, it was the sound of approaching horses. Dalanda trembled with anticipation. Was it the Sheikh and his men? In that case, her situation hadn’t improved in the slightest.

However, if it were rescuers, maybe even just enemies of the Sheikh, things were different. It could mean that they would be killed by a stray bullet, or would just fall into the hands of different captors – but there was also a glimpse of hope for rescue. Dalanda forced herself to remain still, hoping that the Phantom would stay asleep just a little longer.

And indeed, the combination of the man’s exhaustion and the coziness of Dalanda’s warm lap meant that the Phantom had been soundly asleep, and so, he only rose when Wassim stepped inside, in his hand a gun he pointed at him.

A minute later, they had not only recognized each other, but Wassim had also briefed their ominous ally about what had happened near the caravanserai.

»They have captured the Sheikh, and Chalid has withdrawn – obviously not to this camp! Well, we three escaped – and we didn’t leave empty-handed!«

Wassim had left the tent door open, and all except for Dalanda could now see Ali and Ayoub taking a large sack from one of the horses. On one end, two pairs of naked feet protruded: it were the feet of females, and their position told Johanna and Gabriela that the two women in the sack were tied face to face – and crotch to crotch.

»Mhhmmph! Uuhhmmm!«

Gabriela squirmed and got excited; obviously, she had recognized two of the feet as being Melissa’s. Johanna also panted. Who was the other woman?

A second sack was placed beside the first one, again filled with two captives. This time, Johanna was sure that the long, athletic calves belonged to Inga.

»We must leave!«, Wassim said, looking at the darkness, »The Colonel sure will send a posse after us! In addition, we have to find Chalid and the rest of the tribe!«

The Phantom nodded.

»If you allow, I will just continue my journey to the South! After all, my employers want this package to be delivered as soon as possible!«

He pointed at Dalanda, but Wassim shook his head.

»We can’t risk you getting caught, and perhaps, we might need the girl for negotiations, too! So, you will be coming with us!«

»I am free to go wherever I want!«, the Phantom protested, »I have got the word of Sheikh Mansur!«

Wassim scoffed.

»Sheikh Mansur is currently imprisoned, and therefore, the command lies in the hands of his son! And if Chalid’s not around, the highest ranking of his men around is in charge – which happens to be me!«

Wassim had risen his voice, and he had put his hand on his gun, as had both Ayoub and Ali. The Phantom still had his own pistol, but he knew that he stood no chance against the three men. So, he just sighed and bowed.

»Well, let’s waste no time then!«

***

The marks of hooves on the sand and the occasional horse apple allowed even an unskilled tracker like Sato to follow the route of the riders, as Marco had decided to keep enough distance from them, so they wouldn’t be alerted by the sound of the Jeep. Except for a small spotlight, they had also turned off the car’s lights.

»At least, the Colonel can’t send too many men after us – not with the Sheikh’s remaining men still out there!«

»And the Sheikh’s troops have had losses and are demoralized!«

It was pep talk, and they both knew it. Having some 500 men under his command, the Colonel could send some 100 after them, and the Sheikh’s troops were of a similar strength. Sato looked at the load where a machine gun on a tripod was fixed. It was a powerful weapon, but against a hundred men, it would get them only so far.

They were heading towards a large, but rather shallow hill, and for the next mile or so, they could just drive on. So, Sato sat down on the passenger seat and meant towards Marco:

»At least, we can’t make one of the mistakes that will get us killed for sure!«

When Marco looked questioningly, he added with a smile:

»Showing each other photos of our girls!«

Marco chuckled, and with a slightly wistful sigh, he commented:

»At least, I have seen all of Dalanda’s beauty! A memory only death can take from me!«

Sato did not have to be envious here, as he had seen his share of Johanna in the nude. Sure, others like Jeb had shared this experience – but they had also kissed, and this, she had only done to him. He was distracted from his memories when Marco stated:

»I have no idea what will be if we are successful at rescuing them! I mean, we never had the chance of discussing that, but I doubt she wants to live aside a mercenary!«

Sato just nodded silently. His situation wasn’t too different from Marco’s. Though he usually wore a suit and didn’t have to crawl through mud, he was something like a mercenary, too, loyal only to his superior. He was sure that Johanna wouldn’t approve of him continuing to work for Martin Conradi either.

