Author's notes:

As I've explained before, I started this story more than ten years ago and in the process of posting the chapters, there have been some serious rewriting involved. Well, that have caused a Domino effect, as it means that I've had to basically rewrite this and the next few chapters in order to keep it consistent. Unfortunately, this takes time, so if you feel that I'm a bit slow in posting a story that's already written, that is the reason for the delay. Sorry about that.

About the language and notation:

The Baylon language is a predecessor to Latin, which is why it looks like Latin at a glance.

Mental communication is denoted by a < and ends with a >, so a mental communication will look like this: "< Who are you? >"

Some warnings:

This is erotic action adventure, meaning that there will be both sex and violence, but I don't mix the two.

This story is posted on the Literotica website and the author does not give permission for it to be reposted or reprinted anywhere else without consent.

P.S. I haven't gotten an editor yet, so any mistakes are mine. Interested editors are welcome :)

P.P.S. While you're here anyway, please rate the chapter and leave a comment :)

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Chapter 33 -- Going home

Saturday, 1st of July 2000, Malaga, Spain

---------- Department 55 ----------

Sheena was deep in thought, looking at the crime-scene photos when the phone rang, interrupting her. Turning slightly, she answered it.

It was Zavala and as she listened to his question, she saw Maya had been awoken by the sound and was now looking at her questioningly.

Sheena sent her a smile, before saying. "Yes, some food would be perfect right about now. Maya have just woken up.... Good.... See you later then."

"What was that about?" asked Maya from her bed.

"Zavala checking in on you and making sure that we're getting some food." Said Sheena and looked over at her colleague. "And sorry for waking you."

"No worries." Yawned Maya. "I've been sleeping way too much." She looked at the wall and chuckled. "I like what you have done to the place."

Sheena smiled. The wall was covered with crime scene photos from the various places, including pictures of a dead Curtis, dead female guards in a crate and an unconscious Parker. Under normal circumstances not the best sight to have upon waking up, but in this case, it felt good to be the first thing to lay your eyes on in the morning.

"Yeah. I'm considering a career as an interior decorator." Said Sheena. "How are you feeling?"

Maya stretched. "Pretty good, actually. We're out of the hospital, the drugs are out of the system, the bad guys have been caught and the abducted women and children are back. We weren't raped and the Departments medic says that our minds haven't been tampered with, so the only downside is the sore wrists from the chains, which will heal soon enough." She sighed. "Too bad we can't see what really happened in that warehouse."

Sheena nodded. Due to the drugs, they had both been in the hospital for the better part of two days and had only been allowed out last night, making it too late to look back in time.

On the bright side, some of Department 55's experts had been flown in and were taking care of Parker, leaving Maya and Sheena to just relax and get over their ordeal, instead of handling one of the most dangerous Psychics in history.

There was a knock on the door and Sheena said "Come!", before she remembered that after the kidnapping, all doors were set to lock automatically and the police officers standing guard was positioned outside the rooms, instead of inside. She walked over and opened it.

Hector Zavala entered, followed by a waiter, who were rolling a wheeled table into the room.

"Finally!" Sighed Maya, making Zavala chuckle. "Hungry?"

"Enough to eat a horse." Maya admitted as she removed the covers and swung her legs over the edge of them bed.

Sheena hid smile behind a hand when she saw the expression in Zavala's face as he admired Maya. Dressed in pyjamas trousers, a tight-fitting t-shirt, that highlighted her big firm breasts, and with her hair in a mess from having slept, Maya looked both cute and downright sexy at the same time.

Zavala walked over to Maya, giving her a kiss. "And good morning, by the way."

She kissed him back briefly but gently pushed him away as the waiter left the room again. "'Morning... and sorry, but I need coffee and food."

"Not to spoil the mood, but how are the two mind-controlled women?" asked Sheena, while Maya walked over to the table and sat down.

Zavala tore his eyes away from Maya and grimaced. "Bad. Parker destroyed their minds: Their free will is completely demolished, and they live only to please him. He might as well have killed them."

"Now there's an unpleasant thought." Mumbled Sheena with a shiver.

"Yeah." Agreed Maya as she poured coffee into a mug. "How is Parker in person? I mean."

Zavala hesitated, but then said, "Our Unknown Psychic has a harsh sense of justice. What Parker did to those women, he did to Parker."

"That's brutal." Mumbled Sheena.

Zavala nodded slowly. "Agree, but I'm not really sorry for him. We have identified the dead female guards we found in the warehouse and they were all former soldiers, that disappeared without a trace about two years ago."

"More victims of Parker?" asked Maya sadly.

"Almost certainly. According to the files we have received, all four of them had relatively stable lives and never spoke of leaving their countries before they disappeared."

"On vacation in Spain?" Asked Sheena.

Zavala shook his head. "One disappeared here in Spain, but another in Norway, one in France and the last one in Ireland." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, our unknown Psychic totally destroyed Parker's mind and personality and then left him there for us to find."

That caused Sheena to lift her eyebrows in surprise. "You think it was on purpose?"

"Without a doubt." Said Zavala. "Parker won't answer any questions unless asked by a police officer and when he do talk, it's like talking with a computer: He has all the facts, but there's no personality, emotions, free will or even intelligence. He has no memory of the combat in the warehouse or the unknown Psychic."

"What about the money?" Asked Sheena. "It would be nice to recover some of the money Parker have stolen over the years."

"My guess is, that whatever money Parker had left from his robberies, is either gone along with his memory or controlled by the unknown Psychic... On the bright side, Parker is telling us everything he knows, and we have a real chance to place numerous pedophiles behind bars for a long time and rescue hundreds of kids."

Maya looked up from the food. "What about the Americans? Did they see or hear anything useful?"

"They didn't see anything after the initial assault." Answered Zavala. "Miss Baker woke up, found a cell phone laying next to them, called the police and stayed in the room until they arrived ten minutes later." He shrugged. "Considering all three was naked and her daughters were in the room as well, I can understand why she stayed."

There was silence for a moment, until Maya slowly said, "You know, if this wasn't so screwed up, it would be one of the most successful operations in the history of the Department. Not only did we recover stolen art and antiques worth millions, two of the most wanted criminal Psychics in the world are out of commission and we're about to bust a pedophile ring."

"I talked with Mr. Newport this morning..." Inserted Zavala. "... and to make a long story short, he's more than happy and the same goes for my boss in the Spanish police."

Maya smiled. "Well, I would still like to find our unknown psychic."

"Well, in my opinion it's either Ivan Kolba or somebody he knows." Stated Zavala. "I doubt it's a coincidence that you were freed less than six hours after I called him while trying to find Sheena or that he disappeared without a trace after that."

"So, not only do we have a Psychic on the loose," Said Maya. "He's also doesn't mind killing people."

The smile disappeared from Zavala's face. "Make no mistake, mi amor. If I had gotten to the warehouse first, I would have killed both the guards and Parker, if that got you free."

From his tone of voice, there was no doubt that he was serious, and Sheena smiled when she saw the stunned expression on her friend's face. The Spaniard saw the expression as well and simply bowed down and kissed Maya before she could say anything.

Sheena scratched her ear thoughtfully for a moment, while she looked at Zavala, studying the way he in turn looked at Maya.

Something clicked into place in her mind, and she slowly said, "You didn't call Ivan Kolba to find me, did you Zavala? You already suspected who had taken us, so you called him to make him search for me or the Americans, because you knew he would find Maya as well."

There was a stunned silence as both Maya and Zavala looked over at her.

"What on earth makes you think that?" asked Zavala after a few seconds.

She looked right back into Zavala's dark brown eyes. "You knew where Ivan was, because he took the phone call, but you didn't have him followed, which you could easily have done instead of calling him and indirectly telling him, that I had disappeared. You needed him to be free of anything that might hinder him."

They locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity, but finally Zavala nodded and said "Yes."

"What? Why?" exclaimed Maya.

Sheena almost laughed at that. "Because he didn't want to lose you."

The Spanish nodded again and looked at Maya. "The nearest Department 55 psychic with the ability to find you was more than six hours away. We were out of options, so I decided to take a chance." He shrugged. "I didn't break any laws."

Sheena could see Maya starting to protest and said, "Stop it, Maya. It worked and I'm more than happy not to end up like the dolls in the holding cell."

Maya leaned back in the chain with a sigh. "I don't know, if I should be pleased or angry."

"Pleased." Stated Sheena with certainty in her voice. "You're back in one piece with your mind intact and are not Parker's sex slave."

"Good point." Mumbled Maya and changed the subject, "What about Ivan Kolba?"

"We find him, but discreetly." Said Zavala. "Mr. Newport is convinced that Ivan Kolba is the Unknown Psychic and when we're finished here, this goes dark. We're to erase everything about him, including all pictures and, if we can manage it, any pictures the Americans have of him as well." The two women looked stunned for a moment, but then Sheena laughed. "The Department wants him, right?"

Zavala hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "We're under orders to recruit him if we can, and Mr. Newport doesn't want the Americans or anybody else to snatch him, before we have the chance, so this has to stay dark until we can make contact again."

Sheena nodded. The concept was somewhat similar to software companies hiring the hackers that had tried to hack them and many of the psychics in the Department had been recruited that way, including her. With so few Psychics in the world, competent ones where in high demand and while the Department covered a lot of ground, the Americans had their own division called Unit X.

The Russian and Chinese also had their own divisions and all four were in a constant competition to get the best Psychics. Seen in that light, recruiting Ivan made a lot of sense. It was also a relief, that she didn't have to go after someone she not only liked a lot, but who had probably saved her life.

"Well, we still have to find him, and he has disappeared. Not to mention, that he might not want to work for the Department."

"You don't think he'll contact you?" asked Maya.

Sheena considered it for a moment. "Perhaps... but even if he's just an ordinary guy, the Interpol job tend to scare people away." She nodded at the pictures on the wall. "He's more likely to contact anyone of the Americans and we can't keep them under surveillance in LA. Not without the American noticing it anyway."

Zavala grimaced as he nodded. "Yes, the need to keep this a secret makes it difficult to do anything, but we need to try anyway."

Maya nodded. "Okay. Before we erase anything, let's get his fingerprints from Sheena's hotel room and get that to Luis. He can run a search of the various databases."

"There are no prints." Said Zavala calmly. "Just in case somebody had been there, we dusted the room for prints when you disappeared and to our surprise, they were completely clean. No prints or DNA at all. The place was sparkling clean. In fact, it was just as clean as the lower level of the house Miss Baker and the rest had rented for the summer."

"The warehouse?"

"Same story. Wiped down and cleaned." The Spanish police officer said. "Though not as sparkling clean as the other places, there're still no fingerprints or DNA."

"This guy is too good to be a wild talent." Said Maya slowly, as she removed a strand of red hair that had fallen into her eyes. "Can he be one of the Russian or the American psychics, that have gone rogue?"

Sheena shook her head. "No. I didn't get much from him, but I did get that he doesn't have a nationality. Not even Croatia despite what his passport says. Nor does he have a feeling of belonging anywhere and if he had been trained by someone, that would have been the case."

"Good point." Said Maya slowly. "But if we're going to find Kolba, we need to keep an eye on the people he's most likely to contact."

"The Americans." Agreed Sheena and looked at the wall, where pictures of all three women and the two Twins stared back at her. "Miss Baker is busy with her daughters and Miss Meyers parents are arriving from their cruise later today, so that leaves Miss Chai." She turned to look at Zavala. "Have you talked with them about what happened?"

The policeman nodded. "Yes. They got the usual story about hypnosis and mind-altering drugs, but while I think they bought that part, that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered... Like why somebody would risk kidnapping Interpol agents." He shrugged. "I told them that we simply didn't know yet, but that we're working on it."

"Okay." Said Sheena. "I'll go talk with Miss Chai. Since this needs to go dark, we need to have them sign a Secrecy Agreement anyway."

-----------------

The two guards outside Chai's room nodded when Sheena showed her credentials and she knocked on the door. It took a little while, but eventually, the door was opened by Karen Chai, who had obviously been taking a bath, because she was dressed in a short white silk kimono and had damp hair.

A shiver of lust ran through Sheena, as she noticed how the silk clung slightly to the Asians wet skin, outlining a pair of well-shaped breasts.

"Agent Rao. Come in." Karen Chai greeted with a smile. "Sorry for my state of dress, but I was in the shower."

Sheena chuckled as she walked inside the hotel room. "Thank you."

Karen closed the door and waved in the direction of the rooms only armchair. "Have a seat."

"Thanks." Mumbled Sheena. The silken kimono was clinging to the tall Asian's backside and Sheena swallowed as she studied Chai's well-formed ass move seductively as she walked. With a slight shake of her head, Sheena got herself together and followed, wondering why she was so affected by Chai. It was like her self-discipline had gone down the drain.

"I hear you got kidnapped as well." Said Chai matter-of-factly as she sat on the bed opposite the armchair. "Are you okay?"

Sheena nodded. "Yes. I got tranquilized before I even knew what was happening and woke up when it was all over." She glanced at the wraps covering her still sore wrists for a second, "I got a throughout check by the doctors and according to them no harm was done in any way... Though I wish, I've had time to get a few hits in on the bastards, like you did."

"Didn't help much." Said Chai, with a grimace that turned into a slight smile. "But yes, it's satisfying to know they at least got some bruises for their attack."

