Mismatch
Page 62
Suddenly, the pirate went sprawling across the floor on his back. I wasn’t looking at him, exactly, but it seemed like he had a hard-on. The pirate commander was back, and he hadn’t noticed. She had pushed him away from me.
“Don’t touch the merchandise!� She walked over to where he had fallen and punched him in the head, making him groan. “That earned you twenty lashes.� The men by her side dragged the guy off for his punishment.
I felt grateful. I was about to say something, but then the superior explained her behavior and I didn’t feel like talking at all.
“We’re going to turn you beautiful ones into sex slaves, and damaged goods are unsellable. The buyers like to have the illusion of untouched women. Put her in group one.�
They divided us by age. Priya and I ended up in the same group. Becoming a sex slave wasn’t part of the plan. The thought made me want to throw up. When they finished sorting us, the pirates brought us to a different area and told us to start changing our clothes.
I looked at the two small scraps of cloth and wondered where the rest of it was. When I put the rags on my body, I saw that the bottom half was an extremely short skirt with attached underwear. The top was a ragged sports bra. It kept me from bouncing around but left plenty of cleavage exposed. It reminded me of a cheerleader’s outfit. I felt like I was parading around in my underwear.
A moment later, the supervisor appeared and inspected us.
“You clean up nicely. I believe you’ll fetch a high price. Try and get some sleep. We’ll bring you to market soon.�
Even though our situation was dire, some people were exhausted and didn’t have any problems falling asleep. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a second. I got up and shook Priya’s shoulder. Her eyes popped open, and she followed me to the wall.
“They said there was a concealed door in every room. It better be here.� Priya looked skeptical. “Wait a second. Weren’t we supposed to short out the camera first?�
I had forgotten about it. I nodded and looked around for the camera’s yellow dot of light.
“There it is.� I couldn’t see where Priya was pointing in the darkness. She grabbed my arm and tugged, being careful to step around the women asleep on the floor. We stopped next to the door leading into the bathroom.
“What did Anders say to do again?� I couldn’t think clearly. Something about changing my clothes and being treated like a slave had affected my brain.
“The reset button.� Priya looked annoyed. “You need something to press it down and hold it for twenty seconds. We have five minutes before it starts recording again. That’s how long we have to get everyone out.�
“Right. I feel like my brain has turned to mush. I’m not usually like this.â€�
“You have to do it because I’m too short.� She went into the bathroom and came out with a pair of plastic tweezers. The pirates had removed any sharp objects we could turn into weapons but seemed to think this instrument was harmless. I took the tweezers from her, reached all the way up and pushed one end against the small button.
After a few seconds, my arms started to ache from the awkward position. I didn’t want to initiate the process all over again, so I gritted my teeth and held the tweezers steady. I heard a soft tone, and I let out my breath, coming back down to the floor.
“Keep the tweezers. Let’s try to find one of those magic doors.� Anders and Allex had told us their different locations in the rooms, but we still needed to find them.
Why would I want to keep the tweezers? I didn’t think I was going to do any eyebrow plucking anytime soon. And where should I put them? I looked down at my outfit.
“Store them in your boobs.� She turned her back to me as her fingers deftly probed the wall and released a catch. I didn’t want to. Instead, I tucked the tweezers into my panties on my right hip, trapped between the fabric and my skin. I was starting to miss all the pockets on the flight suit.
I peeked into the darkness of the passageway. Priya gestured for me to go in front. “You take point because you’re supposed to know where to go. I’ll cover the rear and close the door behind us. As we go past each room, I’ll check to see if we missed anyone. We can pick up any stragglers along the way.�
I looked to see if Priya was anxious, but her eyes sparkled. She was enjoying herself and already rousing the women. When we were all in the dark, confined space, I began inching in a direction I hoped led to the fifth wing. Anders had drawn me a rough map. I had memorized it, but we weren’t at the correct starting location.
As we went along, I heard Priya opening each door and either closing it immediately or going into the room and whispering to the occupants. There was occasionally a soft scuffling as more women joined our party and continued through the darkness with us.
At one point, I froze. There were loud, angry voices on the other side of the wall. We slowed to a crawl, trying not to make any noise that might give us away.
I imagined fear was a tangible thing in the dark passageway. I thought whoever was on the other side of the wall could hear my heart pounding.
Someone stumbled, making a loud clanking noise on the metal grating of the tunnel floor. Everyone stopped moving.
“What was that?� It was a female voice.
“You’re just trying to distract me. I’m not going to forget what happened.�
“No, I heard something,� the woman’s voice insisted. “It came from the wall.�
“It’s probably just a maintenance issue.� The male voice sounded bored and irritated.
“I don’t think so.�
“Shut up! I’ll show you what a man can do when a woman disobeys him.�
The anxiety in the group jumped to a different level at his comment. I decided we should try to make our escape while he was yelling. I knew I didn’t need to tell everyone to be quiet, but I hoped there wouldn’t be any more loud noises.
