The rendezvous with Vlad Volkov took place in a car park at the head of a hiking trail that was seldom used at this time of the year. All Jennifer remembered of the journey was waking occasionally and seeing trees, clouds and sky passing by the car window. She was in a drug induced sleep for most of the journey and was only starting to feel herself when Katya pulled into the gravelled lot.

The lot was deserted except for a large black van parked near a grassy swale at the entrance to the hiking trail. Leaning against it was a tall thin man with long stringy hair and a short balding fat man. They were both dressed in denim jeans, flannel shirts and Carhartt coats. They were both smoking.

Katya pulled up next to the van and got out leaving Jennifer locked in the back seat.

“You have the tranny?” Vlad peered over Katya’s shoulder trying to look in her car.

“Yes I have the tranny,” Katya handed over Jennifer’s social security card, driver’s licence, student ID and Bank of America credit card.

Vlad inspected the documents briefly and handed them to the fat man who still leaned against the van with a permanent scowl on his face. The fat man put the documents in his pocket.

“Her suitcase is in the trunk. I packed all of the clothes I used for her photo shoots,” Katya activated the key fob and the trunk popped open.

Vlad waved at the fat man and he went and collected the suitcase, peering into the window to look at Jennifer who was curled up on the back seat.

It was imperative that Vlad take Jennifer's suitcase because the GPS tracker was secreted inside it. Sometimes the people smugglers ditched the girl’s luggage but because of the quality of the garments that Jennifer had been photographed in, it was more likely they would keep them.

The fat man dropped Jennifer’s suitcase next to the back door of the van but didn’t open it.

“You took this one yourself. Usually you just scout out the targets and leave it to us to abduct the girl,” Vlad lit another cigarette.

“This one is a special order and I wanted to make sure we got her. She’s a college kid alert to stranger danger. You and fatso would stick out like dog’s balls anywhere near that campus, whereas a nicely dressed matronly lady like me sipping coffee with a pretty university student would not attract attention. Besides, I’ve taken girls before,” Katya snatched Vlad’s cigarettes and lighter from his hand and helped herself.

“You run the cards?” Katya had sent pictures of the driver’s licence, student ID and credit cards to Vlad.

“The cards check out. Where is her mobile phone?” Vlad asked.

Uri and Katya knew that Vlad would want to check the recent call list on Jennifer’s phone as another means to establish her validity and find out who may be looking for her.

“Don’t be stupid! Law enforcement agencies can track a cell phone. I threw it in the trash right after I picked her up,” Katya sneered at Vlad.

“I didn’t see any appeals in the media for a missing girl and our scanners didn’t pick up any BOLOs,” Vlad sneered back at her.

“A twenty-year-old transgender college student who is pretty much orphaned and lives alone who has an uncle who likes to fuck her occasionally but hasn’t any real feelings for her? Who is going to report her missing and who the fuck cares?” Katya sniped back.

Vlad just shrugged his shoulders and grinned at Katya.

“You want the merchandise or not?” Katya put her hands on her hips.

“Twenty years old? Couldn’t you get something younger?” Vlad whined.

“Wait until you see her. She could pass for a schoolgirl. She’s had the top surgery and some other improvements. Girls like her are hard to find,” Katya countered.

She was used to going back and forth with Vlad who always tried to lower the agreed price at the last minute.

“She looks good in the pictures you posted but pictures can be shopped. Trannies aren’t my thing anyway?” Vlad turned down his mouth.

“Well you don’t have to fuck her. Just sell her,” Katya studied the end of her cigarette.

“Dmitriy wants to see her. You know this?” Vlad grinned at Katya.

Vlad knew Katya’s history. How she had once been one of Dmitriy's favourites and how she had become Dmitriy’s personal assistant before being cast aside for a younger girl. Vlad knew that Dmitriy took a special interest in select girls.

“I know that. That’s why I sent you all the information I have on her along with the pictures. Why don’t you come and check her out and we can conclude our business and get out of this fucking cold,” Katya dropped her cigarette butt in the gravel and ground it out with her high heel.

Katya popped the doors on her car and reached in and grabbed Jennifer and pulled her out of the car. She was still a little unsteady on her feet and she leaned against the car for support.

Vlad stepped in to examine her.

He studied her face: her pixie-cut haircut with swept bangs coloured deep red with darker and lighter red highlights, her perfect alabaster skin and deep emerald eyes enhanced by her winged eyeliner, deep plum and vibrant copper eyeshadow, and her full lips finished with bright red lipstick. She looked pretty and young and vulnerable. Perfect.

Vlad took off Jennifer’s coat leaving her shivering dressed in her little black skirt and red satin blouse. She was tiny, weighing in at just over ninety pounds standing five foot tall with narrow shoulders and hips. Her high heels gave her a couple of extra inches and Vlad noted that her legs were long and shapely swathed in glossy flesh-toned pantyhose.

Jennifer tried to stop him when Vlad put his hand under her skirt but she was too weak. Vlad found Jennifer’s penis and scrotum tucked along her perineum held in place by her pantyhose and panties. He gave it a quick squeeze and removed his hand.

“Was that necessary?” Katya asked.

“I always feel I need to wash my hands after I check out a tranny. I’m glad we don’t deal with them much but trade in them is expanding. Some of our more refined customers like to have one of every kind of girl in their harem, even ones with dicks. If it was me, I’d pass on the ladyboys,” Vlad joked.

Katya took Jennifer's jacket from Vlad and helped her put it back on.

Vlad nodded at the fat man who opened the door to the cab and took out a tablet computer. He fiddled with it a little and Katya's phone pinged. She took it out and looked at it. The agreed amount had been transferred into her account.

“Check out the site when you get back. Got a customer looking for a Chink virgin. Wants the whole Jap schoolgirl fantasy,” Vlad took Jennifer by the arm and headed over to where his fat friend was standing at the back of the van.

Katya took one last look at Jennifer and said a silent prayer and got in her car and drove out of the car park. She punched up Uri’s number on her hands-free and it was immediately answered.

“Exchange successful,” she said and immediately hung up.

In the old colonial style house just outside of Cockeysville Uri and Donald Chase were bent over Uri’s cell phone which was on speaker. They gave each other a high-five when Katya told them that the exchange had been accomplished.

Back in the car park the fat man opened the back of the van. The cargo compartment was caged off from the driver’s cabin and at the rear by floor to ceiling reinforced steel mesh with a heavy-duty lock set into the rear door. The cargo was effectively caged inside the van with the steel mesh door and the van’s double doors providing security and privacy. There were no side or rear windows, but there was overhead lighting and the compartment was heated.

Five young women sat on the padded seating running down the sides of the van; four blondes and one brunette. They were all pretty despite the forlorn looks on their faces. The young women were all dressed in skirts, hose and heels and were wearing makeup, although three of the girls mascara had run because they had been crying.

