Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt
For over a century the Egyptian Museum was a landmark in the city of Cairo, being the home to some of the largest collections of relics of the country's heritage. The museum's website alone boasted that it contained nearly 200 masterpieces, including the corselet of Tutankhamen along with one of his game boards. Tourists from all over the world flocked to location, which had stood the test of time, unlike some the previous homes for the precious pieces of Egypt's national history.
The central room in the museum, known on the museum map as Room 78, contained several caskets and tomb markers. The caskets were arranged along the left and right while the markers, which included mini-pyramids and stone slabs covered in hieroglyphics, sat in the center. Behind the caskets were several Roman columns as well as traditional square building supports, and beyond that were several glass cases containing smaller Egyptian treasures. Above the columns was the second story with a similar layout to the area below, marble railings in place allowing people to lean over and look at the caskets from the second floor.
The first floor of Room 78 also contained a fair number of people, few of them Egyptian. While the museum was a national treasure, at least as far as the locals were concerned, it was also a big tourist magnet. Gathered on the south end of the room near a series of three caskets, the eastern-most having a statue of Horus on top while the other two were relatively-plain, was a group of thirteen tourists while another dozen people were scattered throughout the room with a few more on the second floor above them. Most of the people not in the tour group were locals who wore a mixture of white, tan and light blue clothing, which were generally regarded as good colors to wear on hot sunny days. One middle-aged woman was near the north end of the room with a pair of children, a boy and a girl, who were probably no older than seven and six. A member of the museum staff stood near a pyramid-shaped marker that had an eye carved into it, wearing a collared shirt and tie with black pants, a walkie-talkie at his side. Four couples completed the dozen non-tourists, each a man and a woman examining either a specific casket or case.
The thirteen tourists and their guide were a typical group of people, at least in the eyes of the museum staff. A Caucasian family of five, blatant Americans, stood close to their attractive and somewhat perky tour guide, a local woman in a light blue blouse with the top button undone as well as a black skirt, her hair tied back in a ponytail, simple barbell earrings framing her soft face nicely. The somewhat chunky father in the family wore a red Hawaiian shirt, white shorts and had a camera around his neck, sporting a fat brown mustache on his upper lip that looked soaked from sweat. The man's wife wore a tilly and was nearly as large as he was, wearing a yellow T-shirt and green shorts as well as cheap sunglasses for some reason inside. Three kids were with the couple, all of them girls, of the ages thirteen, eighteen and twenty. The youngest daughter has her blonde hair tied in pigtails and wore a white shirt with matching shorts, looking bored out of her mind. The middle daughter was an almost overly-thin girl with a deep tan, dark brown hair that hung freely though expertly combed, sporting a pink tank-top and a black mini-skirt, not surprisingly looking bored as well. The oldest daughter however, dressed in a white blouse and tan pants, seemed to hang on the tour guide's every word, constantly touching her glasses with her right hand as she looked at the caskets, her own blonde hair tied back and held in place with a pair of Japanese Senbon needles.
Four other members of the group were couples; one another overweight couple without kids that was dressed similarly to the first pair while the others appeared to be young Indian newly-weds, probably no older than twenty-five a piece. The man possessed a crew cut and wore a white V-neck with tan pants and a gold chain necklace, his left hand affectionately holding the right of his wife, an attractive woman in a white sleeveless blouse and black shorts, her straight hair parted down the middle. Finally there were four people around the same age group of the younger couple, all Caucasian. There were two men, each in their early twenties with curly hair, one blond and one brunette, who both appeared to be European and were eying up the women in their tour group that were near their own ages. One of the girls wore a long-sleeved T-shirt that was entirely white with matching pants, a slight gap between the two pieces of clothing revealing only a bit of skin, stopping just short of showing her entire bellybutton. The girl was a ginger blonde who had her hair brushed behind her ears, which sported big black earrings. Next to her was a casually-dressed girl who, oddly enough, wore a white hooded sweatshirt with a front zipper which wasn't entirely open in addition to a light blue pair of pants, a white baseball cap topping her head advertising the Microsoft logo, making people with her assume she was into computers. This girl had very thick curly black hair that completely covered her ears and still wore her large square sunglasses as well, her hands buried in the pockets of her sweatshirt, a black leather purse hanging around her right arm.
Security guards watching the room through the cameras saw nothing out of the ordinary. No one in the room did either. The tour guide continued to run though a passage of memorized speech about the casket with the Horus statue on it that they stood next to, using her hands expressively to make the somewhat bored tour group pay attention to her words. The museum was fairly quiet aside from the tour guide's words, everyone else either bored stiff or engrossed in what they were looking at. The first real change to this came when the middle daughter of the American couple reached into her white leather purse as her cell phone rang, not fazing the tour guide but getting several other members of the group to glance over at her.
Just then, the sound of both the cell phone and the tour leader's voice fell silent, as if someone had muted them. Not only the sound stopped, however, as it also looked like someone had “paused” the room. The tour guide stood where she was, her hands gesturing to her right where the casket was, her palms up, her mouth hanging open with a perky smile on her lips as she appeared to be working on the word 'this.' All four members of the American family were looking at the middle daughter with irritation on their faces as she stood with her silver phone in her hand, both hands holding it in front of her face as she stared intensely at the now silent device, unblinking. The blond European man had a rectangular piece of white gum in his right hand, raising it to an open mouth. The blonde single girl in the tour group was touching her nose with her left index finger, apparently having been scratching it but now just touching it. The curly-haired brunette had her right hand outstretched towards the casket, apparently leaning over to touch it but not moving a millimeter On the far side of the room the two children that belonged to the lone woman were standing in mid-stride as they'd been running around, their mother chasing after them with her arms outstretched, her back bent down. This scene seemed impossible to do physically as the long dark hair of the mother and the girl hung behind their heads as if it were gelled in place that way.
The plain and simple truth was that the entire scene had been suspended in time: Frozen between ticks of the clock.
Everything remained a dead silent and unmoving tableaux for a couple more seconds before there was motion from within the tour group. The curly-haired brunette stood back up and looked around at the frozen world that now surrounded her. She smiled to herself, unaffected by the eerie sight of suspended people all around her. It was like she was the only visitor at a closed wax museum. She walked causally over to the blond European man and snatched his piece of gum from between his stiff fingers, sticking it into her own mouth.
“Minty… thanks a bunch, sweetie,” The girl said, chewing on the gum and looking at the open-mouthed man who remained standing there with his now-empty right hand raised to his open mouth. Walking past the man’s frozen form, the girl peeled off her cap and dark curly haired wig, revealing bright blonde hair pulled back into a neat tight bun. She took off her sunglasses, unmasking intense crystal blue eyes and a flawless young face. Stuffing the wig, cap and glasses into her black purse she walked back to the other blonde woman that was standing stiffly next to her. “Let’s see what you got honey, I’ve been eying you since this tour started.”
The unfrozen woman arranged the blonde to stand with both of her hands posed behind her head. Her arms were somewhat stiff to move but were fully pose able with a little force. The gum-chewing blonde ran her hands down the front of the other blonde’s long t-shirt, feeling her breasts underneath and groping them through the shirt. “Hotness…” The gum-chewing blonde said as she looked into the blank eyes of the other girl. She then grabbed hold of the bottom of the blonde’s t-shirt and jerked it up and over the girl’s round breasts which were nicely wrapped in a boring-looking white cotton bra. The other woman, while chewing the gum calmly as cover for her anticipation, pulled each of the bra cups down. Tucking it under the suspended blonde’s bust, pink nipples soon revealed themselves to the gum-chewer. “Oh boy…” the gum-chewer cooed as she pinched and twisted the exposed nipples. She then leaned forward and kissed the frozen beauty passionately on her stiff lips. “Almost lost my gum there, love,” the girl said to the frozen blonde as she backed away while staring at the girl’s blank expression with mouth agape. “Let’s see what you have down south,” the gum-chewer said almost excitedly as she knelt down and grabbed hold of the suspended girl’s waistband, jerking it down to the girl’s knees, revealing a pair white of bikini cut cotton panties that hugged her round ass and womanhood tightly. The gum-chewer noted the camel toe coming through the front. Still chewing her gum calmly, the girl pulled the panties down to meet the pants. “Oh…” the gum-chewer said softly, almost moaning as her chewing quickened a little before she slowed it down back to a calm and controlled pace. She leaned forward and kissed the shaven mound. Standing back up to face the empty eyes of the time-stopped blonde, the girl wished she could do more. Rubbing her hand against the frozen girl’s cheek the gum-chewer gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before walking away.
Chewing her gum calmly with her hands stuffed into her sweatshirt pockets the girl casually walked past the other single man who was looking his stiff from head to toe. She shrugged with an unsatisfied look on her face and walked by him. “The love birds; how cute,” she said as she approached the Indian couple who still stood holding hands and staring blankly ahead. She stood in front of the man, examining his gold chain and looking into his empty brown eyes and then looked over at his wife. Touching the wife’s soft cheek she turned to look at the man. “Such a pretty girl; how in the world did she ever get with you?" The gum-chewer asked to unhearing ears. "She could have done a lot better if you ask me, but then again love works in mysterious ways."
"Well young people like you shouldn’t be holding hands. You should be doing something hotter…” the girl suggested while looking at the couple, both their blank expressions oblivious to the girl’s ear to ear grin. “I could help you out you know…” she said, chewing her gum a little quicker before controlling the pace. She then forcefully pulled apart the couple's hands and moved behind the wife, grunting but keeping her chewing calm as she lifted the wife by the hips and moved her to a nearby bench. The blonde unbuttoned the blouse and stripped it off of the wife’s body, her face looking on with empty brown eyes staring ahead. The wife’s small but round perky breasts were clad in a sexy lacy bra, the blonde’s chewing quickening as she unhooked and removed the bra. She slowed down her chewing automatically as before as the bra fluttered to ground next the blouse. Small round breasts with pointy brown nipples were locked into the blue eyes of the blonde woman as she pinched them and groped them. “Cute, but you may need some work done… oh wait…” She added, looking back at the husband’s still form.
“Actually they’re fine cutie,” the gum-chewer then said, pinching the girl on the cheek. The blonde then knelt down and pulled the wife’s black shorts down along with the white cotton thong that covered her womanhood as well. “Two words… bikini wax… cutie,” The blond said, looking at the wife’s bushy but in-control black hair masking her groin. She ran her hands over the wife’s smooth brown skin from midriff to leg, admiring her soft skin before lying her down and taking off the frozen woman’s shoes and pants, rendering her completely naked. The blonde left the wife in stock form, standing naked at the bench, as she walked back over to the husband and moved his rigid form next to his wife. Chewing her gum calmly, she made quick work of the husband’s clothes as they were soon all over the museum floor along with his wife’s. The husband stood only clad in pair of silk black boxers. “Nice bod… you get a point,” complimented the blonde as she ran her hand down his defined pecs and abs. “Let’s see junior,” the blonde then said, kneeling down and pulling the husband’s boxers to his bare ankles. “OH MY!” The blonde exclaimed loudly, her voice echoing off the museum's walls. “Now I see why you married him,” she said, turning to the wife and then looking back at the husband’s long and thick member between his stiff legs. She giggled to herself as she removed the boxers off his ankles. “Now for the fun!”
It took a little time and work but the blonde had achieved the pose she wanted. The wife was leaned over the bench with her hands on the back of it with her brown stiff legs spread wide. The husband stood behind his wife with one hand holding her hips and the other a fistful of her black hair, his wife’s head tilted back as if he were pulling on her hair. The blonde molded the wife’s face as if she were made of clay, closing her eyes and opening her mouth as if in a scream, the husband bearing the same look. She leaned over and kissed the wife on the cheek, then looking over her work. “With a little sweat, this could actually be a good movie scene… Don’t you guys worry, if it’s really love you guys will be over this by tonight,” She said with a smile, chewing her gum as she walked back to the group, leaving the young couple in their own frozen erotic pose.
“My you people should know when to stop…” The blonde commented, looking at the large couple as she walked passed them with a disgusted look. She walked between the family, looking at everyone who had their eyes on their dark-haired middle daughter. The girl stared at her open cell phone with intensity, oblivious to the looks of her family. “Aren’t you the center of attention?” the blonde asked smugly, standing face-to-face with the teenager. “Let’s help you out a bit…” the blonde said with a grin. Leaving the girl standing as she was, the blonde pulled down the girl’s black mini-skirt to her ankles, showing off the girl’s hot pink panties. She then rolled the girl’s pink tank top up. The girl had no bra on and her small breasts came into view.
“Oh my… you have nothing honey, yet you’re so bold,” the blonde said with a smile as she pinches the girl’s small nipple. "Kids these days..." Moving over to the father, “Tacky are we?” she asked to his blank-eyed face and pushed him closer to his nearly-topless daughter. The blonde then arranged the man’s large arms so that his hands were locked around his daughter’s thin neck. She then moved the mother next to him and raised her right arm over her daughter’s head with her palm just inches away from her daughter’s crown. Next the blond moved the youngest daughter, who was dressed in white, to be standing facing her sister and extended her arm forward, molding her hand to be pointing at her sister’s bare chest. “Now that’s how we Americans should be, the lower half anyways…” the blonde said with a slight grin.
“It would make the grand tour livelier if you did something with yourself, sweetie,” The blonde said as she looked over the motionless tour guide. “You’re a lovely girl… I’ve bet the tour would be GREAT if you were naked!” The blonde exclaimed as if stuck by lightning. She chewed her gum quickly as she began to strip the tour guide of her uniform. In no time there was a pile of clothes at the now-naked tour guide’s feet. She was left only clad in her earrings and black heels, her black hair remaining in a ponytail which gave her a more naked look. Her olive skin reflected nicely under the museum’s soft lights, her nice round breasts proportional to her frame, a flat and inviting midriff, a clean shaven mound and sexy legs with high calves over sexy ankles. She stood with the same frozen expression upon her face in the same pose with her hand gestures. “Much better, I think more people would pay attention now!” the blonde exclaimed, kissing the tour guide on the cheek.
“You been eying that tour guide since we got to this room honey, do you have a thing for her?” The blond asked looking at the oldest daughter, who had her head slightly turned over as she was looking at her bare-chested sister. The blonde turned the frozen girl’s body so she was standing face-to-face with the naked tour guide. She then unbuttoned the girl's blouse, opening it up, then pulling down her pants to around her ankles. The blonde then arranged the girl’s hands so that she was holding open her blouse so the tour guide could see her cream colored bra and panties. “That should do.,” The blonde decided, chewing her gum and looking over the eldest daughter. “One more thing,” she then said, taking off the girl’s glasses and placing them on the tour guide's face. “Now you two would have to talk… if you’re lucky maybe something could grow from it,” She said with smile, kissing the daughter softly on the lips.
“Ah ok… enough of the fun; let’s get to work,” The blonde said, cracking her knuckles. As she walked away from the tour group she eyed the middle-aged woman and her kids. “God I hate children,” The blonde said as she turned the two children towards their pursuing mother. “This will show you not to run around, you brats…” the blonde muttered as she was walking away from the threesome.
After browsing the glass cases for a few minutes, the unfrozen blonde found what she was looking for. Sitting in the center of one case was a small golden statue of the goddess Selket, another treasure connected with the famous King Tut. In front of the case was an elderly couple, both silver-haired with the male using a cane. "I need to borrow this," the gum-chewer told the frozen elder, pulling the wooden cane away from his rigid hands. With a casual motion the blonde swung and smashed the tip of the hooked cane into the glass as if she were striking a gong, causing the glass to shatter into thousands of shards that hung in the air like glass shower. With her right hand the blonde pushed aside the pieces into a gap, then snatched up the small statuette, stuffing it into her purse and leaving something else in its place near the back of the broken case. Laughing to herself, the blonde walked away from the scene of the crime, twirling the cane in her left hand.
"Thanks for the gum," the thief told the blonde European man as she placed the stolen cane in the hand that was reaching for his mouth, flecks of glass stuck in the wooden object. "And thank you for showing up," the thief added, pausing in front of the sexy frozen blonde girl she'd stripped first. With aggressive passion the thief wrapped her arms around the frozen girl's hips, her hands squeezing her butt as she kissed the woman's neck. The thief had the urge to do more but knew it would be a bad idea. "I hope we meet again," the thief whispered into the blonde's ear as she walked away, her lone footsteps becoming more and more distant.
For the thief, her handiwork had taken a significant portion of an hour, but for everyone else in the museum the interlude lasted less than a pico-second. Just as suddenly as time had appeared to stop it started up again. After a moment, the tour group started letting lose screams of shock and fear for a lost of modesty, eyes growing to the size of saucers as people saw the amount of exposure before them. The middle-aged woman cried out as her children ran into her chest, causing them all to fall over in a big heap. The brown-haired European man was effectively the only member of the tour group smiling, his companion rubbing his sore mouth as he'd tried to eat the cane that had appeared in his hand. The nude people quickly attempted to grab their lost clothing and cover their naked shame as the museum's security alarm blared, letting everyone know that a display case had been disturbed. In the blink of an eye, Room 78 of the Egyptian Museum had gone from humdrum order to utter chaos.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt
Baffling was an understatement for what they were seeing on the security monitor. One second everything was normal, the next everything had changed; there were alarms going off with people panicking and moving frantically around. The tour guide and other visitors had gone from dressed to naked or barely clothed in a blink an eye. The guards and police had watched the tape over and over again for about thirty minutes now hoping to see something, but amidst the chaos that ensued after an uneventful tour it was impossible. The theft had been ruled as “an act from an unknown organized crime syndicate” by the Egyptian police and outside help was sought out immediately, given the nature of the evidence or lack thereof presented. A group of five Interpol special agents arrived within twenty-four hours of the theft to take over the investigation. The local police, relieved for the help, stepped aside and let the professionals handle it as they eagerly waited for a possible explanation from their international friends.
“One more time,” Special Agent Cassandra Flick asked, leaning closer to the monitor. She was sitting next to the operator to get the best view of what was going on but it wasn’t helping, as she didn’t have the foggiest clue what had happened.
“This is pointless; we’re not getting anything out this!” Special Agent Tasia Spiro blurted in frustration, running her hands through her long curly red hair and stepping away from the back of security monitors to rest her eyes. Tasia had come in from Greece and the short flight had not been friendly to her as she could feel the results on her body. The heat outside was not helping much either.
“Just relax, everything comes into light with patience,” Special Agent Hui Lan suggested with a friendly smile to her fellow team member. Hui could not put together what was going on the monitor either, but she knew if one waited and knew what they were looking for an answer would surely come.
Tasia took a drink from her bottled water sitting on a nearby table in the middle of the cramped security monitoring room, which was packed by security personnel, local police officers and her three team members. A police officer saw the stress and frustration across the undercover specialist's face and offered his seat at the table for her. She smiled at him and accepted. Sitting down, Tasia took a deep breath to regain her composure. This was not her thing, standing around and waiting for something to appear. She would rather go undercover some place and find information out through that manner instead. The heat in Egypt was not helping her mood either since, like two of her team members, she was dressed in business-pants suit with a light blouse, her gun holstered on her right hip and an ID badge draped around her neck. Agent Lan, however, was in a cute sun dress, which looked great on her short frame. The hem of the dress stopped just over the weapons specialist’s bare knees and lightly hung off her bare shoulders by spaghetti straps. An ID badge suspended from her neck was the only thing on her showing that she was an Interpol agent. Tasia wondered where Hui kept her gun as she looked over the form-flattering dress. “I wish I'd worn a dress today,” Tasia said with grin, looking at Hui up and down.
Hui smiled in return and hopped onto the table gracefully, sitting on the edge. She had to rest her eyes from the monitors too. If anyone could figure out what was going on those monitors it was Flick and Lucienne Christophe, their team chiefs. Both women, Flick being from the United Kingdom and Christophe being from France, were the leaders of the team and senior agents. Like Cassandra, Lucienne stared at the monitor intently for the hundredth time that day.
Loud rock music and flashing lights broke Lucienne’s concentration as she turned to a small TV that some guards had gathered around, having lost their workstations to the visiting authorities. It was a commercial for Stone Enterprises, a growing corporation that was spreading globally from the United States. The company dealt with travel, through air, sea, and on rail as well as shipping. Popular icon and daughter of Philip Stone, founder of the multi-billion dollar company was now heiress to the company after her father’s retirement. Erika Stone was featured prominently in the commercial, dressed in fashionable clothes as always, the gorgeous shapely blonde flaunting her looks as she advertised her company’s global growth.
“Typical rich American; you have everything but you still want more,” Tasia observed in disgust at the commercial.
Lucienne looked sternly at the security guard that operated the TV. He quickly turned it down. She then looked back at Tasia and Hui with a softer look. Hui simply smiled; her usual response when anyone looked at her.
Tasia looked as if she was a child getting caught stealing candy. She was the newest member of the team and she didn’t want to get on the bad side of her superiors. From other agents she knew Lucienne was tough French woman who had been injured in the line of duty twice while serving with the Paris PD. “Sorry, Agent Christophe,” muttered Tasia.
Lucienne grinned at her charge warmly, walking over to the table. “Nothing to be sorry about mon cheri,” the team leader said in her thick and cute French accent. “That arrogant brat will probably run her father’s company into the ground anyways,” Lucienne added with a smile. She could see the stress on the rookie's face, being an undercover specialist subjected to reviewing a surveillance video that she herself had no idea what to make of either. Lucienne turned to a nearby man dressed in a suit, as he was the leading inspector. “Inspector, could you assist Agent Spiro here in looking over the interview transcripts of the visitors and the tour guide?”
“Of course,” The Inspector replied. He needed to get out the room since he'd had enough of that confounded surveillance video.
“Go with the Inspector Tasia and see if you can find out anything from the visitors,” The French agent ordered. "And when you report back, to me please call me Lucienne," the senior agent added with a quick grin, patting the younger agent on the shoulder with a reassuring grin.
“Yes, Agent Chris… I mean Lucienne,” Tasia said happily, standing up and following the Inspector out of the room. She was happy to be out of that room even if it meant being in the heat.
“Hui,” Lucienne said, turning to the Chinese agent who hopped off the table happily. Hui was the shortest member on the team but by far the deadliest as she was crossed-trained in every gun known to man and skilled martial artist as well. Her calm and happy exterior would easily deceive anyone who did not know her. “Help Cassandra with the video,” Lucienne requested and then whispered, “Make sure she doesn’t go crazy looking over it.”
“As you wish, Lucienne,” Hui said with a smile, walking over to stand behind the second-in-command and putting her delicate but deadly hands on the taller woman’s shoulders.
“Cassandra, I’m going up to see how Marika is doing; you and Hui keep checking out that video,” Lucienne said as she turned to leave the room. “This time, go frame by frame…”
“Play it once more,” Cassandra ordered wearily as she and Hui looked over at the monitor.
Special Agent Marika Heino from Finland stood by the broken glass case, her bag of tools at her feet. Her gloved hands carefully examined the shards of glass for any clue while her colleagues had huddled over the surveillance video. The video still made no sense to Marika, since she was the team’s forensic expert and she had examined Room 78, the scene of the crime. The tall blonde Baltic agent had not found anything remotely close to solving the case yet, but remained calm knowing that the bad guys always messed up and she would be there to catch them.
