Bought and Sold

by Tessa Valmur

  'I want my revenge on him!' Zoe pointed to the man spread-eagled on the bench.

  'You sound like the immature daughter of some petty tribesman. Perhaps you have already forgotten who you are?'

  'I know perfectly well who I am! What about if you tell me who you are?' Zoe demanded indignantly.

  'I haven't time to stand here her engaging in idle chatter with some ungrateful girl. Follow me.'

  'I'm not ungrateful. But before we leave, can't you give me ten minutes with this bastard, now...'

  'I won't tell you again Miss Farquerson, follow me, before I lose my patience.'

  Swearing under her breath Zoe left the cellar, hauling herself with arching arms on wobbly legs up the stairs. The door to the tower stood open and the cool night air spilt into the hallway. The stonework was scarred by bullet holes and on the wall at the foot of the spiral stairs leading upwards there was a smear of blood that made Zoe shudder.

  'I'm sorry; I don't know your name, but thank you for rescuing me. I presume the British Government sent you?'

  'My name is Sheikh Auda bin Yasel. You are right in your assumption, I am being paid by the British Secret Service to recover you.'

  'But, he would have come to rescue me anyway,' came a girl's voice from around the curve of the spiral stairs.

  The blonde girl that she'd seen earlier came into view. She grinned with pleasure as she saw the man named Auda and gave Zoe only a cursory glance.

  'You have no idea what I've been through since arriving in your beastly country!'

  Zoe watched as the blonde girl jumped eagerly down the last steps into the arms of the Sheikh. She had on a pair of cut-off jeans, which Zoe guessed she must have appropriated from one of the Arab youths but otherwise she was naked.

  'So how are you feeling after your little ordeal?' she turned to Zoe and smiled sweetly, eyeing her up and down critically, while pressing her own body up against the man's. 'So who is she Auda? Surely you didn't really come here to rescue her?'

  'She's a British spy who got herself caught by the El-Saram secret police. Mind you, the Major of the secret police who abducted both of you is more interested in furthering his own aims than serving his masters.'

  'And what were his aims?' the girl asked.

  'He would have sold you to one of the desert chieftains as a slave for his harem. First he would have broken your will and through relentless discipline made you submit willingly to whatever was demanded of you.'

  'What's happened to Stonefield?' Zoe asked.

  'The Englishman? He's alive.'

  'He should be taken to Britain to face charges,' Zoe announced.

  The Sheikh gave a derisory laugh, shaking his head.

  'He's none of my concern. I'm leaving him here. Without transport he faces a long walk to find help and in the meantime I'll let the rebel movement know about who they might find in this tower if they pay it a visit.'

  'So what happens now Auda?' the girl asked expectantly.

  'The British have paid me to rescue her. I suppose I should now deliver her, as expected.'

  The young blonde girl looked thoughtfully at Zoe then slowly licked her lips before reaching forward and whispering in the man's ear. Zoe felt a knot of apprehension tighten in her stomach. The man gave the merest conspiratorial nod then announced that they needed to make swift preparations to leave the tower.

  Zoe wondered how long it would be before she would be back in civilisation as she was ushered quickly out of the tower to a waiting jeep. She found the desert at night was bitterly cold and she was unbelievably grateful when the young girl appeared and tossed her a handful of clothes.

  'I found these in the tower. I guess they belonged to some of his earlier victims.'

  'Thanks,' Zoe smiled at the young girl, who was now wearing a T-shirt and some low boots as well as the cut-off jeans.

  'I hope these fit,' said Zoe pulling on a short red skirt that she'd been given.

  'These boots are a bit big for me,' the other girl admitted, 'but at least they're better than nothing. There was an old chest full of clothes. I wonder how many girls that bastard had abducted?'

  'You were lucky your friend arrived so soon. I couldn't have taken much more of the treatment I'd been given,' Zoe confessed, wriggling to get into the skirt then pulling on the T-shirt she'd been given. The top was too small and dug under her armpits and squashed her breasts. She tugged on the red Lycra but it barely stretched half way down her stomach. Whoever the girl had been who had originally owned it must have been really skinny, she thought. She glanced at the girl sitting on the jeep bonnet, wondering about what had bought her out to El-Saram and what her relationship was with the man named Auda. Smoothing the tight skirt down over her hips she watched the two men leaving the tower. And seeing the younger man jam something into the hinge of the open door.

