Thump thump. Thump thump.

 

The sound woke Denise up.  Her eyes were fluttering as she tried to get her bearings; she was suspended from the ceiling, her toes just touching the floor, her arms were very sore, and she was still dressed.

 

“What happened…where am I…?”

 

“Ah, you’re awake.”  The figure of a large, handsome, blond-haired man came into focus.  “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Nick.  You must be Denise.” His English was good, but his accent sounded European to her, Dutch, she thought.

 

“I…yes…you…you’re Nick? The Nick?” She remembered Amanda and the others talking about a ‘Nick’.

 

“I met some your friends earlier this week, if that’s what you mean.”  He smiled as he reached out, caressing her exposed navel.  “I hope you don’t dress like this when you teach, the boys will never be able to concentrate!”

 

Denise blushed slightly as she glanced down at her ‘barely-there’ outfit that Kat had convinced her to buy, a top that barely covered her large bosom and shorts that went all the way up.  “No,” she mumbled, “don’t touch me…”

 

“Would you like some more chloroform, sweetie?” He held up a white cloth.  “It might make you a bit more…agreeable.”

 

Denise’s eyes widened.  “No…please…don’t…what do you want with me…where’s Rachel…”

 

“Rachel is out looking for your friends. They have the key to open that door, I believe,” and he waved his hand to Denise’s left.  She swung herself around to see.  There was a large metal door, not much different in appearance to the one she and Penelope had entered the castle through.  There was a strange-looking opening above the doorknob.

 

“That’s the door…do you know what’s behind it?”

 

“With any luck, the Amber Room.  The greatest lost treasure of the twentieth century.”  Nick turned his attention back to the buxom brunette, his hand caressing her cheek, then sliding down to caress the tops of her breasts.  “Are all American girls as…blessed as you, sweetie?”

 

“Please…don’t…” Denise mumbled, as he took her by the shoulders and lifted her enough that he could swing her around, her back facing him.  His hands slid around her stomach, then up and under her top, caressing her breasts.

 

Denise bit her lip a bit, steeling herself, as she put as much weight as she could on her left toe.  Then in a sudden motion, she licked her right foot back and up…hard, right between his legs.

 

“Aaaaahhhh!! You bitch!” Nick screamed, as his hands left her top and instinctively went to his groin.  Denise spun herself around by her left foot, planted again, and delivered a high kick to his chin.

 

“Don’t,” she kicked again, “mess with,” another kick, “a,” kick, “former,” kick, “cheerleader!” He was wobbly, almost out on his feet, and her last kick, the highest of them all, drove her heel hard into his chin.  He took one step towards her, and then collapsed to the floor underneath her.

 

With Nick’s large body under her, Denise stepped easily on top of him, and her newfound height gave the rope tying her wrists together enough slack that she could slide it up and off the hook it was hanging from.  She stepped off him, and turned her attention to the rope binding her wrists.  After a few minutes with her teeth, she was finally able to loosen the rope enough to get it untied.

 

As she pulled his wrists behind him and tied them together, she glanced at her shoes.  “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to wear heels after all!” she said to herself.  She dug around his pockets until she found a flashlight, turned it on, and headed out of the room.

 

 

“Very good, Kristian,” Frau Braun chuckled, as she looked over the three girls - Amanda, Hannah, and Lianne - each lying in a narrow, six-foot-long wooden crate in the rear of the truck.  A mask over each girl’s nose and mouth kept them in a state of unconsciousness.  Four more empty crates were in the row beyond them.

 

“Here’s the half of the key we found on Miss Jones,” Kristian stated as he placed it in her frail, brittle fingers.  “It is just a matter of time before we have the other half.  We are close, Frau Braun, very close.”

 

“Good, very good.” She looked over to Steve.  “You, skinny one, you are to stay here, keep an eye on these girls.  I do NOT want any more surprises.  Kristian, come with me,” she added as her two bodyguards rolled her towards the front of the large truck.

 

“You and the other one, Billy, you go back out, find the others.  I want that other half of the key before lunchtime.  The Amber Room is finally going to be in my hands again!”  Her voice rose as loud as it could at her advanced age.

 

“What are we going to do with the girls?” Kristian asked.  “When this is all over, I mean.”

 

“They will be perfect stock for the slave auction, don’t you think?  Especially the American girls, they are always going for top dollar.  A nice bonus once I have the Amber Room in my possession.  And you will get a fair cut, my dear Kristian.”

 

“Perfect.  I’ll take Billy, and we’ll find the others.  And that key.”  He opened the side door and stepped out.

 

Unbeknownst to them, Steve had his ear to the wall, listening.  He heard every word, and as he walked around to look over the sleeping women, he shook his head.  “This isn’t what I signed up for,” he muttered under his breath.  “The Amber Room, the treasure, that is one thing, but a slave auction, these girls don’t deserve that.”  He looked over Hannah, his hand caressing her red hair as she slept.  “You deserve much better.  But what can I do?”