We had found all the rooms with women in them, but we were still missing seventeen. I crept forward, looking for a large opening where multiple tunnels converged. I couldn’t find it.
I was starting to get worried that I was lost and my mind was running in circles. We needed to get to the fifth wing. Was I leading us to salvation or our doom? The plan had to work if we were going to survive.
I whispered to the woman behind me, telling her that we were going to stop. I sent a message down the line. I’d decided to try some reconnaissance by myself, without dragging everyone with me. Priya might not like the decision, but it was impossible to consult with her. I needed to know where we were.
After a few months on the ship, I knew most parts of it well. I often took long walks, and over time had seen most of the public areas. I hadn’t been in the tunnels before, but I thought that no matter where I came out, I could point us in the right direction.
I found the next hidden panel and probed until I located the catch that released it. I pressed, and the door slid open silently. I darted through and secured it behind me. It was better to get caught by myself than for anyone to find out how we were getting around.
I found myself in a corridor that felt as bright as the sun after the darkness of the tunnels. After looking around, I realized that I was in an empty part of the ship that could be in any of the wings. I moved down the hall, looking for a landmark that would give a hint about our current location. At the end of the corridor, it merged with a larger hallway. I thought I recognized it for a second, but my hope faded quickly. I simply wasn’t sure where we were.
As I turned a corner, I saw Anders racing toward me, pursued by a pirate. I pulled back so they wouldn’t notice me but peeked my head out
so I could see what was happening. Neither of them were great at fighting. I saw a lot of wild punches and off-target kicks. Anders landed a good blow and knocked the pirate to the ground. He wrenched open an oversized door and disappeared through it. The pirate got up a moment later and pulled out a gun. He started shooting at the door.
I had no doubt that if the pirate got through, he would shoot Anders. I needed to save him. But I didn’t have any weapons except my body. Would I really be able to seduce a pirate who was hell-bent on killing someone?
There was only one way to find out.
I sauntered out into the hallway. The pirate spun around, stopping dead when he saw me in my slave clothes. I watched a significant bulge appear at his crotch.
These guys had short attention spans.
“Hey, big guy.� Did I sound sexy? “There you are.�
I recognized him as the guy who had sorted us. The one who’d gotten in trouble for too much touching. He seemed to be moving a little stiffly, but at least I knew he still wanted me.
“I’ve been looking for you.�
I had no idea what to say. “I’m hard to forget.� He seemed to have stopped worrying about Anders and was thinking entirely with his dick.
“Oh, yeah.� I pretended to pout. “You said you would pay me a visit.� I tried to use the same words he had spoken earlier. Seeing his eyes light up was my reward. My pulse pounded in my ears. I felt nauseous, but I kept up my charade. Every second I delayed the pirate gave Anders a better chance at escape. “Why don’t you come with me?� I walked down the hall away from him, swinging my hips. My jaw tightened with fear, but I tried to keep my body relaxed. He followed, then stopped.
“Hang on a second.�
“The offer expires in five minutes.� I put my hands on my hips but didn’t turn around. I hoped he wouldn’t remember that he had all the power over me. What would it take for him to forget about Anders completely?
Without thinking, I grabbed the bottom of my bra and pulled it off, keeping my back to him. That did it. He groaned and came toward me. I scurried away from him, hoping I would have enough time to run and hide. But he was quicker than I had expected. Not only did he catch me, he pulled me through a door into what turned out to be a tiny bathroom.
He tugged me by the arm, my breasts bouncing freely. He shut the door with his elbow and locked it behind us. In a second, he had his pants down and his hands on my breasts.
I was really in trouble now.
Chapter Fifteen
ANDERS
Allex and I had managed to move all the men into the fifth wing. There was a mad scramble to use the flying area. I made sure he was in the first group. I never wanted to see him get infected again. He didn’t argue with me.
I took my turn flying, but after an hour the women still hadn’t arrived. My anxiety increased until I decided to go looking for them. Either they were a lot slower than the men, or something unforeseen had happened.
I searched all the passageways they could have used, but there was no sign of anyone. Where were they? I knew they had kept a lot of women in one area of the ship. But when I checked it, no one was there but sleeping pirates.
Apparently, they had gotten themselves out of the room. I needed to get more information about their current location. I eavesdropped on a pair of guards talking in the hall by standing on the other side of a wall. I discovered that they had moved the women, but that was the only useful piece of information I gathered.
I continued moving, finding another set of guards. This time I heard the distinctive voices of my good friends Oona and Dorron, the pirates who had chased us and returned to the transport empty-handed.
“I can’t believe we’re stuck on guard duty.� Oona sounded bitter. “This is all your fault.�
“All you do is complain. I was trying to keep us out of trouble. If he didn’t have that jet pack, we would have caught him. No one could have known about that, Oona. He flew out from under us.�
If he thought I had a flying device, our secret was still safe.
