The weeks passed. The Police had taken our details and confirmed other similar thefts had been reported, but they had no leads, and were "pursuing enquiries." Ines and I stayed in touch with each other and got on with our lives, in between making our own discreet enquiries, trying to find other victims of the gang that had robbed and humiliated us. Apart from some brief local newspaper reports with little detail, we found nothing and no-one.
My business was doing well so I was making money, which was a good thing after the amounts taken from me, and in spite of how Donna had taunted me about my lax security, I still had some of my heirloom jewellery, which had I kept in an old cardboard box stashed in a cupboard, although this was because I just hadn't got around to sorting it out and if I had, it would have been taken from my bedroom dressing table.
I dyed my hair a rich dark chestnut colour, because deep down I think I needed a change to reflect the new me that I had discovered, and perhaps just to try and draw a line after my experiences in Donna's salon. My burgeoning submissive nature was kept in check for the moment by my busy work schedule, and I had no opportunity to explore it further.
Then in October we got a break. Ines had gone to London on a business trip, and rang me, very excited. She said she'd seen a picture of one of the gang members, Jackie, on a poster for a revue bar in Soho. She managed to take a photo of it with her mobile phone and sent it to me. I too was sure it was her: the attractive Eurasian face, highlighted hair, even the slightly sneering smile.
We agreed to meet up, Ines got me a room in the hotel she was in, and I took the train to Kings Cross. Our plan was to drop in to the bar, check out the situation, and then have a night of it somewhere else; it was time we enjoyed ourselves again. Later we would go to the police with the evidence. Before I left I rang the local force to tell them there'd been a sighting of this woman, but of course I didn't let them in on our plans.
I chose my outfit carefully, we wanted to let our hair down and have a good time, a real girl's night. Ines knew some clubs in the West End, and I picked my scarlet velvet dress, clingy in all the right places but not so much that it showed my expensive lingerie. I wore my black Rago open-bottom girdle, and dark tan seamed stockings with patent leather shoes in black, with 3 inch heels; my diamante necklace and earrings; plus a black choker with a single diamond. As it was late October and cool, I took my shiny black leather jacket. My matching black leather clutch bag finished the ensemble.
Ines came to my room and she too had 'glammed up', in a gorgeous purple sequinned dress, shoes and eye shadow to match, and her long hair was gloriously glossy. Her heels were higher than mine, and in her cashmere wrap she looked svelte, relaxed and ready for a night on the town.
Having taken a taxi to the revue bar, we went in, and Ines went off to the ladies' room to powder her nose. After maybe 5 or 6 minutes she hadn't re-appeared so I texted her, and sat on a tall bar stool, waiting for her reply. The woman behind the bar, and all the other waitresses buzzing about, were beautiful oriental girls, all dressed in pink outfits. None of them appeared to be Jackie. A man approached me, asked if I was Gina, and told me that Ines had sent him to say she was checking something out and she'd be a few minutes late. He offered to buy me a drink but I got a bad feeling about the whole scene so I made an excuse, grabbed my handbag and headed for the ladies room myself. Finding no-one in there I rushed out into the street, somewhat panicked. A black cab was parked at the curb, so I opened the door and asked the driver to take me back to the hotel. I took out my mobile intending to ring Ines.
The cab moved forward a few metres, then stopped and the man from the bar opened the door, jumped in and grabbed my phone. The cab raced off. I shouted to the driver to stop, but as I caught his reflection in the mirror I saw he was grinning. I desperately tried to open the other door but the driver had centrally locked them all. The man in the back produced a knife and I froze. "Good girl" he said, smiling, "stay calm and keep quiet. We're not going to rape you, and we may not even hurt you. Somebody very important wants to see you." He handcuffed my arms together and forced a rubber ball into my mouth, which was held in place by a strap fastened behind my head. My legs were quickly hobbled by a short chain attached to cuffs which he put on my ankles. A further short chain was then attached to the handcuffs and the ankle chain, so that even if I were able to break free I would have had great difficulty in walking, let alone running away. He rested one hand on my thigh, sliding it upwards, while the other held the knife close to my throat. His fingers slid under my girdle hem and continued to roam. I tried to edge away but in the limited confines of the cab it was impossible. I realised that no-one outside would see me through the smoked glass of the cab windows.
