Chapter 74
A small town in Italy
Gayle and Rhiannon had flown into Napoli on the trail of Fallon Bennett. Well, the trial wasn’t exactly warm but it was all that they had. Their flight got in late so they had stayed the night in central Naples before getting a train and heading west and south into the heel of Italy. After the train they had to catch a bus to the place where the last confirmed sighting of Fallon Bennett had been noted. As they watched the bus pulled away Gayle and Rhiannon took a look around the town. It was lovely, postcard perfect would be a good way to describe it. In the centre of town all of the buildings were traditional but looking further up, out over rolling hills there were more modern structures visible. “This looks really nice,” Gayle commented.
“Agreed,” Rhiannon replied. “But, let’s keep our guard up. No telling who is watching.” Gayle nodded and looked at her phone. “Which way to the hotel?”
“That way,” Gayle said pointing in the general direction. “Should be less than ten minutes away.” They both picked up their bags and set off door for the hotel. As they turned away from the main road and headed down a side road neither noticed a small red sports car with blacked out windows slow down as it passed then before speeding up again as the disappeared out of view. It was a nice walk through the town before they reached their hotel. Gayle left Rhiannon to deal with checking in whilst she looked at the paintings and tapestries that hung on the walls of the open reception area. Rhiannon signalled that she had sorted the booking in and they followed a young man who carried their bag up to flights of stairs, onto the second-floor landing and along the corridor. The young man produced a key and opened a door before steeping back and inviting Gayle and Rhiannon to enter. They both did and took a look around the double room which looked basic but comfortable with a set of double doors that after depositing the women’s bags onto the beds the young man strode across the room and flung them open, letting in some late evening sunshine and stunning view of the hills behind the hotel.
“Thank you,” Rhiannon said to the young man. The young man nodded and went to leave the room. “Excuse me,” Rhiannon called and the young man turned around. “Is there anywhere you would recommend for dinner?” The young man smiled then in broken English gave Rhiannon directions to a highly regarded local restaurant. “Let’s get settled then head out for some food,” Rhiannon suggested. Gayle nodded her agreement and started to unpack her clothes, put her toilet bag in the small bathroom and they hid her laptop under the bed. Once Rhiannon had done the same, they headed out, waving at the young man who was sitting in a chair in reception as they did so. The young mane saluted as they passed before going back to reading a graphic novel.
They followed the young man’s directions and they found themselves walking through a park. It was very well manicured and had pockets of brightly coloured floral displays. Every so often there was a bench and across from a particularly lovely formation of roses they found an old man with a sad expression sitting on a bench. Rhiannon and Gayle stopped just short of the bench to discuss where they should head once out of the park. “Can I help you ladies?” the old man asked in heavily accented English.
“Looking for a restaurant,” Rhiannon replied and gave the old man the name.
“Ah, a fine meal you will have there. Just out of the park, turn right and then second left.”
“Thank you,” Rhiannon said. As that exchange was taking place Gayle was staring at the large brass plaque on the bench where the old man was sat, there was now an alarm going off at the back of her head as her brain starting putting things together.
“My name is Vittorio,” the old man said. “What brings two fine young girls like yourself to my small town.” Rhiannon smiled; the man was endearing.
“Trying to track down an old friend,” Rhiannon replied.
“Old friends,” Vittorio said wistfully.
“Can I ask if you know the person on the plaque?” Gayle asked. It was only than that Rhiannon’s eyes were drawn to the plaque.
“Yes, she was a fine young woman. A protégé of mine in my furniture workshop, I made this bench in her memory. Alessandra Ambrosio died seven years ago,” Vittorio said, a sadness passed across his face. Then he smiled as if a happy memory of the woman had just come to him. “If I may say so she was even more beautiful than yourselves.”
“I am sure she was,” Rhiannon replied.
“We must head off and get some dinner,” Gayle said. “Take care.” With that the two women turned and left the park.
“What was that about?” Rhiannon asked.
“I will tell you back at the hotel after dinner,” Gayle replied. “I think that we may have just discovered something.” Then headed to the restaurant where they had a lovely meal before settling the bill. As they were leaving Rhiannon popped to lady’s room whilst Gayle approached the waiter that had served them and pulled a photograph of Fallon Bennett out of her bag. “Hello,” Gayle began. “We are looking for a friend who has gone missing. Have you seen this woman?” Gayle asked holding up the photograph to give the waiter a good look.
“No,” the man said shaking his head, but Gayle thought that the answer came to quickly. Like an automatic reaction to seeing the face. The waiter looked slightly panicked.
“Are you sure?” Gayle asked. “It may have been some time ago.”
“Can I ask what you are doing?” Gayle heard a female voice say from behind her. Gayle spun to find a short looking at her with fists balled up on hips. The woman indicated that the waiter should make his escape and her scurried off.
“Just looking for an old friend?” Gayle said. “Her name is Fallon Bennett.” The woman didn’t even look at the photograph.
“It doesn’t pay for strangers to be asking questions.” Gayle took that as a warning. The woman didn’t say anything else before turning and heading toward the rear of the restaurant.
“How to make friends and influence people,” Rhiannon commented after watching the exchange on her return from the bathroom. Gayle shrugged and they left the restaurant. It was now gloomy outside and for some reason Gayle felt the need to keep checking over her shoulder as they made their way back to the hotel. “Feeling paranoid?” Rhiannon asked.
As they got back to the hotel the young man was still sitting in the same position reading through the same graphic novel. Gayle glanced at Rhiannon before deciding to go and speak to the young man. “Hi,” Gayle said putting on her friendliest smile. “What’s your name?”
“Carlo,” the young man said.
“You like The Avengers?” Gayle asked pointing at the graphic novel. Carlo nodded but seemed a bit embarrassed. “I am more of a Batman lady myself.” That comment seemed to relax the young man. “Did you know Alessandra Ambrosio?” A fleeting sadness washed over Carol’s face.
“Ah, terrible, terrible,” Carlo said. “La Bella,” Carol said.
“Did you like her?” Gayle asked.
“Yes, very pretty but a bit too old for Carlo.” Then a puzzled expression crossed the young man’s face.
