Nowhere Man

Chapter 4

When I awoke, there was bright daylight outside the Cascade. Looking at my watch I saw that I had slept for about 18 hours.

On one hand that was bad, since it meant that I had lost a lot of precious time. On the other hand I had to accept that, obviously, my body had needed the rest. There was simply nothing to be gained from debating this with my own physical self, so I shrugged it off.

What had happened could not be changed anymore and I needed to concentrate on the future. At least now I felt fresh again, my mind was sharp and the soreness in my back had disappeared.

The parking lot at the side of the freeway, where I had parked the Cascade in the underbrush, was as empty as before. If cars had stopped here while I was sleeping then at least none of the drivers seemed to have taken special notice of me or my transporter.

I drank a bottle of water and consumed nearly all that was left of my food supplies, keeping just the last few cookies. I got Ivy out of the hidden compartment, placed her on the bed and could not help but being amused and annoyed at the same time by her moaning and struggling. The many hours in the strict bondage had surely been hellish for her, but I just did not give a fuck. All I wanted was feed her, water her and then get going again.

But from the corner of my eyes I suddenly noticed a flickering red light on the Cascades' console. The chirping noise had not been part of my dream! It had been a very real signal from the decoder that was hidden inside the standard-looking dashboard.

I left Ivy where she was - sitting with her taped legs and arms, gagged and blindfolded on the mattress in the back of the drivers' cabin - and rushed to check the recordings as fast as I could.

The name I read did not make me happy. "Aw come on. Fuck. Shit!" I raised a hand and nearly smashed it against the dashboard but controlled myself in the last second. "Why her? Is this a fucking joke?"

Behind me, Ivy was still struggling with the tape-bondage. The blindfolded girl moaned louder, then began sliding off the mattress. She shrieked in protest just a moment before she tumbled to the ground.

"Stop that", I growled. "It's distracting." Ivy desperately tried to get off the ground, flailing and growling, but at least she was exhausting herself in a comparatively silent way.

I concentrated on the message. I had been on the run for weeks, and it was starting to get to me. Being a lone wolf had always been fine. Being hunted like a wolf with rabies... that was something else entirely. All the damn time I had been hoping that some member of The Club, someone who still respected my work ethos, would contact me and offer me a safe haven. And now that such an offer had arrived, it turned out to be from the wrong person.

Her name was Agatha. She and I had what one might call a history, and that history was not exactly cozy and peaceful. It was the kind of 'history' you would also find in a book about the 30 Years War.

I had been her employee for a while, then her lover, then simply her henchman. I had for example assisted Agatha in enslaving a female acquaintance of hers, a woman who had had the bad luck to be attractive, single, without close relatives and rubbing Agatha all the wrong way.

Agatha was a sensual, impressive woman with a sadistic streak as broad as the Atlantic Ocean and an attitude just as stormy. In short: If I followed her invitation then there was a chance she might help me, for old times' sake. Alas, there was also an excellent chance that I would be walking directly into a trap.

"What to do, what to do. Relying on Agatha's help is not really a safe thing to do", I pondered. "That woman is as trustworthy as a viper..."

Behind me, Ivy complained as loud as she possibly could while still flapping around on the ground like a stranded dolphin. A last groan followed, a sobbing concession that she could not get into a less uncomfortable position without my help. She rested her head against the ground, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I know exactly how you feel", I said with one finger against my lips. "I'm tired of this shit too. But I guess we just gotta keep going." Thanks to the sleep I had gotten, my brain worked again. A plan quickly started to take shape in my mind. I got up, lifted Ivy up and put the panting girl back into the compartment. Oh how she screamed and complained! Then I got back behind the driving wheel and started the engine.

Three hours later we arrived at the closest big settlement that I had found on the map. It was about two times the size of the place where I had met Ivy and situated at the foot of the mountains, with flat plains opening to my view in the west. We were officially leaving the mountains behind and I was glad about that.

I made a quick survey of this town: It was more akin to a "big city" and thus more anonymous, with many people passing through, crowded sidewalks and a lot of buzz in the shops and taverns. There were no curious glances in the direction of me or my truck and it seemed realistic to hope that I could just become part of the scenery here.

"You are killing me... oh God why ... you're killing me you fucker, I'm starving!"

That, of course, was Ivy. She had not learned a thing and by now I had kind of accepted it. Not that it would help her much, but if that was going to be her attitude for the rest of our journey, so be it. Agatha would just love this girl.

"Oh come on", I said grinning. I had her in the back of the cascade, holding her restrained figure on my knees while I was feeding her slices of oranges, giving her some water and of course also checking her bonds. "Does this feel like starving?"

"You locked me in that fucking compartment for so long, I thought I was just going to die in there! Then you took me out and when I thought you "

I ate a slice of orange, shaking my head. I stared cleaning her up a bit with a couple of refreshment towels I had found in the glove compartment.

"That is never going to happen."

"But..."

