Stories of Tie Up Games

Chapter 15

Cambridge, England

Amber Carter had finally given up on further investigation into the disappearance of Lara Sanchez. The incident when Amber and her housemate Doctor Nazia Goraya had been attacked in their home and warned off had basically made her mind up on the subject. The lack of support from her superiors and general disinterest in the case from everyone else involved had sealed it. With poor Lara not having any blood relatives there wasn’t any pressure being applied from that source and judging by social media her fiancé and bridesmaid had also moved on quickly, together. The only other person interested in the case had been an Interpol agent called Sasha Conteh who had contacted her on a couple of occasions to run through what she had and then to confirm if Amber had made any progress, which she hadn’t. Then when they were having dinner one evening Nazia mentioned something that caught Amber’s attention. They were discussing their respective days at work when Nazia had raised that she thought there was something going on with drugs at the hospital where she worked. They had discussed it further and Nazia explained that she had been trying to obtain an amount of a certain drug but was told that it was almost out of stock. At the time Nazia thought that this was strange so asked around with colleagues and found out that this had happened on a couple of occasions. After asking some pointed questions Amber had decided that this sounded like it could do with investigating and took it to her new Inspector who was only glad to authorise the operation if only to get Amber out of the way for a couple of days. That was how Amber Carter came to find herself facing off against a male orderly in a deserted corridor, in a hospital, late at night. Amber had been asking some questions around the pharmacy when she spotted the orderly skulking around and decided to follow the man. Amber had called for the man to stop but he had sprinted into a stairwell, forcing Amber to pursue. Fortunately, she had been able to catch up with the man after descending two flights of stairs and entering the aforementioned corridor, executing a perfect tackle to bring the man down. There had been a brief scuffle with elbows and feet being used before they both stumbled to their feet and found themselves diagonally across from each other on opposite sides of the corridor. The orderly’s eyes went wide as the confrontation moved into a stand-off, the man wielding a sharp scalpel against Amber’s collapsible baton. Then the balance shifted as a young female nurse appeared around the corner and stumble into a bad situation. “What’s going on here?” the young nurse said.

“Just turn around and go get security,” Amber said sternly, not taking her eyes from the scalpel welding orderly. But the young woman paused, looking nervously between the two figures. Then the man pounced, striking out an arm and grabbing the nurse, pulling her tight into his body and waving the scalpel in the general direction of her throat.

“Drop the baton,” the man said. Amber continued to stare at the man without moving. “Drop the baton and kick it over here, or I slice her open.” The man smiled and Amber glanced at the young woman and seeing the terror in her eyes raised her hands in a gesture of surrender before bending down, placing the baton on the floor and then kicking it across the corridor. The orderly flicked out a foot and knocked the baton away down the corridor, Amber could see the man’s eyes scan around, thinking what was the next move. “Now get on that gurney,” the man gestured with his head to the left of where Amber was standing. She turned her head and noted the gurney a couple of paces away. Strangely she had been that concentrated on the man that she hasn’t noticed it earlier. She slowly made her way across to the gurney and hopped up onto the gurney and lay down with her head on a pillow. Once up on the gurney Amber noticed why the man had asked her to get on, there were padded restraints fitted to the gurney. “Now, fasten the restraints on your ankles and right wrist. Once you have done that slip your left wrist into the restraint.”

“I am not going to do that,” Amber said and started to get back up.

“Oooooo,” the nurse said as the orderly pressed the scalpel against her neck. Amber relented and did as instructed fastening the restraints around her ankles and right wrist. Once finished the orderly came forward toward the gurney still holding the nurse in front of him.

“Now, nurse please secure the patient’s left wrist then check the other three restraints.” The nurse did as instructed, Amber winced as all four restraints were tightened. Now that Amber was secured to the gurney the man visibly relaxed and removed the scalpel from the general area of the nurse’s throat. “I am glad that you came along when you did Aimee. That was starting to get awkward.”

“Well, that scalpel did get pretty close a couple of times,” the nurse replied punching the man in the shoulder. It was then that Amber realised that the two obviously knew each other and that they had played her.

“I don’t believe this,” Amber said under her breath feeling like a bit of an amateur.

“Do you have something to shut her up?” the man asked after clamping his hand over Amber’s mouth “Can’t have her screaming for help.” The nurse rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a large handkerchief and a roll of micro foam tape.

“These should do the job,” the nurse replied. Amber guessed what was coming and shock her head from side to side, the nurse nodded her head in response. The orderly removed his hand and the nurse pushed the wadded-up handkerchief into Amber’s mouth before tearing off a wide strip from the roll of white micro foam tape and slapped it over Amber’s mouth to seal in the packing. “What are we going to do with her now?”

“Huh,” the orderly said with a shrug, obviously not having thought this through.

“Well, we can’t leave her lying here for anybody to stumble across. Can we?”

“I suppose you are right,” the orderly replied as he leaned back against the wall. With the two of them engrossed in conversation Amber had a go at trying to slid and shake free from the padded leather cuffs that held her in place, it proved a fruitless exercise.

“You watch her whilst I go and find the boss,” the nurse said as she walked away along the corridor leaving the bound and prone Amber with the orderly.

As the time passed the orderly nervously paced a fifteen-yard section of the corridor, back and forth, back and forth only pausing when a noise came echoing along the corridor. Amber wished that every noise would be footsteps heading toward them but on every occasion her wishes were not fulfilled. Eventually the noises did turn out to be footsteps but the belonged to the nurse returning from the errand that she had been on. “What did the boss say?” the orderly asked eagerly.

“There is spare private room on the high dependency ward,” the nurse replied. “We can store her in there and it will buy us some time to come up with a permanent solution to this problem.”

“The high dependency ward is on the other side of the hospital. How are we going to get her across there without anyone noticing?” The orderly had a point Amber thought. The minute she saw anybody else she was going to thrash and make as much noise as possible.

“I am going to knock her out,” the nurse replied. Amber didn’t like the sound of that and moaned behind the tape.

“MMMMUUUURRRR,” was the sound from the gurney which made the nurse and orderly turn their attention back to her.

“Now, unfortunately all of the more modern drugs to sedate snoops are heavily controlled so I have had to go old school with this,” the nurse pulled a bottle out of her pocket and held it up so that Amber could see it clearly. “Chloroform, not my first choice but it will do the job effectively.”

“MMMOOOHHH,” Amber remembered her previous encounter with chloroform and wasn’t keen to repeat the experience.

“Sorry, but this is going to happen so I would just relax and accept the fact.” The nurse slowly unscrewed the cap form the bottle and recoiled as the fumes caught her nostrils. “Apologies again, this isn’t going to smell that great but…” The nurse then seemed to take great delight in taking time to pour a generous amount of the liquid onto a thick cloth before putting the cap back onto the bottle, all the while Amber looked on with grime fascination knowing what fate awaited her. As the nurse approached wielding the cloth Amber shook her head, struggling, and tried to take through her gag. There was nothing that Amber could do as the nurse placed the damp cloth over the lower half of her face, the intense fumes instantly hit the back of her throat and she tried not to inhale. Amber struggled, trying not to breathe, but finally, she had to inhale. Amber continued to squirm on the gurney, but her efforts slowly subsided as the chloroform started to take effect. The nurse watched Amber’s eyes intently as she continued to inhale the chloroform’s fumes. Amber knew the fight was over, if there ever was a fight in the first place, when her arms and legs started to feel like jelly and her vision narrowed, eventually Amber stopped struggling and lay still and then another couple of breathes later her eyes fluttered close and she slid into unconsciousness. The nurse removed the cloth and raised each one of Amber’s eyelids in turn to confirm that the woman was indeed unconscious and not play acting. Convinced that Amber was indeed knocked out the nurse removed the tape form over Amber’s mouth and then fished out the handkerchief and placed them both into her pocket. “Find a sheet or something to cover her with,” the nurse instructed the orderly before the nurse started to search Amber’s pockets.

“I found this,” the orderly said as he brought a white sheet across and paused when he saw the look on the nurse’s face. “What is it?” he asked.

“Our friend here is a police officer,” the nurse showed the orderly the warrant card that she had found in Amber’s pocket. “Detective Amber Carter.” The nurse pocketed the warrant card, wallet and mobile phone (after turning it off and removing the battery) before placing the sheet over Amber and tucking it in to make sure that it hid the restraints. That job completed the orderly flicked off the brakes and with the help of the nurse pushed the gurney containing Amber along the corridor and toward the lifts.

High dependency ward in the hospital

As the world came back into focus Amber looked around and noted that she was hooked up to several machines. There was an older woman looming over her, the tag on the white coat that she wore read Dr Jayne Quinn. The woman must have been in the mid to late fifties but looked good for that age. “I see that our little problem is back in the land of the conscious.”

“Where, where am I,” Amber mumbled, still feeling the effects of the chloroform.

“The high dependency unit at the hospital,” Jayne Quinn replied as if she was just having a discussion with a patient. Amber went to slip out of the bed but found that she couldn’t move apart from turn her head and shake her hips. “I wouldn’t try and move; the restraints will hold you firmly in place.” It was then that Amber’s brain clicked int gear and the memory of what happened came back to her. Looking around Amber noted that she was lying on a bed in a small, private room in what she had been told was the high dependency unit at the hospital. The decoration was standard drab hospital fair, a window to her right was covered with heavy curtains. The only light came from the fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling above.

“Wait,” Amber said and went to move off the bed before realising that Doctor Quinn hadn’t been lying, she was still held in place with leather straps. A quick glance down told her that whilst unconscious she had been stripped of her clothes and placed in a standard gown. “You need to let me go right now lady,” Amber said with a snarl. Hoping that bravado would get her out of what was obviously a very tricky situation. “I am a police officer and unless I report in my colleagues will come looking for me.” Amber hoped that her expression didn’t give away the fact that she wasn’t exactly sure about that last statement. The only person that knew she was at the hospital was Nazia.

“I am going to explain what is going to happen now Detective,” the woman in the white coat began. “I am going to sedate you heavily and keep you here until we decide what to do with you.” Then Amber noticed the black rubber mask that Jayne Quinn held in her right hand. Slowly Jayne brough the mask towards Amber’s face, around halfway there the gas started to pump and Amber heard a faint hiss. Amber turned her head to the left in a futile attempt to escape the black mask. “Nurse, could you assist.” Suddenly Amber felt hands on either side of her head, the hands applied just enough force to turn Amber’s head enough to allow Jayne Quinn to place the mask in place over Amber’s nose and mouth, keeping it in place by securing the strap at the back of Amber’s head. “That’s better, you just take nice, even breaths and go for a nice, long sleep.”

“You will pay for this,” Amber said from beneath the mask as the gas started to have an effect. Her voice was slurring and her eyes already felt heavy.

“Now, you have brought this on yourself Detective Carter. Just you remember that. Now I would normally say count back from twenty…..but….” Jayne Quinn said as despite her best efforts Amber couldn’t fight falling into the blackness any longer and closed her eyes.

“What now?” Aimee asked.

“Wrap her head in bandages to disguise her and entered her into the records as Jane Doe. Not very original, although I doubt that anybody will look for her here.” Aimee nodded and headed toward the door. “Aimee, make sure that either you or Big Amy or Kate are on duty on this ward. We can’t be too careful with this.”

“What are you going to do doctor?” Aimee asked. “She is a police officer after all. We can’t keep her here indefinitely.”

“I am aware of that Aimee,” Jayne said with more than a hint of edge to her voice. Then she noted the look on the nurse’s face. “Sorry, just feeling some stress at the moment. I need to make a call to an associate,” Jayne replied. “See if they can make this problem disappear for us. The only issue is that it is going to cost us a fair bit of cash.”

“When you say disappear?” Aimee asked, not wanting to say the phrase out loud.

“Nothing like that Aimee. I assure you.” The young nurse smiled, a weight seemingly taken off her mind and slipped out the room, closing the door behind her. Jayne took a mobile phone from her pocket and scrolled through the contact all the time thinking about Aimee, the girl was good to have around but was a little innocent when it came to these issues and potential solutions, the decisions that had to be made. Now, Jayne had no intention of killing the detective but wasn’t naïve about what fate would befall Amber Carter. Finding the name that she wanted Jayne pressed the call button and leaned against the wall.

“Nice to hear from you,” the voice said. It was a female voice with a South African accent.

“I have a package that needs taken off my hands,” Jayne said, getting straight to the point.

“What kind of package?”

“The attractive kind, collectable, around thirty years old, statuesque, one careful owner.”

“Can you send through a photograph?”

“Yes, I could do that,” Jayne replied glancing around at Amber lying motionless on the bed.

“Let me see what I can do for you. I had a good contact in France but they have gone off the radar recently, the rumour is that the authorities caught up with them. Also, the main player in this area, especially at the very high end of the market, seems to have gone quiet.”

“Are there any alternatives?”

“There is another contact that I have, in Hamburg.”

“Hamburg, Germany?” Jayne asked.

“Yes. They had an association with the main player but have suggested that they could step into the void and provide a service.”

“How do we get the package to Germany?” Jayne asked.

“You would be surprised at how packages get places. There are some ingenious solutions.”

“What about the, erm, end, erm, location for the package?” The voice on the other end of the line sighed before replying. Maybe Jayne Quinn wasn’t as tough as she thought she was.

“Do you really want to know?” That question was met by silence from Jayne Quinn. “I will make the call and come back to you.”

“It would be appreciated. I need to get the package moved as soon as possible,” Jayne said and ended the call.

Carter & Gorya residence, Cambridge

Sitting down with a glass of wine Nazia Gorya watched the news program on the television without taking any of it in, there was something else on her mind at exact moment in time. She hadn’t heard from Amber since her housemate had left for the hospital just after lunch so had tried to call her around thirty minutes ago but Amber’s mobile seemed to have been turned off. Then there was a knock at the door Nazia almost ran to the door and opened it to find Sasha Conteh on the other side, Nazia’s shoulders slumped visibly. “Not who you were expecting?” Sasha asked reading the gesture. “I won’t take it personally.”

“I hoped that it would be Amber,” Nazia replied noting that the Interpol agent trailed a small wheeled suitcase behind her.

“She lost or something?” Sasha asked. “I was hoping to talk to her.”

“I suppose you better come in and wait,” Nazia opened the door fully and allowed Sasha to enter. “The living room is on the left.” As Sasha found her way to the living room Nazia closed and locked the door.

“Drinking on your own?” Sasha nodded at the glass of wine.

“Would you like to join me?” Nazia asked. Sasha smiled and nodded. Nazia went to the kitchen and came back with another glass and the rest of the bottle. They sat in silence drinking for five minutes before Sasha piped up.

“So, where is Amber?”

“Looking into a case. In fact, it is a case that I mentioned, something odd at the hospital.”

“Odd at the hospital?” Sasha echoed and took another sip of the wine. “This is a nice bottle.”

“At the pharmacy, with some of the drug levels.”

“You think that there are drugs going missing?” Sasha queried. “Deliberately?”

“I hope not, but it was starting to look that way. I mentioned it to Amber and she promised to take it to her new Inspector. Well, after the incident Amber wasn’t exactly flavour of the month so they agreed to let her investigate, Amber said that it was just to get her out of the way.”

“And she went to check it out earlier today?”

“Yes, at the hospital to have a look around. I am worried about her,” Nazia said. “She really should have been back by now.” Sasha nodded but thought that Amber could take care of herself and that Nazia was just worrying a bit too much due to what had happened when Amber was investigating the disappearance of Lara Sanchez.

“I am sure that she is alright. Amber is smart and tough, no reason to worry.” Sasha said to try and reassure the doctor.

“So, I suppose I don’t have to ask why you are here?”

“Am I that obvious?” Sasha replied with a smile. “Yes, I want to have a discussion about the Lara Sanchez abduction.” Sasha noted that Nazia was about to interject but raised a hand. “Now, I know that for obvious reasons Amber is not going to get directly involved in any further investigation and believe me I understand given the circumstances. However, I believe that there is something bigger going on here and I want to talk it through with Amber and see if there is anything that we may have overlooked or missed.”