“What?” Gayle pressed.
“You are not the only pretty lady to come asking about her?”
“We aren’t?” Gayle asked.
“No,”
“When did this other woman come around asking about Alessandra?” Gayle asked.
“Oh, four or maybe five years ago.” Gayle pulled the photograph of Fallon Bennett from her pocket and showed it to Carlo. He nodded. “Carlo never forgets a pretty lady.” There was a cough and they both turned to find the man behind the desk giving them a dirty look before saying something pointed in Italian that made Carlo tuck his book under his arm and scurry off. Gayle eyed the man behind the desk warily before heading up the stairs with Rhiannon scampering to catch up.
“What is going on?” Rhiannon asked but Gayle did not reply. She just carried on until they were back in the room. Once inside the room Rhiannon stood and watched as Gayle grabbed her laptop bag form under the bed, pulled out the computer and started to typed away on the keyboard.
“This is an image of Alessandra Ambrosio from Natascha’s files,” Gayle said as she spun her screen around for Rhiannon to see. Gayle took the large glossy photograph of Fallon Bennett from her bag, and began to scribble on it with a black pen. Pausing, Gayle considered the photograph for a moment, tapping the pen against her teeth, before using the pen to make some small alterations to the photograph. Once again, Gayle considered the photograph before holding it up next to the screen so that Rhiannon could see both images at the same time. “Remind you of anyone?” Gayle asked. Rhiannon closed in, squinting her eyes.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Rhiannon commented.
“It doesn’t take much, some subtle cosmetic surgery, change of hair length.” Gayle dumped both the laptop and photograph onto the bed. Rhiannon dropped onto the bed across from Gayle. They had discovered something but didn’t know how this fitted in or what it meant or indeed, how to use it. Maybe the best way forward was to get a good night’s sleep and have a think about it again in the morning.
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A small town in Italy
“Why do you want to buy scarves?” Rhiannon asked as Gayle looked at the scarves in a stall at the market that had sprung up in the town square overnight. After yesterday’s discovery regarding Fallon Bennett, they had tried to contact Christina, Natascha and Natalie that morning but hadn’t had a reply from any of them. After a discussion that they decided to take some time and think about there next move. That had led to them taking a walk around town in the early morning sunshine where they had found a nice café for brunch before they had taken a turn and stumbled across the market selling local produce.
“I read headscarves are making a comeback, plus they may come in handy for disguising or identity and facial features.” Rhiannon hoped that Gayle wasn’t taking this agent thing a little too seriously. Rhiannon left Gayle coming to an arrangement with the owner of the stall over the price for the silk scarves and walked away toward the hotel, she glanced at the other stalls in the market before making the turn left into a narrow, cobbled street between two buildings. At the end of the street, you could turn left or right, straight ahead was into the river that bisected the small town. Rhiannon paused to check her bearings and knowing that the hotel was on the over side to the river turned right and headed toward the nearest bridge. She walked slowly not only to allow Gayle to catch up but to take in the lovely views of the hills in the distance and architecture of the town. It was perhaps that and also the thought of the breakthrough that they had just had that meant that Rhiannon didn’t pay that much attention to the two well-dressed women walking toward her or the large five door car that sat idling on the kerb. As they drew closer Rhiannon could see that the two women wore dark blue pant suits over a blouse of the same colour, black heels, black leather gloves, tan raincoats, all set of by a white silk scarf worn loosely around her neck. The timing was bad as Rhiannon walked past the car the two women met her at the rear of the car which meant that she couldn’t pass. “Mi scusi,” Rhiannon said, almost exhausting her grasp of Italian. As the women split to allow Rhiannon to pass in between she heard a car door open and someone get out. As Rhiannon made her way through the two women each grabbed one of her arms, twisting it behind her back. Her bag flew out of her hand and ended up below the car. Any chance of Rhiannon had to shout or complain was ended by a severe squeezing of one of her breasts which made her gasp, her mouth was now open which allowed a wadded-up handkerchief to be stuffed inside without any resistance. Then a damp cloth was clamped over the lower half of her face, Rhiannon instantly recognized the fumes coming from the cloth as belonging to the sedation agent chloroform. Totally perplexed at what was happening and still gasping from the attack on her private parts Rhiannon took in several deep breaths of the fumes on the cloth, which was enough for it to start to have any effect, it had already started to sap her strength. Then the cloth was removed but only to allow the someone behind her to tie a folded silk scarf over her mouth, trapping the handkerchief inside. Once the task of completing her gagging had been completed the cloth was reapplied and Rhiannon was forced to inhale more of the fumes, from behind Rhiannon felt her ankles behind bound together the realized that the shock of the attack had stopped her from resisting but she started to late and her ankles were securely bound with rope. “UURRMMUUPPHH,” Rhiannon screamed but the combination of the gag and the thick chloroform laced cloth over her mouth prevented any noise escaping. Next Rhiannon felt the cloth be removed and then she was lifted and bundled into the back of the car. Rhiannon had now been administered enough of the drug that her head was hazy and her coordination affected that badly that she couldn’t resist. Once in the car Rhiannon was vaguely aware of the vehicle moving off. She had to inhale, she needed air. But what she got was chloroform as the cloth was reapplied over the lower half of her face for a third and what would be final time. Rhiannon felt her body weaken and wondered why she was being snatched and taken someplace she didn't want to go. Who was it? Had Elizabeth Crawford caught up with then? Finally, Rhiannon gave up as her body totally relaxed. She no longer had the strength to fight, not that she didn’t want to but the chloroform had sapped her will. Rhiannon was vaguely aware of what was happening as her hands were pulled behind her back and bound together with rope. The cloth remained in place and Rhiannon's eyes fluttered and closed. If you had asked Rhiannon, she would have said the whole thing took minutes but in reality, the slick and professional abduction took only seconds and nobody seen anything. Even if they had the police would not have been called and nobody would have seen anything if asked.