We drove through the night for maybe 30 minutes. His hand fondled me intermittently and I was unable to prevent it, my breath heavy as I tried to escape mentally. He pushed my leather jacket back onto my shoulders and began to grope at my chest. I closed my eyes and started to panic again, guessing that this was something to do with Donna and her gang.
The street lights dwindled as we got out of the city. The cab eventually drove onto a gravel surface and stopped, the chain linking my wrists to my ankles was released, and I was made to get out. It was very quiet, and smelling damp vegetation I knew we were far from any town. I was forced forward, shuffling because of the hobble chain, and just managed to catch a glimpse of an imposing Georgian-style house, before a dark silk bag was put over my head and tied round my neck with cord. I was led across the gravel, up some stone steps and into the house, and eventually stopped in a room that felt very warm. My senses were acutely aware of sounds and feelings now, and I heard the crackle of an open fire, smelt faint perfume traces, expensive perfume. Someone, no two at least, circled me and I shivered, not knowing what would happen next.
My hands were grabbed and I was led forward again, a short distance, towards the fire as far as I could tell. Of course, this made me very nervous, but they stopped and released my ankle chain, and I was made to kneel, legs apart, on a padded cushion.
Ropes were tied around my knees and ankles and secured to something under the cushion. I was obviously on some kind of framework, like a wooden pallet maybe. The handcuffs around my wrists were removed, ropes were tied around each wrist, and my arms pulled up above my head, and apart, each wrist secured to something metallic sounding. I was now spread-eagled and felt very vulnerable. Then…nothing. I was just left there, for maybe half an hour. I could not hear any movement near me, but remained tense, uncertain as to what was going to happen.
Eventually I heard footsteps and voices, the bag over my head was removed and I was staring into a hearth in which a log fire was burning. I was maybe 6 feet away from it and could feel the heat on my face. I could see now that I was secured to a metal frame that must have been specially made for the purpose. That realisation scared me; someone had designed this thing deliberately.
I was shaken also to realise who was in the room: standing to my left was Donna, in a stunning sleeveless halterneck black dress, slit to the top of her thighs. A large circular brooch of diamonds pulled the fabric together over her midriff. To my right was the Blonde Woman, dressed in a green chiffon evening dress, also sleeveless, with a green silk belt tied in a bow at her waist. She was dripping in emeralds, Donna in diamonds, and both looked as if they were about to walk the red carpet to the Oscars.
The two men from the taxi, and the dark-haired gang member, who I knew from Ines' story was called Nesrin, stood over against the left wall in the shadows.
It was the Blonde who spoke. "Welcome to my humble abode. Actually I'll rephrase that, you're not welcome and it isn't humble."
It certainly didn't appear humble. It wasn't Buckingham Palace but it was clearly a large old place opulently furnished and modernised. Bound as I was I could not see much of the room I was in apart from the walls, which were a deep yellow colour, and the hearth which had an elegant brass fender and ornamental brass irons. On the mantelpiece which was of stone were several small Egyptian style figurines, and a copper vase holding what appeared to be peacock feathers. I was further amazed to see that at each side of the hearth was an upright full size Egyptian coffin, the sort they have in the British Museum. Above the hearth was a large gold-framed mirror, either side of which were papyrus wall hangings with hieroglyphic signs, and I could just make out above me a dark blue ceiling studded with white and gold stars. There was a large chandelier but it gave surprisingly little light, perhaps intentionally dimmed. The great log fire gave an eery flickering light of its own.
"You've caused us a lot of bother, you and your Spanish slut friend. You two made a big mistake thinking you could outwit us, how dare you even consider looking for us?" she shrieked. "Lucky for us that my loyal slave over there" - she gestured at the man who had accosted me in the revue bar - "is a detective inspector! How the hell else do you think we've evaded the police for so long." Ah, so, now it became clear. I was certainly in deeper than I had expected, and began to regret my desire for revenge against this gang. I was scared before and this revelation unnerved me even more.