“You, certainly are keen.”

“My boss would say stubborn!” Both women laughed and that lightened the mood. Form there they finished the open bottle of wine and opened and finished a second as they chatted about anything apart from work and enjoyed each other’s company.

“Where are you staying?” Nazia asked when the second bottle had been finished.

“I actually haven’t booked anywhere. It was sort of a spur of the moment decision to come across.”

“It is late so I suggest that you stay in the spare room.”

“Are you sure?” Sasha asked, Nazia nodded,

“Well,” Sasha said looking at her watch. “It’s almost eleven o’clock now so I would suggest that we head to bed and if we have to start looking for Amber in the morning.”

“Alright then. Follow me and I will show you to the spare room.” Sasha picked up her case and followed her host out of the room and out the stairs to a small single bedroom at the back of the house. “Small, but I am sure it will do for a night or two.”

“It’s perfect. Thanks again.” Nazia pointed out the toilet and the cupboard where the towels were kept before saying goodnight and heading back to her own room for a night of uncomfortable sleep.

Looks like Amber is in trouble ..... but maybe Sasha will be able to rescue her Great continuation.

Very nice!

Chapter 16

Lausanne, Switzerland

The ceiling was plain white but there was something strangely soothing about it, or maybe it was the warmth, or the comfortable duvet and pillows, or the fact that she could spread her arms and legs out. Then she bolted straight upright from the waist. “Where the hell am I?” Gayle said out loud. She scanned the room and was strangely thankful that there was nobody in the room to answer the question. Although one thing was for sure she was not on the island any longer. Then it all flooded back to her, Elizabeth Crawford and Louise Williams in her room telling her that she would soon be leaving the island, the needle that Xenia Sokolov plunged into her arm, mention of Hayley staying……… “Need to find a telephone. Right now!” Gayle said out loud again before throwing off the duvet and getting out of bed.
Paris, France

“Sorry for the delay in getting across ladies,” Natalie raised a hand as she slumped exhausted into a chair. It had been a long week since the incident at the jewellery store which had delayed her departure to Paris to meet up with Christina, Danielle and Charlotte. Christina had picked up her at the airport and was currently putting her bags into the bedroom that she would be sharing with Charlotte who was approaching with a warm mug of coffee.

“No need to apologise, Charlotte explained what happened. Are you alright?” Danielle said slumping down into a couch next to where Natalie sat.

“I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep,” Natalie said as Charlotte gave her a wink before handing over the cup of coffee and taking the empty space on the couch next to Danielle. The small group waited in silence for Christina to return before getting down to business, the only sound was Natalie taking gulps of coffee. Natalie took in her surroundings, it was a flat with a large combined living / dining / kitchen area with doors off leading to a bathroom, large cupboard and three bedrooms judging by what she could see through open doors. Natalie didn’t want to know how they had come across the flat but she guessed it was some kind of off the book American government safe house. In the main living area there was a television but the chairs and couch were arranged around a coffee table that was thick with paper. Christina returned to the main room she grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen before taking the chair directly across from Natalie. “So,” Natalie started. “How have you been getting on?”

“It hasn’t been easy,” Christina began. “We started by looking at what our options were.” This small group had been tasked by Jaclyn Sanders with undertaking an unofficial operation to confirm what Elizabeth Crawford was up to and try and put a stop to it. That or come up with enough evidence that would allow official action to be taken. “After looking at the information that we have it looks like we have two lines of inquiry to pursue.”

“Those would be trying to track down where Elizabeth Crawford is and work from there,” Charlotte added, “and working out what she is up to and seeing if we can work it from that end.”

“You seem to have picked up this espionage stuff pretty quickly,” Natalie said with a smile. “So, I assume that you have a plan of action for both options?”

“Well, we figured that it was to ends of the same length of thread,” Danielle commented. “If we went at it from each end we would meet in the middle.” Natalie nodded in agreement; it was a sound investigative technique.

“In order to find Elizabeth Crawford, we either need to find somebody who knows where she is and is prepared to tell us,” Christina started.

“Like Fallon Bennett?” Natalie asked. Christina nodded before continuing. “Or try and find out where she is going to be and get ahead of her.” Natalie nodded this time. “Although I think that or best option with the resources that we have is to try and work out what she is up to. But for that we need someone to speak to us and so far, Milena Novak and everyone else that we have in custody is keeping their mouths shut….and not just because they are gagged.” A small burst of laughter went around the group. “Hayley and that reporter Elise Rodgers seem to know a lot but they are out of commission at the moment.” That comment with the mention of their missing friend brought an abrupt halt to the laughter and wiped smiles from faces.

“Have you had any luck getting an appointment with Emily St Clare?” Natalie asked trying to change track from Hayley and her current predicament.

“Absolutely not, I have been stonewalled. No chance of actually talking to the woman,” Danielle said with a sense of frustration.

“We really could do with having a long discussion with her. She may have information that we need.” Christina said before taking a long drink from the bottle of water.

“Will she even know what was going on if we believe what was in the letter from that reporter? It suggested that she has been brainwashed.” Natalie replied.

“When you point it like that it does sound like a plot for a sixties television serial,” Daniele offered. That comment did get a round of giggles which seemed to break the tension that had been building in the room.

“That is a valid point but there is only one way to know for sure,” Christina said and left it hanging out there for the rest of the women to consider.

“The conscious mind might not be aware but under hypnosis,” Danielle said and got up from the couch and made her way across to one of the large windows. A silence fell over the room, every woman in the room considering the unspoken solution to the problem.

“I will say it then. Do we grab her?” Charlotte put it out there and received a look of shock from Natalie.

“I don’t know if I am comfortable with that. Not only from a moral standpoint but if the operation did go wrong, we have no official status. It would probably end up with us doing a decent amount of time in a jail.” Christina added and Natalie couldn’t hide her smile. Suddenly Christina was the voice of reason. “Well, even if we did it would take some planning and resources….does anyone know anybody that knows how to release suppressed memories from someone that has been brainwashed.” Natalie smiled broadened as Christina was now starting to put the operation together in her head.

“What are our other options?” Charlotte asked.

“In terms of sound investigating we have to follow the leads,” Natalie replied. “I would suggest that someone has to go to Hamburg and follow up from Hayley’s letter.”

“And there is always Fallon Bennett,” Christina chipped in.

“How are you getting on trying to track her down?” Natalie asked. They all knew that if the rumours were true it could be a short cut to their goal. That was if Fallon Bennett would talk with them.

“We spent a lot of time collating information from various law enforcement agencies around the globe.” Danielle had now picked up on this and returned to her seat clutching a laptop which she placed on the table and opened. As she typed Danielle continued to talk. “As you would expect there was a lot of information, a lot of which was not verifiable but there were some promising leads once they had been fact checked and cross referenced…” There was a knock and everyone in the room turned and stared at the door. Nobody moved until a second knock came.

“I assume that you aren’t expecting anyone,” Natalie whispered. Christina nodded as she rose from the chair and moved silently toward the door. The tension in the room evaporated when after looking through the peephole Christina gave a thumbs up and opened the door and in walked Monique Moreau. Christina closed the door behind Monique and admired the impeccable fashion and sense of style that the woman had.

“Good evening ladies,”

“Hello Monique,” Christina replied. “What can we do for you?”

“Ideally you could cease the unsanctioned operation you are running from this apartment.” That statement caused Christina to look around at her colleagues, an unasked question in her gaze. “Don’t think I don’t know what goes on in my own country ladies.” Monique let that statement hang in the air. “Don’t worry Jaclyn let me know out of courtesy, all very unofficial. But I must warn you that nobody beyond my inner circle in French Intelligence or law enforcement knows, so please be careful.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Christina said with a nod, fully aware that the woman didn’t do social calls. “I can get you something to drink?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. I can’t stay long. I brought a friend that I would like to introduce.” Christina opened the door again and Natascha Taylor entered.

“You,” Natalie said getting up from the chair. “You….” Natascha raised both hands in a placating gesture.

“Look, I know that I may not be Little Miss Popular with some in this room,” Natascha said.

“I suppose you could say that,” Natalie replied turning to face Natascha. “Hayley counted you as a friend and when she needed it you decided not to back her.”

“I understand where you are coming from but the evidence…”

“Forget the evidence Natascha,” Natalie shouted, pointing a finger, “Hayley is one of the good guys.” Christina decided to step between the two women at this point and then ushered Natalie away to the far away corner of the main room.

“We could always do with another pair of hands, especially someone with her field experience,” Christina commented raising her hands in a defensive gesture knowing that there would be objections. “I will admit that I do not have the history with Hayley that you ladies have so I may be seeing this from more of a removed perspective.” Natalie and Christina looked at each other intently.

“Are you saying that we bring her onboard?” Natalie asked. Christina kept quiet, she didn’t want to admit that she had reservations over the experience and expertise, well the lack of real field experience, that the other three members of their small team had.

“I take your point on experience,” Natalie said and then stopped and leaned back against the kitchen cabinets as if considering something. “I had the same thought and that is no slight on anybody in the room but is an obvious weakness. Everyone has their strengths but field work isn’t among them.” Christina relaxed and wondered if this was a good time to bring up something else that she had done to try and strengthen the team in that regard. Something must have come across Christina’s face as Natalie looked at her questioningly.

“So, I put out some feelers with people who may be able to help us.” Christina finished and looked a little bit sheepish which was very unlike her.

“Why do I get the feeling that I am not going to like where this is going,” Natalie commented the two of them totally forgetting about the other women in the room. The conversation was cut off by the sound of Natalie’s mobile ringing. She reached into her pocket and checked the display, it was an unrecognised number. “Zero, Zero, Four, One..”

“Switzerland,” Monique said. Natalie shrugged and then pressed the button to accept the call. A look of complete shock spread across her face when she heard the voice on the other end of the call.

“Gayle! Where are you?” That got a reaction from Christina. Out of the corner of her eye Christina noticed that Monique waved a hand and headed for the exit, obviously not wanting to hear anything further. There was a short conversation between Natalie and Gayle with Gayle mainly doing most of the talking and Natalie interrupting with the occasional question. “Give me a minute Gayle whilst I have a chat with Christina.” Natalie put her hand over the mouthpiece.

“Where is she?” Christina asked.

“How did she manage to get off the island?” Danielle asked.

“Did Crawford just let her go?” Natascha chimed in. Natalie looked at all three women in turn, her expression saying, give me a chance.

“At a hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland,” Natalie replied answering the first question only. “It seems that they booked Gayle into a hotel for a week. A nice hotel that has all been paid for in advance.”

“That is close to where Emily St Clare is based,” Christina replied.

“I thought we had ruled that out as an option,” Natalie commented.

“That hotel could be handy as a base of operations,” Christina suggested. “Wouldn’t eat into our budget if the room is paid for in advance for a week.” Natalie nodded and put the phone back to her ear.

“Stay where you are Gayle. We will come to you.” Natalie ended the call. As the rest of the group broke up to make arrangements Christina slipped away into a corner and tapped a message into her phone before sending it to a number that was saved without a name against it. Change of plan. Heading to Switzerland. Meet in Lausanne.

So the search and rescue mission gets under way. I like the composition of this chapter: The short entry: Gayle waking up in the hotel room then switch to Paris. We got a lot of insight in the planings of the rescue operation. Which roads to go, and which not. The confrontation between Natalie and Natascha was intense as to be expected. Natalie may not like it, but from Nataschas point of view it is dificult not to believe that Hayley did voluntarily changing sides. If you think of their last meeting on the Island.

And having Natascha on board will prove to be useful. The Team needs every help they can get, they have to fight an opponent who holds a lot aces. The Mole in Jacklyn Smiths Organization, the ressources of Crawfords .... Christina seem to plan to get additional hands on deck, I wonder who that might be .... some of friends from old? Maybe Gabrielle? And besides that:

There is the possibility that Crawford uses Gayle as a bait, to get the Team in the open? Knowing Crawford that might well be a possibilty ....

And then there is Fallon Bennett of Course. Going out on a limb here, but I do suspect that the mysterious Alessandra might be a likely Candidate .... but that remains to be seen

Good work by [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] - as ever and always

There are other things: Meeting Gayle could be useful in different ways: The Team will be able to get a first account how Hayley made the decision to return in Crawfords Lair and what happened since then on the Island. That Hayley did not change sides, but was coerced. Having Gayle on board will be an additional asset too.

What I do ask myself here: Crawford knows all that. Either she uses Gayle as bait to lure her opponents in the open or she does not care. Knowing Crawford I suspect the latter.

One key question remains though: What plans has Crawford for Hayley and Kristy? I think, Crawford has a plan for Hayley, what role she should play in a life after retirement. What feelings Crawford does have for Hayley exactly we do not know. That there are some, is obvious. Kristy is different case: Imho Crawford is in Conflict here: Kristy served her loyaly. She regards Kristy as a confident, even as a friend. Helping Hayley to escape must have been felt as a betrayal. Obviously Crawford cannot bring herself to forgive Kristy but does not dispose of her either. The Questions to those answers will be crucial.

Getting Information from Emily St.Claire? Seems one possible way to gather information about Crawfords Plans - it will be interessting if the good Guys are successful this time ... till now, Crawford was always one ord two steps ahead

With Gayle gone from the Island, Hayley will be more isolated than ever. During her captivity with Gayle and Natalie she had at least two companions she could trust, the second time there was Gabriella. Now? Nobody she could trust completely: She built a relationship of sorts with Kirsty, but can she trust her totally? I guess not. Difficult times.

Another thing: To whom did Christina sent the text to? About moving to Switzerland? Somebody we know? Gabriella would be a logical choice. But do they know each other?

Still enjoying this story!!

Can't wait for the next part.

Loving the story so far, the spy scenario is perfect for stories like this!

manwithnoname wrote: 4 years ago Still enjoying this story!!

Can't wait for the next part.

Me too

Chapter 17

Twenty-three years earlier

“Good evening Elizabeth,” said a familiar voice at the other end of the line. A chill ran down Elizabeth Crawford’s spine. Elizabeth’s mind drifted back to the operation against Virat Khan that had taken an unexpected turn. It had been a long twenty months as Elizabeth and Jaclyn had to, despite passing all protocol interrogations, prove themselves again within the agency. They had not been allowed to work together again on operations and due to that their friendship away from work had suffered as well, they had just drifted apart. It was a situation that if she was being honest with herself Elizabeth wasn’t that bothered with given the circumstances of how that operation ended and the implications going forward. “I hope that I haven’t called at a bad time.”

“I suppose now is as good as any,” Elizabeth replied. She had been out picking up some shopping and was currently walking home through a park close to her house. There was a bench a couple of yards away and Elizabeth decided to take a seat. There was a nice view from the bench across the park’s pond and it might relax her a bit for what would no doubt be an uncomfortable conversation. Despite knowing that this telephone call would come she wasn’t prepared for it. It was now time to make a life changing decision, one way or the other.

“Good. I like to get straight to the point so you will remember our conversation from your visit?” Sonam asked.

“Yes, I remember our conversation,” Elizabeth replied.

“Now, as we discussed this is your opportunity to change your life. If you do this small task for me and my business partners then we can set you up.”

“What you are asking me to do Sonam?” Elizabeth was keen to get to the point.

“It will be mutually beneficial Elizabeth. You have to remember that. My business partners and I will be taking a risk on you so would expect a similar level of risk and commitment in return.” Elizabeth didn’t like the way that Sonam was talking around what she was asking her to do. It was obviously something rather important.

“What do you want me to do?” Elizabeth asked with a nervous edge to her voice.

“A little edgy are we Elizabeth?” Sonam asked.

“Well we are on an unsecured line,” Elizabeth stated.

