(C) Copyright Carey Newton 2009 All Rights Reserved.

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Redemption (No sex, nc, bd)

This was one of those moments when you owed it to yourself to be
honest and if the truth was told I was scared shitless. I was an
aid-worker for christ-sakes, so how on earth did I come to be
negotiating with a notorious human trafficker who, by reputation
at least, was quite capable of killing anyone who stood between
him and making a profit? In retrospect the process that had
brought me to this point had been surreal. I had let it be known
through a casual conversation in a seedy bar near the UN compound
that I was in the market to buy a girl, no questions asked. After
several vodkas and some prolonged male bonding, I was invited to
give my new found friend my cellphone number and the following
day received an anonymous call instructing me to be here at three
the next afternoon. I just prayed that this was the right place
and that I was still in time.

I had been working in Bosnia for over a year now, in the
aftermath of the war, and during that time I had thought I had
seen it all, but no, there were still some surprises in store for
me. Anne-Marie was one of my co-workers. She was Rumanian, and
with two Doctors for parents, very bright and well educated,
having taken a year out of University training to be a Doctor to
make a difference here. At twenty-one she was just three years
younger than myself and she had gone missing four days before
over the weekend. In the absence of a body our local contacts had
led us to fear the worst, that she had been kidnapped for
prostitution. I was told that there was nothing that could be
done, that it was too dangerous even to try. That by this time
she would be on her way to a brothel in Germany or Italy,
assuming that she wasn't already servicing the UN Peacekeepers
who were supposed to be protecting us. Perhaps I should have
listened but it was too late now, I was committed up to my neck
and all I could do was continue this game through to the end. I
played a good hand of poker, but this had to be the biggest bluff
of my life and looking at my cards I had been dealt a pretty poor
hand.

They were waiting for me when I drove up. Three of them, two
heavies and a smartly dressed man in a black leather jacket who
was clearly the head honcho here. I parked and got out, my
movements careful since I was sure they were armed and I did not
want to alarm them. Mr Big greeted me in person in heavily
accented English,

"You are the one looking for a girl?"

"Yes," I answered trying to sound more confident than I really
felt.

He eyed me up and down, obviously I did not fit the description
of the people he usually dealt with, but evidently concluding
that my cash was as good as the next man's shook my hand and
invited me into the house. I declined the offer of a chair and
waited while his two companions went into the back. He continued
to watch me guardedly, perhaps he thought I was a reporter or
something. Most of the local police were supposedly on retainers
so that would not be a concern for him.

To my relief, after a couple of minutes, Anne-Marie and another
girl were brought in. They both appeared dejected and fearful. I
looked Anne-Marie directly in the eyes as she entered, without
smiling, and to her credit she picked up on this and did not give
me away. I glanced at the other girl, she was a blonde, quite
pretty with decent breasts and a good figure. I decided to start
with her.

"Is this the best you have got?" I asked casually.

"Since the end of the war it has become more difficult to source
girls locally. If you are prepared to wait though I have a
sizeable shipment coming through next week from the east, there
will be plenty of choice then, with some young ones too if
that’s your taste."

I smiled and responded,

"It’s tempting, but I have business commitments. It will be at
least a month before I can get back here. I'd better have a look
at what you have on offer now."

At a signal from their boss the gorillas who had brought them in
stepped back to give me an unrestricted view of the two girls. I
nodded at the blonde,

"How old is she?"

"18 . . . and almost a virgin. Still is up the arse, I kept her
pure for you."

He laughed at his own joke. I noticed that the girl flinched when
he spoke, obviously she had spent some time alone with him. I
suspected that his tastes were not gentle but could not afford to
allow myself to feel sorry for her. I had just enough cash to buy
the one girl, and that was going to be Anne-Marie. I looked at
the younger girl appraisingly, playing my part and allowing my
eyes to linger over her curves.

"Nice tits. Are they real?"

"Of course, this is not New York! Do you want to see?"

"Sure, why not."

He spoke some words to her and reluctantly the girl pulled up her
t-shirt to expose her breasts. She was not wearing a bra. I tried
not to notice the dark bruise above her hips. She was thin,
probably undernourished, but not excessively so. Her breasts,
though, were well shaped and firm with rosy tips that contrasted
well against her pale flesh.

"Very nice . . . ,” I paused, as if considering, and then
asked, “how much do you want for her?".

He named a figure which, though excessive from what I had picked
up recently, I knew was just a starting point. I was expected to
haggle and make the negotiations interesting for him.

"I suspect I could beat your price down but even so she's worth
more than I can afford. Lets have a look at the other one."

He stood behind Anne-Marie and, taking hold of her shoulders,
pushed her toward me. Very sensibly she kept her eyes downcast.

"Am I allowed to handle the merchandise?"

"Sure, have a good feel!"

I walked up to her and reaching out roughly grabbed hold of her
right breast, pinching the nipple hard through her t-shirt. Her
sharp intake of breath created a sense of collusion between
myself and these men. We each had mothers, sisters, perhaps even
wives but in this room these two girls were simply objects to be
traded and used and then handed on to others once they had served
their purpose.

"Not much to get hold of, more like a chicken's breast than a
woman’s. What's she like in bed?"

"I've only had her the once and she was a little cold for my
liking. I had to warm her up before she'd give me some action.”
He grinned and made a smacking motion with his hand, “With the
right managing though she has real potential, and I can assure
you that she is a great cock sucker."

"Well, I suppose then I had better have a look at her as well."