Lucienne's heels click-clacked loudly as she approached Room 78, which was blocked off from the rest of the museum by police tape. The posted uniform guard, seeing her smartly dressed with the visible hump on her right hip under her jacket and the Interpol ID badge around her neck, lifted the tape for her to cross under. Room 78 remained untouched aside from the remaining clothes that were scattered all over the marble floor, which had to be picked up of course for the visitors’ sakes. The clothes that had already been removed were then later collected by the Egyptian police to be more closely examined for clues by lab technicians. There was white finger-printing powder everywhere: along the walls, on railings and near display cases. Lucienne followed the trail of white powder to her forensic expert and she found Marika near the broken case where the gold statue was taken from. She stood a good five feet behind the blonde specialist, seeing that she was concentrating intently. Lucienne had been working with Marika for over a year and while she was probably the smartest person the chief knew in forensic science, Marika however could really get into her work and when disturbed would almost violently lash out at whoever had disturbed her, regardless of rank. Lucienne had been at the receiving end of one of these outbursts once and knew better not to disturb the tall blonde.
“I’m pretty much done,” Marika stated in her thick accent, not turning around.
“Do you have anything?” Lucienne asked, approaching the case while crossing her arms and looking at the taller woman. Marika was dressed in jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt, her shoulder-length straight blonde hair tied back and held together by bobby pins.
Marika looked up tiredly at her reddish-brown-haired boss. “Nothing good," Marika admitted. "There are a few hundred fingerprints around in this room but there are none in the case. The cane I looked at earlier has the old man’s prints, his wife's, one of the male visitor’s and one odd print that is too smudged for me to identify. I am sorry, my friend, but I have nothing. I may get something from the clothes but that is slim. We are dealing with a professional here.”
Lucienne looked around before scratching the back of her head. She had no idea what was going on or how it was possible for what happened to really happen at all. Sighing and looking around the white-powder covered room she muttered a curse to herself in her native tongue.
Seeing her boss’s frustration, Marika remembered the one clue she had just found when she first examined the case. “I forgot; I did find this resting in the case in place of the stolen statuette when we first arrived,” Marika said, handing her boss a clear plastic evidence bag which had some coins and printed paper in it that looked like money.
Lucienne looked at the contents carefully and knew what it was almost immediately, “Francs?” Lucienne said in surprise. "What is old French currency doing here?"
Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt
The crowded airport restroom was comfortably quiet for the thief from the museum. As a matter of fact, since she'd stopped time she hadn't even bothered to close the stall door, thus a teenage Egyptian girl stood frozen in front of her, her fixed gaze locked on the thief as she cleaned up after herself. "Ah... much better," declared the blonde, standing up and pulling up her black silk underwear and white mini-skirt. Since the robbery the girl had taken the time to change clothes so she'd be impossible to recognize, even though she had been wearing a coverup and wig before she'd stopped time at the museum.
Leaving the stall behind, the thief slid a stick of pink bubble gum into her mouth and saw none of the sinks were free. Three women hogged the sinks, and only one of which was actually in the process of using one, or had been when the thief had stopped time. The woman at the sink on the right was a pampered-looking thirty-year-old Caucasian woman with her red hair set in a business woman's bun, her suit consisting of a leopard-colored jacket, white blouse and black skirt. The woman was leaning over the sink and looking at herself closely in the mirror, her right hand holding pink lipstick to her face, mere centimeters away from touching her lips. The woman's left hand was away from her body, her palm up and her fingers slightly spread apart. The middle sink was occupied by an older Egyptian woman who the thief figured was about fifty; she had black hair with several streaks of gray in it and somewhat saggy skin. The woman wore a light yellow sundress with no sleeves but was fairly plain; she stood with her index fingers pulling down the skin under her eyes for some reason. Finally there was a young Egyptian woman in a sleeveless white blouse and blue shorts, her short hair combed back behind her ears, her hands actually in the sink as water spilled forth from the tap onto her hands, though it currently looked like the water was a molded acrylic instead of liquid.
"I think this color would suit you better elsewhere," the thief said with a grin, plucking the lipstick from the businesswoman's hand. Gently the blonde pulled the living mannequin back from the unused sink, dragging her on the heels of her flat leather shoes. Once there was a gap between the woman and the sink, the gum-chewer got in front of her and quickly drew on the woman's forehead, writing the word 'BITCH' in pink lipstick. "Wow, nice rack!" exclaimed the thief as she finished unbuttoning the businesswoman's blouse, revealing a black bra that could barely contain her C-cup breasts. The blonde was surprised that the fullness was only a C-cup as she could of sworn they were D-cups. After kissing the woman's cleavage the blond removed her jacket, blouse and bra, leaving them in the toilet that she'd just used, which she hadn't yet flushed. Finally she pulled down the woman’s skirt and thong, though she didn't move them from her ankles. "You're talented with a razor too," observed the gum-chewer as she rubbed the businesswoman's crotch before sticking the lipstick in it.
The blonde ignored the saggy older woman, instead casually tipping her over and laying her on the floor. The thief however couldn't resist pulling down the shorts of the other cute Egyptian woman, proceeding to kiss the woman's lower cheeks for a minute until the gum in her mouth reminded her that she couldn't fool around. "Thanks for the water sexy," The blond told the unhearing woman as she used chunks of the frozen water to wet her hands, rubbing her hands along the side of the sculpture and then drying them with a paper towel. Instead of putting the towel in the garbage however the blond dropped it in between the breasts of the woman who was washing her hands, causing her bra and shirt to become extremely damp and fail to hide anything underneath. "You'd kick butt at a contest on spring break," the gum-chewer said softly as she kissed the neck of the frozen woman.
Finished having fun, the blonde exited the bathroom and walked into the terminal, at which point time resumed. The blonde only smiled as she heard surprised shrieks coming from the bathroom.
"All passengers for flight 435 to Paris, France, this is your final boarding call," announced a airline agent over the PA system. Hearing this, the blonde hurried to the gate so she wouldn't miss her flight.
The Louvre, Paris, France
Room 6 of the Louvre's Denon Wing was the home to one of the most famous paintings in the world: The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci. Millions of people came from all over the world to see this painting, even if they weren't big on art otherwise. Naturally at any given time during the open hours of the world-renowned French museum there were at least forty people in the same room as the famous painting, though it wasn't the only canvas in the vast square room. Over twenty people were gathered around the small archway on one side of the room, which was protected by glass as well as a red roped divider similar to the types seen at movie theaters, behind which appeared the Mona Lisa itself. Many people had cameras raised; some were just looking, some were looking at pamphlets and maps. The room, however, was totally silent and still; only one person was moving among the bundled collection of human statues.
"Tight squeeze," muttered the blonde thief, chewing a piece of punk bubble gum as she looked around the frozen crowd. She was at the front, a thin black digital camera in her hands while she wore a red strapless dress, black heels and a red sun hat with a large brim as well as movie star sunglasses, her black purse around her right arm.
Carefully, the thief slid her camera into her purse and then looked to her left where a Chinese tourist stood with her fancy silver camera in front of her eyes. The woman was in her early twenties and wore a white shirt with a picture of William Shakespeare on it, along with Hawaiian shorts, her hair hanging long and loose with a pair of pink clips on top. "I guess tacky isn't limited to Americans," sighed the gum-chewer as she pulled the camera away from the girl's hands, dropping it to the floor and letting the extended black lens break off. "You're on vacation, you should be having some hot action," the blonde told the frozen Asian girl as she knocked over the divider with a casual push, causing the metal poles to clatter to the ground just like the camera. "Come on, I'll introduce you to something new," the gum-chewer said as she wrapped her arms around the Chinese girl's waist from the front, lifting her up and carrying her over to the security guard on the left of the glass. The guard was a tall brunette wearing the standard white buttoned shirt, black tie, black pants and heavy security belt, his hair short and little more than a crew-cut. The blonde carefully put the girl down in front of the guard and, using some small scissors from her purse, cut open the back of the girl's shirt as well as her bra. The blonde then raised the girl's arms above her head and peeled off her upper body clothing, leaving her bare-chested form directly in front of the security guard.
"Not bad, but you're not exactly making me hot here," the thief observed as she circled the frozen girl, pinching her nipples a couple of times as she did so. "Let’s lose the shorts." Once again making use of her scissors, the blonde removed the Chinese woman's tacky tourist shorts and large panties, leaving her naked except for her socks and running shoes while her hands were still above her head. The gum-chewer then proceeded to run her tongue up from the woman's bush all the way to her belly-button. "Tastes good, but I'll probably be hungry again in an hour," moaned the thief, making a tastelessly racist remark. The blond then positioned the girl so she was leaning against the security guard, his pants dropped and his heart-covered boxers around his knees, her arms around his back, his open lips pressed against hers as his hands squeezed her butt. "I doubt you'll stay soft for long like that," the blond assured the guard as she pulled an extendable baton from his belt. With a violent swing the blond shattered the glass protecting the Mona Lisa and tossed the weapon aside. The thief's chewing became more rapid as she picked up the famous painting and carried it out from its alcove.
On the other side of the room was a couple in their fifties, both possessing gray hair; the man posed holding a map of the museum in his hands as his wife looked over his left side at it. "Lets give you something nicer to look at," suggested the thief, pulling away the map and replacing it with the Mona Lisa. The blonde then quickly hurried back to where the painting had originally been stored and took the pistols from the two guards' belts, placing one in the hands of the wife and tucking the other into the waistband of the husband. "A real Bonnie and Clyde," laughed the blonde, rubbing the balding man's head as she walked back to the original location of the now-stolen painting.
The other guard possessed a shaved head but had a thick black mustache. "You should be searching dangerous women for drugs and bombs," suggested the blonde, selecting a stylish French woman who was probably around twenty-seven from the crowd. The woman wore a black blouse with short sleeves as well as long white pants and gray heels, her hair cropped short slightly above her shoulders but with spiky tips. This woman had been standing with her left arm across her stomach, her right elbow resting in the palm of her hand, her index finger and thumb cupped around her chin. The gum-chewer stripped the frozen blonde on the spot, tearing her clothing into strips and tossing them onto other members of the frozen crowd. Once the woman was relieved of her clothes the thief placed the woman's hands at her sides so she was standing at attention and gently lowered her to the floor by her shoulders. Once the woman was laying, down the gum-chewer removed the blonde's shoes and threw them aside, then stood the woman up again. Next the thief carried the blonde over to the second security guard and placed her body so her back was to him.
"Before I continue, let me have a taste," the thief said seductively as she opened the woman's mouth and kissed her passionately, careful not to lose her gum like she nearly had a couple of days previously in Cairo. "Mmm... he's a lucky man," moaned the gum-chewer as she bent the frozen blonde over at the waist, placing her hands on her knees. The thief then walked the bald guard forward and placed his left hand over the bent-over blonde's womanhood, his fingers even penetrating. The man's right hand held his baton, not extended, which the thief had placed to be sticking in the blonde's rear end. "I feel like I'm watching a movie on Lifetime," laughed the thief as she kissed the compromised blonde on the cheek and walked away.
"I think that will do it," giggled the blonde, looking over the frozen tableaux in the room one last time. The Chinese girl was naked and making out with the one guard, the French woman was being probed by the other one, an elderly couple held the Mona Lisa and the guns that belonged to the guards, plus the crowd around the now-empty alcove had scraps of clothing scattered all over them. The thief was a bit disappointed that only two women in the room were worthy of being stripped, at least in her eyes, as the rest were either in their forties or above. Shrugging, the blonde jauntily walked out of the room.
A minute later, at least from the perspective of the thief, time was no longer stopped. As the crowd panicked at the disappearance of the painting the elderly man dropped the painting that had appeared in his hands, shocked to the point of having saucer-shaped eyes. His wife, meanwhile, didn't seem to notice she was holding a gun as she looked down at the dropped painting in surprise as well. The brown-haired guard pulled back from the Chinese girl for a moment but, as the gum-chewer had predicted, his quickly found himself not caring about the world around him, nor did the woman as the pair fell to the floor and began to kiss passionately as if possessed. The bald guard was desperately apologizing to the naked blonde woman as she shrieked and even began to sob as she covered her shame, the man tearing off his own shirt to cover her exposed body as a few people with cameras continued to take pictures. Alarms blared and more guards rushed to the scene, several filing past the smiling blonde in red with the big hat.
The blonde couldn’t help but to laugh out loud as the dozen or so security guards surrounded the elderly couple with guns drawn. The look of shock and fear on the couple’s face was priceless as they slowly raised their hands to the armed guards. More guards and other staff members had arrived to control the crowd and gain back some order. The blonde silently chewed her gum and even blew a bubble as she watched the drama unfold, playing the part of a confused bystander. Two more guards came to assist the bald guard with the naked French woman, whose face was beet red and was sobbing in shame now. They ushered her out of the room quickly. Amidst the chaos the blonde had not noticed that naked Chinese girl and the other guard had ducked off somewhere. She laughed to herself at the thought. “You really should pay me for that; just think of the story of how you two met," The blonde said to herself as she turned around to look at painting that she was now standing in front of, people rushed in and out of the room without noticing her presence. "Ah… love, such a wonderful thing.” She took in the beautiful detail of the painting, which depicted a wedding feast. Lovely, she thought to herself, snapping her gum with her teeth. There was still noise and chaos around her and the room was starting to feel warm with all the activity.
“I think that should be enough this time,” She said to herself as everything around her went quiet as if someone watching the scene had hit the mute button. The only thing the blonde heard was the chewing of her gum. She turned around to look at the mass of frozen people; there were tourists, security guards, and staff mixed into the crowd now. The scene looked as chaotic as it was when it had been moving. There were people pointing, shouting, gesturing, a million actions all happening at once and they were now frozen before her. Smiling, the blonde fished her camera from her purse and took a snapshot of the sight, laughing to herself as she walked out of the room.
The Louvre had become a sort of a wax museum now, was silent and empty. The lone moving blonde walked among the quiet atmosphere with its suspended tourists and staff all around her. Right when she turned the corner at the double doors of the room she stooped in her tracks, coming face-to-face with a staff member and security guard. Both were female, the staff member appearing to be in her mid-twenties with long dark curly hair, sharp facial features and pretty green eyes behind wire-framed glasses. Her face held a look of shock and disbelief. She was dressed in a navy blazer with a white blouse underneath and a knee length navy skirt over nylon-covered legs and black pumps. She was in mid-stride and looked like she had been walking briskly to the chaotic scene before the blonde had again stopped time.
The security guard next to the staff member was posed in the same motion. She wore a uniform much like her male counterparts, only hers was fit more nicely around her body and showed off her womanly curves. She was a dark-skinned woman with close-cropped hair and a skinny face with high cheekbones. She held a walkie-talkie up to her mouth as she walked. The blonde looked the security guard and the staff member up and down and grinned from ear to ear. “Lovers?”
Then chewing her gum quickly, the blonde grabbed the radio from the female security guard’s hand and tossed it aside, causing it to hit the ground and gave a brief squawk as it broke. She then ripped open the guard’s shirt, sending buttons flying. The guard had a white t-shirt on underneath. The blonde removed her scissors once again from her purse and went to work. She cut the rest of the uniform shirt and t-shirt from the guard’s body, leaving a dark blue bra remaining to hold the guard’s fairly large breasts. The blonde groped them while chewing her gum quickly, slowing down after catching herself. Kneeling, she removed the guard’s belt and then jerked the trousers down to her ankles. Smooth dark legs and blue panties presented themselves to the blonde trickster. Licking her lips, she rubbed her palms down the guard’s legs. The gum-chewer pushed the guard down on to her back, her legs and arms remaining stiff and in the same position they were in when she was standing. The blonde straightened out the guard’s legs and removed her pants, socks and shoes.
Leaving the guard on the ground, the blonde began to strip the other staff member with her scissors, making quick work of her uniform and soon the dark-haired staffer stood before her dressed only in matching green bra, panties, and a pair of nude pantyhose. The blonde, chewing her gum carefully, kissed the staffer sensuously on the lips and removed her glasses. She then laid the dark-haired woman down and stripped the rest of her clothing off with the help of her scissors, leaving the staffer now lying naked beside the guard.
The thief straddled the security guard at her hips. She threw off her own summer hat and leaned forward, kissing the dark-skinned suspended woman on her stiff lips. With her scissors she cut off the woman’s remaining undergarments, rendering her nude. The blonde's chewing increased as she ran her hands freely over the guard’s body, caressing everything. “Oh…” the blonde moaned as she lay over the naked security guard, wishing she could do more but thought better of it as she got off the stiffened woman. “So hot…” she muttered, looking down at both naked museum employees. “As lovers should be!” she exclaimed as she grabbed hold of both women and began to pose them.
Minutes later the blonde put her sun hat back on and shouldered her purse. The two naked women were locked in a lovers' embrace, with their naked limbs wrapped around one another and stiff lips interlocking. “Just lovely…maybe you two will hit it off like the other two,” The thief remarked as she walked on.
As the thief moved through the silent Louvre, she toyed with her scissors some more as she walked past other tourists; soon there was a trail of naked tourists leading from Room 6 down the Long Gallery and to Room 77 where at last she spotted what she had come for. Chewing her gum, the blonde thief snipped off the last of a flower dress of a red-haired tourist, leaving her standing in her panties with her large breasts hanging freely in front of her. “Now that’s perhaps the nicest pair of tits that I have seen today,” The thief added, pinching the tourist’s pink nipples.
The blonde blew a pink bubble as she approached the center display, which housed a fourteen inch gold statue of a Greek Goddess Aphrodite. The statuette sat on a marble podium that was roped off by red velvet ropes suspended from brass poles. The blond stepped over the ropes and scooped up the statue, admiring its beauty before stuffing it into her purse. She hopped back over the ropes playfully and snapped her gum loudly as she proceeded to head towards the exit. "Oh, maybe a detour is in order," realized the blonde, feeling her stomach rumble. With a change of plans the thief headed for the food court.
The blonde took a deep breath as she entered the food court. She was expecting to smell the sweet smell of famous French pastries but instead got nothing but a nose full of stale air. Oh I forgot, thought the blonde as she walked, failing to remember that the Louvre's food court was more like the type you'd find in a mall. Like Room 6, the food court was quite full and there seemed to be more kids than adults. “Little brats…” she muttered to herself, walking around the silent food court. She was glad that she had stopped time, as just by looking around the crowded food court she knew the commotion would have given her a massive migraine. She looked at the different stands around the large room, searching for anything that caught her attention. Most of the stands had long lines in front of them. “Commoner food…” she muttered distastefully, staring at the lines. Even though lines did not really matter to her, she still wanted something different from what everyone else was having.
Then she saw it, sitting off by itself in the far corner of the court, a pastry stand. “Yum…” she said happily as she made her way to the stand. The small glass sample case that sat on the corner of the stand held several delicious-looking bread treats. The blonde leaned over the counter, eying the case’s contents. Her stomach growled once more, “Just a second,” she cooed, rubbing her belly.
There was a single employee standing behind the counter, a dark-haired girl with big brown eyes who looked to be about eighteen or so and quite cute. The girl was dressed in a short-sleeved t-shirt over a pair of tight-fitting jeans. A pink apron that matched the color scheme of the stand covered her clothes. The blonde blew a pink gum bubble, looking over the dark-haired girl who leaned over the counter, resting on her elbows her face which bore a bored and sleepy look. The blonde took another look at the pastries in the case once more before she walked behind the counter with her scissors out.
“I think you’ll get more business from this variation; not only are you cute, but you have a hot bod too!” The blond said as she ate a strawberry-filled crepe while sitting on the counter. The lone employee was now completely naked, her clothes in shreds behind the stand. The undressed girl sat on the counter top next to the blonde with her bare legs crossed at the knees, her hands behind her and flat on the counter top supporting her leaned back stiff frame with rounded brown-tipped breasts thrust outward. Her head was thrown back with her brown hair hanging off her head. The girl’s face a bore an overly happy expression with a wide smile showing her white teeth; her brown eyes were wide in shock. The blonde looked over at her statue-like naked companion as she finished her crepe, taking in the girl’s glorious figure. “Thanks for the crepe,” the blond said as she wiped her lips with a napkin from the counter. "It could have used a bit of whipping cream through." The thief flipped over the counter and dug around underneath it until she found a can of what she was hoping to find. After giving the can a shake, the blonde climbed back onto the counter and sprayed whipping cream across the top of the frozen employee's breasts. "You dirty little thing," joked the blonde as she proceeded to lick up the rich and creamy dairy product, having extra fun running her tongue down the woman's cleavage. "Mmm... and a little sugar would be perfect on top," added the blonde seductively as she planted as kiss on the woman's lips, a hard thing to do with her smile so big. The thief then fished out a bottle of Avion water from the stand's beverage cooler and took a sip as she scanned the suspended scene ahead of her.
She spotted a blonde young couple close to her, where the woman had her mouth open about to eat a forkful of salad, which was stuck on the utensil in front of her face. There was a group of children being supervised by four nuns near the couple. The blond grinned evilly as she put her bottled water away in her purse and stuck another piece of gum into her mouth. “Well, gotta run love…” The blonde said to the naked employee, kissing her breast once more before leaping off the counter top.
The gum-chewing thief moved first to the male blonde and stood the man up from his seated position, her scissors cutting his tan slacks from his waist and pulling his boxers down around his ankles. She smiled to herself at the male’s manhood as it was quite impressive, and she would had taken a taste if she was into that. Smiling brightly, she moved to the blonde woman and pulled the fork from her hand, sitting the woman onto her knees while her upper body remained unchanged. She then cut the woman’s blouse and bra from her body, unmasking a pair of large pink-nippled round breasts. The unfrozen blonde fondled and kissed both orbs before pushing the frozen blonde to sit in front of her male counterpart. At that point the thief realized that the man and the woman before her looked very similar, as if related by blood. “Oh well…” the blonde said smiling as she inserted the man’s member into the woman’s open mouth, her hand now holding his reproductive organ instead of a fork with one hand. The thief kissed the woman on the cheek and ate some of her salad before moving on.
Other patrons around the blonde couple fell victim to the thief’s scissors and children ended up with their food smeared about their faces. Uneaten food ended up tossed to the floor; by the time the thief was back where she started, the food court floor was a custodial nightmare. She walked around the group of children who were all dressed in black and white school uniforms and ranged from six to eight years old. She looked over the table they sat at and started tossing food about, hitting children in the face and messing up their clean-pressed uniforms. Eying the nuns, three of them looked like they were in their sixties and the blonde cringed thinking how their old bodies would look without their gowns, habit, and white bib collars. The fourth nun looked to be the youngest, perhaps in her late thirties or early forties, and she had a pretty face beneath her habit, or as pretty as a woman who didn't believe in make-up could pull off. The blonde walked up to the younger nun, looking her in her green eyes as she chewed her gum. She leaned forward, kissing the nun over her stiff pink lips and pulled off the habit, jerking the bib collar from around her neck. The nun had red hair tied back into bun and looked much better without the habit. “Oh sweet!” the blonde exclaimed excitedly. Grabbing the nun around her waist, she dragged her away from table.