Sheena returned the smile. One of the wounded officers had four broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, while the other had a broken nose, a ditto arm and was missing his front teeth. Considering that, 'some bruises' wouldn't had been her choice of words. Chai had managed to dish out a considerable amount of damage in the short time she'd had before the drug took effect.

"Anyway," said Karen. "What can I help you with?"

Sheena leaned back in the chair and explained that both the Spanish police and the Province of Malaga was deeply embarrassed by the whole situation and that the story, if it came out, could damage Malaga's reputation. However, they would like to offer twenty-five thousand dollars to each victim if they signed a Secrecy Agreement.

Sheena finished by saying, "It's not really my department, but let me say this: It might sound low compared to American standards, but it a lot for Europe. Furthermore, they're willing to cover any medical expenses related to this, which means that you will all get free psychiatric help when you return to the states."

"I believe you." Said Karen with a thoughtful look on her face. "However, with the risk of sounding greedy, I feel like Zena and Cyra should have more. I know, the police weren't involved in the first kidnapping attempt and the Spanish Police did a fantastic job, but still... An attempted kidnapping and an actual kidnapping within a week, is a lot for twelve-year olds."

"Excellent point." Smiled Sheena and found her phone. "One moment." She quickly typed an SMS and sent it, before turning her attention back at Karen. "It's not my decision and since they sent me to do their jobs, I'll just forward your suggestion."

"Thank you." Karen said with a smile. "At least they could have asked us before releasing the story to the newspapers."

Sheena could feel her eyebrows raise. "What do you mean?"

"You don't know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

The Asian took a newspaper from the nightstand beside the bed and handed it to Sheena. "Page five, right side."

Curious, Sheena turned to page five and discovered a small story about a gang showdown in a warehouse on the harbour. According to the article, there had been a knife fight, four gang members were dead, and others had been brought to the hospital under police supervision.

As she looked up from the article, Karen said, "Don't tell me there was two different police actions on the same night, both involving a warehouse and dead bad guys, because that's simply too unrealistic."

"Quite right." Said Sheena thoughtfully and glanced at the article again. "They must have released this, while I was in the hospital."

"Can't hardly blame you for that then," smiled Karen. "but could you at least explain what happened in the warehouse?"

"Well, I wish I could, but we simply don't know what happened yet." A 'bling' from her phone interrupted her and made Sheena glance at the screen for a moment before she looked up again. "The police and the city are willing to raise the amount of compensation paid to Zena and Cyra Baker to forty thousand dollars, which is the highest compensation possible."

Karen considered it for a moment. "I can't take any decisions on behalf of the others, but I think we'll accept that, provided we get it in writing."

"Oh, don't worry... it'll be in the Secrecy Agreement for sure." Sheena smiled.

There was silence in the room for a few moments, until Karen said, "Anything else?"

"Yeah... We've been trying to locate a witness. Ivan Kolba to be more precise... The tall whitehaired man the five of you met at the plaza outside La Bouganvilla... but we can't seem to find him. Do you have any idea where to find him?"

Karen shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. May I ask what he witnessed?"

"The incident on the plaza." Sheena said, "In the rush to get you to safety, we completely forgot to ask him about it, and he might have seen something we didn't."

The Asian studied her for a moment, before slowly saying. "With all due respect, that doesn't make any sense."

"What?"

"The kidnapper is in police custody and his henchmen are dead." Karen gestured at the newspaper. "It makes no sense to search for a witness to what happened at the square at this time. Not to me at least." She tilted her head as she looked at Sheena. "What is really going on?"

The Interpol agent thought for a moment. Telling the truth about Psychics was out of the question and it didn't seem like Chai bought the cover story, leaving only... another truth.

Sheena didn't have to fake shifting uneasily on the chair, as she coughed. "It's kinda personal."

Karen Chai blinked a few times and then burst out laughing. "You slept with Ivan!"

Wordlessly, Sheena nodded, but then found her voice. "Yes... or 'shared pleasure' as Ivan called it... but can we please keep this a secret?"

As soon as the words 'shared pleasure' left her mouth, Sheena knew it was exactly the right thing to say. Karen visibly relaxed and leaned back on the bed, regarding her with amused curiosity. "Did you do something illegal, since you want to keep it a secret?"

"No, Ivan is not a suspect... hmm..." She caught Karen's eyes. "Judging from your reaction, you slept with him as well."

"Oh yeah." Replied Karen with a wide smile. "Several times."

"You don't seem upset that I've slept with him. How come?"

"Well, he not my boyfriend, and even if he was, I'm not the jealous type... though I do prefer to be asked to join if possible."

Karen's hint at her bisexuality sent a small shiver through Sheena's body, but she ignored it. With the Karen Chai being more relaxed now, there was a chance her natural shields had lowered and Sheena gently sent out a mind probe, but as before, the probe bounced of the Asian's tough natural mental shield.

Sheena resisted a temptation to shake her head. Ivan wasn't the only one Department 55 ought to recruit. Karen Chai's mental shield was every bit as good as Zavala's, bright enough to be a good investigator and with her combat skills, Chai could be an excellent guardian. The thought occupied her mind a moment and the more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. Obviously smart as a razor, Karen Chai was an ideal candidate and as she wasn't a Psychic, the American Unit X couldn't even complain.

"Anyway," said Karen with a smile. "Do you mind telling me how you met him?"

Sheena shook her head and explained how she had met Kolba and what happened after, including the threesome with Roberta at the hotel.

Despite her best efforts to look only at the Asians face while she told the story, it was difficult to ignore the long shapely legs right in front of her. To make matters worse, the short silk kimono had travelled a bit upwards as Karen leaned back in the bed, stopping teasingly just below the Asian's groin. The images of Karen Chai having sex with both Ivan Kolba and the other American women suddenly flashed through her mind, causing her to shiver as tendrils of lust shot through her body and she felt a tingle staring between her legs.

The Interpol Agent suddenly realized that her story had shifted from being a short description to an erotic tale with detailed explanations and stopped. "Sorry about that... I didn't mean to share that much information."

"No need to be sorry." Said Karen and Sheena could have sworn the Asian was looking at her speculatively. Somewhat like a predator looking at a dangerous target, weighing the pro's and cons' of going after it. "You don't have anybody to share that side of your life with, do you?"

Sheena thought for a moment and discovered Karen Chai was right. While Maya and she talked about everything, their talks about sex were never detailed in any way and she had the feeling that their talks were going to become even rarer now Maya and Zavala were a couple. "Not among my colleagues and the job makes it difficult to build a relationship with anybody."

"Well, in that case, please do continue." Said Chai with a slight smile and shifted on the bed, making herself more comfortable. "I'm all ears."

With some hesitation, Sheena picked up the story where she left it, in the middle of a detailed description of the threesome in the hotel room. As she had said, Karen was a good listener, prompting her with a few questions whenever she faltered and helped her keep the story going.

Sheena also discovered that remembering all the details and putting them to words, made her extremely horny and she could feel her pussy leaking, making her panties wet.

The view of Karen relaxing on the bed didn't help. Beautiful and sexy, she looked like a dream as she lay there, listening to the tale, wetting her lips from time to time.

Sheena felt her pussy tremble with desire and knew she was fighting a losing battle. It was like a fog had clouded her brain, leaving only sexual thoughts.

"One moment." Said Karen suddenly as she got off the bed and walked to the room's minibar. "Do you want something to drink?"

"A soda would be nice." Sheena said as she watched the tall woman open the refrigerator and hunched down to look inside, giving Sheena an excellent view of Chai's gorgeous butt as the silk stretched over it.

"Exactly my thought." Said Karen and Sheena hurriedly looked away as the Asian took the mentioned soft drinks and closed the refrigerator, before she walked back to the bed, handing Sheena a can.

The movement caused the kimono to open just enough to give Sheena a view of a firm round breast. Mesmerized, she missed the can, dropping in in her lap instead.

"Oh, sorry." Said Karen and bowed down to get it.

Sheena suddenly found herself inches away from the Asians beautiful face and tempting lips. Without thinking, she leaned forward and gave Karen a soft, tentative kiss.

The taller woman froze for a second, making Sheena regret her action, but then Karen returned the kiss and the touch of her smooth full lips made Sheena want more.

She got it a moment later, when Karen went down on one knee, took her by the neck and kissed her again. Lips parted, and their tongues met, instantly making the kiss more passionate and demanding. It was also extremely good. Karen was a great kisser and Sheena could feel the kiss all the way through her body, down to the toes.

Without breaking the kiss, Karen stood up, gently dragging the shorter woman along with her, as she took a step backwards and sat on the bed, forcing Sheena down on her lap with tender strength.

Burning with desire, Sheena let a hand slide along the edge of the kimono until she found Karen's breast and fondled it, while Karen let her hand slide down Sheena's back and to her butt, groping it.

The size of Karen's breasts came as a surprise for Sheena. Dressed up and at just a slight distance, they looked normal sized, if a bit bigger than normal for an Asian, but as she happily fondled it, letting her hand run over the stiff nipple, she realized they were quite big and only looked normal because they were placed on a woman easily eight inches taller and somewhat wider than her.

Karen moaned her approval, as Sheena teased the nipple tenderly.

Sheena felt the hand on her neck travel down the front of her jacket, returning the favour by massaging Sheena's breasts. Even through jacket, shirt, and bra, it felt good.

The hand wandered away from the breast again, making Sheena feel slightly disappointed, but that feeling evaporated a moment later, when she felt her jacket being unbuttoned.

Karen broke the kiss, looking at Sheena with a smile. "You're way overdressed."

Sheena nodded in agreement and wriggled out of the jacket. "Better?"

Karen shook her head. "Not nearly enough."

With a grin, Sheena removed her shirt as well.

"Now it's better." Said Karen approvingly and leaned in to softly kiss Sheena's ear, sending shivers through the Indians body with each delicate kiss. Karen went on, kissing a trail down Sheena's neck and along the top of her shoulders. The hand on Sheena's butt sneaked upwards on her back and undid her bra.

"Sneaky." Laughed Sheena and discarded the bra on the floor.

"Not as sneaky as this." Giggled Karen and turned sideways, causing Sheena to fall on the bed. She was about to mock protest, when Karen put her mouth to the left nipple, gently sucking it in and flicking her tongue over it.

Sheena moaned. It felt great and the feeling just increased, as Karen worked her way to the other breast, kissing all the way, before drawing circles around the right nipple with her tongue.

She gripped the Asians head and pressed it against the breast, moaning again. Then she felt a hand slide up the inner thigh, moving under her skirt until it reached her soaked panties. Quivering with anticipation, she spread her legs, giving the Asian free access to her most private parts, groaning as fingers touched her cloth covered pussy with featherlight touches.

"Fuck, this feels great." She mumbled, caressing Karen short black hair.

The Asian lifted her head and looked at her with a smile. "Well, as the saying goes: If you like this, you're going to love what I'm about to do to you."

Sheena laughed. "I think you're right."

The laugh was cut short, when Karen slipped the drenched panties aside and without hesitation pushed two fingers into her. As wet as she were, there was almost no resistance.

"Shit!" Sheena squeaked. The fingers were long and strong, most likely the result of hundreds, if not thousands of hours of Martial Arts and Volleyball training, and Karen used them merciless and with great skill, as she moved them in a circle inside Sheena's wet pussy before she pumped them in and out a few times.

Sheena groaned in pleasure. Soft lips found hers and Karen kissed her passionately, moving her fingers in a new circle, before pumping them in and out again, making Sheena shake with pleasure. A pleasure that was heightened a moment later, as Karen started pumping faster, driving Sheena towards an orgasm with surprising speed.

Just as sudden as she had increased the speed, Karen lowered it again and then carefully removed her fingers from Sheena's pussy, sliding the fingers up on both sides of the clitoris as she did so.

Sheena broke the kiss and moaned as Karen softly moved her fingers from side to side, caressing the little hard nub.

"Evil woman." She whispered, a jolt of pleasure running through her with each move of the fingers between her legs.

"Not really." Said Karen softly. "But if you come like that, you might squirt and that will soak your clothes, which will be difficult to explain to the agents outside."

Sheena looked up in the warm slanted eyes. "Thank you."

"Let's just get you naked, Honey." Said Karen and sat up. "Roll over, so I can unzip you."

With a laugh, Sheena rolled over and a moment later, Karen had unzipped her and pulled both skirt and panties of her, getting out of the bed to do so.

Sheena rolled onto her back just in time to see the taller woman let the kimono slide to the floor.

It was a breath-taking sight. Most East Asian women had Sheena had seen, had looked somewhat dainty, almost doll-like, but Karen was different. Well-trained without being too muscular, she looked solid somehow, but even if the shoulders were slightly wider than normal, the resulting shape was a perfect hourglass figure, with firm round breasts that sat high and proud on the chest, a slim waist, beautifully rounded hips, and long powerful legs, that went on for miles. It was like watching a living statue.

"Stay there and relax." Said Karen with a wink and kneeled by the end of the bed, right between Sheena's legs, caressing them with her hands and applying just enough pressure on them to make Sheena spread them more.

Then she started kissing and licking her way up Sheena's legs, over the knees, getting closer and closer to Sheena's shaved pussy, while licking the sensitive skin on the inside of the leg.

Sheena could feel her juices leaking from her pussy, running down the crack between her buttocks, as Karen gave her inner thighs one last kiss, before slowly dragging her tongue along Sheena's slit, forcing a little yelp of pleasure and excitement from the Indian.