“I run a technology company. Don’t worry, there will be no trace of this call on any log and nobody will be listening in so we can talk freely.”

“So, one again what do you want?” Elizabeth asked now that she was a bit more satisfied on security.

“We want the Asset List,” Sonam said evenly. Elizabeth stomach jumped into her throat and even though it was a cool evening a sheen of sweat broke across her brow. The Asset List was a register of agents that American agencies were running inside criminal enterprises across the globe. “Did you hear me?” Sonam asked when there was no response from the other end of the line.

“I can’t get that. I don’t have the required access. There are only a certain number of people who do and I don’t even know that list of people.” Elizabeth blurted this out and looked around nervously for people that could eavesdrop on the conversation that she was currently having.

“We can help with that,” Sonam said. “I have managed to obtain a list of the people that have access to the list and placed it in a safe deposit box in a bank local to you. The keys for the safe deposit box will be with you tomorrow.”

“But, I, where…” Elizabeth stammered.

“Look, you are a smart and resourceful woman. I am sure that you will find a way to get the list. After all we made a deal.” Sonam voice had a edge when she said this. There was a pause as Sonam let her words sink in. “You will have fourteen days from receipt of the key to obtain the Asset List and deliver it to me. I hope that I don’t have to explain what happens if the list isn’t delivered.”

“I understand,” Elizabeth responded with a hint of steel in her voice.

“Good. I shall look forward to hearing from you.” The line went dead and Elizabeth slipped the phone back into her purse. She studied the landscape for five minutes to gather her thoughts before picking up her shopping and heading for home. There was nothing to do now but head home and enjoy some good food. But there was another stop that she had to make on the way home, the local shop for a bottle of wine, or maybe two.
This was not ideal but with the timeframe so tight she had run out of options. When Elizabeth had received the list of names with access to the Asset List she winced. Not only was it a short list but three quarters of the names could be ignored as there was no way she could get access to them. That left three names and after taking time to investigate and observe all three she had decided on this course of action. The plan was risky but it was all that she had so she had to go through with it unless she wanted Sonam Khan to make her bosses aware of their conversation in Shimla. So that was how Elizabeth found herself sitting in a Volkswagen camper van, supplied by a Section contact as a favour, two blocks from the large home of Diane Winstead. Elizabeth glanced at her watch and noted that it was time to move. A quick check of her equipment confirmed that everything was there. Grabbing her black rucksack and compression sack Elizabeth slid out of the vehicle and carefully closed the door and caught a glimpse of herself in the wing mirror. Sneakers, tight fitting leggings, tight fitting sweater and a short down jacket. All were black and her hair had been tied back in a tight ponytail. As casually as possible Elizabeth walked toward the rear of the Winstead home. After a quick glance in each direction Elizabeth tossed the compression sack and then the rucksack over the wall that surrounded the house before scrambling over after them. Elizabeth had scouted the house thoroughly and knew that there was no security on the perimeter to speak of, which did shock her slightly given what the owners did for a living. Not that she was bothered at this particular time as it worked to her benefit.

On the other side of the wall Elizabeth quickly recovered her items and walked toward the large house. At this point she didn’t have to be that careful as there was a grove of trees between her and the house. Well, to be honest with the size of the grounds it was more like a small forest. About thirty yards short of the edge of the trees Elizabeth dropped the rucksack and removed the sleeping bag from the compression sack. Carefully, Elizabeth laid it out on the ground before taking a glance around. Seeing nothing to concern her Elizabeth crouched and headed for the tree line, finding a place where she would be almost invisible Elizabeth hunkered down and took in the scene. There was an energy about the place as guests arrived and staff made the final preparations. The amount of people around didn’t bother Elizabeth, if anything it made her job a little bit easier. Security looked to be minimal, only a couple of apes wearing suits at each entrance. There were spotlights on the house facing out but that didn’t bother Elizabeth either, there were still plenty of pools of darkness that would allow her to strike. It some ways the that party that was currently taking place in the house was in some ways a blessing as it allowed her an easy way in. The fact that it was a masked ball and all of guests and staff were wearing masks that covered their faces was an added bonus. Her plan was to pose as one of the waiting staff. Slowly and deliberately Elizabeth removed a bottle and cloth from the pocket of her down jacket. All she had to do now was wait for the right time to pounce and the chloroform-soaked cloth that she would prepare would do the rest.

All good things came to those who wait and Elizabeth was patient and eventually a waitress of a very similar height and build to her slipped away from the rest to grab a quiet cigarette. Elizabeth quickly prepared a cloth with chloroform and waited for the exact moment to strike. The waitress strolled toward her then turned back to face the building whilst taking long drags from her cigarette. ‘Didn’t anybody ever tell you that smoking is bad for you.’ Elizabeth said to the woman in her head as she left the cover of the line of trees and treaded slowly and carefully across the grass so as to make as little noise as possible. As Elizabeth crept toward the unsuspecting waitress, she flexed her shoulders and arms to prepare for the struggle that was soon begin. The waitress didn’t notice the danger until it was too late; Elizabeth rammed home her advantage by grabbing the waitress around the waist with her left hand and clamping the chloroformed soaked cloth over the waitress’s nose and mouth. The woman tried to twist free of Elizabeth’s grasp, but found her efforts thwarted as the arm that encircled her waist only tightened further, drawing her close. Elizabeth could sense that the woman had held her breathe, desperately tried not to inhale the fumes given off from the chloroform. Elizabeth didn’t panic and bided her time, waited for a moment, and when the woman didn't take a breath, used the arm wrapped around the woman’s waist to force the air from her lungs. The woman gasped as the air was forced from her lungs, and involuntarily took a deep breath, drinking deeply of the drug on the cloth. Elizabeth used the opportunity and began to drag the woman toward the treeline. Now that the waitress had something else to worry about, she forgot the cloth for just long enough to take several deep breathes, inhaling a lot of the chloroform’s fumes in the process. Elizabeth could begin to feel the fight drain from the woman just as they reached the treeline and the safety, well for Elizabeth it was, of cover. The waitress continued to inhale the fumes; her muscles started to relax as the chloroform did its work. As the fight drained from the woman Elizabeth began to take more and more of her weight and felt the waitress’s body go limp. Elizabeth let her slid into the undergrowth but held the cloth tight for another couple of seconds until after the waitress had closed her eyes.

Elizabeth dragged the unconscious waitress through the undergrowth, wincing at every snapped twig and branch until she reached the location where she had left the rest of her equipment. Carefully she lowered the young woman onto the unfurled sleeping bag. After the effort Elizabeth stood with her hands on her hips and took a break before stripping the young woman of her outfit and leaving her in just her underwear. After carefully hanging up the outfit Elizabeth pulled the cheap jogging bottoms and jumper that she had purchased earlier using cash and slipped both onto the unconscious woman. It was a bit of effort and delay that Elizabeth could have avoided but she didn’t want the woman to be cold, after all it wasn’t her fault that she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Flipping the woman onto her stomach Elizabeth grabbed a selection of pre-cut lengths of cord from the rucksack, selected the one that she wanted and used it to lash together the waitress’s wrists. Then she selected two other lengths of cord and used them to bind the waitress’s ankles and thighs together. A longer length of cord was used to secure the waitress’s arms to her body before Elizabeth stood up and admired her efforts, there was just one thing missing. Elizabeth couldn’t let the young woman call for help, she would have to be gagged. Another quick rifle through her bag produced a large white handkerchief which was quickly balled and stuffed in the waitress’s mouth. A silk scarf tied tightly over her lips ensured that the stuffing could not be expelled. Finally, Elizabeth folded over the top of the sleeping bag and zipped it up, tightening the draw string around the baffle so that the waitress would stay warm as the cooling evening turned to night. Now it was time to get changed. Elizabeth stripped and placed her clothes carefully in her rucksack before slipping on the waitress’s stockings and black dress. The waitress had been fuller of figure but that actually helped Elizabeth as it allowed her to stash certain items on her person without obvious bumps. Picking up her heels, she had brough her own for fear of not being able to procure the correct size, Elizabeth checked the rucksack and set it against a tree. Taking a quick glance at the young woman encased in the sleeping bag Elizabeth paused, in addition to keeping her warm and relatively comfortable in the gardens, the sleeping bag would restrain the woman, making it difficult to squirm out, even if in the unlikely event she managed to free herself of her bindings. Something to keep in mind for later use, but now for the matter at hand. As she stood up and smoothed the dress and ran her slim fingers through her long hair Elizabeth took a deep breath and headed toward the house. There was no turning back now.

Elizabeth got to the tree line before slipping on the heels that she had brought for the occasion and was careful not to break cover until the coast was clear. In her head Elizabeth told herself to be confident as she strode across the path toward the service entrance to the rear of the house. As Elizabeth walked around the corner, she was confronted with a scene of people being very busy, trucks were being unloaded and staff were buzzing about. “Hurry up! We haven’t got all day!” A man in a formal dinner suit and gloves shouted. Elizabeth continued to walk toward the entrance. “And where have you been?” The man asked. It took Elizabeth a second to realize that the question was directed at her. “Well, I suppose you are at least dressed properly.”

“Sorry,” Elizabeth said, just for something to say.

“You are here now. Miss Bellingham inside will give you your instructions.” Elizabeth nodded and slalomed her way between bustling bodies and into a corridor that led to a kitchen. Elizabeth stopped and looked around.

“Over here girl,” Elizabeth heard a female voice said and turned to find a woman in her late fifties waving at her from across the room. After making her way across the room Elizabeth was confronted with a stern looking woman in a green tweed suit. “My you are a pretty thing,” the woman commented.

“Miss Bellingham?” Elizabeth asked.

“Through there, grab a mask and tray and then mingle with the crowd. But remember don’t speak unless spoken to and try not to spill anything on the guests.” Elizabeth just nodded in response.

“Wait, a mask?” Elizabeth asked, slightly confused as she turned away.

“Well, it is a masked ball dear.” Miss Bellingham replied. “Girls, today.” Then on seeing something that she didn’t like was off and gesticulating wildly. Her parting gift was a warning called over her shoulder. “Watch for some of gentlemen, they can get a bit handsy.” Elizabeth shrugged and walked in the direction that Miss Bellingham had pointed. She could hear the muffled sound of music and chat get louder as she walked along the corridor. At the end there was a man in suit handing out trays, on the same table there was also a pile of masks. Elizabeth took one and out it on, it covered her entire face. Then she was handed a try of bite sized food and almost pushed through the door by the man in the suit. Suddenly the muffled sound became a roar as she entered the main room, the party looked like it was in full swing. It was hard to make her way through the mass of heaving bodies whilst carrying the tray, especially with no experience as a waitress but Elizabeth managed to carry out the job for an hour before she managed to get a fix on her target, Emily Winstead. Fortunately, the young woman had slipped off her mask to converse with an older man. Elizabeth could tell that Emily was getting tired of the conversation just as another young woman interrupted and pulled Emily away. Even from a distance Elizbeth could lipread the word ‘Thanks’ as Emily and the other woman headed through the crowd toward the stairs. This could be her opportunity so Elizabeth followed, hoping that no-one would notice one of the waiting staff heading up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs Elizabeth deposited the tray on a handily placed sideboard, stopped and listened. There were three possible routes that Emily and her friend could have taken and she had to guess right. It was difficult over the noise from the party but she closed her eyes and heard a door close off to her left. Elizabeth walked slowly almost to the end of the corridor before she found a closed door with light coming from the crack at the bottom. She listened at the door Elizabeth slipped her hand down to the small of her back and removed the small taser that she had stored there. The element of surprise would be her biggest weapon and she waited until there was a giggle from behind the door before bursting through into the room and slamming the door closed. Elizabeth took up a stance in the centre of the room with the taser pointed at the two young women who had guilty looks on their faces. “Now, what were you to up to?” Elizbeth asked to break the silence.

“Who are you? The police?” Emily asked.

“No, but interesting that is where you went to Emily,” Elizabeth replied.

“What is that?” Emily asked pointing at Elizabeth’s hand.

“A taser, not lethal if you are healthy but very nasty and unpleasant.”

“Did my daddy send you to follow me?” asked the other young woman.

“Pamela,” Emily said. “Your dad isn’t going to hire a woman to do that job. He is a chauvinist pig.”

“Once again no but an interesting answer,” Elizabeth replied “But it’s time to stop the conversation and keep quiet. Elizabeth reached down and produced two cloths and two scarves that she had hidden at the top of her stockings.

“Use those items to gag yourself ladies,” Elizabeth demanded.

“What?” Emily replied.

“Do as you are told before I have to use the taser and then do it myself.”

“Look, stop acting like to you have never seen a gag before. The small cloth gets balled up and stuffed into your mouth and the scarf gets folded into a band and tied over your mouth to keep the stuffing in place and then tied nicely in a bow at the back of your head. Now, hurry up.” Elizabeth pointed the taser at each young woman as a threat and watched on as after glancing at each other they complied with her instructions. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. “Good girls, now Pamela you lie down on the bed with your head face down on the pillow and put your hands behind you back.” Pamela glanced at Emily before complying with the instruction. After Pamela was on the bed Elizabeth handed Emily several lengths of cord. “Tie your friend at the wrists, ankles and thighs. Be sure to make it tight as I will be checking.”

“MMMOOOHHH,” Emily moaned. Pamela made an almost muffled sound from the bed.

“Just do it and quickly,” Elizabeth hissed with an edge to her voice. The longer this took the more somebody may miss these girls and come looking for them. Emily tied Pamela as instructed. When she was finished took a step back from the bed. “Turn around, face the wall and get down on your knees,” Elizabeth instructed Emily, who complied. Elizabeth produced a cloth and a small vial of chloroform form the waist of her underwear. After carefully folding the cloth Elizabeth poured the entire contents of the vial onto the cloth. Elizabeth leaned down and whispered into Pamela’s ear. “Now, I am going to place a cloth over your nose and mouth. I am not going to lie to you, the cloth is soaked with a sedative called chloroform.”

“MMMUUURRRMMM,” Pamela mumbled.

“Don’t panic. It will just put you to sleep for a bit, which is what I need now to help me leave the house. The smell isn’t nice and your head will be sore after you come back round but that will be it. This is going to happen whether you like it or not so it would be better if you just relax and take nice deep breaths. Understand?” Pamela nodded. At that point Elizabeth lowered the cloth and as gently as possible placed it over the lower half of Pamela’s face. Elizabeth pressed slightly to ensure that the cloth was securely over Pamela’s nose and mouth, banishing any fresh air and forcing Pamela to inhale the fumes from the chloroform on the cloth. Pamela said something as the cloth was placed over her face but any noise was muffled by the combination of her gag and the cloth. As Elizabeth watched carefully Pamela relaxed and took steady deep breathes, calmly inhaling the fumes until after thirty seconds Elizabeth could see that they were starting to have an effect, Elizabeth could see that Pamela’s eyelids were growing heavier and she had to fight to keep them open. Elizabeth kept the cloth in place for a couple of breaths once Pamela’s eyes closed to ensure that she was totally out then removed it. Looking around the room Elizabeth located a mask, grabbed it and went across to where Emily was knelling on the floor. “Get up and put this on,” Elizabeth said. “Now, we are going to walk out of here together using the back door and you are not going to do anything that will draw attention.” There was no response from Emily. “I need you to nod that you understand.” Emily nodded slowly, the mask hiding her expression. Lastly Elizabeth put a note with a telephone number and a time on it on the dresser. They excited the room and Elizabeth got close enough to jam the taser into Emily’s side as a reminder to behave.

