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Maria Titilatia was not having a good date. Nor day for that matter.
Her date had turned out to be a setup to kidnap her. To make matters even worse, the kidnapper wasn't even handsome.

"Mmnlefguuhmmeh!!"

She shouted angrily into the hand pressed over her mouth to keep her from waking any neighbors. She twisted her head this way and that to try and get out of his grip.
As a matter of fact her kidnapper was quite rude. So she tried biting his hand.
Which did not make his language any more polite.

"And that... is why you gag them before taking them out to the van. I told you so..."

Remarked the woman that was holding her legs as the pair carried Maria out to said van that was waiting outside the diner. Which had turned out to be in the middle of nowhere and not even open. She should have sensed trouble when her date hadn't suggested a classier place to meet.

"Agh! S-shut up and help me get the bitch inside!! She bit me!"

"I can see that. You're new at this, aren't you?"

The scruffy looking man only grunted in reply and gave his accomplice an angry glance.
The woman got the van door open and Maria was lifted inside, doing her best to kick and scream. The screaming part turned out more effective then the kicking part.
The woman kidnapper apparently did know what she was doing. Once inside the man started rambling and shouting at the driver.

"Go, drive, get us out of here! Stay still bitch... Should we tie her up or something?"

The kidnapper woman sighed, she was already bringing out a neat coil of rope.

"Just hold her down and I will take care of this. Can you manage that?"

Maria was pushed face down onto the floor while the kidnapper woman grabbed her arms and started tying her wrists.

"Listen to me sweetie."

The woman said calmly as she quickly and efficiently immobilized Maria's arms.

"You can stop screaming now, there is no-one that can hear you anyway. So save your breath and stay calm. We're not here to hurt you."

She stopped to give her accomplice a stare that seemed to bore through his head.
He tried not to look like a schoolboy caught pulling a girls hair. He almost succeed.
The woman looked a lot scarier then his old teacher had.

"We are just taking care of you for a while. This is all about money. Not even your money.
In any case, there are more important things to you right now then money.
Don't do anything stupid and you will be back home before you know it. Alright?"

"..."

"Yes or no will do sweetie."

"yes..."

"That's good. Just trust me and we won't have any trouble."

Maria still fussed and whimpered as she was carried into the old warehouse by the scruffy man and driver guy. Though she was bundled up in enough rope to make any real struggle pointless. The stone faced woman lead the way. Inside another group of men where waiting.
They all wore suits. The one in the middle made a point of wearing a suit that was neatly tailored and clearly more expensive.

The woman approached the man in the middle directly, saying.

"Ready to deliver. On time, as agreed."

"So I see. Any trouble getting her here?"

"None. No witnesses, no followers."

The boss man looked at the woman for a moment. Then over to Maria.

"That's what worries me..."

He nodded at the woman and two suits jumped out and grabbed Tarja's arms from either side.
She did not resist.

"I don't know what this is about guys. You're making a mistake. I was sent by..."

"No! You are the one who made the mistake of taking me for a fool. I don't know who sent you. But you don't belong here. You're way to smooth to hang around with these schmucks."

"But Mr. Ben..."

The driver tried.

"You shut up, schmuck..."

Mr. Benechino only raised a finger at the driver and did not take his eyes of Tarja.

"Ehh, yes sir..."

"You're a mole, that's what you are! What are you, police?"

A third goon walked up towards Tarja, looking menacing and cracking his knuckles.
As soon as he got closer though, Tarja's legs suddenly flew up as she planted a kick square onto his chest with both feet.
The force of the kick threw the men holding her arms back in surprise.
Tarja took the opportunity to wrestle her arms free. She got away from one of them but the other one clinged onto her and dragged her down. Before long all three where on-top of her.

Back to back with her former captive, now fellow captive, Tarja's hands where cuffed with police issue handcuffs. No doubt a souvenir from one of the goons.
Her ams around Maria. Likewise the other girls arms where pulled around Tarja and re-tied crossed in front of her. Recognizing good craftsmanship, they tried to copy Tarja's rope-work and tied her feet like she had tied Maria's. Securing her ankles as well as legs.

"...well, it's pointless, she's not talking, that's for sure. I've never met a broad this tight lipped.
So we might as well gag her too."

"Ok, but watch it, I wouldn't put it past her to bite you. Twisted my arm somethin' fierce, not even sure how she did it. Must have broken somethin', still hurts like..."

"Idiot, you gotta get that looked at."

"You're one to talk, your face don't look so good."

"Shut up!"

"Rico's still out cold. Good thing we got her legs tied up good now. Them some legs man..."

"Yeah. You got something to gag her with?"

The other goon went off and came back with a length of cloth, ripped off from something.

"Ok bitch open that mouth..."

Tarja looked back up at the man, but somehow managed to make him feel like she was looking down at him. The goons continued bantering.

"You should tie a knot in the middle."

"A what? On the gag? What for, if we need her quiet I'll just stuff something in her mouth."

"Hey, go ahead with that man, it's your fingers. Just sayin'."

"...alright whatever, I'll tie a stupid knot."

And he did just that, before crouching down and holding the gag up to Tarja's mouth. Which remained closed.

"Don't make me hurt you bitch, open up!"

He merely got a raised eyebrow in response. More like she was curious as to how exactly he would do that. The goon looked stumped, then tried to simply press the gag in between her clenched teeth. Without success.

"Wait, I got an idea..."

The second goon hunched down next to Maria, who had not even dared to look at either of the brutes. As he closed in the poor girl started whimpering into her already stuffed cleave gag.
She shook her head and pleaded as he grabbed her breasts and started fondling them.

"That's your idea bonehead? I could have thought of that, but it's not exactly helping."

The second goon grunted, then instead pinched Maria's nipples, turning her whimpers into a muffled yelp, as she started struggling wildly, tugging at her bonds and shaking both her and Tarja around.
Tarja was unphased by the other girls cries for them to stop. She was quite used to that.
But on one hand, she had all but made a promise. On the other, she was not sure how far there morons would go. They might just go too far. So after a look that felt like she had just pierced his eyes with daggers. She opened her mouth to let him shove the gag in-between her teeth and wrapping it around her head, cleave gagging her twice, before knotting it at the back of her head.

As soon as the goons had been called off by the boss man, Tarja half turned back to Maria.

"Uffh uhnruhmghf?"

"mmhmm..."

"Weh huufn gufh pfhu gehfh uufh uf hnuhn. Pufh upf ahgunnffh muh. Gupfh un ufhr feehfh."

"whuuf? mmmpfh!"