Using her scissors the thief made quick work of the long-sleeved black gown and was surprised to see the nun had nothing under the shapeless gown but a pair of dark pantyhose which were quickly cut off, rendering the nun nude. The thief kissed and fondled the nun’s decent breasts and womanhood before posing her naked stiff body to stand at attention with eyes shut and palms together in prayer. The thief dressed the naked nun only in a pair her black pumps from another woman and her habit.
"I really should be going, but I think I'll do that lovely girl a favor," the thief decided, glancing over at where she'd left the pastry girl exposed. Moving quickly, the thief proceeded to extract several hundred Francs and Euros from people's wallets, stuffing them into a paper bag she'd gotten from another stand. When the bag was filled with cash, the thief carried it over to the pastry stand and opened the register, dumping the contents into it. "It's only fair, since you'll probably get fired," offered the blonde, leaning over and kissing the dark-haired girl's left toes from smallest to biggest. Her stomach satisfied, her fun finished, and her theft completed, the blond decided to take a bow before exiting the Louvre.
* * *
"Merde," muttered Lucienne to herself as she afterward stood in Room 77 of the Louvre, the rest of her team present as well as local key figures, which included members of the National Police and members of the museum staff. The situation in one of the most famous museums of her home country went far beyond chaotic in the Interpol agent's mind. The Louvre, it seemed, was now the definition for utter insanity.
First there was the Mona Lisa, which had fortunately not been damaged during the events following it somehow being removed from its protected area, apparently by an elderly couple no less. Still since it had been snatched, even if it had been recovered, the museum curator had decided that it should be put in storage for some time to avoid another incident. The elderly couple were being interrogated by Cassandra and Tasia, but everyone seemed to doubt they'd actually stolen it, even though they also had the guns from the two security guards. On the subject of the guards, both were given reprimands, the senior guard more so than his partner because the woman he'd apparently violated was pressing charges. The other guard and his new lover, however, were going out on the town once they were free to leave. Everyone in the room at the time of the incident was returned their money, asked to say nothing of the incident, and released.
The other big issue was the large amount of full body exposure that had occurred through the Long Gallery and several other rooms. The food court was a disaster by itself, the kids from the private schools and one of their teachers had endured too much today. In an instant, according to the security tapes, several tourists had lost their clothes. Since almost all the removed clothing had been destroyed the police had some jumpsuits brought in and the museum would pay for the cost of the clothing. The expensive day for the Louvre was worsened by an assistant tour manager and one of their guards engaging in intercourse in a public area, just like the young male guard and the Chinese tourist had. It was hard to tell if either one was attracted to the other, but Lucienne didn't care about the romantic escapades of a couple of possible lesbians. A priceless statuette had been stolen, another solid gold one no less, so Lucienne and her team had naturally been called in.
Finally there had also been an incident at the food court, which had involved what appeared to be a large amount of pick-pocketing. More public nudity had also come up, with a nun being one of the people exposed no less. Food had also been scattered in all directions as if everyone's meal had exploded simultaneously, causing armloads of children to cry while adults attempted to cover up the indecent individuals. Supposedly one girl had been fired from her job at a dessert stand, but the other nuns had been too wrapped up in what appeared to be an incest episode to worry about one of their own being naked in public.
"The rolling stone gathers no moss," muttered Hui as she looked over the room. Guards were posted at all the entrances and exits, the curator and the senior staff as well as a pair of local detectives was standing near by to where the statuette had been on display, talking amongst themselves as Marika examined the podium. "It hasn't been three days and we have another crime just like the one in Cairo," Hui continued, looking around. "Both involved the theft of tiny statues too, both of which depicted goddesses. There was again a misdirection too; at least that's what we're assuming with the Mona Lisa incident."
"Either way, the statue was definitely one of the things they came for, if not the only thing," Lucienne observed, taking a drink from the cup of tea a member of the museum had brought her earlier. "Because the two items were both depicting females I'd say it's more likely that whoever planned this out, if there's more than one person involved, is female. How they're doing these thefts, I have no idea, but to pull off two big crimes like this in such a short period of time they must have had everything planned out weeks ago."
"Lucienne, we just got a message from Cairo!" shouted Tasia, the gorgeous woman sprinting into the room fairly well in spite of wearing a tight skirt and heels. The rookie agent handed a piece of paper to her superior.
"A brunette was unaccounted for in a tour group?" read Lucienne, examining the paper her teammate had given her. "A Barbara Gordon, huh? So either this Barbara was in on the crime or she's been kidnapped by the thieves. Either way we should check the fingerprint database once we get some prints to analyze."
"I wouldn't bother," observed Hui, chuckling and shaking her head. "The name Barbara Gordon is probably an alias; that was the name of the original Batgirl in the Batman comic books. A picture would serve us better than that name."
"Cassandra finished the interrogation and is running the name," Tasia announced. "Even if it is fake and not a coincidence, it may still be on a passport or something."
"What was Miss Flick's opinion on the older couple?" asked Lucienne, handing the paper back to Tasia.
"She thinks they're innocent, especially since they've already found only one set of fingerprints on the gun the husband had, and they belong to the guard," continued Tasia, going over everything that had happened moments ago out of the room. "They're going to be held by the local police for a bit longer until we can finish processing the crime scenes."
"I found something!" shouted Marika, causing Hui, Lucienne and Tasia to quickly hurry over to the podium. Marika had dusted the entire stone object, searching for prints, and had just finished lifting some as her three teammates gathered around. Beside her there was an evidence bag, which Lucienne picked up by the top.
"Money again?" muttered Lucienne, confused, looking at the contents. "British pounds this time, and a lot of them, unlike the Francs..."
"I think that’s an intentional clue," declared Marika as she finished procuring the fingerprints and handed the collected items off to a local crime-scene investigator. "We found Francs in Cairo, and then there was a theft here, in France. The pounds might mean that the next theft will occur in the UK, probably the capital, if the pattern is followed."
"If you're right that means we should hurry over to London before it's too late!" exclaimed Tasia, worried that they might fail to catch the thief if they didn't hurry.
"I'll need to present this to the head office before I can clear that, but that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours," Lucienne announced, agreeing with Tasia's outburst. "Marika, send those fingerprints to the home office for analysis." Just then Cassandra arrived and Lucienne briefed her.
"If the theory we have is right, then I'm willing to bet they'll be going for the crown jewels," Cassandra realized. "I've sent out information on our Barbara Gordon, but I doubt that will do us much good, even with the photos we have of her. I just got word from the Cairo police that a wig was found outside the museum that looks exactly like the hair color our possible thief had. We'd better hope those fingerprints give us something, but it could take days for us to get a match, if not weeks."
"In the meantime our mystery thief could steal half of the world's statues," sighed Lucienne. "Let’s get moving on this, Cassandra."
"Yes, we can't afford to gather moss either," agreed Hui, who was standing with the pair as they talked while Tasia and Marika had moved on.
* * *
Hotel De Blois Paris, France
The hotel was just ten minutes from the Eiffel tower and the penthouse suite sat at the top of the hotel, giving a scenic view of the tower and the great city of Paris below. The thief was naked now but covered by foaming soft white bubbles as she lay in a gold and brass trimmed hot tub fit for royalty. Her long tanned legs stuck out from the bubbles and were propped up on the edge of the tub, crossed at the ankles. At the end of the tub the thief rested her neck on the terry towel with her head thrown back, Her blonde hair tied up in a fancy but simple loose bun. A sparkling champagne bottle on ice in a gold-plated bowl sat near her along with an elegant crystal glass with fizzing gold liquid filled halfway. The blonde’s eyes were closed as she moaned in comfort. It felt good to be out of the chaotic Louvre.
Looking at the time on a golden wall clock, the thief saw it was time to get out; any longer she’ll look three times her age, pretty much being a walking tan prune. She pulled her sexy shapely legs back under the bubbled water, pulling the drain plug and stood upright. Her marvelous naked body reflected off a body-length mirror at the far side of the spacious bathroom. She stepped out of the huge hot tub and grabbed a nearby terry towel off a hanger to dry her body. With the moist towel tossed aside the thief slipped on a thin black silk robe that fell just under her womanhood, contrasting well with her bronze complexion. She then tied the silken belt around her waist before picking up her glass of bubbly and leaving the bathroom.
She had only made it halfway down the hall when she heard a shuffling and could sense that she was not alone. At first fear set in; a natural reaction for a single woman like her being alone in a hotel room, but that lasted only for a second as her ability took over. Everything went silent and still, the humming of the AC was gone, the sounds outside her open window ceased and most importantly the shuffling stopped. The blonde crept down the hallway on her red-painted tippy-toes, even though it wasn’t needed it was just a reaction. She took another sip from her wine before turning the corner, her fear dissipating and turning to anger as she saw a hotel maid hunched over her purse with her wallet in the maid’s hands. Like everything else, the maid was frozen in place.
The maid was perhaps twenty-one at most, her brunette hair tied into a little bun at the back of head with a white bow at the top. She wore a tight black uniform dress with the hem sitting at her knees, a white apron tied around her waist, her legs covered in nude nylons and she stood in a pair of white sneakers. The thief put her wine glass down hard on the table next to her purse and grabbed the maid by the chin, turning her head to face her. The maid had green eyes and dark red lips. She was an attractive girl. Motionless, she looked like a high-fashion mannequin.
“You little whore!” the blond yelled angrily and loudly as she pulled a piece of green gum from her purse and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed quickly and angrily, looking the stiff maid from head to toe. “Steeling from me?! How dare you?! You pathetic little bitch!” The thief yelled as she slapped the frozen maid across the face, causing the girl’s head to rotate stiffly to the other side. The blonde stood with her face red, eying the time-stopped maid with her blue eyes. “I’ll show you, you little whore, what you get for stealing from me!”
The blonde grabbed the maid by the collar and roughly dragged her still form into her bedroom, lifting the maid up by the waist and dropping her onto her king-sized mattress. The maid was still in a hunched over position with her head turned to the right side and holding the black leather wallet in her small hands. The blonde, chewing her gum furiously, stripped off her robe and tossed it aside, standing naked at the foot of the large bed with her hand on her naked hips looking over the maid’s stiff form. She then quickly stripped off the maid's sneakers and nude nylon stockings, rendering the maid barefoot. Climbing on the bed, she stripped off the maid’s apron and tossed her wallet aside as she peeled the dress off of the maid’s body. Her red thong and red strapless bra followed suit soon after and ended up on the floor with the rest of the uniform.
With the maid now naked, the blonde descended over her, their naked bodies rubbing against one another. The blonde laid the maid flat on her back and posed her body in a starfish position, with arms and legs spread wide. Her head now looked forward but bore the same blank expression on it, her brown hair sans the white bow out of its bun and spread under head. The blonde sat over the maid’s naked stomach with her hands squeezing the maid’s breasts tightly. She stared into the maid’s empty eyes. “It's a shame you tried to rob me, you’re pretty hot, The thief said into the maid’s empty green eyes. "You could of had a fling and I would have paid you well, sweetie… but no, I’ll have to do this to you my dear… shame on you.” The thief carefully puckered open the maid's mouth and, in a mixture of anger and arousal, pressed her lips against the maid's, letting out heavy-duty passion as she kissed the would-be thief while she lay on top of her nude form. It was then that the blonde lost control and, just like that, time was no longer stopped.
The maid's beautiful eyes widened in shock as she became aware of the sexy blonde woman laying on top of her, kissing her full on the mouth. The would-be thief panicked and squirmed, pushing the blonde off of her. The museum thief lay on her back, panting as the maid quickly stood and dashed for the door to the bedroom. She'd just managed to grab the fancy doorknob when the blonde regained composure, causing the maid to freeze like a statue as time stopped once again.
"Drat, that makes it two times you've nearly gotten the better of me, you sexy thing," moaned the blonde, looking at the nude maid. The young woman now stood with her left and on the knob, her right pressing against the door frame, her body bent at the waist slightly, giving the blonde a nice view of her shapely behind. "Hmm... I guess the only way to punish you properly is show you how I like to party," decided the blonde, giggling to herself as she rolled off the bed. Underneath the massive mattress were the two golden statuettes the blond had stolen from the museums as well as a silver thermos that she'd received in the mail that morning, delivered to her Paris mailbox. One of her scientist friends had sent her a new form of anesthetic that drug companies were testing that had some interesting side effects. The blonde put the thermos on the cherry wood nightstand and wrapped her arms around the maid's smooth waist, dragging her slim body over to the bed. The maid stood with her eyes wide, her mouth open in a silent scream. Before doing anything else the blonde reached inside the woman's mouth and grabbed her gum back, sliding it into her own mouth.
"I guess it doesn't do me any good when I accidentally give it to someone else," remarked the blonde with a wry smile as she opened the thermos. Inside was a clear liquid, close in appearance to water. The blonde carefully poured a small amount of it into the silver cup that came with the thermos container, also acting as a second lid. Next the blonde tipped the maid over so the small of her back was leaning against the edge of the bed, her heels still on the floor and her head effectively tipped back. The blonde carefully poured the dose of liquid into the maid's open mouth, causing it to trickle down her throat. Smiling with satisfaction, the blonde put the cup down and sat down next to the maid, pulling her up onto the bed on her back.
"Party time," laughed the blonde thief, spitting out her gum and proceeding to run her tongue through the middle of the young woman's breasts. This was enough to cloud the her mind, once again resulting in time resuming. The maid blinked to life and propped herself up on her elbows, looking at the blonde in shock as she sat in front of her on the bed, grinning like a tiger eying her prey. The maid began to sit up, her waist bending slightly with her right hand forward, her palm up with her fingers arched towards the ceiling, when she suddenly stopped in mid-motion. "She wasn't kidding about how fast-acting it was," noted the blonde as she pinched the maid's knee, getting no reaction at all. It was as if time had stopped just for the maid, much to the blonde's delight.
With the maid frozen in place once more but time not stopped the blonde was free to do as she pleased. The maid was once again placed in a starfish position and the blonde ran her tongue along every corner of her naked body. After a good thirty minutes of caressing the maid's stiff body, fingering her womanhood, kissing her all over and rubbing against her the blonde hit an orgasm, and twenty minutes later the blonde decided to have a second bath. "Thank god for drugs, otherwise I might never have done it with you," moaned the blonde in pure pleasure, stepping off of the bed while smiling at her frozen partner.
Looking down at her feet, the blonde picked up her wallet and checked if anything was out of place. Her ID was the only thing, stashed in the wrong section. She pulled out the California Driver's License and eyed it. “God I look hideous in this picture…” she muttered. The license’s image had the blonde a couple of years younger than she was now, smiling brightly and innocently, the name next to her picture reading 'Erika Lynn Stone.'
Jewel House, London, United Kingdoms
For hundreds of years the crown jewels of England had resided in the Jewel House of the Tower of London. Twenty wardens, all under the command of the Resident Governor of the tower and the Assistant Governor, along with a highly sophisticated security system guarded on of England's most valuable treasures. Among the famed jewels was the Star of Africa, an unrivaled diamond that amassed five-hundred and thirty carats. Lucienne Christophe wasn't entirely certain that the jewels were the next target of their thief, but there was little else to go on until Marika got the results from the fingerprints she'd lifted in Paris.
At the current time three curators, a head one and two assistants, watched over the Crown Jewels along with ten armed men bearing rifles and dressed in royal livery who stood on rotating shifts outside the building's only entrance. The ancient stone walls of the tower had faded little over the years; a pair of old cannons stood near the doorway inside. The inside had recently been redone on orders of the Resident Governor, the floors being converted into a new wood paneling that was said to last a long period of time in addition to containing hair-trigger pressure sensors. The walls were still made of stone but security cameras, motion sensors, metal detectors and various other security electronics had been added to the main room. At the center of this gallery sat a single stone pedestal, inside displayed the famed treasures and relics from the days of the British empire. Nearby were off-limit stairs leading to the monitoring room above, which had a door reinforced with solid steel. The windows were barred and equipped with sensors and, should the glass around the jewels be broken, a fail-safe would retract the display into the pedestal and seal the room with a thick steel barrier. The new curator was taking no chances.
"It is quite as safe as I can make it," declared the curator, Cordelia Bishop, an older woman in her fifties. "Ten men alone are posted outside, and another ten are up here and down below with the jewels. We don't allow photographs to be taken so thieves can't try to create forgeries and we even just installed a gas-sprayer which will flood the entire house with a powerful knock-out gas should the glass not retain its proper mass. I don't see how this thief or thieves of yours will be a problem any longer."
"Whoever or whomever they are, they could have stolen the Mona Lisa, and did not; all the preparations at the Louvre were at least as secure and they turned out to be absolutely ineffective," pointed out Tasia as she stood next to Lucienne in the small room with the curator and four armed men. Two watched security monitors while the other two stood at the door, which was currently open, though only slightly. Downstairs were Cassandra and Marika, who were surveying the security features from there, assisted by the Assistant Curator Rosemary Piper, an attractive woman in her thirties who possessed crystal blue eyes and honey-blonde hair which she wore in a tight bun. The other Assistant Curator, John Graham, was off for the day, supposedly ill. The absence of Mr. Graham troubled Lucienne. Uneasy about leaving the tower, she'd sent Hui off to pick-up some sandwiches and drinks for lunch, deciding they'd stake out the gallery for a while if nothing else.
Outside in the tower courtyard Hui Lan, the experienced weapons expert, was a bit annoyed at being sent to pick up lunch while the others were observing what could possibly be their next crime scene. Hui then reminded herself that every job was important, no matter how small. These were also thefts that they were investigating, not break-ins, so a expert such as herself was a fish out of water. The petite Chinese woman was wearing a sleeveless blouse in response to the hot London weather as well as a tight pair of gray pants, wearing her flats instead of her heels because the latter slowed her down. The tower's security knew Hui on sight, thus she didn't need to dig her Interpol ID card out of her breast pocket as she returned to the tower after visiting a local sandwich shop with the food now in a large paper bag held in her left hand and a case of mineral water in her right. Hui also carried a concealed pistol, a small Seecamp, which made the PPK, the gun James Bond was famous for using in several films, look like it was as big as a brick. The tiny handgun was strapped to the inside of her left thigh.
The Tower of London's courtyard was a bit sparsely occupied today, though it was nearly noon thus many tourists were probably off getting lunch. Hui spotted two guided tours in the distance as she headed for the tower entrance, smiling as she watched three women take photographs of the scene. The first was a short brunette who looked fairly overweight, not carrying it well as it was almost all in her hips and thighs, though she was wearing a black tank top with matching shorts which did help, albeit mildly. The second was a decently-tall blonde with a perfect tan who was dressed in a white and yellow sundress, which Hui imagined had cost her several hundred dollars minimum. The third was a woman who appeared to be a South-American Latina, possessing darker skin and having a Spanish feel to her. The latter woman was short, with jet black hair that hung freely in tight curls. The woman wore a pink spaghetti-strap top and a white mini-skirt, both leaving little to the imagination.
Erika had chosen a cute little spaghetti-strapped white sun dress that flaunted her tanned sexy legs and arms which were as smooth as seemed physically possible. She stood in a pair of cute white sneakers and had her black purse looped around her shoulder. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bouncing pony tail, which rebounded playfully with every step as she walked into the courtyard. Over her head she was wearing a hat with blue with red trimmings that she had taken off of one of the guards at the bridgeway entrance. She walked happily, chewing her gum and stopping here and there to take pictures like any other tourist. The only difference was that everything around her was still and silent.
“Bloody Tower; what’s so bloody about it?” Erika scoffed, taking a couple pictures of the historic tower where it was said a prince had once been murdered. She skipped happily through the courtyard only to stop to take pictures of the White Tower. “The brochures were right, this place really is amazing!” Erika exclaimed, spreading her arms wide and spinning around joyfully like a ballerina.
Erika spotted the two tour groups out in the distance and grinned to herself as she began to walk in their direction. She stopped in mid-stride as she saw other people closer to the Jewel House, where she really wanted to go, albeit eventually. Looking at the tour groups, who now looked a little further away then she would have liked to have walked and chose to visit the people near the Jewel House, four of them being women. “Later…” she said, smiling evilly at the tour groups as she changed course and headed towards the Jewel House.
Three of the women looked like they were together; the fourth was an Asian woman looked to be on her own as she had been heading towards the Jewel House when time had stopped. Erika took in the sight of the women and the two guards, the three women taking pictures of the exterior of the Jewel House and the Waterloo Barracks. One woman, who was short and dressed in black, could have stood to lose a little weight; her hips looked horrendous, thought Erika. The tall tanned blonde stood stiffly suspended with her tiny silver digital camera held up to her eyes. Taking a picture of thunder-thighs, Erika eyed the sun dress that the blonde was wearing and blew a pink bubble, grinning as the bubble popped. The third woman was a deeply tanned woman with short dark curly hair, who held a camera to her eyes and was taking a picture down range towards the Waterloo Barracks. The woman was obviously a Latina, Erika observed, looking at the woman’s curvy body. The top and white mini-skirt did wonders for the woman’s hot body, Erika thought, almost moaning at the mental image of how the woman would look in the buff. The Asian woman had her back to Erika, but she knew the woman was Asian. She was short, had long silky black hair that hung freely, sitting at the middle of her back, and she had a tight little ass was easily seen through her tight gray trousers. The woman held a paper bag in one hand and case of water in the other. Perhaps a staff member bringing lunch for everyone, Erika guessed as she walked up to the woman for a closer look.
The Asian woman was fairly attractive, very cute at that. She had wonderful smile, which she bore looking blankly ahead. Erika traced the woman’s lips with her fingers and then rubbed the back of her hand down the side of her face. “Ah so you know how to take care of yourself…” Erika complimented. She then squeezed the woman’s arms and felt their firmness. “You work out too… my, aren’t you interesting,” Erika remarked, taking a picture of the suspended Chinese woman, having determined her ethnicity. “Let’s see what else is interesting,” Erika added as she began opening the woman's short-sleeved blouse. Small but perfectly round breasts were held nicely in a white lacy bra with a pink bow in the middle. “Oh how cute,” Erika cooed as she fondled the two covered orbs. She then ran her hand down the woman's exposed midriff, which was like the rest of her skin: silky smooth. She danced her fingers around the woman's belly button as she knelt down and started working on the thigh-hugging trousers. The trousers soon sat at the Chinese woman's ankles along with her pair of lacy white panties with tiny pink bows around the waistband. Erika sat on her knees as she stroked the woman's landing strip-covered womanhood with her hand. “You’re quite a number,” Erika said, looking up at the woman's smiling face. “And dangerous too,” She added, eying the small handgun holster strapped to the Chinese woman’s inner right thigh. Grinning ear to ear and chewing her gum quickly Erika moved behind the Asian and eyed her exposed round ass. She ran her hands down both cheeks, groping them and then kissed each cheek. “Smooth as baby’s bottom, you take of yourself well!” Erika said as she began prying at the woman's fingers to free her of the bag and water case.
The Chinese woman was now laid out on her back with her smiling face looking up at the sky. Erika was at her feet peeling off the flats, trousers and panties. She tossed the articles aside and hovered over the woman's now naked body, posing her arms so her hands were under her head and bending her legs at the knees, spreading them wide. “Pink nipples on a China girl, how rare!” Erika remarked, looking down at Hui’s naked body. She fished out her camera and took a picture of the naked woman, who was only clad with the handgun holster on her inner thigh. Erika wanted to do more to the Asian woman but decided against that, thinking of what had happened back in Paris with Monique the maid. Erika knelt down once more and kissed the naked woman over her lips and womanhood before she walked away.