She went on: "Well we can't afford to let you go again. First you're going to watch as we deal with the senorita and then we're going to sort you out good and proper." I must admit that my fear was suspended ever so slightly at her use of the phrase "good and proper", it seemed so incongruous. I was beginning to wonder at her sanity, having all this Egyptian stuff in her house, but being tied up and gagged and on my knees in front of her, I was in no position to challenge her in any way.
It was then that they brought Ines in. She was wheeled in, upright, on a trolley, by the taxi driver, and the image that came to my mind was of Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs". But whereas he was a threat even constrained in that way, Ines looked semi-conscious and a danger to no-one. I wondered what they had done to her. She was gagged, her face bulging under a white strip of cloth which covered her mouth, and her body was encased in what I guessed to be a silk sheet, white, tightly wrapped around her, and bound with white ropes. I gazed wide eyed, suddenly associating the Egyptian theme of the room with the seemingly mummified figure of my friend. What horrors were they planning?
The Blonde Woman stood in front of me, arms folded, a haughty air about her. As if hearing my thoughts, she spoke again. "I have absolute power over you both now, and I intend to have you punished for your insolence." I stared at her, incredulous. "I'm going to describe what we've done to your cara amiga so far, and what we're going to do to her. Then perhaps you'll see how serious this all is, and your mind can wonder at what will become of you!" With this, she leant towards me, grabbing my chin, her face close to mine, staring at me with eyes wide open, lips now pressed together as if to hold the rage within her.
She let go of me and gestured at one of the mummy cases. "This is a perfect copy of an Egyptian sarcophagus, 18th Dynasty, as it that one over there. Ines as you can see has been partially mummified and is to be imprisoned in it at my pleasure, entombed alive as it were, undergoing unimaginable tortures, until I deem that she may be released." Her voice and manner were animated now as if she were an actor in a melodrama, and again I wondered at her mental state but also at her true intentions for Ines. Whatever they were, things did not look good.
"We've given her a relaxative medication because as you know she's the fiery Latin type, and she needs to learn her place." She glared at Ines, who I assumed had put up a fight on the way here, presumably after being kidnapped like me from the revue bar, I guessed by Jackie and Nesrin. "She has of course been gagged, her mouth stuffed with a large amount of cotton cloth to absorb the saliva. This is mostly for her discomfort but also serves to cut down on any whining, or as her torment continues, any screams. Her arms are bound behind her, at wrists and elbows, tightly first with silk scarves then with rope on top, to ensure there is no chance of escape.
"Electrically operated vibrators have been inserted into her, front and back, and strapped in place to prevent them coming loose. Her thighs are tightly bound, as are her ankles and knees.
"Electrical stimulation pads have been taped to her body - four on each breast, two on each inner thigh, and two on each buttock. We then wrapped her in this fetching white silk sheet, making sure it is secure by means of these ropes.
"That leaves her head of course, and to complete her living mummification we shall be wrapping her head in a rather severe way. Breathing will become difficult but not impossible provided she stays calm and focused, but that's up to her, we don't really care."
I watched, stunned, unable to do anything to prevent it, as each one of the gang came forward to participate, carrying white scarves. They first draped a long scarf over Ines' head and then wrapped it around her face, tying it first under her chin and going back round her neck, again tying it behind her head, in what appeared to be a tight knot. Her poor head was yanked back although this may just have been the shock. Her now-conscious eyes looked at me, pleading, over the top of the white band across her mouth, but I was helpless myself. They next put cotton wool pads over those dark Spanish eyes, securing them with a further white scarf.
The next one went across her forehead, crossed at the back of her head and went forward under her chin, then up and over her head where it was tied off. A third scarf went fully across her face to be tied at the back. Both of these were pulled tight before being secured.
A further, square, scarf was draped over the top of her head. The two rear corners were brought forward and tied under her chin, the front corners similarly tied at the back. A final scarf did the same, and she was now completely swathed in white silk. She began to struggle but they lifted her off the trolley, and opened the sarcophagus, revealing numerous wide straps, then pushed her in and secured her with the straps.
The door was slammed shut, locked at the side, and then switches were flicked. A buzzing noise was heard, followed by Ines frantically mewling and groaning as the stimulations went through her.
The Blonde Woman spoke: "You're next."