Rather than go down the stairs that they had come up Emily led Elizabeth to the other end of the corridor and down another stairwell. It was quieter but they still had to exit through the main door. Fortunately, the mask hid Emily’s gag from view. All Elizabeth had to do was steer the young woman through the party without attracting any serious attention. The masks also covered their faces which meant that nobody realised that Emily, one their hosts, was walking through them. Elizabeth and Emily made it through the party and out through the main doors without any issues. Even the security guards didn’t give them a second look, more concerned with people coming in than leaving. “Good girl. Just keep calm and nobody gets hurt,” Elizabeth whispered into Emily’s ear before giving her directions to where she had parked the camper van. There was an eerie, nervous silence as they made their way to the camper van. “Stop beside the van,” Elizabeth said. After retrieving the key Elizabeth opened the sliding door to the rear of the van. “Take off the mask and lie down on the mattress.” Emily compiled and Elizabeth hopped in after her, sliding the door closed. “Hands.” Emily placed her hands in the small of her back and Elizabeth used a length of cord to tied Emily’s wrists together. Then more cord to bind Emily’s ankles, legs and arms. Elizabeth then tied a blindfold over Emily’s eyes and placed earplugs in her ears. Before she did so Elizabeth leaned down. “Don’t panic, I am not going to hurt you in any way. I just need something from your mother.” With Emily secured Elizabeth whipped a blanket over the young woman and jumped into the driver’s seat. After a quick change of footwear Elizabeth pulled away from the kerb and headed to the cabin that she had hired for the weekend. Obeying every speed limit along the way.
Twenty-four hours later there was silence in the cabin as Elizabeth sat nursing a glass of wine and staring at the phone hoping that it would ring. That was the one thing that she hadn’t planned for, Diane Winstead not calling the number as instructed. It had been a long day; she didn’t realize that having a captive could be this time consuming. Checking that they were alright, feeding then, toilet breaks. Now toilet breaks were the worse, an obvious area for escape. There had to be something that could be done to reduce the risk. Then the phone rang and Elizbeth just stared at it for six or seven rings before answering. “Who am I speaking to?” asked Diane Winstead, her voice still gave off the air of being in charge and in control. That was something that Elizabeth would have to do something about.

“That is on no importance at this time. What is important is the health and wellbeing of your daughter. I am sure that you would agree.”

“How do I know you have my daughter and this isn’t some kind of stupid game?”

“You know your daughter better than I do but do you think this is something that young Emily could come up with?” Elizabeth said. There was silence from the other end of the connection.

“What do you want?”

“Simple equation. Your daughter for the Asset List.” Once again silence.

“I can’t do that,” Diane Winstead said nervously. “That is…well…impossible.”

“Well then, this conversation is over. Goodbye.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Elizabeth cut the connection and leaned back in the chair.
Present Day

The phone in Elizabeth Crawford’s hand rang and rang and rang. Having checked the number Elizabeth knew who was calling and was just making a point in letting the person wait before answering. This conversation was going to bring back some memories. “What have you done with my daughter Elizabeth?”

“Sonam, so glad to hear your voice after such a long time.” Elizabeth responded as if it was just another conversation. “As always straight down to business, no time for pleasantries.”

“At least you have the good grace not to insult my intelligence by denying it.” Sonam was calming down as she spoke. “I should have known it was you right away. There aren’t too many people with the bravery, flair and sense of style to pull off that fake movie plan in the middle of a city.”

“I shall take that as compliment,” Elizabeth responded graciously.

“You certainly have evolved and learned a few tricks since our first meeting,” Sonam commented.

“Flattering won’t get you anywhere,” Elizabeth replied.

“My daughter is one of the most of the most recognizable and famous people in India. Do you know how hard it is to keep her disappearance under wraps.?”

“I suspect that it took some effort,” Elizabeth responded. “However, you have always been a resourceful woman.”

“What do you want Elizabeth?” Sonam asked. “You must want something or why abduct my daughter?” Sonam took a couple of seconds pause and thought this through. Obviously, there was something that Elizabeth Crawford wanted but the timing was bothering Sonam. Why wait so long to make contact having snatched her daughter?

“Well, to start with I want to meet face to face at a place of my choosing,” Elizabeth stated.

Just a note to thank everyone for the views and the positive feedback on the story.

As always it is much appreciated.

I like the turns back in Elisabeths Past. Seeing her younger self in action? I enjoy that very much. Since Volume 5 of Nothing Personal we only saw Elizabeth Crawford, the Head of a Criminal Enterprise.

So Elizabeth wants something from Sonam in exchange for her daughter. It remains to be seen, what that will be. Also the place where they will meet will be interessting. I wonder, who will accompany Crawford ..... One assumption is a sure thing: What Crawford wants from Sonam must be something very substantial - and that Sonam wonders about the timing is a perfectly fitting question

Looking forward to the future developments, [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] !!

If I read about Elizabeth Crawfords younger self, one could almost like her We see, that she has strengths and weaknesses like everybody else. She has soft spots, she is no superhuman entity, infallible. And my secret hope is, that these human all to human sides of her character my lead to her downfall in the end. But I have the feeling, that it is a long way to go, till the story reaches this point. At the moment though, I do not see how Hayleys Friends will stand a chance against Crawford and her vast resssources. On the other hand, if I learned one thing along the road, it is the lesson, that [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] is the master of the unexspected turns and twists- and I have the feeling that we will see a lot things we did not expect, which makes waiting for the next part of this Saga so much fun You´ll never know, where the road goes Only time will tell

Chapter 18

East Coast United States – Twenty-three year ago

Diane Winstead had now arrived at the designated location, a long-abandoned mill on the outskirts of town. It had been a nervous morning for her at the office, every time one of her colleagues had asked Diane a question, she had almost jumped ten feet in the air. Fortunately, Diane had made it through to lunchtime before being able to escape and telling her assistant that she wouldn’t be back in until tomorrow. The drive seemed longer than it probably was as Diane fretted not only about the safety of her daughter but what she had done to secure her release. After getting out of the car she hesitated before walking into the building as instructed, fighting every instinct in her body that told her to get help. As she walked deeper into the old building Diane noted a rusty table with a small bag lying on it. The bag stood out as it was obviously new against the dilapidated surroundings. Patting the inside pocket of her coat to confirm that he printed pages were still there, Diane approached the table. It was almost laughable that it was easy just to print off the Asset List and nobody would ask any questions. Copying the file onto a disk would leave an electronic marker that could be traced to her but obtaining a hard copy was simple. Opening the bag Diane gasped and took a step back. There was a photograph of her daughter looking scared and disheveled sitting on top of whatever was in the bag. Taking a deep breathe Diane went back toward the bag and lifted out the photograph, taking another glance at it before placing it on the table. It was a reminder of just what was at stake. Underneath the photograph was a piece of paper with printed instructions on it. Diane was taken aback as she read them through, then took a look around the old mill before reading the instructions in full for a second time. Deciding that there was no choice but to comply with the instructions in order to save her daughter.

Diane hadn’t noticed the mummy shaped sleeping bag lying next to the table when she had entered the mill but there is was lying on the ground. Having flipped it open Diane deposited the rest of the contents of the bag onto the bag and then sat down. The first thing that Diane did was slip off her shoes, then socks and placed them beside the sleeping bag. Then she picked up the roll of grey duct tape and after putting her legs together wrapped the tape around her ankles a dozen times, as the instructions said, before wrapping it around her calves and then thighs for the same amount of times. She was worried about making herself helpless but saw no other options at this moment. The instructions told her that next on the list was to gag herself using the lady’s handkerchief and silk scarf that was in the bag. This she did by balling up the handkerchief and stuffing it into her mouth before tying a large knot at the centre of the silk scarf and putting that into her mouth and tying the ends tightly at the back of her head. “MMUUMMHH,” Diane moaned, for some reason she felt the need to check how effective the gaga was. Then she grabbed the handcuffs, lay down and fully zipped up the sleeping bag, making sure the drawstring at the top was tightly pulled closed. Then came the awkward part, getting the handcuffs on. Diane put both wrists behind her back and with a little effort in the confines of the sleeping bag managed to lock them around her wrists making her totally helpless. All that Diane could do now wait and see who appeared.

As Diane lay down in the sleeping bag the sound of footsteps echoing around the empty space and crunched her core to sit up to get a look at who was approaching. It was a woman wearing a long jacket and dark jeans, she had a silk scarf tied over her head and another tied over her the lower half of her face, like a bandit in a western film. “Lie down and look at the ceiling,” the woman said.

“UURRMM, UUPPHHMM,” Diane screamed into her gag whilst wriggling about inside the bag.

“Lie down and be quiet or I leave now and take your daughter,” the woman said stopping ten yards short of the table. Diane clamed down a little and lay back down flat on her back. “Thanks very much Diane. You have made the correct decision,” Elizabeth said as walked to the table, picked up the paper and looked through the list. Satisfied that this was indeed the information that she was looking for Elizabeth relaxed a little. “I will leave your daughter in the boot of your car.” Elizabeth slipped the paper into the pocket of her rucksack before removing a bottle and a cloth from the front pocket. Elizabeth had wondered what her plan of action should be after picking up the list. In the end, after a lot of deliberation she had decided to just up and leave, taking nothing with her back what she could carry in a single bag. Although Elizabeth was trusting in Sonam Khan a lot she hoped a new life awaited her. As Elizabeth approached Diane carrying the bottle and cloth in full view

Elizabeth smiled as Diane's eyes widened in horrified realization. Kneeling next to the sleeping bag, Elizabeth uncapped the bottle and put the cloth over the neck, then tipped it until the cloth was saturated with chloroform; then she quickly replaced the cap, careful not to breathe the potent fumes herself.

“OOHHMM, MMOOHH,” Diane moaned, shaking her head. Setting the bottle on the ground, Elizabeth brought the pad up to Diane's face with a graceful sweep of her arm, almost surprising the helpless woman in spite of her understanding of what was about to happen.

"Don’t worry, just something to stop you escaping to quickly whilst I make my get away" she murmured wickedly as she applied the cloth to the gagged woman’s face. Diane squealed into the stuffed scarf gag in protest; then she began thrashing about, shaking her head violently from side to side, trying desperately to avoid the penetrating anaesthetic fumes. But Elizabeth was not to be denied and her bounds and encasement in the sleeping bag made movement difficult. Clamping the cloth over Diane's nose and mouth, Elizabeth straddled the struggling woman to hold her in place, making sure to thump down on Diane’s chest. Diane gasped in surprise and pain, sucking a lungful of chloroform into her body. Elizabeth watched Diane begin to weaken as the powerful sleep drug was forced into her nostrils. Her moans and complaints became softer and her eyelids began to flutter as consciousness receded under the influence of the relentless vapor. Satisfied that the woman was fully unconscious Elizabeth threw the sodden cloth into the shadows before removing Diane’s gag and giving both parts of that the same treatment. Patting her outside pockets, she found the key to the handcuffs and placed in five yards away from Diane. No point in making it too easy for the woman to escape. Standing up Elizabeth looked around to make sure that she hadn’t left anything before grabbing the rucksack and Diane’s car keys and heading outside. She made her way across to the camper van, slid open the door to find Emily Winstead slumbering away with a chloroform doused dust mask over her nose and mouth. Picking up the young woman Elizabeth carried Emily over to Diane’s car and depositing her in the boot. After hiding the keys in one of the rear wheel arches Elizabeth walked back to the camper and set the fuse on the charge that would burn the interior of the van destroying any evidence. All of the jobs now completed Elizabeth was now able to remove the scarves and leather gloves that she had been wearing. Taking care Elizabeth packed the gloves, scarves and bottle of chloroform into her rucksack. A last check that she had everything that she would need confirmed that she had packed carefully before leaving her flat. Hefting the rucksack onto her back Elizabeth headed out of the mill grounds and away from the main road. There was track about two hundred yards away over a slight ridge. From there it was a five-mile hike to a car park where Elizabeth had left a motorcycle that she would use to make the journey to the airport to catch her flight. As Elizabeth walked away, she did not look back , she hadn’t done ever since.
Northern India, Present Day

They watched the sleek jet circle once before it turned around and lined itself up for the final approach into the small airstrip. “Are you sure that you want to do this?” Rohit asked across the roof of the large BMW that he had used to drive Sonam Khan to the airstrip. Sonam shook her head. “Well, then don’t. I don’t like the fact that you have to go alone.”

“I don’t like it either but what choice do I have,” Sonam turned, looked at Rohit and shrugged as the plane landed and taxied to a standstill about a hundred yards away. “Wish me luck,” Sonam said as she grabbed the small wheeled suitcase that she had brought long and started to walk toward the plane. When she was twenty yards away the door in the fuselage opened and the steps folded down. Sonam Kapoor confidently took the steps and entered the fuselage of the jet and found that she was confronted with a young woman wearing a stewardess’s uniform.

“Good morning Misses Khan. Can I take your bag?” Sonam nodded and handed the suitcase to the young woman. “Please take a seat in one if the chairs,” the stewardess said indicating one of four sitting around a table before heading to the back of the cabin. There was a woman already seated in one of the seats.

“Vernie?” Sonam asked. The woman noted and indicated that Sonam should take the seat across from her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Misses Khan,” Vernie said as Sonam took the seat. “Please make yourself comfortable. We don’t intend to be on the ground long before taking off again. Sonam sat in the chair and watched as Vernie got up and leaned over. “If you could place your arms on the armrests that would be great.” Sonam complied and watched as Vernie secured her in place using the heavily padded leather straps on her wrists, ankles and across her thighs and stomach.

“You certainly take flight safety seriously on this place,” Sonam commented with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Did Miss Crawford not explain the conditions of visiting the island?”

“Well, she did mention…….” Sonam didn’t finished the sentence as she watched in grime fascination as Vernie produced a black rubber mask from the console next to the seat. There was a hose attached to the mask.

“Just relax and take even breaths. This won’t be so bad.” Vernie placed the mask over Sonam’s nose and mouth before securing it in place behind Sonam’s head. There was a slight delay before Sonam felt a slight breeze against her lips, not soon afterwards she started to feel drowsy and just as the thrust for the engines starting take off threw her back into her seat Sonam’s eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.
An island in the Mediterranean

“Sonam, a pleasure to see you after such a long time,” Elizabeth said to the new arrival from the balcony above the main entrance to the house.

“I wish that I could say the same Elizabeth,” Sonam replied as she stood in the centre of the entrance vestibule and looked around. “It seems that I have inspired you more ways than I could have imagined.” Sonam would never admit it but from what she could see the house was stunning, perhaps the decoration wasn’t colourful enough for her tastes but she could tell it was expensive. The choice of furnishings was the same, Elizabeth had obviously done very well for herself over the years. Sonam noted that Elizabeth was wearing a large red dress as she descended the stairs and made her way across to stand a couple of paces away and wondered what that was about but decided that now wasn’t the best time ask. “Now that you have me here what exactly do you want?”

“Straight to the point, no pleasantries? No chit-chat? No catching up?” Elizabeth asked with a smile, enjoying being in complete control of the situation with someone who had previously exerted so much control over her.

“I assume that you didn’t bring me here for small talk?” Sonam asked with a sigh.

“Alright, I will get straight to the point.” It was then that Sonam noted that there was nobody else around, well nobody that she could see. The woman that had dropped her off had quietly slipped away and nobody else had appeared. It looked like Elizabeth wanted to keep this conversation private. That was confirmed when Elizabeth leaned in before responding so that nobody could overhear. “I need the evidence of that first operation that I did for you.”

“That’s what you want in exchange for my daughter’s freedom?” Sonam asked with a hint of surprise in her voice. “You didn’t have to bring me here for that Elizabeth. That’s reminds me. Where exactly are we anyway?” Sonam asked. Sonam noticed that two attractive women wearing large dresses had appeared either side of her and had taken up positions about five steps away. The woman on her right was a stunning blond with large blue eyes and she was wearing a blue dress, the woman on her left had dark hair and eyes and was wearing a purple dress. The contrast in the woman was stark but something told Sonam that there was some kind of connection between the two of them. The strange thing about these women is that they were both gagged. They each had a folded a silk scarf tightly tied over their mouths, the colour matched their dresses and Sonam could tell that their mouths were stuffed with something as well.