Erika eyed the tall blonde jealously, seeing that the sun dress she had on looked really good on the blonde’s tall frame. “That won’t do sweetie, you can’t look as good as me,” Erika said smugly as she took the camera out of the woman’s hand. She dug around in her purse and fished out her scissors, smiling at the blade with an evil joy on her face. Erika got to work cutting the expensive sun dress from the blonde’s body. The blonde soon stood at attention, staring blanking ahead, grinning with bare arms at her sides, her long streaked blonde hair hanging freely down to the small of her back and bordered by two dimples that sat just above the outward curve of her round ass. The woman had no bra so her large pink-nippled breasts hung freely in front of her. She had on a silky blue thong, which was now in shreds at her feet along with her expensive sun dress. The woman was now only wearing her high-heeled sandals that made her tanned calves look sexy. Erika kissed the woman on the lips while stroking the girl’s shaven mound and twisting her exposed nipples. “Much better, sweetie,” Erika cooed, posing the woman’s arms back to their original position and placed the camera back into her stiff hands, kissing the girl once more on the cheek. She then stepped back and took the girl’s picture with her own camera.
“Surely you should take better care of yourself, like the Asian over there,” Erika said, gesturing over to the naked Chinese woman lying on the ground by the entrance of the Jewel House. The brunette with the large thighs was now naked as well, her clothes shredded like her tall friend. Erika noted the woman had a cute round face and very decent round breasts but from the waist down she needed work. She had posed the woman to stand wide-legged with her fists on her hips like some sort of super heroine. The woman’s head was turned to the right and tilted upward similar to those old superhero poses. Laughing to herself Erika took the picture. She walked to the brunette and was about to give her a kiss but thought better of it, just pinching her nipple instead. “Work out, for God's sake,” Erika suggested disgustedly as she walked away.
Standing closely now to the Latina girl, Erika noted the girl had a nice big round ass and an impressive rack, both proportional to her frame. Her body was as fit as an exotic dancer’s body. Maybe she was an exotic dancer Erika wondered as she walked around the suspended girl. “Time to see how exotic you really are,” Erika said, smiling evilly with her trusty scissors in hand. She was about to cut the woman’s spaghetti-straps when an idea had just wandered into her head. Erika smiled and put her scissors away, “I’ll be back,” She told the suspended girl in her best Terminator impression as she left her alone.
Soon the supple Chinese woman's naked body stood at attention next to the hot Latina who was now topless with her brown-nippled breasts hanging freely. The Chinese girl bore the same smiling expression with her blank look while the Latina now bore a similar expression that was unnatural-looking. Erika was kneeling at the girl’s feet, removing her purple thong, mini-skirt and flip-flops. The Latina and Asian stood at about the same height, Erika observed as she eyed both naked women standing shoulder to shoulder. She kissed both women while pinching the other’s nipples. Erika posed the two women arm in arm in a naked embrace, both their bare breasts pressing against each other and snapped a couple of pictures. She posed them in few more questionable poses and took some more pictures before standing them back up at attention. “Well let’s get you ladies dressed back up; there's still a lot more fun waiting for me…” Erika said, looking at both naked women and then towards the closer tour group.
Hui, whose name Erika had discovered from a credit card receipt in her pants pocket, was now dressed in the Latina’s clothing. Hui’s features were somewhat smaller than the curvy Latina's but she looked cute nonetheless. Erika decided to keep Hui’s cute underwear along with the Latina’s, which were now both stuffed into her purse as souvenir of sorts. The white mini-skirt showed off Hui's creamy-smooth legs and even though the pink top was a little loose on the Asian woman her nipples were sill visible through the fabric. Hui stood where the Latina had stood but instead of holding a camera she was now holding her Seecamp in her hands. Her face bore the same blank smiling face but now was heavily made up with red lipstick and blue eye shadow. Hui’s silky black hair was braided into cornrows, giving her an unusually urban look.
In front of the entrance of the Jewel House the Latina stood in Hui’s clothing, the latter’s blouse and the pants being quite tight on the curvy Latina. Her ass, sans any kind of undergarment, was clearly visible through the gray material. At the front of the trouser some camel toe was clearly visible. Erika could not button the blouse all the way up so the two top buttons of the blouse were left open, showing off the girl’s cleavage. Like Hui before, she was now carrying the bag of food in one hand and the water container in the other. Her face bore the unnatural exaggerated wide smile and her eyes stared forward blankly.
“Perfect,” Erika concluded, looking at her work. There was the tall blonde woman who was now naked and held her camera taking a picture of her big-thighed friend, who was posed like some superhero, also in the buff. Then there was the Latina and Hui who had swapped clothes and positions. Erika went around taking pictures of everyone before she pulled out her scissors and dangerously twirled them on her index finger as she skipped with the guard’s hat tilted back on her head towards one of the tour groups. She was going to have a bit more fun before she actually went into the Jewel House.
A short time later, at least in Erika's time frame, the thief entered the Jewel House after stealing a sandwich from the bag Hui had originally been carrying, since the time-stopping thief she'd gotten peckish. "I really should eat more before I do this," observed Erika as she finished the somewhat tasty though very pedestrian tuna fish sandwich, which contained mayonnaise and sliced cucumber. Bits of the food had actually spilled out of Erika's mouth, leaving specks of white on the floor, as she walked into the building and saw what awaited her. Not only was there a large collection of jewels that made the materialistic Erika almost orgasm, but three extremely attractive women were also present. "Oh, and I thought Hui was a prize," moaned Erika, looked at the three women that stood near the display. There was a tall brunette with slightly curly hair that spilled onto her shoulders as it fanned out half-way down. The woman wore a tailored black business suit that looked like a designer label and a white top underneath, which hugged her impressive breasts, though Erika was a better judge when the top was off.
The brunette had her hands in front of her, her left extended forward in a gesture to the tall blonde of group, the palm up, while the other hand was retracted slightly more but in a similar position. The tall blonde had sort of hair that barely went all the way down her neck but curled outwards at the tips, giving it a bit of bounce. The woman wore blue eye shadow and had pink lips that Erika desperately wanted to kiss. She was dressed similar to Hui, wearing a powder blue short-sleeved blouse and tan slacks. She stood with her left hand on her hip, her fingers sticking out towards her back rather than her front, her right off to the side, raised with each finger extended slightly more than the last as they moved up the hand. The third woman looked like a blonde librarian, wearing a brown business dress with her hair up in a bun and a pair of black-framed glasses that completed the look, as they did look like something a librarian would wear. She was wearing pantyhose and matching brown heels, standing with a key held tightly in her right hand at her side, her left using its two upper fingers to touch the left side of her glasses.
"It looks like the Crown Jewels aren't the only precious things here," observed Erika, wishing she'd remembered to bring her drug-filled thermos with her. The brunette was gorgeous, the blonde looked like she could be a model, and even the brown-suited librarian, whom Erika pegged as one of the curators, if not the head one, wasn't bad looking at all either, though her fashion sense was horrible.
"Fashion police, I'm confiscating that outfit," Erika told the frozen curator as, with the help from her trusty scissors, quickly stripped the woman down to her, unsurprisingly, plain beige bra and panties which looked like something a grandmother would wear. The woman's eyes were fortunately blue, but her lips were also colored brown. "Honey, you're trying to hard to look plain," Erika told the frozen woman as she continued to strip her down, removing her underwear and glasses, even removing the pins and bands that held her dark hair up, letting it spill down to the lower part of her shoulder blades. "Boy, you're good with a razor, though," giggled Erika as she saw the nearly bare womanhood the curator possessed, then proceeding to run her tongue along it. "Almost as smooth as Hui’s," gasped Erika. She then proceeded to squeeze the woman's somewhat unshapely breasts, whose nipples were closer to red than pink, and kissed her all over the face a few times. Finally Erika stopped, blew a bubble, and then plucked the key from the curator's right hand. "I was expecting a keycard," laughed Erika. "Thanks," she said next, giving the motionless curator a peck on the lips.
Leaving the others in the room alone for a moment, Erika placed the key in a socket near the base of the pedestal. Unfortunately with time frozen the mechanism didn't function, thus the glass remained where it was, covering the jewels. "Shit," cursed Erika. First the thief decided to take a picture of the jewels, since a sign nearby declared that it was not allowed. Then Erika casually grabbed a gun from one of the guards and used it to strike the glass protecting the precious gems. It took a few tries, since the glass was bullet-resistant, but eventually, with a lot of effort, the glass was shattered and Erika began to snatch up every jewel that would fit in her purse. The Star of Africa was too large, so Erika stuck it into her hat.
"Don't think I forgot about you two," Erika told the attractive blonde and brunette after the jewels were secure. With honed skill, Erika stripped them both completely, leaving their clothes and underwear in a pile with the curator's, all of them unwearable thanks to the damage the scissors had done. The brunette's breasts were exquisite, just like Erika had hoped, possessing pink nipples that were just the right shade for the thief as she began to squeeze them while kissing the somewhat tall woman. The blonde's nipples were a lighter pink, a sort of dusty rose, but Erika didn't mind as she motor-boated in them while squeezing the frozen woman's slim thighs. "What's with you muscular women?" asked Erika as she stood up from the blonde's breasts and stroked the woman's left cheek. "Well, I guess if you work here you need to keep in shape, not that any of it helps against me!"
Erika laughed and went to work reposing the blonde and brunette. The blonde was walked closer to her counterpart by Erika, who then posed the brunette's hands so they were groping the blonde's rounded breasts. The blonde, meanwhile, had one hand on the brunette's hip and the other right on top of her womanhood, which was shaved around the outside but fairly bushy towards the middle, not to mention surprisingly red. Both women were then given big fake smiles that flashed nearly perfect teeth, the brunette possessing ones with a hint of yellow while the blonde, like with other areas of her body, possessed perfect texture. "Lose the jewels, get each other," pointed out Erika, looking at her completed creation. "That seems like a fair trade to me." Erika quipped as she stepped back and took a few snapshots of her work, wanting to remember the two lovely women that were now violating one another.
Her hat on her head, which was awkward with the giant diamond inside, Erika decided to leave, choosing not to go upstairs even though she had the opportunity. Her purse was bulging with keepsakes and even if there were more jewels upstairs they'd be hard to carry. "Ta ta; enjoy losing your jobs!" mocked Erika as, with a casual flick from her right index finger, the curator's forehead was struck and she fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. When the curator was no longer frozen she'd most likely have a bruise, but impressively her pose remained the same, though her heels flew off. "Give my regards to Cairo and Paris!" laughed Erika, blowing a kiss to the room in general as she exited the room and walked outside.
Erika stole a bottle of water from the Latina as she headed for the Tower's exit, not interested in taking more photographs or having more fun. Erika didn't let time resume for a while, since stealing the jewels that belonged to the royal family would probably get every law-enforcement officer and soldier in the UK after her, unlike the thefts of a pair of statuettes, even if they were solid gold. Besides, the sight of a frozen London was interesting to her and it was a surprisingly nice day, for England.
After walking for five minutes Erika spotted a cab with a large British man holding the door open. The man possessed a beer belly, a thick brown mustache and a cheap toupee on his head to cover his severe baldness. Erika noticed all this before even coming close enough to grab the rug off the man's head and throw it aside. "Pardon me, chunky," Erika said in a mean tone of voice, pushing the large man aside and causing him to hit the curb. Erika then hopped into the taxi and shut the door, starting time as she did so.
"Hello, missy, where to?" asked the cabby, not seeming to realize that Erika had magically appeared in his back seat, nor wondering why she had the unique hat.
"Can you take me to Liverpool?" asked Erika earnestly, removing her hat but making sure the cabby wouldn't spot the giant diamond inside.
"As long as you can pay, missy, I'll take you to bloody Miami," laughed the cabby, finding himself amusing.
"I'm Erika Stone of Stone Enterprises," Erika announced, pulling her obsidian-colored credit card out from her purse. "I think I can afford the trip."
"Buckle up then!" shouted the cabby, failing to contain the enthusiasm of having an international icon and billionaire in his taxi.
* * *
Tasia was about to ask Lucienne something when everything went crazy: alarms were going off, the guards monitoring the security cameras were both actively pressing buttons and talking rapidly on their radios. Lucienne rushed over to stand over their shoulders to see if she could see what was happening. All she saw was smoke from the security cameras below. Tasia rushed up to her superior’s side and was shocked on what she was seeing. She had no idea what was happening either, a feeling of panic and fear coming over her.
“This can’t be…” Cordelia Bishop gasped, not knowing what to do since the impossible was happening.
“Vent that gas!” Lucienne ordered, “We have people down there!” She added with sense of urgency in her voice.
“Yes ma’am!” The security guard replied, pushing some buttons and switching a couple switches to cut off the gas, open the vents and start the blowers. Almost immediately a loud hum echoed through the building, vibrating the floors and wall.
“Rewind the tape and feed it through the computers to clear that smoke, I want to see what in the world happened below,” Lucienne ordered. She then turned to Tasia, who was still speechless. “Tasia, stay up here with Ms. Bishop and monitor that tape once it is in the computer. I’m going downstairs.”
Tasia managed to nod as Lucienne took off with guards trailing her. The guards had their handguns drawn and were held at the ready as they descended down the stairs. Lucienne was leading them with her USP now drawn and readily in her hands. They turned the corner with guns held up at eye level expecting the worst.
* * *
One moment Cassandra was asking Rosemary a question and the next thing she knew she was standing face to face with Marika and they both were naked! Marika was just as shocked, the look of a smile on her face quickly faded and turned into horror, her hands were all over her superior’s bare hips while Cassandra’s hands were over her breasts. They both backed away in shock and disbelief. Cassandra spotted Rosemary getting up from the floor, her hair out of her bun and her body completely bare of clothing, a look of utter shock all over her face as she let out a scream. No else had a chance to react as the alarm bells were blaring wildly and the room was filling up with gas. A warm feeling swept over the three women as the limply crumpled to the floor.
* * *
Hui could have sworn she was heading into the Jewel House at one moment but now she was staring down towards the Waterloo Barracks, her Seecamp drawn as well but she was aiming at nothing from what she could tell. She then felt the presence of air passing between her legs. She looked down and was shocked to see that she was wearing someone else’s clothes! The worst part was that she was not wearing any underwear either and the skirt was too short for even her taste. Her scalp felt sore as well, she reached up and felt that her hair was in a completely different style. Before her confusion could totally set in the sounds of screams echoed throughout the courtyard.
Turning around, Hui was in shock to see the tall blonde lady she had seen earlier to be now completely naked along with her overweight friend, both women sobbing and holding one another. Hui holstered her gun and rushed to their side, finding it difficult to run in flip-flops but the run was not far. “Stay calm,” was the only thing Hui could offer to the sobbing women as she reached their side. She herself was trying to keep the hem of the skirt from riding up and showing her privates to everyone around her. “I’ll be back with some clothing,” Hui said, keeping a calm voice as not to freak out the women even more. They nodded, still sobbing and holding one another as Hui left them.
At the entrance the guards had seized the Latina, realizing that the woman was not the Chinese Interpol Agent that they had seen moments before. The girl was shocked and sobbing, she pleaded with the guards who had her pinned to the ground and had their guns drawn. “Please don’t hurt me, I… don’t know what happened… I didn’t do anything!” the girl pleaded from the ground.
One of the guards gave Hui a weird look when she reached them. He recognized her as the agent but her face was completely made up. He had no idea was happening, the only thing he managed to say to the Chinese agent was, “Ma’am?”
More guards were rushing into the courtyard followed by police and military personnel as well. There was people screaming everywhere and Hui could see both tour groups were in shambles: people were naked and trying to cover their dignity, it was like the Louvre scene all over again, only this time Hui wasn’t watching it from a surveillance feed, she was living it. “There are two women in need of clothes over there,” Hui gestured to the women. “Get your jackets off and cover them up,” Hui ordered. Both men only looked at the Hui, trying to figure out what was going on.
“No time to think now, just act!” Hui said, seeing the expression on the men’s faces. “Go take care of those women, I got this one.” Both men nodded and rushed to the women, taking off their jackets quickly as they ran.
“What happened?" The Latina asked in a shaking voice, looking up at Hui, who now knelt next to her. "Why are you wearing my clothes?"
“I don’t know,” Hui replied; with an encouraging smile, she helped the girl to her feet. Hui eyed the girl: she could barely fit into Hui’s clothes and looked like she was about to burst out of them. Hui reached over and pulled her ID badge from her breast pocket, looping the chained ID around her neck. “Come with me!” Hui ordered as she grabbed the girl’s hand and led her towards the chaos of the courtyard.
* * *
It was the most intense half an hour of Tasia’s life: one second everything was peaceful and even a little boring; the next it was exactly the opposite. She now knew how the security and staff at Cairo and Paris had felt, being in control one second and in total chaos the next. It was a situation no one could be prepared for. The Crown jewels of England were gone and no one had any idea what had happened to them. What made things worse was it happened when her team were on location. Tasia had just watched Lucienne talking on the phone with the home office: she wasn’t happy at all and was furious when she slammed the phone down on the hook, storming away and yelling in French at no one in particular. None of the guards dared approached her as she made her way back into the courtyard.
Ms. Bishop, who was speechless through the whole situation, was ushered away by military personnel for a briefing on the situation and what in the world had happened. Tasia was merely a silent observer as all this happened while she remained sitting in the security room, most the guards having left and were attending to people outside. Not only were there a whole lot of tourists in need of assistance, but the media now surrounded the outer walls looking for a story and the guards, police, and military were there to keep them and the civilians at bay.
Tasia took a deep breath as she ran her hands through her hair and rewound the tape, trying to see if she could figure anything out. One moment Cassandra and Marika were talking to Rosemary, the next both of her team members were naked, Cassandra touching Marika’s bare breasts and Rosemary lying naked on the ground. The women only reacted in shock as the gas kicked in, rendering everyone below unconscious. Secretly Tasia didn’t mind reviewing the tapes, being that she got to see Cassandra and Marika naked. She didn’t really have a thing for either of her team members but personally she liked looking at the female form over the male one. Cassandra and Marika were both tall and exotic women and were very attractive so seeing the two of them at last naked was nice, even though she would never share this information to anyone. She grinned silently to herself as she leaned closer to the screen and rewound the tape once more again to “review” the incident as her hands wandered down into her trousers secretly.
* * *
They had gathered everyone into the Waterloo Barracks in order to keep track of everyone that was in the immediate area during the theft. Most the tourists were now dressed in military fatigues since the shredding of their clothes. Everyone had more or less calmed down as police officers and detectives interviewed them. The Tower of London, like the Louvre, had already promised to refund everyone’s money for their troubles once the situation had cleared up a bit more.
Marika moaned sensually as she opened her eyes and stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. She quickly sat up and immediately realized the error as her head begun to spin. “Oh…” she moaned and weakly lay back down. She vaguely remembered what happened in the Jewel House: Cassandra was asking a question regarding the strength of the glass to Rosemary and then they were naked and touching; Cassandra’s hands were all over her breasts with a wide smile on her face. After that everything was a blur.
“Shut your eyes Marika; take a deep breath and then sit up slowly,” A voice said somewhere next to her. Marika did as she was told and sat up. When she opened her eyes she felt a lot better and her head was sitting still. Sitting across from her on a cot and dressed in oversized military fatigues was Cassandra who smiled weakly at her. “The gas wears off faster if you move slowly.”
Marika looked down herself to see that she was barefoot and dressed in an oversized military uniform as well. “What happened, how did we get into these clothes?” Marika asked, now feeling the effects of the gas dissipating and her head becoming more clear.
“I don’t know, I just woke up a few minutes ago, we have been out for almost thirty minutes,” Cassandra informed her teammate, stretching out.
There was a silence as neither woman said anything to one another and then Cassandra spoke, “I don’t know what happened but it was not intentional.”
“Why were you smiling?” Marika then asked.
“You were smiling too,” Cassandra reminded the forensic expert. “I am sorry, though, if it means anything.”
Marika had no idea what had happened and how her and Cassandra ended up like that, but she could tell Cassandra was in the same boat and was enjoying this a much as she was so there was no use being mad or questioning one another on their motives. “Don’t worry about it… it’s happened to me before,” Marika finally said, smiling to ease the awkward situation.
“Has it?” Cassandra asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“It was ages ago… my friends and I were experimenting, nothing big, we all do it don’t we?”
“Oh…” Cassandra replied, not sure what to say exactly to Marika’s personal confession. There was a knock the door and both women turned to see Hui standing in doorway, also dressed in military fatigues. She had her usual smile on her face. “Did you end up naked too?” Cassandra asked.
“Not really sure,” Hui replied as she handed her two teammates their shoes. “I’ll tell you about it on the way to the Jewel House. Lucienne wants us there now. She’s not too happy, as you can understand, so let’s get moving.”
* * *
Back at the Jewel House, Hui lead the two women back upstairs to a luxury meeting room where they were reunited with Tasia, who glanced at Cassandra and Marika in a new way. They didn't notice, however, and took their seats. Tasia informed everyone that Lucienne would join them shortly as she had just stepped out with some military and police officials for a word. Hui and Tasia took the time to fill in Marika and Cassandra on the current situation, which wasn’t good at all at the moment. The Crown Jewels were gone and no one knew or could explain what had happened, plus several tourists and staff were left naked in the wake of the theft. Cassandra and Marika painfully watched the surveillance feed, feeling embarrassed and angered, knowing that their naked bodies had been viewed by many officials already that day. Cassandra could only watch the video once, feeling too unashamed to watch it again. Marika was feeling stressed out and wanted to be working on something to get her mind off of what had happened that afternoon. Anything would help at this point and a good book would even be nice.
Cassandra learned about Hui’s situation and everyone agreed that Hui had been naked at one point or another to be now dressed in someone else clothing and missing her undergarments. Like all the tourists and staff members who had been naked, Hui and the Latina had to give up their clothes for examination. Hui and Lucienne had played a major part in calming down the staff and tourists and organizing with the local officials to restore order. Tasia had remained in the security room and reviewed surveillance feeds as well as helped coordinate police and military forces in placement around the Tower of London’s walls. It was also Hui and Lucienne who'd taken care of dressing Marika and Cassandra as well after they'd been removed with the other unconscious personnel from the first floor.
The door to the meeting flew open and Lucienne stormed in, slamming the door behind her. She moved to the head of the table, a cigarette between her lips. She took off her business coat and tossed it into the empty seat in front of her. She leaned over the table, eying each of her team members. Cassandra had known Lucienne for years and she knew when she was mad and thus knew that she was quite mad now. Lucienne took a deep drag from her cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke. The room remained silent with all eyes one the senior French agent. “Marika, Cassandra, are you two alright?” Lucienne asked, her French accent thicker than usual as she was trying to contain her frustrations of the situation.
“Yes, we’re fine, Lucienne, and thank you for taking care of us.” Cassandra replied and Marika nodded agreement.
Lucienne took another drag from the cigarette, finishing it and walking over to the trash can to toss it. Taking care of her two naked team members was probably the highlight of her day as she didn’t mind too much of that even though she had to hide her enjoyment from Hui who had assisted and took the job more seriously. Lucienne loved naked bodies of both men and women and Cassandra, her long time friend, and Marika both had gorgeous naked bodies. It was too bad she couldn’t really enjoy it; the day was too terrible to really enjoy anything. Lucienne returned to the head of the table and stood looking down at the table silently with her arms crossed.
