Offer You Cannot Refuse

The lift door slid open, and Clara stepped out, the heels of her boots clicking on the concrete floor.   She stopped for a moment, taking several deep breaths as a smile slowly spread across her face, then opened her handbag and took out a cell phone.  Peering at the screen through her glasses, she dialled a sequence of numbers and placed the device against her left ear.

“Hi – it’s me.  I did it – I got the old man to hand over the cheque!!

“Yeah, I know, I never thought we would get away with it either, but he accepted the argument and gave in.  I’ve got it in my purse right now.”

Clara was so involved in her conversation that she failed to hear the lift door open once again behind her, nor did she hear the click clack of heels walking slowly in her direction.  She carried on talking, oblivious to the approaching person.

“Listen, I think we need to celebrate tonight.  Could you ring Ricardo’s and book a table for eight o’clock?

“Fantastic.  I’m going to head back in a little while – there’s a job I need to do first.”

The woman slowly took a large cloth from a bag, and emptied a vial of liquid into the folds of the material.  Placing the bottle back in the bag, she crept up behind Clara, holding the cloth to one side so that she avoided inhaling any fumes.

“Right then – I’ll see you at the flat later.  Love you – ‘bye for now.”

Clara switched off the phone – which was the moment the silent woman picked to strike.  Grabbing Clara around the neck with her free arm, she pulled her back and pushed the wet cloth over Clara’s nose and mouth.  After the initial shock, Clara could smell the sickly sweet liquid on the cloth, and tried to break the grip that her assailant had on her.   As her earrings fell over the arms of the attacker, Clara’s eyes opened wide before starting to slowly close again as the chloroform started to do its job.

“That’s right,” the attacker whispered into Clara’s ear as she started to drift into a deep sleep, "take nice deep breaths and let the drug so what it needs to do.  I have plans for you, my dear girl, but for now just sleep….”

“Wh r u….” Clara mumbled as her eyes finally shut.  Dropping the cloth on the floor, she pocketed the phone as it fell from Clara’s limp hand, before picking her up as if she was a baby and placing her over her shoulder.

The woman was an Amazon, dressed in a black body stocking with a lattice front that showed her ample breasts, a leather bustier and knee length leather boots.  She had no problem in taking Clara back into the lift, down into a basement area and then sitting her on a chair.

Stepping back, she looked at Clara as her head rolled over to one side.  She was wearing a dark jacket and skirt, black stockings (the tops of which were barely visible as she sat in the chair, and black leather boots with silver studs arranged in rows down the leg and shoe of the boot.

“You may think you fooled the boss,” she said as she picked up some lengths of rope and weighed them in her hand, “but you’re not as clever as you might think.  Let’s start by making sure you can’t go anywhere I don’t want you to go.”

Squatting behind the comatose Clara, her assailant pulled her wrists behind the chair, crossed them, and then passed a doubled length of rope around them and began to methodically bind them together.  Loop after loop were passed around them, pulled tightly each time, before the loose ends were passed between her wrists and tightened to cinch the ropes together.  Knotting the ends together out of reach of her fingers, she stood up and started to double up a very long length of white rope.

“You look uncomfortable there – let’s make sure you sit up nice and straight.”

Passing the rope around her chest, the woman secured Clara’s back to the chair by passing the ends under the edges of the “T” at the top of the chair back, around her arms, and then pulling the ends through the loop she had made in the centre.  Passing the rope around again, this time below Clara’s breasts and above the chair back, she pulled tightly once more and then made one further pass around above her breasts.  As shedid each pass, she passed the ends back through the loop so that Clara’s arms and chests were firmly secured.

“There now – not comfortable, but secure and cosy,” the woman mumbled as she tied the final knot.  “Time to make sure you can’t run off.”

Doubling yet another length of rope, she pushed Clara’s ankles together and passed the rope round, pulling on the ends with one hand as she held the loop so that her ankles were pulled firmly together.  As with her wrists, several more passes of the rope were made round, each one pulled tightly, before the ends were passed between Clara’s legs and used to cinch the coils.

Her captor was squatting down as she tied the last knot off, and noticed that Clara was starting to stir.  “Better get this done quickly,” she said as she passed another length of rope around Clara’s bound ankles, pulled it under the chair and started to secure the ends around her wrists, winding the rope back around itself as she did so.

“uhhh – wht’s happening,” Clara mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes. Raising her head, she looked round the room she found herself in, and realised something had happened.

“That cloth,” she said as she tried to stand up, before realising she had been tied to a chair.  “What the hell’s going on here – mmmph!!”

“Good question,” she heard a female voice say as a knotted cloth was pulled into her mouth, stifling any sound she was making.  She felt the cloth been tied behind her neck, and then looked at the tall dark haired woman who walked round in front of her.

