The 13th Hostage
By Peter Walsh
Part Seven
What can I say? I may have been out of the woods in one way but not out of them in so many others. I was back indoors and warm and was listening to Leonora Ritter lambasting her two partners in crime. ‘She could have died out there! Lucky that I don’t really trust you Marion, what were you thinking of?’ ‘She suddenly started fighting us. She broke Lynda’s nose and I’ve got some badly bruised ribs! She had to be punished!’ The elegant blonde that was Marion Brooke retorted. ‘Not that way! Binding her up in woods like that, she would have been dead before morning. There must be no deaths in this game’. Marion Brooke shrugged and then winced slightly as she was reminded of the damage to her ribs. Score one for me. ‘You should have been on your way to the city, why were you hanging around?’ ‘Like I said Marion, I don’t trust you regarding this particular hostage’. Vicious little Lynda sat off to one side. Her doll like features marred by all the dressings to her nose. I knew she would be consulting a cosmetic surgeon very soon. She sporadically glared at me with a distinct hostility. Always after a ritual toss back of her long black hair. As for me? I was warm and in less hostile surroundings but I had not been cut any slack. I was still very much a prisoner. I had not been tied to the post in that spooky forest clearing for very long but it had been long enough. Leonora had emerged out of the shadows nearly scaring me to death in the process. I must have looked quite a scene. Bound with enough rope to hold ten hostages and gagged twice over and still wearing the miniscule top and skirt! She had cut me loose and carried me in an expert fireman’s lift to a sleek black BMW with massive wheels. I had been wrapped up in a blanket and then driven back to Leonora’s grand hide-out. After a brief but very hot shower, a rub down and being put in a soft linen top and pants I was marched for an audience with my other captors. The formidable red head that was the super rich and super ruthless Leonora Ritter had taken upon herself to look out for my welfare. I wondered about my three friends, dear Gita, classy Gina and leggy Lee. How were they faring? Leonora held me by my arm as she escorted me through her strange home. It was a case of too much white and too much minimalism in the place. I wouldn’t have wanted to live there. ‘What about my friends?’ I ventured to ask my chief captor. ‘They are fine, now be silent!’ She swiftly retorted. We came to the room where Marion and Lynda waited. They almost looked like scolded children. Leonora made me sit in and odd looking metal chair. ‘Sit there and if you say a single word you will be gagged’. She told me. I nodded quickly. I had endured more than my share of gags in this adventure and wanted to avoid any more in the future. I lived in hope. My three captors continued to argue about my recent treatment. ‘What did you expect Lynda and I to do?’ Marion Brooke ventured. ‘Ms Kink should have been put in with her friends and then tied, gagged and chloroformed like they have been’. Poor girls I thought. ‘Why are you playing favourites?’ Lynda asked Leonora. With her current nasal problems she sounded a little like Daffy Duck, I was tempted to giggle but I saw the small Glock on a table a foot from Lynda’s hand and was then tempted not to. ‘She is attractive and good company’. Leonora retorted to Lynda. ‘And she looks like your friend who passed’. Marion Brooke then said. Leonora’s posture stiffened. ‘A little I suppose’. She virtually whispered the words. ‘I hope you will not get all sentimental when we have to sell her’. Marion then said. Sell me? I wasn’t wearing any underwear beneath the soft white linen and my long hair was still damp but they were not the reasons why I suddenly felt very cold. ‘What do you mean sell her?’ I had suddenly broke my promise to be silent. Leonora Ritter swiftly stepped behind my chair and covered my mouth with her hand. I mumbled my displeasure into the sweet scented palm that smothered my mouth. ‘What did I tell you?!’ She snapped down at me. I made the further mistake of resisting ever so slightly by moving my head from side to side. Her grip about her face tightened. I put my hands up and tried to pull her arm away. This woman was strong. I was then pulled up to my bare feet and with one hand still silencing me Leonora knocked my hands down and was able to twist one arm painfully behind my back. ‘We should put her with the others’. Marion Brooke then advised. ‘I think that would be best’. Leonora agreed. I was then dragged away by Leonora with Marion and Lynda following. ****** My captors continued to argue about my recent behaviour and proposed fate as I was taken down more immaculate corridors to where my friends were being held. With Leonora’s hand still smothering my mouth I had no say in the matter. I then chose to make things more difficult for myself by deciding suddenly to put