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A small town in Italy
Gayle opened the door, entered the hotel room and closed it behind her, so distracted by her inability to discovered what had happened to Rhiannon she didn’t notice the two women already standing in the room until one of them spoke. “Good afternoon,” Gayle heard a woman’s voice say. Startled Gayle looked around the room and settled on the two women standing, leaning against either side of the old fireplace. The woman who had spoken who a strikingly attractive redhead with long flowing hair, green eyes and perfect porcelain skin. She wore a dark blue pant suit over a blouse of the same colour, black heels, black leather gloves, tan raincoats, all set of by a white silk scarf worn loosely around her neck. The cut of the suit and coat were perfect to set off her curves of her hips and breasts and form what little Gayle knew of fashion even she could tell that the outfit had been individually tailored and expensive. The other woman was not dressed identically but was nowhere near as stylish, her build more athletic and intimidating with shoulder length black hair.
“What do you want? I don’t have much money?” Gayle stated, looking from one woman to the other.
“We aren’t here for money,” the redhead said. “We need you to be quiet and come with us.”
“Why would I do that?”
“That was not a question or request. You will come with us, either willingly or we will subdue you and drag you along,” the redhead said. “I would suggest that you wish to keep you dignity intact then you will come along of your own accord.”
“We will need to tie and blindfold you first?” the dark-haired woman said.
“You should have left mentioning that until we were in the car,” the redhead said.
“Sorry Claudia.” He dark-haired woman replied slightly sheepishly. Claudia smiled and nodded before heading over toward Gayle’s bed where she had dumped her bag.
“You expect me to just come along let you tie me up and go along without complaint or resisting in any way?” Gayle asked, a growing sense of dread was rising in her.
“Yes, if you want to see your friend again,” Claudia pulled out her phone and fiddled with it before pushing the screen towards Gayle face. Gayle gasped as she looked at the picture on the screen, it was of Rhiannon and she was sitting bound and gagged in a chair. Claudia slipped the phone back into her pocket and continued to investigate what was in Gayle’s bags. “What do we have here?” Claudia asked peeking inside Gayle’s bag. “Some nice silk scarves. They might come in handy later.” Claudia picked up the bag and then also shouldered Gayle’s laptop bag. Then the two women each took a grip of Gayle’s upper arms and led her out of the room, along the corridor and down the stairs. As the walked across the reception hall Gayle hoped that someone would notice something wrong and intervene or call the police but everyone deliberately avoided looking in their direction. They exited the hotel and took a right, then another between two buildings where at the end of the alley a large four door car sat waiting for them. The dark-haired woman broke off, unlocked the car and jumped into the driver’s seat. Claudia opened the rear door and escorted Gayle inside.
“Where are we going?” Gayle asked.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” Claudia commanded as rummaged around in Gayle’s bag and pulled out a scarf. Gayle huffed but did as instructed and allowed Claudia to secure her wrists together tightly using Gayle’s newly acquired silk scarf. Next, Claudia used one of the scarves to blindfold Gayle and then tied a knot in the third and used it to gag Gayle. Then something changed in Gayle and she started to squirm and move around just as the car pulled away. "Gayle, you really must calm down. You will soon join your friend to have a chat with the boss. Not to worry, I'll help you relieve your stress. It is important that you stay docile and not attract attention to yourself," Claudia laughed, even in her current position Gayle had to admit that the laugh matched the body, sensual and alluring. It was no surprise when soon afterwards something soft that felt like cotton was place over her nose and gagged mouth, probably a handkerchief. A more innocent young woman may have mistaken the sweet-smelling vapour from the handkerchief as some kind of perfume but Gayle immediately recognised the scent as chloroform.
"NOMMMPH! LMMM MMNN GFFHHMM!" Gayle’s screams were effectively muffled by her gag and the handkerchief. She struggled as much as she could, but she could already feel the chloroform taking effect as her limbs felt numb and her eyelids felt heavy. How could she have been taken so easily? She should have run or shouted, created a scene in the hotal. And there she was. Being chloroformed by a model-looking woman and her intimidating sidekick who clearly were professional criminals. She was helpless. "MMMMPPHH. HHlphh. humpfff... mmnnnn..." her screams were getting weaker as her consciousness faded into darkness.
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A small town in Italy
As she slowly came round Rhiannon felt her head start to pound, whether that was the after effects of the chloroform or the tightness of the silk scarves tied around her head, she couldn’t be sure. It was probably actually a combination of the two. Rhiannon checked on her current position. She was sat on a wooden chair with her wrists bound together on the other side of the back of the chair with several coils of rope. There were also several coils of rope wrapped around Rhiannon’s body and the chair back, running both above and below her breasts, pining her to the back of the chair. After checking her upper body Rhiannon moved onto her legs which were bound with several coils of rope at the ankles and thighs. There were also at least four coils of rope around her lap holding Rhiannon to the base of the chair. Rhiannon moved her legs and felt a tug around her wrists, there was also obviously a length of rope tied between the bindings on her ankles and wrists. Finally, there was the gag, a quick check with her tongue confirmed the presence of cotton mouth stuffing in her mouth and there was a silk scarf over her lips, it was almost welded in place. The same with the silk scarf tied over her eyes which she believed had been reinforced with wads to cotton wool to block out any light. After a quick check Rhiannon observed that there was no defect in her bondage. With no other option Rhiannon just sat there, occasionally she would test the ropes that held her body so securely. She had been sitting bound and gagged to the chair and gagged for what she believed to be about thirty minutes when the door opened. Then Rhiannon head the unmistakable sound of heels of a wooden floor. “There is no point struggling dear, your bonds are tight, you will not escape them.” Rhiannon went stock still as the female voice continued. “If you wanted, I could give you a little dose of the chloroform again if that would help pass the time, not enough to knock you out, just make you drowsy.” A hand suddenly was on Rhiannon’s shoulder and caused her to jumped slightly. “Would you like that?” Rhiannon shook her head. “Alright then, let’s just wait until your friend arrives and we can start our chat.” Rhiannon slumped on hearing that statement. “Yes, we also have your friend and she is on her way, sorry if that disappoints you but she will not be riding to your rescue.” The woman leaded down so that she could whisper in Rhiannon’s ear. “Nobody will be.”