»We should discuss these things when we have those around we have to discuss them with!«, he short-cut these thoughts. Marco stopped the Jeep close to the top of the hill and they ascended it on foot, their guns in hand. It was an unnecessary precaution, as they could look down on a valley where they could spot a few black spots.

»Tents!«

Marco whispered, though the camp was more than half a mile away. They could not see horses or men, though, and so, they decided to approach with the Jeep, with Sato driving whilst the more experienced Marco manned the machine gun.

The camp, consisting of just a few tents, was as abandoned as it had seemed from the distance. Marco pointed at a few horse apples.

»Fresh! They must have left less than an hour ago!«

They quickly searched the tents, only to assure themselves that they hadn’t overlooked something. Sato had discovered something that had filled his heart with both hope and grief: Johanna’s bra, ripped apart. So, she had indeed been kept here, though there was no sign of her or Gabriela.

He left the tent and saw Marco lean against a palm. The Black still was weakened by his wounds. When he approached, Marco pointed on the sand in front of him.

»They can’t be too fast, that’s for sure!«

In the sand, Sato could see marks from hooves, and in between, there were steps of several feet – naked feet that seemed to belong to women.

***

Since they were not acting as a team, Jeb and John had taken a different route than Ben and his men. According to their map, the area was either desert or rocky hills, covered with shrubbery. It was a maze, but John had insisted on one point:

»Any army, even one consisting of Bedouins, needs water! And though they may know a few more water holes, we should at least have a look on the wells marked on our map!«

And so, they had driven some three miles directly to the West, close to one of these wells. On the map, it was just a small »X« aside a pictogram of a water drop, and so, John had made Jeb stop the car and unpacked the drone. It was an ordinary one, and it was still in the package from where it had been bought, allowing John to read the indeed easy manual.

»I don’t think I can use it as a bomber, but I should be able to let it fly over the well and see whether they are there!«

The drone started into the night, and both John and Jeb stared at the display of the cell phone, trying to see details on it. If the men were there, they would recognize the drone and be alerted. However, according to the blurred and dark pictures, the well was abandoned.

»Maybe, we will find something that will help us there! At least, we can fill up our water supplies!«

These hadn’t been touched, as they had started their trip just an hour ago, but it seemed logical to get to a well when being in the desert, and so, the two men approached it carefully. It was »you get what you see« – just a round pit built from rocks, covered with a wooden board.

»Fucking open range! This place is not good for a last stand!«, Jeb commented as they approached the well. Then, he suddenly frowned and grabbed John’s arm. The blonde immediately saw what concerned his comrade: a wooden bucket, tied to a rope, was standing on the rim – but there was a second rope tied to the remnants of a post, leading inside the well.

»A booby trap?«

John was sceptical. If a bomb was tied to the rope, it was a very obvious trap, and in addition, he just could not believe that any desert warrior would risk destroying a water supply, not even to weaken the enemy. On the other hand, he doubted that this was just an attempt to keep some beer cool for a grill party.

So, he took a rope, tied it to the board and then, they used the Jeep to pull it off the well. There was no explosion, and so, the two men once again approached the now open water hole. The rope looked taut, and it went down, into the darkness. Jeb switched on a flashlight and let the ray wander down, along the rope.

»What the-«

John also stared down, and there, at the water level, he could see something that looked round and a bit fuzzy. After a few seconds, he recognized it was the head of a human.