  'Get down behind the jeep for cover!'

  The men jogged quickly across to where the girls were waiting and they barely had time to duck behind the vehicle before the stick of dynamite jammed in the door exploded, blowing it off its hinges and sending a shower of splinters into the air.

  The Sheikh stood up and smiled with satisfaction.

  'Well done Basil. Right then, blow all the tyres on the Merc' and lose the keys. We'll take the Major's RangeRover and the jeep. You drive the jeep; I'll drive the RangeRover. The girls can come with me, at least they'll be warmer in the RangeRover.'

  'How long will it take us to get back to the capital?' Zoe asked.

  The man exchanged glances with the blonde girl and Zoe sensed that they were holding something back from her.

  'Go on Auda, there's nothing to stop you,' the blonde girl blurted out excitedly, her blue eyes glinting with a mischievous eagerness.

  'What the hell have you two been discussing?' Zoe demanded angrily.

  The man gave an enigmatic smile and opened the RangeRover, silently suggesting that Zoe climbed into the car.

  'No, hang on a minute; I want a reassurance from you that we're going straight to the British Embassy. You told me that you were paid to free me.'

  'That is true and I have already been well paid. Vanessa here has pointed out that it might be more rewarding for me if I sold you on the open market.'

  'What the hell are you talking about?' Zoe demanded, backing away from the man defensively.

  'The truth is that what the British Government values you at is a lot less than I could get for you as a harem slave here in El-Saram. Or indeed if I sold you on the international market, you would fetch an even more attractive price.'

  'You unscrupulous bastard!'

  Zoe turned and fled, driven by the one immediate thought of escape. Should she try to get to the tower and find a weapon or should she try to run into the dark and hope to escape under cover of dark. At least she was free, for the moment!

  She hadn't covered more than a few yards though when she was knocked sideways by a rugby tackle from the Sheikh's servant. Using her training from the SES she lashed out at the young man catching him by surprise with the ferocity of her attack. A sharp blow from the edge of her hand knocked him backwards and she scrambled back to her feet. She felt his hand grasp her ankle and she kicked out with her other foot. The youth rolled sideways to evade her attempted kick and clasping her ankle with both hands he pulled back fiercely throwing her off balance.

  'Uhh...'

  Zoe landed in the sand, momentarily winded. She twisted her body, stumbling to her hands and knees only to feel a hand clutch the waistband of her skirt and jerk her backwards.

  'Let me go!'

  Before she could recover herself the young man swung his weight over her chest then pinned both her arms with his hands. Zoe was about to kick out at him when she felt someone drop their weight onto her legs.

  'I've got her legs,' the blonde girl laughed, 'Auda, bring us a rope!'

  Zoe struggled frantically but with two people pinning her down her efforts were futile. She looked up to see the sheikh come stridi
ng towards where she lay held down, a coil of rope in his hand.

  'You can't do this to me! Damn you! Let me go!'

  She felt the rope being tied around her ankles, her legs being pulled together and she thrashed them furiously but the girl had her weight on them whilst the man bound the rope tighter and tighter until her ankles were secured together. She was then rolled onto her chest and her arms were pulled behind her back. The men held her arms still while the blonde girl bound her wrists together.

  'Tie another rope around her arms above her elbows, Vanessa,' Auda ordered.

  Zoe grunted with the discomfort of having her arms drawn close behind her back as the girl wrapped a rope in a figure of eight around her arms, binding them above the elbows as instructed.

  'You'll never get away with this!' Zoe hissed angrily.

  'Who's going to stop me?' the man asked arrogantly. 'The British Government believe you're held prisoner by the El-Saram secret police. What will they think when I say that I couldn't find you? How can they prove otherwise?'

