Blood Runner Read online

“M’sieu has a most odd way of making friends, non?”

  “Ah, you should see how I treat my enemies! But allow me to offer you another brandy, Madame. You seem to have spilled your earlier one in the understandable confusion of the past few moments.”

  He snapped his fingers and another brandy snifter appeared out of the wall near Marie as if by magic. She took it gingerly, but asked,

  “May I assume there is nothing in this but brandy, m’sieu?”

  “Really, my dear, you young people must not continue to think of me as a sinister person. I am what you see, a simple merchant.”

  “You are really going to send me home, unharmed?”

  “I said so, did I not? As we get to know one another better, you will find my modest success in international circles is due to my reputation for keeping my word, to the letter.”

  “You said you might send me to Hong Kong in the hold of a steamer.”

  “I was joking. Had I meant it, you would be well on your way by this time.” He chuckled and added, with a self-satisfied purr, “I deal in that commodity, too. But I’m here mostly to sell arms, and I’ve decided to be. your friend, for the moment.”

  Captain Gringo couldn’t remember how the Rurales had gotten him this time, but here he was, tied to a post in the dusty yard with the bullet-pocked ’dobe wall at his back and the firing squad grinning at him in the oddly orange light. Captain Torture asked him if he wanted a blindfold this time, and the American muttered, “Fuck you. I thought I killed you, Captain Torture.”

  The paunchy Federale grinned and said, “It must have been a dream. As you see, we’re shooting you at dawn as I promised you we would, a million years ago.”

  “Go to Hell. That’s where you and these other mothers belong.”

  Captain Torture laughed and began to play with the bound captive’s penis. Captain Gringo gasped in surprise. He hadn’t noticed until now he’d been tied naked to the post. No wonder the firing squad was leering at him over their rifles.

  “Would you like a blow job before you die?” asked Captain Torture, in an oddly feminine voice. This was ridiculous. They’d told him the Federale commandant was a pervert, but surely he wasn’t going down on a man in front of his whole command!

  Captain Torture did. He sank to his knees and began to suck the tied-up captive off. Captain Gringo didn’t want to respond, but his flesh was betraying him. The rotten sadistic Federale gave a really neat blow job and … “This can’t be happening!” Captain Gringo decided. So he woke up.

  He stared up at the velvet hangings of a four-poster bed and tried to move his limbs. He was tied securely across the feather mattress and as naked as he’d been in the dream. He still had a full erection and someone was sucking it like a pro!

  He raised his head off the pillow and made out the parted red hair of the head bobbing up and down below his waist. He muttered, “What the fuck?” and Jenny raised her face to smile mischievously.

  She said, “I’d love to!” and rose to her hands and knees. As she crawled forward he saw she’d stripped to nothing but red frilly garters and a pair of black mesh stockings. Her voluptuous curves were alabaster white and her breasts were the size and firmness of honeydew melons as she brushed his belly and chest with her turgid pink nipples.

  She got astride him, a meshed knee on either side of his floating ribs, and lowered her rather broad hips skillfully. He felt the red hair between her pale thighs part as she settled moistly on his almost ready erection. Then she clamped down hard and milked his penis into ejaculating on the fourth or fifth bounce.

  He gasped in pleasure as she settled down to let it soak in, purring, “I hope there’s more where that came from, handsome.”

  “Jesus, so do I. But what the fuck is going on, Jenny?”

  “A fuck is exactly what’s going on. I like a man who’s big in every way. Basil had you knocked out and you’re in the guest room. We’re hoping to convince you you’re in friendly hands.”

  “Well, I seem to be in the friendliest cunt I can remember! How about cutting me loose so we can do it right?”

  “Uh-uh. Basil says you’re to spend the night here and, as you see, I don’t mind doing the work. We’ve sent the French girl home and we have a gun watching over her. Is she as good a lay as me?”