Karen took her time licking all the way around the outer lips, each touch of tongue and lips feeling a little bolt of warm wet pleasure. The teasing mouth avoided Sheena's clitoris, building desire and expectation as the pressure from the tongue and lips grew with each lick.

Panting, Sheena tried to move her hips, to get Karen's tongue to hit her clitoris, but two strong hands gripped her inner thigh, holding her in place and making Sheena groan in a combination of frustration and pleasure.

A thump gently touched each side of Sheena's pussy and she felt her lower lips parting, opening her pussy for Karen's exploring tongue. The methodical licking was replaced with randomness, as it felt like Karen just licked whatever she felt like. There was no rhythm or pattern to it, but Sheena moaned as Karen's tongue hit a lot of sensitive spots. It felt like it was everywhere at once and the randomness kept her on the edge.

With every lick or roll of Karen's tongue, Sheena could feel the orgasm inch closer and the ever- increasing bliss made it much harder to think straight.

"Oh yeah." She moaned softly as Karen flicked her tongue over Sheena's clitoris, making her shiver, while her stomach tensed. "So gooood!"

Karen kept going and increased her efforts when she heard Sheena's moans. The Asian's hands started to wander over Sheena's body, her strong elegant hands caressing Sheena's skin with a featherlight touch.

The tongue continued to explore her dripping wet pussy, as the hands travelled over Sheena's stomach until they reach her breasts. Teasing fingers made circles around her nipples, before Karen gently massaged them, making Sheena moan just a little bit louder.

Strong fingers found her nipples and carefully pinched them, sending shivers of pleasure through Sheena's body, starting from her breasts and right down to her clitoris.

It was slow, but blissful torture as Karen continued using both her tongue and hands, steadily increasing the pressure and speed of the tongue, as it started to focus more and more in Sheena's clitoris. The hands on her body became rougher in their treatment of Sheena's breasts, sending jolts of pleasure through her.

Karen did a slight adjustment of her head and Sheena could feel the Asians cute nose press down on top of her pussy, drawing back the hood covering the clitoris, before she used her tongue and wet lips directly on the sensitive organ.

That pushed her over the top and she desperately stuffed a pillow into her mouth the mute the scream of pleasure she knew was coming.

"MMMMMMMM!" She yelled into the pillow, as waves of orgasm ripped through her body, making her arms flail against the bed, while Karen held her down and continued to lick her through the climax.

Then she stopped licking, giving the over-sensitive clitoris a rest and rested her head on Sheena's quivering leg for a moment, before crawling up the bed to lay beside her.

Sheena was still seeing stars from orgasm, when the bed moved. Opening her eyes, she watched as the statuesque Asian lay down beside her and realized that she had to get her hands, mouth, and tongue on that body. Needed it, like a flower needed rain.

Rolling over on her side, she pulled Karen in for a heated kiss, hands caressing the Asians body, making the taller women moan and spread her legs.

Sheena ignored the invitation as her free hand sought out and found Karen's backside. The curves she had admired the last weeks' time were as delightful as hoped. There was flesh to it, firm rounded globes that filled her hand comfortably, so she could feel the muscles beneath.

The Asian moaned, her soft full lips pressing against Sheena's with passion, while their tongues went back to explore each other.

Sheena's hand left the taller woman's butt and travelled upwards, ending at the tempting perky breasts, which somehow managed not to become flatter despite Karen laying on her back.

Sheena reached out and fondled them again, but they felt completely natural, despite defying gravity. With a smile, she broke the kiss and used her arm as leverage, as she swung a leg over Karen and straddled her, shivering as her pussy came into contact with the Asians' warm skin. Now having two free hands, she went back to fondling the big breasts as best she could. They were pillow soft, but firm to the touch and the nipples were delightfully stiff.

Karen moaned a bit louder than before, when Sheena squeezed them both at the same time, running a thump over the nipples at the same time.

"Opps." The Indian said, worried that she'd been too rough "Got carried away. You're so..."

Karen interrupted her sentence with a grin. "Shut up and do it again. I like it a little rough."

"With pleasure!" Sheena said and continued, letting her hands fill up with as much of the firm breasts as she could fit, feeling the nipples press against the top of her palms and cupped them before squeezing.

Karen moaned in response and lifted her own hands, caressing Sheena in return.

Leaning forward, Sheena removed a hand and replaced it with her mouth. Tenderly, softly, she began kissing the supple flesh in a circle, from it's top to the underside, letting her tongue trail around in between her kisses as the kisses spiralled towards the hard nipples.

As she came nearer a climax, Karen's breath became heavier, causing her breasts to move more, and when Sheena finally took the nipple in her mouth, the Asian gave a muted squeal of delight.

Encouraged, Sheena sucked on the nipple, teasing it with her tongue and teeth, being a bit rougher that she normally was.

"Shit, that's good." Moaned Karen in a low whisper, that somehow went directly into Sheena's nerves, down her spine and into her pussy, making it tingle.

Still teasing the nipple, while fondling the other breast, Sheena lifted her body from the Asian's, allowing her to reach down between her legs, finding Asians wet sex eagerly waiting for her fingers. There was no teasing of the clitoris. Sheena simply found the wet opening and slid two fingers inside. Karen was hot, tight, and extremely wet and the feeling alone made Sheena even more excited than she already was.

"Oh God." Karen moaned, rolling her hips to help the fingers reach deeper and squeezed her pussy to heighten the feeling as Sheena began to fingerfuck her, while still using her teeth, lips and tongue on the stiff nipple in her mouth.

Then it was Sheena's turn to buckle, as Karen's strong finger darted in between the Indians legs and into her moist pussy, making Sheena groan with pleasure.

To her surprise, Sheena found that she was so turned on, that she on the verge of coming again, just from the joy of feeling Karen's finger inside her. Determined to make the Asian come before she came herself, she upped the speed of both hand and mouth.

It didn't take long. Karen suddenly tensed, and Sheena could feel the muscles clench her fingers so hard, she almost couldn't move them, as Karen came with a soft cry.

Sheena just had time to enjoy the feel of the trembling body under her, before Karen's thumb hit the clitoris, sending Sheena into another orgasm. The feeling of pure bliss overwhelmed her, and she sat on top of Karen's hand, accidently making the fingers penetrate even deeper.

Shivering with pleasure, Sheena started riding the fingers, moving her hips back and forth, while grinding her clitoris against the base of Karen's hand. She could feel herself tighten and spasm around Karen's fingers as the orgasm reached new heights, drowning her scream of joy in the Asians breasts as a gush of juice sprayed over the Karen's hand.

She was vaguely aware that strong hands pulled her further up the Asians body and a moment later, soft lips found hers, in a soft, sweet kiss.

Slowly, she returned to reality, basking in the feeling of being kissed while coming down from an orgasmic height. Finally, she broke the kiss and rested her head on Karen's shoulder instead.

"That," she panted. "was epic!"

"Yes..." giggled Karen. "Unexpected, but good."

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either." Sheena chuckled. "I need to stop having sex with witnesses. My boss is going to think it's a fetish." She noticed the worried look Karen sent her and along with the emotions Karen emitted, it was clear the Asian was worried for her. "Relax... It's still not illegal."

"Hmm... I'm pretty sure it's illegal in the US."

"Good thing we're Spain then." Said Sheena drily, causing Karen to laugh and nod. "Yes."

They were silent for a moment after that, and Sheena used the time to admire the well-formed breast right in front of her. "God, you're hot."

Karen's slanted eyes ran over the Indians' body. "Likewise... Hmm... You don't have to go right away, do you?"

Sheena shook her head. "No, I'm not expected back for a few hours."

Karen nodded and moved so fast, that Sheena barely had time to register it, before the Asian was sitting on her knees over Sheena's head, pressing a wet pussy against her mouth. At the same time, demanding hands travelled over her body, once again igniting her lust.

Sheena buried her mouth and tongue in Karen's pussy, moaning as the wandering hands fondled her thighs, moving towards her pussy.

-----------------

An hour later, Sheena was laying on the bed, sweating all over and gasping for breath after yet another orgasm. When she had arrived, Karen had looked tired, but it seemed like sex only gave the Asian more energy instead of spending it.

"Crap." Breathed Sheena as she looked at the beautiful Asian relaxing beside her. "If we ever want to repeat this, I need to join a fitness club. You're killing me."

"Sorry..." Started Karen, but then stopped and laughed a pearly laughter. "No, I'm actually not sorry. I'm quite satisfied." She looked at the Indian. "And if we ever get the chance, I would love to do this again... Do you come to the US often?"

"Only on conferences." Said Sheena, while trying to clear her head from the fog of sexual pleasure.

Not only did she like Karen a lot on a personal level, but if she played it right, the Department would even pay for any trips. "On the bright side, there's a lot of conferences about crime and many of them are held in the US, so there's a good chance I might come to USA in the near future." She thought it over. "Just from memory I can tell you that there's one in Houston in August and another in San Diego in December." She paused, adding. "Unless you have somebody special in your life who wouldn't like it."

That made Karen giggle. "If that was the case, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Don't get me wrong, I do have people I like to share pleasure with, but it's not an exclusive thing... more like friends with benefits... and none of them would mind." She sat up in the bed, making her breasts jingle beautifully. "We need to take a bath and air the room before you go out. Otherwise, the policemen outside will know the moment I open the door."

"Right." Mumbled Sheena but didn't move. The bed was too soft, and she was too tired.

With a chuckle, Karen took her hand and effortlessly pulled her into a sitting position, again reminding Sheena of the strength hidden in the deceptively curvy body.

"Either you get into the bathroom, or I will give you another orgasm." Mock threatened Karen, causing Sheena to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Under other circumstances, she would have stayed, but for once she had reached the limit of how much pleasure she could cope with in one day.

"That was very good sex." Declared Karen with a smile as they took turns showering.

"Agreed." Said Sheena and leaned against the shower wall with her eyes closed, enjoying the feel of sweat being rinsed of the body by the water. "It's been a good week."

The Asian grinned. "Yeah. I don't think I've had so much good sex in such a short time ever before... But I know what I would like to try it at some point."

Sheena opened her eyed to discover the Asian was watching her with a crooked smile on her face. "And what is that?"

The crooked smile turned into a pearly one. "You and Ivan at the same time."

The mere thought sent shivers through Sheena. "Ummm... yes. That would be awesome. It would kill me, but it would be awesome."

"Join a fitness club." Said Karen drily and let her gaze wander over the Indians body. "You're so sexy it hurts, but you could use a bit more endurance." The smile on her face softened the comment. "At least compared to the women I'm used to."

"We can't all be highly trained athletes." Said Sheena with a smile but knew she would take the advice to heart. "Hmm... if you hear from Ivan, will you please let me know? Not only because having sex with the both of you at the same time would be insanely good, but I would actually like to talk with him again."

Karen nodded. "If you give me your private number and email, I'll let you know."

"Thanks." Sheena looked at her wrist wraps, now hanging with the towels to avoid them getting wet. "Oh, can you help me putting the wraps back on?"

"No worries." Said Karen with a smile. "All Volleyball players have done that a thousand times. It'll be as good as new."

Sheena looked at the tall Asian, once again admiring her powerful, yet extremely female shape. Even as satisfied as she were, the sight still sent shivers of lust through her. "Thanks."

-----------------

Half an hour later, Sheena walked into the hotel room to find Maya relaxing in the bed, while flipping through some papers, but as Sheena entered, the redhead looked up with a smile. "Hey again. How did it go?"

"Fixed." Sheena let herself fall into a chair. "The Americans accepted the Secrecy Agreement, as well as the compensation and as long as I keep in contact with Karen Chai, she'll tell me if Ivan contact her."

Maya lifted her eyebrows. "Nice work!"

"Thank you... and we should consider enlisting her at some point."

"Miss Chai?"

"Yes." Sheena smiled at Maya's facial expression. "I know she's not a psychic, but her natural Mind Shield is as good as any in the Department. She's highly intelligent, fluent in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean. She's also an expert Martial Artist and since she's not a psychic, Unix X can't even complain." Sheena shrugged her shoulders. "In short, she's exactly the kind of person we have been told to look for a possible future Guardian."

"Hmm... All good points, but is she interested in law enforcement?"

"I don't know, but she's only nineteen, so there's time."

Maya nodded again. At that age, she hadn't had much interest in law enforcement herself. That came later. "It's an excellent idea, Sheena. Let's think it over and present it to the boss when we come home."

Sheena nodded. "Yes. It will most likely cost a scholarship somewhere if we're to lure her over."

"I'm sure the Department can afford it and we always need competent Guardians."

---------- Karen and Alice ----------

Karen was sitting on the balcony, looking out over the beach, when Alice came out to join her.

"You forgot to lock your door." The blonde woman said, as she sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the small table.

"Oh... Sorry." Karen said absently, but then focused on Alice. "Did you tell Cyra and Zena about the Secrecy Agreement?"

Alice nodded. "Yes. They promised not to say a word to anybody... and they looked quite relived that they didn't have to talk about it."

Karen sat still for a moment, before she slowly said, "Yeah, that makes sense."

Alice tilted her head as she looked at her friend. "What do you mean?"

Karen stood up and stretched. "We can talk about that later. Let's go for a swim in the pool."

Looking slightly confused, Alice stood up and followed her.

-----------------

A little while later, Alice and Karen were relaxing in the warm water on the side of the pool that had a view over the beaches and sea through the protective glass.

"So, what was it that you didn't want to tell me in the room?" Asked Alice softly.