The day before Vlad had instructed the girls to present themselves that way. When one of the girls complained he taken her aside and given the girls a public demonstration of what would happen if they didn’t do as he ordered or if they caused him any grief as they got closer to their destination. The bruises on the girl would not show because Vlad had beaten her on the torso using oranges inside a stocking which caused damage to her internal organs but left no topical evidence. The initial impact was absorbed by the soft matter in the oranges causing few broken surface vessels but produced muscle and organ trauma and intense pain.

The girl had screamed and passed out and when she came too she was hunched over and in severe pain for hours after the beating. The fat man had given her ibuprofen and sleeping tablets but the lesson was well learned by the other girls, some of who had been in the van for four days. After the beating the girls dressed as they were told to dress, remained respectful and never complained.

Three of the girls, including the one Vlad had beaten were virgins which meant that they were saved from the repeated raping inflicted on the other two whenever Vlad or the fat man decided to relieve their sexual tension. Driving five pretty girls cross-country caused them to be almost constantly horny.

“You, you get out! Bring blankets,” the fat man pointed to the two non-virgins.

They knew what was coming and one of them, the brunette, began to cry while the other girl shook the hair out of her face defiantly.

“What about I just give you a blowjob; you know I’m good,” the defiant blonde girl asked as she climbed out of the van.

“Nah. You give good blowjobs but I like your tight pussy,” the fat man smirked.

“Well use some fucking lube this time; that thing is like a fucking cucumber,” she said haughtily.

The other girl just stood there looking at her feet silently crying, holding her blanket tightly.

The effects of the sedative had nearly fully receded and Jennifer realised what was about to happen and she felt her anger building. With her training she could probably take out Vlad using the element of surprise and then the fat man would be easy to deal with unless of course they were armed but she didn’t see any guns or knives.

She knew that even if she could take the men down, she couldn’t, because the mission would be over. Jennifer knew what was at stake and she had been thoroughly briefed what to expect but seeing it happen in front of her eyes was such a shock. She felt so sorry for the forlorn girl dangling her blanket in the dust. Well she did for a while.

“What about her - the new girl! She’s prettier than all of us. Fuck her and let me go back in the van,” the forlorn brunette had lifted her head and was defiantly pointing an accusatory finger at Jennifer.

“Yeah! You can both fuck the pretty redhead. That little thing would have a sweet pussy I bet,” the defiant blonde joined in.

“No! We don’t fuck that. We fuck you,” the fat man pushed the defiant girl towards the tree line.

“She a virgin like the others?” the defiant blonde spat.

The fat man chuckled and kept driving the blonde towards the grassy glade at the edge of the woods.

“She loses her virginity every time she shits,” Vlad laughed caustically and pushed Jennifer towards the back of the van.

Jennifer ignored the insult and climbed into the back of the van as instructed. Vlad threw her suitcase in after her and slammed the cage door shut and locked it. He dragged the brunette over to the grassy swale where the fat man had made the blonde lie down on her blanket.

Vlad and the fat man had taken off their Carhartt coats and hung them on convenient branches and pulled down their jeans and underpants. It was cold so the two men and the two girls kept the rest of their clothes on.

“They leave the door open so we can watch. They either get a kick out of it or it’s another means or terrorising us,” one of the pretty blondes spoke up.

Jennifer sat down beside her and turned to look out the back of the van.

Vlad had the brunette down on the blanket and was lying between her legs humping her. The girl just lay there non responsive. The blonde on the other hand had her legs wrapped around the fat man and was encouraging him as he vigorously fucked her.

Jennifer turned away.

“Jackie says that if she goes along with it, he takes it easy on her. I think she secretly likes it as much as she bitches. I’m Wendy by the way,” the pretty blonde sitting beside Jennifer said by way of introduction.

“Jennifer Edwards,” Jennifer held out her hand.

“Surely she doesn’t like it?” Jennifer was aghast.

“She does what she has to do to minimise the pain and suffering. She’s from the streets so…” Wendy left the sentence hanging.

“The other girl?” Jennifer asked.

“Oh Gabriele. She’s sweet. Gave up her virginity to the starting high school quarterback but I bet she wished her hymen was still intact now. Vlad is sweet on her and rides her hard every chance he gets. I just wish she’d stop fucking crying,” Wendy sighed.

Jennifer understood the syndrome that the hostages were going through. They had subconsciously adopted survival skills to minimise their physiological pain and suffering, hardening themselves, grateful when it was someone else being hurt rather than them.

“They don’t abuse the virgins?” Jennifer played dumb.

“They treat us ok. They told us that virgins bring them more money and that we are going to better places than the non-virgins. Like we hadn't been abducted to be sold as sex slaves and instead were going on vacation,” Wendy laughed bitterly.

“Other than Michelle, who they put a beating on to demonstrate to us what would happen if we didn’t do as we were told or tried to escape, they have been pretty good to us… well except for Jackie and Gabriele who they fuck a couple of times a day,” Wendy smiled sourly.

“So far we have stopped every night in houses in remote locations. The doors are bolted and are steel reinforced as are the windows. They keep us all together in one room. There are other girls at the houses but we never get to talk to them. They look like they’re ok. They are well dressed and unblemished but we can hear fuck noises coming from the other rooms. I think the houses are brothels and the girls are forced to work there,” Wendy said.

What Wendy said tied in with what Jennifer had been briefed. Dmitriy’s lieutenants had safe houses scattered across the country where their henchmen could store their ill-gotten gains, smuggle people and use as whore houses and drug distribution centres. It was a business model that worked well for the Russian mafia and as soon as they suspected a location had been compromised they shut it down and opened another one nearby. They had their own underground railway for transporting contraband and people across the USA.

“So what’s your story Jennifer?” Wendy asked.

“I am… or I was attending the University of Maryland and working part-time at a Market and Deli to help pay my way. This hot-looking older woman dressed like a fashion queen came into the store, saw me, and told me I could be a model. I know I’m good looking but I thought I was too short but you know how it is? Every girl’s dream right?” Jennifer rolled out her story.

“This Katya woman told me to meet her at the Starbucks just down the block. I did and then I blanked out. She must have drugged my coffee. I woke up in this house and was forced to strip and then to model in all these sexy get-ups while some creepo took pictures of me. They drugged me for most of the time I was there,” Jennifer pulled up her sleeves and showed Wendy the punctures and bruises in the crook of her elbow.

“They did the same with us virgins at the houses we stopped at. Made us put on makeup and dress up and took pictures of us. Some creep put his finger in our cooches to confirm our virginity,” Wendy shook her head in disgust.

“Anyway here I am,” Jennifer opened her hands.

“How old are you, you look really young,” Wendy asked.

“I’m just small and have a young face under this heavy makeup. I actually turned twenty not that long ago,” Jennifer said.

“Fuck! You look like a kid playing dressup,” Wendy chuckled.

