The bathroom
Susan Hitchcock was locked in was hot and stifling. The chair she was
tied to was hard and becoming more uncomfortable by the moment. The thick
towel tied in her mouth made her mouth dry and her jaws ache. The fact
that night was approaching, that she had already had a full day of unwanted
excitement, that she'd been tied up for hours and tortured for part of that
sapped her remaining strength. The fact that she thought her only sister
was dead, murdered by Chinese agents after a CD filled with genetic gold,
weighed heavily in the back of her mind.
However, she
remained focused on the door to the bathroom, inching her chair closer and
closer with a series of small hops. If she could reach the door and kick
it before the strange woman talking to her captors, the French thieves Armand
and Marie, left, she might just escape another in a series of harrowing
predicaments she had experienced in the past twenty-four or so hours, all over
a stupid CD.
The moment
Shondra Lockwood had left, the bound and gagged Chinese agent Xia Min began
mewling and whimpering piteously through the tape over her mouth. Cindy
tried to ignore it, but the woman was just too sympathetic. She
approached the woman cautiously, still afraid of her from when their situations
had been reversed. The woman widened her almond eyes as much as possible
and pleaded with them for mercy. She seemed in genuine pain and finally
Cindy couldn't stand it any longer.
"Thank
you," Xia said humbly, in a tremulous voice, when Cindy peeled the tape
off of her mouth. "May I ask a favor I do not deserve? I
realize you fear me and I understand why. I treated you terribly in my
quest for the disk and I have no one to blame but myself for your ire..."
"What do
you want?" Cindy asked, trying to conceal the fear in her voice.
"I'm not letting you go."
"I realize
this," Xia said in supplicance. "But the ropes; the American
agent tied them so tight. I cannot feel my arms. If the circulation
is cut off for too long, I may lose them. I do not want that.
Please, I know you cannot free me, but if you could loosen them a little bit,
enough to let the blood circulate. Please, I do not wish to lose my
arms."
Cindy looked at
her, uncertain whether to believe her. The woman returned her gaze with
pleading eyes. She looked so pitiful, hardly the cold, cruel agent that
had so terrorized her.
"OK,"
Cindy sighed, reaching around for the ropes binding Xia's elbows
together. "I'll loosen them--a little. But that's all!"
"Thank
you," Xia said, bowing her head. "I am most grateful. You
are a good and kind person and your goodness shames me."
"Yeah, whatever,"
Cindy murmured as she retied the knot around the elbow ropes, then loosened the
woman's wrist ropes ever so slightly.
Once that was
done, Cindy hurried off into the kitchen. She disliked being in the same
room with Xia. She disliked being scared and she disliked the thought of
Susan being in trouble almost as much as she disliked being in trouble
herself. Pouring a diet cola, she noticed the clock. Darkness was
approaching. Where was Shondra? Was Susan all right? And when
would all of this end? For a moment Cindy considered eating, but decided
that she wasn't that hungry. Perhaps later, when Shondra and Susan were
back; yes, that sounded like a plan.
Cindy walked
back into the living room. Instantly she was seized from behind and flung
to the floor, her glass tumbling to the carpet seconds behind her. A
weight sat in the small of her back, straddling her, and hands seized her
wrists and pulled them behind her. Cindy felt the cruel cut of rope
around her wrists for the second time that day and started to scream. A
hand snapped out and clapped over her mouth.
"Do
not," was the only admonishment Xia gave her.
She removed the
hand and continued binding Cindy's wrists. Cindy remained quiet, mostly
out of fear. She felt her elbows drawn together behind her, renewing the
painful protests of her shoulders, and the cord cutting into chafed spots that
were still raw. Finally she worked up the nerve to whisper.
"I helped
you," Cindy sobbed as her captor bound her ankles crossed. "Is
this the way you show gratitude?"
"I am
showing you gratitude," she heard Xia reply as she felt her legs being
bent back and her ankles strung to her wrists by a connecting cord.
"I am merely tying you up. I could kill you."
Searching the
room, Xia found some strapping tape Cindy had used to mail packages with.
She pulled off a strip of the filimented tape and stuck it down over Cindy's
mouth, roughly pressing it down. Satisfied her guardian was neutralized,
Xia stole quickly to the door and slipped out, leaving a sobbing Cindy
Hitchcock mrrfing after her.
"I'm
looking for a computer disk," Angela Hoffman announced point blank.
"A CD ROM with some apparently very valuable information on it."
"Why come
to us?" asked Armand.
"It was
stolen. A witness identifies Miss LeClair here as the thief."
"I have
done no such thing," Marie lied placidly.
"The
witness also identifies you as the perpetrator of an arson and attempted
homicide last night," Angela said, her eyes still unreadable.
"As for you, Mr. Pleusse, there are at least a dozen countries with
warrants for your arrest. I can haul you both to the station right now
and, if I put a little effort into it, find at least one of those countries has
a valid extradition treaty with the US, so let's stop dancing, shall we?"
Marie began
easing her arm toward a lamp on the table next to the sofa.