  Zoe sighed with dismay as the men lifted her onto their shoulders and carried her across to the RangeRover. A moment later she was lying along the back seat and the engine roared into life. From the front passenger seat the blonde girl turned and looked smugly at her, her generous bow shaped lips curved into a sadistic smile, her large blue eyes glittering with mischief.

  Chapter Six

  Vanessa leant back in the leather seat and pushed her sunglasses up from the brow of her nose until they rested in her hair over her eyes. The tinting of the RangeRover windscreen meant she didn't have to squint, though outside she could see the fishermen now shielding their eyes from the sun as they gave up repairing their nets and moved to the shade. The outside temperature gauge on the dashboard read 34c then even as she stared at it, the little green figures flicked to 36c. Same as me, she thought, smiling to herself, stroking her hands down over her breasts. Her T-shirt clung damp with sweat, hugging her generous curves. She idly picked at the loose strands on the cut-off jeans where the denim finished high up her thighs.

  She flicked through the radio stations on the car radio but there was nothing in English with a clear enough reception to make it worth listening to. She picked up her can of coke and shook it experimentally. There was still a little left but when she put it to her open lips the fizzy drink was disgustingly warm from where it had been sitting on the dashboard. She peered out of the car but there was no sign of Auda. She gave a bored sigh and glanced back over her shoulder. Their prisoner looked up at her expectantly.

  'Comfortable?' Vanessa asked, cynically.

  The girl tried to say something but her words were incoherent, muffled by the folds of silk that filled her mouth and were held in place by a scarf drawn tightly across her mouth. Vanessa watched as the girl wriggled, struggling to lift herself up so she could see out of the door window. With her arms pinned behind her, she had to struggle for a moment before managing to haul herself up into a sitting position. Vanessa observed her as she looked anxiously out of the tinted glass. I've got a pretty good idea how you're feeling, she thought. Well, you can just lie there and enjoy the feeling of helplessness.

  Vanessa looked out of the rear window of the RangeRover. Auda's luxury cruiser, sixty-four feet of state of the art marine technology lay quietly at anchor, dominating the tiny and primitive fishing port. They had reversed the two vehicles right up along the jetty and Basil had set to unloading their equipment. With a high tide Auda had been able to bring his cruiser into the harbour and his sleek little speedboat was now being winched up behind the cruiser.

  By the time Auda signalled to her that he was ready to take their unwilling passenger onboard; the jetty stood deserted of activity. The nearest group of fishermen sat clustered under an open sided tent of brightly woven fabric that had been erected on the beach and which lay surrounded by nets, wicker baskets and vast sails of white cotton awaiting repair.

  Vanessa opened the RangeRover door and swung her legs around, sliding her bare thighs off the sticky leather seat and dropping her feet down onto the stone cobbles of the jetty. The heat rolled over her like a wave. Auda's servant was stacking the last of their equipment up against the side of the jetty. Seeing her he waved and walked across to where she stood gazing down at the emerald water.

  'What an amazing place,' Vanessa gazed around her. Out at sea she could see small islands of golden sand dotted with palm trees, then looking behind her she took in the immense sweep of the sand dunes that swept down to the shore. On the horizon some camels moved in convoy, laden with goods, a man sat on the leading one, his head sheltered from the sun by a fold of his cloak held above him by a stick. Looking down the coast in the distance she could see the shimmering steel on the oil refinery.

  'We're ready to take the girl on board.'

  'Okay,' Vanessa nodded and turned back to the RangeRover.

  She saw Auda moving along the side of the luxury cruiser, dressed now in traditional flowing Arab garb. He jumped down onto the jetty and walked past them, waving a wad of bank notes in one hand.

  'I'll be back in a few moments. Basil, get Miss Farquerson on board and then get these vehicles moved.'

  Vanessa watched him stride past them before turning to his servant.

  'Where's he going?' she asked.

  'He is going to give the fishermen a gift.'

  'A bribe?' Vanessa asked.

  'No, a gift,' the young man corrected her, mildly but firmly. 'They are of the Marik tribe. Auda is Chief of the Safaleme tribe. The Safaleme and the Marik ware joined by alliance. Now, we are on Marik land so Auda gives them a gift. All of this coast is Marik territory.'