"Never, Ivy. If you die, then you die because I made an decision to kill you." A grave silence followed, the blindfolded girl trying to breathe calm and slowly, but beneath her warm skin I could feel her heart beating faster. "But as long as I want you to be alive, I will not allow you to die. And you can believe me that I very much want you to stay alive."

"Because I'm your slave now...?" Her voice was weak, breaking a bit.

"Exactly. Because I took you, because I own you and I like it that way. Plus, you've become an asset to me."

She did not understand, cocking her head a bit to the side as I fed her another slice of orange.

"I'll explain later. I'll have good news then. But for now, you get gagged once more and you go back in the hidden compartment."

"I hate you, you fucking piece of shit."

"I know." I smiled. "Isn't our life just like a romantic comedy?"

After I had locked my sweet save away safely, I left the Cascade and went shopping. I was glad to find a very well stocked hardware store and - not too far away from it, just a little further down the alley - a decent sex shop. I spent the better part of an hour in both of those and could return to the small truck much sooner as I had expected. Because I was in a good mood I got Ivy out of the compartment again.

"What the hell are you doing?" I had taken the blindfold off for now. Her eyes were puffy and red, but gleaming with curisiosity. "Wait, is this... did you buy all this shit for me??"

She stared anxiously at the stuff I had brought back with me: A few tools, some super glue, belts and two pairs of cuffs, short chains and padlocks plus some electronic equipment. There was also a decent ballbag in the centre of a head-harness, a broad slave-collar and a pair of leather mittens. I was working on them now, modifying and improving them as much as I could. This stuff would never be able to compete with the specialized equipment I usually would rely on, but with my knowledge I was able to do quite a lot with it.

"Yes, I did. I decided that I need to improve your situation, Ivy."

"That's not my fucking name! And this is not an improvement!"

"First of all: Don't get so fucking loud, or I'll immediately stuff you back into the damn compartment." I smiled when she shuddered. "Second of all: Don't be whiny, tough girl. It's an improvement all right. It will be more comfortable than the tape, it will be less exhausting to wear longterm and I will be able to adjust it to our needs."

"I don't think that you and I really have common needs.... hey!"

I had placed the slave collar around her neck. It was thick, padded and quite heavy, especially because I had just modified it and integrated some electronic stuff. She stretched her neck, her eyes widening in protest. But when Ivy saw the look on my face, she relented and allowed me to tighten and lock the collar.

"Looks great on you."

"Feels shitty on me."

"Oh, if you say that now, wait until I apply this." I showed her the gag-harness, grinning. "But your arms come first. Turn around."

Sitting on the edge of the bed she turned, showing me her back and her taped arms. It seemed that for the moment her decision was to extract some information rather than curse me. With a slightly hoarse, but controlled voice she asked: "Do you never have a bad conscience? I mean... you say you have done stuff like this for many years. Do you never feel guilty about this?"

Using the superglue and some screws I had combined several of the straps to form a bondage harness. I slipped it over her head now, connected it to her collar and then cut the tape that held her arms.

Ivy sighed in relief when she felt the cool air on her sweaty skin, but she did not try to fight. She must have realized that there was no way she could prevent me from forcing her into the new, improved form of bondage I had prepared for her.

"I am not much into philosophy", I told her with a shrug. "I can't claim that I have many deep thoughts about my way of life." I pulled the last pieces of tape off her skin, then slipped the belts around her wrists and elbows. I tightened them and Ivy moaned, half in discomfort but more, I guessed, from frustration. She had been free only for a few fleeting seconds and now she could her the small padlocks get locked, her arms about as useless as before.

"Oh come on, she said dryly. "You are not trying to appear as a simple man with a simple mind, do you? I don't believe that bullshit even for a second. You just built a microelectronic device with not much more than scotchtape and a few simple tools." She nodded at the soldering iron I had worked with.

"Oh, I never said I was stupid." I smiled. While we were talking I secured the rest of her bonds, then grabbed the head-harness. I had put a lot effort into this thing: It came with chinstrap and another set of straps that would run across Ivy's face, securing the rubber-mouthpiece I had replaced the ballgag with very thoroughly.

"I just mean that I don't see a lot of sense in overanalyzing myself or the world I live in. I have certain... interests. I was always happy working for people with similar interests, who were rich and looking for trustworthy, capable henchmen. You ask me if I ever had a bad conscience, and the answer is: Maybe at the beginning, once or twice. Since then I've always enjoyed doing what I do to you right now, and never looked back."

She shivered, and - when I brought the gag close to her mouth - quickly said: "Wait, last question. What is going to happen once we reach that woman? You said she's a trustworthy as a viper, so... what is your pl...grhouugh!!"

I smiled, pushing the gag into her mouth and making sure the head-harness was tight enough. Then I attached the blindfold, ignoring her frustrated complaints.

"I dn't think I ever talked to any of my targets as much as I'm talking to you. And it's fun, I admit that. But we are not partners. So don't you worry, sweet Ivy. As long as Agatha does not find out that you are a forced slave, everything will work out just fine for me."