“Well, that would be telling,” Elizabeth responded with a smile retreating a couple of steps. “You know that I prefer to conduct my business discussions face to face.”

“We could have met anywhere Elizabeth. So why bring me here?” Sonam said. “Is it just to show off what you have to try and impress me?” Sonam spread her arms wide to confirm that she meant the house and island. “Or is it solely to prove that you have some kind of hold over me?” Sonam could tell from the reaction of Elizabeth’s face that she had landed a couple blows. “Or is it perhaps that you plan to hold me captive?” Sonam didn’t have to be an expert in reading people to know by Elizabeth’s reaction that her guess had been correct. “I have heard rumours about your procedures and restraint system Elizabeth. I presume that you intend to subject me to them. That being the whole point of getting me here in the first place. Will you ever get over what I did to you?”

“Enough for the moment Sonam, we can pick up this discussion at a later date,” Elizabeth said regaining her composure. “Let me introduce Hayley and Kirsty.” Elizabeth said indicating the women standing either side of Sonam. As Elizabeth was talking the two moved closer to Sonam. “They will be responsible for your safety and comfort during your stay. I would suggest that you comply with their instructions at all times.” Elizabeth nodded and Hayley and Kirsty closed in on Sonam, gathering her wrists behind her back before securing them together with a set of padded cuffs. Sonam didn’t resist in any way, there was no point.

“When can I see my daughter?” Sonam asked.

“That depends on how you behave,” Elizabeth responded.

“I have done everything you have asked Elizabeth.”

“Alright, call me a softie. Kirsty, on your way to the best suite in the house please take Sonam to see her daughter.”

“Thank you,” Sonam responded. She opened her mouth Kirsty stuffed a cloth deep in her mouth. Once the cloth was fully inside Hayley tied a folded pink silk scarf over Sonam’s mouth to prevent the cloth from being expelled.

“MMMUUURRRPPHH, TTHHYY,” Sonam cried angrily through the cloth, anger glaring from her eyes.

“You wanted to see your daughter, you never mentioned wanting to speak to her,” Elizabeth said barely able to suppress a giggle as she turned away and headed back toward the staircase. “I hope that you enjoy your stay. I have reserved the best suite for you. Nothing but the best for my old friend Sonam Khan.” Hayley and Kirsty both had a strong grip on Sonam now as she writhed and squirmed trying to escape their grasp and get at Elizabeth. “If she gives you any trouble sedate her with chloroform and skip the reunion.” On hearing this Sonam stopped struggling.

“AARRUUMMPPHH,” Sonam said through her gag and nodded to let Hayley and Kirsty to let them know that she would comply. Having now made her way up the stairs to the balcony and stood motionless ad watched on as Hayley and Kirsty led Sonam away toward the secure wing of the house. A couple of minutes later Elizabeth sensed a presence just behind her.

“Xenia, I need her to forget all about what happened surrounding that event,” Elizabeth said. “Can that be done in such a short time?” Elizabeth had taken a chance in taking Xenia Sokolov into her confidence regarding the moment that she had switched sides so to speak. However, she couldn’t see any option.

“I should be able to block that out of her memory Miss Crawford but it will be difficult and intense. Although I would be more confident with Schmidt here.” Xenia replied in her Russian accent. “I think that we should give it a couple of days to let her settle into the rhythm of being held captive and then I will start work.” Elizabeth nodded her agreement and Xenia slipped aware to prepare. “How are you getting on with her daughter?” Elizabeth asked over her shoulder.

“Progressing better than I thought,” Xenia replied.
As they approached the suite where Sonam Khan was to be restrained and held the butterflies that were already flitting around Hayley’s stomach for the past half an hour suddenly became even more active. It was a surprise that Elizabeth Crawford has come to them and tasked them with the job of taking care of Sonam Khan but she supposed it could be a chance for them to prove their worth and get some credit in the bank. There were nerves about how she would perform, after all although she had experience of being restrained in the patented Elizabeth Crawford binding system, she had not restrained someone else, especially not someone who was not a willing or unconscious participant in their own restraining. It was going to be made even more difficult due to the fact that Elizabeth had insisted that Kirsty and her both wore gags when interacting with Sonam Khan. The whole process was going to have to be undertaking using pointing of fingers and waving of hands. In addition, Elizabeth had insisted that Sonam Khan was to remain gagged at all times unless interacting with her directly. It was all a bit strange.

Kirsty used the access card to disengaged the electric lock and pushed open the door then entered. Hayley didn’t even have to give Sonam a nudge as their captive took the hint and followed Kirsty in, Hayley fell in close behind and made sure to close the door behind them to avoid their captive doing any back tracking. Hayley noted the two restraining bags were lying on the bed lofting up nicely along with the rest of the binding materials and the down suit was resting on a hanger on the outside of a wardrobe. They were colour coordinated pink, Hayley noted that she had been previously restrained in pink bags and wondered if they were the same ones. Hayley caught Sonam looking round the room with wide eyes taking everything in and no doubt wondering exactly what was going on. Hayley knew what the woman was thinking. What exactly are they going to do to me? Well, Sonam Khan was about to find out. The first item of business for Hayley and Kirsty would be to get Sonam to strip off her clothes. Kirsty grabbed a hold of Sonam’s upper arm and guided her further into the room until she stood directly in front of the bed where she took another glance at the two restraining bags that were sitting on the bed, Hayley opened them up as Kirsty removed the padded cuffs that were around Sonam’s wrists which allowed Sonam to massage her wrists, it must have been a natural reaction by anybody who had been bound as Hayley knew from experience that the cuffs weren’t uncomfortable to wear. Now Hayley had to communicate what Sonam had to do next without the use of her voice, hopefully it didn’t end up with them having to call for assistance and from one of the other guards and a bottle of chloroform. Elizabeth still didn’t trust them with any form of sedative without supervision. Hayley pointed at her own dress and mimed taking it off before pointing at Sonam. The woman got the message and she started to slowly take off her clothes, starting by slipping off her shoes and then moving onto the jacket of her no doubt very expensive black business suit and finishing with her socks. As Sonam was stripping under the watchful gaze of Hayley, Kirsty removed the pink down filled suit from the hanger then walked across to a large box sitting on the corner of the room and pulled a large, thick adult diaper. Sonam had stopped now that she was down to her bra and panties but noting the diaper that Kirsty had removed from the drawer pointed toward her panties. Hayley nodded and Sonam reluctantly slid her panties down to the floor and stepped out of them. Knowing what would be next Sonam strode across lay down on the empty section of the bed, noting that there was a plastic changing mat lying on it. Hayley and Kirsty glanced at each other before Kirsty unfolded the diaper and once prepared to apply it tapped Sonam on her hip as a sign for the woman to raise her bottom from the mat. Kirsty wiped the area that would be covered by the diaper with a damp wipe and before a cool cream was applied over Sonam’s delicate areas and then talcum powered was sprinkled over her and then gently patted in. Kirsty tapped Sonam’s hip again as a sign that Sonam could lower her bum onto the centre of the soft, thick diaper. Sonam lay perfectly still as Kirsty finished the process of putting on the diaper by bringing up the front and securing the sticky tabs to keep it in place. After that process was completed Hayley and Kirsty offered Sonam a hand and helped her back onto her feet. Sonam ran her hands over the smooth exterior fabric of the diaper, once again this was something that Hayley noted everyone did the first time that they had one put on them. Kirsty picked up the pick down filled suit and held it up in front of Sonam before placing it carefully on the floor in front of the captive. Sonam took the hint and stepped into the legs before slowly putting it on. Pulling it up to her waist and then a bit further before slipping her arms through the smooth nylon arms and shrugging the suit over her shoulders and zipping it up fully to the neck. After completing that task Sonam looked Hayley square in the eye and shrugged as if to say, What’s next? Hayley put her hands out and Sonam mimicked her to allow Kirsty to slip on a pair of finger control mitts. The mitts had a small buckle at the wrist section which Kirsty tightened to lock the mitts in place. Sonam winced as the buckle was secured and tried wriggling her fingers. The mitts were thickly padded and severely limited the movement of her fingers. That combined with the silky smoothness of the fabric on both the inside and outside of the mitts meant that trying to pick something up almost impossible rendering her hands useless. Hayley placed a finger to her lips and Sonam nodded her understanding that she was required to remain silent. Hayley leaned round and undid the knot that secured the scarf in place over Sonam’s mouth before removing both that and the cloth that had earlier been stuffed inside. The relief or Sonam was short lived as from behind Kirsty brought something over her head. It was a large padded gag with a ball in the middle. The large soft ball at the centre of the gag was forced into Sonam’s mouth. Sonam reacted and closed her mouth around the ball as the pad was pushed against her lips. Hayley watched on as Sonam’s face was compressed and as the pressure pushed down on Sonam’s lips as the buckle was used at the back of Sonam’s head to secure it in place.

“UUMMPPHH,” Sonam moaned into the gag. Hayley and Kirsty just glance at each other, nothing serious as a captive was always likely to test out the how restricted their vocal protests would be by any gag that was applied. Hayley stuck her arms out again and Sonam once again mimicked her actions and watched as Kirsty replaced the padded cuffs on her wrists, just above the end of the mitts, locking them together with not much of a gap. Hayley watched as Kirsty picked up two straps from the bed and used them to secure Sonam’s arms to her body. They were picking up the pace now as they seemed to have fallen into some kind of rhythm. Whilst Kirsty finished binding Sonam, Hayley arranged and then fully opened up one of the restraining bags. Kirsty guided Sonam over and pushed Sonam down onto the open bag before using three more of the straps to secure Sonam’s legs at the ankles, just below the knees and around the middle of the thighs. By the look on Sonam’s face Hayley could tell that the woman felt slight discomfort as the thigh strap was tightened due to the thick diaper that she was wearing. Hayley leaned down and picked up Sonam’s bound legs and with a help from the captive got them into the restraining bag which Hayley pulled the top of the bag over Sonam and zipping it all the way up, encasing the woman in a smooth, down filled cocoon. Hayley noted that Sonam had a wriggle as she tried to get comfortable, Hayley would have told her to wait a minute if she hadn’t been gagged. Hayley leaned in and made a gesture for Sonam to stay calm and lie still, at least Hayley hoped that was how it came across. Then Kirsty and her took one side each of the external restraining bag and managed to raise Sonam enough to allow them to slid the bag under her body, finally getting the hood under her head. This bag had a centre zip so Hayley and Kirsty took a side each and brought the two halves of the top section of the bag together and zipped them in place, fighting against the loft of the down to get the zip up to the top before locking it off. That was the binding completed and Hayley leaned it to look at Sonam whose face was surrounded by a pink halo of the down filled hood and gave her the thumbs up and received a nod in return. Kirsty picked up Sonam’s clothes and tidied the suit and shoes away in the wardrobe, the rest of the clothes went in the basket for washing. A final check on the room before Hayley and Kirsty fisted bumped on their way out of the room. Once in the corridor then removed their gags and put them in the pocket of their down filled jackets.

“We make a pretty good team Kirsty,” Hayley said with a smile.

“We sure do,” Kirsty replied. “Now, let’s get back to our room before we get into trouble.” As they walked along to their room, they saw Tahani standing outside waiting for them with her hand out. Kirsty handed over the security card as they walked past the guard and into their room.

In this Chapter Future and Past converge. Elizabeth Crawfords first step on the road to a Lady of Crime Meeting Sonam in many ways was crucial for Crawfords Future. Things might have gone totally different if Sonam and Elizabeth had never met. And they both know that. For someone so bent on control like Elizabeth it must have been diffcult to loose said control. Which became obvious in the conversation between them. And Sonam knew exactly how to get under Crawfords Skin. Sonam forced Crawford to make a choice to take a road, that she might have taken anyway, but it seems that Crawfords makes Sonam responsible for forcing her to choose this road, That seems obvious. Deleting the past is important, if Crawford wants to lead a new life. And more important Crawford can settle the score.

Even more important: Chapter 18 showed that Kirsty and Hayley are indeed no ordinary guests fo Crawford. They are between Worlds. No Captives but no trusted employees of Crawford either. On on side Crawford tasks them with important missions like taking care of Sonam on the other hand Crawford does not trust them fully. Maybe these missions are tests for Krisyty and Hayley to demonstrate their loyality? What we can see clearly is the growing bond between the two. To demote Kristy maybe something, that Crawford might regret in the end. At some point Crawford must make a decision what to do with the two, if she wants to lead a "life in the light not in the shadows anymore,

Crawfords soft spot for Hayley and Kirsty might prove to be her Achilles Heel in the end.

What I do like is the description of tieing up Sonam Kahn from Hayleys Perspective. that she is nervous, seems very plausible. And indeed, not being able to communicate instructions verbally poses an additional challenge. But Kirsty and and Haley pass the test with flying colours And Hayley is right: Fulfilling this task migh help to improve their own situation.

Or as she put it: Get some Money in the bank - and besides that: What other options they have? A Refusal would be unwise, it would get them nowhere. And as long as Crawford does not reveal what Plans she does have for them, the must do anything, that improves their situation.

The end of the chapter though shows the curious position Hayley and Kirsty are still in: Giving the Keycard back to Tehani and being locked in their room themselves. One positive thing: The growing bond between the two. From Enemy to Companion in Miserey to Friend (?) (Maybe?) One Situation, I could think of, could put the bond between Hayley and Kirsty to a test though: If Crawford offers Kirsty her old position back ....

We still do not know, what Kirstys feelings for her Boss are: Does she still that old sense of loyalty for Crawford or has Crawfords harsh treatment changed that? I think, we will learn more about that at some point Also interessing: What will Hayley do, if one of her friends is captured by Crawford and Crawford orders her to take care of her? That would pose quite a challenge, and exactly the thing we can expext from Crawford

Chapter 19

Cambridge, England

There was a chill in the wind as Aimee Jones waited at the rear entrance of the hospital. She stole a glance at doctor Jayne Smith who didn’t seem to share her own misgivings about their current course of action. Stealing drugs and selling them on for a profit was one thing but assault, kidnapping and whatever you called what they were about to do was a different matter. Detective Amber Carter had been moved to a room not far from where they were standing earlier that morning. Now they were just waiting on Quinn’s contact turning up. “You look apprehensive,” Quinn commented.

“Well, you know,” Aimee replied. “This isn’t exactly what I signed up for.” Jayne Quinn turned and looked Aimee square in the eyes.

“There are no other options. Well I suppose there are but it is either we let her go and end up in jail or…” Quinn let the unspoken threat hang in the air. “What would you like to do?” An edge had crept into the doctor’s voice. Aimee shrugged her shoulders, admitting defeat. “I thought so.” The silence returned until a large black hearse appeared moving slowly and pulled into the space directly next to the ramp that led from the rear door of the hospital. Aimee and Quinn shared a questioning look. This time it was Quinn’s turn to shrug. The doors to the hearse opened and a man and woman got out simultaneously and closed the doors simultaneously. Aimee and Quinn watched on as the pair made their way to rear of the hearse and disappeared. There was the sound of doors opening and closing before the pair reappeared with a coffin on a wheeled gurney and began to push it up the ramp. The man was the definition of average, height, build, facial features and dress. His only distinguishing feature was his fedora hat. The woman was the taller of the pair, around six feet with long dark hair. Both wore black suits with a white shirt / blouse underneath.

“Doctor Jayne Quinn?” the man asked.

“Yes,” Quinn replied stepping forward.

“Mister and Miss Noble of Noble Funeral Homes,” the man said. Aimee thought the man was creepy and was sure that he hadn’t yet blinked. “I believe that you have a client for us, a special client to be reunited with their loved ones.”

“Eh, yes indeed. If you would just like to follow me.” Quinn spun and headed through the door closely followed by the Nobel’s with Aimee bringing up the rear. They small procession walked along the corridor and took a couple of turns before Quinn paused next to a door and used her security pass to disengaged the electronic lock. Quinn held the door open and beckoned the Nobel’s to enter, reluctantly Aimee followed them in. Quinn stole a nervous glance each way down the corridor before entering the room, locking the door behind her. The only sound in the room came from the various machines that Amber Carter had been hooked up to.