  'I don't suppose they own the oil refinery though do they?' asked Vanessa cynically.

  'No, but when the time comes Auda will return it to them.'

  'What are you on about?' laughed Vanessa.

  'When the King's overthrown Auda'll make the Americans who own the oil refinery lease the land from the Marik tribe. The oil refinery stood on the sit of their own fishing port but no compensation has ever been paid to them for what they lost.'

  Vanessa shook her head in disbelief as she watched the figure on the beach sit down crossed legged with the fisherman under their canopy of silk.

  'I wouldn't laugh if I were you, that man is pretty damn serious. He may seem like some Arab playboy to you, idling his time in London or Paris, cruising around on his big boat and frequenting the casinos of Monte Carlo. That's for a reason Miss Vanessa. He's keeping out of the way, there's a price on his head here and if he's in Monte Carlo or London you can bet it's on a fund raising mission.'

  Vanessa stared at the young man as he spoke with her, then seeing Auda stand up she shook herself out of her trance.

  'Hadn't you better get her on board?' she asked, gesturing with her thumb to the girl who lay gagged and bound in the back of the RangeRover.

  'Sure thing and you can help me.'

  'Hang on Basil, we just can't go dragging a bound girl out of the back of here in view of all those fishermen,' said Vanessa.

  'Of course we can: they're Marik. None of them have seen anything today. As far as they're concerned, we haven't even been here and neither has that boat.'

  'Cool craft, huh?' Vanessa glanced over her shoulder at the gleaming white hull, the ranks of smoked glass windows and the high flying cabin which its slowly revolving radar and massive aerial masts.

  'Just wait till you see inside.'

  Vanessa helped Basil haul Zoe from the RangeRover and they carried her to the boat and down into a cabin where they tossed her down onto a double bed.

  'This room is where Auda likes to have his fun and games; you'll find plenty of things in the lockers to experiment with. We'll remove the rope from her ankles and get her skirt off first. After I've untied the rope I'll hold her legs still while you whip her skirt off.'

  Vanessa did as she instructed. She looked down at the girl pinned by the muscular young man and remember
ed how if felt to be in such a situation.

  'Learning to enjoy your time as a slave?' Vanessa ran her hand up the other girl's bare leg. 'Quiet sexy isn't she?'

  'She sure is. Though I prefer blondes myself.'

  'Well Basil, let me congratulate you on your good taste. Blondes are always more fun.'

  'We can still have some fun with this one though before Auda sells her. Look in the lockers, you'll find some straps to secure her with.'

  'Says who? I don't see why I should have to do any more to help you. It's too damn hot anyway and I want a drink!' Vanessa protested sulkily.

  'Are you forgetting who you are? You're here at Auda's pleasure and it's his wish that you help me, so get your ass off the bed and do some work!'

  'Alright, since you asked so nicely!' Vanessa answered sarcastically.

  The first locker that Vanessa opened contained a mixture of girls' clothing, mostly swimsuits, some unopened boxes of underwear and some soft packages of folded tissue paper which she could guess by feeling them must contain lingerie. She glanced over her shoulder at Basil and grinned.

  'Please my I try some on?' she asked meekly, giving the young man a cheeky grin that she hoped would make him agree to her request. She knew she'd come to El-Saram for Auda's pleasure but she had convinced herself that she'd enjoy being with him too. Now there was this other English girl they'd got hold of, Vanessa reckoned that she'd have a cushier time. If Auda wanted her bound and gagged, she didn't mind, but it would be fun as well to see how he treated this girl.

  'Come on, we've not got all bloody day!' Basil complained.

  'Okay Basil, no peeping,' Vanessa grinned and quickly discarded her borrowed cut-off jeans and T-shirt.

  The young man sat on the bed, one hand over his eyes but his fingers widely spread so that he could watch her. Vanessa saw the gleam of his white teeth bright against his dark skin. She giggled to herself as, opening another drawer, she found it neatly stacked with boxes of unopened toiletries and along side these boxes of vibrators and sex aids.