Chapter 43: Into Worcestershire

A week later, Harry and I met up in Harry's office in the Prep Centre. It was only about an hour's drive to the Emir's new home but we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time.

Harry summoned Sarah. "Have you got the folders?" he asked.

Sara, neat and efficient as ever placed a pile of file folders on the desk. "Yes, sir," she said. I think you'll find that it's just as you wanted. There's a folder for each of the potential acquisitions and a summary sheet for each category. I've tried to make it all as clear as possible and..."

"That's all right Sarah, I'm sure it's fine." Sarah allowed herself a smile of satisfaction.

"Well, I like to do a good job, as you know."

"Sure Sarah," said Harry. "Still we'd better get you ready if you're coming with us." He reached into his drawer and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"Oh," she said, "but surely you don't need that. I mean, I'm part of the team now, I've done all this work with Rick and..."

"I'm sorry Sarah, you know the rules." Harry said, bluntly. "I can't take you out of here unsecured. Even with your collar on," she fingered the tags that held her identity details. "In fact, I think you're forgetting your place, young lady. You'll be gagged as well."

Sarah looked pained but did nothing further to object. "Now put these on." He passed her a pair of handcuffs.

She picked them up and fastened one of them around her wrists. "Is that tight enough?" she asked, falling into a more compliant mood.

"That's fine," said Harry. "Now this gag, please." Harry handed her one of the gags that Rick had been experimenting with since the client presentation we had given at Freddie's club.

"Shouldn't there be a strap with this?" Sarah asked, turning the object over in her hands. It looked like the mouth piece of a snorkel but with a small ball shaped rubbery swelling where the air hole would normally be.

"No, that's all right. Just push the ball into your mouth and grip the rubber piece between your teeth"

Sarah looked confused. "Oh, but it's far too small. It'll never work. Let me get one of the standard gags from my desk."

"Sarah," said Harry. "Please just do as you are told." Sarah looked sheepish and put the mouthpiece between her lips, taking the small ball into her mouth. Within a moment the gel began to swell with the warmth of her mouth. The startled look on Sarah's face was a delight. She squealed as the golf ball more than doubled in size, stuffing her mouth until her cheeks bulged with the pressure of the expanding gel. A rigid tube through the centre of the gel maintained an airway but her mouth was completely filled and there was no question of her pushing the gag out, even without a strap to hold it in place. Her hands flew up to her bulging cheeks but there was nothing she could do about the mouth filling gel. "Humwumhumph," was the only sound she could make.

I had to confess to being impressed. Harry was too. "It's the first time I've tried one," he said. Sarah looked distressed at the idea of being a guinea pig for the technology. "But after that, I think I'll be using them on field operations." He reached into one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out one of the nylon sacks of the type we'd used on the Questor pick up. "This will stop our friend here from getting too messy on the journey," Harry said adding to Sarah's confused concern as he fitted the bag around her and zipped it up to her neck collar before tightening the straps so that her arms were locked against her sides and her legs were locked together. "Let's go."

He picked up the bagged and gagged Sarah and tossed her across his shoulder. I followed him out to the car park, grinning at Sarah's plumped out cheeks as she wriggled around on Harry's shoulder.

We put Sarah into the boot of the car and strapped her in so she wouldn't bounce around. "Just remember, girl, you're not staff, you're stock," said Harry, bluntly, as he shut the lid.

I rode up front with Harry. An hour later we turned off of the road past a broken down sign that had been put up for the hotel. The drive wound through trees and then the castle itself appeared. Far more imposing than the model had suggested, the grey bulk of the old circular castle keep rose behind the red brick of the Tudor house, slowly filling our view as we approached it.

The Emir was there to greet us. "Nice to see you guys. Welcome to Worcestershire." Harry opened the boot. "And you brought the girl too, great. She'll love some of the facilities." Sarah looked unconvinced as she climbed out of the back of the car. The Emir made no attempt to conceal his pleasure at the sight of her legs as Harry unzipped her from her sack and helped her to clamber out. "We might as well start the tour right away," he said waving us in through the door.

The manor house itself was unremarkable. Comfortable and well furnished but hardly anything unusual. The castle keep however was very different. We walked across a covered way from the manor house into the keep at first floor level, emerging into a circular room in the middle of the keep. Ranged around us were a series of heavy wooden doors.