The cuffs where on too tight to get out of, but they gave Tarja some room to fidget around.
It took her a while of pushing, nudging and pinching to get her new accomplice to catch the drift and follow her lead. They managed to hop on their butts, inching close enough for Tarja to grab a hold of a pipe on the nearby wall. From there they braced themselves and pushing up against each others backs, slowly got to standing up.
So far so good, but from there, hopping along was still a slow process, Maria could hardly keep up with Tarja, which had to constantly collect herself and slow down.
Steadily though their timing and effort became more in sync. To Maria's dismay Tarja made a system out of pinching her sides to signal which direction to hop.
As naturally, Tarja was the one facing forwards. The pair made it out the nearest door and into a hallway.
Old junk was littered all over the floor. Turning the endeavor into somewhat of a maze to plan a path through. All it would take was for Maria to loose her balance once and their escape was doomed to be discovered. Probably. At any rate if was a good thing Tarja had made sure the girl was throughly gagged. She made enough noise jumping on broken glass or tripping on old cans. Adversity was no reason to waste time though. They had to make steady headway.
Tarja tried to listen for any sign of their absence being found out. As soon as that was clear, she had to make a split decision. Hide or flee. Or rather hide or hop.
Her eyes darted from nearby doors, a hole in the wall, rusty lockers to broken windows. Trying to formulate a plan.
Usually B would come up with a plan, and Tarja would just follow along and stop him from messing it up. She could not see a way out. Just a way forward at the moment.
Well at least she wasn't alone. Even though she would have had a better chance if she where.
If only she knew what time it was...

It was almost time and Tarja was late. Tarja was never late. She was the one who came early and then berated everyone else for being late. This could only mean one thing.
Time was suddenly running short.

"Get Tracy om the line, tell her to speed things up, pull whatever strings she can find.
We're going on ahead. This is not right, Tarja is in trouble!"

Mr. Benechino walked up along the row of empty lockers. Tapping each one with his finger. Before stopping at the last one, a big one with the door ajar. He opened it and found two women, tied up, trying to make themselves very small.

"I must say I'm impressed. Not only are you brave enough to even try, you got the tenacity to almost get away from me. I could ask you to work for me. If I only knew your price..."

He reached in and patted Tarja's cheek. Then grabbed a hold of Maria's chin.

"But right now, I only know the price of this one. Take them back. This time make sure they ain't going nowhere!"

And so, back where they started. On the floor. The girls where now lying face to face, with their arms around one another's waist. Wrists tied behind the others back.
A rope running from their fettered hands, to the other girls bound up ankles. Legs bent up behind them.
Hogtied to each other. Tarja glanced towards the corner of the room, the two goons from earlier where sitting on a bench. Keeping watch. They did not have much else to do then talk shit and watch the girls squirm on the floor, trying to get comfortable.
The longer they had to wait the more likely they would be to get other ideas.
There was not much the girls could do either now but wait.
Have patience. Tarja remained calm, Maria however was just growing more anxious.
Could not stay still, constantly rubbing up against Tarja, tugging nervously at her feet.
In an effort to get her to stop doing that, Tarja leaned her head in against Maria's and tried to mumble comforting words into her ear. Not sure if she understood them.
None the less Tarja's muffled voice was steady and cool. This at least seemed to get Maria to settle down.
She stopped fidgeting and instead started sobbing quietly.

"How about a bet..."

The goons where stirring, this could not be good.

"What if we ungag these bitches, and I bet you fifty, cash, that I can make them kiss."

"I want in on that, but if you fail and I can come up with a way, you owe me a hundred!"

"Deal."

The two men walked up to the girls and started removing their gags. They had already heard them scheming, but neither of them really minded to be ungagged, so they did not resist.
Maria was relieved to finally be rid of the wad in her mouth, which was pretty dry.
She wanted to ask for a glass of water, but hardly dared to open her mouth again.
Tarja on the other hand did open her mouth to give them a piece of her mind, but it may be just as well they never heard it, for at that very moment their boss started shouting from the other room.

"The money drop is here! You two better go earn your keep and check it. Last time someone tried to pay me with a bomb and I'm not falling for that again..."

The goons looked at each other, then at the girls. It was clear they would rather be handling them then potential bombs. But none the less they sighed in unison and left the room to go pick up the cash delivery.
After they had left it was quiet. But not for long. The silence broke with a sudden crash and a bang, the sound of running feet and some stern shouts. Then gunfire echoed throughout the building.

"Keep you head down and stay quiet for now..."

Tarja whispered, as she strained to hear what was going on just outside.
They could hardly keep a lower profile then they already did, trussed up on the floor.
But her clear, unwavering voice helped Maria, who's heart was racing to calm down a bit.
A scene flashed through Maria's head, of a handsome policeman in spotless uniform opening the door saying 'we have apprehended the bad guys, everything will be alright...'
That was not quite what happened. Tarja noticed a small tube poking in under the door and recognizing the model of camera, knew it was safe.

"In here, we're hostages!"

The door swung open and a man and woman from special forces rushed in, with helmets, masked faces, bullet proof vests and assault rifles.
The police woman, almost stumbling over them, went straight to the other side of the room, waiving her gun around before saying, in an odd squeaky voice.

"Secure!"

The policeman knelt down beside the bound pair and started untying Tarja's legs.

"You're safe now, don't worry... We're getting you out of here."

It was not quite the rescue Maria had imagined, but the second officer had a reassuring tone.
He sounded quite handsome at least.
Other armed officers came swarming in shortly, moving past the room to investigate the rest of the building. Their legs where untied so they could stand up, still embracing each other, their wrists tied behind the others back. Huddled down they where then promptly escorted outside by the first pair of police officers. Hurrying past detectives who where scurrying around the scene.
A large SWAT van drove up and they where prompted inside, settling awkwardly in the backseat. Maria started rambling.

"I'm so happy to see you! I was afraid for a moment, I mean when you said to 'keep quiet' I almost thought for a second, what if it's some rival mafia types attacking? You know with guns firing and I was so scared!"

She leaned back to glance over her shoulder at the police woman who was sitting down beside her, fumbling to get her rifle into the car so the door could be shut.
The woman stared back at Maria, looking quite nervous. Before responding in a shrill voice.

"Yes! Because we are definitely the police. I mean you know we're here to serve and all that! You know..."

The male SWAT officer had gotten into the driver seat and was starting up the car, looking back at them.

"It's ok Nina, you don't have to try so hard. Just get your seatbelt on..."

"But the gun is poking me, why does it have to be so long?"

Tarja sighed.

"Just put it down on the floor... I hope it's not loaded, B please tell me you did not give Nina a loaded gun?"

Maria's jaw dropped, as she looked at Tarja, then at Nina, then at B who was already driving them away.

"You know them! Are you a cop?"

"No."

"Oh, so then... but..."

Nina leaned in over Maria and Tarja as she was stowing the rifle away on the floor.

"I don't think it's loaded... How can you tell? Oh hi by the way I'm Nina. We're not really the police. We're more like the really friendly bad guys. I'm not a guy though, obviously. We're just bad people!"

"Don't listen to her... Nina, untie me right now so I can gag you."

Tarja interrupted.

"No miss bossypants, you're my captives now. For once you're the one trussed up all helpless and OW! Stop pinching me!"

"That's what you get for calling me helpless. Now untie me."

