by Dancer, Jack
Discovering this cache needless to say, was not just confusing for the young Nanette, it was devastating. And, despite her grandmother's words that the secrets of the hidden room would tell her who she is, it turned out to be a discovery so cruel that if the old woman were still alive, Nanette would have gladly helped her to expire before the day was out.
Nanette's life did change on that day and for her father, it would be best summed up as, "the first day of the end of his life."
Thanks to her grandmother, after what she'd learned, Nanette now had a purpose. She was determined to search out Julia Libica and meet her. She wanted an ally. The following day she set out for the small Spanish enclave of Llivia, where Julia lived.
She knew Julia lived with her mother in the castle that stood over the little village, but she didn't want to just walk up to the castle and ask for Julia. What if she ran into the evil witch? And if the witch ate her; what then?
So, instead, she decided she'd search for Julia when she was most likely to be outside the castle, in the village, or on her way to or from school. She decided to wait for school to adjourn and when it did, she approached a couple of the students walking home and asked them to point out Julia for her. They did, and she approached the girl telling her who she was, and that she thought they might be sisters. Initially, Julia was astonished, even frightened by this stranger approaching her with such a crazy idea. But the stranger was an unusually beautiful girl, and poor Julia was nothing more than an ugly duckling the boys relished tormenting any chance they got. Being approached by someone as radiant as Nanette and with the possibility that she might be her sister was to Julia a dream come true even though no one would have taken them for sisters, not even close, not even in the same solar system as close.
Where Nanette was a statuesque, chocolate-eyed, raven-haired beauty, Julia was short and as plain as a cardboard box. But in spite of their physical differences, the two shared a mutual attraction, Nanette's craving for a sibling and confidant and Julia's yearning for the attention that might spill her way from the limelight of Nanette's beauty.
The two girls hit it off and began sharing as much time together as they could without raising the suspicion of either Julia's mother or Nanette's father. Both girls were products of abusive parents, Nanette sexually and Julia psychologically, but there was one very important difference. Julia was a cold-blooded psychopath, completely void of conscience, a carbon copy of her evil mother, whereas Nanette was a naturally kind and loving person.
Both girls had a love/hate relationship with their abusive parent, and both yearned to escape the prison of their homes, yet they also knew the only way they could truly set themselves free would be if their parents were dead. It was a subject they discussed and even planned repeatedly, but when it came down to it, they were both too scared to do anything about it. They had simply been beaten down for so long neither possessed the confidence to pull it off, so they continued living in their separate households of hell.
The only comfort the girls found was in each other's company. Eventually, that evolved into a sexual relationship, which seemed a natural next step for expressing their mutual love for each other. But was it really love? For Nanette, it was, she loved Julia. But for Julia, there was only the pretense of love because Julia, being the psychopathic personality she was, had no capacity for love. She was simply incapable of such an emotion. All she could do was to mimic the emotions of normal people, and she did that very well.
As teenagers coming of age, both girls were experiencing raging hormones so it was entirely natural that their need for one another would evolve into a sexual relationship. For Nanette that meant one grounded in BDSM because that's all she knew, so it could only be expected that she would introduce Julia into that world.
Julia knew nothing about BDSM nor it's core tenet - dominate/submissive role-playing. And though her inclination was to play the dominant since it best suited her psychopathic personality, she accepted the role of submissive. It was a role she'd already endured for years at the hand of her evil mother, so she knew how to play it, but more importantly, it was the perfect place for her to hide her psychopathy.
For Nanette, it didn't matter; she could play the domme or the sub equally well. She'd had plenty of experience as the submissive with her father but knew from her father's example how to play the domme. It really didn't matter, but since it would be up to Nanette to tutor Julia in the ways of BDSM, it made sense she would do it as the domme.
The roles were set, Nanette the domme and Julia the submissive.
For the psychopathic Julia, BDSM opened a whole new and wonderful world. She took to it like a duck to water. She was eager to learn and intent on pleasing Nanette, though she didn't understand why she was so determined to please her. As time went on and as their relationship grew, Julia became more and more possessive of Nanette, and she didn't want to chance losing her. When Nanette wanted to bring boys into their playtime, Julia was only too happy to oblige. She thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of Nanette's body, but she also enjoyed exploring the pleasures a boy could offer.
However, bringing boys into the "Pleasure Palace," as they called the basement in Nanette's apartment, was a tricky matter. They had only those days when Nanette's father was away piloting jetliners, and they had to ensure that the boys they did bring to the apartment would not know their true identities or even where they lived. They could not afford for a boy to return, and that meant they could never have the same boy over twice. That was fine with them because they wanted variety anyhow. Hiding their true identity and where they lived, or more specifically, the location of Nanette's apartment, was another matter altogether, not necessarily an impossible one, but it required a little creative planning. So, they developed a scam, a simple one, using the beautiful Nanette as bait. Who could resist?