Both he and Jeb had heard of wells being poisoned by throwing dead bodies inside. However, if somebody had done so, why tying the corpse? He took the flashlight from Jeb and looked again. The hair shimmered golden. Whoever it was, was blonde – and the hair was long, the hair of a woman.

»Maybe, we found a hint, but I doubt it will improve our situation!«

Jeb took the end of the rope and pulled, soon aided by John. After a few yards, the body moved slightly, and the men heard a faint mew. So, the person was still alive!

When the woman reached the rim, they could see she was stark naked. Her skin felt ice cold as they grabbed her arms to pull her out and place her onto the ground. Now, they could see she was bound and gagged – and that the rope they had used to pull her up went directly between her legs.

The girl’s eyes were closed, and her chest barely heaved from her breathing. Jeb went for a blanket from the Jeep, and John now looked closer at her. The girl was blonde, but she was smaller than Inga and Carmen had more curly hair. And both Ana and Melissa were brunettes. However, he was sure he had seen this body before, and when Jeb returned, his memory came back.

»That’s Babsi – Babette, the girl that helped me to get the files from Conradi’s safe, on the ship! What is she doing here?«

Both Jeb and he knew that Babette had only helped him because he had tricked the naïve girl in doing so, and in the end, he had left her behind, naked, bound and gagged. However, he had never intended to kill her, and now, whilst Jeb more roughly than gently rubbed her icy limbs, he started to cut her bonds, starting by her bound toes and working up her body.

»Come on, Babsi, I know you are not an early riser, but technically, it’s still late in the evening!«

Babette was still unconscious, but she slightly moved now. When he removed her crotch rope, her body slightly spasmed, and she peed, causing the men to pull her two yards away.

When her arms were free, John embedded her head on his thigh and carefully began to cut through the dried leather that built the outer layer of the girl’s gag. Jeb meanwhile kneaded her boobs.

»Are you really trying to help her, or are you doing something for yourself?«

John could not hide his relief that Babette was still alive, and even if Jeb just had some fun, it was doing her no harm and would perhaps even help her circulatory system a bit.

He could remove the tight band, only to reveal other layers of cloth. John continued until he could pick a pair of white panties from the unconscious girl’s mouth. They were only slightly damp, indicating that Babette must have sucked all liquid from them in a desperate attempt to quench her thirst.

Still, there was more, and John had to reach deep into Babette’s oral cavity to get out a second pair of wadded panties – black and still having a very strong odour.

Whilst Jeb still was busy with the girl’s breasts, John went for a canteen and carefully moistened her lips and cheeks before instilling her some water. After a while, she was able to swallow a few drops, and her eyes opened.

»Chhrrrk!«

»I consider this a ›Thank you for rescuing me!‹!«, John said mockingly and helped her to drink a little more. After a few minutes, Babette seemed to have recovered enough that she could focus him.

»J-John?«, she breathed, barely audible. He nodded, and then made a slightly grumpy Jeb leave her breasts alone. Instead, they wrapped the still freezing girl tightly into the blanket and Jeb started to massage her ice cold feet and toes. He didn’t have Sato’s skilled fingers, but at least, it helped her to get warm, even more as John now instilled her some Coke.

»Sorry, we are in a Muslim country, so, no red wine this time!«

Babette felt a bit helpless, with her arms and legs wrapped, but at the same time, a slightly painful tingle indicated that her frozen body was warming up again, and the sugar in the Coke also helped her to recover. Still unable to speak properly, she croaked:

»Why – here?«

»I just couldn’t live without you, and I regret the way I left you!«

John showed an impish smile, and Jeb also chuckled at this blatant lie. Babette also had some memories coming up within her mind: this man had betrayed her, used her like a tool and then left her behind, naked, bound and gagged, after he had had sex with her for one last time. A part of her knew that she should hate him, or at least not trust him in the slightest.

On the other hand, there was the strong feeling of having survived her ordeal after she had given up all hope, and so, when John bent over her and kissed her, she responded to it, feeling a warm tingle run through her entire body.

***