“MMMMOOOOHHHH,” Rhiannon moaned. There was the sound of heels again and then the squeak of what was a chair moving against the wooden floorboards.
“Let’s just wait in silence until your friend arrives.” That was what happened until there was a buzzing noise that Rhiannon guessed was an intercom system. There was a quick exchange in Italian before the woman announced. “Your friend has arrived.” Not long after the door opened again and Rhiannon tried to follow what was going on purely by sound, to her it seemed like there was the sound of dragging feet being across the wooden floor followed by the sound of a chair being pulled from behind her and placed next to where she sat. There was the sound of something being put on the chair, Rhiannon surmised that something was an unconscious Gayle, then the sound of people being busy, no doubt that was securing Gayle to the chair. Then there was a silence over the room that was only then interrupted by the muffled moans of Gayle regaining consciousness. As full consciousness was gained the moans became more like complaints.
“MMMMUUUUMMMM,” Gayle moaned.
“Since you are not both now awake, we shall get started. Remove the gags and blindfolds.” Although pleased that she was soon to be able to speak and see again Rhiannon didn’t know if this was a good thing. Perhaps it would be better not to see faces. Then it was too late as Rhiannon could sense a presence behind her before fingers started picking at the knots on the scarves over her mouth and eyes. After some picking the scarf over her eyes loosened and then dropped away, along with the pads of cotton wool, letting light flood back into her eyes. “Good afternoon ladies,” Rhiannon could now see the owner of the voice. It was a refined looking woman in her late forties with a hint of grey in her jet-black hair that was tied back in a severe bun. She wore a similar outfit to the women that had grab her out on the street.
“Who are you exactly?” Rhiannon asked.
“When I said questions, I should have made clear that I would be doing the asking and you would be doing the answering.”
“I think that it is the least we deserve after being drugged, tied up and brought here,” Rhiannon said confidently. The woman nodded.
“I suppose you have a point,” the woman said. “My name is Gina but for now, you can all me Madrina.” Rhiannon glanced to her right and locked eyes with Gayle. They both shrugged.
“Why did you bring abduct us?” Gayle asked.
“Why were you asking about Alessandra Ambrosio and Fallon Bennett?”
“We don’t know what you are talking about,” Gayle responded.
In retaliation, Gayle received a stinging slap across the face. It did not harm her, it was a only a glancing blow, designed to sting and focus attention but it did leave Gayle’s cheek smarting and her head ringing “Do not try our patience ladies. We are La Signora Mafia,” Gina said with pride. Gayle and Rhiannon turned their heads and exchanged a glance. They both were thinking the same thing. So, this isn’t Elizabeth Crawford.
“You seem surprised ladies. Were you expecting someone else?” Gina had obviously read the look between the two friends. “In fact, you both seem very calm about the whole situation. Can I assume that you have both been abducted before?”
“You could say this isn’t our first time being knocked out, bound and gagged,” Gayle replied.
“That might explain why you aren’t that intimidated as perhaps you should be,” Gina replied leaning back against the desk and crossing her arms across her chest.
“If you let us go then we won’t go to the police. We will call this a misunderstanding.” Rhiannon said, sensing an opportunity. Gina laughed silently at the very thought.
“Sorry ladies, we are past that. Now we know that you have been around town asking questions about Alessandra Ambrosio and Fallon Bennett. We have eyes and ears everywhere in this town.” That would explain the attitude of the woman in the restaurant and the staff at the hotel Gayle thought. They wouldn’t want to risk the wraith of the local mafia. “We require to know who you are and why you are asking these questions?” Gina said this as if it was simple.
“My name is Gayle Hutton and I am a mathematician,” Gayle replied. They had her bag, which meant that had her identification so there was no harm in admitting who she was. “That is Rhiannon Scott, a scientist and college lecturer.” A slightly puzzled expression appeared on Gina’s face. “Were you expecting Charlie’s Angels?” Gina’s brow got even more furrowed.
“Who are these Charlie’s Angels?” Gina asked.
“Old American television show,” Claudia chimed in. It was the first time that she had spoken during the exchange.
“They were private investigators,” Gayle added.
“We are getting away from the point. Why are you looking for Fallon Bennett?” Rhiannon and Gayle looked at each other locked their jaws closed before turning back to face Gina. “Whist I admire your bravery and spirit I can assure you that it will do you no good tell me what I want to know. You will talk eventually.” Gina looked at Gayle for a couple of seconds before moving her attention to Rhiannon. Neither of them relented. Gina sighed and nodded at Claudia. “If you aren’t going to talk when asked nicely then you leave me with no option. Call the Madame and tell her that her particular set of skills are required.”
“The Madame?” Rhiannon and Gayle said in Unison.
“If you aren’t going to talk then we will have to extract the information from you,” Gina said
“Don't let them make so any noise. Gag them heavily and use the chloroform if they give you any trouble. I don’t want then disturbing the patrons until the Madame can get here.” That decision made Gina slipped on her jacket and exited the room.
“No need to gag us,” Rhiannon said.
“We will both be quiet,” Gayle offered.
“If you have been abducted before then you should know how this works. We have to remove the temptation for you to call for hell. That obliges us to gag you … a small lesson that I hope will not go unheeded.” Claudia said as she approached Gayle. When she was towering over Gayle the woman grunted, and a hand wrapped about Gayle’s face. Thumb and forefinger pressed against the hinges of Gayle’s jaw on either side, forcing her mouth open. Gayle offered no resistance as a thick cloth was stuffed deep into her mouth. She sat still with her mouth open, about an inch of cloth still protruding past her lips, as Claudia picked up the silk scarf with the knot in it and pressed the knot against the cloth that was protruding from between Gayle’s lips. Taking the ends Claudia tied them tightly together, compressing the mass of fabric in Gayle’s mouth causing Gayle to moan softly. Then Claudia took another scarf and folded it into a band and tied it over the knot in Gayle’s mouth. Satisfied that the gag was secure and efficient enough Claudia turned her attention to Rhiannon who had watched on with a grim fascination as however Gayle was gagged, the same fate would befall her. As Rhiannon was being gagged Gayle tried to work her gag but the material of the over gagging scarf clung to her face and sealed the remainder of the gag in place. There would be no sliding it off. Once Rhiannon had been gagged Claudia placed two wads of cotton wool over Rhiannon’s eyes before tying a folded silk scarf over the pads to keep them in place. Finally, Claudia slipped earplugs into Rhiannon’s ears. “Can’t have you overhearing anything,” the woman said with a smile. It wasn’t long before Gayle’s world went dark and silent as she was similarly blindfolded and earplugged. They both felt footstep on the floorboards and then the creak of door hinges. “Now, don’t you go anywhere,” Claudia said playfully before exiting the room and closing the door behind her, leaving Gayle and Rhiannon to imagine what fate would befall them.