  “I don’t know. This is weird as hell, Jenny. What do you mean about convincing me? Friends don’t tie each other up, even if they want to screw. Hell, if you’d only told me you were this anxious—”

  She started moving her hips and contracting her vaginal muscles with astonishing skill as she answered in a very conversational tone, “You have to understand that Basil tends to be melodramatic. He really has taken steps to take the heat off you, and the girl really is all right. You didn’t seem convinced of his sincerity when he saved you at the station. He thinks a night of total helplessness, with you completely in our power, might convince you.”

  “It’s still weird. Uh, would you move a little faster?”

  She began to gyrate teasingly as she murmured, “Make it last this time. I love to feel the tip kissing circles on my womb like that. Basil told me to point some things out to you. He could have sent for the police anytime this evening. But you might have thought he hesitated because of your reputation for playing so rough when things get tense. As you see, it’s after midnight, you’re tied up helpless as a babe, and if we wanted to deliver you for the reward … well, Basil always says a man thinks more sanely after he’d had a good meal and a nice lay.”

  “Oh, yeahhh! Don’t stop! You’re convincing the hell out of me.”

  “I’m coming, too. Isn’t this friendly?”

  Then neither spoke for a time as their bodies melted together in a long, shuddering orgasm. Jenny went limp and lay atop him with her full weight, face buried in the hollow of his neck and collarbone. She moved her long legs down, straight, and forced her knees between his as she kept him clamped tightly inside her. It was an odd reversal of positions, with Jenny on top moving like a man and the bound captive in the passive, open-thighed position of a willing girl. There was not a thing abnormal about the way their organs were still grinding, though, so he relaxed and enjoyed the piquant change.

  He was half limp now, or would have been if Jenny hadn’t been so good at holding him in deep. Sir Basil might have had a point about sanity returning to a man after a good meal and a nice lay. He was still weak after his bout with fever, and the hit on the head hadn’t done much for his virility. He’d have been satisfied by now, if she hadn’t been so good at keeping things going.

  He asked, “Am I to understand this romp with you was Sir Basil’s idea?”

  “Oh, I was willing to volunteer. You’ve got a lovely body.”

  “Thanks. That makes two of us. I got the idea you were Sir Basil’s ….uh …”

  “I am. But his demands are rather modest. He must be sixty, and you noticed he wasn’t very big.”

  “Then he knows you’re here, and what we’re doing, and he doesn’t mind?”

  “Of course not. We’re more than lovers. We understand one another. He knows I like big dicks and I understand his need for, well, variety. Our relationship is a little hard to define.”

  “That’s for sure. Okay, I’ve been wined and dined and screwed silly. When do I get out of these ropes?”

  “When we think it’s safe. If you have to pee or take a crap, give a yell and one of the servants will bring a hospital urinal. We’ve entertained like this before.”

  “I’ll bet you have. Would you like to open your legs again? I’m getting there again and this way feels silly.”

  “Just float with it, honey. Variety is the spice of life. I can feel you getting bigger and it rubs my clit nice this way. I’ve got to get back to Basil, so this will be our last come for now.”

  “Come again?”

  “That’s what I just said. I want another nice juicy normal fuck before I finish off with Basil. He loves to eat me, but it’s sort of frustrating when a gir
l’s been empty for a while.”

  “Oh, glugh! You don’t mean that little twit wants to go down on you, now!”

  “Sure, it gets him hot as hell when I offer him warm seafood. I told you he was little. He’s sort of queer, too. He was raised in some crazy part of the world where they don’t have the differences between men and women sorted out.”

  “Jesus, that nutty little Turk or whatever is bisexual?”

  “Bisexual? Honey, he’s made it with boys, girls, animal, vegetable and mineral. He’s a lot of laughs in bed, but like I said, I like a real man once in a while to keep the juices flowing.”

  Captain Gringo grimaced in disgust and would have taken it out had he been in charge. But the red-headed nymphomaniac was in full control and he couldn’t stop. He didn’t know whether he was going to puke or come. It felt like a little of both as he felt his gun go off inside her. She whimpered and ground her pubis into his, hard, and groaned, “Oh, yes, it’s so much fun to raise a growing boy!”