“I assume that the client doesn’t actually need any of these?” the woman asked.

“No, purely for show. She is just heavily sedated,” Quinn replied.

“Good,” the woman replied. “Would you be able to disconnect them all as we prepare?”

“Of course. Aimee could you give me a hand?”

“No problem doctor,” Aimee replied as she hurried across to the bed from the corner of the room whilst trying to stay as far away from the Nobel’s as possible. As Aimee assisted Quinn in removing the various tubes and monitors from Amber, she couldn’t help but keep an eye on what Miss Nobel was removing from the coffin. First came a set of grey jogging pants and a matching sweatshirt, next came a set of padded straps, then a large foam ball gag followed by a bulky white square that Aimee immediately identified as an adult diaper. A shiver ran down her spine.

“Nurse, could you please concentrate on the job at hand,” Quinn said in a stern voice.

“Sorry, doctor,” Aimee replied sheepishly. With a practiced efficiency the two medical professionals removed all of the equipment from Amber and stood back.

“You can remove the gown as well,” Miss Noble said from still several yards away. Aimee obliged and did as asked leaving Amber naked, lying on the hospital bed. “If you would like to step back now.” Miss Noble moved forward with arms full of the items that she had removed from the coffin. Quinn and Aimee both retreated as far as the wall and stood watching on in grim fascination as Miss Noble commenced her work by first unfurling the diaper and placing in under Amber’s bottom. With a practiced ease Miss Noble secured in in place very quickly. “How long will she be out?” Miss Nobel asked as she worked.

“Hard to be certain but with the amount of sedative that in still in her system I would say two hours at the minimum but closer to three before she is totally with it.” Quinn offered from her position leaning against the wall.

“Good, that will save us using our drugs until we get her on the flight.”

“Sorry, your drugs?”

“It is safer for all concerned is the client sleeps throughout transit. The coffin has a built-in air system from a canister than last for more than long enough for the flight. There is a sedative mixed in with the air that keeps the client sleeping throughout.” Quinn and Aimee exchanged a look before turning back to watch Miss Noble dress Amber in the grey sweater and jogging pants before she picked up the padded straps and used them to secure Amber’s legs at the ankles, just above and below the knees and around the thighs. Next Miss Noble placed a strap around Amber’s waist, this strap had two loops in it through which Miss Noble put Amber’s wrists which she they locked in place by tightening the loops and locking them off. Two other straps were then place around Amber’s upper body to secure her arms in place. The final item was the foam ball gag which Miss Noble put into Amber’s mouth forcing her jaws apart, its leather strap was fastened behind Amber’s head to keep it in place. “Could you wheel the coffin over my brother,” Miss Noble said in a polite voice.

“Do you need a hand?” Quinn offered.

“No, we are quite capable now that the client has been prepared for transport,” Miss Noble replied. Once the coffin had been moved into position alongside the bed Mister Noble adjusted the height of the gurney so that the top of the coffin was level with the bed. Then with Mister Noble taking the shoulders and Miss Noble taking the feet they lift Amber off the bed and carefully deposited her inside the coffin. Miss Noble leaned in to make a few adjusted before nodding to Mister Noble who closed the lid. After raising the gurney back to the original height Miss Noble turned to Quinn and said. “Time to leave.” Quinn nodded and opened the door to lead the way back to the rear entrance, they formed up in the same column and took the same route they had earlier, only this time in reverse. When then reached the rear entrance Quinn and Aimee stopped at the top of the ramp and watched as the Nobles made their way down and loaded the coffin containing Amber Carter into the rear of the hearse. Then without a word or gesture they both got into the hearse and started to drive away.

“They gave me the creeps,” Aimee commented as the watched the hearse pull away.

“Suppose it comes with the territory,” Quinn said casually.

“What? Undertaking or people smuggling?” Aimee said with an edge in her voice she hadn’t meant to be there.

“Well, they solved a problem for us. Goodbye Detective Carter,” Quinn said with a wave. “Enjoy Hamburg.” As the hearse disappeared around the corner, they both turned and headed back into the hospital and the remainder of their shift.
Cambridge, England

They walked into through the hospital through the main entrance and headed straight for the reception desk where Nazia showed her official identification to the young man sitting behind the desk. “Good morning, how may I help you Doctor Goraya?”

“Good morning. Could we speak with someone in the security department?” the medic said with a wide smile. The young man seemed slightly confused by the request and didn’t respond.

“The Duty Supervisor,” Sasha said puling her identification card and flashing it at the man. The young man lifted the telephone on the desk and dialled an internal number. There was a hushed conversation between the receptionist and the person on the other end of the phone. Once the call ended the receptionist directed Sasha and Nazia to a section of seating and told them that somebody would be allow to see them shortly. The two women sat in silence glancing around at the various people entering and leaving the hospital until a man in his early forties wearing a blue blazer, grey trousers and a white shirt approached and stood in front of them.

“Good morning ladies, my name is Daniel Brown and I am duty security supervisor today. I understand that you have an issue that you wish to discuss with me.” Nazia and Sasha both rose to their feet and introduced themselves. “Interpol. This is a first for me, I have to admit.”

“I am not here in an official capacity. Is there anywhere that we can talk in private?” Sasha asked.

“Of course, if you would just like to follow me.” Brown said and started walking through the large foyer. Nazia and Sasha flowed close behind, along a corridor and then up a flight of stairs and along another corridor.

“Have you worked here long?” Nazia asked just to break the silence.

“About four years,” Brown replied over his shoulder as he fumbled in his pocket before producing a set of keys. “Here we are ladies.” Brown nodded at a door on the right with plate declaring Security Duty Supervisor. “Welcome to my Kingdom,” Brown said as he opened the door and beckoned for the women to enter. They both did and found themselves in a small office with a desk with a computer, three chairs and filing cabinet. There was nothing exotic like a window. Nazia and Sasha took the seats on one side of the desk and Brown took the single seat on the opposite side. “Now, how can I help you?”

“I will let doctor Goraya start the story,” Sasha said and looked and Nazia. Taking a breath Nazia started at the beginning with her concerns about the drugs, as Sasha and she had discussed earlier, before moving on to explain that she shared a house with a police office, Amber Carter and then Amber’s offer to investigate. To his credit Brown listened without interrupting and allowed Nazia to finish with Amber leaving the previous afternoon to investigate at the hospital and not returning home.

“I haven’t heard from her since,” Nazia finished.

“Why didn’t you come to the Security Team?” Brown asked.

“Well, I wasn’t sure and we were just discussing with Amber as she had picked up that there was something wrong,” Nazia replied.

“I think that we are getting off topic here mister Brown. There is a missing person to look for,” Sasha jumped in.

“Not yet, I assume that Detective Carter is over eighteen and it hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet,” Brown said with a serious look.

“Maybe doctor Nazia didn’t come to you as she wasn’t sure who was involved,” Sasha said and instantly regretted it. They need Brown’s help and couldn’t afford to get his back up.

“What would you like me to do?” Brown asked.

“All that we can ask would be to review any camera footage for images of detective Carter and then maybe ask around to confirm if anybody has seen her.”

“I suppose I could do that, professional courtesy.”

“What is the coverage like?” Sasha asked.

“There isn’t coverage across the entire hospital. There are certain areas that we cannot have coverage of due to privacy issues but all of the entrances and car parks are covered. Along with most of the circulation areas, lifts, although there are some older, little used sections of the hospital that aren’t covered.” Brown shrugged. “Budgets. But I would be confident that we would find your friend entering and leaving. If she did both that is.”

“Thank you,” Nazia said.

“You will understand that for confidentiality issues I cannot let you look at CCTV images,” Brown confirmed almost apologetically.

“We appreciate that Daniel. All that we are asking is that you review the CCTV and confirm if and when Amber Carter entered and left the hospital.” Brown west into the top drawer of the desk and produced a card which he handed to Nazia.

“If you can send through a picture of detective Carter. I can take a look and get back to you.” Nazia took the card and then fumbled about with her phone, selecting a recent photograph of Amber and sending it to Brown by attaching it to an e-mail.

“I have put my telephone number on the e-mail as well,” Nazia said.

“I will ask our team to review the footage this morning and get back to you. It shouldn’t take too long.” Brown got up signalling that the conversation was over and the two women took the hint. They got up and Brown showed them out of the office and closed the door behind them.

“What do you think?” Nazia asked as they walked along the corridor back to toward the entrance.

“He will check and get back to us, just a matter of time. Let’s find somewhere close by where we can get wait and get some lunch. Not much else that we can do until we hear back from him.”
Cambridge, England

As they had left the hospital Nazia had suggested they retire to a restaurant that she knew where they could get a decent lunch. It wouldn’t be that busy at this time on a midweek day as well which was an added bonus. The phone vibrated on the table and Nazia and Sasha both glanced at it.

“Doctor Goraya?”

“Yes,” Nazia replied.

“Daniel Brown here. I have some news following our discussion this morning.”

“Uh-huh,” Nazia said.

“I think that it would be best to discuss in person. Would you be able to come back into the hospital? Probably, better than over the phone.” Nazia covered the receiver and whispered the request to Sasha who nodded slowly.

“That would be fine. We will be there is about twenty minutes.”

“See you then,” Brown said and killed the call.

“Well, that was quick,” Nazia said to Sasha as she signalled to the waiter to get the bill. When she noted the look on Sasha’s face and stopped. “What are you thinking?”

“It just seemed a bit too fast,” Sasha commented.

“So, you think that something is wrong?”

“Maybe, maybe. Just to be safe I will make a call from the car on the way.” Sasha rose from the chair and slipped on her jacket that had been hanging on the back. After Nazia had paid for their lunch they hurried to Nazia’s car and the journey back to the hospital.
Twenty minutes later they found themselves sitting in the same room, in the same chairs across from Daniel Brown. They were eager to hear what the Security Supervisor had found. “Further to our chat this morning I had one of our team look through the camera feeds and we have had some success.” Nazia and Sasha glanced at each other and smiled. Hopefully they now had something to go on.

“We really appreciate this mister Brown,” Nazia replied.

“No problem,” Brown replied as he swung the monitor of his computer around, “and call me Daniel.” Sasha noted the change in attitude from this morning with suspicion. “Now, if you look at the screen my team have managed to identify your friend, Amber Carter, entering the hospital yesterday afternoon.” Nazia and Sasha watched as Brown hit a button and a black and white video started.

There as a knock at the door and all three of the occupants of the room turned and looked at the door. “If you could just wait for a minute. I am just finishing a meeting,” Brown called. Nazia and Sasha turned to face Brown, confused that he would invite someone down at this time. There was then another knock at the door. Brown gave them a look before getting up and going to the door, he opened it and had a hushed conversation with whoever was outside. “Sorry, about that but I have an appointment with one of the department heads scheduled,” Brown said as he returned. He lowered his voice, “and you know what consultants are like.” Brown said with a wink. “Now if look at this video it is from a feed covering the main entrance and I believe your friend is about to appear.”

“Yes, there she is there!” Nazia said and pointed. Brown paused the video.

“I had my team piece together other footage from cameras throughout the hospital and they manage to come up with this,” Brown pressed play again and the footage ran showing Amber making her way through the hospital. It has obviously been cut together from several different cameras.

“Is there anything showing Amber leaving the building?” Sasha asked before a noise to her right caught her attention and she turned around to see a woman in a white coat clamp a thick white cloth over Nazia’s nose and mouth, however before she could react a hand blurred through her vision and clamped a cloth over her own nose and mouth. “MMUURRPPHH,” Sasha screamed into the cloth and started to lash out but as she was sitting down it would be difficult to get leverage. Sasha didn’t instantly she recognised the chemical smell coming from the cloth as chloroform but guessed that it was that or something similar. Quickly getting over the shock, Sasha tried not to panic with the cloth placed over her mouth, she knew that this would cause her to inhale more of the fumes. Sasha reacted by trying to scream for help again but the sound was effectively muffled by the soft thick cloth that had been had pressed over her face. Sasha’s attacker forced her head back with the force of the cloth and into their stomach, that was when Sasha glanced up and saw that it was a female nurse that was wielding the cloth. The two women had the upper hand over Nazia and Sasha and didn’t know if they could fight them off. The struggle meant that they involuntarily began to take deeper and deeper breathes drawing the fumes from the liquid deep into their lungs. After a while Sasha began to notice that her arms and legs were starting to feel numb and her strength was ebbing away, she now knew that this was the chloroform having an effect on her. The edges of her vision blurred and she knew the game was up, she was going out and there was nothing that she could do. Sasha felt the fight drain from her body and her arms dropped to her sides, she looked to right again to saw that Nazia’s fight was over as her eyes were now closed over and that was the last thing that Sasha saw before her own eyes closed over and she slid into darkness.

“What do we do with them now?” Brown asked as Jayne and Aimee removed the cloths from over the lower half of their victims faces.

“We can’t keep hiding people in the hospital. People will ask questions,” Quinn commented.

“Anybody got a spare room?” Aimee chipped in. Nobody spoke for what seemed like a couple of minutes but was only actually five or ten seconds.

“I have a holiday home out in the countryside. We could take them there until we work out a longer-term plan. Aimee, you will have to call in sick for a couple of days to look after them,” Quinn said.

“Why me?” Aimee asked.

“You are the person that will be missed the least,” Brown stated.

“How am I supposed to look after then both on my own?” Aimee asked what she thought was a reasonable question.

“There are enough rooms that we can keep them separate and tied up all of the time. The chloroform should keep them docile enough if they get fidgety,” Quinn replied.

“How do we get them out?” Brown asked.

“Do I have to think of everything?” Quinn said slightly exasperated pulling a set of car keys from her pocket and throwing them to Brown who caught them one handed. “Aimee and I brought two wheelchairs. They are sitting outside. Daniel you go and get my car, green Range Rover, from the staff car park and bring it round to the rear entrance. We can tie them up and put them in the boot. Aimee, you go and get supplies from the nearest stock room, tape and whatever else you need.” Before he left Brown raised a finger as if remembering something and delved into a draw and produced two sets of handcuffs.

“These might come in handy?” Brown said to Quinn as he handed them over on his way out. “Twenty minutes?” Brown asked and Quinn nodded. Brown and Aimee excited the room as Quinn turned to look at the two unconscious women slumped in the chairs.

Moving quickly Quinn used the handcuffs to secure Nazia and then Sasha’s wrists behind there back. Then she pulled two clean white handkerchiefs from the pocket of her white coat and stuffed one in each of the woman’s mouth, peeling a nice wide piece of white micro foam tape to smothered over Nazia and Sasha’s lips to seal them closed with the handkerchief trapped behind. Quinn then used the tape to wrap each woman’s legs from the ankles to mid-thigh with only break around the knees. Just as she finished Aimee returned carrying a bag of supplied that she had liberated from the stockroom. “Bring the wheelchairs in and we will get these two down to the rear entrance.”

“Won’t they get noticed?” Aimee asked.

“No, all we have to do is wheel them along to the lift and that takes us right there,” Quinn replied. Once they had the two unconscious women into the wheelchairs Quinn and Aimee wheeled them down the corridor to the lift, Aimee glancing nervously left and right all the way there. “Calm down Aimee, you are more noticeable than these two.” The lift arrived empty, which Aimee said a silent prayer for and then entered and descended to the rear entrance. When they exited the lift and came out into the natural light, they discovered that Brown was already waiting for them having backed the large vehicle into the loading bay and opened the boot. Quinn and Aimee wheeled the Nazia and Sasha down next to the rear of the vehicle and between them they managed to lift the two unconscious women into the boot and after Aimee had deposited her bag full of stolen items into the boot as well they closed the lid over and sealed their captives inside.