“And there’s something else… I’m a transgender woman,” Jennifer studied Wendy’s face for her reaction.

“We had two transgender kids in our high school: one femme the other male. They were treated pretty good but some of the kids wouldn’t talk to them,” Wendy said in a matter-of-fact way.

“That’s pretty much how it goes,” Jennifer acknowledged, recalling her own high school days.

“You still got a dick?” Wendy asked brazenly and they both started laughing.

“How can you two laugh while our sisters are being raped just outside this van!” the girl that Wendy had identified as Michelle screeched at them.

The van went quiet.

Jackie and Gabriele returned to the van and climbed inside and the fat man closed and locked the cage and then the van’s double doors. The van immediately became a little warmer.

Jackie slouched in a corner and took a roll of paper towel from a cardboard box, tore off some strips and shoved them down her panties and wiped her vagina. Gabriele slouched in the opposite corner and two of the other girls went over and comforted her.

“Better them than me,” Wendy whispered in Jennifer's ear.

Jennifer soon came to realise that there was little camaraderie amongst the five young women. Resigned to their fate it was every woman for herself. They shared the snacks from the cardboard box and the drinks from the cooler and told each other stories but they knew that there was no escape and eventually they each would have to fend for themselves.

It was part of the people trafficking business model. Make sure the subjects felt isolated and alone even when crowded together, making only alliances that benefitted themselves, selling out the others if necessary. It prevented the subjects from working together to formulate escape plans or demonstrating group solidarity and resolve.

The van began to lurch and the girls gripped the seats as it made its way across the gravel car park. The ride smoothed out when the van hit the blacktop.

The girls, except for Gabriele, were keen to hear Jennifer’s story so she repeated it. Her story was similar to the other girls: Gabriele and Jackie had been roofied in a bar where they were drinking using fake IDs. Two others had simply been snatched in broad daylight, one in a park, the other off a quiet street. Wendy had gone to meet a guy she met online who promised her he would take glamour shots of her and put together a portfolio and send it around the modelling agencies. As soon as she entered the warehouse where the shoot was supposed to take place she was abducted.

They ate snacks and drank the sodas and in the afternoon they stopped for a toilet break at an abandoned camping ground. The fat man took Jackie into one of decrepit cottages and made her blow him which she preferred to having to fuck him she said.

That night they stopped at a house where they were allowed to wash in a communal sink and given a hot meal. Gabriele and Jackie were taken away by Vlad and the fat man while the remainder were locked in a single room with mattresses on the floor with a stack of blankets to share. Gabriele and Jackie returned a while later, Gabriele was crying but she got no sympathy. The other girls told her to shut up so they could sleep.

The next morning Jennifer was separated from the other girls. Vlad simply roused her and told her to follow him out into the walled courtyard where a town car with heavily tinted windows awaited. She never did say goodbye to her short-term travelling companions.

The besuited driver was stoic and said very little after he’d put her suitcase in the trunk and opened the rear door for her. The door locks clicked shut ominously and the privacy screen went up as soon as the driver pulled away. Jennifer was cocooned in her own little world.

It was hard to imagine that only a few days ago she had been in a similar town car heading to the Conrad Hilton in Washington. She had no idea where she was but one thing was for sure, she was nowhere near L.A. where Dmitriy Yakovich was titularly based although he never stayed long in one place. He was rumoured to have a number of residences across the USA and in many overseas countries.

She shivered when she realised that if the driver was to take her to an airport and put her on a private plane she could end up in a country with no extradition treaty with the US. Jennifer realised she was being melodramatic. She was just a pretty transgender woman who had been abducted to become a sex slave for a customer on Dmitriy’s website and had piqued Dmitriy’s interest. She wasn’t that special.

Thirty five miles away Dmitriy Tanas Yakovich was enjoying a late breakfast in his estate near Portsmouth New Hampshire. His current PA Tiffany Crouch had laid out the morning papers on the dining table and opened a number of tabs on his tablet that required his urgent attention.

The wifi and device encryption were more secure than any Defense or law enforcement cypher and Dmitriy dealt with the issues that Tiffany had brought to his attention quickly, one of which was to confirm to the buyer that he had acquired the attractive young transgender woman that the buyer had ordered. The buyer, an Arab sheik in the UAE, should be grateful that Dmitriy himself was about to inspect the merchandise personally before he had it shipped.

Tiffany flittered around Dmitriy annoying him. He could sense that she felt insecure. Dmitriy was losing interest in her and she didn’t share his bed as often as she used to, instead Dmitriy would choose a girl from the stable of women at his disposal. Sometimes Tiffany would be asked to join them but most often not.

He opened a tab where the pictures of Jennifer Edwards had been uploaded and studied her. She was so petite and so beautiful and unique that Dmitriy was captivated by her. He had never been with a transgender woman before. It wasn't that his interest hadn't been piqued it was more to do with his concern that his masculinity might have been questioned.

But when the sheik had placed his special order it made Dmitriy realise that no one would ever really question his masculinity, and if they did they would soon regret it. We lived in a day and age where gender and sexuality were accepted as being fluid, there were now openly gay mobsters and even female mafia bosses.

Dmitriy was becoming jaded and was looking for something exotic to rekindle his desires, not that he wasn’t a virile man who fucked women daily, but he was looking for something unique to inflame his passions. When he read the sheik's special order it captured his imagination and when he saw the pictures of Jennifer Edwards he was beguiled by the petite red-headed vixen.

Trust Katya Kuznetsova to fill the special order. He still had a soft spot for his old flame but he made it a point to never show favour to those he had finished using. He’d had Tiffany contact Vlad and instruct him that he would personally inspect this unique chattel before she was shipped on. He had seen the brief flare of anger and jealousy in Tiffany’s pretty eyes when he had told her to do so and it only further inflamed him.

Tiffany came in again to personally take away his plate. She deliberately leaned into him so that her breasts rubbed his arm. She was wearing Poison, Dmitriy’s favourite perfume and when he looked down at her legs he could see that she wearing tan fully-fashioned stockings with dark seams and Cuban heels. Dmitriy had a nylons fetish and demanded that all women in his employ and those brought to him for his pleasure wear either pantyhose or stockings.

Tiffany knew that Dmitriy had a particular penchant for classic nylon stockings. She seldom wore them; usually wearing sheer pantyhose for the convenience but today for some reason she was wearing his favourite nylons.

Dmitriy knew why. Whenever Dmitriy inspected one of the special orders Tiffany went out of her way to look her sexiest and to tease and inflame his desires, giving into his every whim and performing sex acts for him that he knew that she didn’t particularly like. She felt insecure and so she should. Before Tiffany Crouch there had been Priscilla Montgomery, before her Katya Kuznetsova and before her Tiffany Lawton and before them a string of other beautiful intelligent women who had been Dmitriy’s Personal Assistants.