Clara stared at the woman, who to her seemed to be dressed like a dominatrix with the body stocking and leather bodice.   The woman looked at Clara, then walked over to a table and picked up a cell phone.

“Recognise this?” she said with a slight mocking tone, and Clara realised that it was her phone this woman was holding.  “Let’s see what happens when I dial the last number you called, shall we?  I need to talk to your friend anyway.”

Clara grunted as she watched the mystery woman open her phone up and dial the last number called.  The assailant absent mindedly stroked the ropes around Clara’s chest as she waited for the person at the other end to reply.

“Clara?  Where the hell are you girl – I’ve just about go things ready for tonight, and Ricardo’s is waiting.”

“I’m afraid Clara is a little tied up at the moment, Samantha.”

Samantha stopped dead as she heard the unknown voice over the phone.  The look of shock in her eyes was real, as was the clod sweat she could feel breaking out under her olive green top.

“Who is this?”

“That’s not really important right now, is it Samantha?  What is important is that you listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.”  The woman was walking across the floor as she spoke, then turned and looked at Clara as she sat there.  “Your sister would love to be able to talk to you at the moment – I can see that from the way she is looking at me – but I cannot allow that just yet.”

“SM!!!” could be heard in the background as Samantha stood and listened.  She put her hand to her mouth as she realised that her sister may not be coming home at that moment.

“Are you still there, Samantha?”

“Yes – yes I’m still here.  I want to talk to my sister.”

“I’m sure you would, Samantha, I’m sure you would, but I’m afraid that Clara needs to be quiet so that we can talk.  Isn’t that right, Clara?”

As she was talking, the woman had walked round behind Clara, so that when she grabbed hold of her hair and pulled back a muffled yelp could be heard by Samantha. 

“Sm – hlp m pls.  d s sh sys!!”

“Did you hear that Samantha – your sister wants you to do as I ask you.  Now isn't that nice – sisterly concern always seems to win out.”

Letting go of her hair, the captor stroked the side of Clara’s face as she continued to talk into the phone.

“I know you struck a deal with a very important person to sell him some patents, and that your sister has a very large cheque from him in the form of a deposit.

“I will make it simple for you, Samantha – I want those patents so that the man can have them without payment.  In return, you get your sister back nice and safe and alive.  I’m sure you understand what I mean by that.

“But don’t take my word for it – why don’t you ask your lovely sister?”

She placed the phone next to Clara’s gagged mouth.

“Clara?  Talk to me, sis.”

“M sry sm, m s sry – d s sh sys pls!!”

“Vary sound advice there I think Samantha,” the woman said as she took the phone away from Clara and walked a short distance.  “So, are you ready to listen to my demands.”

Samantha looked down at the envelope that was sitting on her coffee table, then said “Yes, I’m listening.”

“Excellent – I’m sure Clara is glad to hear you say that – aren’t you Clara?”  As she said this, the captor walked over, grabbed Clara’s hair by the fringe at the front and pushed her head back violently, causing her to yelp in surprise.

“Oh god – please leave my sister alone, I’ll do whatever you say, but please don’t hurt her.”

“Then listen carefully – come to the car park in the basement of the offices your sister came to earlier today, and bring the documents with you.  Come alone, and tell no one what you are doing.  You have exactly thirty minutes to do this – do you understand?”

She stood with her back to Clara, hand on her hip as she listened to Samantha thinking about what had been said.

“All right – I’ll be there – just don’t hurt her.”

“Good – remember, I’ll know if you tell anyone, so come alone.”

Samantha shut her phone down, picked up the package and headed out of the flat.

In the cellar, the attacker put the phone down and stood looking at Clara, her hand against her head.

“So – your sister will do as I asked, will she?”

“Ys – bt wy?”

“Oh, why this arrangement?  Well, my dear Clara, I freely confess that I need the patents you have for my client, and he is willing to pay handsomely for them – and for you.”

Clara stared up at her, a new sense of fear appearing in her eyes.

“U dnt wrk fr hm?”

“Who – the man you saw today?  Oh no, dear girl – I work for someone else entirely.  Someone who loves beauty and power in all the forms it comes in.  This person has very specific plans for these patents – and for you and your sister.  The cheque will come in handy as well – so long as we get it cashed before the other man finds out the deal has gone sour.”

She looked down at her captive, hands on her hips.

“You say, this is an offer you just cannot refuse – unless you want to die later tonight when you meet him.  Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go and meet your sister and bring her here to join you.  That will be fun, won’t it?”

Clara watched the Amazon as she walked out of the cellar, locking the door behind her when she left, and then let out a scream of rage and fear combined.   She started to struggle, hoping against hope that the ropes would give, but the movement was so minimal that eventually she gave up and let her head fall to the side, quietly sobbing as she contemplated what might happen to her and her sister as the night wore on….