"Nu-uh! No way. I never get to have you tied up. It's not fair. You let B tie you up, don't you? I know you do. But I don't get invited to play... You tie me up all the time. You don't hear me complaining."

Tarja sighed.

"B, are we out of the woods?"

"...yeah, we're not followed, everything is clear. Don't worry I've got Tracy pulling strings and Miu tying up loose ends. We're going straight home from here. Basically.
Benechino... The poor bastard. I had to sick Miu on him after all. He would have been better off getting caught by the police, but he just would not stick to the plan..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've made sure. You got captured, which is unacceptable. I messed up and it won't happen again. I've taken precautions to... I shouldn't have let you..."

"It's alright B. We can talk about it later."

Tarja let her head fall back onto the seat. Maybe it was time to relax. Everyone usually depended on her to keep the ship from sinking. She deserved to let go for now.
It had been a long day.

"Fine, you don't have to untie me yet."

"Oh goody! I can't believe I get to..."

"Don't be getting any wild ideas, just remember you will pay for this."

"Ooooh, scary..."

Nina seemed entirely undaunted by the threat and could hardly contain herself, almost jumping up and down in her seat.

Maria, mouth still agape in disbelief over the whole situation. Yelped as a ball gag was suddenly pushed into her open mouth, as Nina pulled it in between her teeth, the straps making her cheeks bulge before it was buckled in place at the nape of her neck.
This was no ordinary ball gag though. It was one that Nina had been carrying around all week, just waiting for the opportunity to try it. But she had been too embarrassed to ask someone to try it with her. Now was the perfect opportunity though to see if it actually worked.
Criss-crossed at a straight angle from the first leather strap, another strap was attached to the ball. This second strap locked in the opposite direction. Giving an opposite ball gag, that shared the same ball. Locking the wearers in a gagged kiss.
Tarja just raised an eyebrow at this, looking at Nina.
Nina tried not to blush and averted her eyes.

"Oh, come on. I've been wanting to try this ever since I got it."

Tarja did not say a word.

"Pleeease? Pretty please? Pretty please with suga..."

Then she remembered Tarja always took her coffee black. She was not known for her sweet tooth.

"Pretty please I'll stay out of your workshop for a week?"

Nina started to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Only then Tarja decided to deign a response to the perky blonde. Besides, that last promise did sound like a pretty good deal. She inspected the gag more closely, it's wearer shying away from her intense gaze.

"I'm surprised I didn't think of this concept first. I'm sure someone would find it intriguing..."

She gave a meaning nod towards the front seat.

"Where did you find this?"

"I, um... it was a gift."

The truth was she had found it at an on-line trading site. Tarja read the tone of her voice like an open book and simply repeated, turning her gaze back onto Nina.

"Where did you find it?"

"...on-line. I traded it for a pair of my fuzzy cuffs."

"You mean my custom fuzzy cuffs that you stole."

"..."

Tarja was already planning out fitting punishments in her head for Nina once they got back home.

"If it's fuzzy or fluffy you are almost as bad as Miu when it comes to greedy little fingers."

Nina was hanging her head in shame and blushing furiously now. 'That should be enough' Tarja thought.

"Alright, fine. I'll try it out. But if I snap-out, you take it right off, understand? And remember you let me work in peace for a week. I'll hold you to that."

"Yes Mistress..."

Nina had blurted out her demure response without thinking and when she realized what she had just said her face turned if possible, even redder.
Of course 'snapping-out' was a standard safe sign they had, where if you snap your fingers it means the game is over.
Tarja's face remained a stone mask, though inside she was smiling. She then cocked her head to allow Nina to buckle the gag on. Which she did, very carefully, almost afraid Tarja would suddenly turn and bite her hand clean off.
Once it was in place though, Tarja's lips closing around the ball, touching the other girls face in a way both intimate and a little awkward. She allowed herself to relax a bit.
Nina wouldn't dare to get too carried away now. No need to scold or berate anymore.
No more need to take charge. The gag firmly in her mouth now was very tangible, as where the ropes around her wrists. There was no danger anymore.
A familiar weight lifted off Tarja's shoulders. The burden of responsibility she always carried, with pride. But a burden none the less, slowly melted away. At least for the moment.
Nina slowly held up a length of rope, suggestively, almost beggingly. Tarja approved by a slow single bash of her eyelids. While Nina started binding their legs once more. Tarja's mind started to wander back.

All of her life people had depended on her. First family. Then friends. Then coworkers.
Tarja was someone you could count on. As a child she had been a serious little girl.
She had to be. Since her parents had been... Neglectful. That's how she preferred to put it.
Early on she had to take care of her younger siblings. Care for them. Clothe them.
Feed them. Protect them.
Having to be the one to stand up for them, she had known her fair share of bullies.
She had learned to deal with them the hard way. The way where one of you end up with your face to the ground. So she had learned to never back down. Which taught her a valuable lesson.
Dirty dogs often bark worse then they bite. And even big dogs can be afraid.
Everyone is afraid of something. Tarja was afraid of loosing. To the point where she had stopped allowing herself to. When loosing was no longer an option. Then all she had to do was make the dogs realize that. Realize that no matter how much they barked, the only one allowed to be afraid was themselves. When meeting her eyes the only thing they would see reflected in them was their own doubts.
The cold beauty of those eyes only made them all the more terrifying.
A single look could say more then words needed to. And when psychology fails, only actions carry real weight.
Tarja knew that patience and a steady hand, was all you needed to learn to give weight to your actions. The weight of skill and experience. She never did anything half-heartedly. If it was worth doing it was worth doing right. No matter if it was wood carving that put food on the table. Or learning how to quickly subdue an attacker.
Perhaps it was her protective side, or simply her growing martial skills that eventually landed her a steady job as a bodyguard. Being a bodyguard had been a good job for her.
She had clear directives, leaving her to simply get the job done as effectively and neatly as possible. No fuzz. Just business. Knowing that you don't have to make the big decisions had suited her just fine. She didn't like to be the boss. Perhaps there was just a limit to how much responsibility you willingly take on. Though she had never shied away from pointing out when the boss was making stupid decisions.
She was just honest that way.

One fateful night, something changed. It was a run of the mill gig.
Some pompous oil and gas tycoon from Russia was feeling extra paranoid and had his family put under protection. As far as Tarja was concerned it was his daughter that needed protecting. A snooty little brat herself. But that was all the same to Tarja.
As soon as they learned she would take no bullshit, it quickly settled down into steady routines. She always knew where the brat was and what she was doing. And the brat let her stick around. The pay was decent and she shared shifts with two other bodyguards.