  She lay there until her breath came back, then she rolled off with a lingering, reluctant withdrawal and began to wipe him dry with a clean, damp cloth. He said, “Come on, untie me.” But she kissed him and replied, “No. You move too sudden, and in unexpected ways. Just yell if you want anything.”

  “Are you really going to do this all over again with another guy?”

  “What’s the matter? You’re not jealous, are you? If you’re good I may come back and we’ll tear off another before breakfast.”

  “Don’t you ever sleep?”

  “Sure. In the daytime. The sun is bad for my complexion and it’s too hot down here in the daytime.”

  She got to her feet and despite his revulsion, he had to admire her Junoesque nude curves as she said, “One more thing to ponder: I just told you Basil is a bit queer. He seems to like you.”

  “Forget it! There is no way!”

  “The hell there isn’t. You’re tied hand and foot and I’ve just proven you come easy. If he decided to come for some Turkish delight, you’d have nothing to say about it. He could blow you. He could fuck you. He could cut you open with a rusty can opener if he wanted to.”

  Captain Gringo struggled with his bonds in silent rage as the redhead continued, “We’re breaking you the way the Cossacks used to break an unruly pony. It’s a combination of helplessness and kindness. You get a lump of sugar or a whipping, as we and we alone decide! After a while, even the most spirited stallion sees the sense of submitting to a reasonable master. We’ve used this system before. Once we tamed a stiff-necked Prussian general into buying a trainload of needle guns from Basil. The guns were quite good and the price was fair. So, in the end, everyone was satisfied.”

  “I hope the Prussian had a big dick. What would you have done it he hadn’t gone along with you?”

  “Oh, the same thing the Cossacks used to do to the one out of a hundred stallions who refused to bend.”

  “Let Basil cornhole them?”

  “No. He doesn’t make love to people who fatigue him. He just has them taken out and buried.”

  She bent to give him a good-night kiss as she added, “Try to get some sleep, dear. We’ll talk about it some more in the morning.”

  “Hey, Jenny?”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “Who’s really in charge of this weird outfit—you or that nutty little guy?”

  “You don’t really want to know, Dick. People live longer and have a much nicer time with us if they simply do as they’re told”

  Chapter Five

  The next time Captain Gringo woke up, he’d been untied and was free to rise. He swung his bare feet to the floor and found himself facing a complete new outfit draped over a chair.

  There were new boots, and a crisp Panama hat sat on the neatly folded linen pants on the seat of the chair. The shirt and jacket were hooked over the chair back. He frowned at something half hidden by the draped white jacket and sprang up to see if it was real.

  It was. A spanking-new nickel-plated S&W double-action .38 was in the holster of an expensive pigskin shoulder rig. He flipped open the cylinder. The gun was loaded. A box of extra cartridges was in a side pocket of the jacket.

  As he started to dress in the wan morning light through the jalousied window, he saw that his wallet and other belongings were spread out on the nearby dressing table, along with a comb and brush and some shaving gear. He started to stuff the wallet in his pants, felt the bulk, and thumbed it open. The wallet had been stuffed with Colombian bills. They were silver certificates, and off-the-hip arithmetic told him he had almost a thousand in U. S. value to … to do what?

  Naked to the waist, the tall American shaved in a mirrored alcove furnished with a marble sink and running water. He finished dressing and left the room, finding himself in a long, deserted corridor. He moved toward the lighter end and came out on the terrace, where he found Sir Basil and Jenny in dressing gowns, enjoying breakfast.

  Jenny smiled and said, “I was just coming to awaken you,” and the gnomish Hakim laughed wickedly.

  He said, “She’s quite insatiable, is she not? Sit down. The local turtle eggs are rather interesting.”

  Captain Gringo took a wary seat but ignored the bacon and fried eggs a mysterious hand placed before him as he asked, “What’s the form, now? I’m still a bit confused about you folks.”

  “As you’re intended to be, dear boy. I like to keep my options open and all that. What would you like to do this morning?”