“How are you doing, Lucienne?” Cassandra then asked, seeing her friend and boss with a blank and tired expression.
“Not good, I just got chewed out by the Queen and Prime Minister… and before that the Super Attendant of Interpol. My day has not been good at all and I feel like shit… that’s how I feel. I have no idea what happened today. I’m completely burned out; I can’t think, I can’t answer all these questions coming at me. So with that being said, I now turn to you and would like to know what each one of you has to say on this issue, this incident,” Lucienne sighed, leaning over the table with her knuckles. She looked around the table. Hui was closest to her on her right. “Agent Lan?”
Hui took a deep breath and took some time to think really hard and fast before answering. “The thieves could be using some sort of bio-chemical agent that is invisible but affects everyone's actions and causes lapses in memory?” Hui suggested.
Lucienne thought for a second and nodded and moved her gazed down the line. “Agent Heino?”
“The chemical agent is the most logical explanation for these events. The agent could have been distributed through the air system, perhaps the bridgeway entrance where everyone enters the Towers. The explanation for the clothing and nudity could be further examined once we know what the agent is. There is perhaps something within the fabric of certain clothing that when in contact with the agent shreds the fabric. The thieves could be using some kind of electronic remote to activate the chemical to react at a certain time perhaps?” Marika concluded, looking around at her team members who were as blank-faced as they were when she had started talking.
“Sounds logical enough, how about you Cassandra?” Lucienne than asked, looking her friend in the eyes and trying push out the image of her creamy smooth breasts. She had taken charge of dressing Cassandra when she was out and she really couldn’t explore too much with Hui so close and worried about both of her teammates. Lucienne would have felt rotten if she had done anything at all, anyways.
“I really can’t think of anything else but some kind of new chemical weapon. It not only causes lapses in memory but also some certain euphoria. However I would like to suggest the use of satellites as a way to activate the agent. There could be people working on the inside that would escape with the Jewels as the agent took effect. Since there are only so many ways in and out, could the thieves have scaled the walls?” She didn’t want to mention the security tape out of embarrassment.
“Very good; we are all somewhat on the same page. I have already discussed the situation with Agent Spiro and she had concluded that some sort of chemical agent must be at work and that is what I have been telling people as a possible method. Marika, the local forensic units have already taken care of the room down below. I want you and Hui check out the ventilation systems for anything suspicious and check the wall for possible escape points. Cassandra, get with the aerial specialist with the home office and see if you can spot any suspicious activities with satellites operating within this part of the world,” Lucienne ordered, looking at her watch. “We have six hours.”
“Six hours?” Cassandra asked.
“Agent Spiro,” Lucienne replied, looking at the Greek agent who had remained silent the whole the meeting.
“We’re going to Greece,” Tasia informed the others, pulling the evidence bag that the local forensic team had found and handed to Lucienne who gave it to Tasia to examine.
The other team members nodded in silence before heading off to do their assigned tasked. Lucienne turned to Tasia. “Do you mind arranging the details for our stay in Greece? I’m a bit beat, and I need a little time off my feet.”
“No, of course not, Lucienne,” Tasia replied, nodding and the leaving the room.
Once she was alone and everything was quite again Lucienne plopped down heavily into the seat that Hui had been sitting in. “Merde va te faire foutre de Taureau,” She muttered to herself, folding her arms in front of her and letting her head fall upon it. She was so tired since she had been in three countries in less than a month, trying to solve a growing series of crimes, with no leads. Everyone wanted answers she didn’t have.
* * *
14 Pairsley St, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Erika got out of the limo after her driver had removed the large fibreboard box and trolley for her. She'd taken the taxi to her hotel in Liverpool, where she'd checked out, and called a limo service to convey her to the home of her longtime friend and associate Caitlin Trafford. It was a large enough house, with a driveway long enough for the limo to pull in and gave a view of the Liverpool docks, which wasn't all that bad. Kissing her driver on the cheek, even though he was a man, Erika then waved goodbye as he pulled out before wheeling the large package to the door.
"Hello Miss Stone; Lady Trafford has been expecting you," greeted Allegra, Caitlin's Italian maid, who wore a full traditional French maid outfit, including fishnet stockings and a white frilly apron over a short black dress. Moving inside the house, Erika spotted Caitlin sitting on a red silk couch not far from the door, reading the latest New York Times. The floor was marble so Erika had no problem with wheeling the trolley into the house and stopping it in front of the couch. Caitlin was a false redhead, having used chemicals that left her coppery color looking very natural however. Her hair was decently curly and spilled down to the small of her back. Her eyes were brown, a nice chestnut, and she was wearing light-pink lipstick. She was currently only dressed in a black silk robe, at least as far as Erika could tell, as well as fuzzy white slippers. On her wrist was a Hans Graven handmade watch which cost in the range of fifty thousand dollars, if not double that, given that the inside was jeweled with rubies that made sure it didn't lose more than five seconds a year.
"Is it Christmas then, Erika?" asked Caitlin, looking up with a smile. The room was fairly bare except for the three matching couches, which sat on an Indonesian rug, as well as an oak coffee table that sat on the left and right of each one. The white walls were covered with paintings, of course, but the floor was empty except for the things on the rug, only two doorways leading out the room. With Erika inside, Allegra drifted out of the room to attend to something else. Since Caitlin only employed one servant, Allegra cooked and gardened as well as cleaned.
"No, but your birthday is in a couple of days, so I thought I'd bring you a present from France," Erika told her friend as she picked up the box and placed it on the floor. It was taller than Erika was and at least as wide as she so it wasn't easy to do, but it would be much easier to move when empty.
"Can I open it now?" asked Caitlin, grinning ear to ear as she got up and looked at the box.
"Of course!" exclaimed Erika, handing her a pair of scissors from her purse. Caitlin took them and casually cut off the stretched banding sealing the box, then flipping the side over open.
"Oh!" exclaimed Caitlin in surprise. Inside was cradled Monique, the larcenous maid Erika had brought from France, dressed in nothing but a black lacy bra and matching thong. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was standing in a casual pose, her face neutral with her arms at her sides. She remained completely still, looking like a waxwork statue or a mannequin. A small needle mark was visible on the inside of her left elbow. "The new anesthesia?" asked Caitlin, inspecting her present as Monique lay in the box.
"Ashley described it to me as being a combination of a sleeping drug and a muscle stiffener," explained Erika as the pair wrapped their arms under Monique's back and lifted her out of the box, standing the rigid girl up on her feet. "They're calling it a type-7 sedation, which means not only is the person unresponsive but they practically freeze in place too, not even realizing they've blacked out. The muscle stiffener also eliminates problems with people being limp, or so she told me."
"I thought the subject had to drink it," remarked Caitlin as she examined Monique's left arm, licking her lips.
"You can inject it too, which makes it last a lot longer," Erika explained, pulling her thermos out from the backpack that sat on the trolley next to her suitcase. "Drinking it in pure form makes the effects last a while, long enough for any surgery, while injecting it will effectively put the person in a coma. I'm told if its diluted it will only last a few hours. I didn’t want your gift here waking up during the trip through the chunnel, so she’s had a full dose."
"When does your flight leave?" asked Caitlin, eying Erika's suitcase.
"Tomorrow, so we have time," Erika assured her friend with a wink. "So do you like her? Her name's Monique."
"I love her!" exclaimed Caitlin, feeling the woman's soft breasts. "And I love you," added the British millionaire, flashing Erika a smile. Erika leaned forward and the two kissed briefly. "Lets put her on the couch!" suggested Caitlin, wrapping her arms around Monique's waist and dragging her on her heels over to the couch she'd been sitting on earlier. Working together, she and Erika posed the frozen maid in a casual sitting position on the right side of the couch, her left arm resting on the arm-rest while her right hand rested above her breasts, pressed against her smooth skin. Monique's head was tilted forwards slightly, her eyes shifted upwards so she was looking straight ahead, her mouth molded in the form of a small but seductive smile.
"I could lose myself just looking at her like that," moaned Erika, licking her lips as she stood next to Caitlin.
"What's your choice, then, love?" asked Caitlin as she looked Erika up and down, "Give or take?"
"Oh, taker, definitely," grinned Erika. "After all this business with Monique it'll be nice for a change of pace." Erika didn't bother mentioning her adventures with her time-stopping gift since Caitlin didn't know about the power, nor did Erika ever plan to tell her or anyone else. "Just tone it down with something, because I don't have a couple of days, never mind a week."
"How do you want to take it?" asked Caitlin, almost shaking in anticipation.
"Lets mix it with some tonic water," suggested Erika, opening the thermos and pouring a bit into the cup. Caitlin disappeared into the doorway that lead to the kitchen, returning shortly afterwards with a wine glass filled with the drink Erika had ordered as well as a coffee mug. Erika took the coffee mug from her friend a poured a bit of the type-7 sedative into it, leaving only a bit in the thermos cup. Erika then poured the rest into the tonic water Caitlin had brought with her.
"Be easy with these clothes, they're some of my favorites," insisted Erika as she took a sip of her drink, downing a third of the glass. Erika then lowered the glass and moved to put it down on the closest coffee table but failed to do so. Erika stopped in mid-action with her right hand holding the glass by the base, the bottom of it inches from the top of the table, her expression held blank with her lips slightly parted as if to allow for breathing, her body bending slightly at the waist. She was frozen.
Caitlin giggled and waved a hand in front of her friend's face experimentally. Erika didn't even blink. "Oh fantastic, my own Erika Stone doll!" exclaimed Caitlin, taking the glass from her friend's stiffened hand and almost sprinting into the kitchen. Allegra was a good servant but she had a big mouth, so Caitlin ordered that she drink the rest of the tonic water. The housekeeper froze with the glass in her left hand, a puzzled look captured on her face with her left eyebrow raised, her left hand on her hip as she held the glass at breast-level. She wasn’t going to be doing any snooping tonight.
Caitlin then drifted back into the sitting room where Erika and Monique still remained. After locking the front door Caitlin shed her robe, confirming Erika's theory that she had been naked underneath, her soft pink skin glowing under the lights above, her artificial breasts bouncing as she skipped back over to Erika. Wrapping her arms around her motionless friend's waist, Caitlin carried Erika over to an empty couch and laid her down on her back, her right arm still extended. "I'll probably have to replace the couch after this, but it's worth it!" laughed Caitlin as she stripped Erika on the spot, removing her dress, sneakers, socks and hair-band that held the ponytail in place. Caitlin then stopped the stripping for a moment to admire Erika's breasts, which were still covered by a pink bra. "You are yummy, love," whispered Caitlin, kissing Erika on the lips again, this time letting her tongue dig in. Even though her lover was frozen, Caitlin could swear Erika had moved her tongue in response to the kiss.
"Hello girls!" exclaimed Caitlin after she removed Erika's bra, after moving her doll-like body to sit her up to do so and raising her arms above her head. Caitlin then proceeded to fondle Erika's perfectly round breasts, which, unlike Caitlin's, had been achieved through exercising alone, and lick her perfectly pink nipples. After a few more minutes of excitement it was time for the thong to go and Caitlin was not disappointed when that happened. "Bloody hell, you're the queen of wax," observed Caitlin, now admiring Erika's perfectly groomed womanhood. "Well, maybe you're good with wax because you are wax!" giggled Caitlin, knowing that Erika would probably scoff at the lame joke. Caitlin then got off the couch and ran back into the kitchen, grabbing a shot glass, which she filled almost completely with water. After giving the still-frozen Allegra a brief peck on the cheek Caitlin returned to the sitting room again, careful not to spill her water. Taking the coffee mug that sat on a nearby coffee table Caitlin carefully poured a few drops of t-7 into the shot glass.
"I can't resist," insisted Caitlin, carefully holding the glass as she used her free hand to pose Erika on the couch. The blonde lay with her back slightly bent at the edge of the couch, her arms raised like those of a doll, her mouth open and her eyes closed. Caitlin spread herself out on top of Erika, making sure the blonde's arms were around her back while her own were around hers. "Here's to the world's longest kiss," giggled Caitlin, taking the shot of water and sedative from over Erika's shoulder and quickly throwing the glass aside, causing it to shatter. Caitlin then quickly pressed her lips against Erika's, her eyes closed. A moment later the British woman froze in place too; both she and Erika were frozen on the couch, locked in a moment of passion while Monique sat motionless nearby. It would be a few hours before either lover recovered from the drug, with Allegra reviving a bit after them as she'd drank more than either two of the lovers.
Eagles Palace, Halkidiki, Greece
The Eagle’s Palace was set on a lush green hill surrounded by tropical palm trees and other tropical ferns and plants. The white brick and stone bungalows were covered by red roofs, which made a stunning contrast between the mystic Mount Athos and the Aegean Sea that bordered the resort. A white sandy beach at the base of the hill met the crystal green waters of the Aegean. The main structure of the resort, a large contemporary white and glass building, towered above the palms and ferns to the right of the bungalows, a uniquely-shaped pool with a tan marble boarder sitting elegantly between the main resort and the bungalows.
Erika’s five-day adventure had taken a lot out of her, more than what she had expected; on the plane ride from England to Greece she'd really felt the fatigue hit her like a bag of bricks. She knew from other experiences that there was a limit to her time-stopping ability; a week or more of continuous use often resulted in heavy fatigue and drowsiness. A day of resting her mind usually took care of the problem. Once she landed in Greece she made a change of plans, delaying her initial hotel reservation for a day or two, and made an emergency reservation at the Eagle’s Palace. Being the owner of the ‘What’s hot’ company in the corporate world the resort made arrangements for her no problem. She arrived at the resort an hour later and was given the Executive bungalow. Erika showered upon arriving and had planned to do a bit of exploring afterward but once she laid down on the king size bed for a short break she did not wake up until the next morning.
She was still a bit tired when she awoke and took another warm bath before calling room service to order breakfast. After a hearty meal Erika felt more refreshed, donning a stringy white bikini and fastened a silken flowery garment around her waist. She checked herself out in a mirror, pulling her blonde hair back with a white hair band. As Erika rummaged through her suitcase, looking for a matching sun hat and sandals when she heard a knock at the door. “What is now?” Erika muttered under her breath as she made her way to the door.
Upon opening the door Erika was welcomed by the warm Greek sun, the cool breeze, the smell of the beach and the sight of a lovely local girl. She was about 20 or so and deeply tanned with hazel eyes and long wavy brown hair, which she let hang naturally. She was dressed in a cute-looking white short-sleeved polo with the ‘Eagle Palace’ logo over her right breast. Erika could see the girl had a nice rack; it pushed against the polo almost forcefully. She also wore a khaki knee-length skirt, her bare tan legs standing in a pair of white sneakers. “How may I help you, sweetie?” Erika asked, almost cooing and leaning on the door seductively.
“My name is Talieya Antzas. I will be your personal assistant Ms. Stone for your stay here. I came by yesterday but you were asleep. How was your night, Ms Stone?” Talieya asked happily in lilting accent, not seeing the seductive look in Erika’s eyes.
“It was very, very nice, Talieya, thank you for asking,” Erika replied, looking at Talieya’s gorgeous face. She could tell this stay at the Eagle Palace was going to be great. “I’m going to head out to the beach, why don’t you slip out of that nice cute uniform, get into something more appropriate and join me?” Erika cooed, almost being too obvious of her attraction towards the resort employee.
Talieya caught on this time to Erika’s seductive nature and was both puzzled and a little weirded out at the same time. She hid her feelings with a smile. “Ms. Stone, I think I am much better suited for your needs and services if I were just to assist you.”
Erika pouted and smiled warmly back to the girl. “Oh okay, suit yourself sweetie. Let me get some things together. You just wait right here and I’ll be right back.” Erika said with a smile, still looking at Talieya like a tigress at her pray.
“Of course, Ms. Stone,” Talieya replied with a masking smile. How come really rich Americans were always the weird ones and how come she always was the one to deal with them, Talieya thought as Erika slipped back into her room, leaving the door open a crack.
I’m going to get you out of that uniform whether you like it not, honey, Erika thought, grinning to herself evilly as she gathered her hat, sandals and small hand bag that carried the metal thermos. With the sandals on and wide brim sun hat placed over her blonde hair Erika appeared at the door once more with the same seductive look in her eyes. “Okay sweetie, all ready and please call me Erika. Ms. Stone sounds too much like my mother."
“As you wish Erika, shall we head down?” Talieya asked, taking the lead; she could feel the heiress close on her heels and staring at her behind from behind. At least she was hot, Talieya thought, and hoped her day wasn’t going to be like the experience she'd had with Britney Spears a few months back. That experience alone had almost made her sworn off working with Americans ever again, even though they tipped great.
An hour later Erika’s body was clad in sun-screen which made her already bronze skin glow more intensely. She sat back in a blue beach chair with her sunglasses on and her head thrown back. A blue square sun umbrella shaded her face from the sun. Once they had reached the beach, Erika had ordered Talieya to close off a section for her and ordered sun screen, a cool bottle of white wine, a terry towel, some fruit and asked that no staff members or other visitors disturb her. She wanted to rest in peace and not have any children or any other kind of annoyances around her. Just her, the sand, the view of the Aegean and Talieya was all Erika wanted.
After everything was taken care of she offered Talieya a glass of cool wine as thanks for the help. Unknown to Talieya was that the wine was laced with some of the type-7 sedative. Talieya smiled and was about to say something when the drug took effect. She remained seated next to Erika on a beach chair with one hand holding the glass and the other on her lap. A smile on her parted lips was frozen on her face. It’s amazing how quickly that works! Erika then laid the immobilized assistant down and made quick work of removing her uniform. Talieya had sexy white lacy underwear that Erika thought looked great in contrast to her deeply tanned skin. The sexy lace didn’t stay on long as it joined the rest of Talieya’s things on the sand.
Talieya’s naked body, also coated with sun screen now, lay next to Erika on the neighboring beach chair. The assistant’s face bore a more natural sleeping look as her body was titled up and straight with bare toes canted outward. Talieya's arms were behind her head as if she was sleeping. Erika moaned softly, waking up from her short nap. She looked around at the white deserted sand around her and the crystal green Aegean in front of her. Almost a deserted island, she thought to herself. Looking behind her she could see the looming resort and hear sounds of civilization. “Almost…” she moaned as she turned on her side and looked at Talieya’s naked body. She was a work of art, a present from the Gods for sure. Large perfectly round natural breasts with dark pointy nipples, a cutting board solid midriff, a shaved womanhood and sexy muscular legs made Talieya smoking hot.
Erika got up from her chair and grabbed a strawberry from the bowl of fruit, sensually eating it as she let her eyes wander around Talieya’s stiffened form. Taking a sip of her chilled wine, she got up and lays over Talieya's body, licking, kissing and probing the Greek’s body freely. Erika spent almost an hour or so on top of Talieya before feeling overly satisfied inside and out. She covered Talieya’s naked body up with the terry towel and put her bikini bottoms back on, which had been worked off earlier. “Well, sweetie, it’s time for me to explore a bit. You just wait here, as our day is surely not over yet,” Erika said with a giggle as she leaned over and kissed Talieya over her stiff lips passionately. Erika had opened Talieya’s eyes and mouth during her fun so the Greek now stared up at her blankly with her mouth open. Erika grabbed the thermos top and poured a little more the liquid down the young woman’s open mouth. “That should keep you good and frozen for later,” Erika added as she fastened her silken garment around her waist and donned the beach hat. Talieya continued to stare blankly upward.
There were security guards posted at the entrance of the beach, as requested by Erika and assigned by Talieya. One the guard checked out the Californian billionaire as she climbed the steps from the beach leading up to the resort. “Ms. Antzas is resting and enjoying the beach down below; make sure that she isn’t disturbed by anyone. I’ll going to take a walk around the resort and be back later,” Erika said to the head security guard who could not help but to stare at her body as she walked by.
Erika kept her large sun hat and sunglasses on as she leaned on the railing and looked over at the large pool. There were guests out and about, but not many, as it was about high noon and she figured almost everyone was eating or staying the shade. There were a good amount of couples and a family here and there sun bathing around the pool and from what Erika could tell was that they were not locals; they were either Americans or other Europeans. She leaned forward and took in a deep breath of fresh sea air, leaning her elbows on the railing so she could rest her chin in her hands. It was boring but relaxing, she thought to herself, looking around the pool. She was about to go down for a swim in the pool but spotted some kids running around and knew she would not be able to truly enjoy herself. There were also too many people around; if she took off her hat and glasses that would be an issue, since everyone wanted to be Erika Stone’s friend. “Fame brings annoyance…they don’t tell you that in the brochure,” Erika sighed.
She stood up as a group of six girls entered the pool from the main building side of the resort. They were all dressed in tiny stringy bikinis and were loud in contrast with the other guests around the pool. Two of them looked up Erika’s way for what seemed like too much time. Erika waved back to kill the awkwardness. “Damn, commoners…” She muttered and turned to look back out into the Aegean. She leaned her elbows and back on the railing as she closed her eyes and lets the warmth of the sun hit her body.
“Excuse me?” a girl’s voice asked, making Erika open her eyes to see two girls from the group of six standing next to her. Both girls were pale blonde and even though they did not look to be related Erika had a hard time telling who was who. They were dressed in matching red bikinis; one girl had a large bag over her shoulder containing a large towel and Erika guessed other had beach supplies. Must be a product of the American universitie’s Greek System, Erika thought. “I’m Amber and this is my friend Sandy, we’re sorority sisters from Phi Sig Delta, UC Fullerton chapter. We are just wondering if you’re really Erika Stone?” Amber asked, smiling brightly along with her friend who held a tiny silver camera.
Erika could see where this was going and looked away with an annoyed sigh. “Unfortunately, in this case, yes, I am Erika Stone,” Erika said, taking off her hat and glasses since her minor disguise did nothing for her.
Both girls squealed loudly in excitement, almost making Erika run away in fear. “I told you it was her!” Amber exclaimed at her friend loudly, even though they were standing right next to each other. Amber and Sandy held each other’s hands and jumped up and down happily. As much as Erika was enjoying the sight of their bouncing breasts, the screaming scene by the co-eds was drawing unwanted attention her way.
“Please, ladies!” Erika snapped, grabbing both girls by the shoulders to stop them. “Please stop, that is not needed, now what is it that you want?” Erika demanded, feeling disgusted realizing that she had just sounded like her mother. Commoners…
“Oh my gosh!” Amber squealed as she fanned herself furiously with both her hands, “Sorry Ms. Stone, we’re just huge fans of yours, that’s all.”
“Would you like to join us and our sisters at the pool; it would like mean a lot to us?” Sandy then asked. Erika could tell this girl was from the valley, even though she was hot like her friends her singsong voice turned Erika off somewhat.
“Sorry ladies, but I am entertaining a friend down on the beach,” Erika replied with a fake smile. Sorority girls were terrible; she hated them when she was in college and she hated them now.
“Oh okay, that’s fine, Ms. Stone,” Amber said, sounding a bit embarrassed and put down. She then perked up as another thought came to her. “How about a picture?” Amber then asked as Sandy held up her camera with a smile.