That night the shift was supposed to change soon and Tarja got careless.
Letting her guard down early. When she noticed the replacement was taller then he should be, it was too late.
Before she knew it he had her pinned down on the floor. Tarja thrashed around and almost managed to throw him off, but he had a way of anticipating her moves that was uncanny. Grudgingly, part of her could not help but respect that skill.
Then something happened that she had never experienced before. He twisted her arm up behind her back and started securing rope around her wrist.
The man was tying her up! At first she was furious and strained with all her might.
But Tarja was trapped beneath his weight. Her arm pulled far up her back.
Pushing herself up by the other arm wasn't working, he was parrying with his legs as she tried to shift around. She reached around, trying to get a grip on the man, anything. Instead he caught her by the wrist and twisted it up by the first, crossing her wrists behind her shoulder-blades. Quickly binding them together. With every loop, knot and cinch she became increasingly helpless. As she struggled the man only pulled her hands up higher, she cringed, unable to move her hands. She could only wriggle her arms a bit. Tarja had never screamed for help, she was too proud, but knowing she did not have much time now, she had to warn her ward of the danger. But as she was about to shout out, a coil of rope was pulled over her head, wedged under her chin and pulled up around her neck.

"You're a lively one for sure... but you need to stay quiet now girl. I don't want to hurt you."

Something in the way he said those last words made her believe he really meant it.
Or was that just what she wanted to believe? He could have pulled the rope, strangling her. But he didn't. She stopped struggling.
The rope around her neck was carefully attached to her bound wrists. If she pulled her arms, the rope would only tighten. But as long as she kept still... She knew she had lost control, but would not accept it. She needed to bide her time. Find an opening.
In a low, calm tone she finally replied.

"Ok, just keep it cool. I'm not going to scream. Let's talk about this, alright? We can work something out."

The man whispered back. In a tone that was familiar and relaxed, which bugged Tarja.

"Sounds good. I'm just here on business. I guess you are to. We're both interested in the same goods. So where is she?"

If she could keep this guy talking long enough, the brat might happen to get close enough to notice something going on. It was unlikely, she wasn't that close by last Tarja saw her. But it was worth a shot.

"I don't think we want the same thing though. What do you want with her?"

"Well, her father has started working extortion into his regular business plans. He made some powerful enemies along the way."

"That doesn't answer my question. What are you going to do to her?"

"Oh I'm just going to 'borrow' her for a while, have her old man taken down a peg and then give her back."

Was this man serious? He sure had taken her down like a professional. But seemed to have an off attitude.

"Give her back?"

She said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Safe and sound. Scouts honor."

"You where never a boy scout..."

"Maybe not, but I was a boy once and I eventually got real good at scouting the ladies."

Tarja rolled here eyes and scoffed.

"What, you don't like puns?"

"Maybe if they where clever..."

"Touché."

The kidnapper turned around, on his knees, straddling her legs as he produced another length of rope. Tarja saw her opening and twisted around, but just as she was about to try for a knee to his crouch, the rope around her neck tensed and she lost her momentum. Her adversary was quick on the uptake though and blocked her attack with his arm, so it would likely not have connected anyhow. Roughly he turned her over on her back, resting on her bound arms was even more uncomfortable and the more she struggled the tighter the rope pinched her neck. She had to stop and shift her arms to put less strain on the rope. With an annoyed grunt, she settled down.

"You're not really afraid of me, are you?"

He said as he secured her legs together with more rope.

"No. *uggh...* Do you think I should be?"

"That depends. Now tell me where she is."

Tarja got a good look at him for the first time, as he turned around. Why didn't he wear a mask? Seemed foolish. ...Or maybe he didn't plan on letting Tarja get out of this alive after all. That worried her. But what came out of her mouth was.

"How do I know you won't harm her?"

"If you knew me better you wouldn't have to ask that."

"You're not exactly treating me pleasantly here."

She said, coughing a bit.

"You're different. I've done my homework, so I know what you're capable of."

"Seems like you know me well then. That's hardly fair fight."

"Would you like to know me better?"

"Are you asking me out?"

She snapped back, scornfully.

"I already swept you off your feet, so maybe I should take you along..."

After having tied her ankles and knees together, both above and below her knees.
He faced her once more. Their eyes met. The more angry Tarja got the more cold her eyes went. She gave him a look that would have frozen another man stiff.
But this one met her gaze and didn't even flinch. If anything he seemed curious.
He stared into her icy blue eyes. As if he was looking for something deep beneath the surface. Tarja's carefully built up confidence wavered. This was a dog of another breed.

"You're not going to tell me what I want to know, are you..."

He finally said. Tarja remained silent.

He picked out a piece of cloth from his pocket. Tarja had an idea of what he meant to do with it.
She opened her mouth to scream, he noticed and shook his head. His eyes still fixed on hers.
Tarja hesitated, he rushed up to her and shoved the cloth into her mouth.
She bit his fingers, he responded by pulling on the rope around her neck.
Slowly her bite let up. He shoved the cloth further into her mouth, packing it into her cheeks. He stuffed it all in, filling her mouth.
He took a roll of duct tape, ripped up the end and planted it across her mouth, then wrapped it around her head, pushing the cloth back in as she tied to push it out with her tongue. He wrapped the tape several times, covering the lower part of her face in a tight silvery grip. Her high cheekbones bulged out from underneath the strict gag.
Furious she yelled into the tape gag at him, but the muffled groan that came out was not as loud as she wanted it to be. The damned rich-mans mansion was too big.
She tried again. Her muted shriek broke up half way and turned into sobbing whimpers. She could not help it. This was unacceptable! She would not loose like this.
Not to this man, not to anyone! Never! Never...
Tears welled up in her eyes, tears she had held back for so long.

The response was as unexpected as the tears now running down her cheeks, onto the tape trapping her quivering lips. Her tormentor took her head in his hands and stroked her hair. Leaned her head unto his chest and hushed her, comfortingly.
As he loosened the rope around her neck, undid the knots and removed it.
He held her close as the tears came pouring out. Only stopping to bring another piece of cloth up to her now runny nose so she could blow and breathe easier.
She felt ashamed and the hacking sobbing quietly slowed down, until she was only whining lowly and breathing heavily. She let her head sink down unto his chest as he continued gently stroking her light brown hair.
This was not what was supposed to happen. But Tarja didn't care anymore.
She felt tiered. So tiered. She wanted to fall into his arms and go to sleep.
But instead she caught herself, started wiping the tears off onto his shirt and then pulled away from him. But he pulled her back, lifting her chin up with his hand and looked into her eyes. The ice broken.

"It's ok..."

Was all he said, stroking her tape covered cheek.
He stayed with her until her soft whimpers had died down, her breathing steadier.
He then leaned in, planted a kiss on her gagged lips. Smiled at her bewildered look. Then turned to leave the room.

He came back sometime later, Tarja was not sure how much time had passed.
She should have wriggled around, gotten to her feet and hopped away to find some way to call for help. But she hadn't. She just huddled up and stayed there. Bound. Helpless. Vulnerable.
The man had the little brat slung over his shoulder. She was trussed up in ropes as well, but thankfully had a bag over her head. So she could not see Tarja lying there. Defeated.

B could have left Tarja there, But he didn't...