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La Signora Mafia property, Italy
Without any sensory input Rhiannon and Gayle had no idea about how long they were left to their own devices. The rest of the day passed through one interminable hour after another. Gayle fretted occasionally at her inability to move, speak, see or hear. Each time when it became too much to bear, she struggled anew, but it always ended in the same way, with exhaustion, her wrists burning from the tight cords that held them together, her jaws stretched wide apart, mouth clogged with cloth, head pounding from the blindfold tied over her eyes. Then the two women felt rhythmic vibrations through the soles of their feet from below, it was the base of music from a very high-end sound system. That seemed to go on for a while before Gayle suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder which caused her to jump. The earplugs were removed and Gayle heard Claudia’s voice in her ear. “We are going to move you now but no funny business,” the woman’s mouth was so close to Gayle’s ear that she could feel her breathe. “The Madam has arrived.” Gayle gulped when she heard this, definitely not looking forward to what was about to happen but she took a deep breathe through her nose and steeled herself. It was what Hayley, Christina or Natascha would have done if they were in this situation. The ropes binding Gayle and Rhiannon to the chairs were remove, their ankles untied and they were helped to their feet. The help was much appreciated as being bound so stringently in the same position for such a lengthy period her muscles took a bit of time to get back to a place where they operated properly. As Gayle was led toward the door the music became louder until when they exited the room it became almost unbearable, even from far away from the origin. Gayle and Rhiannon were led along a walkway high up in the property. Although they could speak or see anything, they could hear loud music coming from below. Gayle surmised that they were in some sort of bar or club. It wasn’t a long journey and they soon took a sharp left and after a couple of further steps were halted. “Do you need us or anything else?” Claudia asked.
“No, that is fine Claudia,” a husky female voice said. “I will give you a call if I need anything.” Gayle was slightly surprised that the accent wasn’t Italian, if she had to guess it was Balkan and the English was excellent. A couple of seconds all background noise disappeared as the door was shut. Gayle thought that this was not a good sign, the roof was obviously soundproofed. “Good evening ladies,” the voice said. “You may call me Madam, although I doubt you will be able to speak for most the evening.” Gayle was still blindfolded but felt a leather clad had run down her cheek. “Gina informs me that you are not telling her what she wants to know. She had asked me to extract that information,” Madam continued to stroke Gayle’s face, then her neck, Gayle recoiled from the touch. “But there is no reason why we can’t have some fun along the way.”
“MMMUUPPHH MMMMMM,” Gayle mumbled into her gag.
“I would leave that until later darling,” Madam said. “Now, I need to get you pair ready. As I suspect you won’t be willing participant in that I will have to knock you both out.”
“MMEEAASEE MMOOHH,” Rhiannon moaned.
“Don’t worry, Madam will take good care of you.” There was the sound of heels walking over the floor, both Gayle and Rhiannon tried to follow the sound to take in what was happening. There was nothing that either Gayle or Rhiannon could do, restrained and blindfolded there was nothing that they could do. Then the footsteps returned and Rhiannon felt a hand on the back for her head before a damp cloth was pressed over her head. The powerful fumes and odour from the cloth overwhelmed her, and her stomach almost instantly started to rebel. She fought back the sick feeling, determined not to give in to the anaesthetic. “I understand that you are both used to chloroform, unfortunately this is ether, a rather more industrial sedative. When you have learned to co-operate then I may relent and use chloroform.” Rhiannon was in no position to fight the effects of the ether or break free and felt her strength being sapped with every breathe. When her legs could no longer take her weight, Rhiannon wobbled and collapsed to the ground. Madam let her fall, relief from the nauseating sedative was short lived as the cloth was soon reapplied over Rhiannon’s nose and mouth and it wasn’t long thereafter that everything went black. Gayle had listened on to that with trepidation. “Now, it is your turn.” Madam said as she approached Gayle wielding the ether-soaked cloth.
Rhiannon swam slowly up through a sea of dark mist. “OOOHHH,” she groaned as her eyes fluttered open. The inside of her head felt as if someone were pounding at it with a sledgehammer. Rhiannon groaned, opened her eyes, and closed them again, trying to get her faculties to return. In took a couple of minutes but eventually Rhiannon senses returned enough for her to assess her current situation. She was tied to a hard-backed chair with handcuffs around her wrists. The handcuffs seemed to be padded, because they gripped her wrists tightly but comfortably. There would be no way of getting then off. Similar cuffs had been placed around each of her ankles but these were tied to the legs of the chair meaning that her legs were splayed apart. Several coils of rope encircled her body, binding her securely to the chair. It was then that she realised that she wasn’t gagged. Now able to raise her head as the pounding slowly subsided, she noticed Gayle was standing in front of her. Gayle wrists were also bound with leather cuffs but her arms were above her head as Gayle’s bound wrists were tied to a steel loop in the ceiling by a length of rope and her legs were held apart by a spreader bar attached to her ankles. It was then that Rhiannon noted that they had both been stripped down to their underwear. Gayle’s head was still hanging loosely, still obviously unconscious.