Julia would approach boys and promise to set them up with Nanette. She would then ply them with alcohol spiked with drugs, and when they passed out they would bring the boys, bound and blindfolded, to the Pleasure Palace. When the boys regained consciousness, the girls would do whatever they wanted to do with them. Sometimes they couldn't wait, and they'd start even before the boys came around. When they were finished with them, they'd drug them again and dump their unconscious bodies in a park. Not once did they ever have a dissatisfied customer. Of course, they never heard back from them again either.
The girls spent almost all of their free time together, either at Nanette's house or at the castle in Llivia. They had many sleepovers. Eventually, both Nanette's father and Julia's mother became well acquainted with their daughter's best friend, but neither parent ever learned that it was Nanette's Avia who had brought them together. And although neither parent showed the depth of their true colors in the presence of the other girl, they did make minor slip ups once in a while, and the girls could see, first hand, the evil the other endured. They vowed time and again to exterminate the parents. They talked about it and they talked about it, but they never did anything.
Eventually, the girls graduated high school. Nanette took a job as a flight attendant with Iberian Airlines using her father's connections. During one trip, when Nanette was flying and her father was not; Julia came visiting under the guise of recruiting Nanette's father to help her throw a surprise birthday party for Nanette on her return. The two of them decorated the apartment and Julia baked the birthday cake. Then she "accidentally on purpose" found herself in the apartment's basement where she pretended to be horrified at what she'd found. She screamed and screamed until Nanette's father came running down the stairs. He was of course beside himself that his secret room had been breached.
He tried to explain away the room - that it was a studio set for a movie or some other such thing, but Julia was not listening. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she began tinkering with the various contraptions and asking questions. Nanette's father tried everything to remove the girl from the room, but she refused to leave, and unless he forcibly removed her
- which he of course would not do - he was stuck.
Julia asked for a demonstration of the equipment and that suggestion both enticed the old man and scared the hell out of him too. He didn't know what to do, so he refused. She pushed and prodded him, and he continued to refuse, even telling her that she was becoming intolerably belligerent and disrespectful.
When Julia undressed and laid herself upon a rack, the old man lost it - in more ways than one. When Julia told the old man to undress, and come onto the rack with her, he nearly had a cardiac because it appeared that all of his blood rushed from his head to his crotch the way it bulged outward. When Julia began masturbating and demanded that the old man do the same, he threatened to call the police.
However, when Julia told the old man that she knew about him and Nanette, and what he'd been doing to her all these years, he dropped his pants and fucked her for all she was worth. When she told him that she wanted to play the Dominatrix, and that she was going to tie him to the wheel, like a good Submissive, he complied. And when she produced a ten-inch filet knife and castrated him, then butchered him, he died.
Five days later, a travel-weary Nanette returned. When she opened the door to the apartment, Julia popped out from behind a wall, threw on a light that shown all the decorations she'd strung and yelled, Surprise! It caught Nanette completely off guard. She was genuinely surprised and pleased with Julia's thoughtfulness.
When Julia blindfolded Nanette and took her down the basement stairs to see her real birthday surprise, Nanette let out a scream that would have woken the dead, but it didn't wake the pile of broken bones and the blood-blackened meat strapped to the wheel, pulsating like something still living under the gobs of yellow maggots and their shiny, metallic, blow fly parents.
When Nanette inhaled the rancid air for her second scream and one of the hideous flying creatures caught in the back of her throat, the explosion of her cough threw her head forward and her stomach across the floor. She fell to her knees, stiff-arming the concrete floor and continued to cough up threads of spittle and bile onto its sticky crimson surface. She remained there, like a dog on all fours, for the longest time trying to catch her breath and push from her mind, the horrifically assaulting image of her father and the twisted expression carved into his face. When her mind turned to Pau, fear overcame her like a swarm of flesh eating locust; raw and paralyzing at the thought of her capacity to inflict such a sadistic and inhumane cruelty that it could only be demonic.
From that point on Nanette knew that to cross Pau would mean her life.
sixty
17:27 Hours, Wednesday, 10 September.
The El Raval Apartment.
Back in Barcelona we drive to Nanette's apartment where I drop her off with the understanding that she is to put her things, in order in case she has to disappear after our meeting with Drusilla on Friday. I'll pick her up again in the morning to make any last-minute preparations and also so that we can attend the million man march that kicks off tomorrow evening. I want to see all the fireworks first hand, everything I've paid to out Drusilla Libica.
I'm hoping that I don't need to worry about Nanette doing anything stupid. I left her with the threat that should she, I'll simply tell Pau how cooperative she's been and set Pau free.
The other reason I didn't want Nanette at the El Raval apartment was, so that I could catch up on some desperately needed sleep. I knew she'd be a distraction and frankly; I don't need the temptation. Plus, I need some alone time and some peace and quiet before the shit hits the fan tomorrow. God knows how all this is going to turn out.
I also need to talk with Dick and get an update, so on the drive to the El Raval apartment; I pull my iPhone out only to discover the battery's dead. I'd neglected to plug it into the car charger on the drive back, so I do that now, and instead use the spare, iPhone I have in the glove box. I call Dick on that. When he picks up, I immediately sense the caution in his voice because of the strange number that appeared on his caller ID.