Karen glanced around, but with the beach right outside the hotel there wasn't many people using the pool during the day and with the exception of Cyra and Zena who were playing in the other end of the pool, they were alone. Even the police officers stayed in the shade by the door, well out of hearing range. "Please keep a straight face, but I think I have figured out what happened in the warehouse."

Alice blinked in surprise, but then looked out over the beach, turning her head away from the police officers by the door. "Okaaay. Explain."

"Someone took out the kidnappers in the warehouse and as you were the one to call the police, it clearly wasn't them." Said Karen as she placed herself next to Alice. "The police say it was a rival gang, but no gang I know off would leave a phone and the damage to the warehouse doesn't fit the story."

Alice lifted an eyebrow with a little smile. "What do you mean, Sherlock Chai?"

Karen smiled back to her. "When we were escorted out, I noticed that there was only one door leading out and that was unharmed. On the other hand, there were a lot of bullet holes on the far side of the room and not a single one on the wall of the room with the screens we walked past. The room also had that cage thing and was so damaged it looked like a tornado had hit it."

"Girl, you need to stop watching FBI Files." Said Alice with a chuckle.

"Naaah... trying to figure out what had happened is too much fun." Karen replied. "Now, to make things even more complicated, the newspaper article said that there had been a knife fight in the warehouse and not a shoot-out. To me, that means that the dead kidnappers must have been killed with a blade and not a gun. Otherwise, they would just have called it a gunfight."

Alice considered it for a moment and nodded. "That makes sense."

"I'm glad you think that, because now comes the strange part." Karen checked to see if the guarding police officer were still standing in the shade by the door. He was, so she looked at her blonde friend again. "Try this scenario: A person broke into the warehouse, most likely by using one of the windows in the building. I know they were almost under the roof, but that just makes it harder, not impossible."

She waited until Alice nodded and then continued. "With all the surveillance equipment in the room with the screens, I imagine breaking in set off an alarm, causing some of the kidnappers to come running. The person does the only sensible thing, which is to cause a diversion, making the kidnappers shoot in the wrong direction. While the kidnappers are distracted, he moves in and takes them out with a surprise attack, using a blade."

"Can that even be done?" asked Alice, disbelief painted on her face. "It sounds more like a movie than real life."

Karen nodded. "With surprise on your side, I think it can be done. When standing close to each other, shooters can't really shoot without risking hitting each other and if you manage to get in close with a blade, you will have the upper hand... at least if you're fast and skilled enough."

Alice didn't look convinced but nodded slowly. "For the sake of your theory, I'll accept it for now."

Karen smiled and continued. "Anyway, either there's a kidnapper without a gun or one of them loses his weapon, because the combat turns into a melee and at some point, one of the two is pushed or kicked through the thin wall to the room with the screens and the cage. They fight, trashing the room, until the last kidnapper is knocked out or killed." Karen paused for a moment. "The person then covered us with blankets, moved Cyra and Zena into the room we were sleeping in, placed the kidnapper's phone next to us, and walked away, after releasing the two Interpol agents from the chains in the main room. Since they weren't there when the police escorted us out, I don't know exactly where he placed them, but my guess would be the sofa in the room with screens."

"Now you're just guessing." Declared Alice. "How can you even know that?"

Karen smiled a little. "The mattress the Twins were laying on had one corner placed on top on the edge of my blanket, which means that it had to have been placed there after we had been covered in blankets. In addition, covering us with blankets afterwards would make taking our clothes rather pointless, so I think our rescuer did that." She paused for a moment and then continued. "Admittedly, the part with the Interpol agents is guesswork, but Agent Rao has two damaged wrists and my guess is that the damage was caused by the chains. I know that there was two other chains near the wall, but they were at ground level and with the damage she had, it couldn't have been from those. I think the Twins were kept there before our rescuer placed them in the room with us."

Alice looked at her friend with surprise written on her face. "Do you think Cyra and Zena saw something?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, I do. I don't think they saw the combat, since they're acting way too normal to have witnessed people getting killed, but I think they know exactly who rescued them and us. However," She stressed the word. "Before you go asking them, consider this: In order to do all these things, our rescuer have to be strong, extremely fast, an excellent Martial Artist, have a bladed weapon... let's call it a sword... and care enough for us to risk his life to free us, but mistrust the police enough to disappear before they arrive." The Asian smirked at Alice widening eyes. "The person also needs to be someone the Twins won't describe to the police and, since you might tell the police, can't tell you about either. I don't know much about Spanish law, but I'm pretty sure that being a vigilante is just as illegal here as it is back home."

Alice opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Karen quickly kissed her to prevent her from speaking and whispered. "Don't say the name. Someone might hear it and I could easily be wrong. This is just guesswork."

Alice returned the kiss, before saying. "Yes, but unfortunately you're making too much sense. My question is, if ... the person... would be able to do it."

"I thought it over and physical, I have to say yes." Replied Karen and thought for a moment before she continued. "Mentally, also yes... at least when people he cares about are in danger."

Alice thought it over and nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, he got that 'mess with me and get hurt' aura."

Karen chuckled and nodded. "Yes, he does."

The blonde looked at her with surprise in her eyes. "You like it?"

Karen nodded again. "Yeah, I find it sexy and, just admit it, so do you... at least as long as the person is question isn't an asshole."

"As always." Commented Alice and looked out over the beach for a moment. "Do you think the police suspects him?"

"Almost certainly." Stated Karen with a grimace. "Agent Rao didn't come to me just to talk about Secrecy Agreement. She was just as interested in him and wanted to know if we knew where to find him. Since we don't, I just told her that." She shrugged lightly. "I guess their main problems is that they can't prove anything, and that they aren't looking too hard to find a person that took out a kidnapping gang, freed us and rescued several others."

Alice snapped her head towards Karen. "What do you mean with several others?"

The Asian smiled. "You saw the large cage, right?"

"Yes?"

"If it had been empty, they would have put either us or the Interpol Agents in there, but they didn't, so my guess is that it wasn't empty. Judging from the size of the cage, and since they didn't just move them into the other room, I think that there were more than three in there." She shrugged. "All the other victims were women, so I guess those were too."

"So, where are they now? According to the police, there was only us and the two Interpol agents in the warehouse."

"I don't kno..." started Karen, but then closed her eyes with a sigh. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

That made Alice chuckle. "Since I have no clue what you're talking about, that's kinda difficult to answer."

"The reason why they were in the cage, was because they weren't out cold like we were." Said Karen slowly, thinking as she spoke. "That means they witnessed the whole thing, including the combat where several kidnappers died, leaving our..." She smiled a bit. "... 'hero' with a problem since they're witnesses. I think he promised to get them home and they followed him out of the warehouse."

Alice frowned. "Why not just wait for the police like we did?"

"I don't know." Answered Karen. "If it had been in the states, I would have guessed that they were illegal immigrants and that being picked up by the police would get them sent home, but I haven't gotten a clue about how it is here in Spain."

"Perhaps..." started Alice but stopped and the door to the hotel opened and Rita came walking into the pool area along with her parents.

"I see that not all of you are ready to go home." Said Rita's mother with a smile. "Good to see that a few bad experiences don't ruin your vacation."

"Shows a healthy resilience." Added Rita's father and sat down in one of the deck chairs, placing his beer on the table next to him. "but I do hope you have packed, because our flight isn't waiting for us."

"We'll be ready, Mr. Meyers." Promised Karen with a chuckle. "Did you have a good cruise?"

The Meyers nodded in unison and Rita's mother said. "Oh, Yes. It was really good. One of our best vacations to date... though I would have preferred if Rita had called us the first time someone tried to ..." Her eyes went to the Twins for a moment. "... commit a crime against you girls."

"We've been over this already, Mom." Protested Rita. "Exactly what would you have done, that we didn't do ourselves?"

Mrs. Meyers shrugged. "I don't know... But it would have made me feel better."

"It wasn't about you, Honey." Grumbled Mr. Meyers in his deep rolling voice. "The girls did a very good job. Not one, but two times." He smiled at the young women. "Good job, girls." The smiled widened a bit as he continued. "And as college athletes, you're used to traveling, so I bet that you're already done packing."

Mrs. Meyers nodded and looked at the rest. "All jokes aside, you girls need to get ready. We're being escorted to the airport in three hours, and I don't want the police to have to wait for us."

"You have a point." Sighed Alice and looked at Karen, who shook her head with a smile. "Already done. Unlike you, I only have to pack my own stuff, but I can give you a hand."

"Thanks."

Saturday, 1st of July 2000, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

---------- Ivan ----------

Compared to the ships I had sailed in Ancient Times, Dream Weaver proved to be incredible fast, and as the modern instruments allowed it to sail at night, we reached the Canary Islands shortly after breakfast on the third day of sailing. I had expected Captain Wolf to use the private dock, but instead she sailed the ship into the main harbour, because we needed supplies in the form of food and fuel.

I almost asked what we needed fuel for on a sailing ship but remembered that the ship not only had an engine, making it a lot easier to dock, but also a diesel fuelled generator to produce electricity, besides the solar panels and wind generator.

No electricity, no techno-magic, I thought with a grin and enjoyed the view of the harbour and the island behind it, while Captain Wolf docked the ship.

I had been on the island several times before. Not only when it had been a Baylon trading post and navy harbour, but also after Baylon disappeared. Once with the Carthaginian explorer Hanna, when he sailed his fleet down the coast of Africa and then again during roman times.

Old memories flashed in my mind and with a smile, I went back to looking at the harbour. As it had been in Malaga, the port was divided into three sections: The industrial port, the cruise port, and the marina.

We were docking at the marina, but it still offered a good view of the floating steel giants in the other ports. One ship caught my eye and I laughed to myself when I realized it was the cruise ship Wave Dancer. I hoped that Julian was still aboard, so we had a chance to drink a beer and say goodbye, not to mention getting the suitcases from the cabin before he had to return to USA.

With that in mind, I walked downstairs.

The sight that met me when I reached the sundeck was extremely pleasant, as all five women were dressed in swimsuits and were either sunbathing or resting, while they drank soft drinks and talked softly among themselves.

As I let my gaze drift over them, I was yet again reminded how insanely attractive and sexy they all were. That was of cause, why Parker had bought them in the first place and in any other age the five women relaxing on the sundeck would have been married to kings or high nobles, or at least be part of their harem.

Two days in freedom on a luxury yacht had brought them in a good mood and their eyes were sparkling with life, adding to the beauty of their faces. Despite coming from different places in the world, with the variation in skin and eye colours, I decided that Parker must have had a thing for long hair, high cheekbones, and full lips, because they all had them. Not that I was about to complain about that since I found it extremely attractive as well.

As I had noticed on the flybridge a few days before, they also had almost the same hourglass body form, being fit with a generous pair of breasts, a flat stomach, and long strong legs. In other words, they were an incredible blend of soft female forms and toned muscles.

The sight of the soft drinks in their hand reminded me that I was thirsty, so I tore myself away from the tempting sight and was about to go get something to drink myself, when First Officer Franco Valdez indicated that he wanted to talk with me and came walking over.

"Sir, we have received several requests from various parties, who would like to see the boat and I was wondering if we should reject them, due to our passengers."

That puzzled me, since it didn't sound like it was something official. "Is that normal? The requests, I mean."

"Yes, it happens all the time, sir. Dream Weaver is a luxury superyacht." He said proudly. "She attracts attention wherever we arrive and a lot of people call to ask for a tour of the ship."

That certainly explained the number of houses with private docks that Parker and Curtis had owned as it had to be difficult to transport people in secret when everybody was watching.

"Sorry for asking stupid questions." I said with a smile, "I've never sailed on one of these beauties before, so I don't know the normal procedure."

"No problem, sir. Normally our special passengers would spend the night in a house, while we have guests." He paused. "However, as that is not possible right now, they could act as extra servers, if they're willing to do that."

"Not a bad idea, Valdez." I said approvingly. "I'll ask them."

"That would probably be best, sir." He smiled. "We usually do an informal BBQ. Would that be fine for this evening?"

"Yes... That would be perfect."

Wondering what the difference on formal and informal BBQ was, I got a glass of juice from the bar and walked out on the sundeck to sit by the five women. "Hey there."

They greeted me in return, and I explained the situation for them.

"We'll be happy to do so." Said Esther and the rest nodded, except Petra, who shook her head.

"Sorry, but when it comes to serving things on a platter, I'm..." She looked embarrassed. "...clumsy. The only time I've worked as a server, I spilled a plate on two guys and got sent away."

Despite the sad tone she told the story in, I couldn't help chuckle, and neither could the rest.

"Well, then we'll have to think of something else for you to do."

Petra smiled. "Not a problem. I can be your bodyguard, your 'girl toy' or perhaps even both."

"No one is going to believe you're a bodyguard." Protested Delina with a smile that looked incredible white against her dark brown skin. "You're too beautiful."

"Girl toy it is then." Petra said and winked at me. "Don't worry. I'll not embarrass you."

"I appreciate that. Please inform First Officer Valdez and find out what you should be doing." I said and stood up. "I need to go meet someone. See you later."

I noticed Petra discreetly poked Delina, who looked slightly nervous as she said. "Excuse me, Mr. Ivan. Do you have a moment to talk while the yacht dock?"

It sounded serious, so I nodded. "Yes. Is it private?"

She nodded.

"Come, let's go to my cabin then."

She nodded and followed me.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked once we were inside the cabin.

