His sentence was never completed as another hand was waved.
'Now, is someone going to give me a figure more like her true worth. Nice firm arse, well muscled legs: all in all a fit body. Imagine what she'd be like under your control, ladies and gentlemen. Come on now, how often would you have the chance to make a British Secret Service agent submit to your will? Remember her training and look at the photographs in your catalogue. Imagine having her body bound for your pleasure.'
The bids came thick and fast and Delgardo had to keep his excitement firmly under control. He had already taken the bidding well past Auda's reserve for her and he would take fifteen percent of her sale price. It was remarkable, he mused, how much some people would pay for a slave, when if you had the nerve they were just there for the taking.
'Generous breasts, a very appealing pussy. Look at those wide, dark eyes. Imagine them watching you as you gave her a good whipping. Would anyone care to advance the bidding?'
It was a three way bid now between two regular clients and an unknown Englishman who had signed in as The Colonel and had put his address in the guest book as Shrevra, Jalhor Province, India. The last bid, by The Colonel was going unchallenged and Delgardo suspected that the bidding for the English girl was just about concluded.
'Any more bids? Going once, going twice...'
A hand came up. It was one of his regulars: a Brazilian businessman who had bought many girls from Delgardo. Amongst his various enterprises he ran a dungeon that was used for photographs for a website. A website with a very high access charge because of the nature of the photographs.
'Right then, is that the final bid? Going once, going twice...'
The Colonel raised his hand again. The Brazilian looked crestfallen.
'So, it is with the gentlemen on my right. Going once, going twice... going three times... sold!'
Vanessa sat on the sun deck, a large gin and tonic in one hand, idly flicking through a glossy magazine when she sensed the boat move fractionally sideways. She looked up from the magazine for an explanation. Auda had anchored the boat mid-stream about half a mile from the fort, so as not to draw attention to it. He had taken Zoe to the auction in the small speedboat and had left Basil on the yacht with Vanessa.
'Basil! Is that you?'
With no answer immediately forthcoming she stood up. She was about to call out again when she thought she heard hushed voices. Standing up on tiptoe on her bare feet she looked around. The water on one side of the boat had telltale ripples as if something had disturbed it.
'Hey! Vanessa! You call?'
She looked around and saw Basil emerging from one of the deck doors.
'I just thought...'
Her sentence died in her throat as she saw two men appear from behind the life raft capsule and dash towards Basil. One held a machete and the other a large, serrated edged diver's knife. Basil, seeing the look of alarm on her face, swung around and then bounded away across the deck, the two men in pursuit.
Vanessa was agonising over what she should do when she saw two more men climb over the side of the yacht and now she heard the dull scrape of their little boat against the side of Auda's yacht. She swore at their bad luck, the boat had a good arsenal of guns but Basil had appeared on deck unarmed. The main galley was nearest her and she knew there was a revolver kept there. As fast as she could, she ran, but already they were after her.
Wrenching open the galley door she dived inside just before her pursuers could reach her. She threw her weight back against the door and slid the little bolt into its lock. She dashed across to the map drawer where she knew the revolver was. Behind her the door rattled furiously. The drawer opened at the same time as the galley door burst open.
The revolver lay before her. She could hear the breathing of men behind her. She closed her hand around the weapon and swung around as a hand grabbed her wrist and an arm slammed against her chest knocking her backwards. Dazed and on her knees she saw she was still holding the gun but the hand around her wrist tightened its grip and shook her arm vigorously. The gun fell from her grasp and slid across the polished wood floor.
The man stared at her bikini-clad body and grinned victoriously. Picking himself up off the floor he grabbed her hair and hauled her to her feet. When she tried to hit him he blocked her flailing arm and a second later Vanessa found herself being pushed ahead of him out of the galley, her arms wrenched and held behind her back by one man, the other leading her by her hair.
'Get your filthy hands off me!'
When she tried to kick the man behind her he quickly let go of her arms and caught hold of her ankle.
'Let me go!'
Vanessa glared furiously at him as he forced her to hop to keep her balance. The other man had let go of her hair and stood laughing.
'Come on darling, down on your hands and knees!'