up some resistance. What can I say? I have my limits. I wrenched myself free of Leonora’s grip and turned about and shoved Lynda into Marion Brooke. Lynda shrieked and Marion Brooke gasped. They staggered back a few feet. This show of defiance did not last long as Leonora swiftly cut my legs from underneath me with a perfect leg sweep. I hit the soft carpet hard. Lynda recovered quickly and kicked me in the side. She was wearing knee-high boots with sharp pointed toes. That hurt. Marion Brooke stooped and slapped me round the head. That hurt too. Leonora topped her partners efforts by reaching down and grabbing me by the hair. She twisted my long damp hair like it was spaghetti on a fork. She then proceeded to drag me along by it. My face contorted with the pain to the extent I could hardly see and I let out a long and loud cry of ’Ooooowww!’ The soft linen suit I was wearing was somewhat loose fitting and as I was dragged along the carpet I lost the bottom half of it. I was naked from the waist down. This was not good. Especially not good when either Lynda or Marion Brooke delivered a stinging slap to the bare cheeks of my exposed butt. It was a painfully memorable trip to the room where my friends were being held. I could expect neither aid or comfort from them as I knew they had all been trussed, gagged and drugged. I was about to join them. ****** I was on my knees by the door to the hostage room and as the door was unlocked and opened I was dragged inside. Me and my bare butt were thrown without ceremony onto a bed. I caught a brief glimpse of three forms lying prone on three beds adjacent to mine. ‘Get her tied and gagged’. Leonora ordered. ’Who has the chloroform-what the-?’ I was being held face down on the bed and then I was aware of a rush of movement. There was then the sound of bodies colliding with other bodies. Then nobody was holding me down. I did not need an invitation to act. What can I say? It was quite a fight. Gina hurled Leonora against a far wall and then dived on her in a fast follow up. They started to grapple wildly on the floor while trading blows. It was redhead on redhead. As to which one was the natural was a subject for another time. Lee with her long blonde hair flying ripped a punch across Marion Brooke’s jaw and followed it up with a well aimed kick to the midriff. Marion Brooke faltered but did not go down. I knew that Marion Brooke was a dangerous adversary and that Lee would have her hands full. I jumped on Marion Brooke’s back and got her in a choke hold. To say that the elegant blonde struggled was a supreme understatement but nothing on earth would get me to break the hold I now had on her. I glanced to my left and saw Gita and Lynda slugging it out. It was an even match. Gita had height and reach advantage but Lynda was a tough little girl with a very vicious streak. They soon became merged in a cartoon-like ball of spitting fury and vanished behind one of the beds. Lee punched Marion Brooke twice, striking hard and low and I kept my grip on her. Marion Brooke’s resistance crumbled as she went limp and passed out. I dropped her and moved to join Lee in helping Gina. Leonora fought like a tigress but the odds were in our favour. Gina, Lee and I all did our bit and soon the super-rich bitch was down in a dazed heap on the floor. We all turned looking for Gita. She then emerged from the floor behind the bed with her lovely long dark hair all wild and blood trickling from her nose. She was joyful and triumphant and held up Lynda’s Glock pistol for us to see. The four of us came together for high fives and a major group hug. What can I say? We’d won and I was still naked from the waist down. ****** I still could not believe the way events had been turned around. We the hostages were now the hostage takers. Things would be done on our terms now. My three friends and I had always found ourselves at a disadvantage. We were always the ones getting tied up, chloroformed and carried off, not to mention being threatened with the bigger guns. Sooz Kink owed her freedom to three brave girls, Gita, Gina and Lee. They had been bound and gagged straight away after the brief respite during our arrival at Leonora’s lair. They were unaware of my fate in the woods until Lynda came along to boast to them about how she had ‘Fixed’ me. The captive trio then knew that had to get free. Gita was proving to be quite the escape artist. She worked with all the strength that was available and managed to loosen the cords confining her wrists behind her back. The ropes had not been taped over this time. Once her hands were liberated, she freed her ankles and got the tape and packing of her gag clear of her mouth. Gita the freed Gina and Lee of the ropes and gags confining them. They then made a plan. Play possum and then jump whoever came through the door. My grand entrance provided something of a distraction for our tormentors and my three friends made the maximum use of this