“I can blame twenty-five lashes on you. All you had to do was keep quiet about what happened, but you had to tell everything to anyone who would listen.�
“Shut up.� He bent down and kissed her roughly. “If you were really upset with me, you’d be fucking someone else by now.�
“Maybe I should start.� Oona turned her head away.
He grabbed her and shoved her against the wall, pinning her with his body. She gasped. “You know you don’t want anyone but me.� He whispered something else into her ear, and she shuddered.
Soon they were making out in the dark, deserted hallway, and I was wondering how far they would go. I wasn’t going to learn anything from them, so I went to find someone else for more information. On my fourth happway, I found two male guards talking about the women.
“Some of those sex slaves are hot!�
“No kidding.�
“There was a redhead in my line. I only got to touch her for a minute.�
My heart stopped. That sounded like Gwen. How many redheads were on the ship? She wasn’t supposed to be with the slave women, though.
“Is that why you got punished?�
“I guess so. The masters don’t want damaged goods, but how are they going to know if they’re spoiled or not? As long as we don’t bruise them when we fuck, no one can tell the difference.�
I could feel the fury building inside of me.
“Are you going to get some?�
“I might. People can’t stop me if they don’t find out. When I want a woman, I’m going to take her.�
“You probably want to fuck the supervisor too.� The comment was followed by laughter.
“Don’t even get me started on that hot ass. I wouldn’t dare, though. If I didn’t kill her afterward, she’d cut off my dick.�
“I’m going on a break. Will you be okay until I get back or should I send a replacement?�
“Nothing is happening here. I think I’ll be fine.�
“You’ll have a chance to jerk off thinking about that redhead.� The pirate laughed again, and I heard footsteps moving away.
That bastard had touched Gwen. I was going to beat the crap out of him and then find out everything he knew.
Maybe I had that backward. I crept down the passage and emerged farther down in the hall behind the guard.
When I was close enough, I attacked. Hand-to-hand combat was part of pilot training, and I had been in enough bar fights to know how to throw a punch. This pirate was a tough fucker and a dirty fighter. It only took a few minutes for me to realize I was going to get my ass kicked. I wasn’t going to be any help to Gwen if I got beat up or captured.
I took a punch to my left cheek and stumbled back. Instead of moving forward to hit him again, I let the momentum carry me and started racing in the other direction. He shouted at me, wanting both to finish the fight and work out his sexual frustration.
I wasn’t planning on a rematch. He chased me, but having an angry pirate on my heels made me fast. When blaster fire hit the walls around me, the adrenaline really started to kick in.
The door into the flying area was close. I would be safe if I could make it through, but he caught me before I reached it. The pirate hit me again in my stomach, making me double over. He slammed his knee into my face for good measure.
Even though my head was spinning, I managed to shove my foot into his kidneys, which slowed him down. After two jabs to the face and a leg sweep, he was on the floor. I wasted no time dashing through the door and moving into a hidden passage.
The pirate was a
lready up and shooting at the door. If he hit the mechanism, he would blast through it. Not only would he find all the men, he would see them flying around too. He was armed, and I had nothing. The pirate could easily take a hostage and make me do whatever he wanted. I was about to draw him away from the door when a woman sauntered out.
She was barely wearing anything, and her nearly nude body captured all the pirate’s attention. He was staring at her like he hadn’t eaten in a month and she was his next meal. The pirate began to follow her up the hall. Normally, this would have been good. The problem was that the woman was Gwen.
I couldn’t think clearly. What was she doing? The man followed her, then stopped. If he didn’t go with her, I had a chance to take him out or lead him away.
This guy had already been kicking my ass when Gwen distracted him. I was strong, but not as powerful as the pirate. My ears were still ringing from his punches.
I watched in horror as Gwen convinced him to follow her away from the door by taking off her shirt. She moved down the hall, but he caught up and pulled her into a small bathroom. That was probably not part of her plan. She needed my help, but what could I do?
Imagining them in the bathroom together wasn’t helping my thought processes. I needed to get in there.
I ran to the bathroom door and pressed a release that opened a maintenance panel. I stared into the mechanics of the door lock while trying to ignore the sounds of struggle inside the room. It felt like minutes, but it probably only took me a few seconds to manipulate the lock. The pirate had been leaning against the door. It slid open, and he promptly lost his balance.
Gwen immediately kicked him in the chin. The pirate’s head snapped back, and he collapsed on the floor. I ran into the room. “Did he hurt you?�
“Well, he touched my boobs, but it didn’t hurt.� She was putting on a short top. After she dressed, she pulled her foot back and gave the pirate a hard kick in the ribs. Gwen wrinkled her nose in disgust. He looked pathetic, with his pants around his ankles and a huge bruise spreading across his face. A pair of tweezers protruded out of the soft skin of his neck.