8 . #2
Leela felt her skin rise in goosebumps and her bare nipples went erect.
He knows!
A few moments later, one of the butlers arrived with a very much still drunk Vladimir. His eyes went wide when he saw Leela on the pedestal.
“Leela!” He shouted and ran forward before Sergei stiff armed him.
“What are you doing?” Vladimir pushed back against his brother.
“It’s clear that it was a mistake putting you in charge of anything.” Sergei stepped away and motioned to the naked, chained Leela.
“She’s mine, let her go!” Vladimir, fueled by liquid courage, flew forward and was pushed back by Sergei.
“You let a spy into our midst!” Sergei’s palm collided against Vladimir’s cheek, sending a thunderous echo throughout the hall.
Vladimir flew back, his hand rubbing his stinging cheek, and stared at Sergei with bleary eyes.
“She’s… no she’s a freelancer, a kidnapper, one of us!” Vladimir pleaded.
Sergei responded with another slap to the top of Vladimir’s head, and then held out his hand. One of the butler’s placed a file into it, which Sergei then pressed against Vladimir’s chest.
“Her name is Leela Kim, an INTERPOL agent specializing in kidnapping and trafficking,” Sergei then pointed at the still struggling Xia. “And her lover!”
Leela and Xia locked eyes, and Leela shook her head, trying to tell Xia how sorry she was that she failed her.
It had been five years, five long years since Xia had been kidnapped on a mission. It had been a trap, set up all along by Sergei to finally capture her.
The agency had written Xia off then as just a lost asset.
Leela had begged, pleaded for them to send her on a rescue mission, but they had balked at it, not wanting to lose more agents.
Eventually, she had convinced them to at least purchase her back when Xia went to auction, which the agency had reluctantly agreed on.
Unfortunately, that plan hadn’t worked, and Leela went rogue, going undercover in the trafficking world as one of their own, earning trust, making contacts, doing her best to follow Sergei’s movements.
At first Leela thought about turning everything she had learned during her long sojourn into the underworld of traffickers over to INTERPOL, but then she had come across intelligence that Sergei had help in capturing Xia: her own handler, Robert.
Robert’s daughter was sick, and Sergei exploited that, offering to cover the girl’s medical expenses in exchange for Robert handing over Xia.
Leela fumed when she found that out. Robert seemed like a good man, but he sold out Xia, who was like a second daughter to him. If someone like Robert could be corrupted, anyone could.
“Hrrggh!” Leela pulled on her chains, using the old anger from Robert’s betrayal, but it was no good.
Sergei laughed while Vladimir stared dumbfounded.
“An agent… her lover…” He pointed to Xia.
“Yes you idiot, and you just let her waltz right in because she wiggled her tits and ass at you.” Sergei grunted and turned to the wall, where Leela noticed a lever that no doubt would release a stream of wet cement onto her.
“Hmmm ummh! Uhhh hhhh! Nnnooh!” She met Vladimir’s gaze and shook her head.
“Stthhp!” Xia called, watching Sergei approach the lever as well.
“Wait, wait don’t!” Vladimir rushed over to Sergei.
“This is what I get for being a good brother, I protect you, I hand you my empire on a silver platter, and you almost destroy it!” Sergei growled at Vladimir, who seemed to shrink as his brother yelled at him.
Vladimir turned back to Leela, who gave him her most mournful, pleading gaze.
“Hlllp… psssfff…” She shook her head.
Sergei’s hand locked onto the lever, but Vladimir cried out in anger and grabbed his brother’s arm.
“No! You get everything you want, now it’s my turn!”
Sergei spun and glared at Vladimir like he was an insect.
“Why do you get to play with your toy but I don’t?” Vladimir seemed like he was going to cry as he screamed at his brother.
Sergei seemed to inflate and grow several sizes as he stepped forward and loomed over his brother.
“You don’t get it, you stupid little boy,” Sergei’s voice came out like liquid fire. “I set the trap for her and she walked right in. I planned it every step of the way.” He pointed at Xia as she spoke.
“Hmmph nnohh!” Xia shook her head.
“You walked into her trap!” Sergei bellowed and pointed at Leela.
“I knew even before you brought her here that she was a spy. It was a test, I wanted to see if you had the killer instinct, if you would catch it, and you failed. All you showed me is that you can’t run my empire.
I could have taken her from you at any moment but I didn’t because I figured I would let you have your fun first, and you didn’t even do that! You’re weak, you always were, and now it’s time for you to learn that what I give you, I can take away.”
It looked like if Vladimir could turn into a puddle and sink into the floor he would.
He shrank under his brother’s words, hanging his head in shame and fear.
Leela sat frozen, knowing that Vladimir, her only savior in this situation, was a spineless coward, forever subjected to be pushed around by his brother.
“But you will get to keep her. Your own statue, a forever reminder of your own incompetence.” Sergei reached for the lever again.
“Stthhp! Nnnnoh!” Xia cried.
“I’m sorry honey.” Sergei shrugged.
“Mmmmph! Hhlllp!” Leela pleaded at Vladimir.
He gave her a look like a dog that had just been disciplined by its owner, and then turned to his brother as Sergei’s hand locked around the lever.
Then it seemed like a light went off in Vladimir’s head.
“Wait, she could be useful!” He grabbed Sergei’s shoulder.
“How so?” The large Russian spun around, glaring at his brother.
“She has an in with Brad, he trusts her. You’ve wanted that California territory for a while, she could be a mole. After all, she is a spy.” Vladimir pointed to Leela.
“Ummm hmm! Umm hmm!” She nodded enthusiastically.
“And what makes you think she would do that for us.” Sergei sighed.
“Her…” Vladimir rushed over to Xia and patted her on the cheek.
“Nnnnph!” Xia turned her head away.
Sergei stood there, the wheels turning in his head.
“Don’t you get it, she’s our leverage.” Vladimir cupped his hand under Xia’s chin.
“Ummmph!” She tried to twist out of his grip, but he kept his hand locked under her chin.
“As long as we keep her safe and unharmed, Leela will do anything we want.” Vladimir turned to Leela and smiled.
“Ummm hmmph! Ummm hmmph!” Leela continued to nod.
It wasn’t much, but it was a chance. She could play along, be Sergei and Vladimir’s little mole while they kept Xia. It would buy her time to figure out an exit strategy at least.
Plus, if she was with Brad, maybe she could use the situation to her advantage, use him as her pawn against Sergei.
But first, Sergei had to agree.
The big Russian chewed his lip, mulling it over.
“The United States has eluded your grasp for years now. She’s your best chance. Brad has connections and insight.
“And if she betrays us?” Sergei grunted.
“If she does,” Vladimir swallowed. “I’ll pull that lever myself.”
Sergei looked up at Leela, naked, chained, and gagged. His good eye was as dead and empty and his golden one. He raised his hand again, wrapping it around the lever while glaring at her, then Xia, and then his brother.
“Nnnnmmpph…” She shook her head, looking at the gaping maw of the chute above her as Sergei’s hand remained locked on the lever. Whatever Leela’s fate was, it was quite literally in the hands of this madman…
“Hmmph!” She shook her head, emitting a final, muffled plea for her freedom.
Sergei didn’t meet her gaze as he gripped the lever, his knuckles going white and his jaw clenched in determination...
The End…
The story will continued in Damsels Anonymous Volume 7: The Damsel Games!