“What do we do now?” Aimee asked.

“When is everyone off shifte?” Quinn asked.

“An hour,” Aimee replied.

“I finished about fifteen minutes ago,” Brown confirmed.

“Alright then, back here in ninety minutes and we will all make the trip out to the house,” Quinn stated.
It was pitch black when Sasha opened her eyes, which is she was being completely honest wasn’t the worst thing as her head hurt and she knew it would have been worse with sunlight. No doubt her sore head was due to the chloroform or other drug that was applied to the cloths used to render Nazia and her unconscious. That was a point, where was Nazia? Sasha reached out with her hands and felt a warm body. There was a soft moan so Sasha assumed that she was alright but not as far along in regaining consciousness as she was. Alright, assessing her situation her wrists had been secured with handcuffs and her legs were secured together with something, a lot of something judging by the feeling around her legs. There was something stuffed in her mouth and tape had been smothered over her lips. Sasha tried to rub the tape off against the floor of wherever she was at this point in time but the tape was to expertly applied for that. Next Sasha tried to move around but found that she was restricted on how far she could move, by what she assumed was Nazia in other directions by rough metal. If she had to guess Sasha would say that she was in the boot of a large vehicle. “MMMMUUUOOOMM,” came the sound from behind her. It sounded like Nazia had come fully around. Sasha reached out with her hands again and found Nazia’s hands. They squeezed fingers as a sign of encouragement and then Sasha started to hammer the metal with her feet trying to get attention. Not long after Nazi joined her. Hopefully somebody heard was interested enough to investigate. Either that or that phone call that Sasha made on the way to the hospital turned out to be worthwhile.

Quinn, Brown and Aimee approached the vehicle and heard muffled thuds from the boot. “Are we not going to make them shut up?” Brown asked as they got into the vehicle, this time Quinn was driving, Brown took the passenger seat and Aimee was in the back seat.

“We could use the chloroform again,” Aimee suggested.

“No, that will create attention that we do not want. I will brake sharply a couple of times when we get out of the car park and they will get the message,” Quinn said from the driver’s seat. After adjusting the mirrors Quinn started the engine and pulled out of the space. She drove slowly, taking her time to get to the exit. Stopping at the gate Quinn rolled down the window and used her pass to raise the barrier. Quinn rolled the big vehicle out of the car park and then that’s when everything went wrong. There were two police cars sitting blocking the road.

“What’s going on?” Brown asked.

“I think that we are in trouble,” Quinn answered as she glanced in the rear-view mirror to fin two other police cars behind them, one marked and one unmarked. Suddenly four armed police officers sprung from the vehicles in front of them and took positions with their weapons pointed directly at the windscreen.

“Turn the vehicle off!” commanded one of the armed officers. Quinn complied.

“Now, get out of the vehicle slowly keeping your hands visible at all times.” They all complied with the instruction. “On your knees with your hands interlocked behind your heads.” Once again Quinn, Brown and Aimee all complied and quickly found themselves being roughly searched and then their wrists were zip tied behind their backs.

“Can I ask what the problem is officer?” Quinn said this with an even, calm voice.

“You most certainly cannot,” said a rough Scottish accented female voice from behind them. “My name is Inspector Mary Wilson, but you can call me Guv if you like.” A tall woman in her forties with short, dark hair wearing a black suit and a tan overcoat appeared in of them. “However, you can tell me if you have seen two women, one is a doctor and the other is a law enforcement officer. First one to tell me wins a prize!”

“In the boot,” Aimee blurted out. “I did..didn’t want to go along with her but..”

“Shut up Aimee!” Quinn growled.

“Take them down to the station and keep them apart. I will be down to conduct interviews as soon as I can.” All of the armed officers nodded and led Quinn, Brown and Aimee toward separate vehicles. Wilson took the car key offered by one of the armed officers and walked casually to the rear of the Range Rover to open the boot.

“Now, which one of you ladies is Interpol Agent Sasha Conteh?” Wilson asked looking at the two bound and gagged women in the boot blinking back at her.

Cambridge Police Station

“Thanks,” Sasha said accepting the mug of coffee.

“Don’t thank me until you taste it,” Wilson said. “Probably tastes like bog water.” The two women sat across from each other in an interview room. When they arrived at the station Nazia and Sasha had been split up and taken to sperate rooms in order that their statements could be taken independently. The room was standard police station, peeling off-white paint, rattling radiators and cheap plastic furniture; worn and dull would have been being nice. “I hope that you aren’t to traumatized by your recently experience.”

“I will be fine, just a bit shaken. Believe it or not that was not my first time.” Sasha replied taking a sip of the coffee and instantly regretting it.

“Told you it was bad,” Wilson commented after reading the look on Sasha’s face.

“So, what have you been able to get out of Quinn and the others?” Sasha asked.

“Ah, straight to the point, no subtle probing then lassie.”

“I like to get straight to the point,” Sasha replied. She was also starting to like Wilson.

“Quinn and Brown are keeping quiet but the nurse folded like a paper bag. Gave it all up in exchange for a lighter sentence, couldn’t shut her up. Just in the process of rounding up the others that have been involved in the medical scam.”

“Anything on Amber?”

“Yes,” Wilson replied. “Turns out that she stumbled across someone involved in the medical operation at the hospital. They managed to subdue her and held her at the hospital, sedated in a ward under the name Jane Doe.” Wilson, saw that Sasha was about to interject and raised a hand. “No, she isn’t still at the hospital. I am going to have to hand that over to my colleagues in Europe.” Wilson got up and winked before heading for the door.

“Why would that be?” Sasha asked, taking the bait.

“Because, our nurse friend says that they handed Amber over to a smuggling ring to take her to Hamburg. Even have the telephone number of the contact at this end, just about to go and pick them up. Apparently, they work as funeral directors. Creepy, eh.”

“Would you be able to keep me………”

“I have your e-mail address Agent Conteh.” With that Wilson left the room and Sasha leaned back in her chair. Next stop Hamburg.

So this time the Criminals did not got away But Sashas Quest goes on - the next destination: Hamburg. The City at the Alster is beautiful. Hayley and Gayle traveled there to deliver themselves in Crawfords Hands again.

Where may Sashas Search lead her? I wonder, if Sashas and the Paths of the other good guys will converge at some point? Will she able to rescue Amber? Those Funeral Services were indeed kinda creepy - but a good idea!

What never fails to intrigue me is the complexity of this story: The characters, the complex plot, the frequent changes of place and time. You could very easily see this Saga as a Series at TV. I imagine it very demanding for a writer to hold all threads together. Even more with a story so rich in detail and characters.

Chapter 20

Geneva, Switzerland

The months had flown by after the case where she had been investigating Hannah Stanley-Ramos and Hauser & Mettler bank following an anonymous tip on inappropriate activity. That investigation had led to the incident with Elizabeth Crawford. Her superiors hadn’t wanted to pursue any of the cases associated with her disappearance and to her surprise Gabriela wasn’t bothered by this, to be honest she just wanted to put the whole episode behind her and move on with her career. It had been hard to make the decision to leave her partner Charlotte Saltzman but Charlotte had found Natalie and was happy and Gabriela had to move on and get her life back to normal, which meant getting back to work with the International Financial Fraud Agency. It had taken a bit of time for Gabriela to gain the trust of her superiors again and also to stop getting funny looks from her colleagues but eventually Gabriela had been appointed the lead investigator on a case but had then been transferred to one involving a large sum of money that had mysteriously disappeared from a corporate pension fund. Her colleagues working on it had been getting nowhere and needed someone to go undercover. That was how she found herself wearing a form fitting blue dress that showed off her legs spectacularly, or so she had been advised by a slightly drunk man at the bar half an hour ago, at an evening reception being held at the home of the target of her investigation. Well, home wasn’t doing it justice. A castle would have been a better description. The target of the investigation was Jean Boulanger a man in his late fifties and his family banking business. The investigation surrounded irregularities with their financial dealings. Gabriela sighed internally. What was it with rich people that they were never satisfied with the amount of money that they already had? “Can I offer you another glass of champagne?” Gabriela turned to find a waiter standing next to her with a tray full of flutes.

“Yes, I don’t mind if I do,” Gabriela replied deciding that she had better blend in. The previous investigators on the case had tried the usual avenues so Gabriela had decided to approach Boulanger’s daughters Grace or Emma to see if she could make progress that way. Gabriela made the original approach to Grace at a bar a couple of weeks ago and had managed to get an invitation to this event. Now it was up to Gabriela to decide how to proceed. Earlier she had made a tour of the castle noting who was here and who was in conversation with whom. Gabriela had managed to take a couple of photographs on her mobile phone.

“Gabriela, save me from this drudgery.” As she turned to find the source of her voice calling her name, she found Grace heading toward her. Grace was the younger sister and smaller of the two but seemed to be the dominant personality. Gabriela broke into a smile as despite trying to keep a professional distant she found that she did like the young woman. Grace was classically beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes and striking features. Emma, her sister looked very similar and was essentially a larger version of Grace, although she was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

“It doesn’t seem so bad,” Gabriela replied as they toasted.

“I would rather be in a sweaty club somewhere with loud music, dancing away the hours” Grace replied glancing at her watch. “In fact, we should do that later. I am sure that we can sneak out as this starts to wind down. Nobody will notice.”

“Maybe,” Gabriela replied trying not to make a commitment. “Where is Emma, I haven’t seen her around for a while?” Gabriela asked trying to change the subject. Truth be told she wasn’t that bothered about Emma as she had only ever met Grace’s sister once before, Gabriela thought that Grace was her best way in and had been correct. Grace looked around and signalled for the taller Gabriela to lean down.

“Emma has sneaked off with her girlfriend,” Gabriela tried to conceal her shock. “Don’t tell anyone, daddy doesn’t know and is a bit old fashioned.” Well, that might be something that could be used later on. Just as they finished that conversation Gabriela noticed a handsome man in a tailored suit heading toward them with a glass in each hand. Gabriela wondered which one of them the man was going to try it on with until Grace followed Gabriela’s gaze. “Oh, no not Hugo again. Such a bore but daddy likes him. I shall save you.”

“Grace…” before the young man could finish Grace grabbed him arm and steered him away. As she walked away Grace turned around and mouthed “You owe me,” silently.

“Hugo, look there is Herman, Brodie and Juliet. Let’s catch up.”
Having lost Grace, the one person that she knew, to the crowd of hip, young things Gabriela mingled a little, making polite conversation. Which wasn’t like her at all. Actually, what she was doing was working her way across the party to a door that she could slip through and access the rest of the large house. With a bit of luck everyone would be engrossed in their own conversations, mostly about themselves and she could slip away unnoticed. Gabriela needn’t have worried as she managed to make her way across the room and slip through the door without being questioned. Once through the door Gabriela made her way toward the home office that Jean Boulanger had on the top floor of the house. It wasn’t hard to obtain plans of the house and Gabriela had studied them before attending tonight’s event. Making her way through the house Gabriela didn’t try to sneak around, if questioned she would just say that she was a guest that had got lost. It seemed plausible. As she walked along the long second floor hallway Gabriela paused and turned around to check behind her. There was nobody in sight but Gabriela was sure that she could feel, rather than sense someone in the area. She waited a full minute before admonishing herself for being paranoid before continuing on her journey, up anyone flight of steps and finally arrived at her destination of the home office. Gabriela had a look around before slipping her hand into her bra and removing the lockpicks that she had stashed there. Now, lockpicking was a new skill that Gabriela had recently learnt and it might take longer than she hoped to gain access to the office. Having started on the lock Gabriela took a couple of minutes to get the door open before slipping inside and closing the door after her. The room was pitch black and Gabriela had to take the chance and put on the main light, hoping that not too much light would escape under the door. Once she had the light on Gabriela took a look around at the large room and admired the decoration, large desk, leather chairs and globe. There were also a couple of couches arranged around a smaller table next a fireplace with a large mirror above it. There were some files lying around on that table so Gabriela decided to start there, unlikely that someone would leave anything incriminating lying around but you never knew your luck.

Picking up the top file Gabriela flicked through it and finding nothing of interest returned it to the desk and picked up the next file. This process continued until the fifth file when Gabriela did find something of interest and began to read several pages intently. Deciding that it would be best to have a record of this Gabriela placed the file open file on the table and pulled her mobile from her handbag. As she fumbled with the settings on camera Gabriela was surprised by the sudden application of a moist cloth over her nose and mouth. She squealed in dismay, only to discover her mistake: the output of sound required an input of breath, and drew a deep dose of chloroform into her lungs, causing an explosion of colour behind her eyes. Cursing that as a amateur mistake, now that she had experience of the effects of chloroform and started to try and find some leverage to escape her attacker. The smell was harsher than the chloroform that had been used by Elizabeth Crawford’s crew during her previous interface with the drug but that was to be expected, part of Crawford’s business was abduction and holding women captive so it would make sense that her methods would be more refined. Gabriela’s right arm had been pinned by her attacker so she had to drop her mobile to have a free hand, at the same time Gabriela caught a look in the mirror and saw the thick, white cloth clamped over her mouth and the strong fingers keeping it firmly in place belonged to Emma Boulanger, to Gabriela’s surprised the elder of the Boulanger sisters was even taller than she was and by the look of Emma’s shoulders was a powerful woman.

Emma Boulanger had noticed Gabriela snooping around and knew that something wasn’t right so decided to take direct action. Emma had recognised the woman from photographs that Grace had shown her. Despite Grace thinking that Gabriela was the greatest thing since slice bread Emma thought that there had to be something funny about the woman. Emma had seen the Gabriela’s face in the mirror in the mirror as she had applied the cloth and Emma had enjoyed the look of shock. One thing that hadn’t escaped Emma’s attention was Gabriela’s beauty and her body was something else, she could tell from the form fitting dress that the she would enjoy holding it tight against her own. Gabriela was grinding against Emma now trying to get free and Emma couldn’t disguise that this was turning her on. Emma locked Gabriela in as firm a hold she could. It’s hard to hold someone when one of your hands is over their face and they were struggling, especially someone as tall and rangy as Gabriela but Emma did her best by grabbing Gabriela right below her breasts and locking her arms at her sides. At the same time, Emma yanked Gabriela backwards, hoping to get her off balance so she doesn’t have any leverage. Gabriela twists, lashes out, screams muffled obscenities, jerks her head to get away from the thick cloth that was forcing her to inhale the fumes that would render her unconscious. It’s all that Emma can do to avoid getting head butted by Gabriela. Keeping those arms pinned now is all that Emma is focusing on, if she can do that, she will win this contest. Gabriela’s tough and a definite fighter, that’s for sure. To be honest, Emma is glad she is. If she had just fainted demurely in her arms right away it would have felt a little…I don’t know, anti-climactic and Emma is discovering that chloroforming Gabriela is turning me on way more than even using the stuff on her girlfriend. Then Emma notices that the struggles and getting less frantic. Emma holds on and keeps the cloth tightly over Gabriela’s nose and mouth forcing her to inhale the fumes. Eventually Emma senses her victim sort of relaxes and slump against her body. Emma can tell by looking in the mirror that Gabriela’s eyes are starting to close, not all the way, and not completely, but just a little bit. Gabriela then went a little limp in Emma’s arms and her head drops into the cloth a little more. “Shhhh,” Emma whispers in the Gabriela’s ear. “Just go to sleep.” Emma really doesn’t really know why she says that. Gabriela’s head lurches back and it is all that Emma can do to keep the cloth over her face. She screams a last, muffled protest into the cloth. After a few seconds Emma notes that Gabriela relaxes again and Emma knows that the fight is over and that she has won. Gabriela’s arms drop like they’re too heavy to hold up. Her sweetly-curved body begins to melt back into Emma and she gives a final, barely audible moan into the cloth as her eyes close over. Emma, satisfied that her lovely mark was now sufficiently dosed for the moment, released her grip and allowed the drugged woman to slump onto the floor, crumpled in a pile at her feet.