THE END

Description
Maria Titilatia was not having a good date. Nor day for that matter.
Her date had turned out to be a setup to kidnap her. To make matters even worse, the kidnapper wasn't even handsome.

"Mmnlefguuhmmeh!!"

She shouted angrily into the hand pressed over her mouth to keep her from waking any neighbors. She twisted her head this way and that to try and get out of his grip.
As a matter of fact her kidnapper was quite rude. So she tried biting his hand.
Which did not make his language any more polite.

"And that... is why you gag them before taking them out to the van. I told you so..."

Remarked the woman that was holding her legs as the pair carried Maria out to said van that was waiting outside the diner. Which had turned out to be in the middle of nowhere and not even open. She should have sensed trouble when her date hadn't suggested a classier place to meet.

"Agh! S-shut up and help me get the bitch inside!! She bit me!"

"I can see that. You're new at this, aren't you?"

The scruffy looking man only grunted in reply and gave his accomplice an angry glance.
The woman got the van door open and Maria was lifted inside, doing her best to kick and scream. The screaming part turned out more effective then the kicking part.
The woman kidnapper apparently did know what she was doing. Once inside the man started rambling and shouting at the driver.

"Go, drive, get us out of here! Stay still bitch... Should we tie her up or something?"

The kidnapper woman sighed, she was already bringing out a neat coil of rope.

"Just hold her down and I will take care of this. Can you manage that?"

Maria was pushed face down onto the floor while the kidnapper woman grabbed her arms and started tying her wrists.

"Listen to me sweetie."

The woman said calmly as she quickly and efficiently immobilized Maria's arms.

"You can stop screaming now, there is no-one that can hear you anyway. So save your breath and stay calm. We're not here to hurt you."

She stopped to give her accomplice a stare that seemed to bore through his head.
He tried not to look like a schoolboy caught pulling a girls hair. He almost succeed.
The woman looked a lot scarier then his old teacher had.

"We are just taking care of you for a while. This is all about money. Not even your money.
In any case, there are more important things to you right now then money.
Don't do anything stupid and you will be back home before you know it. Alright?"

"..."

"Yes or no will do sweetie."

"yes..."

"That's good. Just trust me and we won't have any trouble."

Maria still fussed and whimpered as she was carried into the old warehouse by the scruffy man and driver guy. Though she was bundled up in enough rope to make any real struggle pointless. The stone faced woman lead the way. Inside another group of men where waiting.
They all wore suits. The one in the middle made a point of wearing a suit that was neatly tailored and clearly more expensive.

The woman approached the man in the middle directly, saying.

"Ready to deliver. On time, as agreed."

"So I see. Any trouble getting her here?"

"None. No witnesses, no followers."

The boss man looked at the woman for a moment. Then over to Maria.

"That's what worries me..."

He nodded at the woman and two suits jumped out and grabbed Tarja's arms from either side.
She did not resist.

"I don't know what this is about guys. You're making a mistake. I was sent by..."

"No! You are the one who made the mistake of taking me for a fool. I don't know who sent you. But you don't belong here. You're way to smooth to hang around with these schmucks."

"But Mr. Ben..."

The driver tried.

"You shut up, schmuck..."

Mr. Benechino only raised a finger at the driver and did not take his eyes of Tarja.

"Ehh, yes sir..."

"You're a mole, that's what you are! What are you, police?"

A third goon walked up towards Tarja, looking menacing and cracking his knuckles.
As soon as he got closer though, Tarja's legs suddenly flew up as she planted a kick square onto his chest with both feet.
The force of the kick threw the men holding her arms back in surprise.
Tarja took the opportunity to wrestle her arms free. She got away from one of them but the other one clinged onto her and dragged her down. Before long all three where on-top of her.

Back to back with her former captive, now fellow captive, Tarja's hands where cuffed with police issue handcuffs. No doubt a souvenir from one of the goons.
Her ams around Maria. Likewise the other girls arms where pulled around Tarja and re-tied crossed in front of her. Recognizing good craftsmanship, they tried to copy Tarja's rope-work and tied her feet like she had tied Maria's. Securing her ankles as well as legs.

"...well, it's pointless, she's not talking, that's for sure. I've never met a broad this tight lipped.
So we might as well gag her too."

"Ok, but watch it, I wouldn't put it past her to bite you. Twisted my arm somethin' fierce, not even sure how she did it. Must have broken somethin', still hurts like..."

"Idiot, you gotta get that looked at."

"You're one to talk, your face don't look so good."

"Shut up!"

"Rico's still out cold. Good thing we got her legs tied up good now. Them some legs man..."

"Yeah. You got something to gag her with?"

The other goon went off and came back with a length of cloth, ripped off from something.

"Ok bitch open that mouth..."

Tarja looked back up at the man, but somehow managed to make him feel like she was looking down at him. The goons continued bantering.

"You should tie a knot in the middle."

"A what? On the gag? What for, if we need her quiet I'll just stuff something in her mouth."

"Hey, go ahead with that man, it's your fingers. Just sayin'."

"...alright whatever, I'll tie a stupid knot."

And he did just that, before crouching down and holding the gag up to Tarja's mouth. Which remained closed.

"Don't make me hurt you bitch, open up!"

He merely got a raised eyebrow in response. More like she was curious as to how exactly he would do that. The goon looked stumped, then tried to simply press the gag in between her clenched teeth. Without success.

"Wait, I got an idea..."

The second goon hunched down next to Maria, who had not even dared to look at either of the brutes. As he closed in the poor girl started whimpering into her already stuffed cleave gag.
She shook her head and pleaded as he grabbed her breasts and started fondling them.

"That's your idea bonehead? I could have thought of that, but it's not exactly helping."

The second goon grunted, then instead pinched Maria's nipples, turning her whimpers into a muffled yelp, as she started struggling wildly, tugging at her bonds and shaking both her and Tarja around.
Tarja was unphased by the other girls cries for them to stop. She was quite used to that.
But on one hand, she had all but made a promise. On the other, she was not sure how far there morons would go. They might just go too far. So after a look that felt like she had just pierced his eyes with daggers. She opened her mouth to let him shove the gag in-between her teeth and wrapping it around her head, cleave gagging her twice, before knotting it at the back of her head.

As soon as the goons had been called off by the boss man, Tarja half turned back to Maria.

"Uffh uhnruhmghf?"

"mmhmm..."

"Weh huufn gufh pfhu gehfh uufh uf hnuhn. Pufh upf ahgunnffh muh. Gupfh un ufhr feehfh."

"whuuf? mmmpfh!"