Vanessa looked around her in alarm, a dozen men were milling across the deck of the boat and she could see Basil swimming furiously for the shore. The man holding her leg lifted it higher and she was forced to support herself on her hands as she was tipped over.
'That's it bitch, on your knees.'
There was a raucous rush of laughter and the men closed around her. One caught hold of her hair and another flicked the toe of his boot against her arm, dragging her off balance. Powerful hands twisted her hands behind her back. With her chin pressing against the deck, someone bound a rope around her ankles.
'Let's get this fancy thing cast off and under way!'
The shout came from someone used to giving orders. Vanessa saw the majority of the pirates scatter but several remained, two at least holding her down while a third bound her wrists together behind her back.
'Get the girl below deck, we can enjoy her later, once we've got clear of Rouassa. Can you believe that anyone could be so stupid as to leave a boat like this lying around as a present; especially with her on board for the taking! We'll all have our share of her juicy little body then we'll sell her for a tidy sum!'
The leader's belly laugh was echoed by half a dozen other men and Vanessa was dragged below deck, bound and helpless and cursing Auda for being so negligent.
She was taken kicking and screaming to the main berth where she was tossed down onto the bed. The men tore the bikini from her and her pants were forced into her mouth. They then gagged her with one of her own stockings and tied her ankles together with another.
'What a body, why wait for the captain's order before we have her? Look at her, I reckon we should have her now.'
'Don't be an idiot, if he finds out he'll have your guts for garters!'
'Aye, we'd best get back up on deck smartish or he'll be after us.'
'You just 'ave a nice little rest darling and we'll all be back to see you later!'
Vanessa squirmed ineffectually as the man squeezed then slapped her breast.
As soon as the men had left her alone she curled her legs up behind her until she could just reach her ankles with her bound hands. They had tied rope around her wrists but her fingers were still free and she reckoned that the stocking they'd bound her ankles with, she might be able to untie, given enough time. Thankfully her long fingernails made the job easier and soon she could feel the twists of nylon loosening. Working a fingertip into the material she tugged and teased at the fabric until the knot released itself.
Whilst she had developed a taste for adventure, she was certain that these men spelt trouble for her. If the pirates hadn't managed to stop Basil's escape, then there was a good chance that he'd get to Auda and pretty soon he'd come after his stolen boat. She knew he was not the sort of man to take what had just happened lying down. Perhaps he'd be able to hire some men from the slave fort and get a boat to pursue them. Meantime though the pirates were obviously keen to put as many miles as possible between themselves and where they'd stolen the boat. They had been anchored a good couple of miles up the river estuary, as long as she could escape now, within sight of land, she'd have a decent chance of getting back to Auda.
With her feet now unfettered she began searching the room as best she could with her hands still bound, for something sharp enough to cut through the rope around her wrists. She frantically pulled open locker drawers and gave a silent shout of joy when she found a sheathed dagger that belonged to Auda. It took her only a couple of moments to jam the knife between her knees and then drag the rope that bound her wrists back and forth against the blade. Just as the rope frayed then snapped though the cabin door opened.
'So where the hell do you think you're going?'
The men moved quickly to snatch the dagger from where it lay but Vanessa was quicker. The weapon clutched before her she retreated a few steps.
'Any closer and I'll use it!'
'Of course you will my darlin', and we don't want that do we?'
The man smiled and took a step back.
'Just let me go... you can keep the boat,' Vanessa kept the dagger held high and nervously advanced a couple of steps.
'Alright then sweetheart, just whatever you want.'
The man moved away from the door, holding his hands up above his head and grinning at her.
'Just keep back!'
Vanessa glanced at the door and edged a little closer. The man smiled and nodded.
'Go on, you go first and I'll call to my men to keep out of your way.'
'No, you go ahead and tell them.'
'Alright then, just whatever you say.'
Vanessa watched the man move to leave the room and she stepped after him. She was just wondering what she should do next when he spun around, his hand grasping her wrist before she could react.
He tightened his grip. Vanessa tried to hit the man with her other hand but he easily blocked her then jerked her arm forcing her to drop the dagger. In the next second he pushed her back down onto the bed and picked up the dagger.