A woman was less likely to try to overthrow him. Not that he didn’t trust his many lieutenants, but he kept them distant. His PA was dependent on him for her life and she was treated with loving respect and knew his darkest secrets… until he tired of her or something better came along. He’d only had to kill two of his previous PAs who for various reasons had lost his trust.

The others had retried to live a life of luxury and two of them ran high-class bordellos run by his organisation and Katya worked for him through Vlad finding girls to fill the ever-increasing demand for fresh-faced pretty young women. All of his former aides were kept under surveillance because they knew so many of his secrets.

Tiffany’s honey blonde hair tickled his cheek and her breast pressed harder against him as she leaned into him. Dmitriy’s hand went to her ass and squeezed her buttocks through the tight skirt she was wearing. The fabric slipped across her plump buttocks. He knew then that she was wearing the plain pink transparent full-cut panties that he especially liked. He put his hand under her skirt to confirm his suspicion stopping briefly to caress the dark welt of her stocking.

Tiffany kissed him as Dmitriy’s fingers stroked her shaved slit through the diaphanous panties. He was rampant and for the moment had forgot about Jennifer Edwards as his tongue explored Tiffany’s mouth and his fingers explored her vulva. He knew that Tiffany was seducing him to take his mind off the beautiful transgender woman who was arriving today but he didn’t care what her motives where. Right now he had an erection that needed tending to even if he did have a busy day ahead of him.

Dmitriy was concupiscent and impatient. He pushed back his chair and physically lifted Tiffany onto the table and pushed her down so that her ass was on the edge. He was wearing a handmade Derek Rose Verona 52 jacquard pure silk dressing gown and nothing else. He opened the dressing gown to expose his huge organ and rubbed it on Tiffany’s thigh, dribbling pre-ejaculate on the dark welt of her stocking.

He could see the lips of her labia through the transparent pink panties, dewy droplets of vaginal secretions in the folds indicated her arousal. She gasped when Dmitriy rubbed the head of his cock on her vulva, pushing the gossamer fabric into the folds of her labia, bringing cascades of sensual pleasure from her clitoris and intensifying his own gratification as his glans rubbed gently on Tiffany’s nylon-shrouded vulva.

Impatient, Dmitriy used a finger to ease aside the gusset of Tiffany’s panties and slowly pushed his bloated organ inside her tight vagina until it was buried inside her up to the hilt. Tiffany moaned and wrapped her legs around Dmitriy’s waist, encouraging him to fuck her. She ensured that her stocking-sheathed legs were inside his gown so that her nylons caressed his bare flesh. She knew what he liked.

Dmitriy lifted Tiffany up so he could he could kiss her as he slammed his cock in and out of her steaming cunt. She put her arms around him and screamed into his mouth as she orgasmed. One of the things that had drawn Dmitriy to Tiffany was her ability to experience multiple orgasms; she had climaxed the very instant he put his cock to her and taken her virginity.

Dmitriy’s was the only cock she had ever known and as far as she was concerned it was the only cock she ever wanted. His massive organ fitted her vaginal sheath perfectly and she always came hard and often when he fucked her.

Dmitriy kissed Tiffany harder and increased the intensity of his thrusting, her climax had inflamed his lust and he was close to extremis. The feel of her silken-sheathed legs on his sensitive skin, her warm wet vagina squeezing his cock, her lips on his, her tongue in his mouth, the rampant beating of her heart, triggered his orgasm. Dmitriy held Tiffany by her thighs and drove his cock all the way inside her and deposited his scalding issue deep in her cunt which triggered Tiffany’s second orgasm.

Dmitriy left his organ inside Tiffany until he had finished ejaculating, his cock convulsing and his knees trembling, then he quickly extracted his deflating organ. He eased the gusset of her panties back into place and patted her pudenda, watching his semen and her juices soak into the diaphanous fabric. He eased Tiffany’s legs from around his waist and closed his robe.

“Good girl. Now go and clean up and ensure that all the arrangements have been made for our guest,” he leaned down and kissed Tiffany affectionately on the nose.

Tiffany hopped down off the table and straightened her skirt. She felt sticky and defiled and her cunt was still tingling but most all she felt used. Not that she minded being used. She and Dmitriy had spent languid weekends in bed experimenting with all kinds of sexual deviances but sometimes they would just spontaneously fuck: in the back of his limousine, on his private plane, in his box at the opera, in the pool, in a closet in someone else's house, and of course, in his office. But this morning felt more like a convenient formality; simply a satiation of desire so as not to distract Dmitriy from other pressing matters.

Tiffany Crouch couldn’t have been more right and she left the room pouting sulkily with her panties sodden and her nylons askew.

Dmitriy retired to his bedroom for a long languorous shower.

Just as Dmitriy was taking his shower and Tiffany was changing out of her nylon stockings into a pair of practical pantyhose, the car with Jennifer Edwards embarked was pulling into the driveway.

Jennifer noted the security. There was a sandstone buttress running along the front of the house with flowering plants and arborea planted atop it. Ostensibly the low wall looked ornamental but Jennifer knew it was designed to counter anyone trying to drive a car bomb or a ram-raider into the house.

Men in black suits, some of them openly carrying longarms, patrolled the grounds. She noted the floodlighting mounted on poles and the many security cameras that would provide coverage of the whole property.

She knew that she was close to Dmitriy.

Tiffany Crouch came outside to greet Jennifer.

“I’m Tiffany Crouch, Dmitriy Yakovich’s personal assistant,” she introduced herself without offering her hand.

Jennifer sensed the animosity immediately.

“Follow me,” Tiffany turned and Jennifer followed her.

Still dressed in the little black skirt and jacket with the red satin blouse under and her flesh-toned glossy pantyhose that had caught a runner somewhere, Jennifer felt dirty having only had a birdbath the night before.

“You smell and those clothes simply won’t do,” Tiffany led Jennifer up a curving marble staircase to the second story and into a large bedroom.

Jennifer noticed the scorpion tattoo on Tiffany’s left ankle; the same one she had seen on Katya at the safe house.

“You will find everything you need in this room. Do not leave it until I come for you,” Tiffany said curtly.

“I’ll need my clothes. My suitcase.” Jennifer snapped.

“There is no need for you to unpack. You won’t be here for long,” Tiffany glared at her.

“The clothes that Dmitriy wants you to wear are hanging in the armoire. You will find lingerie in the drawers and shoes on the bottom shelf. As I said… everything you need is in this room,” Tiffany waved her hand at the room like a game show hostess.

Tiffany closed the door and Jennifer heard it lock rendering moot Tiffany’s advice not to try to leave the room.

Jennifer needed to freshen up and clear her head now that she was in the lion’s den. She wasn’t too concerned about not having the suitcase right now; she’d need concrete evidence of Dmitriy’s crimes before she activated the tracking device and although it had never been specifically stated she knew that she would have to get the evidence out of Dmitriy using pillow talk.