Delina hesitated, but then asked. "You told us, that the two scumbags done more than just place a loyalty codex on us and I have a question about that."

I nodded slowly. I might have interrupted the process, but Parker and Curtis had still managed to do quite a few things beside the loyalty codex. Many of the cultural inhibition towards sex had been removed, so the women regarded it as something as natural as eating or drinking and thus nothing to be ashamed of. At least not when done in private.

They had also added a need to be healthy and keep a good-looking body. That was, by and large, how far Parker and Curtis had come, which wasn't all that bad, and removal of the cultural inhibitions could even be seen as a good thing. At least when held in check by self-discipline.

It was the loyalty codex that left me shaking my head. The type of loyalty codex that had been used in Baylon times had been complicated, but superficial in their structure, where the type of codex Parker and Curtis had invented together was exactly the opposite. A simple, brute force approach, that had resulted in a structure that was anchored so deep in the mind, that removing it carried the risk of changing the personality of the victim.

I had talked it over with all of them women and the thought of having their personality changed had made all of them agree to wait and see if I could find a better way to remove it in the future.

That talk had also prompted them to ask me, how to defend against attacks on the mind and we had a longer talk about mind-shield and how to strengthen them. I showed them a few mental exercises they could use, but seeing they were afraid that they would encounter another person like Parker, I offered to use an Ars Mentalis trick on them, that would boost their mind shield a lot.

They gladly accepted.

Called Adamant Mind, it was a technique that had been used on the Feminae Bellum of the Ordo Gladius, as well as on captured Mentats, and every Inquisitor Captain had been taught how to use it, including me.

Simply put, it allowed a Mentat to take control of a person's mind-shield and temporary strengthen it a lot. For non-Mentats, that just had the effect of being able to resist mind attacks better, but for Mentats, it was a mental cage. Without control of the mind-shield, the trick forced any person it was used on to overcome their own boosted mind-shield before they could use mental powers and for most low powered Mentats that was almost impossible.

Unfortunately, the technique was fairly complicated and took about a glass to set up, making it utterly useless in combat. Also, it wasn't permanent, so I would have to repeat the process every sixth month or so, but for Raya, Ayanna, Esther, Delina and Petra, it was like a gift from Goddesses themselves, as it gave them a sense of security they haven't had, since Parker and Curtis had started working on them.

The only draw-back of the Adamant Mind, was it negated my natural ability to sense their emotions at a distance, but that was a small price to pay for their security and sense of safety and since I controlled the shield, I could still read their mind, if need be.

While I was making the Adamant Mind, I discovered that they all felt guilty about being captured and since it didn't take much more energy, I quietly removed that guilt. There was a lot of issues with their capture and mind-controlled sex that they needed to process, and they didn't really need to feel guilty as well.

On the bright side, they did talk with each other about it, and it seemed to help, though it would take a while before they were over their experiences. As virginity was extremely important in their cultures, Esther, Riya, and Ayanna was hit the hardest, but were slowly getting over it with the help from Petra and Delina, who were coping much better. As she had explained to me, Petra regarded the mind-controlled sex she has had with Parker as a bad drunken night in town, while Delina took it as a form of divine punishment for something she had done, which made it easier for her to deal with.

I realized that Delina had said something while I was lost in my thoughts. "Sorry, I was thinking about the loyalty codex and didn't pay attention. Could you repeat that?"

"Is what you have told us already, all that they did?"

"As far as I can detect, yes." I wondered what she was thinking about but decided not to push her. She needed time to get to the point.

"I guess it could be worse." Said Delina with a shiver. "Like the two women in the warehouse. They were ... empty. Soulless like dolls."

"Yeah." I agreed and changed the subject. "By the way, you never told me what happened to you. What're you framed for?"

She opened her mouth, but paused for a moment, before she sighed. "Apparently, the loyalty codex makes me unable to lie to you."

"Yes, that's more than likely." I said with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it... If you don't feel like telling me, then don't do it."

She pondered that for a moment, but then said, "I wasn't framed for a crime, I did it. One of my brothers was killed while my father was out of the country and unable to revenge him, so I killed the men that had done it" She shrugged lightly. "It's what I'm trained for after all. However, I knew I would get caught if I stayed, so I tried to leave the country, but those I had paid to help me sold me instead." She sighed. "I haven't told the others about this, but I guess you would understand."

Retaliating on her brothers' killers, had to be the crime she felt she was receiving divine punishment for, I decided.

"I understand and so will they." I said confidently, adding. "I thought that you were a communications specialist and not a combat soldier."

Delina showed her nearly perfect teeth in a wide smile that seemed almost impossible white against the brown skin. "I was a combat soldier, before I became a communications specialist. One of my father's wives persuaded him to let me enlist in the army when I was sixteen and after a few years as an infantry soldier, I wanted to move into something else and communications seemed like a good choice." The smile faded away. "I joined the army to avoid being married off to some old man like my older sister... but ended up a slave instead..."

She stopped abruptly and looked at me as the smile slowly started to come back. "On the other hand, as your female slave..." Delina said slowly. "... I could be your concubine."

"What?!" I blurted out, for once caught totally by surprise by the sudden turn in the conversation.

Depending on the culture, a concubine was a mix between a mistress and sex slave, and concubinage was a tradition dating back millennia, but I had thought it had disappeared by now.

Delina took a step forward, bringing her close to me and I suddenly became aware of the desire emanating from her.

"Having consensual sex with a man before or outside marriage is Zina... a sin... and I've never tried it." She explained softly as a hand travelled up my left arm towards my shoulder. The tip of a pink tongue showed for a moment as she wetted her lips. "However, as I'm you slave, that would make me your concubine and thus having sex is not a sin according to my religion." She lowered her voice into a sexy whisper. "And I would like that very much."

That statement sent shivers down my spine and caused an instant erection, but as I couldn't follow her logic, I reached out with my mind and read her mind her brain to find out what was going on, especially to see if Parker had used some sort of compulsion, that forced her to come on to me.

Like I had discovered with Petra, that wasn't the case. While Curtis or Parker had imprinted a loyalty codex and removed some of the cultural taboos regarding sex, it didn't compel her to do anything. Most likely because they haven't had time to do it. There were some religious restrictions, but as she had said, they were removed by the concubine status, at least according to her conviction. She simply found me immensely attractive and that I had saved her from Parker, given her money without asking anything in return and arranged for the boat trip out of Malaga, only made me more desirable in her eyes.

Nice as it was to be desired by a gorgeous woman, it put me in a difficult situation. Delina was by any means just as beautiful and well-shaped as Petra, but I didn't want to deal with jealousy between the women in addition to everything else.

"And what about Petra?" I asked, watching her face carefully. "You do know that she and I have been together, right?"

"Yes, she told us." Said Delina with a giggle. "We have talked about it and she was the one that suggested I went in here and seduced you." The giggle turned into a laugh. "And don't worry about jealousy. My father have four wives and they give each other advice regarding my father. I want someone to do the same with and Petra is by far the best candidate I have ever met."

Hearing that explanation, my reservations crumbled, and I leaned forward to kiss her. She kissed me back deeply and eagerly. Her lips were every bit as full and soft as they looked, and as she kissed me, her tongue slid into my mouth, at first tentative, then eager as I soon met her tongue with mine.

From what she had said, I had expected that she was an inexperienced kisser, but instead, she was very, very good and the feel of her soft tongue against mine, made me even hornier than before.

I wasn't alone in that, as Delina was starting to feel like a soft furnace, being warm all over as she almost melted into my arms. She giggled as she felt my erection against her, but instead of saying anything, she kept kissing me, while a warm hand hesitantly found its way into my pants.

A moment later, long slender fingers closed around my cock. Gently testing how it felt.

My right hand slid across her shoulder and onto her chest. She jumped slightly at my first touch and then whimpered into my mouth as I began fondling her firm tits. I could feel her hard nipples through her bathing suit and teased them with my fingers, rubbing and gently pinching. The hand on my cock grew bolder and she started to stroke it slowly, as she moaned into my mouth.

Our kiss lingered for some time, as we both continues the caress each other, but eventually, I broke the kiss and let my tongue wander to the side of her neck, causing a sharp intake a breath as I started to lick and gently bite the sensitive skin there.

Delina moaned again and said something in a language I didn't understand, but a moment later she switched to English.

"Don't stop." She moaned. "That is so good."

Still caressing her breasts, I bit her earlobe lightly and licked it afterwards, as my hands found her breasts again, caressing it, teasing the rock-hard nipples. First one, then the other, pinching slightly.

She was breathing heavily, as I kept massaging her breasts with one hand, while I used the other hand to caress her body, enjoying the feel of it under my hands.

In return, she managed to unzip my pants, giving her more room to caress my hard dick, but the underwear was still giving her some trouble.

"You have way too many clothes on."

"Oh, I agree, but I'm not in a hurry." I said with a chuckle and dragged the straps of her bathing suit over her shoulders, my fingers trailing the strap down her arms, dancing on the soft skin. "You have beautiful skin, Delina."

"Thank you," She replied with a smile, groaning as I kissed her neck again, while gently pulling down the bathing suit with one hand and running my other hand over her flat stomach, teasing the sensitive skin there.

I moved my mouth downwards, letting my tongue play on her collarbone before I teasingly moved on to her breasts, while I pulled the bathing suit all the way down with my hands.

Delina purred when my lips closed around a hard nipple, sucked into my mouth, and let my tongue play on it, but to my surprise, she grabbed my head with her hands and gently pulled me away to give me a quick kiss. Then she looked into my eyes. "Ivan, may I make a request?"

That made me smile. "Sure."

"I've spent years as a young female soldier among other young female soldiers." She said with a shy smile. "What I need right now is not more fondling or oral sex. I want to feel your... dick... inside me."

Smiling, I nodded. "Since you ask so nicely, but I really do love licking a woman."

"And I love being licked, but let's do that next time, please." She said and kissed me again, while her hands were busy undressing me. I kissed back as I helped her and in record time, I was just as naked as she was.

There was only a short distance from where we stood to the bed, so I placed an arm around her slim waist, took a few steps and together we fell onto the luxurious bedspread.

Delina tried make me land on tip of her, but I twisted my body, so we landed side by side, legs entangled. Not that I wasn't looking forward to pinning her gorgeous body under me, but I wanted to make sure she was wet first.

Using my left hand, I dragged her in for another passionate kiss, while I slid the other hand over her soft skin and down between her legs. Like almost everybody else I had meet in this era, she was clean shaved, with just a patch of hair on the top of her mound. A hand grabbed my dick, stroking it gently. I teased the hair for a few heartbeats and moved on to her inner thighs. Taking my time, I massaged them for a while, gradually moving the hand inwards, as she moved onto her back and spread her legs more to invite me in.

Delina groaned into my mouth and the kiss vent from passionate to frantic, as my fingers finally touched the lips of her soaked pussy, diving in between them and making my fingers wet with her juice. Spreading my fingers slightly, I slid them upwards, the middle finger and ring finger going on each side of her clitoris to catch it between them. Delina purred with lust and satisfaction, when I carefully applied some pressure to it and moved the hand in a small circle, massaging the trapped clitoris and using my fingertips to tease the opening.

Shivers ran through her brown body and a hand grabbed my neck, pressing our mouth closer together as we kissed. Gradually, I picked up the speed, causing her hips to jerk as she grinded against my hand, becoming wetter and more slippery by the heartbeat.

The shivers became tremors, gradually overtaking her and she broke the kiss with a gasp, closing her eyes as her head rolled back onto the bedsheet. She was getting close, so close, and I wanted to push her over the edge and kept the exact same speed and rhythm.

Delina gasped as she said something that I didn't understand, but due to the urgency in her voice, I guessed she was saying she was coming.

The she shrieked wordlessly as she exploded in an orgasm, jerking her hips wildly as she lost control of them and flooded my hand with her juices.

I kissed and caressed her until she had stopped shaking, and then moved to place myself between her legs, while resting on my elbows. Due to the height difference, that left me in a position where I could kiss her sweet lips and tease her pussy with the head of my dick at the same time.

Delina moaned as I kissed her, the small move causing my dick to glide in between the lips of her drenched pussy, pressing against the entrance to her tunnel. I let it rest there for a moment and then rotated my hips, using small moves, that caused the head to massage the entrance.

With a groan, she put her arms around my neck and returned the kiss, as she lifted her knees to spread her legs even more.

Withdrawing a bit, I flexed the muscles in my crotch and when that caused my dick to jump a little, I moved forward, rubbing it against her clitoris a few times, causing her to quiver, before I dragged the dick in between the moist lips of her pussy again.

Delina lifted her ass off the bed to meet it, spreading her lower lips around the head of my dick and making me go deeper than I had intended. It also made her break our kiss and look at me wide-eyed as the head popped inside her.

"Wow," she said softly and lay still for a moment. "That's pretty big."

"Too big?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Just take care."

"I will." I said, savouring the feel of the wet tightness around me. I wanted more but considering what she had been through, I was just as willing to stop right now, if she was uncomfortable.

Delina smiled her dazzling smile. "I know... now please fuck me."

I did as she asked, using small back and forth movement as I gradually drove myself deeper into her with each move, smiling as I could feel her arousal rise with each stroke. Her breath gradually became more rapid and shallow, and with a groan, she pulled my face to hears and kissed me fiercely, tongue darting into my mouth to meet mine.