“I see you are awake.” Rhiannon turned to the sound of the voice to find the Madam stalking toward her. The woman wore long leather boots that when mid-thigh, a basque with suspenders attached, a long leather coat and not much else. “When your friend wakes up, we will get started.” Rhiannon kept her own council and watched as the Madam crossed the room to a small table that was against one wall. Looking around Rhiannon could see that there was as array of sex toys, including paddles and whips lying on a table. Their situation was not improving. The Madam picked up some items and slipped the into the pockets of her leather jacket. As the Madam moved across to where Rhiannon sat strapped to the chair Gayle moaned softly. “Almost there,” the Madam commented as she stood in front of Rhiannon. “Last chance to tell Gina what she wants to know.” Rhiannon’s resolve was shaken a little and she would admit to being frightened but it wasn’t the time to collapse and give in so she remined silent. “I admire that.” The Madam brought up a massive foam ball gag and showed it to Rhiannon. “Open up.” Without speaking Rhiannon opened her mouth and allowed the Madam to force the ball gag between into her mouth. It was that large that it forced her mouth to remain open, forcing her jaws wide apart. The Madam leaned around and secured the gag in place by buckling the leather strap in place. “Now, that’s better,” the Madam commented standing back. She then produced a long cylinder with a bulb on the end and placed it on the inside of Rhiannon’s thigh with the bulb against her most intimate areas. The Madam secured this in place by using two thin leather straps. “Why should your friend have all the fun,” the Madam said with a wink before turning her attention to Gayle and applying another large foam ball gag to Gayle’s mouth.
“MMMM UUMM,” Gayle moaned into her gag. The Madam slipped off leather jacket before selecting an item from the table and waving it in front of Gayle. Then the Madam delved between her breasts and produced a small device and pressed a button on it before putting it back from where it came from. As soon as the button was pressed Rhiannon felt the vibrations from the device that was strapped to her thigh. As the vibrations continued to build Rhiannon tried to settle in and braced herself for what could be a long night.
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La Signora Mafia property, Italy
It had been a at least a couple of hours with the stimulation against her intimate areas and Rhiannon was exhausted, her disposition wasn’t helped by having to watch the Madam work on Gayle for the same period of time. Gayle had fainted about five minutes ago and the Madam had left the room for a break. Rhiannon had tried to get Gayle’s attention by mumbling into the ball gag but it hadn’t worked. There was a pool of sweat lying on the floor between Gayle’s legs and a sheen all over her body. The door opened and the Madam returned looking refreshed patting her neck with a small towel and sipping from a bottle of water. “How are we getting on?” the Madam asked. Rhiannon noted that there was no noise on either occasion that the door had been opened and assumed that the bar or club was now closed.
“OOUUHH MMUUHH,” Rhiannon moaned with aching jaws.
“Let me take that gag out.” The Madam undid the buckle and removed the gag from Rhiannon’s mouth. It allowed Rhiannon to work her jaw.
“Happy with yourself,” Rhiannon spat with venom.
“Oh, I would save that energy for later on.” That comment stopped Rhiannon in her tracks. Then the door opened again and Gina entered.
“How are you getting on?” Gina asked the Madam.
“They are not ready to talk yet. However, I still have time tonight to work on them.”
“Is that true Rhiannon?” Gina asked. “Are you not ready to tell me what I know?” Rhiannon just shook her head, fearing that the tone of her voice might give any how nervous and scared she was. “So, you continue resisting?” said Gina in a dangerously quiet hiss. “Very well then, I will leave you in the capable hands of my associate. If you change your mind it will be tomorrow afternoon before I return.” Gina turned and left and Madame approached with the foam ball gag in her left hand before lowering it towards Rhiannon mouth. Rhiannon closed her mouth an turned her head away. Madame sighed and went back to the table with Rhiannon following her with her eyes.
“You really shouldn’t be so silly.” Madame tossed the gag onto the table and from a black kit bag produced a small bottle and a cloth. A few drops from the bottle were sprinkled onto the cloth, the bottle re-stoppered, and the woman turned again to her prisoner. Rhiannon arched back in the chair; the memory of the ether application fresh in her mind but she was helpless.
“No, please … I’ll be quiet.”
“Too late. This will soften you up. I did not intend to use this method again but you have left me with no option. When you come-to, you will be groggy and feeling sick. Then I expect there will be no silly histrionics when the gag is put on you.”
“No … MMMPPHH!” Rhiannon’s protests were cut off as the ether -oaked pad was clamped tightly over her mouth and nose and her cry trailed off as the chemical did its work. Madame looked at her intently as the drug took its toll until Rhiannon’s eyes rolled back up into her head.
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La Signora Mafia property, Italy
When Rhiannon came round from the second application of the ether, she found that Madame had made a switch, she was now dangling from the ceiling and Gayle was bound to the chair. Gayle was now fully awake and the two women locked eyes and silently, hoping to give each other strength through an encouraging look. Rhiannon had to admit that Gayle looked absolutely shattered. “Time for round two,” Madame said as she activated the device strapped to Gayle’s thigh before turning her attention to Rhiannon. As the stimulation began Rhiannon moaned in pleasure and pain as Madame went to work on her. “Gina and I have a bet on about if you will last longer than your friend.” It was a nightmare as Madame continued to work on her. Rhiannon had no idea how long it took but eventually she fainted.
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La Signora Mafia property, Italy
Her mouth was parched and her entire body ached but at least she was no longer subject to Madame’s special form of questioning. However, her problems with bondage were not over yet. Thankfully she was not blindfolded so could see the bare walls of the small room that she was in. There was nothing in it except the cot that she was currently lying on. On that cot was a thin, stained mattress, a scratchy blanket and pillow. Needless to say; there was not a window, the only light being provided by a small strip light in the ceiling. Fortunately, her mouth was not stuffed but she was biting down on something, soft, smooth and well padded. Rhiannon guessed that this was something, a cloth or handkerchief that had been wrapped in a silk scarf. Another silk scarf folded in a band had been tied tightly over that to reinforce that. Although it wasn’t particularly heavy, the gag was so tight and effective that she only succeeded in making muffled noises. Rhiannon thought that it was pointless to gag her, the pace was clearly now empty so it was just a matter of control. Unfortunately, she was tightly bound. A quick glance down told her that her legs were bound with several coils of rope at the ankles and three other places. There was also a rope from the bindings around her ankles to the frame of the cot. Her wrists were bound behind her back with what Rhiannon assumed was the same rope that bound her legs together, there were also coils of rope above and below her breasts pinning her arms to her body. For the sake of it, Rhiannon thrashed around to try and loosen the roped but that didn’t work, neither did trying to find knots to pick at, whoever had bound her and been careful to keep them out of reach of investigative fingers. They knew what they were doing, Even the ankle ties that held her legs bent must be on the opposite side where her fingers could not reach. Most of the time she lay still, accepting her present helplessness, awaiting developments with the occasional whimper of frustration all of her remaining senses alert, but had no idea whether someone would come back for her this evening, or night, or morning, depending on what time it was. Rhiannon squirmed around to try and get as comfortable as possible before getting prepared resolutely to spend the rest of the day in solitary confinement.