The shower was luxurious and she took her time luxuriating under the waterfall shower-head letting the hot water clear her mind. She brushed her teeth and used mouthwash. The tube of lubricant standing like a sentinel beside the sink reminded Jennifer why she was here. The bath towels were huge, white and fluffy and she wrapped herself in one and padded out into the bedroom where she spied a white satin robe lying out on the bed.

Jennifer slipped into the cool satin robe and sat down at the vanity. She stared at the array of cosmetics and selected what she needed and went to work.

She applied foundation and a dusting of finishing powder and blush. She accentuated her eyes with black eyeliner and mascara and for dramatic effect applied a blend of brown, grey, navy, and green eyeshadow. She put bright-red lipstick on her lips and matching nailpolish on her fingernails. It was only early afternoon but she had spied the gown that Dmitriy wanted her wanted her to wear so she had put on the appropriate dramatic makeup.

While she waited for the nailpolish to dry she contemplated her future. Katya had told her about being in almost exactly the same position the first time she had met Dmitriy. Jennifer’s position was even more tenuous; she needed to get enough information out of Dmitriy so she could testify against him and provide evidence that locked him away for life. Her worst case scenario was Dmitriy deciding that she didn’t interest him and sending Jennifer on her way to the online buyer.

She would activate the tracker in any event and be rescued but it would mean a waste of all that effort, time and money and Katya’s cover would be blown and she would have to go into WITSEC with Uri, waiting for another opportunity to bring down Dmitriy.

Jennifer went to the armoire. There was a single black Dolce & Gabbana low cut silk dress hanging in it and upon opening the drawers and she found a pair of seamless full-cut satin panties, a matching brassiere and a pair of flesh-toned ten-denier pantyhose.

She carefully put on the pantyhose using cotton hosiery gloves and then stepped into her panties and put on the bra.

She admired herself once again in the mirror. Jennifer loved the way hosiery made her legs look long and elegant despite her being petite.

The dress fitted her perfectly and why wouldn’t it? Katya had uploaded her measurements onto the sex-trafficking site. She smoothed out the dress and it was flawless, not a bulge, seam or pantyline in sight. It was knee-length with a split in the side that went all the way up to the top of her thigh. She slipped on the black patent leather Louboutin pumps and reached for perfume. One solitary bottle of Poison had been provided so she doused herself liberally with the heady scent.

Tiffany burst through the door and stood there with her hands on her hips and studied Jennifer.

“A boy dressed as a girl. But for some reason he wants to see you,” Tiffany sniped.

“Come,” she led Jennifer along the mezzanine to a closed door.

She knocked and waited.

“Enter,” Jennifer heard a rich deep voice.

Tiffany opened the door and indicted for Jennifer to enter.

“Don’t fuck it up bum-boy; he’s likely to peel the skin off you if you displease him,” Tiffany hissed in her ear as Jennifer passed her to enter the room.

“I am Dmitriy Tanas Yakovich and you are Jennifer Edwards of Baltimore Maryland,” Jennifer recognised Dmitriy from his pictures but in real life he was even more handsome and radiated elegance and energy.

He was tall with striking blue eyes set in dark sockets that lingered on Jennifer, taking in every tiny inch of her. He had a long elegant nose, chiselled cheekbones and a narrow chin. His skin was dark and tanned and he sported a well-manicured black beard; his hair was long, thick, black and lustrous. His lithe frame was well muscled; he was wearing the same jacquard pure silk dressing gown that he had worn to breakfast.

Jennifer studied the tattoos on the parts of his exposed flesh. He was wearing some sort of exotic body spray and exuded power and affluence.

He took Jennifer’s hand and softly kissed it, his beard tickling the back of her hand, the he circled her slowly and examined her like did all the girls brought to him.

“I can’t believe that you were born a boy?” he said more to himself than Jennifer.

“Amazing,” Dmitriy lifted Jennifer’s chin and examined her face.

Jennifer was not used to people discussing her transgender identity so openly and she frowned.

“Sorry for being so forward but we need to be honest here. I’ve paid a pretty sum for you and I need to make sure that I’m getting my money’s worth before I pass you to the buyer,” Dmitriy said plainly.

Jennifer and Katya had talked about how Jennifer should act in Dmitriy’s presence. Should she be the scared little girl shivering in her boots, should she be the angry bitch, lashing out at him and demanding she be released, or should she play the shocked, dazed and confused student who didn’t really understand what was going on?

“You have shown remarkable resilience in your life and you are intelligent and resourceful. Best if you just act a little defiant but also resigned to a fate that you have no control over,” Katya had told her and Jennifer agreed because that was how she really felt.

“The woman who held me captive… she kept me drugged and took pictures of me told me that you wanted to see me before I was sold on to some other man. The last twenty-four hours spent with the other girls in the van has enlightened me what to expect once I leave here,” Jennifer said a little defiantly.

Dmitriy noted the bruises and track-marks inside Jennifer’s elbow.

“I have never been with a special lady like yourself. You are so beautiful and delightful; I’m so looking forward to it. I have been captivated by you ever since Katya uploaded those pictures of you on my site,” Dmitriy smiled at Jennifer.

“You mean your people smuggling site? The site you use to sex-traffic young girls and boys?” Jennifer wanted Dmitriy to admit to his crimes but he said nothing.

“Let’s not discuss business right now. Please follow me,” Dmitriy got up from behind his desk and led Jennifer to another door.

He opened the door and Jennifer saw that it adjoined a bedroom where a massive four-poster with satin sheets rested imposingly against the back wall.

“Let’s not pretend you are here for any other reason than to join me on the bed,” Dmitriy pointed at the bed but Jennifer didn’t move.

He took her arm and guided her to bed and forced her to sit on the edge.

Dmitriy took off his silk dressing gown and threw it on a padded chest at the base of the bed.

Naked his muscled, heavily-tattooed body could be seen in all its glory. His muscles were ropey, not an ounce of fat on him, his body was covered in a pelt of fine black hair. His cock dangled between his legs, not yet fully-erect it was long and thick and looked dangerous. Jennifer couldn’t help but stare at it.

Dmitriy leapt on her and Jennifer fell back on the bed with Dmitriy on top of her. Then he suddenly rolled off her and lay beside her.

“Sorry I was just teasing. I’m not going to ravish you. I want to explore you and find out your mysteries. You will have to help me a little; as I said I’ve never been with a woman like you before,” Dmitriy’s face was right beside her cheek as he whispered to her.

There was manliness about him, a scent, a musk that was like a pheromone; enticing and exotic. The presence of such a powerful man in close proximity was stimulating… arousing. Jennifer tried to keep her head clear; keep herself in the game.

Dmitriy turned her to face him and she didn’t struggle when he put his lips on hers.