 

 

Ciara and Kat turned the corner, seeing Penelope sitting on the ground in front of the metal door, scribbling on a piece of paper.  They approached slowly, looking back and forth for signs of anyone else, and not seeing any.

 

“What are you writing?” Ciara asked her.

 

“This lower level is like a maze of rooms and corridors,” Penelope replied, “so I have been trying to make a simple map of it.  It’s hard enough to see where you’re going in there with just a flashlight.”

 

“I just tried Amanda’s phone again. Nothing, it’s like it has been turned off. Do you think-”

 

“That the bad guys are here?” Penelope interjected.  “Yes, definitely.  I hope they don’t have Denise too – I feel bad that I dismissed her the way I did.  She isn’t used to this sort of thing like you and I seem to be, Ciara.  Maybe we should have left her back in Muhlhausen.”  She glanced over at Kat.  “At least you speak German.  And Amanda told me you are tougher than you look.”

 

“Thanks, I think,” Kat answered.  “Hannah and I, we were just backpacking through Europe when we met Amanda, we had no idea we were going to end up on an adventure like this either, it is exciting but it is scary too.  What are we going to do?”

 

Penelope reached into her suit and removed a slender metal tube, about four inches long.  She grasped both ends and pulled them apart, extending it to about a foot long.  “We start looking.”  She walked up the hill along the side of the castle, looking through the small telescope.

 

“Is there anything you DON’T have in there?” Ciara laughed as she and Kat followed her.

 

“I try to be as prepared as I can be. There,” she pointed to a grove of trees over the hill, as she handed the telescope to Ciara.

 

“What is that thing, a bus? A RV? It’s huge.”  She handed the scope to Kat.

 

“I don’t know.  But it wasn’t there when we arrived.  I bet it’s our friends from the warehouse.  They must have followed us here.  If everything you and Amanda told me about the Amber Room is true, it’s worth millions, and these people aren’t going to stop until they get it.  We cannot let that happen.”

 

“I agree, and I wouldn’t be surprised if our friends are in there, either.”  Ciara looked around again.  “Okay, Black Arrow, what’s the plan?”

 

Penelope handed Ciara one of the two copies of the map she made.  “You and Kat go back in there, see if you can find Denise.  I am going to sneak down to that truck or whatever that thing is, see what I can find out.  Let’s keep our phones on silent; I’ll text you if I find anything, so just check from time to time.”

 

“Okay.  Be careful!” Ciara urged, as she and Kat headed back down towards the door.

 

“You too,” Penelope whispered, as she put the telescope back to her eye, scanning the area and devising a plan of approach by stealth.  To her right was the hill that would take her to the top level, where Amanda and the others had gone. To her left were some rocks and bushes; they would give her cover for a hundred yards or so, but not all the way to the trees where the truck was.  Still, it seemed like the best direction, so she scampered over and slipped behind one of the large rocks.

 

Most of her reconnaissance experience had been at night, where her black suit made her nearly invisible; but in the brightness of late morning, it gave her little to no advantage.  She slipped between the rock and a large bush, and as she did, she heard footsteps.

 

Holding her breath, not making a sound, Penelope looked and listened, as the sound of footsteps came closer.  She saw boots and blue jeans, and figured he must be one of the men from the warehouse.  She paused to think: she had two choices.  She could wait in hiding, see if he continued to pass by, and try to get to the truck without him noticing.  Or, she could take him down and try to get some information out of him.

 

Quietly, she stood up, scanning the area around them; she didn’t see any sign of anyone else.  She turned back to him, watching his face; his attention seemed to be on the metal door to the lower level.  ‘The door that Ciara and Kat just went in’, she thought, and her decision was made, she couldn’t let him go in there after them.  She tensed, waiting for him to get close enough, and then sprung out like a panther, striking him hard in the back of the head, and sending him sprawling to the ground.

 

Penelope rolled up to her feet as she landed, and turned as he was struggling to get up.  She aimed a kick at his head, but his hand came up and deflected it, sending her spinning off to the side. When she got back to her feet, he had a knife in his hand, swinging at her.  She was able to barely dodge it, swinging her left arm towards his head as she did, and landing a glancing blow.

 

The strike didn’t hurt Billy, but it slowed him just enough that she was able to plant and kick him hard in the sternum, sending him backwards.  He swung his knife wildly at her as she advanced on him, but a series of deft parries from Black Arrow dislodged it from his grip. She had the clear advantage now, and she pressed it, landing a punch to his temple and following it up with a roundhouse kick that sent him flat on his back, stunned.

 

Penelope jumped on top of him, her arm over his throat.  “Alright, where are my friends? Tell me!”

 

“Go to hell, bitch,” Billy wheezed, trying to catch his breath.  “I’ll tell you nothing.”