She must have dozed off as Rhiannon was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening and before she could react a hand containing a folded white cloth suddenly appeared in front my her obscuring her vision. It was promptly applied to her nose and mouth. Before Rhiannon could react, she had already inhaled a substantial amount of the sweet narcotic vapour from the substance which wet the cloth. This time however it was chloroform rather than ether, that was at least a small comfort that Rhiannon could take from the whole process. Being so weak from her experiences with Madame and so severely bound that there was no point in trying to resist so during the whole procedure, Rhiannon lay still and relaxed her body. She knew that she could not stop he inevitable and that her best option was to stay quiet and compliant until everything went black.
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La Signora Mafia property, Italy
This was becoming far too much of a regular occurrence for Rhiannon’s liking as she shook off the effects of the chloroform. This time Gayle was there, they were both sitting on chairs in the same office where they had originally met Gina. There was nobody else in the office, just Gayle and her, bound to chairs with rope and with their wrists bound together using leather padded cuffs. They would have chatted but the gags remained in place from earlier. If they had been able to chat Rhiannon would have said that Gayle didn’t look at her best, not just physically but the look in her eyes told Rhiannon that Madame’s work had taken a toll. No doubt Gayle would have said the same of Rhiannon. It wasn’t long after that the door opened and they both craned their necks to see Gina and Claudia entered the room. Claudia took up a position behind the chairs containing the bond captives whilst Gina took the chair behind the desk. “Morning ladies, I hope that you had a relaxing evening and night.” A cruel, knowing smile played across Gina’s lips as she made that comment. “I have booked Madame for a repeat performance tonight.” Rhiannon and Gayle both visibly slumped into their chairs when Gina made that comment. “Actually, she is booked the rest of the week.” Rhiannon and Gayle heard Claudia chortle behind them. “However, I can cancel those appointments if we can come to some sort of arrangement.” Rhiannon and Gayle looked at each other. “Nobody can last forever; everyone breaks in the end. Why put yourself through it needlessly?” Gayle nodded at Rhiannon and then Rhiannon turned to Gina and nodded. There was nothing else that they could do, nobody was coming to their immediate aid. Gina signalled and Claudia removed the gags.
“Could we get some water?” Gayle asked. Gina nodded again and Claudia left the room.
“What do we get by way of assurances that nothing will happen to us if we tell you what you want to know?” Rhiannon asked.
“I don’t think that you are in a position to bargain,” Gina replied. “It all depends on if I like what I hear.”
“That hardly sounds fair,” Rhiannon replied.
“It is the only option that you have,” Gina said sternly. The room fell silent until Claudia returned with two bottles of chilled water and two packets of crisps and placed one of each next to Gayle and Rhiannon. “Untie them.” Claudia nodded quickly removed the restraints from their captives. That allowed them to tuck into the treats that had been left for them. “In your own time ladies,” Gina commented. “Start at the beginning.”
“Well, we don’t have all of the information or the back story,” Gayle started and then looked at Rhiannon.
“Yes, we aren’t front line operatives,” Rhiannon said having taken a long draw from the bottle of water. “More like support staff.”
“We had to come here because everyone else seems to have gone off the radar.”
“Ladies,” Gina interrupted. “What were you doing asking about Alessandra Ambrosio and Fallon Bennett?” Gayle and Rhiannon looked at each other then they both turned and stared at Gina before saying the same thing in unison.
“Trying to track down Elizabeth Crawford!” That definitely got a reaction from Gina. Both Rhiannon and Gayle could tell that Gina recognised the name. “You know the name?” Rhiannon asked. Gina nodded. “Is it from dealing with her in the criminal underworld?” Rhiannon added, lowering her voice when she used the phrase criminal underworld.
“You had better start at the beginning and tell me exactly what is going on,” Gina stated.
“I think you better take this and I will chip in,” Gayle said to Rhiannon.
“Better get comfortable,” Rhiannon said before starting the tale of their experiences with Elizabeth Crawford and her criminal organisation. Gayle started at the beginning and worked her way through the story covering Hayley, Christina, Natalie on their side and how they had gone up against Elizabeth Crawford several times over recent years filling in as much detail as she could with Rhiannon adding the occasional comment. Eventually Gayle brought the story up to date with what they knew about Hayley being on the island, the issues with Section 12, Natascha currently being out of contact, Elise Rodgers, Emily St Clare and Elizabeth Crawford’s operation to obtain the Broker’s cache of information. Gayle ended with their belief that they believed that Elizabeth Crawford was planning something big.
“Well, that was certainly a story,” Gina commented after taking time to digest what she had heard.
“It’s not a story,” Gayle said.
“Oh, no, it is not that I don’t believe you. Nobody could make up such a story. It is just that it is a lot to take in at one sitting. How does Fallon Bennett fit in?”
“We were looking for a way to track down Elizabeth Crawford’s base of operations and the best way to do that seemed to be with the help of someone that knew where it was and was willing to disclose its location.” Gina nodded as if agreeing that was sound logic. “Then when Natascha was grabbed by that Russian gangster Alessandra helped her to escape.”
“Then once we met Vittorio, asked a couple of questions and when it clicked in my head we just compared the photographs and it all came together.”
“Do you have any news of Alessandra?”
“No,” Gayle shook her head. “There are some photographs and video on my laptop.” On hearing this Gina seemed to drift off for a while.
