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It was hardly the best organised process. Victoria was gesticulating wildly and attempting to order Husna Hannish to prepare the girls for transfer to the Kalinin's palace while he protested that any arrangements should be made by the Kalinin's overseer as the representative of his household. Neither of them were ready to do more than bluster about what needed to be done. Finally Victoria got her way and Husna, reluctantly began to ready things.
In another room Henry, oblivious to the contents of the truck, was greeted by Victoria. His arrival had been most inconvenient but at least with Husna doing the necessary work to make the girls ready she could keep Henry distracted.
Outside the Koresh mansion, in a small roadside hut that sold vegetables during the day, Anch was waiting patiently. Having followed Henry there, she was determined to discover what was going on,why she had been attacked and what Henry's involvement was.
The truck in which the girls found themselves was no better than the one they had been brought from Pestrovka in, only this time they did not have the benefits of travelling while sedated. It was almost midnight by the time the truck set off. The air in Kolin was chill and about as clear as it ever got.
Things went wrong almost as soon as they started. The Zlin in which Victoria and Henry were travelling stalled as it emerged from the Koreshi building to turn on to the road to Kolin. The truck, braking unexpectedly, slid forward inexorably, slamming into the back of the Zlin with a crunching of metal. The two drivers got out, swearing at one another, waving and pointing and trying to attribute blame.
Watching from the shelter of the small hut, Anch saw Henry peering out of the Zlin looking irritated. What, she thought, was going on? And what was in that truck?
There was no sign that the drivers were about to resolve their differences. Victoria climbed out and was berating the two men.
Taking her chance, Anch slipped around to the back of the truck and unfastened the door catch. As she pulled at the door it came open easily and a helpless, naked, girl half fell through the gap. Anch lowered the bound and gagged girl to the road. Hearing that the argument over the collision was subsiding, she quietly closed the truck's door again and dragged herself and the girl back into the bushes beside the road. The Zlin and the truck moved off. Anch, holding the girl close to her in the cold night air, watched them go and waited to see that nothing more was happening in the Koresh household.
Natalya had been surprised and relieved at her turn of fate. She had hoped that she might get a chance to escape but she had never imagined that her efforts would be rewarded so quickly. As soon as the doors of the truck had been closed she had shuffled herself to the door and when it had opened she had simply fallen through into the arms of this other woman that had come to her rescue. She watched in dismay as the other girls were driven away but at least, she thought, if I am free perhaps I can get help for them as well.
Her rescuer started to unbuckle the straps of the maoungf that stuffed Natalya's mouth. “Oh, thank you,” she blurted as the hated leather plug was pulled free.
“Shh,” her rescuer warned, starting to work on the straps that held Natalya's wrists, ankles and arms. “We can talk later.”
+++++++++++
Ellie's flight to Kushtia, on the same Tupolev 114 that had carried Henry there, gave her plenty of time to think about the approach she was going to use when she got there. First of all she would need to talk to Henry, she thought. Only then would she have the chance to work out what was going on and what to do about it. She did, however, spend some time talking to a seemingly shy, reserved woman who was also flying to Kushtia.
“I'm Esther, she said when Ellie introduced herself, “Esther Baskin. I'm with the FSA, you know the banking regulation people.”
“You must be busy right now,” said Ellie with a laugh. It was the wrong thing to do. Esther, unused to anyone expressing even the least interest in her work, simply took this as encouragement to describe her role in minute detail. At the end of it Ellie could see how an FSA investigator might make an interesting subject for a movie but Esther certainly wasn't the person to write the screenplay. The next hours passed very slowly indeed but fortunately Ellie managed to disconnect herself from Esther when they arrived at Kolin Airport.
Henry was there as agreed to meet her. Ellie was glad that her bags came through before Esther's. She was pretty sure that the woman from the FSA would be pleased to see Henry and equally that he wouldn't be pleased to see her.
“Why is Freddie getting so agitated?” Henry asked her. “Everything has been going very smoothly, apart from some stupid journalist I'm having to keep out of the way of. Sure there had been a few hiccups with this client but that always happens doesn't t?”
Ellie tried to explain, patiently, that Freddie wasn't in the least bit worried about Henry. “It all concerns,” she said, “some problems that Freddie is having with one of the companies that he sometimes does business with. Not a banking matter at all. In fact not really a Kushtian matter. It's over the border in Petrovka.”
“Oh,” says Henry. “That's a coincidence. That company I was telling Freddie about has done some business done some business there. I've got a board meeting tomorrow. I was going to ask them how their meetings over there went. Although it has got a bit more complicated now what with Koresh dying and everything. I was trying to sort that out last night. Gone midnight it was when I finished with them!”
“Board meeting?”
“Yes. Oh I didn't tell you. That's been one step up for me. I'm a bona fide board member – their financial director. Bit of a promotion, eh?”
“You're the financial director? Of Lauren and Victoria's little enterprise?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“Probably,” Ellie said, thinking that it was very unlikely to make Anatoly happy to discover that a Clegg was sitting where Henry was sitting. “I'll let you know.”