Suddenly she stiffened as I hit bottom and for a moment, I feared that I had hurt her, but then she shuddered, her pussy tightened around me and she broke the kiss to howl out another orgasm.

I continued to move slowly inside her, enjoying the feeling of being inside her.

"That... was... wonderful." Delina said, breathing heavily.

I nodded. "Yes, it was." Feeling her pussy spasming around me, caused my dick to twitch and her to groan. "I feel so full. Stretched out... and it feels fantastic." She gave me a quick kiss. "Can we continue?"

"Oh yeah!" I chuckled and slowly drew back, so only the head was inside her and then thrust back in, causing her to gasp, but before she could say anything I did it again.

"Oh wow," she breathed. "This is even better than I thought it would be."

"Good. You deserve that." I said as I moved out again, picking up speed. She was wonderfully tight, but so wet that I could slide in and out of her almost effortlessly, the only resistance being her clenching pussy around my cock.

Normally, women don't like when I go so deep that I hit the end of the vagina, but Delina loved it, each hit sending waves of pleasure through her body, so I made sure to hit it each time I bottomed out in her, without using too much force. Shifting my hips, I even managed to find a position, where I hit bottom at exactly the same time as my pelvis bone hit her clitoris.

The combination of long strokes and hitting bottom and clitoris simultaneous worked wonders and I could feel yet another orgasm building in her, as her moans grew louder and louder, until she screamed incoherently, and her hips jerked and bucked around my shaft.

I didn't slow down, but continued in the same pace as before, driving my dick into her hot, clenching pussy, waiting for her to stop spasming.

She didn't. Instead, I sensed that she wanted me to come, as that would prove to her, that she had done good.

Not really understanding how anyone could doubt that I picked up the speed again, slamming into her hard and fast, making her howl with pleasure. Her long brown legs wrapped around my hips and urged me on, as her hips rose to meet mine.

It was fantastic and I could feel my own orgasm approaching fast. Fortunately, Delina was just as close as I was, and it didn't take long before I could feel the first shivers of the orgasm running through my body.

"I'm coming." I growled.

Apparently, that was the right thing to say, because a heartbeat later, her tight pussy clenched even harder on my shaft as she came with a small scream. The feeling of her coming set me off as well and with another growl and jerking hips, I emptied myself into her.

For a while we just lay there, basking in the fading feeling of the orgasm. Delina's eyes were closed, but there was a smile on her lips.

"That," She finally said, as she opened her dark eyes to look at me. "Was some of the best sex I ever had."

"It was very good." I agreed with a chuckle and pulled out, so I could lay down beside her. Since her fabulous body was within reach, I let a hand run over her smooth, dark skin, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin under my fingers.

That made her turn her head, looking at me with a smile. "That reminds me, that you never answered the question."

"To be honest, I can't remember you asking about something."

"Did the scumbags do anything to me to make me easier to turn on?"

"Not as far as I can detect." My hand reached her big, firm tits, fondling them gently. "Are you easier to turn on now than you were before?"

"A lot." She said with a shiver, as I ran a finger over a nipple.

I thought it over. "Well, as I explained earlier, that might be because they removed some of your cultural inhibition towards sex. You don't have as many reasons to suppress your urges as you used to have, so you most likely feel it more now, but that'll pass when your grow used to it and your self-control takes over."

She giggled. "What self-control? If your continue to caress me like that, I'm going to jump you."

With a smile, I removed my hand. "Tempting as it sounds, I need a bath, before I go into town."

Delina returned the smile. "Do you want company? I need a bath as well." The smile turned into a soft laugh. "Through I'm sure the others know exactly what we have been doing, as much as you made me scream."

"Not possible." I stated as I moved to the edge of the bed. "This cabin is soundproofed to eliminate the noises from the sea, wind, and engine. They might have heard a little, but only if they're right next to us." I stood and held out a hand. "Come. Let's take that bath."

-----------------

Despite bathing with an extremely sexy woman, I managed to keep myself under control and half a glass later, I walked down the stairs to the pier.

My first stop was at a shop where I could buy a new pre-paid cell phone and then I called up Julian's number from memory.

He sounded somewhat sleepy when he took the phone with a "Yeah... what?"

"Good morning, sunshine. It's Ivan."

There was coughing, before he said, "Hey man... What the fuck happened? You didn't show up and you didn't answer the phone!"

"Yeah, sorry about that... There was a damsel in distress. Did the plan work?"

He chuckled. "Remarkably well, so that's another one I owe you." He paused. "What about you? What are you going to do now?"

"Oh, I found another boat, so hopefully I'll be leaving Spain in a few days."

"Going where?"

"The Caribbean I guess."

"Bad choice." He stated with amusement in his voice. "It's hurricane season."

"Yes, people keep telling me that. Are you still on the ship?"

"No... I'm at a hotel right now."

"Then get of your lazy ass and let me buy you breakfast or lunch."

"Dude... I'm in Las Palmas!" He said with a yawn.

"Yeah... So am I." I said with a grin. "Where in Las Palmas are you?"

"What? Ehh... I'm at Santa Catalina Hotel. Where are you?"

"At the Marina... and I have no clue where Santa Catalina is or how far away it is."

"Oh... It's a ten-minute walk here then. Let's meet at La Terraza... it's the restaurant outside."

"No problem. Are my suitcases there as well?"

"No, they're exactly where you left them on the ship, but I can call the ship and have them brought here." There was a slight pause. "Just be aware that I need to catch a flight, so I don't have much time."

"That's fine." I said, "See you soon."

Having no clue where Julian's hotel was located, I did the easiest thing and hailed a taxi, which brought me to the hotel without any fuss, though I still didn't like to drive that fast in a wheeled metal box with glass windows.

Unlike the hotels, I had seen in Malaga, Santa Catalina Hotel was old, but the building was beautiful. That the hotel was in a big park didn't hurt either and La Terraza had taken full advantage of that, with half the restaurant inside the hotel and the other half outside in the park.

The inside was filled with people eating breakfast from a buffet, and I was about to ask for a table outside, when Julian showed up, yet again looking like he needed a shave. He also looked like he was nursing a hangover.

"Hey man... I didn't think I would see you again this soon." He said when we were seated at a table outside in the garden.

"I'm full of surprises." I said with a smile. "By the way... Why are you at a hotel and not the ship?"

"Oh... There was a party last night and since the job was done, I could get drunk for once... so I did and ended up with a chick here." He looked up as the waiter came to take our orders. "Coffee. A big one... and the brunch platter."

"I'll take the same, but with tea instead." I said, and the waiter walked away again.

Suddenly I felt my hat being taken and when I looked at Julian, he was wearing both my hat and a pair of sunglasses. "I'll explain later." He mumbled as he studied the empty plate, making it almost impossible for people to see his face.

Puzzled, I discretely looked around to see if anybody was acting suspicious, but everybody in the restaurant were busy eating or going for the buffet... except one woman who stood in the middle, looking around. Fat without being obese, it was difficult to determine her age, but no matter what age, she wasn't pretty and that's putting it nicely.

I turned back to Julian. "Tell me it isn't her you're hiding from."

"I can't, 'coz it is." He sighed. "I'll never drink Tequila again!"

The knowledge from Alice and Rita told me Tequila was a strong alcohol with a tendency to make you do stupid things. I swallowed a laugh and glanced in the direction of the woman again, but she had walked away, while Julian and I were talking. "She's gone... but keep the hat on just in case."

"You bet I will." He turned his face in my direction. "What? Haven't you ever gone to bed with someone and regretted it afterwards?"

"Yes, but that was due to the trouble they made... Not because they had a face like a ... " I searched for the right word and finally found it." ... baboon. Seriously, Julian, you can do better."

To my astonishment, he shook his head. "Nope... I've never been good with women. Can't find the right words when I finally meet a chick I like." He nodded in the direction of another table. "Like the beauties over there."

The waiter arrived with our food, and I used the distraction to glance in the direction he indicated.

There were three people at the table. One man and two young women with different hair colours. One of the women was a brunette and the other looked blonde at first sight, but she had the tell-tale dark roots of someone who had coloured her hair. The brunette was tall, and the blonde was short, but they had many similarities in their beautiful faces, and I guessed they were related.

Our waiter walked away again and looking back at Julian, I asked. "Tall or short?"

"Doesn't matter." He chuckled. "Both would be fine for me... That's one lucky dude!"

"Who?"

"They guy who's with them." Julian said and from his tone of voice, I could imagine him rolling his eyes at me behind the sunglasses.

"Looks more like a friend than a partner." I said, "So, you might have a chance."

Julian snorted. "I wouldn't know where to start."

"Try with 'Hello'... that usually helps." I said drily.

"Very funny... if it's so damn easy, why don't you do it?"

"Because I'm enjoying an excellent meal with you, and I assume they would like to enjoy their meal without being disturbed as well."

"Sorry... Hangovers always make me cranky." He sighed and drank some coffee, before looking like he remembered something. "Oh, by the way, I called the ship, and your suitcases should be delivered here shortly."

"Thank you."

He smiled a bit. "No problem. If was after all your plan that bagged Mr. Smith."

A buzzing sound made me look in the direction in came from and at the table Julian had indicated, the man was answering his cell phone, making a thumbs-up sign to the women as he spoke, which caused them to smile. That only made them more beautiful to look at and Julian must have seen it, because he sighed again.

"Julian, you need some fun that doesn't involve ugly women and alcohol." I said with a chuckle.

"Would love to, but I don't have time. I'm flying home today." He smiled. "Sailing isn't really my thing."

"To each their own." I lifted my teacup in a toast. "For long life, prosperity and good health."

"You mean... Live long and prosper?" said Julian with a smile, as he lifted his coffee cup.

"If you prefer it that way."

He studied me for a long moment, before saying. "Either you haven't seen Star Trek, or you have forgotten it." He shrugged. "Never mind... "

We toasted and drank.

"Healthier than the toasts I drank last night." Said Julian as he placed the coffee cup on the small plate again. "Oh, by the way... Why do you have a new phone number? I didn't recognize it when you called."

"I remembered what you said about tracing and ditched it on the ocean." I said with a grin. "Just in case Mr. Smith had friends."

"Good boy! It's..." started Julian, but then suddenly stopped midsentence and looked down on the plate again. To the left of our table his date from the day before stomped through restaurant, looking extremely displeased.

"She's gone." I told Julian when she had walked through the door to the hotel lobby.

"Cool... let's pay and get out of here before she comes back. My nerves can't take it anymore."

We did as he suggested and walked through the park, towards the harbour.

"Damn it..." said Julian as he looked at his watch. "I need to go get my stuff from the ship and catch that plane."

"What's the hurry?"

"Well, it's the 4th of July in a few days, which is an American holyday, and the day after that it's my son's birthday and I promised to be there for both." He explained. "Traveling there takes time."

It was the first time he had mentioned anything about having a family. "Oh... How old is he?"

"Eight and very excited about becoming nine." Grinned Julian proudly. "His mother lives in another state and thanks to the bounty from Mr. Smith, I can rent a house nearby, so I can have him in the weekends once in a while."

"Nice." I commented, while wondering why Julian could only have his kid in the weekend. It had to be some modern thing, because in most of the old world, boys had belonged to the father.

We reached to main road and Julian turned to me, holding up a hand. "Sorry to run out on you, but I really need to get going."

"Have a safe journey," I said as we clasped hands.

"I'll do my best." Julian said with a smile. "I still owe you... so call me when you reach the Caribbean's. I know some people there."

"I'll do that."

He waved down a taxi and drove off.

It was only as the taxi turned a corner, I realized that he was still wearing my hat.

With a shrug, I walked back to the hotel to collect my suitcases once they showed up. I could buy a new hat later.

Saturday, 1st of July 2000, Malaga, Spain

---------- Department 55 ----------

Zavala, Maya, and Sheena had packed their belongings and were relaxing in Maya and Sheena's room, when Luis Vela came into the room, followed by two local police officers, and holding an open laptop in his hands. "Hey, you guys got to hear this!"

Zavala raised his eyebrow and nodded. "Good morning, Luis." He gestured towards the table. "What do you have for us?"

"Miss Baker and Miss Chai were out in the pool, talking, and out of curiosity, I used one of the directional mics to see if I could hear what said." Lois explained as he placed the laptop on the table. "Due to the water interfering with the sound, the quality isn't the best, but I think you'll find it interesting anyway."

He pressed play and the room became silent, as they listened to Karen Chai explaining her theory on how the situation in the warehouse went down.

"She's sharp as a razor." Mumbled Maya to Sheena. "You were right. We really need to hire her."

Sheena nodded and was about to answer, when Karen Chai explained that there had to have been another group of women. "Pause!"

She waited until Luis Velo had paused the recording and then looked at the others. "How the hell did we miss this? I mean she's right."

"Because it's guesswork with no evidence for it." Answered Zavala with a sigh. "but yes, when she explains it that way it makes a lot of sense."

"Does it change anything?" asked Maya thoughtfully. "I mean, they clearly think that Ivan Kolba was the one to free them, which make him our Unknown Psychic, but we already assumed that, and as Miss Chai said, it only a theory."

"Yes, but it a lot easier to find a group of four or five, than a single person." Said Sheena and shrugged. "It's too late to do anything about it now, so let's hear the rest."

Luis Velo nodded and pressed play again, stopping a minute later. "That's the end. After Miss Meyers parent's come out, it's just small talk."

"Thank you, Luis." Said Maya and looked at the others. "I really don't know what to think right now."