The cuffs where on too tight to get out of, but they gave Tarja some room to fidget around.
It took her a while of pushing, nudging and pinching to get her new accomplice to catch the drift and follow her lead. They managed to hop on their butts, inching close enough for Tarja to grab a hold of a pipe on the nearby wall. From there they braced themselves and pushing up against each others backs, slowly got to standing up.
So far so good, but from there, hopping along was still a slow process, Maria could hardly keep up with Tarja, which had to constantly collect herself and slow down.
Steadily though their timing and effort became more in sync. To Maria's dismay Tarja made a system out of pinching her sides to signal which direction to hop.
As naturally, Tarja was the one facing forwards. The pair made it out the nearest door and into a hallway.
Old junk was littered all over the floor. Turning the endeavor into somewhat of a maze to plan a path through. All it would take was for Maria to loose her balance once and their escape was doomed to be discovered. Probably. At any rate if was a good thing Tarja had made sure the girl was throughly gagged. She made enough noise jumping on broken glass or tripping on old cans. Adversity was no reason to waste time though. They had to make steady headway.
Tarja tried to listen for any sign of their absence being found out. As soon as that was clear, she had to make a split decision. Hide or flee. Or rather hide or hop.
Her eyes darted from nearby doors, a hole in the wall, rusty lockers to broken windows. Trying to formulate a plan.
Usually B would come up with a plan, and Tarja would just follow along and stop him from messing it up. She could not see a way out. Just a way forward at the moment.
Well at least she wasn't alone. Even though she would have had a better chance if she where.
If only she knew what time it was...

It was almost time and Tarja was late. Tarja was never late. She was the one who came early and then berated everyone else for being late. This could only mean one thing.
Time was suddenly running short.

"Get Tracy om the line, tell her to speed things up, pull whatever strings she can find.
We're going on ahead. This is not right, Tarja is in trouble!"

Mr. Benechino walked up along the row of empty lockers. Tapping each one with his finger. Before stopping at the last one, a big one with the door ajar. He opened it and found two women, tied up, trying to make themselves very small.

"I must say I'm impressed. Not only are you brave enough to even try, you got the tenacity to almost get away from me. I could ask you to work for me. If I only knew your price..."

He reached in and patted Tarja's cheek. Then grabbed a hold of Maria's chin.

"But right now, I only know the price of this one. Take them back. This time make sure they ain't going nowhere!"

And so, back where they started. On the floor. The girls where now lying face to face, with their arms around one another's waist. Wrists tied behind the others back.
A rope running from their fettered hands, to the other girls bound up ankles. Legs bent up behind them.
Hogtied to each other. Tarja glanced towards the corner of the room, the two goons from earlier where sitting on a bench. Keeping watch. They did not have much else to do then talk shit and watch the girls squirm on the floor, trying to get comfortable.
The longer they had to wait the more likely they would be to get other ideas.
There was not much the girls could do either now but wait.
Have patience. Tarja remained calm, Maria however was just growing more anxious.
Could not stay still, constantly rubbing up against Tarja, tugging nervously at her feet.
In an effort to get her to stop doing that, Tarja leaned her head in against Maria's and tried to mumble comforting words into her ear. Not sure if she understood them.
None the less Tarja's muffled voice was steady and cool. This at least seemed to get Maria to settle down.
She stopped fidgeting and instead started sobbing quietly.

"How about a bet..."

The goons where stirring, this could not be good.

"What if we ungag these bitches, and I bet you fifty, cash, that I can make them kiss."

"I want in on that, but if you fail and I can come up with a way, you owe me a hundred!"

"Deal."

The two men walked up to the girls and started removing their gags. They had already heard them scheming, but neither of them really minded to be ungagged, so they did not resist.
Maria was relieved to finally be rid of the wad in her mouth, which was pretty dry.
She wanted to ask for a glass of water, but hardly dared to open her mouth again.
Tarja on the other hand did open her mouth to give them a piece of her mind, but it may be just as well they never heard it, for at that very moment their boss started shouting from the other room.

"The money drop is here! You two better go earn your keep and check it. Last time someone tried to pay me with a bomb and I'm not falling for that again..."

The goons looked at each other, then at the girls. It was clear they would rather be handling them then potential bombs. But none the less they sighed in unison and left the room to go pick up the cash delivery.
After they had left it was quiet. But not for long. The silence broke with a sudden crash and a bang, the sound of running feet and some stern shouts. Then gunfire echoed throughout the building.

"Keep you head down and stay quiet for now..."

Tarja whispered, as she strained to hear what was going on just outside.
They could hardly keep a lower profile then they already did, trussed up on the floor.
But her clear, unwavering voice helped Maria, who's heart was racing to calm down a bit.
A scene flashed through Maria's head, of a handsome policeman in spotless uniform opening the door saying 'we have apprehended the bad guys, everything will be alright...'
That was not quite what happened. Tarja noticed a small tube poking in under the door and recognizing the model of camera, knew it was safe.

"In here, we're hostages!"

The door swung open and a man and woman from special forces rushed in, with helmets, masked faces, bullet proof vests and assault rifles.
The police woman, almost stumbling over them, went straight to the other side of the room, waiving her gun around before saying, in an odd squeaky voice.

"Secure!"

The policeman knelt down beside the bound pair and started untying Tarja's legs.

"You're safe now, don't worry... We're getting you out of here."

It was not quite the rescue Maria had imagined, but the second officer had a reassuring tone.
He sounded quite handsome at least.
Other armed officers came swarming in shortly, moving past the room to investigate the rest of the building. Their legs where untied so they could stand up, still embracing each other, their wrists tied behind the others back. Huddled down they where then promptly escorted outside by the first pair of police officers. Hurrying past detectives who where scurrying around the scene.
A large SWAT van drove up and they where prompted inside, settling awkwardly in the backseat. Maria started rambling.

"I'm so happy to see you! I was afraid for a moment, I mean when you said to 'keep quiet' I almost thought for a second, what if it's some rival mafia types attacking? You know with guns firing and I was so scared!"

She leaned back to glance over her shoulder at the police woman who was sitting down beside her, fumbling to get her rifle into the car so the door could be shut.
The woman stared back at Maria, looking quite nervous. Before responding in a shrill voice.

"Yes! Because we are definitely the police. I mean you know we're here to serve and all that! You know..."

The male SWAT officer had gotten into the driver seat and was starting up the car, looking back at them.

"It's ok Nina, you don't have to try so hard. Just get your seatbelt on..."

"But the gun is poking me, why does it have to be so long?"

Tarja sighed.

"Just put it down on the floor... I hope it's not loaded, B please tell me you did not give Nina a loaded gun?"

Maria's jaw dropped, as she looked at Tarja, then at Nina, then at B who was already driving them away.

"You know them! Are you a cop?"

"No."

"Oh, so then... but..."

Nina leaned in over Maria and Tarja as she was stowing the rifle away on the floor.

"I don't think it's loaded... How can you tell? Oh hi by the way I'm Nina. We're not really the police. We're more like the really friendly bad guys. I'm not a guy though, obviously. We're just bad people!"

"Don't listen to her... Nina, untie me right now so I can gag you."

Tarja interrupted.

"No miss bossypants, you're my captives now. For once you're the one trussed up all helpless and OW! Stop pinching me!"

"That's what you get for calling me helpless. Now untie me."