Ellie had elected to stay at the Kolin Centrum where Henry was lodging too. After checking in and making some discrete enquiries about where she could find such interesting sights as the residence of the country’s hereditary ruler, the Kalinin's Palace, she dressed herself in that most anonymous of outfits, the chanoosh, and headed out into the night.
Ellie found the palace easily enough, she even managed to get into the courtyard of the household by joining a chain of doenyes carrying baskets into the palace's storerooms. Once inside it wasn't too difficult to find her way into the kitchens and from there to palace rooms themselves; nobody seemed interested in one more veiled doenya going about her business.
The problem was that the further Ellie got into the palace, the less of an idea she had about what she might be trying to discover. The palace was a warren of rooms and corridors. It was then that she had a stroke of luck.
From a room to the side came a sound that Ellie recognised, the muffled moan of an annoyed and gagged woman. Ellie followed the sound. Peering through a curtained archway, Ellie could see the back of a slim woman with dark bobbed hair standing in the middle of the room, obviously Victoria from Freddie's description. Crouching in a small cage on the far side of the room was another woman, naked and gagged.
“This is very tiresome, Lauren,” the dark haired woman said. “I had hoped that you might have accepted this change in your fortunes more willingly. It's an honour to be part of the Kalanis household, even as a doenya.”
The gagged woman in the cage growled.
“Now, you know I can't do anything about that. There is only so much influence I can bring to bear on my husband's decisions.” Another grunt didn't interrupt her. “And until I've had the chance to sort out the little problem with our absentee, I'm afraid I don't really want you plying your charms in his direction. Let's just say I like to keep on top of my competition and since you have no idea of where that little bitch has got to after we left the Koresh estate, I don't think you can be much help to me.”
Ellie edged back from the curtain disturbed by what she had overheard between Victoria and Lauren. It was obvious that one of their charges was missing and that wasn't going to make Freddie happy.
++ ++ ++
It was almost two in the morning when Anch and Natalya got back to Anch's household. Natalya, wearing only some blankets that they had found in the hut was shivering with cold but grateful to be free. Anch managed to smuggle her indoors and to find her a corner in out of use store room where she could hide.
“I must talk to the police,” Natalya insisted. “There are all the other girls. We were going to be sold. Slaves to men in the north, they said.”
“We must be careful,” Anch cautioned. “It is not so easy. The highest families are involved, the police might not listen to us or worse they might take you back.”
Natalya looked distressed. “What can I do? How can I get back to Russia? How can we help the others? How can we get these criminals arrested?”
“I don't know. We have to collect together all we know. Who is involved do you think?”
“There were the women, the ones they call Victoria and Lauren. Then that monster Husna at the Korreshi household and his boy, Hakshim. They raped me. Many times. They raped all of us.”
“And what of the Englishman? Is he their mastermind; the one behind it all?” Anch, determined that Henry was involved, was anxious to learn whatever she could. Then she would speak to Mr Kerrish at the Bank.
“I am not sure. There was an Englishman. I thought he was their leader but I cannot really say. I saw him with Victoria, but he never came to see any of the captives.”
“But Korresh cannot be their leader. He was too ill.”
“No, he was not involved I think. Perhaps it was just the women?”
Anch was astonished by the idea. “I know they are foreigners but surely not! There must be someone else: Henry, or the Kalinin's son. But if that is true we must be very careful indeed. He has great influence. I am sure he would be able to prevent the police acting.”
The two girls, uncertain what to do for the best decided to get some rest before morning.
+++ +++ +++
Ellie sat down with a large Martini and a deep sense of discomfort. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation. When things got difficult, Freddie was too prone to go shooting off without thinking things through. And, Ellie thought, this is all so complicated that the last thing we need is Freddie making things more confused. Still, he did need to know what was going on and he did need to talk to Anatoly. Ellie had promised him that she would call. She didn't feel she really had any alternative.
“Freddie,” she began, “how's things.”
“Tolerable.” Clegg's one word response was as good as she was likely to get, Ellie thought.
“Good,” she said, ignoring Clegg's irritable tone. “I thought I'd give you a heads up on the situation out here. You'll be pleased to hear that it's much as you thought.”
“Uhhuh,” Freddie's reply told Elie that while he might be pleased that he was right, he certainly wasn't happy with the situation.
“Things appear to have been the result of some private enterprise by two of the girls that we shipped out in the early stages of the Kushtian relationship. Lauren and Victoria? Seems like they learned a few things at your hands, Freddie, dear.” Clegg hmmphed indignantly at the other end of the line.
“As far as I can tell they have lifted eight Russian girls so far; four before Anatoly called you and another four last week.”
“Hardly a major dent in the numbers of Russian women between 18 and 35. Can't see what Anatoly's so upset about...”