“Dick, I've just returned from Llivia and learned it's not Nanette that's Drusilla Libica's daughter; it's Pau. Pau is Julia Libica. Her brothers are Tiber and Drusus. Nanette is the daughter of Drusilla Libica's first, I think. Pau and Nanette share an apartment in Barcelona, and Pau is the mastermind behind the flight crew's Spanish Prisoner scams. She's very dangerous, so it's critical you keep her contained.”
“Ah, that may be a problem, Señor, you see; Pau vamoosed this afternoon,” Dick says.
“Vamoosed?”
“Escaped, left, checked out.”
“I understand what it means, but how did it happen and why haven't you told me about it before now?”
“I only just found out myself, and I do not yet know how it happened, but I assure you, Señor; I will find out.”
“Have any of our other guests vamoosed?” I ask.
“No.”
“Did she know the others were guests also?”
“Yes, we did not have them separated.”
“Did you monitor and record their conversations?”
“Yes, we did."
“And what do they know?”
“Not much. They are confused about how they all ended up here as my guests. James and Lisa are especially confused. But they have deduced that you are the one most likely responsible because my men showed up at the Fira so soon after the cackle bladder and brought them here. They know Señora Reyes had been kidnapped, because Nanette told them on Sunday after you had told her, but they don't know who took Señora Reyes. It wasn't them. Tiber and Drusus haven't talked with James and Lisa; they do not know each other.
“Does Julia Libica, that is Pau, know about the lottery ticket?”
“There was no mention of it," Dick says.
“So, we can probably assume she doesn't know anything about it.”
“Maybe. But if she contacts her mother, she may learn about it,” he says.
“Possible, but from what Nanette tells me, Pau and her mother don't talk much.”
“If her mother feels a need to enlist her help - especially with what you're doing to uncover her identity, that could change,” Dick says.
“It's possible but doubtful.”
“Why do you say that, Señor?”
I go on to explain the deal that we proposed today and that Drusilla accepted.
So, you trust the Drusilla's word?"
The Drusilla, interesting.
"No. I don't trust anything about her, but we have no choice but to follow through. After all, it's on our terms that she accepted," I say.
"On the surface, you are correct but there may be some additional steps we can take to give us a little more assurance."
"Then, we need to talk about those."
“And when is this exchange to take place?”
“Friday.”
“In two days?”
“Yes.”
“A lot can happen in two days.”
“A lot will happen. She'll be shredded tomorrow for one thing. Her only hope will be to make the exchange and get out of the country. Oh, shit.”
“What is it?” Dick asks.
“I just remembered. Captain Pat was at Nanette's while we were out today. When I dropped Nanette off at her apartment, I didn't go in. I just drove back to the El Ravel apartment. Dick, when did Pau escape?”
“I told you, this afternoon.”
“How long ago exactly?”
“More than an hour ago. I have already sent two men to Señora Mieras’s apartment to check if Pau may have gone there, and if she did, they are to bring her back in.”
“Have you heard from them?”
“Not yet. Hold on, and I'll call them now . . . No answer, Tucker.”
“Let me try Nanette's cell,” I say, "hold on . . .”
“No answer there either, Dick. I'll try Captain Pat's cell. Hold on. He doesn't answer either. Something's wrong. My guess is Pau showed up. She may even have the two men you sent. We need to get over there and check it out.�
�
“I'm on my way. I'll meet you out front.”
“Okay.”
When we arrive, we agree I'll go to the door and ring the bell while Dick covers me. I go up and ring twice. A few moments pass, and Nanette opens the door.
“Where is she, Nanette?”
“She's gone.”
“Where's Pat?”
“He's tied up at the moment.”
“What do you mean tied up?”
“Come see for yourself.”
I motion to Dick to come up and tell him, “She's gone and Captain Pat is tied up. Wait here while I go in, in case she's still here. When I know she's not, I'll call you.”
“Okay.”
“I step inside the apartment while Dick remains at the door.”
“Okay, where's Pat?” I ask Nanette.
“Follow me,” she says, and she leads me back to the Pleasure Room. Pat's naked and attached to a rack against the wall. His clothes are shredded and piled around his feet.
“The little bitch cut my clothes off, Tucker.”
“What is that thing you're on?” I ask.
“I don't know. I thought it was some sort of exercise machine but when I climbed up on it, the damn thing snapped shackles around my wrists and ankles and trapped me here.”
“Where are the two men who showed up?”
“Pau ambushed ‘em and took ‘em somewhere, downstairs I think.”
“The basement,” Nanette says.
“Is she still here?” I ask Pat.
“I don't think so. After she took those guys downstairs she came back here and cut my clothes off and . . .”
“And what?” I ask.
“You're not going to believe this, Tucker. The dragon lady put a knife to my balls and threatened to castrate me. Scared the hell outta me. Then she went down . . . She blew me, Tucker. I couldn't believe it. She actually blew me! Is that crazy or what?”