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

She tasted exactly as he thought she would: sweet but exotic, soft but resilient. Jennifer didn’t struggle, she seemed resigned to her fate and he marvelled at how her body seemed to meld to his like it was meant to be. He kissed her, eager to explore her body but making himself take his time. There was no rush.

Jennifer tried her best to be non-responsive but Dmitriy was an excellent kisser and the feel of hard body and his manhood pressing into her body was incredibly exciting. Besides; wasn’t it her implied duty to seduce this man so she could elicit confessions of his criminal liability? Wasn’t spending time in his bed the best opportunity to do so?

Jennifer knew that she was vindicating her actions; justifying taking pleasure from this evil man because she had to admit that she was intrigued by him: seduced by his handsomeness, excited by his power… and yes… enticed by his evil.

There was something so incredibly bewitching and compelling about being on a bed with a man so powerful that he ruled a criminal enterprise that spanned the globe and could have her torn apart at a whim.

Jennifer put her hand to his face returned his kisses, adjusting herself on the bed so she could feel every muscle of his torso and his rampant penis on her body.

They both gasped, surprised at the emotions that were stirring inside themselves. Jennifer was supposed to allow herself to be ravaged but not to enjoy the ravaging and Dmitriy, intrigued as he was by Jennifer, was not supposed to feel empathy and affection for her.

Dmitriy slid his tongue into Jennifer’s mouth and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to closer to him, if that was possible; enclosing her in his arms, feeling her breasts pressed into his chest and her heart beating through her dress.

Jennifer's head was spinning; she felt so womanly and cherished. Dmitriy whispered in her ear, telling her that she was adorable and beautiful. She felt his erection throbbing against her body; her own penis uncomfortably tucked under her groin was distended. She responded to Dmitriy's kisses and they continued to embrace and kiss whilst enfolded in each other's arms.

Dmitriy guided Jennifer’s hand down to his groin; impatient now, and she found his manhood hard and hot to her touch. Jennifer ran her fingers lightly up and down Dmitriy's shaft, gently brushing his fraenulum with a long manicured fingernail. Dmitriy gasped and pushed against her, encouraging her to tighten her grip on his phallus and stroke it. Jennifer wrapped her fingers around Dmitriy's engorged member and squeezed a droplet of pre-ejaculate, which she massaged into his glans. Dmitriy groaned into her mouth.

He eased himself away from her a little and reached onto the bedside table. Jennifer shuddered as he held up the stiletto, the blade glittering wickedly in the dull light. He put the knife to Jennifer's throat and she didn’t breathe. She looked into his icy-blue eyes with adoration. He slowly cut Jennifer out of her dress, slicing through the fabric that joined her bar cups, marvelling at her creamy white skin, her pretty face, her pert breasts with berry-like nipples already erect in anticipation, her flat belly and those long, long legs.

"Magnificent," he whispered and dropped the knife on the nightstand and lowered himself to her breasts.

Jennifer gasped and cradled his head while Dmitriy suckled at her teats. He sucked and nibbled her nipples and Jennifer felt wavelets of pleasure burst forth from her bosom. She stoked his leonine head; his long black hair tickled her belly.

Dmitriy's lips slid along her décolletage, along her neck and he found her mouth again. Jennifer kissed him passionately, wrapping her leg over his and caressing his cock with her nylon-clad thigh, using the fingers of her free hand to stroke his glans.

Jennifer was delightfully surprised when Dmitriy slid his hand inside her tight satin panties and freed her erect penis. He had told her that he had never been with transgender woman and his audacity and boldness impressed her. She gasped and kissed him deeply and gripped his manhood; caressing and stroking it as she felt the pulse of his heartbeat in her hand.

Dmitriy rolled on top of her and lay between her legs and instinctively Jennifer opened them wide and then lifted them up and wrapped them around his torso, raising her buttocks so that their cocks pressed together, delighting in the feel of their throbbing penises rubbing on her panties and pantyhose. They ground against each other, pre-seminal fluid beginning to flow freely, saturating Jennifer’s panties as Dmitriy suckled on Jennifer's bosom. They writhed together on the big bed, steadily building their pleasure and lust.

“Am I doing it right?” Dmitriy chuckled.

“Oh yes, you are doing it perfectly?” Jennifer moaned.

"You are ready?" he smiled down at her.

Jennifer nodded and eased the gusset of her panties aside and guided Dmitriy's manhood to her puckered sphincter, only the gossamer of her pantyhose preventing him from entering her. Jennifer relaxed. Dmitriy’s cock was enormous; she had lubricated herself in the bathroom fully expecting to be fucked today by this evil crime lord. Why else would the lubricant have been provided?

But Jennifer was excited rather than dreading being defiled by the handsome tattooed gangster. She lifted her torso and pressed herself against Dmitriy who pushed forward and his cock split open her pantyhose and his glans slid inside her. Jennifer wrapped her arms around Dmitriy's neck and kissed him with fervour as she lifted herself up and pressed harder so that Dmitriy's long thick cock slid all the way inside her.

"Wonderful!" Dmitriy gasped as he felt his erection fill her back passage.

The tiny nerves at the entrance to Jennifer’s anus were tingling with excitement and the head of Dmitriy's phallus pressed on her prostate.

"Now fuck me Dmitriy," she looked up longingly into Dmitriy's handsome face.

Dmitriy obliged and began to thrust his penis in and out of Jennifer's anus, extracting the tip of his glans to the very entrance of her channel and then burying it deep inside her, grinding his pubis into hers as his scrotum slapped against valley between her buttocks. His hard belly rubbed against her penis as he fucked her, stimulating her delightfully.

Jennifer locked her legs around Dmitriy; her silken-sheathed thighs stimulating his sensitive flesh. The two lovers clung to each other, rutting, gasping and growling; their mouths locked as they kissed, nipped and fondled each other, building their passion to its peak.

Dmitriy gripped Jennifer by the hips and drove himself deep inside her as he climaxed; Jennifer strove to meet him and cinched her heels behind his lower back, straining to hold him close as her anus spasmed and milked him. Her own member ejaculated hot semen onto her abdomen and Dmitriy's belly smeared the viscous fluid across her belly as he continued to erupt inside her. He began to thrust again and his spend seeped from her sphincter and ran between her buttocks.

Jennifer sobbed as intense feelings of lust and gratification washed over her and she had to admit that she also felt some self-loathing. How could she give herself away so easily to this man? Dmitriy kissed her and held her tight as they both rode their climaxes to fulfilment and Jennifer’s self-doubt dissipated.

They stayed in bed kissing and caressing each other; Jennifer naked except for her pantyhose and when Dmitriy’s short refractory period expired, Jennifer took him in her mouth and made him hard again.

Dmitriy threw Jennifer on her hands and knees and buggered her until she screamed with passion and ejaculated on his satin sheets and Dmitriy pulled her back against him as his huge throbbing penis ejaculated deep in her anus.

They rested for a while and did it again. This time slowly and intimately and almost lovingly.