  “You mean I’m free to choose?”

  “Of course. Didn’t Jenny explain why I had to be firm with you last night? The local police have seen reason, and there’s nothing to stop you from tending a few errands for yourself. I suppose you’ll want to assure yourself we didn’t harm your little French friend. My coachman will take you to her, if that’s what you have in mind.”

  He took a sip of tea and chuckled, “I doubt if she’s ready to be bedded just now. Husband hardly cold in his grave and all that. But if you want to try, it’s none of my business.”

  “I’ll take your word on Marie Chambrun. I can’t do anything about her legal problems.”

  “Oh, they’ve been cleared up. I’ve told a judge I know to award her a judgment. The Colombian Government is holding some of the French company’s money in escrow. Bankruptcy proceedings and all that.”

  “I thought you came here to overthrow the local power structure.”

  “You did? Heavens, I sell arms; I’m not interested in politics.”

  “Wait a minute. Are you saying you’re backing the Colombians against the local rebels?”

  “Why should I? I just sold a shipment of field guns and machine guns to Colombia. At a very modest profit, by the way, and no doubt their gratitude accounts for such local influence as I seem to have.”

  He speared a forkful of eggs and added, “The real profit will come, of course, from running guns to the rebels. There are at least three factions who want to break away from Colombia. One seems to consist of true patriots who want a Republic of Panama. Then there’s the bunch backed by the British and the others backed by American money.”

  “I can see where there’s a current boom in gun running. Where do I fit in?”

  “I haven’t decided. From what they tell me, you have a most awesome way of destroying property. Did you really wreck all those trains in Mexico?”

  “I wrecked a few. Let’s cut the horsing around, Hakim. I don’t want turtle eggs. I want some idea of what’s going on. First you sap me and tie me up because I won’t go along with you. Now you’ve turned me loose with a loaded gun and wallet, for which I thank you, and no explanations at all, for which I don’t.”

  “I told you, you were free to do whatever you liked. Go into town, look up your friends or whatever, see if there are any better offers for a man of your limited skills, then, if you come back, we’ll talk about it.”

  “In other words, you’re trying to show me you’re running the only game in town?”

&
nbsp; “Not the only game. The best game. The money I just gave you was meant to show good faith. There are no strings attached to it.”

  “You mean I can just go and never come back, if I feel like it?”

  “Certainly. I’m wagering you will feel like it, but one must risk a bit to make a lot, what?”

  “You’re on. I’ll be leaving now, alone. I’m going to be very cross if I find myself walking into a trap.”

  “Oh, bother! If you don’t know now I went out of my way to save you and help Marie Chambrun, it’s most fatiguing trying to convince you. Just run along and have fun, dear boy. You know where to find me, once you walk off your dark suspicions. By the way, we dine at eight.”

  Jenny smiled and added, “We’ll be looking forward to your company tonight.”

  “Wacky!” he decided to himself as he rose again to be shown to the front door by a tall, silent servant.

  There was something wrong here. Something he couldn’t put his finger on, even though he’d had his pecker in it. That British agent hadn’t told him Basil Hakim was crazy. He’d said the old goat was sharp and dangerous. What were they trying to get him to do? You didn’t have to share your woman with a man to convince him you meant him no harm. You didn’t have to give him police protection and a thousand dollars, either. Ergo, when Sir Basil got around to what he wanted, it was going to be something very interesting.

  The servant opened the massive door onto a paved street and held out a cardboard box. In perfect English he said, “The master told me to give you this, sir.”

  “More bullets? I don’t understand.”

  “The rounds in the gun under your jacket have no powder in them. The ammunition we left in your room was worthless, too.”

  “Oh? They wanted to see how I’d act with my new toy before they issued me live ammo, eh?”

  “Yes, sir. The master is inclined to enjoy his little pranks.”

  “Were you guys covering me all the time as I came out to breakfast?”

  “Of course, sir. It’s our job to see to the master’s safety.”

  “I understand. Where did he get you guys, anyway? What are you, Turks, Russians, Greeks?”