“Freddie, you know it's the principal of the thing. You'd be the same if you thought he was doing this on your patch.” Ellie ignored the grunt from the other end of the line. “The good news is that it's contained and I can fix most of it. There's two bits of bad news though. Firstly one of their captives has gone on the run.”
“Great. I take it that means repatriation will be a problem.”
“It does, if I can't find her. I haven't given up on that though. On repatriation, I thought you might have a chat with Anatoly about whether he wants us to return them or whether he would like to have some involvement in their future fates.”
“Mmm, well maybe. What's the other bit of bad news?”
“Henry was funding it. Up to his ears in the business. He was the Bank's nominee on their Board of Directors.” The silence at the other end of the line went on for long enough to convince Ellie that the call had dropped. “Freddie?”
“I heard you. How could he be on the board of a business that's doing that?”
“Through the bank and through stupidity. You know Henry after all. He's running their business banking division. The girls had pulled a scam to get the bank to put up the cash to set things up. He says yes; the Bank says all right but we want representation and so, there he is.” Ellie paused. Freddie made a noise halfway between a wince and a groan. “They were using Kushnati as a front. You heard he died?”
“Uh huh. Nothing to do with this I hope.”
“No. Natural causes. He was pretty ancient wasn't he? Anyway that's complicated things – his business interests pass to the Kalinin's son, and his wives do too. So, that now puts Victoria and Lauren into the same household with a few complications that can be imagined. Anyway, while there is all this muddle I think I can find an opportunity to straighten things out but I'll need a little practical help here on the ground to get the Russian girls back and to get a few people off Henry's back. The FSA are over here and if I'm right they are looking for him. I can't imagine it’s because they want his recommendations on how to solve the banking crisis. And there's some journalist here as well.”
“OK,” Freddie sounded at least a little comforted by Ellie's words, if only because she sounded as though she knew what was going on. It certainly sounded as though she would need some back up. “I'll talk to Larry maybe he can suggest some back up from the contacts he's got over there. I'll get him to call you. Just as soon as I have spoken to Anatoly.”
“Rather you than me,” Ellie said as she ended the call. Freddie knew what she meant.
Freddie's exchange with Anatoly verged on the terse, but at the end, Freddie believed that Anatoly was convinced that he was acting in good faith.
“Isn't this what cooperation is all about?” Freddie said. “Spotting these little problems and sorting them out amicably.”
There was a pause at the other end of the line. “No, Freddie, it’s about not getting things wrong in the first place. But, I suppose, you couldn't have foreseen this. Thank you for being straight about this.”
“And the girls? I'm going to ruffle some feathers if they're taken out of Kushtia. I mean the Kalinin is a good customer and it's not like he's been responsible.”
“But his son's wife has. For a Kushtian that is the same thing. He would expect that much. He will feel obliged to remedy things.” Freddie had to agree, that was exactly how the Kalinin would see it. “I tell you what Freddie. Let's be fair about this. We both know that sending them home isn't an option. Ship them back to me. I'll look after them from there on.”
“I imagine that 'look after them' includes selling them on.”
“Freddie, they've already lost their freedom. I don't think this is a time for moral niceties, is it?”
“Maybe not but it seems to leave you substantially up on the deal.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know what they are like. Pigs in pokes as you say. Maybe they are peasants? No price for them, we know. I take the risk on that. You're forgetting that I have to square things in Pestrovya. I can't imagine that your Kushtian friends did too neat a job. There will be loose ends. People will need to be looked after. Egos will have to be smoothed. Feathers unruffled. This is in my backyard. I have skin in this game too, Freddie. My skin too!”
Freddie wasn't happy. He didn't like the idea of Anatoly picking up eight girls for no effort at all but equally he didn't want the bother of trying to sort out the problems either. He finally agreed. “OK, Anatoly. I am told these girls are not pigs – you'll have no trouble selling them. But it’s probably easier this way. I think this means you owe me maybe some small favour, sometime.”
“Sure Freddie, maybe a small one.”
Freddie's conversation with Larry went just as smoothly. Larry remembered the help he'd been given by Sergeant Dobranin of the Kolin police force and recommended that Ellie speak with the Minister of the Interior. When Freddie spoke with Ellie she wasn't sure that an official route to Sergeant Dobranin's talents was necessarily the best way forward but agreed that the officer sounded like a useful asset.
And so it turned out. A short conversation with Sergeant Dobranin and an understanding reached about the supply of certain items of clothing freely available in the west but in desperately short supply in Kushtia was all that was needed to provide Ellie with access to a cellar at the back of Dobranin's apartment block and a non-descript pickup truck. Further promises of a case of genuine Scotch whiskey secured the services of Dobranin's father, Desnerek, as a driver and as a custodian of whatever - no questions asked - Ellie wanted to keep in the cellar. “At least,” Ellie said to herself, “I'm not flying completely solo now.”
© Freddie Clegg 2009
All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or reposted without permission.
All characters fictitious
E-mail: freddie_clegg@yahoo.com
Web Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freddies_tales/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Femdom_Fables/
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