"Nu-uh! No way. I never get to have you tied up. It's not fair. You let B tie you up, don't you? I know you do. But I don't get invited to play... You tie me up all the time. You don't hear me complaining."

Tarja sighed.

"B, are we out of the woods?"

"...yeah, we're not followed, everything is clear. Don't worry I've got Tracy pulling strings and Miu tying up loose ends. We're going straight home from here. Basically.
Benechino... The poor bastard. I had to sick Miu on him after all. He would have been better off getting caught by the police, but he just would not stick to the plan..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've made sure. You got captured, which is unacceptable. I messed up and it won't happen again. I've taken precautions to... I shouldn't have let you..."

"It's alright B. We can talk about it later."

Tarja let her head fall back onto the seat. Maybe it was time to relax. Everyone usually depended on her to keep the ship from sinking. She deserved to let go for now.
It had been a long day.

"Fine, you don't have to untie me yet."

"Oh goody! I can't believe I get to..."

"Don't be getting any wild ideas, just remember you will pay for this."

"Ooooh, scary..."

Nina seemed entirely undaunted by the threat and could hardly contain herself, almost jumping up and down in her seat.

Maria, mouth still agape in disbelief over the whole situation. Yelped as a ball gag was suddenly pushed into her open mouth, as Nina pulled it in between her teeth, the straps making her cheeks bulge before it was buckled in place at the nape of her neck.
This was no ordinary ball gag though. It was one that Nina had been carrying around all week, just waiting for the opportunity to try it. But she had been too embarrassed to ask someone to try it with her. Now was the perfect opportunity though to see if it actually worked.
Criss-crossed at a straight angle from the first leather strap, another strap was attached to the ball. This second strap locked in the opposite direction. Giving an opposite ball gag, that shared the same ball. Locking the wearers in a gagged kiss.
Tarja just raised an eyebrow at this, looking at Nina.
Nina tried not to blush and averted her eyes.

"Oh, come on. I've been wanting to try this ever since I got it."

Tarja did not say a word.

"Pleeease? Pretty please? Pretty please with suga..."

Then she remembered Tarja always took her coffee black. She was not known for her sweet tooth.

"Pretty please I'll stay out of your workshop for a week?"

Nina started to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Only then Tarja decided to deign a response to the perky blonde. Besides, that last promise did sound like a pretty good deal. She inspected the gag more closely, it's wearer shying away from her intense gaze.

"I'm surprised I didn't think of this concept first. I'm sure someone would find it intriguing..."

She gave a meaning nod towards the front seat.

"Where did you find this?"

"I, um... it was a gift."

The truth was she had found it at an on-line trading site. Tarja read the tone of her voice like an open book and simply repeated, turning her gaze back onto Nina.

"Where did you find it?"

"...on-line. I traded it for a pair of my fuzzy cuffs."

"You mean my custom fuzzy cuffs that you stole."

"..."

Tarja was already planning out fitting punishments in her head for Nina once they got back home.

"If it's fuzzy or fluffy you are almost as bad as Miu when it comes to greedy little fingers."

Nina was hanging her head in shame and blushing furiously now. 'That should be enough' Tarja thought.

"Alright, fine. I'll try it out. But if I snap-out, you take it right off, understand? And remember you let me work in peace for a week. I'll hold you to that."

"Yes Mistress..."

Nina had blurted out her demure response without thinking and when she realized what she had just said her face turned if possible, even redder.
Of course 'snapping-out' was a standard safe sign they had, where if you snap your fingers it means the game is over.
Tarja's face remained a stone mask, though inside she was smiling. She then cocked her head to allow Nina to buckle the gag on. Which she did, very carefully, almost afraid Tarja would suddenly turn and bite her hand clean off.
Once it was in place though, Tarja's lips closing around the ball, touching the other girls face in a way both intimate and a little awkward. She allowed herself to relax a bit.
Nina wouldn't dare to get too carried away now. No need to scold or berate anymore.
No more need to take charge. The gag firmly in her mouth now was very tangible, as where the ropes around her wrists. There was no danger anymore.
A familiar weight lifted off Tarja's shoulders. The burden of responsibility she always carried, with pride. But a burden none the less, slowly melted away. At least for the moment.
Nina slowly held up a length of rope, suggestively, almost beggingly. Tarja approved by a slow single bash of her eyelids. While Nina started binding their legs once more. Tarja's mind started to wander back.

All of her life people had depended on her. First family. Then friends. Then coworkers.
Tarja was someone you could count on. As a child she had been a serious little girl.
She had to be. Since her parents had been... Neglectful. That's how she preferred to put it.
Early on she had to take care of her younger siblings. Care for them. Clothe them.
Feed them. Protect them.
Having to be the one to stand up for them, she had known her fair share of bullies.
She had learned to deal with them the hard way. The way where one of you end up with your face to the ground. So she had learned to never back down. Which taught her a valuable lesson.
Dirty dogs often bark worse then they bite. And even big dogs can be afraid.
Everyone is afraid of something. Tarja was afraid of loosing. To the point where she had stopped allowing herself to. When loosing was no longer an option. Then all she had to do was make the dogs realize that. Realize that no matter how much they barked, the only one allowed to be afraid was themselves. When meeting her eyes the only thing they would see reflected in them was their own doubts.
The cold beauty of those eyes only made them all the more terrifying.
A single look could say more then words needed to. And when psychology fails, only actions carry real weight.
Tarja knew that patience and a steady hand, was all you needed to learn to give weight to your actions. The weight of skill and experience. She never did anything half-heartedly. If it was worth doing it was worth doing right. No matter if it was wood carving that put food on the table. Or learning how to quickly subdue an attacker.
Perhaps it was her protective side, or simply her growing martial skills that eventually landed her a steady job as a bodyguard. Being a bodyguard had been a good job for her.
She had clear directives, leaving her to simply get the job done as effectively and neatly as possible. No fuzz. Just business. Knowing that you don't have to make the big decisions had suited her just fine. She didn't like to be the boss. Perhaps there was just a limit to how much responsibility you willingly take on. Though she had never shied away from pointing out when the boss was making stupid decisions.
She was just honest that way.

One fateful night, something changed. It was a run of the mill gig.
Some pompous oil and gas tycoon from Russia was feeling extra paranoid and had his family put under protection. As far as Tarja was concerned it was his daughter that needed protecting. A snooty little brat herself. But that was all the same to Tarja.
As soon as they learned she would take no bullshit, it quickly settled down into steady routines. She always knew where the brat was and what she was doing. And the brat let her stick around. The pay was decent and she shared shifts with two other bodyguards.