"You are
quite blunt, Detective Hoffman," Armand said calmly. "I could
deny everything you have said, of course. It would be our word against
this witness you have, a witness that, I am guessing, it is difficult for you
to locate at this time. But I am a peaceful man and do not like
entanglements. Perhaps we may be able to negotiate an accord of some
sort?"
"Keep
talking," Angela said. Marie kept edging to the lamp.
"I may
truthfully say that we do not have this disk you are searching for. And
while I do not know what information it contains, I do know it is very
valuable."
"How
valuable?" Angela asked.
In the bathroom,
Susan finally reached the door. She listened, but didn't hear
anyone. Had the woman left? A note of worry spread through her, but
it was banished when she heard the woman's voice again. Susan let fly,
kicking the door over and over as hard as she could.
The noise
thundered into the room, drawing the attention of both Armand and Angela.
Seeing the detective distracted, Marie seized the lamp and swung, catching
Angela hard on the side of the head. The detective tumbled to the floor,
dazed. Armand was on top of her in an instant.
"{It
appears you are more recovered than I thought, petite}," Armand said,
pulling Angela's arms behind her. "{Could you hand me that rope,
please}?"
"{But of
course, my pet}," Marie smiled.
"{I fear
you may have been a bit hasty, though, in striking her}," Armand replied
as he bound Angela's wrists palm to palm behind her back. "{I think
she would have succumbed to the offer of a bribe}."
"{Ah, but
this way we know she will not trouble us}," countered Marie.
"{A bribed official can always betray you}."
"{True
enough, but should she escape}," he argued, binding Angela's elbows
together behind her, "{before we have achieved our goal and fled, we will
face additional charges and a new adversary}." He waggled his finger
at her. "{You must learn to curb your impetuousness, my love.
Please hand me the tape}."
"{You are
always so stern with me}," Marie pouted, handing him some adhesive tape,
which he pulled over Angela's lips, around her head and taped over the starting
end before tearing it away. "{But I forgive you}."
Armand blew her
a kiss as he hoisted the detective into his arms. By now Angela was
recovered enough that she was squirming, fighting to escape his grip, but she
found herself plopped into a chair regardless. Armand drew rope across
her chest, partially bared by the low cut of her dress, and anchored her to the
chair, then knelt and tied her ankles together crossed. Finishing by
binding her legs above the knees, Armand grasped the back of the chair and
dragged the writhing police detective to the bathroom where Susan was still
kicking the door.
"You may
stop now," Armand told her, wedging himself through the door, then pulling
Susan's chair back from it. "Your gambit has not resulted in your
freedom, well conceived though it was. It has only resulted in your
gaining a fellow captive."
Susan watched
Armand leave and return with Detective Hoffman, tied to a chair and gagged like
she was. Her eyes grew in surprise upon seeing the woman, then sank to
her lap, crestfallen. Armand set the new captive apart from the other one
at sixty-degree angles, then bowed.
"Forgive
the inconvenience, lovely ladies," he bowed stylishly, "but I must
beg your indulgence that you accept our hospitality at least for the
night."
He left, closing
the door behind him, leaving Susan and Angela to stare helplessly at each
other.
"{You are
not going to torture the nurse any longer}?" asked Marie. Armand
shook his head. "{How will you get her to tell you where the disk
is}?"
"{She will
not talk}," Armand scowled, sitting beside Marie on the sofa.
"{She believes in a cause. I can see it. It would take too
long to break her. Besides, I have no stomach for such things}."
"{My poor
sensitive darling}," she cooed, nuzzling his ear. "{What will
you do}?"
"{Search
the apartment, as I first intended. If the disk is not there, there will
be some clue as to where it is. I will find it, given enough time."
Shondra stood on
a street corner near the subway entrance. It was after nine.
Darkness had fallen and she had gotten the first break in her search for
Susan. She had spotted Armand Pleusse walking down the street. Cautiously
following him, she hoped he would eventually lead her to where he held Susan.
"He seems
to be headed for that sister, Cindy's place," thought Shondra as she eased
down the street.
She still wore
the black body suit, belt and boots and while it was a tremendous advantage
during a fight or rough work from normal street clothes, it did tend to draw
stares on the street, both for its unusualness and for the way it hugged her
very feminine form. But there had been no time to change.
Shondra passed
the subway entrance and ran right into a fleeing Xia Min. There was a
moment when both agents were startled, surprised that the other was in that
spot at that time. Then they launched at each other. Martial arts
moves flew fast and furiously. Each woman was expert enough to counteract
the prowess of the other. For a time, as an amazed crowd gathered on the
street, the two fought to a draw. Neither wanted to continue, but neither
could accept the consequences of stopping.
Armand picked
the lock to Cindy's apartment with considerable more ease this time, as he knew
where the tumblers were and how much pressure to apply. The door pushed
open easily and Armand entered.
Instantly an
unexpected sight confronted him. Cindy lay on the floor, bowed in a
strict hog-tie, her mouth covered with strapping tape. She lay on her
side, looking up to this stranger, pleading with him through the muffling gag
to rescue her from her plight.