“Now…..” Rhiannon said.
“Of course,” Gina began. “Claudia please escort the ladies to somewhere they can have a shower and get freshened up. Ask Bianca to pop out and get the ladies some new clothes, something smart and classy. I need some time to make some calls and think before we speak again. Also, get them to pick something from the menu of that restaurant and then get Guido to knock it up and bring it here.” Claudia nodded before ushering Gayle and Rhiannon up from the chairs and towards the door. They both had their first chance to look around the building as they stood on the walkway that ran around two floors up. Looking over the bannister Gayle noted that they were indeed in some kind of hybrid bar / restaurant / club establishment. After a brief conversation with Gina in Italian Claudia closed the door and joined them.
“This way,” Claudia said as she headed off in the opposite direction to the one which Gayle and Rhiannon had bene led the previous afternoon. They took this as a good sign. When then were directly across from Gina’s office Claudia stopped beside a door and unlocked it. “This is the room I use when I stay over so treat it with respect. Towels and shampoo ae in the cupboard and I will have the clothes and food brought up in an hour.” With that she ushered then in before closing the door and left Gayle and Rhiannon to their own devices.
“What do we do now?” Gayle asked.
“Have a shower and wait,” Rhiannon said heading for the bathroom.
It was exactly and hour later when Claudia and Gina entered the room, each carried a tray which had the food on it. Another two women followed, one carried two garment bags and the other carried Gayle and Rhiannon’s bags. “We took the liberty of collecting them from the hotel.” Gina said as she put down the tray on the bed before walking over and collecting a small wooden chair from the corner and depositing it in the centre of the room. Taking a seat, she gestured at the trays. “Aren’t you going to eat.” It wasn’t until then that Gayle and Rhiannon realised how hungry they were. Without a second thought they sat on the bed and hoisted the tray onto their laps.
“If this tastes as good as it smells then we are in for a treat,” Rhiannon commented before digging in. Gina seemed happy to watch them eat, then when they were about halfway through the meal Gina asked if she could see the images of Alessandra. Gayle nodded and dug her laptop out of the bag, only taking a few seconds to find the relevant file before handing the device over to Gina who rested it on her lap.
“Just select the first file and then scroll through.” With that Gayle went back to eating. Between mouthfuls both Gayle and Rhiannon took the opportunity to glance at Gina who seemed to be engrossed in the imagines.
“When Fallon arrived here, she was lost, clearly struggling with something,” Gina was still staring at the screen, as if talking to herself. “She turned up her by chance, trying to disappear from the world.” Gina looked straight at Gayle. “That is harder to do than you would think. Anyway, we recognised her immediately as an associate of Elizabeth Crawford, someone who is not a friend of ours, and we took her.” A sad expression crossed Gina face briefly. “Four nights with Madame, imagine that. Still, she did not break. All she talked about was penance, how she deserved to be punished, how she had done bad things.” Both Gayle and Rhiannon had stopped eating and were listening intently. “She felt that she had to make amends for her past life.”
“So, you decided to give her the opportunity?” Gayle asked and Gina nodded.
“Call me soft but I admired the woman. We agreed a deal that should would go and seek redemption and we would help her where possible. The only condition being that she didn’t do anything to hurt us. It was Claudia’s idea on the new identity.”
“I noticed the resemblance straight away. Same height, build and similar on everything else,” Claudia chipped in.
“Claudia is Alessandra’s sister.” On hearing that news Gayle and Rhiannon both turned to look at Claudia. Once it had been mentioned the similarities between the two women were obvious. “We paid for the cosmetic surgery, new documentation, even arranged for the death certificate to go missing.”
“But we couldn’t persuade Vittorio to remove the bench,” Claudia said. “He loved my sister dearly.”
“Now you know our side of the story,” Gina handed the laptop back and stood up. “Eat up and then get dressed. We will leave you in peace to get ready.” The discussion over the Italian women left Gayle and Rhiannon to their own devices. Once they had finished their food, they opened the garment bags to find beautiful suits and blouses. As they tried the clothes on the admired themselves in the mirror.
“These are wonderful, the cut and feel are…” Rhiannon was cut off.
“Oh my god, look at these shoes!” Gayle exclaimed. Rhiannon turned round to find Gayle holding one in each hand. “They are amazing.” After they finished getting ready the door opened and Claudia and Gina entered.
“You look good ladies,” Gina commented.
“So, what exactly is this?” Rhiannon asked “What happens now?”
“We let you go and you try and bring down Elizabeth Crawford,” Gina stated.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Rhiannon said.
“Something like that,” Gina replies. “More, like two parties with a common goal.”
“If you don’t mind me saying,” Gayle began, “but you are the Mafia. Surely you are powerful enough to take on Elizabeth Crawford?” Gina smiled at Gayle like a mother would a confused child.
“That is a misconception. There are many different mafia’s, it is not a single entity. Anyway, Elizabeth Crawford is a dangerous opponent. She has many friends in powerful places and with the addition of the information held by The Broker she now has the leverage to make many more.” Rhiannon and Gayle exchanged a look, if Gina was wary about taking on Elizabeth Crawford, then did they stand a chance? “I know that seems impossible but we will give you as much assistance as possible.” Gina stretched out her hand and gave each woman a high-quality card with a telephone number and e-mail address printed on one side. “Both are monitored twenty-four hours a day.” After a quick glance Gayle and Rhiannon put the cards in their pockets.
“Wear these scarves at all times in Italy.” Claudia handed Gayle and Rhiannon a high-quality white scarf with a subtle pattern at the edge and an embroidered emblem on it. “They will identify you as associates of La Signora Mafia and you will be treated with respect.” Gayle and Rhiannon looked at each other. It seemed that they were now unofficial members of the Mafia.
“Thanks,” Rhiannon said. “If you don’t mind me asking. How do you intend to help us?”
“Well, first I can arrange for a lift to the airport,” Gina stopped there.
“And second?” Gayle fell into the trap. Gina smiled.
“I can tell you exactly where Elizabeth Crawford’s base of operations is.”