“I don’t see the harm in that,” Erika said with her masked smile. She posed with each girl as the other took a picture and then with both girls as a passerby took the picture.
“Thanks a lot, Ms. Stone!” Both girls said in unison as they turned to leave. Erika eyed their stunning bodies and then down their friends below. An idea came into her head and she smiled herself, putting her sun hat and glasses back on.
“By the way ladies, could I trouble one of you for piece of chewing gum?” Erika asked.
* * *
One thing that was great about bikinis was that you did not need anything to strip them off; in other words you could just rip them off. This was what Erika had done to the time-stopped sisters of Phi Sig Delta, who were all now naked, showing off their young naked bodies to the pool side guests and staff of the resort. Erika blew a blue bubble with the gum as she looked over the college girls' naked bodies. Since there were six, she gave each girl a love partner, which was after she'd had her fun with each. She particularly enjoyed Amber, who had a stunningly toned naked body; she guessed the girl must have been athlete or something along those lines. Amber, like the rest of her sisters, was in a lover’s embrace with Sandy, both girls’ bronze bodies pressing against one another, sexy arms and limbs in hot entanglement. “Just typical for those crazy American college girls,” Erika giggled. So the sorority girls would not feel left out Erika also removed bathing suits of other guests as well, tasting a couple ladies here and there and even feeling one man's crotch, which reminded her why she disliked males.
As Erika looked around the pool she spotted a gorgeous life-guard sitting in her tower over-looking the pool. Erika had not seen her from the railing or really noticed her when she had stopped time; her attention was on the co-eds more than anything else. She walked up to the foot of the tower and looked up at the girl. Like Talieya, she was a local girl, tall and dark with short brown slicked-back hair, her blue one-piece bathing suit leaving little to the imagination, showing off her figure very well, her round breasts and even a bit of camel toe. Erika was eager to see more as she chewed the gum quickly and thought about climbing up the tower. It was really made for one person though and even with time stopped Erika could still fall to her death, which she had no intention of doing. She looked around the pool at the naked guests and then saw two children running in the distance. Erika grinned evilly as she walked over to the children.
Both children looked like they were in foot race heading straight for the pool. Who will win? Erika thought, looking down from the railing with a big smile at the scene down below. She blew another bubble with the gum and re-started time. As usual people freaked out, but Erika was in merciful mood so she had left their bathing suits intact and close by. People quickly rushed to dress themselves after realizing their exposure. The sorority sisters squealed in horror, jumping off one another and quickly scrambling for a towel to cover up. The squeals alone made Erika second guess herself in even messing with them but the look on their faces was priceless and made it all the more worth it to mess with them. As expected both children went face first into the pool, their parents yelling out in terror, rushing to the poolside. Also as expected the hot Greek life-guard went into action as she dived into the pool from her tower and plucked both children out of the water. “A true hero,” Erika laughed and clapped her hands, seeing that her plan had worked. Fortunately no one was nearby to wonder why she was laughing at the near tragedy of two children drowning.
Erika made her way back down to the poolside. None of guests really noticed her and the co-eds had left the pool as loudly as they'd came. She approached the life-guard from behind as she was talking to the parents of the two children who were thanking her. “Excuse me?” Erika asked, tapping the woman on the shoulder.
The life-guard turned around and Erika was taken back by her exotic face; another beautiful Greek woman. “Can I help you ma’am?” the life-guard asked in a thicker accent then that of Talieya’s.
“I couldn’t help but watch you save those two children and I just wanted to say that you were great; would you like to meet for a glass of wine later?” Erika asked with a seductive smile.
* * *
It had been a long day but Erika had enjoyed herself and she was actually feeling tired again. She was glad however to continue her Greek trip inland the next day as she'd had enough of the beach for now. She yawned loudly, walking up to her bungalow. She'd just had dinner and danced with a couple of hot women, plus some cheerleaders from the states were on vacation or doing a photo shoot Before she had left for the night she'd stopped time to give the cheerleaders a more memorable time. She grinned at the thought of the naked cheerleaders as she fished out her key card for her bungalow and opened the door. She closed the door to the bungalow behind her and kicked off her sandals, dropping her hand purse down on the floor and skipping happily into her bedroom.
She turned on the light and was welcomed by the sight of two women staring blankly at her with sexy smiles frozen on their faces. Talieya stood at attention, her long wavy hair tied up in fancy bun and her face made-up nicely. She was clad in a white see-through nightgown and stood barefoot. Standing next to her was the young beauty Erika found out was Helena the life-guard. Helena stood wearing nothing but a white garter belt and a pair of sheer white thigh-high stockings, along with a pair of Erica’s high-heeled backless pumps. Her marvelous breasts, which Erika had found out were fake but still hot, hung perfectly in front of her. Helena’s short brown hair was spiked up, giving her a super-model look. Like her co-worker Talieya, Helena’s face was made up very nicely as well. Erika moved around the two stiffly posed young ladies, kissing them and touching them as she pleased. “Well, girls, I leave tomorrow and hopefully before you two wake up so let’s get this party started…” Erika declared, turning on some Burt Bacharach music and slipping out of her little black dress she had worn that evening.
* * *
National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece
It had been a week since Lucienne Christophe and her crack team of Interpol agents had started the investigation into the museum thefts and they still had no leads save for the apparently intentional clues the thief or thieves had left for her. First, several hundred French Francs in Cairo which had led them to Paris. Next were a few thousand British Pounds, which were a mere fraction of the value of the Crown Jewels that had also been taken. Only a handful of Greek Drachmas were found in the Jewel House, but it was as good of a clue as they had. The thief was making a bit easier for them as well, since the planted currencies had gone out of circulation in favor of the Euro. Cassandra had punched the numbers on the planted money and determined each one was a fraction of the estimated value of a certain object which had been stolen. Unfortunately the number of Drachmas was low, but with a few educated guesses Lucienne's team had finally determined where the thief might strike next.
"This museum has some priceless antiques, but also a few that are rumored to be fakes," explained Lucienne to Tasia, who was dressed undercover like a tourist for this day rather than an agent. The gorgeous Greek woman, right at home though she'd been born in Volos. Tasia had her hair done up in a ponytail, though her hair passed though the hair band twice, giving her a loop instead of a simple straight tail. Tasia also wore a white tube-top, which showed off her decently-sized but flawless breasts in all their glory, including the small beauty mole on the left one. To compliment the outfit Tasia wore a tiny pink mini-skirt and black heels with a matching purse as well as large false diamond earrings. Lucienne tried to hide her arousal during the briefing as the pair sat in the front seats of an authentic ice cream truck, while Cassandra served the children with Hui's help. Marika had received a message to go to the nearest police station to take a call from the Interpol home office, supposedly a lead from everything she'd collected at earlier crime scenes.
"What's your pick for the target?" asked Tasia as she adjusted her top so she wouldn't flash anyone once she left the truck. Lucienne tried not to stare as the woman's pink-nailed hands moved over her full breasts.
"Since our thief seems to really like gold, probably the Mask of Agamemnon or the Theseus Ring," theorized Lucienne. "The rumor about the ring being a fake might also explain the small amount of money planted, since it’s been ball-parked to be worth one hundred thousand Euros. So far only jewelry and golden statuettes have been stolen, so I figured either one of those is more likely. Everything else is either too expensive, too big or too cheap."
"Alright, I'll press the alert button on my phone if I see anything suspicious," Tasia assured her superior, tapping her special-issue cell phone as she slid it into her purse.
"Good luck Tasia, and catch us a crook," Lucienne told her fellow agent, squeezing her shoulder gently as she exited the ice cream truck. With the mob of children and parents around the truck no one would really notice a stunning Greek girl leaving it, even if she was arguably the most attractive woman on the street. Tasia quickly darted across the main road and hurried across the grass towards the museum, which stood alone with impressive white marble columns in front and two flights of steps leading up into the famed building. Tasia scurried along, eager to get in place and be ready if the thief showed up.
The exhibits in the museum had recently been rearranged, with both of the relics Lucienne had mentioned being stored in a room not far from the entrance. The room primarily contained statues depicting ancient Greek beings such as Poseidon and the Minotaur. Also in the room were four treasures made of solid gold: The Nestor's Cup; the Theseus Ring; the Mask of Agamemnon and the Shield of Odysseus. The four golden objects sat on alarmed pedestals along the wall, each blocked off by a glass case. Unfortunately the glass cases hadn't helped prevent the theft of the Crown Jewels, Tasia reminded herself as she casually examined each piece, trying to act fascinated, like the tourist she was imitating. Tasia loved her national history but she'd been to the museum many times thus it was hard to admire something she'd seen before, no matter how impressive it was.
Meanwhile, back outside, Erika Stone once again was in disguise; this time wearing a pageboy-styled redheaded wig that barely reached down to her shoulders. Erika was dressed in a purple spaghetti-strap top and white shorts, also sporting the white sneakers that she loved to wear as well as sunglasses. She'd sat outside on the museum steps for a little while, pretending to be preoccupied with her cell phone. After her fun at the resort she'd been a little worn out, having used her power again, so she decided to wait a few more minutes before starting the theft. A black BMW sat parked a block away, near an ice cream truck that was flocked with kids, Erika's travel agent Monica Stein was sitting inside smoking a cigarette. "Vermin," whispered Erika as she eyed the children near her getaway car.
Monica was one of Erika's most trusted friends, having been her father's travel agent back when Erika was a teenager. After his death, the two had become fast and close friends, much like Erika had with Caitlin. Monica, however, was one of the few people in the world that knew Erika was the international museum thief; she even knew about Erika's special ability. Luckily Monica, who was thirty-two, shared the same sense of adventure that Erika did. Monica was envious of Erika's gift but agreed to help however she could, being paid back by getting to join her friend on many of her trips as an accomplice and, occasionally, a warm body to sleep next to.
Finally Erika decided it was time and put her phone away inside her purse, then standing up and heading inside. After paying admission Erika was free to go where she chose, but the room she was interested was to the right of the entrance. Even with her goal close at hand, Erika knew she needed to be careful so she instead ducked inside the nearby restroom. The tile-covered room was only occupied by one woman who, unfortunately for Erika, was familiar to her. It was that pesky co-ed Sandy from the Phi Sig Delta college girls from Eagle’s Palace, who was applying rouge to her face using the mirror. The blonde didn't look away from the mirror when Erika came in, giving the billionaire enough time to dash into the stall before Sandy tried to glance at the newcomer. "Is that you, Kelsey?" called Sandy from the sink as Erika shut the stall door. "Hey, sorry for ditching you but I want to make sure that cute guy in the gift shop noticed me. Amber and the girls went back to the hotel already, I think. They were going to text me when they got there."
Erika didn't reply to Sandy's remarks, instead calmly reaching into her purse and pulling out her gum container. Panic hit Erika when she then discovered that the container was empty. While the gum wasn't necessary for the billionaire to stop time, it did help keep her focus so she didn't accidentally re-start it too soon. Deciding she'd improvise, Erika closed her eyes and concentrated as Sandy continued to yammer on, bringing up mindless college girl gossip. "What do you think of that one security guard?" asked Sandy from outside the stall. "He was k-" Sandy was cut-off in mid-word as Erika succeeded in stopping time.
"Thank god," muttered Erika, rubbing her temples. The blonde billionaire then stood up and exited the stall, stuffing her wig into her purse as she did so. Sandy stood like a statue bent over at the waist, her right hand holding the rouge compact while her right held the brush to her left cheek. The girl was wearing a shameless light blue halter-top with pink shorts and yellow sandals. The blonde's hair was combed back behind her ears and she stood staring at her herself in the mirror, her mouth hanging open with her teeth protruding as if she were trying to form the letter 'i'. The college girl's purse, a brown Prada bag, sat on the left side of the sink. "Glad to see you still chew this stuff," said Erika as she pulled out a piece of blue gum from Sandy's purse, kissing the frozen girl on the cheek. A short time later Erika was blowing blue bubbles as she casually removed the compact and brush from Sandy's hands and began removing her clothing too, raising her arms above her head and turning her around to do so. A few moments after that Sandy was completely naked while leaned forward with her arms raised as if she were about to take a dive, though her elbows were still bent and her hands were in the same position as before. "Just like I remember," moaned Erika as she felt Sandy's moderate but satisfying breasts, even popping a bubble she'd blown on her left nipple before licking it. "Still, you're old news, so I need something new for you." Erika straightened out Sandy's rigid back and then wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, dragging her out of the bathroom while still completely exposed.
The museum's main hall was fairly crowded since it was a sitting area with several benches. Several older couples sat on the benches, most likely tired just from going from one room to another. After a quick search Erika found a fairly ugly man in his forties with a bad comb-over and an ugly green V-neck for his choice of shirt to go with his khaki pants. Dragging the naked Sandy over to the man, Erika sat the blond college girl next to the man and wrapped his arms around her as she sat with her right hand resting on his crotch, her left fingering her own womanhood. The man's right hand held her hand on his pants. "What a cute couple," laughed Erika as she took a picture. A naked American college girl and a creepy-looking guy who looked like he was hunting for museum ass. There will be an arrest for this one, thought Erika as she walked away from the scene she’d created.
A bit bored with stripping everyone she saw, Erika decided to pose more than strip this time around before she grabbed what she'd came for. Erika turned cameras backwards, made water bottles miss open mouths, had cell phones change hands and moved other hands so that people were touching the groin of another person rather than their arm, shoulder and the like. The highlight of the terror occurred when Erika took the museum’s admission attendant, a short Greek girl with black frizzy hair, and posed her so her hands were holding her white blouse open, flashing her bra-less chest to a family of five, including two kids that were under the age of ten. Erika was confident a lawsuit or arrest would result this time around, though the resulting chaos wouldn't be quite the same as when she stripped everyone.
Deciding it was too tempting to resist, Erika returned to her old ways when she entered the room where the treasure was being kept. Only six people were in the smaller room, which was populated primarily by statues, both stone and frozen people. Luckily for Erika all of the latter were women and none of them were over forty. "Christmas," gasped Erika as she looked around in delight. Pedestals dotted the room, some holding statues, almost all of them of naked men, as well as a few busts and a few golden treasures.
Erika decided to start with the Japanese twins that were standing next to the statue of Poseidon. The statue was a nude bearded man with an exposed groin who stood with his left and extended to the side, his right raised above his head as he looked to his left. The Japanese twins both had dark brown hair with purple highlights and wore white short-sleeved blouses and blue skirts, looking a bit like schoolgirls with ear to ear grins showing perfectly white teeth. Both girls even had their hair in braided ponytails, though one wore small glasses and the other did not. Both stood with digital cameras pointed at the Poseidon statue, grinning ear to ear. "You girls want a closer look at the God of the Sea?" asked Erika as she wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the two frozen girls. "I'll take that as a yes!"
Erika's trusty scissors tore through the blouses of the twins as her gum-chewing sped up. Soon red silk bras were revealed and Erika suddenly felt envious. "I've been itching to get one of these!" exclaimed the playful blonde, and was disappointed that they weren't in her size. Both girls had fairly small breasts, but they appeared to be college girls like Sandy so Erika figured they were late bloomers. Their skirts came off and fell around their black running shoes, at which point Erika snatched away their slim black cameras and put them carefully on the floor. Next Erika did something that would really shock the museum staff when time resumed, namely knock over the priceless statue. The dark brown depiction of Poseidon fell onto its back from the pedestal and broke at all the joints, also cracking in half at the waist. The floor wasn't spared either, the tiles cracking and splintering from the heavy object's impact. Erika rubbed her ears in annoyance, as the fall had been very loud to her, though none of the frozen people so much as blinked an eye.
Leaving the tragedy behind, Erika turned the Japanese twins around and sat them down on the pedestal, raising their feet to take off their shoes and socks. Once the twins were barefoot Erika admired their well-groomed toes and even licked them, uncovered feet for some reason arousing her at the moment. Once the twins were barefoot they were stood up again, still with their hands in front of them holding invisible cameras, and Erika finished removing their clothing but cutting off their red silk underwear. "Wow, you girls stink at shaving," observed Erika in disappointment as she looked at the unkempt womanhoods’ of the twins. Both had hair so thick you couldn't even see a camel toe, plus there were razor cuts near the top. Fortunately their breasts were perfectly round, so Erika played with them a bit while kissing each girl all over.
"And now something that will put those blonde Frenchies to shame," giggled Erika, remembering the siblings from the Louvre's food court. Erika climbed up onto the pedestal and lifted both girls onto it by their armpits, forced to stand them shoulder-to-shoulder so they wouldn't fall off the pedestal. Erika then carefully turned them so they would face each other and posed them so they had their arms wrapping around each another in a tight and sensual embrace. Erika then unbraided their hair, letting the brunette and purple locks spill down to the center of their shoulder blades as they looked at one another with wide grins, holding each other closely with their breasts pressed together as if they were the tips of a vise. Not satisfied, Erika parted their teeth and pressed their heads together so their lips would be touching. "Needs an artistic touch," Erika decided as she examined her work and quickly decided to close their eyes. Satisfied, Erika hopped down from the pedestal, nearly tripping over the right leg of Poseidon. The near-incident inspired Erika and she promptly raised the right leg of each twin off of the ground, bent sharply at the knee. "Oh yeah, hot and dirty, and oh so dirty," cooed Erika as she took a picture of the living statues.
The other four women in the room were all Greeks from what Erika could see, but the first three she examined didn't do much for her, thus she merely stripped them down to nothing but their shoes and socks and pressed their naked bodies against the glass of some of the displays. The fourth woman, however, made Erika's heart skip a beat. A tall red-haired girl with her hair tied in a loop wearing a white tube top and pink mini-skirt stood in front of the bust of the Minotaur, and Erika decided immediately she was the hottest Greek woman she'd ever seen, forget those vacationing girls at Eagle’s Palace. The woman stood with her left hand holding the strap of her black leather purse as it was tight against her body while her right hand rested on the label for the display; while the woman's perfectly-shaped face was looking down at the English text. She wore diamond earrings and possessed glossy pink lips, parted about a millimeter, that Erika desperately wanted to kiss. Even from a distance Erika found the woman’s deep blue eyes hypnotic.
"Show me everything!" exclaimed Erika, almost losing herself as she slid over to the woman and practically tore off her top with her scissors, revealing perfect C-cup breasts with nipples that were a proper light pink. "Oh... you really take care of your body," moaned Erika as she groped the woman from behind, squeezing the woman's breasts tightly as she kissed her stiff neck. Erika soon spun the woman around and let her tongue dance inside the girl's mouth, heedless of the possibility of accidentally losing her gum and control like she had with Monique. Luckily for the thief, time remained stopped after she leaned back from the Greek girl's mouth and licked her lips. "If only we weren't in a crowded room where someone might miss you," sighed Erika in disappointment, thinking of the small vial of type-7 sedative in her purse. Instead Erika was reduced to merely looking and moaning as she pulled down the woman's skirt, revealing a tiny white black thong that descended a moment later. The woman's groin was perfectly-shaved, the woman handily beating Talieya's skill with a razor. After kissing the girl's womanhood, Erika snapped a picture of her and then dug through the woman's purse, looking for a name. "Tasia Spiro of Volos, huh?" observed Erika as she looked at the girl's Greek driver's license. "Well, Tasia, after I spend my time in Italy I might just come back and take you out for a little wine!" Tasia while frozen naturally couldn't respond but Erika nodded. "Yes, I like my plan too," giggled the billionaire in anticipation, regretfully stepping away.
"There you are, my pretty," Erika said as she chewed her gum calmly, examining the Theseus Ring inside its case. Erika then casually walked over to where she'd left the two cameras that belonged to the Japanese twins and threw them both at the glass, shattering it like the many displays Erika had attacked before. Without an obstruction, Erika easily plucked the ring from the pedestal and dropped it into her own purse, joining a yellow post-it note that listed Tasia’s address with the word 'hot' written next to it in bold letters.
"Bye bye, Tasia!" called Erika as she blew a kiss. With that Erika left the room and then the museum. Outside pigeons were time-stopped while flying overhead, fixed in the sky as if they were painted on a canvas instead of real birds in mid-flight. A horde of children was still crowded around the ice cream truck, causing Erika to roll her eyes and look away. She did notice, however, that the brunette handing a little girl an ice cream cone looked familiar, but was in no mood to fight through a collection of frozen brats to check out a possible hottie, at least after seeing Tasia naked. Instead Erika casually crossed the street, waving at the driver of an Aston Martin who had his foot on the gas as she went, and hopped into the passenger side of the BMW that Monica was waiting in. After blowing a bubble, Erika spat out her gum, letting it hit the sidewalk, and shut the door. No sooner did the door slam shut the Aston Martin was moving again, as were the pigeons and swarm of children.
"Drive," muttered Erika, and Monica obeyed, pulling their BMW onto the street as alarms blared from inside the museum.
* * *
Lucienne sat back in the driver’s seat of the ice cream truck, licking an ice cream cone like a child as she watched the museum, which was a block away, intently. Her special-issue cell phone sat at her side and she occasionally looked down at it to keep track of Tasia’s signal. Once Tasia gave the signal Cassandra would radio the Athens tactical police units that were standing by and they would lock down the perimeter around the museum, locking everyone in and keeping everyone else out at the same time. The ice cream reminded her of better times, she thought, back to her boyfriend Leon who was a detective with the Normandy police department, her girlfriend and also roommate Natalie who was an exotic dancer. The thought of both brought a grin to her face as she continued to lick her ice cream playfully. The image of Cassandra’s luscious breasts appeared in her head, which clouded her focus a bit.
“Are you okay?” Hui asked, the Chinese agent having moved next to her boss’s side and licking a pineapple Popsicle. “You looked preoccupied.”
“Just thinking…” Lucienne began to explain, before alarms starting blaring from the museum. “Vous devez chier je…” she muttered, throwing her unfinished ice cream out the window. She looked down at the cell phone. There was no word from Tasia. Fear and adrenaline kicked in as she threw the door open and withdrew her USP. Cassandra yelled orders into her handheld as she and Hui trailed their boss towards the museum with their handguns out.
* * *
Tasia had been reading at one moment and now she felt cool breeze over her body, which was facing the other direction. She realized in that instant that she was completely naked, as where the other women in room. One woman stood there in her full nakedness and just screamed in horror, another followed suit and the third just ran out of the room. The two Japanese twins in the room were by far the worst as not only were they were naked they were also in a questionable position. They were standing on the pedestal of a fallen and destroyed Poseidon statue. Both girls had been balancing on one foot each and fell as soon as they noticed their nakedness. One sister had hurt her arm and was crying out in pain while her sister tired to cover herself and help her twin up.
Feeling really hot in the face, Tasia quickly knelt down and yelled at the other women to do the same and to cover as much as their bodies as possible as guards were filing into the room. Tasia's police mentality kicked in as she had been a patrol officer in her hometown for three years before she was assigned to Interpol. She quickly shuffled over in her full nakedness over to the twins to try to give them as much help as she could. The twin that was hurt had a broken arm. Tasia tried to calm the girls down as best she could and warn the healthy twin not to move her sister, but there was an obvious language barrier that made everything difficult.