Zavala nodded. "Miss Chai puts together a compelling story, and for what it's worth, she's mostly correct. My only beef with this, is that it's speculation. There could be a lot of different reasons to why the Americans were placed in a different room."

"Good point." Admitted Maya. "And finding a specific group of people in a city as filled with tourists as Malaga is going to be almost impossible. There's simply too many to choose between."

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Luis asked. "So, what do we do now?"

"We escort the Americans to the airport and see them off, before we board our own plane, fly back to London and leave the rest here to the local police." Said Maya firmly. "We have done all we could here."

"What about Parker?" Asked Sheena.

"Both him and the two women will be transported to the research facility in a military plane later this week." Luis Vela informed them. "Then we'll see how much information the experts can get from him. He knows a lot, but he doesn't volunteer anything, so a small team will have to use a lot of time interviewing him and write down everything, so the Department can go over the notes, and close all the criminal acts Parker have going."

"And the two women?" Asked Sheena.

Luis sighed and there was a sad expression on his face as he said. "The experts will try to help them, but last I heard, they weren't optimistic. The damage Parker and Curtis did to their minds are simply too extensive to easily heal and impossible to undo completely."

"That's why Department 55 is needed." Said Sheena with a sigh. "To stop people like him to prey on normal people."

"Well, we didn't really do too much this time." Said Zavala with a slight smile. "The Unknown Psychic took out Curtis and Parker and saved both the Americans and us."

The Indian-Australian leaned back in her chair and looked at him. "Does the names Janet Brons, Albert Knauss and Marc Dufresne ring a bell?"

Hector Zavala nodded slowly. All three names belonged to criminal physics the Department had tracked down and placed behind bars. "Yes."

"Those were all months of work and left behind several victims, that will never be themselves again." Stated Sheena softly. "The Department have been looking for both Parker and Curtis for decades and I honestly don't care who did what. They're neutralized and that's the important part for me. The Spanish police can do the rest of the investigation."

Maya nodded. "I'll bring out a toast to that, but not before we're in the plane. No reason to jinx it." She looked at Zavala. "You do know that you're coming along for the flight, right?"

He chuckled. "Yes. Mr. Newport insisted that I was there for the debriefing."

She smiled and stood. "Let's escort the Americans to the airport and go home."

Saturday, 1st of July 2000, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

---------- Ivan ----------

When I came back to the ship, I stashed the suitcases in my cabin and sat down by the desk in my stateroom to go through the papers about Starlight Merchant Group again. As it was the company that owned both the ships and many of the houses, I needed to understand how it was sat up. Especially since I planned to take control of it along with the highly illegal human trafficking and smuggling ring.

Memorizing the whole thing was not the problem, since I did that the first time I read them, but unfortunately, that didn't confer any understanding. The information and memories from Parker helped somewhat, but there was a limit to that as well, as I simply didn't have the years of experience and education in that field that Parker had.

I still used some time trying to figure it out, before I gave up and placed the papers back in the suitcase. It would have to wait until we arrived in Oldenburg Island where the Managing Director lived. Like most of the people that worked directly for Curtis and Parker, the Director was mind controlled for total loyalty and once I gave him the code phrase, he could explain how it worked.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and after I had said, "Come in" Petra stepped inside, dressed in a long summer dress that showed off the curves of her fabulous body.

She stopped in her tracks as she looked around. "Wow! I forgot that your cabin is even more luxurious than ours." Her gaze went back to me. "Do you have a minute?"

"Always." I gestured for her to come in and walked over to the part of the stateroom where there was a small sofa and two armchairs around a table. "Have a seat."

Petra walked over and sat down in the sofa, while I opted for an armchair. "So, what's up?"

"If I'm to pose as your girlfriend, girl-toy or whatever, I really need to know just a little bit more about you." She said with a smile. "Not much, but a little will go a long way."

Leaning back in the armchair, I nodded. "Good idea. Let's say we met in Malaga a week or two ago and I invited you to come along on a sailing trip."

"Sound good." She smiled. "Since we just met recently, people can't expect us to know all that much about each other.... Except for a few choice things. What's do you like to drink?"

"Tea, cider, beer, and wine. I rarely drink anything stronger. You?"

"Coffee, beer and wine, but I like vodka." She leaned back and crossed her legs, giving me an excellent view of a shapely leg. "Favourite food?"

"Anything freshly made, that I didn't make myself." I said with a chuckle. "I'm a lousy cook."

"I'm not that good either." She admitted. "But I'll eat almost anything." She hesitated a bit. "This will sound like a strange thing to ask about, but how would you react if another man was hitting on me?"

For a moment, I thought she meant 'beating' but then realized she meant 'trying to seduce'.

"I'll be flattered as it would prove I have excellent taste in women. You?"

Petra chuckled at that. "I'm supposed to be a girl-toy. As long as I get to travel on a luxury yacht and get pampered, I'm fine... and besides, I'm not jealous by nature, though I hate being lied to."

"Good point." I glanced at the clock and noticed that I had spent more time reading that I had realized. "More question? The guests will arrive soon, and I need to change clothes."

"Then change." Said Petra with a smile. "I haven't seen you in daylight and that way I can describe how you're built... in case any interested women ask."

That made sense, so I walked over to the closet again and undressed, while Petra moved to the bed next to the closet. She was silent while I undressed, looking at me, while wetting her lips with her tongue from time to time like a child looking at candy.

Suddenly she asked. "What is wrong with you? Do you use drugs?"

"No." I laughed. "Why should there be something wrong with me?"

She smiled. "Well, you're rich, good looking, built like a hot dream, well behaved, drug free and rescues women in need. You also have a good-sized dick and are great in bed. I'm trying to figure out why the hell you're single."

"Oh." I found the better of the sets I had bought in Malaga, while Petra continued. "Do you hurt women?"

"I don't do anything to my lovers, they don't want me to." I said as I reached for the shirt.

She frowned at that. "That's not really an answer."

"That's because the question is flawed. Should I have walked away when I discovered that the guards in the warehouse were women?" I asked as I took the shirt on.

"Good point." Petra said and was silent for a moment, giving me the chance to think before I slowly said, "I like women, plural, a lot and I simply don't want the hassle of dealing with a jealous girlfriend or wife. I'm not monogamous, I never have been, and I never will be." I shrugged. "On the other hand, I don't use false promises to lure women into having sex and in general, I don't go to bed with women, whose personality I don't like."

Petra laughed. "Well, you had sex with me the same day you met me... I don't really see how you had time to judge my personality."

I gave her a look of disbelief and reached out with my mind. "< I'm a Mentat. I can get a good impression of a person even from just the brief mind scan I did in Malaga to see if the five of you was as destroyed as the sex dolls >"

Her mouth opened in an 'O' of sheer surprise. "I forgot about that."

"Good... I prefer it that way."

Seemingly taking a decision, Petra rose from the bed in a fluid motion, covered the distance between us in a few steps and stopped right in front of me. "Ivan, you're by far the hottest man I've ever encountered, and I don't know how else to say this, but I want you again." She smiled a bit. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to become your girlfriend, I just want you."

I dragged her in for a kiss, her soft lips sending shivers of lust through my body. With her curvy, firm body pressed against mine, I couldn't help but letting my hands travel over her back, lightly caressing her soft skin.

Petra groaned into my mouth, as our kiss grew more passionate. Sliding my hands down to her amazing ass, giving it a good squeeze.

She broke the kiss with a gasp, but before she had the chance the say anything, the intercom came to life and First Officer Franco Valdez' voice said. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but the first guests have arrived."

Petra said something in a language I assumed was Ukrainian. I didn't understand the words, but from her tone of voice, I guessed it was some kind of curse.

Switching to English, she said. "Damn it!"

"Agreed, but we'll have to continue some other time." Taking her by the neck, I dragged her in and gave her a kiss before I released her again. "Now, I got to get ready and it's not going to be easy with a hard-on."

"Somehow, I don't feel sorry for you." She laughed and walked towards the door. "See you up there."

I watched her ass move seductively in the summer dress until the door closed behind her. Shaking my head, I started to get dressed again. There was something about Petra that felt immensely familiar to the point where she was a comforting presence to be around. I was aware, that at least part of it was that she reminded me of a mix between Verina and Xanthe, but there was more to it.

Connecting with humans usually take some time, though it had been faster than usual with Alice, Rita, and Karen, but with Petra, there've been an almost instant connection. She had a mindset and attitude, that was so similar to the Baylon warrior women I had grown up with, that it was almost scary.

I finished with the clothes and took a quick look in the mirror to check that everything was as it should be. It was, so I walked out. It was time to join the party.

------------------

As parties go, this one was fairly boring and reminded me of some of the noble parties I've been to, as people just mingled, talked, drank a little and ate some of the food. I was introduced as Mr. Ivan, while Petra was Miss Moroz, and nobody mention anything about me owning the ship.

To my surprise, I recognized three of the guests. It was the trio I had seen earlier in the day at La Terraza. The man introduced himself as Carlos Vargas and then presented the two women. The short blonde was Isabel Mebarak, while the tall brunette was Valerie Tarud. I talked with them a little, but then mingled on, leaving it to Petra to carry on the conversation just to see if she could.

She took to it like a fish to water, so I walked to the bar and got a glass of cider from Patricia, before turning around to look at Raya, Esther, Ayanna and Delina acting as servers. Dressed in white shirts and black shirts, they all looked stunning, and someone must have given them instruction in how to act, because they all looked professional as they walked around with trays and served people.

I turned back to Patricia and lowered my voice. "I have to say that the new waitresses work well."

She smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Ivan. I've instructed them myself."

"You did a good job then." I said, as I returned the smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir." She said and then turned her attention to a guest.

I set off to mingle again, but after an hour or so, that became boring, so I went up to the flybridge to relax, counting on it to be empty.

It wasn't. Valerie Tarud was up there, sitting on the giant sun pad with her back against the raised edge of the jacuzzi, while looking at the lights of the harbour.

"Hello there." I greeted, causing her to jump a little. "Oh sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No worries." She answered with a smile. Her voice was slightly slurred, and she had trouble focusing on me, despite the short distance. I swallowed a laugh. She was obviously intoxicated, without being outright drunk. She patted the sun pad beside her. "Sit down."

I did as she suggested and then asked. "Bored down there?"

"Yeah." She grinned. "The guests are dull, but it's a marvellous ship... even if I don't get to see most of it." She winked at me and whispered. "I raided the bar when the rest was on the tour."

That caused a real laugh from me. Besides being beautiful, Valerie was quite cute, and her drunken honesty was a refreshing change after more than an hour of polite conversation.

"If you want to, I can show the rest of the ship to you."

"Really!?" She clapped my shoulder. "You're sweet."

The physical contact sent a shiver through me, as I instinctively read her state of mind and for some reason, the beauty was incredibly horny.

Valerie placed her feet on the deck and stood up. "Alright, I accept your offer. Show me the ship."

We had barely entered the owner's cabin before she closed the door behind us.

Thinking she was being playful, I turned towards her with a smile and suddenly had her warm body against mine as she locked her arms around my neck and kissed me.

It wasn't a sweet, lingering kiss, but a kiss filled with passion and lust.

I slid my hands down to her round butt and pulled her in closer. She moaned into my mouth and whispered "Damn, this is hot."

Silently I nodded my agreement as I lifted her up and carried her to the bed.

She giggled and then kissed me again, before letting herself fall backwards onto the soft mattress.

The bouncing made her legs fly up and I caught one of them by gripping it by the ankle and then started to kiss the inside of her calf, working slowly downwards towards the knee.

Valerie had closed her eyes, but there was a satisfied smile on her lips as she enjoyed the treatment I gave. My gaze wandered down her body. Her dress had crawled up as she had spread her legs and for some reason, she wasn't wearing any underwear, giving me a clear view of a well-trimmed pussy, lips glistering with moisture. Slowly I kissed, licked, and gently bit my way down her long legs towards the pussy and as I got nearer, I could smell her arousement.

With my free hand, I gently caressed her inner thighs and then traced her lower lips with my fingertips, feeling her wetness and loving the sound of her soft moans, that turned into gasp as a finger drew a wet circle around her clitoris. Her hips started to move in a circle as she tried to increase the pressure and speed of the finger.

I removed the finger, causing her to sigh, but the sigh turned into a long moan, as I replaced the finger with my tongue.

"Oh." She whispered in Spanish and placed a hand on my head as I began licking her. First with long, slow lick from bottom to top, followed by a circle of light licks around her clitoris before I flicked my tongue on it. She gasped and shivered.

I loved the way she tasted and maintained the slow pace as I licked down to the bottom and then repeated it all.

Her hips moved to grind her pussy against my mouth, and I heard her whisper. "More... faster!" as I reached the top again.

This time I gently sucked her clitoris into my mouth and played with my tongue. First gently, but then I made my tongue stiffer and applied more pressure.

Her hips began to buck in rhythm with my licks and she was tossing her head from side to side, as she moaned.

Knowing that she was right on the edge, I took hold of her hips with both hands, so she couldn't move them and then increased the speed of my tongue.

"So goooood." She whimpered and then started to get louder as she moaned.

Just to be on the safe side, I projected a need to be silent into her and to my relief, she let go of me head, got hold of the nearest pillow and sank her teeth into that.

Then she screamed into the pillow as she squeezed her legs around my head and came in a massive orgasm, her whole body twisting and shivering.