 

“Suit yourself,” she sneered, and angrily delivered a knockout punch to his temple.  “I’ll find them myself.”  She got to her feet, looking down at him; he wasn’t moving.  She took a few steps back, towards the bushes, looking around, and as she did, she felt a sudden sting in the side of her neck.

 

“What the…ooooh,” Penelope groaned, as the tranquilizer dart in her neck did its job quickly.  She staggered backwards, into the bushes, and collapsed.

 

From a distance away, a call was being made.  “It’s Kristian.  I got the Black Arrow.  She knocked Billy out before I could get a tranq dart in her, but she’s out cold now, I’m about to go collect her and bring her in.  No, no sign of the others yet.”

 

As this call was being made, a figure slipped into the bushes where Penelope’s body lay motionless and reached for her boots, removing them, before slipping away.

 

 

“Are you sure this map is right?” Kat asked as she and Ciara made their way through the lower level.  “It feels like we’re going in circles.” She was holding the light, Ciara the map; she was trying to both illuminate their path and the map at the same time.

 

“I think so.  I trust Penelope.  Though I would feel better too if we saw something besides dirt walls and floors in here.”  She stopped for a moment. “There’s two ways we can go here, but only one on the map.”

 

“Maybe this is where she lost Denise,” Kat suggested.  “We should try this path to the right, the one that’s not on the map, don’t you think?”

 

“Agreed.” Ciara turned and started down the corridor, which twisted and turned several times before opening up into a large room.  She handed the map to Kat as her friend shone the light into the room.  “Well, this is different.”

 

“Isn’t it, though,” a voice sang from the darkness, a female voice neither of them recognized.

 

“Who’s there?” Ciara shouted.  “Kat, stay behind me,” she whispered, as she advanced towards the voice.

 

“Ah, you must be friends of Denise.  My name is Rachel.”  The blonde came into view, in a khaki top and shorts that wasn’t that much different than what Ciara was wearing.

 

“How do you know Denise, and what are you doing here?” Ciara barked.

 

“Denise and I have met before, on a couple of occasions,” Rachel purred. “Unfortunately, she has gotten away,” she added with a scowl, as Nick, still looking a bit woozy, walked into view next to Rachel.

 

“You,” Kat remarked, “You’re Nick, from the bar, and the barn, what are YOU doing here?” Kat gasped.

 

“Same as you, Katrin, we are looking for the Amber Room.  I guess I wasn’t exactly completely honest with you ladies when we met before.”  He glanced between them.  “Nice to see you again too, Ciara.”

 

“So where is Denise?” Ciara questioned, still glaring at Rachel.

 

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Rachel shrugged.  “I would have thought my big burly man here and a solid dose of chloroform would have been enough to handle her – perhaps I underestimated your busty American friend.” She glanced over at Kat.  “You and her shop at the same store or something?”

 

“What do you know about our other friends?” Ciara continued at Rachel.

 

“Nothing really.  Why, have you lost them too?” she laughed.  Her tone turned serious quickly.  “The key.  I would like it. Now.” She drew a small pistol from her back pocket, aiming it at Ciara.

 

“I don’t have your key, sorry to disappoint you,” Ciara retorted, then her eyes widened at the gun pointing at her.  “Kat, run!”  Kat didn’t hesitate; with the light and map in hand, she ran back down the corridor as fast as her heels could take her.

 

Nick started after her, but Rachel put her hand out.  “Let her go for now.”  She waved the gun to her right, as Ciara sidestepped away from the doorway. “Search her good, then get plenty of rope this time, and tie her up good and tight, I don’t want her getting away like Denise did.”

 

As Nick followed his partner’s instructions, Ciara watched the light in Rachel’s hand as it danced along the walls, and around the metal door.  Her eyes widened.  “Is that the door?  The one that the key goes to?”

 

“Good eye,” Rachel grinned, still leveling the gun at her, which allowed Nick to pull Ciara’s arms behind her and secure them with one length of rope, before doing the same to her ankles, and then a third piece of rope pulling them all together into a hogtie, causing Ciara to fall to the floor. 

 

“She doesn’t have the key.  You want me to gag her too?” Nick asked.  “Or chloroform her?”

 

“Neither.  I want her to scream her head off, eventually someone will come along that DOES have the key.”  She checked Nick’s handiwork, as Ciara burned a hole through her with her stare.  “Now, do you think you can manage to hang onto this one long enough for me to find her friends?”  Nick nodded.  “Maybe you could try to get SOMETHING useful out of this one while I’m gone?”  And she stormed out.

 

Nick shrugged as he knelt next to Ciara. “I was too nice to your friend.  Guess I will have to try something different,” and he pulled out a knife, sliding it gently along Ciara’s stomach, not cutting, just hard enough so she could feel it.

 

Ciara’s eyes pleaded with him to stop, even as her thoughts went to Penelope, hoping she was having better fortune than she was…