That night the shift was supposed to change soon and Tarja got careless.
Letting her guard down early. When she noticed the replacement was taller then he should be, it was too late.
Before she knew it he had her pinned down on the floor. Tarja thrashed around and almost managed to throw him off, but he had a way of anticipating her moves that was uncanny. Grudgingly, part of her could not help but respect that skill.
Then something happened that she had never experienced before. He twisted her arm up behind her back and started securing rope around her wrist.
The man was tying her up! At first she was furious and strained with all her might.
But Tarja was trapped beneath his weight. Her arm pulled far up her back.
Pushing herself up by the other arm wasn't working, he was parrying with his legs as she tried to shift around. She reached around, trying to get a grip on the man, anything. Instead he caught her by the wrist and twisted it up by the first, crossing her wrists behind her shoulder-blades. Quickly binding them together. With every loop, knot and cinch she became increasingly helpless. As she struggled the man only pulled her hands up higher, she cringed, unable to move her hands. She could only wriggle her arms a bit. Tarja had never screamed for help, she was too proud, but knowing she did not have much time now, she had to warn her ward of the danger. But as she was about to shout out, a coil of rope was pulled over her head, wedged under her chin and pulled up around her neck.

"You're a lively one for sure... but you need to stay quiet now girl. I don't want to hurt you."

Something in the way he said those last words made her believe he really meant it.
Or was that just what she wanted to believe? He could have pulled the rope, strangling her. But he didn't. She stopped struggling.
The rope around her neck was carefully attached to her bound wrists. If she pulled her arms, the rope would only tighten. But as long as she kept still... She knew she had lost control, but would not accept it. She needed to bide her time. Find an opening.
In a low, calm tone she finally replied.

"Ok, just keep it cool. I'm not going to scream. Let's talk about this, alright? We can work something out."

The man whispered back. In a tone that was familiar and relaxed, which bugged Tarja.

"Sounds good. I'm just here on business. I guess you are to. We're both interested in the same goods. So where is she?"

If she could keep this guy talking long enough, the brat might happen to get close enough to notice something going on. It was unlikely, she wasn't that close by last Tarja saw her. But it was worth a shot.

"I don't think we want the same thing though. What do you want with her?"

"Well, her father has started working extortion into his regular business plans. He made some powerful enemies along the way."

"That doesn't answer my question. What are you going to do to her?"

"Oh I'm just going to 'borrow' her for a while, have her old man taken down a peg and then give her back."

Was this man serious? He sure had taken her down like a professional. But seemed to have an off attitude.

"Give her back?"

She said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Safe and sound. Scouts honor."

"You where never a boy scout..."

"Maybe not, but I was a boy once and I eventually got real good at scouting the ladies."

Tarja rolled here eyes and scoffed.

"What, you don't like puns?"

"Maybe if they where clever..."

"Touché."

The kidnapper turned around, on his knees, straddling her legs as he produced another length of rope. Tarja saw her opening and twisted around, but just as she was about to try for a knee to his crouch, the rope around her neck tensed and she lost her momentum. Her adversary was quick on the uptake though and blocked her attack with his arm, so it would likely not have connected anyhow. Roughly he turned her over on her back, resting on her bound arms was even more uncomfortable and the more she struggled the tighter the rope pinched her neck. She had to stop and shift her arms to put less strain on the rope. With an annoyed grunt, she settled down.

"You're not really afraid of me, are you?"

He said as he secured her legs together with more rope.

"No. *uggh...* Do you think I should be?"

"That depends. Now tell me where she is."

Tarja got a good look at him for the first time, as he turned around. Why didn't he wear a mask? Seemed foolish. ...Or maybe he didn't plan on letting Tarja get out of this alive after all. That worried her. But what came out of her mouth was.

"How do I know you won't harm her?"

"If you knew me better you wouldn't have to ask that."

"You're not exactly treating me pleasantly here."

She said, coughing a bit.

"You're different. I've done my homework, so I know what you're capable of."

"Seems like you know me well then. That's hardly fair fight."

"Would you like to know me better?"

"Are you asking me out?"

She snapped back, scornfully.

"I already swept you off your feet, so maybe I should take you along..."

After having tied her ankles and knees together, both above and below her knees.
He faced her once more. Their eyes met. The more angry Tarja got the more cold her eyes went. She gave him a look that would have frozen another man stiff.
But this one met her gaze and didn't even flinch. If anything he seemed curious.
He stared into her icy blue eyes. As if he was looking for something deep beneath the surface. Tarja's carefully built up confidence wavered. This was a dog of another breed.

"You're not going to tell me what I want to know, are you..."

He finally said. Tarja remained silent.

He picked out a piece of cloth from his pocket. Tarja had an idea of what he meant to do with it.
She opened her mouth to scream, he noticed and shook his head. His eyes still fixed on hers.
Tarja hesitated, he rushed up to her and shoved the cloth into her mouth.
She bit his fingers, he responded by pulling on the rope around her neck.
Slowly her bite let up. He shoved the cloth further into her mouth, packing it into her cheeks. He stuffed it all in, filling her mouth.
He took a roll of duct tape, ripped up the end and planted it across her mouth, then wrapped it around her head, pushing the cloth back in as she tied to push it out with her tongue. He wrapped the tape several times, covering the lower part of her face in a tight silvery grip. Her high cheekbones bulged out from underneath the strict gag.
Furious she yelled into the tape gag at him, but the muffled groan that came out was not as loud as she wanted it to be. The damned rich-mans mansion was too big.
She tried again. Her muted shriek broke up half way and turned into sobbing whimpers. She could not help it. This was unacceptable! She would not loose like this.
Not to this man, not to anyone! Never! Never...
Tears welled up in her eyes, tears she had held back for so long.

The response was as unexpected as the tears now running down her cheeks, onto the tape trapping her quivering lips. Her tormentor took her head in his hands and stroked her hair. Leaned her head unto his chest and hushed her, comfortingly.
As he loosened the rope around her neck, undid the knots and removed it.
He held her close as the tears came pouring out. Only stopping to bring another piece of cloth up to her now runny nose so she could blow and breathe easier.
She felt ashamed and the hacking sobbing quietly slowed down, until she was only whining lowly and breathing heavily. She let her head sink down unto his chest as he continued gently stroking her light brown hair.
This was not what was supposed to happen. But Tarja didn't care anymore.
She felt tiered. So tiered. She wanted to fall into his arms and go to sleep.
But instead she caught herself, started wiping the tears off onto his shirt and then pulled away from him. But he pulled her back, lifting her chin up with his hand and looked into her eyes. The ice broken.

"It's ok..."

Was all he said, stroking her tape covered cheek.
He stayed with her until her soft whimpers had died down, her breathing steadier.
He then leaned in, planted a kiss on her gagged lips. Smiled at her bewildered look. Then turned to leave the room.

He came back sometime later, Tarja was not sure how much time had passed.
She should have wriggled around, gotten to her feet and hopped away to find some way to call for help. But she hadn't. She just huddled up and stayed there. Bound. Helpless. Vulnerable.
The man had the little brat slung over his shoulder. She was trussed up in ropes as well, but thankfully had a bag over her head. So she could not see Tarja lying there. Defeated.

B could have left Tarja there, But he didn't...

THE END