“You are indeed an amazing and beguiling creature. I’m not sure I’m going to let go. I’m sure Katya can find another one similar to you. Not another like you because I believe you are unique,” Dmitriy said as he put on his robe.

“Yes you are indeed unique and I might just keep you for myself,” Dmitriy helped Jennifer up off the bed.

He helped her into her tattered dress which she had to hold closed around her waist. There wasn’t much she could do about her ruined makeup, her frazzled hair, and the dribble of semen leaking into her panties when he showed her to the door and told her to go back to her room while he considered her future.

When Jennifer returned to her bedroom she was relieved to see that her suitcase was sitting on a luggage stand set against the wall.

“You are to unpack and put your clothes in the armoire. Dmitriy says you’re staying for a while,” Tiffany Crouch had crept up behind Jennifer and was glaring at her.

“He only likes you because you are different. He’ll play with you for a while and sell you on. You’ll be buggered daily by a bunch of swarthy Arabs in some shithole in the Middle East, or be forced to dress as a schoolgirl and poked in the poo-chute every day by some Japanese businessman and his cronies or worse… held in one of those bordellos that Vlad operates, servicing a continual line-up of losers,” Tiffany hissed.

“Why do you hate me?” Jennifer asked.

“I don’t hate you; I pity you,” Tiffany slammed the door on her way out.

Jennifer strode over to her suitcase and took everything out and put it away in the armoire. She looked around the room to see if there were any cameras. There was nothing obvious but with technology today she could be being watched and would never know about it.

She put her back to the room trying to shield the suitcase as much as possible and opened the secret compartment at the bottom of case.

The tracking device was gone.

Jennifer thought she was going to faint. She could feel her heart pounding and the blood rushing in her ears. She couldn’t breathe. She madly pulled at the lining of the case hoping forlornly that the device was still there but it wasn't.

The door opened and Tiffany popped her head inside the room.

“Dinner in one hour. Dress appropriately,” she said dryly and shut the door.

Jennifer was terrified but her FBI training kicked in. She kept calm and began to get ready for dinner. If Dmitriy’s men had found the tracking device he surely knew about it but she was still alive. She was still about to have dinner with him. He could easily have had her taken away and killed but for some reason he hadn't done that.

Dmitriy held all the cards. She needed to know what exactly he was up to so she dressed for dinner as directed.

She stripped and took a long shower, did her makeup and hair and dressed.

She wore a bright-red floor-length Saint Laurent slinky satin sheath detailed with spaghetti straps, a ruched waist and dramatic low back; it was split to the waist.

Underneath she was wearing flesh-toned Wolford Fatal 15-denier seamless pantyhose and had forgone panties to eliminate any lines or creases in her dress. A red Vassarette push-up bra with a deep centre plunge accentuated her meagre cleavage; she had selected a pair of red Christian Louboutin Alminette suede pumps. She'd accessorised with the silver necklace, drop earrings and a bracelet all set with emerald stones that Katya had given her.

Jennifer fussed with her hair and swept bangs in the mirror while she waited. Her fiery red locks, smoky eye makeup, emerald jewellery and bright-red lipstick complemented her luminous porcelain skin superbly.

Tiffany opened the door exactly one hour after she had last shown her face and beckoned Jennifer to follow her.

“He wants to see you in his office first; then we will dine,” the resentment in her voice obvious.

“Why does he want to see me in his office?” Jennifer asked but Tiffany just gave her a blank stare.

Jennifer had never been so scared in her life. She half expected Dmitriy to greet her with a gun or a knife or for the floor to be lined with plastic with a body bag on hand. She was worried that no one knew where she was and that no one was coming to rescue her.

Dmitriy was dressed in a midnight blue two-piece evening suit distinguished by grosgrain jacket lapels and similar stripes along the outseam of his trousers. He had never looked so handsome. His dark skin and long coiffed hair manifested his power and eloquence; the only detraction on his features were the tattoos visible on the backs of his hands and on his neck.

He stood up as Jennifer entered and he smiled at her and indicated the leather chair in front of the desk.

“You look ravishing my dear. Every time I see you I am surprised by your beauty,” he rested his hands on the desk and sat when Jennifer did.

Tiffany left the room, closing the door silently behind her.

Jennifer wondered if Dmitriy was going to kill her himself or have one his henchman do it. Would she be tortured? Most likely she thought.

Dmitriy opened a desk drawer and set the little back box down on the desk between them. Then he laid out Jennifer Edwards’ social security card, driver’s licence, student ID and credit card. He tapped the cards one at a time.

“You have three hundred and twenty seven dollars in your bank account and you are enrolled at the University of Maryland and work at the Market and Deli,” Dmitriy smiled at her.

“It must keep you very busy because at the same time you are in your nineteenth week of training at the FBI Academy at Quantico Virginia,” Dmitriy's smile became a smirk.

“What did you think was going to happen when you pressed the button?” Dmitriy tapped the little black box.

Jennifer knew that the question was rhetorical.

“Did you expect the FBI SWAT and Hostage Rescue Teams to rappel down from stealth-modified Black Hawk helicopters and arrest me and rescue you?” Dmitriy continued to tap the little black box.

Jennifer was rooted to the chair, frozen with fear.

Dmitriy pressed the button on the GPS tracking device and a little red LED began to flash.

They waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity but nothing happened.

“Oops,” Dmitriy pursed his lips and made a two-handed ‘awkward turtle’ gesture silently marking the situation as awkward.

He reached into the same desk drawer and pulled out a small recording device. He tapped the play button:

‘If her cover gets blown there is no way out. She’s buckwheats. The upside is we have plausible deniability. Not that she would ever be found, but in any event we will expunge her Bureau records as soon as she is assigned to the case, she has no real family and very few close friends. She’ll be a Jane Doe,’ Mike Cole’s voice could be heard pain and clear.

“Do you know what buckwheats is Jennifer?” Dmitriy asked.

Jennifer said nothing. She just stared at the digital recorder sitting on the desk.

“It means to be assassinated in a slow, gruesome and painful manner, Jennifer” Dmitriy grinned.

“This is what the Director of the ‘eff bee eye’ and his cronies think of you. There is no record of you ever having been a member of the FBI,” Dmitriy steepled his fingers.

“There are no stealth helicopters coming, no SWAT teams. Mike Cole has retired to Switzerland where he is living comfortably off the very generous stipend I provide for him. Did you know he has a thing for latex bodysuits, whips and young men with big cocks? He was my best informant ever and I have many. Did you ever meet him?” Dmitriy pursed his lips.

“Of course not; you never met him did you? He was one of the faceless men in the ivory towers who send little darlings like to do their dirty work.”

“You knew Donald Chase of course. He died in a car accident on the I-95 only yesterday; very sad.”

“Uri Orlov’s car exploded this morning. Nothing to hide there. I was sending a message.”