advantage. What can I say? They kicked ass and I helped a little. ****** Leonora Ritter had a room in her strange home that contained eight huge wardrobes full of clothes and shoes to die for. Even better was the fact that the super-rich bitch was the same dress and shoe size as Gita, Gina, Lee and myself. My three friends had been reduced to wearing T-Shirts and skimpy shorts for their captivity. Recent events had forced me into even something less. Leonora, Marion Brooke and Lynda were now our prisoners. We swiftly wrapped them up so they could not cause us any trouble and then set about raiding Leonora’s wardrobes. On the garment front we were talking about the very best in the world. Try holding us girls back when we are faced with that. We spent more than a few hours playing dress up and putting on the much missed make-up. I chose a black blazer, white silk blouse, skinny blue jeans and some dark brown knee-high boots with a practical heel. Gita went for an all black fantasy with a black leather jacket, tight black top, tight black jeans and glossy tall black boots with an impressive heel. Lee reprised her urban cowgirl look with a tight black top, Levi’s and cowboy boots. The bandana about her neck this time would not be used as a gag. At least not on her this time. Gina went very feminine in her approach to her liberated attire. Red high necked silk blouse, roomy and floating black skirt, black stockings and some killer black heels. We also recovered some weapons. Lee slid her 9mm Beretta 92FS into a shoulder holster and shrugged it on. She smiled like greeting an old friend. Gina found her brace of dainty 7.65mm Beretta Tomcats and slid one into the top of each stocking. She looked pleased to have them there. Gita had become very attached to the 9mm Glock Model 26 she had won in combat from Lynda. ‘Gita, you hate guns’. I reminded her. ‘You know nothing about them’. She shrugged. ‘At least be safe, take the clip out’. She shrugged and unloaded the weapon with a new and almost scary expertise. I opted to stay weapons free but Gina and Lee went outside and put the two TMP weapons through their paces. Between them they made some scary noises. Now fully clothed, armed and in control we now had to decide on our next step. ******* ‘She likes you. I can see it’. Gita told me. ‘I didn’t ask her to and she has a funny way of showing it’. I replied. I had not felt the need to tell my friends as to the extent that Leonora had played favourites. I turned to Gina. ‘Any idea where we are?’ Gina shrugged. ‘Not really. The cell won’t work. Nothing on a GPS either and Lee and I have not been able to find a landline. It is a bit strange’. The day had passed quickly and night was falling again. We had a good view of the surrounding area from a high window. There were lots of trees and I mean lots of trees. We were not keen on driving on unfamiliar tree shrouded mountain roads in the dark. ‘We could always ask her which is the best way home?’ Lee jerked a thumb over her shoulder. The long legged blonde had been gesturing at Leonora Ritter. Leonora said nothing and the reason was that she couldn’t. Just as she could not see nor hear us either and just as she could not get up from the chair on which she was seated. I was all for payback but not anything that might be translated as borderline torture. Gina and Lee had secured the captives, Gita and I had just passed the materials required for the task. Leonora sat bound to an ornate metal chair in her underwear. The woman’s real age was an official mystery but however old she was she had quite a body. Her gold trimmed white bar and silk panties did not cover up much being minimalist in their construction. Her wrists and elbows were secured to the chairs arms with turns of strong white silken cord. More of the cord held her torso in place in the chair. Her lower limbs were bound at the thighs, knees and ankles. Her ankle bindings were moored to one of the legs of the chair. Her mouth had been packed with a rolled gauze bandage and then sealed shut with four strips of semi transparent tape. Her ears had also been plugged up. The whole sensory deprivation package had been wrapped up-literally-by an ace bandage which covered her mouth, cheeks and eyes. Only her nose was clear of the windings of the bandage to permit breathing. Leonora had not fought when my friends had bound and gagged her. She would not make any eye contact as the bondage took control of her whole body. I can’t say that I really approved of the way she was treated despite what she had forced me to endure. What can I say? I care about these things. Getting Leonora to join the conversation would mean undoing Gina and Lee’s stout work. ‘No, better keep her as she is’. I said. ‘I say we rest up and drive on out in the morning, we are pretty certain to find a freeway if we stick to the roads’. My three friends agreed. ‘What about those three bitches?’ Gita ventured. ‘We take them with us’. Gina said. ‘Lee and I will take them in that massive black SUV. Sooz and Gita should take that silver Mercedes and lead the way’. It all sounded like a plan but I wanted to know about the proposed fate of our hosts. ‘What happens to the unholy three once we hit civilisation?’ I asked Gina. ‘Leave that to Lee and I’. The attractive redhead told me. Her tone somewhat insinuated that I did not need to know any more. I again looked at Leonora Ritter in her silent bondage world and then across the room at Marion Brooke and Lynda. Marion Brooke looked terrific in her scanty black underwear and Lynda had seen fit not to wear any. I was most pleased to this pair in a distressed state. Gina and Lee had bound the toxic pair to two more of the odd but ornate metal chairs. My friends had not stinted on the amount of cord they had used to bind their prisoners. Marion Brooke and Lynda were bound in the same manner as Leonora. Prior to their full silencing Marion Brooke’s and Lynda’s mouths had been sealed by a single broad strip of duct tape. I noticed that Lynda was in some discomfort due to her nose. Although she did not deserve it I took up her case. I suggested to the others that we had to be careful how we gagged her, we did not want a dead girl on our hands, no matter how mean she was. Lynda was far from grateful. Her dark eyes blazed hostile intent in my direction and she mumbled distorted curses through the tape across her mouth. ‘I have just the thing’. Gina said and held up a pink ball gag housed in the middle of a strong leather strap. ‘She’ll be able to breathe around it’. Gina stood behind the chair to which Lynda sat bound with the cords partially hiding her soft naked curves. She removed the tape from Lynda’s mouth. Lynda began to curse and spit before Gina put a hand over her mouth. Lee’s help was required in fixing the ball gag on Lynda. Gina made the strap suitably tight. Lynda then had her ears plugged by Lee and Gina wrapped up the rest of her head in the tight turns of another ace bandage. I got one last look at Lynda’s eyes before they were covered. I saw fear in them for the first time. Suddenly I did not feel so good about events. Revenge was anything but sweet. Gagging Marion Brooke was a calmer affair. The immaculate blonde sat with good posture with her eyes to the front while her temporary tape gag was removed. She opened her mouth to receive the rolled gauze and closed her lips around the packing for them to be taped. She tilted her head in a co-operative way so her ears could be plugged. She did not move when Gina wrapped the ace bandage about her face from fine chin to wrinkle free forehead. Marion Brooke admired a thorough job-even though she was the victim of it. When our three prisoners were all secured I felt a little easier. It was now dark and there were about seven hours to daybreak. We would leave this place with the light. Gina advised that we had to watch the prisoners and carefully. We did not want any tables to be turned, not now. Each of us would take a ninety minute shift each watching them while the others slept. I would take the first watch, the Gina, then Gita and then Lee. We arranged our prisoners in a long row, each chair some ten feet apart. We cleared away the furniture to the sides of the vast room in which we had made our command post. The captives were on their own and in full sight. I perched myself on the side of a grand sofa and carefully watched the prisoners. Gina had liberated her brace of little Berettas from her stocking tops. One lay in each palm of her hand. ‘Pick one’. She said. Although I did not want a gun I took one to make my friends rest easier. Gina, Lee and Gita then retired to another room. What can I say? This was going to be the longest night of my life. ****** My three captives stayed alarmingly still. The only sound was the gentle rhythm of their breathing. It was moderately creepy. What were they plotting? Don’t get paranoid Sooz! Bound, gagged and blindfolded these three could do nothing to hurt me. I rested my brown booted feet on a glass drinks table. I liked these boots. Comfortable and very classy. I would keep them, I had already lost a fine pair to this strange adventure. The time crawled by. I again thought about what had been said regarding my fate from those who were now under my care. They were going to sell me. At least that was what had been said. I did not like one tiny bit of what this implied. Leonora Ritter obviously had some regard for my safety. She had been kind to me. She had rescued me from the woodland bondage session and I was most grateful for that. I tossed back my long dark hair and sighed and then shut my eyes. It had only been for a few short moments but it had been long enough to get me into big trouble. A black leather clad hand suddenly appeared in front of my face and swiftly and very firmly clamped itself over my mouth. The cold steel of a guns muzzle then kissed my neck. ‘Silence!’ A voice hissed.