Chapter 45: The Emir's Photo Collection

"Yes, that's right, Janice, it's for a photo shoot ... Well, I saw the stuff you do on your web site and I thought you'd be ideal for this. I'll cover your fees of course but I'll credit your work on the pictures too. They've been commissioned by a new magazine: South Coast — it's going to be promoting all sorts of businesses around here, this shoot is for their launch issue. It should get a lot of attention. Anyway they want us to do a feature on a couple of volley ball players, we're going to want to do a sort of make over shoot, some pics of them in their volley ball kit and then in evening dress. So you'll need to do a fairly high-energy make up and hair for the first shots and something a bit more sophisticated for the evening look. I guess you and Jilly can handle that? ... I thought so. OK well if you can be at my studio tomorrow lunchtime, that will be great. Keep it quiet though, the magazine doesn't want anything to get out about this until they do the launch. If it goes well you should have plenty more opportunities like this ... Right, see you there."

I overheard Tricia's phone call. It sounded like she had no problem setting up Janice and Jillie, the make up girls. Karen and Peta weren't any trouble either when Tricia called them. They were keen for some publicity as they saw it and, like she said, the worst that can happen is you don't like what the make up girls do.

The next day in the photo studio we'd hired for the occasion, Janice and Jillie were setting up their stuff on a couple of tables to one side when I saw Karen and Peta coming up the alleyway towards us. They squeezed past the van that almost blocked the alleyway and onto the stairs that led up to where we were.

We were using Tricia and Eva, the girl she'd worked with on the Questor pick up, for this. We thought the targets would be more comfortable with a couple of female photographers. I was there ostensibly to rig lighting. I just liked to watch the girls at work I guess. Tricia and Eva seemed to get on and it looked like everything was working so far. Tricia was keen to get a lead role but she didn't mind working in to Eva and Harry had been adamant that she needed a few more pick-ups under her belt before he'd let her take charge of one. She and Harry had had a bit of an up and downer about it. I was trying to stay out of it. At least it didn't seem to be interfering with this job.

The six of them were enjoying a glass of chilled wine before getting started while I fiddled around with the flash stands and the reflectors. Karen and Peta stripped down to their bra and panties to let Janice and Jillie get started on their make up and hair. There were some robes hanging by the chairs at the make up desk but they didn't bother with them.

Janice was just about to start on Peta's hair when Tricia and her friend went to work. The targets found themselves staring into the barrel of an Ouzi and a pistol. "Sorry, ladies," Tricia announced. "Just be careful or it will be a different type of shoot to the one you expected. Now keep your hands over your heads and sit down on the floor."

Janice, Jillie, Karen and Peta followed instructions, staring up from the floor at their attackers.

"Karen, Peta, on your face, please, hands behind your backs." Tricia passed two pairs of handcuffs to Janice and Jillie. "Put those on them," she ordered watching as Janice and Jillie cuffed the two volley ball players, "and squeeze them closed real tight. Tricia's associate was rummaging in Karen and Peta's sports bags, she pulled out four pairs of sports socks.

"One pair each, ladies," she said tossing them to Janice and Jillie. Seeing their puzzled look she pointed to her own mouth. "In the mouth, girls, in the mouth. We want you four quiet. You two roll the others over and stuff their mouths. Then do your own."

"No, please," begged Janice. "We won't make a sound. We'll be quiet."

"Will we, fuck," growled Karen.

Tricia grinned. "That's what we thought," she snarled. "Now get on with it." She aimed a swipe of her gun butt at Janice who fell into line quickly. Cramming a pair of socks into Peta's mouth before doing the same for her own. She looked back plaintively at Tricia. Jillie did the same for Karen. "Now some tape," said Eva, tossing a roll of gaffer tape across to Janice. Jillie knelt on the floor with her hands in the air, staring in fear at Tricia's gun. "Three strips - two diagonal cross ways over the mouth, one horizontal, use plenty and make sure it's pulled tight over those socks." Eva ordered Janice, watching as she did as she was told. "Great, you've done that really well. Now do your own."

As Janice pulled the strips tight across her own face she gave a muffled grunt. "Grunghhh," she went.

Eva smiled. "Yeah, it works doesn't it? Now do the other two." Janice taped over Peta's mouth and then did the same for Jillie before dropping the remainder of the roll on the floor. She looked up at Tricia and Eva and raised her own hands in resigned surrender.

"Very good," said Eva. "Now let's get you two tied up."

"Hang on," I said, interrupting things for the first time. "Let's have these two strip off. They're looking a bit over dressed alongside our sporty two." Tricia and Eva exchanged a look that said, "Men! Huh!" but they knew as well as I did that the more you did to humiliate them early on in the game, the easier they were to deal with as things went on.

"You heard the man," said Eva. "Stay down on the floor but get out of those dresses." Janice gave a muffled whimper. Eva responded by jamming her pistol into the girl's cleavage. Get started if you don't want an extra button hole," she snarled and Janice began to unfasten the buttons up the front of her dress. As she pulled it from her shoulders, I got a good look at her tits, she tried to hold her hands across her chest but Eva wasn't having any, ordering her to put her hands behind her. The gag muffled Janice's sobs but the tears on her cheek told the story of her distress and terror. Jillie offered no resistance as Tricia prodded her into stripping like her friend. She gave each of the make-up girls a pair of handcuffs and told them to lock their own wrists behind their backs before she pushed them face down alongside Peta and Karen. We let the four of them whimper helplessly while we cleared the place up.