“Katya Kuznetsova. Katya, Katya, Katya… I always had a soft spot for Katya; call it a weakness.”

“Do you know she was here? Right here in this office yesterday evening, right after she dropped you off to Vlad. She was sitting right where you you're sitting now. I threw her a sympathy fuck. Well it was a sympathy fuck for me, she didn’t really like it but it’s amazing what a woman will do with a gun to her head.”

“Vlad has her now. He’s always had a thing for her. When he’s finished with her he’ll put her to work in one of his whorehouses. For her it will be worse than dying. Buckwheats right?”

“I wonder how long she will tolerate it before she takes her own life? But Katya is nothing if not resilient. Maybe she’ll get used to being fucked by fat old men every day for the rest of her life, who knows?”

“Now you Miss Jennifer Jones… what am I to do with you?” Dmitriy smiled at her like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

*****

“There. That one,” the man sitting beside Jennifer Jones pointed to a pretty young blonde girl who was looking around the mall expectantly.

Jennifer got up from the bench and walked over to the girl.

“Are you here to meet Stephan for the photo-shoot?” Jennifer gave the young woman her most dazzling smile.

“Yes I am. Are you one his models?” the girl beamed a brilliant smile in return.

“Yes. Pleased to meet you I’m Jennifer,” Jennifer started walking towards the side entrance to the mall and girl followed.

“It’s so exciting. How long have you been modelling for Stephan?” the girl beamed.

Jennifer wondered how the girl could be so stupid and naïve but who was she to take anybody else’s inventory?

“Oh, there he is,” Jennifer pointed to a handsome man in a dark suit standing beside a black BMW M4.

As they started walking towards the BMW a black Transit Van pulled up beside the two women and the young blonde was unceremoniously hauled into the back of the van which then sped off.

Jennifer kept walking towards the BMW.

The next day the driver of the BMW was parked in the Union Station multi-tiered parking garage and he exited the vehicle and popped the trunk and took out a leather valise. He opened it and had Jennifer check the contents: 10 one kilo bags of cocaine, double-wrapped in plastic.

The man handed the valise to Jennifer who was wearing a black Alexander McQueen pantsuit and camelhair topcoat. He just nodded; Jennifer knew what to do. Jennifer took the escalators to the mezzanine shopping level which was packed with commuters, tourists and shoppers.

She spotted the man sitting outside a Starbucks at a plastic table for two sipping a café Americano. He had an identical valise at his feet. Jennifer sat opposite him and put her valise on the ground next to his. She looked around and saw that no one was interested in them and opened the man’s valise and peered inside to see bundles of US currency of the same denomination in equal straps of 100 notes each. All the strap edges were vertically aligned into a single organized stack and oriented in the same direction.

Wordlessly she stood, picked up the man’s valise and made her way back to the parking garage and dropped the valise on the back seat and climbed in the car. The driver took the exit ramp. They had been in Union Station less than ten minutes.

Two days later Jennifer sat in the passenger seat of the same BMW M4.

“The man in the trench coat,” the driver pointed to a middle-aged man wearing a fawn mackintosh and a trilby hat.

Jennifer got out of the car and walked towards the man who was sitting on a park bench feeding the birds at his feet.

He looked up at Jennifer and smiled. The diminutive young woman with the red hair wearing the navy-blue short-skirted suit under the $3500 red Dolce and Gabbana tailor-cut two-button blazer was stunning. Her face was pretty and her legs were incredible.

Jennifer had left her blazer unbuttoned and had worn the micro-miniskirt deliberately to divert the man’s attention to her legs.

He never even noticed when Jennifer pulled the sound-suppressed Ruger .22 auto pistol from her coat and shot him four times in the head.

She looked around the park but the mother and her three children playing on the swing set fifty meters away hadn't heard a thing and continued to laugh and giggle raucously.

The man slumped back against the bench and Jennifer adjusted his trilby so that it covered his wounds. She walked back to the BMW M4 looking like she didn’t have a care in the world but inside she was terrified but also excited. It was the first time she had killed a man.

It wouldn’t be the last.

Dmitriy was waiting for Jennifer when she returned to the penthouse suite he was leasing. The two armed guards nodded to her as she exited the elevator and made her way to the door. Dmitriy was naked under his dressing gown, sitting on a white leather sofa drinking a glass of champagne. He held out the tablet he had been studying and Jennifer took it from him after she had taken off her red blazer laid it over the back of the sofa. She was still wearing the micro-miniskirted blue suit.

Jennifer pressed play on the video app that Dmitriy had been watching. She saw herself assisting in the abduction of the blonde girl at the shopping mall, swapping drugs for cash at Union Station and assassinating the trench coat wearing man in the park. Jennifer had never asked what transgression the man was guilty of and she had no intention of asking now.

“How did my little challenges stand up against the simulations you exercised at Quantico?” Dmitriy poured a glass of champagne and handed it to Jennifer.

“They were more realistic… more lifelike,” Jennifer chinked her glass to Dmitriy’s.

“Well you have completed your training and it didn’t take twenty weeks. You will be my best personal assistant ever. You have so many skills that your predecessors never had… never dreamt of having,” Dmitriy smiled at Jennifer.

“What about Tiffany?” Jennifer asked; not that she really cared.

“If I told you to take her somewhere secluded and shoot her in the head would you do it?” Dmitriy looked at Jennifer over the rim of his glass.

Jennifer just nodded and took a sip of the Dom Perignon 2010 Vintage Champagne.

“I’m not going to do that; she has served me well. She hates you, you know?” Dmitriy topped off his glass.

“I don’t blame her. I’m taking her job,” Jennifer said emotionlessly.

“I’ve offered her something else in my organisation that pays well. The job is in Paris so she’s happy with that,” Dmitriy explained.

“As you will when you replace me,” Jennifer said matter-of-factly.

“Oh that’s if I ever do. You’re far more interesting that any of my other Girl Fridays,” Dmitriy chuckled.

“And even if I do; you have so many more useful skills than any of my other girls have ever had,” Dmitriy took Jennifer’s hand and kissed it.

“Shall we retire the bedroom?” Dmitriy kissed her cheek.

“Shall I take off my suit?” Jennifer asked.

“Just the jacket for now. I want to fuck you in that skirt,” He grinned at Jennifer and she smiled back.

Jennifer took Dmitriy’s hand and let him lead her to the bedroom.

Jennifer took off her jacket and hung it on a coat hanger. As she did so she could feel the faded photograph of her mother that she kept in the left breast pocket. She sprayed herself liberally with Dior Poison Eau de Toilette and sat on the bed and waited for Dmitriy to disrobe.

The new scorpion tattoo on Jennifer’s left ankle itched a little and she resisted the urge to scratch it.

The End – At Least for Now.

Author’s Note: As usual I adore receiving your comments and criticisms as they inspire me and compel me to write more. Please tell me what you think

Michele Nylons November 2021