The two other women continued to scream in horror and this was starting to annoy Tasia, as she couldn’t think and did not know why these women were screaming as if being tortured. She huddled closer to the two sisters, feeling a bit aroused herself, which was automatic reaction for her as the sisters weren’t that bad looking. At this point she wanted the sisters, who were the youngest in the room, to feel some sense of security even if it meant exposing herself more.
Tasia was about to tell the two other women to shut the hell up but before she could say anything heavily armored men, clad in black combat gear and armed with sub-machine guns, stormed into the room yelling orders. At that point Tasia remembered the cell phone but it was too late as Lucienne entered the room and, surprisingly enough, she did not look mad.
* * *
The famous Greek museum was shut down for the rest of the day, people who had been waiting in line to get in being turned way and people who were inside were kept in until further notice. A swarm of people had gathered outside, causing Athens’ finest to be out in force. Inside the museum it had become less chaotic and was now in control, though of course it was easier this time around as the exposure level was lower than the other three locations. There were more unexplained accidents than last time. The tourists were more upset about being stuck in the museum than anything else. Lucienne had Hui work the crowd along the with museum staff, the weapons expert having become more of crowd control specialist in the past week, a lot of it thanks to her experiences at the Tower of London. Cassandra supervised the investigation along with Athenian detectives and forensic specialists. Tasia, after she was given some coveralls by the police, assisted Lucienne with cleaning up and explaining the situation to the Greek brass as well as talking to tourists most affected by the theft.
The third naked woman that was in the room with Tasia had almost run out of the museum in shock, but she was stopped at the entrance by Hui and two tactical police officers. The admission girl that had been flashing the family was being verbally assaulted by the father of the family as the mother shielded their children’s eyes. Tactical police officers and Cassandra quickly defused the situation. Another incident in the main hall quickly got out hand as Sandy the sorority girl screamed out in horror and slapped the man that was next to her. Other male tourists got into it and soon there was a full-blown fight. It took a handful of museum staffers and tactical police officers to subdue the situation. An hour later everything was under control and a lot quieter.
“Excuse me; you cannot smoke here,” A guard informed Lucienne as she made her way back to the back offices of the museum for a meeting with her team. She had just gotten off the phone with an angry President and Super Attendant. She was certain she was going to lose her job soon if these crimes went on unsolved. Being in the situation that she was one would think the stress and anger level would be a lot higher but Lucienne’s lips were in a slight grin. She nodded to the guard and handed him her cigarette, casually walking by. The situation was bad but the image of Tasia's luscious naked body kept on interrupting her thoughts. If she lost her job maybe she could see if she had a chance with the young Greek, she thought as she opened the door to the conference room.
“Okay guys what’s the situation?” Lucienne asked as she took a seat at the head of the table, trying not to look at Tasia too obviously. She was lucky that the shapeless police jumpsuit hid Tasia’s body well so it was not hard to ignore her stunning features. Lucienne turned to Cassandra, who sat closest to her. “Cassandra?”
“The thief broke the glass case with a pair of digital cameras. The cameras are at the crime lab right now being examined along with all the clothing. We figured that the chemical agent started out in the women’s washroom, possibly the first person to be affected by it being the American college student. We did a check through the ventilation system but so far the tests have been inconclusive, there’s no trace of anything as of yet. The Athenians lifted over a thousand prints from the washroom and scene of the theft. I have the print sheet with me now and will present the data to Marika once she arrives,” Cassandra concluded, holding up the file of prints.
Lucienne took a second to take it all in and organize the data in her head with that from the other locations. You didn’t need to a rocket scientist to see the similarities with each case. “How about the clue; is there any clue left-over?”
Cassandra flipped through her files in front of her. “I think we may be going to Italy,” she replied after reading the evidence inventory list.
Lucienne, nodded, closing her eyes and massaging the bridge of her nose. She had no idea how she was going to stop the next theft from happening. “Tasia, what do you have?” She then asked, not looking at the Greek but knew she sat at the other end of the table.
“Well, one of the Japanese tourists has a broken arm but she’ll be fine. The government is not going to pursue their charges under the circumstances. They are just banned from the country, which is nothing compared to what they are suspected of committing. As soon at the girl’s arm is stable they will be on the first flight back to Tokyo. The other women in the room may be pressing charges against the museum for emotional distress, but I don’t think the case will go far considering the events at the other locations, which shows that is this was not an isolated crime. The museum settled with the family that was flashed by the admission girl, but unfortunately the girl was relieved of her job. Finally the incident with the American college girl and the local man in the main hall; well I think we both know about that one,” Tasia concluded with tired look and sat back in her chair.
The incident with Sandy and the man in the green V-neck did not end well. The incident led to some fights that resulted in some arrests. Two other Greek men were charged with assault, a security guard was wounded and a small child had gotten stepped on during the whole ordeal. Tasia and Lucienne had tried to calm the situation by explaining the results of the other cases but that went to deaf ears as there were many angry parties. The parents of the child were seeking damages from all other parties and the security guard was pressing charges on the other two Greeks, who thought they were saving the American from rape. What made the situation worst was that Sandy’s father was an American senator and he wanted blood for what had happened to his daughter. Blowing the situation more out of hand was that the V-neck man was a convicted but rehabilitated sex offender. The US had demanded proper action be taken and the situation was on the verge of becoming an international incident. It was a bad day indeed.
“Hui, I hope you have good news,” Lucienne said, looking at the weapons expert, who always kept everything on the bright side with her calmness and smile. Lucienne could always depend on Hui when she was having a bad day.
Hui smiled brightly as she looked through the files in front of her. “Me too,” she replied as she organized a set of photos in front of her. “Okay; I interviewed most of the tourists and really came up with nothing. No one heard or saw anything before it was too late. The fight in the main hall was the major concern for everyone so we didn’t get any eyewitness accounts of the theft from tourists outside of the room. As we know, the tourists inside of the room were too preoccupied to really notice anything, so I went back to review surveillance feeds and I found something interesting,” Hui informed the others as she handed photographs to her team members. The first photo was from Cairo and showed a curly-haired girl in a hooded sweater; the second photograph from the Louvre that showed a blonde in a red dress and wide-brimmed fedora; a third photograph was taken from the Tower of London’s bridgeway entrance that showed what looked like the same blonde from Paris entering the museum dressed in a white sun dress. The last photo was taken for the main hall of the museum they currently sat in. It showed a redhead enter the women’s restroom one minute before the alarms went off. “If you look at these photographs closely, you can see a woman that is about the same build in all the photographs, so we might conclude it’s the same person. Another thing that these photographs have in common is that she is no where to be found after the theft but the frames clearly shows her present about a minute or so before the alarms when off.”
The other three team members were silent as they examined the photographs and agreed with Hui’s points. This was the first break in the case. They now knew who they were looking for and so a chance of ending this priceless crime spree was in sight.
“This may be a stretch, but I think that’s the thief,” Hui continued, looking at her own copies of the photographs.
“Great job,” Lucienne said, looking at the photos. “I think you may have come across something that may be very helpful,” She declared, smiling; Lucienne had not smiled in such a long time and the team felt good to see their tough leader crack one again.
Lucienne was about to say something regarding the photographs when Marika burst into the room, panting hard as if she had just run a race. The other team members look at her puzzled with a look that asked ‘where was the fire?’ Marika tried to catch her breath as she handed her boss a file.
“The results… from the finger prints,” Marika forced out, putting her hands on her knees and gasping for air.
“You know you could have just called…” Lucienne suggested as she opened the file and looked over the information. Her hazel eyes turned into saucers as she looked over the information. “Are you certain!?”
Marika nodded quickly.
“Could you match it if you found it again?” Lucienne asked, her accent thick due to her excitement. She reached her hand out towards Cassandra for her fingerprint file. Cassandra, with a puzzled look on her face, handed the file over obediently. “These are the new prints from today; I want you to look them over, get back to me with the results and then contact the home office.” Lucienne ordered, handing the folder on to Marika. “I want those prints confirmed, you understand?”
Marika nodded, “You got it, Lucienne,” She replied and left the room as quickly as she had arrived.
The other three women looked at Lucienne eagerly as she looked through the photographs once more, matching the name with the photos. “Complètement merde…” she muttered and looked up at her eager team members with a big ear to ear grin. “Ladies, I like you to meet our first confirmed suspect; 'Erika Lynn Stone of Malibu, California, USA.'" Lucienne said, holding up the Tower of London Photograph.
Excelsior Hotel, Bologna, Italy
Lotte Ritter, a German tourist, checked out of her room and exited the 4-star Italian hotel. The woman was young, being twenty-three, and possessed light brown hair as well as dark green eyes, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. The woman was wearing a red sports jacket with the German flag on it as well as a soccer ball, called a football by Europeans, which she wore to support her national team. Underneath the jacket was a plain white T-shirt, and below that were simple blue jeans. The attractive girl was lugging an old brown suitcase out the door of the hotel and pleased to see that a taxi was already there, seemingly waiting for her.
"Where to?" asked the dark-haired female cab driver as the German woman piled into the back seat of the vehicle after throwing her case in first. The driver was speaking English, which made sense to Lotte since few people staying at hotels spoke Italian, or at least during tourist seasons.
"Airport," replied Lotte, using up one of the fifty English words she knew. The cab driver nodded and pulled away from the hotel.
"Water?" asked the cab driver, picking up a bottle of water from the front passenger seat and offering it to Lotte. The tourist was thirsty so she accepted the kind gesture, taking the clear plastic bottle from her driver's hand. As the taxi slowed to a stop for a red light at the corner of the block where the Excelsior sat Lotte opened the bottle and quickly downed a fifth of its contents in a few rapid gulps. The effect were almost instantaneous.
"You needed that, hey?" asked the cab driver, who glanced behind her to look at her fare. Lotte was sitting on the right side of the cab, her suitcase on the left, her right hand holding the bottle while her left held the cap, both objects in front of her body as she looked straight ahead, a blank expression on her face. The cab driver smiled and made a left turn at the light when it changed, pulling into the new underground parking lot for the Excelsior a moment later.
Erika, who wore a strapless red dress along with sunglasses and had her hair in a bun, smiled when she saw the cab approach and pull into the parking space reserved for room 303 of the hotel. Room 303 was in Erika's name, as she had decided it would be her residence while she was in Bologna. The taxi's driver door opened and out stepped Monica, clad in a simple white blouse and khaki pants combination, her dark hair combed behind her ears. "That didn't take you long," observed Erika as she walked up and embraced her travel agent, the two then kissing one another on the cheek.
"I guess she was thirsty," shrugged Monica, walking around to the other side of the cab and opening the door for Erika so she could inspect the frozen Lotte. The plan had been in place ever since Erika and Monica had arrived in Bologna two days ago and seen the sexy foreign tourist in the hotel lobby. Erika had followed her to her room and stopped time to get a better look at her. After a background check, they'd confirmed Lotte Stegener had no family to speak of, thus once she'd checked out of her room they planned to kidnap her and make her theirs. The original owner of the cab, an older Italian man, was at a strip club, happily several thousand euros richer. Erika had paid him a fortune to borrow his cab, which he wrote up as a fare. The man was due back in an hour, and Monica had already told him where to find it.
"Let's get her inside," declared Erika, grabbing Monica's shoulder with her left hand as her right pulled a piece of gum from her purse. Erika relaxed, taking a deep breath as she chewed her gum, and then time stopped. The garage had been quiet before, but now it was quiet enough that the only audible sound was Erika's chewing of her pink gum. Monica, who was not stopped like everything else, casually leaned into the cab and recovered the bottle and cap from Lotte's rigid hands. Erika took the bottle, sealed it and put it in her purse as Monica unbuckled Lotte and bent her slightly at the waist. Moving carefully Monica managed to slide Lotte out of the taxi, her brown heeled sandals bumping the bottom of the car's frame as she was fully extracted from the vehicle. Erika then bent over and straightened out Lotte's legs while Monica held her from behind around the waist and a moment later the German girl stood upright, her hands still held out in front of her.
"How do you want to move her?" asked Monica, looking Lotte up and down. She wasn't that tall, standing around one meter and sixty-five centimeters with her heels, but they had to go up four floors, and carrying her up the stairs would be hard, plus with time stopped the elevators weren't working.
"Just grab her suitcase, I've got just the thing," Erika assured her longtime friend, walking towards where the elevators were. Monica shrugged and did as she was told, extracting the ugly piece of luggage from the cab. As she put the case down next to Lotte, Monica saw Erika was returning with a black metal dolly being pushed along in front of her, a pair of blue bungee straps hanging from the side. "I left this by the elevators, plus I covered up the camera," explained Erika as she stopped the dolly directly behind Lotte. "We'll take her to the elevator, restart time, ride it to the third floor, then stop time again when we get off so we can sneak her in."
"Works for me," agreed Monica, who proceeded to lift Lotte up by her hips and carefully place her on the dolly. Once the girl was on the hand truck Erika and Monica strapped her in place, the two straps going around right below her breasts and just above her knees. Monica then stepped around behind the handcart and tilted it back to roughly forty-five degrees and turned around, heading towards the elevator with Erika walking beside her after locking the cab and picked up the old style suitcase.
"You figured out what you're going for next?" asked Monica as the two women casually walked through the time-stopped world, passing motionless people occasionally.
"I think I'll just visit the Palazzo D'Accursio and take whatever strikes me," shrugged Erika, snapping her gum. "I didn't really plan this stop out, I just wanted to hit Italy. Still, a painting will be a nice change of pace. I still think the Mona Lisa would of been nice for my condo back home..."
"Yeah, but you'd have every agency with initials combing the streets looking for it," pointed out Monica as she rolled Lotte into the elevator. "You're the third-richest woman in the world, but you can still be arrested for stealing a national treasure, even if it is from France. No amount of money can protect you from that."
"Good thing I'm a master of disguise," laughed Erika, remembering all the wigs she'd worn over the past few days as she concentrated at let time start up again. The elevator doors slid closed and Erika hit the button for the 3rd floor, causing the elevator to start to move.
"Wait, what about getting into the room?" asked Monica, suddenly remembering the hotel used a key card system.
"Oh damn," muttered Erika, realizing her mistake. "We should have taken the stairs after all... Wait, I've got it. You get off and go open the door, and when it’s open, leave it propped open and text me. I'll stop time and bring our guest in."
"And to think the people at the New York Times said you're as smart as a stick in a pile of dung," chuckled Monica, amazed at how quick her employer could come up with a plan. Monica produced the white card from her pocket and held in one hand, her red cell phone in the other. Lotte still stood on her dolly in the corner of the elevator, so placed so when the doors open no one would see her. A moment later the elevator arrived at the third floor and Monica almost ran out of the doors while Erika casually stood by the controls, holding down the open button so she could survey the area. The floor wasn't the most luxurious one, since the best suites had been taken already, but it was still more than big enough for two people.
Erika stood waiting for what felt like an hour until finally she felt her phone vibrate from inside her purse. Closing her eyes, Erika began chewing her gum a bit more aggressively and felt the familiar sensation wash over her. She'd heard footsteps coming from up ahead but they'd become nothing as time stopped once again. "Let's get you to your new home, cutie," Erika told Lotte as she reached up and removed the black tape covering the security camera in the corner of the elevator. Immediately afterwards Erika got behind the dolly and casually wheeled the German girl out of the elevator, taking a left almost immediately, blowing bubbles as she went.
A few doors down from the elevator was room 303; the room Erika and Monica were sharing. It was near the main set of elevators that took a person down to the hotel lobby as well as the main staircase but still had rooms 301 and 305 on either side. Erika felt a little guilty about the dolly scuffing the Italian carpet in the hallway as she wheeled Lotte into her room but got over it once she'd exited it.
The room was small but gorgeous, the floor featuring a green and yellow diamond pattern. The same pattern was used for the striped curtains and bedsheets, the bed being a king-sized mattress. Some local art decorated the beige walls and white flowers sat on a counter on the left side of the room. Two leather chairs sat around a coffee table next to the balcony window, outside of which was a breath-taking view of the still city of Bologna. Monica stood at attention, her right hand at her side with her cell phone locked in her grip while her left old the door open, her eyes looking blankly ahead with her lips parted just enough to allow a bit of breath to escape. Monica had toned down her make-up to look more like a cab driver, her lips a natural purple/pink and her sexy brown eyes drawing Erika in as she brought Lotte into the room.
Once Lotte was wheeled over by the balcony Erika hurried back to Monica and closed the door. "You want to have a little fun?" asked Erika in a seductive tone, leaning in and kissing the time-frozen woman full in the mouth, her sunglasses tossed aside and her hair let down. A moment later time resumed as Erika lost concentration, and Monica quickly dropped her phone as she wrapped her arms around Erika's back, the two collapsing on the bed, with Erika on top.
"Wait, wait," muttered Monica, pushing Erika's head up so she could talk. "What about the museum and our new prize? We can't get too into something just yet."
"I hate it when you're right," sighed, Erika, kissing her companion once more before getting up. "Still, I need some rest. I just used my ability twice and I can't use it a third time without a break."
"Go ahead and get some sleep then, I'll deal with her," Monica, offered from the bed, sitting up and waving a hand at Lotte, who was still attached to the dolly, as patient as a mannequin.
"Alright, close the curtains too," insisted Erika, disappearing into the white-tiled bathroom, closing the door as she began to remove her dress. Monica sat on the bed for a moment, licking her lips and spitting out the gum that had ended up in her mouth. The dark brunette then drifted over to the window and closed the curtains, cutting out the bright late morning sun. Monica then opened the black backpack that sat on on the long counter next to the flowers and extracted a 10cc needle and a vial filled with type-7 sedative. With steady hands Monica filled the syringe and then examined Lotte's right arm. After a bit of searching the vein was found and Monica carefully injected the immobilized woman with another dose of the freezing drug, ensuring she'd be out of commission for a week at the minimum if not more.
By this time Erika had exited the bathroom, stark naked with her bronze skin seeming to glow under the room's lights. Monica had put the needle aside and unstrapped Lotte from the dolly, not noticing Erika until the blonde wrapped her arms around under the older woman's arms and squeezed her breasts. "Can I persuade you to join me?" Erika whispered into her companion's ear. Monica smiled and casually reached down to her pants, having them descend a moment later.
After three minutes of lip-locking passion, Monica was as naked as Erika, her own somewhat pale skin contradicting that of her boss. The pair laid down under the bed's blanket, Monica on the right and Erika on the left. Erika was laying on her right side, her gaze looking towards the wall and curtains, a plastic shot glass in her hands. Monica was facing her companion, her body less than a foot away, a similar glass in her own hand. "I don't think I'd ever be able to rest during the day without drugs," realized Erika as she fingered the shot, filled with the same type-7 containing water Lotte had drank earlier.
"Me neither, it just doesn't feel natural otherwise," agreed Monica, propping her head up with her right elbow.
"Well, sweet dreams," muttered Erika, downing the contents of her glass and throwing it off of the bed. A moment later Erika's body froze, her legs bent at the knees around thirty degrees as she lay on her side, her right arm underneath her pillow with her head resting on it, her hair spilled over it, her left loose with the hand over the side of the bed, her eyes open but her body none the less asleep.
"Sleep well," whispered Monica, moving in closer to her immobile lover and leaning upwards, her right now propping her up from the palm rather than the elbow. After drinking her own shot of type-7 mixed with water Monica quickly fell back on her elbow with her left hand squeezing Erika's matching breast, her lips pressing against her exposed neck. Then two women were frozen in their erotic embrace, and would remain that way until the drug wore off.
* * *
"I tell you, its like they're not even there," Tasia told Cassandra over the phone as she sat on her bed in 301. The Interpol agent was naked except for a fluffy white bath robe, her hair damp and hanging like a mop around her head as she held the waterproof phone to her right ear. With Erika Stone now the prime suspect in the case Tasia had been sent to the Excelsior to do surveillance, being the specialist in that area. Her room was identical to Erika's, though she was not aware of this. The wall that the head of the bed was pressed against had a special audio sensor on it, which would allow Tasia to hear everything that happened in the room next to hers, where Erika and her unidentified guest were supposed to be staying.
"They must be asleep then or something," sighed Cassandra, who sat in the hotel lobby at a green couch in front of a large coffee table, her own cell phone held to her ear. Cassandra wore simple white T-shirt with no sleeves and a pair of dark red pants that stopped well above the ankles, looking like another tourist. Since the investigation wasn't considered important enough to require multiple agents inside the hotel, Cassandra didn't have a room. Lucienne, Marika and Hui were all outside in a parked van, Cassandra having gone in for the hour in case anything occurred The team was glad they had a suspect as they would of assumed the thief would go to Rome or Vatican City, not Bologna, and thus they might miss the next crime, never mind stopping it.
"I could pose as a member of the hotel staff and pretend to deliver some room service or something," suggested Tasia, feeling herself get a little warm as she imagined Erika Stone in bed, her gorgeous body completely naked.
"No, we can't risk direct contact in case she sees you again later on," Cassandra reminded her young counterpart. "If she were dumb enough not to remember a face her company would be in the red by now, but since she's managed to spend more money than any woman I know and still get richer I'm guessing she's not just another dumb blonde. Just keep an ear on her."
"Got it," sighed Tasia as she hung up. Tossing the phone on the bed the Greek agent got up and headed back into the bathroom to dry her hair. A few minutes afterwards, as Tasia was finishing with the blow-dryer, Tasia heard a sound from her listener device. Hurrying back to the bed, Tasia hooked up her headset and listened in on the sounds from the other room.
"Mmm... good nap," said one voice which Tasia identified as belonging to Erika.
"Yeah, I don't even feel stiff," laughed another female voice, which was known to be her unidentified black-haired companion.
"You are incorrigible, the way you posed yourself before it kicked in," giggled Erika.
"Well damn, Erika, you are the hottest woman who will let me kiss her," pointed out the other woman.
"Oh Monica, you're the best," moaned Erika, which was followed by the distinct sound of kissing. Tasia felt herself going red. It was like watching a pornographic movie with no picture.
"Want to play a little before you go?" asked Monica a full two minutes later.
"No, I'll let you have some fun with her while I'm gone, and when I get back we can celebrate," Erika replied, followed by the sound of someone getting off a bed.
"Yeah, she looks lonely," giggled Monica, followed by more bed sounds.
"The Palazzo D'Accursio isn't far, so I'll be back in an hour or two," said Erika, followed by the sounds of objects being moved around on a counter.
"Maybe then we can replace this ugly piece of crap they call art," muttered Monica. At this point Tasia turned off the device, removed the headset and grabbed her phone, dialing Cassandra's number.
"What is it?" asked Cassandra, picking up from just outside the hotel. The British agent had been about to go pick up some food for the three in the van around the block when her phone had rung.
"Erika's coming out, and said she was going to the Palazzo D'Accursio," Tasia announced. "Her friend's name is Monica, no clue on the last name. It sounds like there's a third girl in there as well, but she didn't say anything."
"Stay here and keep tabs on the room," Cassandra told Tasia as she sprinted towards the van. "We'll go to the museum and set ourselves up. We'll be watching her like hawks." The agent hung up and ran towards the white nondescript van, hoping into the driver's seat and starting the vehicle. From the hotel entrance Cassandra spotted Erika leaving, dressed in a red strapless dress, large sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.