"These were the hotel rooms," said the Emir, "but your man Clegg's made them better suited for less willing occupants. Look at this one." He pulled open a door. It was solid oak with a heavy lock. We looked inside. It wasn't too small. There were four bunk beds, solidly built and equipped with shackle rings at each corner. The room still had its bathroom but there was no door. The room had one window but criss-crossed bars covered it. As we looked around it was obvious that anyone staying in the room would have little opportunity to escape. "Freddie's team do a real neat job." He gestured to the ceiling. "Audio and video surveillance of course, linked to voice and movement activated recorders in the main building. And the whole building has RFID sensors fitted so we can put tags on the girls — we'll use anklets — that will let us track any of them wherever they are in the complex. Same sort of technology that you use in the Prep Centre, Freddie tells me. That way we can let them get on with their duties but still have them under control. You can let your girl out of handcuffs if you like; her collar will be tracked here too."

Harry looked impressed as he freed Sarah from her cuffs. He took a small cartridge from his pocket and screwed the nozzle into the front of Sarah's gag. It gave a hiss as the CO2 rushed through the tube that wound, capillary like, through the gel. As the gas discharged the gel inside Sarah's mouth was cooled and shrank back to its original size. Harry prised the mouthpiece from Sarah's lips to her relief and popped the device in his pocket. Sarah coughed, spluttered, worked her aching jaw, and looked sheepish but said nothing. "Well when we get them it looks like you'll be able to hang on to them," said Harry. "We've got some files to go through with you, possible pick ups. Like we agreed."

"Yeah sure," said the Emir, "but I've got something else to show you first. Come through here." He showed us the way through a low stone arch. "Look at these walls — seven feet thick — solid stone, terrific building — these guys knew how to make things to last." It led to a spiral staircase cut into the thickness of the wall of the castle keep. He pointed upwards. "There's another three floors up there," he said. "Plenty of room for expansion. But I want to show you down here. This is the real goods." We followed him down, Sarah tagging dutifully along behind us.

The foot of the stairs brought us out into a dark stone line cellar. The Emir turned a control by the door and the lights came on slowly revealing that one half of the circle had been divided up into a series of cages. Some of them were small with a single low door, their occupants would be unable to stand up when inside them, two in the middle would allow some movement, two on the right were very narrow; once inside the occupant would be unable to sit down or lie down. "This used to be the dungeon," the Emir said. "They'd converted it to a wine cellar. Well, I like wine as much as the next man but there are limits, I thought I'd put it back to its original use. Plus, I get to keep some of my toys in here." he pushed a switch that turned on a battery of spot lights. Whoever had the misfortune to be occupying the cages would have an unrestricted view of a range of unpleasant devices that could be used on them.

Sarah was obviously disconcerted by the sight of a series of medieval implements of restraint and torture but said nothing.

"Ain't this the goods?" the Emir said. "They're all accurate replicas. Had some guys from your Tower of London check them out. Said they were just like the ones in their museum. Pillory, stocks, whipping post, gibbet cage, rack. Make me feel like the Sheriff of Nottingham, all I need is a Maid Marian, now." He smirked at Sarah. "Say, why don't you let the boys see how good you could make some of this stuff look."

"Oh," said Sarah. "I'm not sure. They all look horrid. I don't think..."

"Now, Sarah," Harry interrupted. "I think you'll look good in the pillory. You ought to oblige the Emir."

Sarah still looked uncomfortable but agreed and walked across to it. She was about to lift the bar that would lock her head and wrists in place when the Emir stopped her.

"Say, what's your name, why don't you take that jacket off, give us all a better view." Sarah looked across at Harry but if she was expecting him to intervene she was disappointed. He just nodded. The blouse she was wearing was pale pink, tight and high necked with long, loose sleeves. "Hmm," said the Emir, that's not going to really show it off well, you'd better lose the blouse."

Sarah complied, putting it with her jacket on a chair. "Perhaps you'd like me to take of my skirt as well, Sir," she said. Harry looked approving.

"Excellent, excellent, you've got the idea," said the Emir, grinning as Sarah unzipped her skirt. "Now put your head in the centre there and you wrists up here. Then all I have to do is to lower this beam. See how it just fits around your neck," Sarah gave a cough as the beam came down, "and your wrists. Nice and snug fitting, see. Then all we do is clip a padlock in this fastening here and you're all secure."

Harry picked up a device from the table opposite the pillory. "Isn't this a scold's bridle?" he said. "Let's try this on as well." Sarah looked distressed. But the Emir was obviously pleased that his toys were attracting approval. Harry picked up the bridle, amused by the fact that it carried a pair of metal asses ears, as well as the metal bands designed to enclose the head.

"Be my guest," he said, watching as Harry unfastened the cage of metal bands and fitted it around Sarah's head, postioning the inverted Y over her nose and pushing the metal piece into her mouth to press down on her tongue. He fixed it shut at the back of her head with the small padlock that hung from the neck band. He pulled Sarah's hair through to let it fall loosely around her face.