"My
my," thought Armand, "I continue to find the strangest things in this
apartment."
As if she
weren't there, Armand walked over Cindy and began a search of the
apartment. Cindy continued to plead with him to set her free, but the
graceful thief went on methodically searching the apartment for his prize.
Xia pivoted and
swung at Shondra with a savage roundhouse kick. Shondra blocked it and
the follow-up, but the kicks took both of them too close to the edge of the
stairway to the subway. A third kick from Xia sent them both tumbling
down the stairs to the platform below.
The two crashed
to the bottom and lay stunned for a few moments as the few people waiting for
the train looked on. It had been a long day for both of them and they
were slow recovering. Xia gathered her wits first, picked herself up and
stumbled off. Shondra saw her shambling off and forced herself to her
feet even though she was still shaken herself. The fleeing Chinese agent
hopped off the platform and ventured into the tunnel, hugging the wall as far from
the track as she could get. Doggedly Shondra followed her, knowing how
dangerous it was to have this woman on the loose. Though her head was
still buzzing, Shondra managed to catch up with her quarry deep inside the
tunnel.
Trapped, Xia
turned on her pursuer and lashed out viciously. Shondra managed to block
the palm blow, but was still groggy. It slowed her movements and Xia
landed one blow, a second and a third. The fourth put Shondra down on the
ground near the track. She struggled to get up, but Xia landed on her and
kept her down.
"You are
too dangerous to let you live," Xia snarled, fishing Shondra's pistol out
of her purse. She pointed the gun directly at the black woman, ready to
pull the trigger, but stopped. "No. You have given me too much
aggravation for it to end this easily. You must suffer some, first."
With Shondra
struggling beneath her, trying to throw her off, Xia pulled the strap from
Shondra's purse and used the leather to bind the woman's hands behind her
back. She pulled Shondra's belt off and wound it around the woman's
ankles, buckling it tight. She then rolled the helpless Shondra onto the
rail of the subway train, laced the stray end of the purse strap under the
track and affixed it to the belt holding Shondra's ankles.
"What are
you doing!" gasped Shondra, fighting being tied to the track without
success. "Let me up!"
Xia looked
around for something to gag her victim with. Finally she settled on the
black body suit. Ripping one of Shondra's sleeves off, Xia tied a large
knot in the middle of the tattered sleeve.
"Don't do
this!" Shondra blustered. "Let mnnnngh unnnghh!" and the
knot sank home, plunging into her mouth, forced deep by Xia's hand.
When it was
lodged deep in Shondra's mouth, Xia tied the ends behind her head, pulling it
tight and tugging hard on the knot. When she released her hold on it,
Shondra shook her head impotently. Xia lingered a second, savoring her
revenge on the woman who had shot Huan and foiled all of her plans so far.
Then she pushed herself to her feet and jogged down the tunnel.
"Mmmmmphh!" Shondra desperately called after her.
"Nnnnnnghhh nnnnnrrrgh!"
It was no
use. Dismissing Xia for the moment, Shondra put her mind to escaping her
predicament. The leather purse strap didn't pose as great a problem as
rope or cuffs might. It was slicker than rope and stiffer, so it didn't
close around her wrists as tightly. She could slip it, pull the knot
free, and perhaps even break it--if she had enough time. It all depended
on when the next subway train was due through here.
She struggled in
silence, in the darkness of the subway tunnel. As she struggled to slip
the binding around her wrists, she also pulled out with her legs, trying to pop
the knot that held her ankles to her wrists. Getting free was important,
but getting off the track was more important. Pulling on the knot that
hog-tied her to the track also drew her wrist bindings more taut around her
wrists. It was a sacrifice she had to make. Shondra braced her head
against the metal rail, her African braids fanning out around her head behind
her. Bracing her head gave her more leverage to pull on her bonds.
Suddenly she
felt the track beneath her begin to vibrate. Shondra's breath caught in
her chest and her blood ran cold. There was a train coming. She
began working more furiously to get free even as she bent her head back and
peered behind her. There was no light in the tunnel yet. When she
saw light, it would be a matter of seconds before the train was upon her.
Her heart
thundering in her chest, Shondra furiously pulled and tugged at the thin
leather holding her to the track. The stitching in the leather raked
against her skin, still chafed from the two previous times she had been bound
in the last twenty-four hour time period. Her chest heaved as she jerked
over and over. Her hands were slick with perspiration in the stifling air
of the tunnel. Perspiration was good. It lubricated her hands and
gave her more of a chance of slipping the leather binding her wrists. She
could feel her hands slipping through. It was slow, tedious, but it was
coming. The scent of burnt motor oil wafted through her nostrils,
overpowering her with the acrid smell. She kept tugging, all the while
looking back for the train.
The vibrations
of the track grew more intense. The train was closer. It might be
on her at any time. Shondra continued to pull, her desperation
growing. Then she saw light fill the tunnel, the source being the headlight
on the lead subway car.