"What's going on?" asked Lucienne, getting up from the back of the van and sitting down in the passenger seat. The back of the vehicle had a collection of audio equipment for wire-tapping purposes as well as three chairs and box that was being used as a table. All three were dressed in clothing similar to Cassandra's.
"Stone's on the move, she's heading for the Palazzo D'Accursio," Cassandra told her superior as she buckled up.
"Right, then lets get there first and get in character," grunted Lucienne, her accent getting thicker as the sentence went on. "C'est la jour qu'on va ganger!"
* * *
Palazzo D'Accursio, Bologna, Italy
Surprisingly enough the Italian palace known as the Palazzo D’Accursio, also home to the Civic Art collection, was scarce of tourists with only a group of children standing outside the city’s town hall. There were only four adults within the group of children: a teacher, two parents and a tour guide. The tour guide was a male dressed in a navy suit and tie, which was the uniform of the palace staff. He stood in front of the group of children, ranging from eight to ten years old, and explained the historical significance of the palace as well as the type of artwork that was stored and presented within. The group stood just in front of the main entrance with all eyes on the male tour guide. Erika watched in the distance, feeling a headache coming on just looking at the group of kids that stood so close to where she had to go. The bright red dress would surely cause unwanted attention among the children and that wouldn't do at all. Opening her purse Erika removed a stick of pink bubble gum and balled it up, plopping it into her mouth. She smiled smugly as she crossed the street, the world around her turning silent and unmoving.
Walking past the tour group, one of the adults within the group caught Erika’s attention. She was standing on the outer edge of the group, a red-headed woman with curly hair that just brushed her shoulders. She was dressed in a short-sleeved blouse and a pair of blue jeans, with a leather messenger bag over her shoulder completing her ensemble. Erika walked around the redhead, eying the frozen woman. She had a good figure and cute face with green eyes masked by a pair of wire-frame glasses. Her face had a blank look on it with the lips parted in slight grin. She was young, perhaps in her mid-twenties, and by looking at the other adults that were in the group, excluding the male tour guide, Erika concluded that woman was the teacher of the group. Another fact that Erika observed was that there was not another redhead within the group.
Looking over the children disgustedly, Erika grabbed hold of the teacher around the waist and dragged her away from the group, the frozen teacher’s sneakers scraping on the pavement and Erika’s heels the only sounds that were heard. Erika moved the stiff redhead a good six yards or so from the group, thus she was now standing closer to the entrance of the four-story palace than the group. “Ah, okay, now that you’re away from those pests I can look at you a little closer,” Erika sighed relaxing as she ran her hands down the front of the teacher’s blouse, groping the frozen educator’s breasts through the thin fabric. The breasts did not turn on Erika as she had expected, so she groped them once more this time, harder and still it did not stir her curiosity to see more. Erika snapped her gum loudly as she knelt down and opened the stiff redhead’s jeans and worked them, along with the plain Jane panties underneath, off her hips and down to her ankles. The teacher’s womanhood had a red fuzz that covered it, not messy and well-kept Erika observed with a bored look as she checked out the teacher’s backside. Erika burst out laughing as she saw that across the frozen lady’s right butt cheek was a large tattoo of heart with an arrow going through it. “Now that deserves a kiss and photo!” Erika exclaimed, fishing her camera from her purse and snapping off a few shots, then kissing the tattoo. Kissing the woman on the cheek, removing her glasses and hooking them to her blouse Erika moved on into the palace, leaving the redheaded teacher standing at the entrance way half-naked with a blank look and her jeans and panties around her ankles.
Once past the silent metal detectors and the four comically stiff security guards who were frozen in conversation with one another, Erika was within the main hall of the historical building. The place was not nearly as crowed as Greece but there was a few eye-catching ladies around that Erika could see. Like any other tourist she took some pictures of the building’s interior and admired its old age and ornate decorations. She chewed her gum normally, blowing a bubble here and there as she moved about the frozen crowd as if they were not even there, taking pictures of them and the art that hung from the wall. As she moved through the different rooms she made a note of the women and some men that she would go back to later. Unlike the other places she had visited, the Palazzo D’Accursio was not actually a planned visit; she had just read about it during the flight from Cairo to Paris and figured she’d stop by in the coming days, and now here she was. Erika wasn’t sure what to take as she noted all the paintings that were around her were too large. There were a couple small statuettes here and there that were most likely going to be what she took. But which one? Erika wondered as she eyed a tall blonde that was dressed like a typical tourist. The woman wore jeans, a long T-shirt with backpack on her back and a tiny camera in her hands. The blonde looked blankly a painting in front of her with the camera up in front of her. Erika looked into the girl’s empty blue eyes as she felt she had she seen the girl before as she took a picture of her. She’d come back to this one later on for sure and by then she would remember.
On the second floor, while eying a dark haired slender staff member down and taking a picture of the suspended woman, Erika walked to two American-looking soldiers dressed as civilians, even though their hair cuts gave them away. Erika noted a tall brunette standing nearby as she moved down the hallway. She was dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt and red pants; this woman looked familiar to Erika as well, but that thought vanished as Erika took her picture and made a mental note to come back later. She wandered around the rest of the building, a kind of a mindless exploration, just taking pictures and her thoughts on the women that she'd noted as well as on her German tourist that waited back in her hotel room for her. With a decision made in her head on what to take Erika headed back downstairs to let her imagination run free.
Back on the ground floor Erika, tucking her camera away, headed back towards the entrance where she had spotted a different blonde staff member behind the information counter who was dressed in a navy suit similar to the tour guide out front. She smiled evilly as she moved behind the counter that the blonde staffer was standing behind. The suspended blonde was leaned over the counter talking to a tourist, thus leaving her round backside available for the young blonde heiress. Erika was about to move the blonde for undressing but the image of a dark-haired woman in the corner of her eye caught her attention instead. Erika must of have walked right past the woman and had not even noticed her earlier, though she did now.
The woman stood in front of large painting of a depressing castle, the painting making the woman look even smaller than she really was. There was a reddish-brown haired woman who stood next the small woman, showing an obvious size difference between the two. The shorter woman was dressed a flowing sun dress that was suspended from her bare smooth-looking shoulders by spaghetti straps. The dress sat just above the knees exposing the woman's silky-smooth legs. Her bare feet stood in a pair elevated flip-flops. Even from the back, noting the silky black hair that was tied up into a ponytail, Erika knew the woman was Asian. The other woman wore a dark knee-length skirt showing off her shapely muscular legs and light blue jacket. The reddish-brown haired woman was the bonus, as Erika had her eyes on the sun-dress girl. “Hello, I guess you people are all over the world,” Erika scoffed, remembering the number of Asians she had run into so far. “I guess I’ll start with you love; I’ll be back, honey. Erika said with a peck on the frozen staffer’s cheek, causing her to wobble slightly.
Erika crept up on the shorter woman and looked her up and down with seductive blue eyes capturing the woman’s elegant features, not wanting to check out the Asian girl’s face yet. Erika knelled down and lifted up the sun dress’s hem, smiling at the frozen girl’s white cotton panties with lacy trim. “Cute,” Erika complimented to the silent girl as she ran her hands down the back of the girl’s thigh. She looked over at the reddish-brown haired woman standing next to her. The other woman was older than Erika but was still very attractive. Her mouth was open and her eyes were shut, thus it was obvious that the woman was in mid-sentence and mid-blink with time had stopped. “Oh, I think we could work with this,” Erika said with a sly grin, looking at the woman’s frozen face. Letting her eyes wander south Erika lifted the hem of the woman’s skirt. “Oh how nice!” Erika squealed, eying the woman’s French-cut lacy black panties. “I think I can cook up something nice and hot with you two,” Erika said with grin, letting the hem fall back down and moving back to the Asian girl.
Lifting the hem of the sun dress back up, “Let’s start by removing these cute little panties,” Erika cooed seductively, looping her fingers around the lacy waistband and slowly working them off of the stiff girl’s hips. As soon as the panties fell to the girl’s ankles Erika went wide-eyed looking at the girl’s fair skinned bare backside. She had definitely seen this particular backside somewhere else. Erika confirmed this by kissing it, and her lips didn’t lie. Erika grabbed hold of the girl’s hips and turned her around, coming face-to-face with a landing strip-shaven womanhood. Tower of London, Erika quickly thought as she slowly looked up at the woman’s blank smiling expression. Erika sat back surprised, seeing the same woman standing before her: Hui Lan. What in the world was going on, she thought to herself, her eyes locking on to the woman’s purse.
Erika pulled off Hui’s purse from her stiff shoulder and opened up it. The first thing she saw was the familiar tiny silver and black handgun that she had seen strapped to Hui’s inner thigh in London. Digging some more Erika found a black leather wallet. Fishing it out she flipped it opened and was shocked to see a police badge and an identification card with a picture of Hui that read, ‘Special Agent Hui Lan, Interpol, China.' “What the hell?” Erika almost screamed out as she stuffed the contents back into Hui’s purse and stood up to re-loop it on the girl’s still shoulder. Erika then noticed an ear-piece inserted into the Chinese woman’s ear. “Fuck…” Erika muttered as she knelt back to pull back up Hui’s panties. She was chewing her gum faster and she could feel her heart rate increasing as well. Looking over at Hui’s companion, Erika noticed a bulge at the girl’s hip under her jacket. She reached over and lifted the hem of the jacket and then quickly dropped it, seeing a holstered automatic pistol. She turned Hui back around to face the painting and quickly backed away from the two women as if expecting them to unfreeze and come after her.
Erika fished out her camera as she made her way back to the entrance, starting to delete all of her pictures on impulse, erasing any evidence that would even put her there. Erika didn’t know what she was panicking for but her heart-rate was up and she found herself chewing her gum aggressively as she flew through the main entrance. She made a quick stop at the teacher and re-dressed the woman, moving her back to her group. Once that was done she stood in silence and took several deep breaths to calm her nerves. They don’t know anything, time was stopped, she reminded herself as she crossed the street and sauntered down a couple blocks before re-starting time and catching a cab. Once inside the cab she was calm and cool once again. Erika told the driver where to take her and smiled to herself at the challenging situation that has just presented itself to her. “This is going to be interesting,” She muttered under her breath, looking back behind back towards the Palazzo D’Accursio and smiling evilly.
* * *
Excelsior Hotel, Bologna, Italy
Tasia listened to the room containing Monica and Erika’s unknown guest for ten minutes. All she heard was Monica talking to herself and what sounded like someone stripping themselves; other than that there was nothing relevant. Boredom kicked in a little after that and Tasia wished that she had gone with the rest of the team. She set the listening device on record and sat back on her bed, watching a little bit of TV. Everything was in Italian so after a few minutes of that Tasia had enough and decided to head down to the lobby. Maybe she could find out more about Erika’s guest by seeing what was ordered into the room and interviewing room service to see if she could get an ID on the third woman.
She entered the lobby wearing a sleeveless white blouse and a slim-fitting black mini-skirt with the hem sitting comfortably at mid-thigh. Her shapely legs were covered with nude stockings and she stood in a pair of high heels, her luscious brown hair tied into an elaborate bun. Her whole get-up was a little showy but she was undercover and she didn’t get a chance to dress like this when working at the home office. Tasia made her way to the security office and met with the head of security, informing him of her business without letting him know too much about the case or the suspects. He agreed to help her out and she waited in the security office while he sought the information that she requested so her cover would not be blown with her snooping around.
The wait in the office was not long as after a brief trip to a front desk computer terminal the security chief returned with billing information for room 303. Tasia thanked the guard who then returned to his duty seeing that his part in helping the International Police Organization was done. Tasia looked over the information as she walked back to the elevator to head back up. The information in front of her was pretty standard, nothing special, she thought as she double-checked the data. The only weird thing was everything ordered was for two people and she knew there was a third woman in the room. She scanned through the billing information some more and found the name of the third floor maid and room service specialist assigned to room 303: Francesca Alonzo.
Tasia found Francesca at the maid’s station, which was located in a windowless area of the third floor. The maids station contained a small wet bar and kitchen to better serve the guests on the floor that had ordered service. Francesca was a fresh-faced 18-year-old local girl with dark curly hair tied back into a tight bun and blue eyes. She was dressed in a standard maid’s outfit for the hotel, which was a tight fitting black dress with the hem sitting just past the knees and a white apron covering the dress. Francesca was a tall girl with sexy long legs covered in black hosiery. She was sitting at the bar cleaning glasses when Tasia had found her. Francesca was a college student so her English was quite good; Tasia found it easy to talk to her. She told Francesca that she was a reporter for a US magazine from Greece and she wanted to know some information on Erika Stone and her guests.
Francesca was very gossipy and eager to help Tasia with any information that she had. Tasia and Francesca talked for about twenty minutes, Tasia asking repeated questions to confirm the validity of the information. By the end of the conversation, Tasia was amazed at how well Francesca had retained information through observation, thinking she could have a career as a detective or even a spy.
Even though Francesca had been very helpful Tasia still had not found out the identity of the third guest or what they looked like. According to Francesca there was only Monica and Erika, but also a new fact had come into light: Erika was a lesbian and the Monica was her lover. The two often paraded around their room barely dressed even with Francesca in the room and there was only one bed in the room, which left one little imagination to what went on at night. Being that Monica was Erika’s lover now automatically made her a suspect and an accomplice if Erika was indeed the thief. Francesca promised to get back to Tasia if she found out more about a third woman and if she saw anything news-worthy the next time she was in the room.
It had been only forty-five minutes since Erika had left, Tasia calculated, looking at her cell phone as she made her way back to her room. She wondered if Lucienne and the others were making progress. She organized the new information in her head in preparation to report it to Cassandra at the next check in. Tasia was trying to think what she was going do when she was back in her room as listening to Monica talk to herself wasn’t exactly fun nor productive. Maybe she’d take a short nap, since she’d been having hot dreams about her team members ever since London. Tasia had even seen Cassandra and Marika naked as well as Hui secretly when she'd changed out of her clothes in London to turn over to forensics. She was really eager to see her leader Lucienne nude, as just looking at the tight business suits that Lucienne wore all the time Tasia knew the French woman had a tight body. An imaginary picture of Lucienne’s naked body flashed in her head as Tasia smiled to herself as she activated the key card to her room. Lost in her thoughts, the Greek undercover specialist did not notice the pair of blue eyes locked on her from the corner of the elevator lobby.
* * *
The ride back Erika had spent most of her time looking behind her to see if she had a tail. She was relieved to see the no one was following her. She also told the cabby to take alternate routes to get to the hotel and simply told him that she just wanted to see the sights even though she'd spent most of the time looking behind them. Once they had reached the hotel Erika paid the cabby a horrendous amount of money and told him not say a word that she was ever in his cab. The cabby happily agreed, as he had recognized her as Erika Stone as soon as she had sat in his cab and guessed that she was just trying to keep a low profile like any other kind of celebrity.
Erika walked through the lobby, eying everyone as if they were cops and was expecting a SWAT team to come falling out the ceiling to arrest her at any moment. Of course nothing was happening as she was just thinking all this and watching everyone because her paranoia was just a reaction from her finding out that Interpol was on to her. The key word was ‘on’ they still had no idea or proof it was actually her, never mind how she did it, so she was in the clear, Erika told herself to calm down as she climbed into the elevator and quickly moved under the security camera to stay out of view. Even though she had nothing to worry about, she figured it was about to time to be more cautious since there were actually people after her, or at least that was how it seemed.
The short ride to the third floor was quick and once the doors opened Erika walked slowly off the elevator, feeling tired now due to all the running around and looking over the shoulder that she'd just endured. Being a criminal was hard stuff, she thought, rubbing the back of her shoulder as she turned the corner at the elevator lobby. She stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted Tasia from Greece entering room 301, the room right next to her own. The coincidence was too much: first Hui at the palace and now Tasia in the room right next to her. Tasia was Interpol, Erika realized. She stood completely still, as if she had just ingested a dose of Type-7 and stared at room 301 when an idea hit her like pile of bricks. She smiled brightly to herself as she moved to her own room, trying to contain her excitement and fished out her room card.
Monica looked back at Erika with a smile as she entered the room. Erika quickly put her finger up to her lips to silence her friend who obeyed with a puzzled look. Monica was naked and seated on her knees in front of Lotte's stiff form that stood at attention with her arms at her sides. The German tourist was now completely naked and presented round tan-nippled breasts to Erika as she shut the door silently behind her. Lotte’s dark green eyes stared blankly past Erika as she approached. Erika could see that Monica was in the middle of giving Lotte a bikini wax and smiled looking down at the German’s womanhood, giving a thumbs up to Monica who was still confused to what was going on only smile back. Erika headed for the black bag on the counter and pulled out a ready 10cc needle filled with Type-7. She then looked at Monica who looked up at her boss with puppy dog eyes.
Thinking that she had done something wrong she reached her arm out to Erika, expecting to be injected. Erika only tossed her a terry robe in order to cover her naked body up. Monica stood and quickly dressed herself as Erika waited silently. Once Monica was dressed Erika gestured her to follow her, Monica obeying obediently as Erika led them towards the door. Erika blew a bubble with the gum that had been her mouth since the palace and gestured for Monica to grab one of the chairs near the coffee table as Erika opened the door. The signs were obvious to what was about to happen and at this point Monica had caught on.
Once the door was open Monica propped the chair against the door to keep it from closing. Erika looked around the hallway before stepping out herself, holding Monica by the wrist with her right hand and the capped syringe in her left fist. The moved to room 301 and Erika took a deep breath, as the timing had to be just right for this to work; the last time she had done something like she was only a freshman at UCLA. Monica looked around the hallway as Erika snapped her gum and knocked on the door, as soon as the door handle began to turn Erika relaxed and concentrated, everything going deathly still and silent around her and Monica a wink of an eye later.
Erika forcefully kicked down the door, almost falling over herself since she was standing in heels. Tasia's stiff frame fell down like a board since she had been standing in heels as well. She now was on her back with one leg slightly elevated, one arm up and in front of her while the other was reached out in front of her with fingers arched as if holding an invisible door handle. Her face bore a blank look with lips agape. “Help me stand her up,” Erika ordered, breaking the silence. Both unfrozen ladies bent over and each grabbed hold of one of Tasia arms and brought her back up to a standing position. Erika immediately began searching for a vein on Tasia’s left arm and when she found one she uncapped the needle and injected the liquid into the frozen Greek agent’s bloodstream.
“Wow Erika, is this the Greek girl you were talking about?” Monica asked as she checked out the hot and stiff girl in front of her, eying her from head to toe and running the back of her hand down the girl’s smooth cheek.
“Monica Stein, I like you to meet Tasia Spiro of Volos, Greece,” Erika said, smiling and eying her newest prize from head to toe.
“Very nice to make your acquaintance Miss Spiro,” Monica replied, shaking Tasia’s stiff outstretched hand with a giggle.
“Okay love, this is what's going to happen: Tasia here is Interpol; but before you panic I assure you I’ll explain everything as soon as I can but I need you do some things for me,” Erika said seriously, looking at Monica who had a look of panic on her face after finding out who it was her friend had just drugged. Erika leaned over and kissed Monica passionately on the lips. Monica was calmed down after that and was confident in her boss.
“What do you want me to do?” Monica asked with a confident smile, which showed that she was ready and not worried.
* * *
General Emergency Medical Centre, Bologna, Italy
“What do you mean there is no sign of her!?” Lucienne yelled into her cell phone, her accent thickness catching the attention of the Italian police officers and hospital staff around her. The afternoon was a complete disaster; not only did nothing happen at the palace regarding Erika Stone but there was a bank robbery a block away, thus the Bologna tactical units that were standing by under Lucienne’s command were diverted to that location. A shoot-out followed with innocent people wounded and one uniform police officer was killed. Lucienne’s own team had been forced to break cover and assist and in the process Lucienne had been shot, though thankfully she had worn a Kevlar vest and managed to down the robber who had shot her. Hui had taken down a robber herself as well. Being non-Italian citizens Lucienne and Hui were subjected to a quick internal investigation following the shoot-out. Lucienne had sent Marika and Cassandra back to the hotel to see what was up with Tasia who had not checked in hours.
Lucienne was sitting on hospital table with her shirt off, a grape size bruise occupying her left ribs. A nurse attending to her wound and checking her stats winced as Lucienne yelled into the cell phone. Keeping a cool head was what Lucienne was known for but in this situation, with the shoot-out, being shot at and now one of her agents missing it was too much for her. Looking over at the nurse who was taking her blood pressure Lucienne snapped, “Obtenez-au casser moi!” The nurse backed away in fear, looking at the angry French woman with wide eyes.
“She’s okay, you can leave now,” Hui said gently, holding the nurse at the elbow and speaking her best Italian followed by her trademark calming smile. She led the nurse out the examination room and closed the door to give Lucienne some privacy.
“Tell Marika to dust the room again and go over the security feed. Tasia's a living person so she can’t just up and disappear like that. Hui and I will be along in an half an hour. Remember to be very discrete!” Lucienne yelled her accent straining as she fought to keep calm. She snapped the phone shut angrily and was about to toss it when Hui appeared at her side with a soft smile. Just Hui being there brought some calmness to Lucienne and she smiled back at the Chinese agent weakly. “Tasia is missing. There is no sign of her. All of her belongings and the listening equipment are missing. Her room is completely clean as if no one was ever there,” Lucienne explained and she could feel herself getting mad again as the thought of one of her own agents gone with no explanation.
“A calm mind clears the clouds from your head,” Hui spoke softly as she hopped onto the table and sat behind her boss, placed her delicate hands on Lucienne’s bare shoulders and the back of her neck. Lucienne jumped at the feeling of Hui’s hands on her bare skin and automatically tensed up.
“What are you…?” Lucienne began to ask but suddenly felt warm, sleepy and relaxed.
“Just relax Lucienne and calm your mind, we need you calm right now. Tasia needs you calm right now,” Hui whispered as she massaged Lucienne’s shoulders and neck. Lucienne mumbled a moan as her body went limp and her head rolled over her chest heavily. With her arms limp at her sides her cell phone slips out of her hands drops to the floor with a loud crash. Lucienne is unaware and moans comfortably as she is reminded of the memories of her and Leon making mad love as well as her and Natalie doing it in the comfort of their condo. Lucienne, lost in her thoughts, her body completely limp was about to fall off the table before Hui brought her back.
Lucienne snapped back up and straightened up, looking back at Hui with a mystified look. “Oh my God, what was that?” She asked, realizing that she felt refreshed and free of stress at the moment.
“Ancient Chinese relaxing technique,” Hui replied with a smile, hopping off the table to Lucienne’s cell phone and handed it to her.
“That was great, you should open up a parlor one day. I feel so refreshed and energized... that was truly great,” Lucienne complimented with a smile and hopped off the table.
Hui laughed. “A woman like me opening a parlor creates very bad rumors. Since you are relaxed now perhaps you could get my Seecamp back, since the Italian detectives took it from me and they haven’t given it back yet.” Hui added, pouting her lips. The gun was gift from her Hong Kong boyfriend who was part of the Hong Kong Special Duties Unit and more practical for undercover work than the bulky USPs the team had been issued.
“Yeah I need my USP too,” Lucienne said, pulling on a hospital gown. “Come on let’s get our guns back and head back to the hotel. Tasia's disappearance might actually help us out; we now have a reason to talk to Erika Stone."
... To Be Continued ...