Gabriela still desperately wanted to fight, but her movements are getting sluggish and uncoordinated groaned into the wet cloth as she was overcome with an irresistible light-headedness and her eyelids began to flutter uncontrollably. She fumbled with the hand pressing the chloroform-scented pad to her face, but couldn't seem to get her fingers to work properly. Soon enough, her hands fell away and her moans softened as her awareness was dissolved in the abundant anaesthetic sweetness.

Emma picked up Gabriela’s bag and phone and put the latter inside the former before slinging the bag over her shoulder. Pausing for fifteen or twenty seconds to consider her options Emma made a decision before bending over and picking up Gabriela.

Chapter 21

Geneva, Switzerland

There was a knock at the door and Gayle flung it open to find Natalie and Christina standing side by side. There was a pause as Gayle looked them up and down before beckoning the two women into her suite. Once inside with the door closed Gayle embraced both Natalie and Christina in turn warmly. “I am so glad to see you two,” Gayle said. “Shall we retire to the reception room.” Natalie and Christina took a look around the suite and shared a glance.

“This is a nice place,” Natalie commented.

“It certainly is that. I certainly couldn’t afford it.” Gayle responded as she led Natalie and Christina from the reception room into a lounge with two couches positioned either side of a large coffee table. “Take a seat.” Gayle sat on one of the couches whilst Natalie and Christina positioned themselves on the opposite couch.

“That is a lovely table,” Christina commented. That earned a look from Natalie that Christina caught. “What? It is.”

“Tea or coffee?” Gayle asked indicating the two pots, cups and selection of biscuits sitting on a tray in the centre of the table. “Don’t worry, I’m not paying.”

“What do you mean?” Natalie asked.

“I checked with reception and I am booked in for a week, all expenses paid.”

“Nice gesture from Elizabeth,” Christina commented. “Tea, please.”

“Coffee, thanks,” Natalie added. “So, you think Elizabeth is picking up the tab?”

“It does seem like her kind of gesture,” Christina replied taking a look round the room. Everything was subtle but clearly expensive. You would have called the decoration and furnishings tasteful and understated. Something you could certainly get used to. When Christina focused back Gayle handed her a cup, which she took a sip from and enjoyed. The tea could be described in the same way as the decoration.

“You seem in good spirits considering you were kidnapped and held against your will,” Natalie commented as they each took a biscuit from the tray.

“Suppose I am getting used it by now,” Gayle replied with a sigh. “That or I haven’t fully processed the situation yet.”

“I suspect that it is the later,” Natalie said. “So, can you tell us what happened?” Gayle took a deep breath.

“Did you get Hayley’s letter?” Gayle asked, Natalie nodded confirmation. “So, I can skip that bit. I volunteered to go along as I didn’t want Hayley to be alone.” Gayle paused and bit her lip. Christina reached across the table and put a reassuring hand on Gayle’s knee. “We were in Hamburg and Hayley asked a waiter at a restaurant to post the letter. She was afraid that Crawford was having us followed.”

“Sounds like something that Elizabeth would have thought of,” Christina commented.

“We were told to report to an address in Hamburg at a certain time. Hayley asked the same waiter for directions and he seemed a bit shocked that we were looking for that address. When we found the address, we found out why. It was an establishment for ladies of the night in a not great area of the city.”

“Could you find it again?” Natalie asked.

“I remember the address,” Gayle replied.

“Won’t do us any good,” Christina commented.

“Why?” Natalie asked.

“If Elizabeth freed Gayle with that knowledge then she had already dropped all contact with the place.” Christina hated to be a wet blanket but Elizabeth Crawford was usually one step ahead. “Continue.”

“When we arrived at the establishment we were taken to a room at the top of the place and held in a locked room overnight. In the morning a bunch of Crawford’s goons were there to escort us to a plane. On the place we were strapped into seats and they put masks over our face. The masks gave us a dose of gas, we were unconscious before the wheels came up into the fuselage and didn’t wake up until the wheels touched down again.”

“So, you have no idea where you were or even how long you were in the air?” Natalie asked with obvious disappointment.

“Crawford’s base is definitely an island,” Gayle began. “If I was making an educated guess it would be somewhere in the Mediterranean,” Gayle raised a hand to stop the questions that were sure to be coming, “look, that is just a guess but I couldn’t narrow it down any further than that. It could be somewhere off Greece, Spain or even the north coast of Africa.”

“What makes you say that?” Christina asked.

“Temperature, daylight and some other things,” Gayle responded.

“I can live with educated guesswork,” Natalie said. “We can come back to that later. Can you tell us anything else?”

“I did overhear some of the guards talking but nothing earth shattering,” Gayle replied. “They were careful about what they said, especially at the start. When they got a bit more used to you, they tended to be less secure. Almost as if being gagged meant you couldn’t hear. Anyway, when we first arrived on the island Hayley and I were boarded together in the same room,” Gayle started and Natalie noticed that Gayle continually turned the cup that she held in her hands.

“Initiation week,” Christina echoed and Gayle nodded.

“Fully restrained and bagged for a whole week with just a single hour each day out.”

“Sounds fun,” Christina commented.

“We were mainly left to our own devices for the first couple of weeks then things changed,” Natalie could tell that Christina was about to interrupt again but gave her a look that said don’t.

“After that we were split up, I was moved into room on my own for a bit and from what I can gather Hayley and Kirsty Black ended up sharing a room.”

“What do you mean by sharing a room?” Christina asked leaning forward in her chair. “Kirsty was Crawford’s top operative and trusted lieutenant, especially after Louise Williams was taken off the board.”

“Well, Kirsty was the one that helped Hayley and Gabriela escape from the clutches of Elizabeth Crawford and from what little I could gather from overhearing conversations between the guards is seems like there has been a severe erosion of trust between Crawford and Kirsty. They said that Hayley and Kirsty had become close.” Natalie gave Gayle a look. “As I said this is just what I picked up, I didn’t really see Hayley once we were split up.”

“Did you get a sense that Hayley might be….” Christina started but Natalie cut her off.

“Look, Hayley is categorically one of the good girls and is not working with Crawford. If Kirsty helped her to escape then there is something else going on that we don’t know about.” Christina held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.

“I had to ask.”

“I got the impression that Crawford has a soft spot, fascination or some kind of obsession with Hayley. I don’t know, it’s hard to describe or explain but some of the guards’ comment in it.” That was an interesting piece of information.

“Who else held captive?” Christina asked.

“Shonali Kalpana Khan, I shared a room with her for a couple of weeks,” Gayle said.

“The Bollywood actress?” Natalie asked.

“The very same,” Gayle replied. “I had no idea that she was a famous actress until she told me about her career. Lovely young woman actually.”

“Why would Elizabeth abduct a Bollywood actress?” Christian said to nobody in particular.

“Shonali certainly had no idea, but she was treating it like research for a film role. She had plans to make a movie about it. Mentioned trying to get Megan Fox to play me.” Natalie and Christina both smiled. “I would take that casting.”

“Well, there must be something to it. Another angle to investigate if we run out of other avenues.”

“Anything else interesting?”

“The De Haviland sisters turned up,”

“Interesting,” Christian responded. “It answers the question of how Hayley managed to escape their clutches without having an adequate answer herself.”

“They let her go in exchange for help,” Natalie suggested.

“That would make sense. They are wanted criminals and Hayley’s return meant that they were not going to get away with the court case. A nice, secret retreat would be the ideal place to hide for a while.”

“Well, that plan didn’t last long,” Gayle chipped in. “According to one of the guards, Perrie, I believe her name was, the De Havilland sisters ended up as guests before being moved on to a Russian billionaire’s wife….”

“There was also a young reporter called Ellen, something or other…”

“Elise Rodgers?” Christina asked.

“That could be it. Is she important? The guards were careful not to talk about her too much”

“You might want to refill that glass Gayle. This is going to be some story.” Gayle refilled all of their cups before settling down into the chair. Natalie began tell the story, or as much as they knew with the occasional interruption from Christina, of kidnapped former fashion models replaced by an identical stand-in to obtain something that Elizabeth Crawford wanted. Once Natalie had finished, they all sat back and contemplated.

“Where do we go from here?” Gayle said excitedly, a sudden energy seemed to run through her.

“Well, I think that you should go somewhere and relax and leave the next bit to us,” Christina said.

“Somewhere with a nice beach maybe,” Natalie said and then screwed up her face realising what she had said. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking.”

“But; I would like to help,” Gayle said.

“I think that it would be better if you get some rest and try and take your mind off things. You have been through a tough ordeal over the past months,” Christina said with a comforting smile. “Natalie spoke with Rhiannon and she is on a flight first thing tomorrow to meet us.”

“When she arrives you two should take a couple of days and then just take off and go somewhere away from all of this,” Natalie said. Gayle seemed to

“Well, I never did get the chance to get a proper look around Copenhagen,” Gayle said.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Natalie agreed. “I will ask Rhiannon to make the arrangements when she arrives.

“Where are you staying?” Gayle asked.

“We haven’t booked anywhere yet.”

“You should just move in here, use this as a base for a couple of days. There are plenty of bedrooms, at least three and Elizabeth Crawford is picking up the tab.” Christina and Natalie looked at each other and nodded.

Lausanne, Switzerland

Gabriela was slapped awake, literally. The sting in her cheek instantly brining her back to full consciousness. “What did you use on her?” Gabriela heard a voice say. It wasn’t the woman that had slapped her but another that belonged to a woman that Gabriela couldn’t make out. Her vision was blurry and she was still confused from the chloroform. Shaking her head to try and clear her vision Gabriela then lowered her head and took her breaths.

“Chloroform.”

“You just happened to have some lying around?” Gabriela’s head had now cleared enough to piece together what had happened to her and also recognize the voices of the two women as belonging to Grace and Emma Boulanger. “I see, that our little snoop us awake,” Emma said grabbing Gabriela’s chin and raising her head so that their eyes now met and Gabriela glared at Grace. “You were right Emma; she is certainly a feisty one.”

“My girlfriend has a kinky side. What can I say!” Emma responded, finally answering her sister’s question. The two sisters then made their way to the corner of the room and hunkered down in quiet conversation. As this exchange was taking place Gabriela tested her bonds. Her wrists were bound behind her back with rope as were her ankles and thighs. In addition, there were leather straps securing her to the chair, no doubt something else that the kinky girlfriend liked to use. Looking round the room there was a large four poster bed in the centre and various other solid and expensive looking items of furniture dotted around the large room.

“Would you mind untying me ladies?” Gabriela asked. Grace and Emma stopped talking and focused their full attention on Gabriela. “The sooner the better as you don’t have any right to do this.”

“Well, I guess you will just have to call the police then,” Emma replied. Gabriela couldn’t find a snappy response offhand.

“Sorry, we can’t do that,” Grace said. “Not until you can explain what you were doing snooping around in daddy’s office.”

“Look I wouldn’t say I was snooping around,” Gabriela responded, hoping that she sounded more confident to them than she did to herself.

“That’s exactly what you were doing,” Emma stated and crossed her arms.

“Who sent you?” Grace asked. “Was it a busy rival or the Government?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about Grace. You do have a vivid imagination or is it the drugs talking,” Gabriela said with a bit if bite. Grace stepped forward and pulled back her right arm to slap Gabriela before Emma caught the arm in mid arc.

“Don’t ruin the merchandise,” Emma commented.

“What?” Grace said, nostrils flaring. Talking to her sister but her eyes on Gabriela.

“At least not until daddy has had the chance to talk with her.”

“Alright then,” Grace said, calming down. And that was when Gabriela knew, Emma wasn’t the dangerous one, it was Grace. Emma was consistent and predictable, Grace was the opposite, on the surface calm and fun but there was something under the surface wasn’t quite right. “We need to shut her up and then get back to the party,” Grace said as she ran a finger down Gabriela’s jawline. “Get something to gag her with.”

“Look, there is no need for that,” Gabriela said, a hint of panic in her voice. Once again, she started to fight against her bonds but only succeeded in rocking the chair slightly.

“There should be some stuff in there, Grace,” Emma said pointing to a chest of drawers. Gabriela watched on a Grace walked across and opened one of the drawers.

“Bingo!” Grace exclaimed and started to rummage about. “Need two of those,” Grace said almost to herself. There was a short amount of further rummaging and selection before Grace nudged the drawer closed with her hip and spun round. Slowly, she made her way over to Gabriela. “Open wide.” Gabriela closed her eyes and rocked her head back in frustration. Unfortunately, she was going to be gagged and here was nothing that she could do about it. So, she accepted the inevitable and levelled her head and opened her mouth. When Gabriela did that Grace forced a wadded-up handkerchief into her mouth. “Plenty of room in there and we can’t have you disturbing the guests.” Grace wadded-up a second handkerchief and stuffed that into Gabriela’s mouth as well.

“UURRHH,” Gabriela moaned. Next Grace took a silk scarf and tied a knot in the centre. Placing the knot in the middle of the handkerchiefs in Gabriela’s mouth Grace tied the scarf tightly at the back on Gabriela’s head. Then a flooded handkerchief was placed over Gabriela’s mouth and a second silk scarf was tied over that to secure it in place.

“There, that should do the job,” Grace said after taking a step back to admire her handiwork.

“Definitely,” Emma agreed. Gabriela just glowered at both in turn from over her heavily gagged mouth. “You didn’t mention that she was so beautiful?”

“You didn’t notice?” Grace said, clearly surprised.

“I wasn’t paying attention when we met in the club, then there is the lighting and then from behind when she was snooping about. Then after the chloroforming her hair was all over her face. Those are some big brown eyes and I bet that body is killer under that dress. I would love to confirm that at some point.”

“MMUURRPHH,” Gabriela screamed worriedly from behind her gagged.

“Very effective,” Grace said holding up a hand to Gabriela. “You better not touch her until daddy decides what we are going to do.”

“Alright, alright,” Emma replied holding up both hands in a show of disappointment.

“We need to get back to the party before anybody comes looking for us and finds this situation,” Grace said and headed for the door. “I will track down daddy and tell him about this.”

“Ciao bella,” Emma said over her shoulder as both sisters left the room. Gabriela counted to sixty to make sure that they weren’t coming back before she glanced around and noted that her bag was hanging over the chair that she was tied to. That was a pretty amateur mistake to make. With the Boulanger sisters now out of the room Gabriela sensed an opportunity and squirmed in the chair so that her fingers could reach the bag. That was a stretch to far so next she rocked the chair until it was about to tumble and braced for impact before it crashed to the floor. Fortunately, there was deep shagged carpet that absorbed some of the force. The trick had work as her bag was now within reach. Unable to see what she was doing Gabriela had to progress by feel and slowly and deliberately found the zip and opened the bag. Next Gabriela gently slipped her bound hands into the main section of the bag and fumbled about before locating what she was looking for and lifting it out of the bag. Then she thanked her luck that the Boulanger sisters were not as thorough with their binding as Elizabeth Crawford. This would have been impossible wearing those finger control mitts that her gang forced captives to wear. At the time Gabriela thought that it was overkill but now she understood the benefits. Now this wasn’t her own phone so there was no passcode but it also meant that there were no numbers stored, well no real ones. Wracking her brain there was only one number that she could remember and she punched it in before composing a text, that she hoped made sense and sent it, all whilst not being able to see what she was doing before slipping the phone back into the bag and zipped it back up. All she had to do now was wait and hope that the person would be able to help her.

Wow, well over 18,000 views.

Thanks for the continued support.

I´ll comment later on in more detail, but for know? Good to see Gabriela is in trouble again, but rescue might be on the way. Thankfully all Parties are meeting in Geneva. The gagging sequence of Gabriela was very nice! Her luck, that her captors were no Pros like Crawfords Girls. I wonder whom she texted to. My guess is on Charlotte, being the most likely candidate The Train of story is picking up steam Keep it going, [mention]mrjones2009[/mention]!