I enjoyed the feeling of having given her so much pleasure and gently untangled myself from her long legs. However, her pussy was a little too tempting, so I gently inserted a finger between her warm, wet pussy lips and was about to slide it into her when I encountered a resistance that in my experience could only be a hymn.

The girl was a virgin.

I removed my finger from her as if she were made of molten gold. With the story of Ayanna, Raya and Esther in fresh recollection, a virginity wasn't something to take lightly and while losing it might not result in a death sentence in this part of the world, I had no idea about the possible consequences, making it a lot safer for both of us to stop right now.

That she was a virgin didn't make any kind of sense considering how she came on to me, so I scanned her mind for any evidence of mind-control or manipulation. To my relief, she was totally normal, so I searched her body for foreign substances and immediately found something that shouldn't be there. It wasn't even natural, but some kind of chemical compound I didn't recognize.

Valerie was still shaking from the orgasm and since it would be a shame to ruin it for her, I lay down on the bed next to her and held her close as the shaking subsided and her breathing gradually returned to normal.

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at me with a wide smile. "That was awesome."

I nodded and smiled back. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

For a moment, she looked insecure as she asked. "What now?"

I kissed her nose. "Now we're done. I don't do virgins and especially not one on drugs."

"I'm not doing drugs." She stated quickly, but my intuition told me that it was a flat out lie. She hadn't been drugged by someone else but had taken the drugs herself.

"Among many other things, I'm a doctor and I can recognize the signs." I shrugged. "Just stop it. It'll make you sick."

"It's just a pill once in a while, when things get too boring." She said defensively. "It's not like I'm addicted or anything.... And nothing like this has ever happened before."

I'd had this type of argument with opium users in the past and no matter what you said, they would maintain that they had it under control until they were almost dead from using it.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and slipped into Vis-meditation, before I forced the Vis energy into her body, using a technique called Ad Tardius Corpus Purgare (Baylon: To slowly cleanse the body). As the name suggest, it's a healing technique used to cleanse the body by rejecting any drug.

"That is good." I said with a smile as I projected reassurance and removed my arms from her. "But let's get cleaned up and join the party again."

She blinked and swallowed something. "Can I go to the toilet first? I think I'm going to throw up."

"Of course." I pointed the direction out to her. "It's that door there."

Valarie jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom, closing the door after her. A moment later, I could hear vomiting as her body tried to get rid of the drugs that had been forced from her system into the stomach.

Nobody paid any attention as we re-joined the party and after thanking me for the tour of the lower deck, Valerie walked to an armchair, sat down, and started talking with another guest.

Getting a new glass of cider from Riya, I mingled a bit until I found Petra, who was standing by the bar with a well-dressed admirer on each side. Despite her smile she looked bored, so I walked over to her, said 'hey', which caused her to lighten up, and without warning kissed her passionately as I pressed her against the bar.

For a heartbeat, she felt stiff and unresponsive, but then she almost melted into my arms as she kissed me back. Opening my mouth slightly, I licked her lip with the tip of my tongue. She shivered as her lips parted and her tongue came out to meet mine. Our tongue met and caressed each other for a short moment, before we closed our mouths again and slowly broke of the kiss. When I opened my eyes again, the admirers were gone.

"Damn." Whispered Petra. "That was a good kiss."

"Yes, it was." I said with a smile. "Less bored now?"

She grinned, "Oh yes... But at least I now know that if I wanted to invest some money, I should do it in something called 'Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies'... or was it 'Aberdeen Asian Smaller companies'?" She shrugged. "I can't remember, and I don't care... What about you?"

"I'm never bored when I kiss a beautiful woman." I winked at her and lowered my voice. "But it's not the liveliest party."

"You can say that again." She mumbled and signed. "I guess we better go mingle."

"Yeah."

We separated and mingled for a time, but eventually I needed some air and ended up heading for the flybridge once more and yet again, it wasn't empty. This time it was Isabel Mebarak, the other girl from the trio, who was sitting there, looking thoughtfully at the lights.

It had to be a family thing, I decided, as I sat down quietly in the other end of the sun pad, put my feet up and leaned back. An expression I had heard Rita use popped into my mind. "A penny for your thoughts... or a dollar if they're really good."

Isabel chuckled as she looked at me. "And who decide if they are good?"

Unlike her companion, Valerie, she was sober.

"I do." I said and drank some cider. There was something familiar about her mood, that I couldn't quit place.

"Well..." She looked at me. "I'm afraid my thoughts aren't that interesting."

"In that case, why don't you share them with me?"

"Because I'm a private person when it comes to such things."

The pieces fell into place and I smiled slightly. "Oh... You're in love. That explains the longing and loneliness I feel from you."

She looked stunned and then shook her head slightly. "You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. You're a beautiful young woman and should be down at the party, surrounded by a circle of admirers and yet you sit up here, looking longingly into the night." I shrugged slightly. "I'll admit the party is boring, but it's not that boring."

That got a chuckle from her. "And what more do you feel from me?"

"Tiredness... but more of the mental kind, not the physical. You need to relax your mind for a while. It needs to recharge as much as the body."

She lifted her eyebrows in surprise and turned towards me as she pulled her feet up under her. "That's a neat trick. Do you do that for a living?"

"Nah... I'm a businessman." I said, projecting acceptance into her as I drank some more cider and asked. "What do you do for a living?"

Once again, she looked stunned, but quickly recovered. "I'm a performer... singer and a dancer."

"Since you can live of it, I assume you're very good."

She laughed softly. "I've been lucky."

I shook my head in response. "I play music... It's not about luck. You train a lot?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I've done that since I was a kid."

"A wise man once said, 'Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.' If you're good, it's natural talent combined with hard work." I smiled. "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

Isabel smiled back, and I noticed she had a fetching smile. "Who was the wise man?"

"The Greek philosopher Aristotle." I said, knowing from Rita, that he was world famous by now.

"Ahh." Isabel said with a chuckle. "One of my friends runs a school and simply loves Aristotle... hmm... He has a framed quote in his office saying, 'Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.' I tend to agree with him."

"Me too."

That led to a conversation about Aristotle and the more we talked, the more she seemed to relax and have fun, until she suddenly sighed and said, "I should have gone to Argentina."

I chuckled. "He's there, I guess."

"Yeah ... he lives there."

"Well, go visit him then... unless you can't afford it of course."

"It's not that easy." She said sadly. "I don't know how it is where you come from, but in South America, men go see women and not the other way around."

I look into the starlit sky for a moment, while my mind worked on the problem and then looked at her again. "Then put yourself in a position, where he can go see you. You're a musician, so make a performance in Argentina and make it clear you would like him to attend. If he's worth anything, he'll be there and if he's not, he's not worthy of your time."

"I'm not so sure." She said a bit sadly.

"Isabel, any man who's not homosexual, married, insane or an idiot would be delighted to meet you. You are gorgeous, sexy, and fun... what's not to like?" Her eyes became guarded for a moment, causing me to continue. "And stop that thought. I'm not hitting on you. I'm just being honest."

She laughed a bubbly laughter. "You really ought to make a show out of that mind reading."

"Your eyes became watchful as I called you sexy, so it wasn't hard to guess what you were thinking." I explained with a shrug and stood up. "Let's get this party moving. It's way too static for my taste. We need dance music and not this feel-good crap."

I extended my hand to her. She took it and I pulled her to her feet.

When we came downstairs, I walked to the bar and signalled Patricia.

She came over right away. "Yes, sir?"

"Patricia, I'm bored to tears here. Can we get some dance music?" I said and realized that I actually didn't know that many music numbers from this age. "Suggestions are welcome." I looked at Isabel. "The same goes for you."

"Santana followed by some Ricky Martin, Shakira and Marc Anthony." suggested Patricia without thinking twice. "Big hits right now, good rhythm and I know we have it."

"Oh, nice." Said Isabel. "I love Santana... Especially 'Smooth' and 'Maria, Maria'."

"I'll have First Office Valdez put it on the speakers on the afterdeck, sir." She promised. "Chef Joana is done serving the food anyway."

"Thank you."

As Patricia walked away, Isabel poked me playfully in the side. "You didn't say you have chartered the ship, but you obviously have... unless you own it."

I grinned and poked her back. "Well, you didn't tell me that you were a performer when you were introduced, so I guess that makes us even."

"True that."

'Maria, Maria' and 'Smooth' turned out to be the same songs I had danced to the weekend before, but Isabel made me forget that, as she kicked of her shoes and started to dance barefooted. In a blink of the eye, the cuteness was transformed into steaming sexiness as she tossed her hair and wriggled her body in perfect rhythm.

I have danced most of my life and after last weekend, I had thought myself up to speed with at least some of the dances in this age, but Isabel was in a completely other league.

Amused, I dropped trying to remember the moves and just followed the beat.

At first, we were the only one dancing, but slowly more and more people joined in.

I spotted Petra standing by the stairs to the flybridge with a drink in her hand and when the next song started, I excused myself and walked over to her, while Valerie took my place as Isabel's dance partner.

"Hello Gorgeous. May I have this dance?"

"Not, if I have a choice." She said with a smile. "I never learned to dance like that... Salsa, samba or whatever it's called."

"I think it's called 'move your body to the rhythm'... but if it makes you feel better, we can wait until there's a slower song."

"That would be better." She admitted and fell silent as she watched the dancing people.

For a while, we just relaxed as we watched people having fun.

"God, she's sexy." Mumbled Petra and I followed her gaze. She was looking at Isabel that was still dancing with Valerie.

"Oh, yes she is." I agreed. "Not to mention intelligent and cute. I talked with her on the flybridge."

Petra glanced at me. "And you didn't try scoring her?"

"No. She's in love with a guy in Argentina, so I didn't bother." I chuckled. "If I had seen her dance first, I might have tried anyway."

She smiled and nodded, before she emptied her glass and leaned against me, still watching Isabel.

Since we were touching, I reached out with my mind and examined hers briefly to see if it was something Parker and Curtis had done, that made her think that Isabel was sexy. It wasn't. She was bi-sexual by nature, but they had removed any inhibition and guilt she had felt about it. Parker even had his two dolls service her a few times and she had admitted to herself that she had liked it.

"Do you think she's into women?" Petra asked softly, never taking her eyes of Isabel.

"I doubt it." I said truthfully. "All five of you are incredible hot and she hasn't looked at any of you longer than it takes for one woman to admire other women in a non-sexual manner."

"Oh, well." She sighed. "I guess it was too much to hope for." There was a slight pause and then she asked. "By the way, what's your opinion on gay and bi-sexual people?"

"I don't really have one." I answered absently. "Men don't turn me on, but how they find pleasure is really not my business."

"And women?"

"The same... unless it involves me directly, in which case I like it a lot."

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly said, "I would like to be with a woman at some point, but I have no clue how to seduce one."

"Try the same way as you would seduce a man." I suggested which made her giggle. "Ivan, I haven't tried to seduce a guy since sixth grade and back then I just wanted some candy. After that, I had more than enough trouble stopping guys from trying to seducing me."

Considering her good looks and feeling her fabulous body against mine, I didn't have any trouble believing her. "Hmm you have a point... You know how you like to be seduced, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Well, people are rarely unique. Try using what you like on somebody else... that should work." I looked at her. "Got anyone special in mind besides Isabelle?"

Petra hesitated, and I could feel that she really didn't want to say it, but she finally said, "Yes. Esther, Riya, Ayanna or Delina. Being locked up together really made us close and they're so beautiful it hurts."

"That they are." I agreed. "However, Esther and Ayanna are not into women, I haven't got a clue about Riya, but Delina likes women."

"Really... I didn't know that!"

"Now you do." I said drily. "And she actually thinks you're one of the sexist women alive."

She turned around to look at me. "Seriously?"

"Yes." I said with a nod and chuckled. "Just go to her, Petra. We agreed to share pleasure later, but it doesn't have to be this very night."

"Thank you." She flashed me a brilliant smile, gave me a quick kiss and walked way, while I stood there for a few moments, wondering why she had thanked me, but then I joined the dancing people on the afterdeck. No reason to let good music go to waste.

It was late, when Isabel, Valerie and Carlos came over to say goodbye and after having talked shortly with Carlos and Valerie, I asked Isabel. "Sorry, but could you listen to me for a minute?"

"Sure." She said with a smile and followed me, as I led her out of hearing range of the others "What's up?"

"Two things. First, go to Argentina and met the guy." I looked into her eyes. "Promise me that."

She didn't look away but hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Promise." I interrupted, added some mental energy in the command and finally she nodded. "Okay, I promise."

"Good." I smiled. "Because otherwise you will second-guess yourself for the rest of your life... Now, I don't know how it'll work out... that is up to you... but please watch your insecurity. It can easily lead to jealousy and that causes more trouble in a relationship, than any other thing I can think of."

She blinked a few times in surprise, but then laughed softly. "I shall try... but I need to ask... why do you even care?"

Now it was my turn to be surprised, as I haven't expected that question and after taking a few heartbeats to think it over, I said, "Because you have the same personality my sister had. Passionate, intelligent, and fun, but with a tendency to over-think matters."

For a moment, she stood completely still as she watched me, but she must have caught the use of past tense, because she gave me a short hug, "I'm sorry for your loss... and thanks for the advice... and the party."

"You're welcome."

They walked onto the pier and having had enough party for one evening, I walked to my cabin, stopping shortly at the buffet to pick up a few grilled chicken thighs as a late-night snack. I needed to relax and get some sleep, before it was time to cross the Atlantic Ocean.