He spoke and she raised her eyes to look at me. After a moments
hesitation she reached for the hem of her t-shirt and lifted it
up slowly revealing her breasts. She was still wearing a black
lace bra that was very feminine and which suited her slightly
darker complexion.

"Tell her to take it off" I said in English. I was gambling that
they already knew she had some fluency in the language.

She reached behind her back and unhooked the bra. She stood,
holding it against herself and then lowered her hands letting
them drop to her side as she let go and it fell to the floor
beside her feet.

I glanced over at the Big Boss, "She speaks English?"

"Yes, the other one only speaks Croatian, so perhaps this one is
the best for you after all."

I turned back to examine her. It was the first time I had seen
Anne-Marie even partially naked, though I had fantasised about
her many times. Of all my co-workers she was the one I felt most
attracted to. Quite why was hard to pin down. Physically she was
attractive without really being beautiful. Her jaw was just a
little to solid, her breasts too small. High cheekbones and
luxuriant glossy black hair that she usually wore tied back but
which was now was free over her shoulders, created an exotic air
and she was was quite tall with an athletic build. If I was
honest though, what really attracted me to her was her
intelligence, after all how many women did you know who could
speak Rumanian, English and Spanish fluently with a limited
knowledge of Italian and German thrown in, that and her sense of
fun and ready smile. Sadly the latter was not very much in
evidence just now. In fact despite her obvious fear, I could see
that she was embarrassed as well. A faint blush was growing above
her breasts and across her neck. I couldn't help but notice,
however, that the tips of her brown nipples were hard. Perhaps it
was because of the cold and then perhaps not.

"She's not as pretty at the other one, but she would still keep
me warm at night and I need someone to keep house for me. I'll
give you $250 dollars for her, cash."

Now that we were bargaining for real the Big Boss became serious,
and sucked his lower lip before replying,

"You are trying to rob me, a girl like this is worth at least a
$1000 US." We haggled and I beat him down, clinching the deal by
looking across at the other girl as if to make a comparison, and
we shook hands on $750. Which was lucky because I only had $800
on me.

Without looking at Anne-Marie I turned away and said. "Have her
put her bra back on and then get her ready. I’ll take her with
me."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her bend to pick the bra up
from the floor. My new friend grasped my arm vigourously and
said,

"Come, first you will share a glass of vodka with me."

I accepted his offer and we retired to the next room leaving
Anne-Marie alone with the blonde girl and the two heavies again.

Twenty minutes later I stood by the front door and waited as they
went to get my package for me. They had asked if I wanted her
drugged or gagged ready for transit but I said no, it was
sufficient to have her hands bound. When they brought her out
they drew her arms behind her back and restrained her with a pair
of handcuffs, handing the key to me with a modest attempt at
ceremony.

I looked back at her standing there, apparently my property now
and nodded as she walked out of the shade into the daylight. She
stood for a moment feeling the sunshine on her face and blinking
as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Taking her arm I led her
to my parked car with the three men watching disinterestedly from
the sidelines. I put her in the front passenger seat first and
shuting the door walked round to the drivers side and got in.
Having shut my door I leant across and adjusted her seat-belt.
Neither of us spoke, perhaps aware that we were still being
observed or maybe she was just fazed by the whole situation. I
started the engine, put the car in gear and pulled slowly away
not wanting to give any impression that I was in a hurry. We were
both quiet until we reached the open highway and had put several
miles between us and her captors. Once it was clear that we were
safely out of their grasp, we both breathed a sigh of relief. It
was as if we had each been holding our breath.

"Thank for coming for me," she said.

I smiled hesitantly, it was both the bravest and most foolhardy
thing I had ever done. Now, after the event, I had to grip the
steering wheel tightly to stop my hands from shaking. I caught
her looking sideways at me, there was a smile hovering on her
lips.

"Do you want me to pull over and take the handcuffs off for you?"
I asked.

"Lets just put some mileage between us and them first, but it
might be a good idea before we stop for the night. A handcuffed
girl in your car might take a little explaining."

We drove on again in silence passing through a number of small
villages, overtaking old women on horse-drawn carts and young
boys on bicycles.

"You do know he raped me last night?" she said in a low voice.

"Yes, . . . I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault and, if this hadn't happened, I
would never have known how much you care for me," she paused. "It
was a brave thing you did."

I wanted to tell her that I loved her, that I had since almost
the first time I'd met her but, like the occasions before my
courage failed me.

"Technically I am your property now?" she said matter of factly.

"You know that's not true. You are free now to do whatever you
like"

"But what if I don't want to be."

The smile hovering on her lips was broader now.

"If you can live with the knowledge of the things that man did to
me, then I would like to come to your bed tonight and for you to
take me as a man with a woman he truly cares for."

She paused again, "Will you do this for me?"

I swallowed, "You don't have to do that you know?"

"I know, but as I said I would like to. I want you to make love
me but I also want . . . to belong to you. I like wearing these
handcuffs knowing that you possess the only key."

I finally understood what she was saying to me,

"You mean that sometimes you want to be submissive sexually and
you would like to commit yourself to me?"

She straightened in her seat thrusting her breasts, already on
offer because of her bound hands, forward.

"Yes, I believe you are a man I can trust . . . and there is a
debt to be paid."

I was still unsure what, exactly, she was saying but there was
only one way to find out. In for a penny . . .

"Then, in that case I would be pleased to accept. On one
condition."

"What is that?"

"That you will marry me."

She was silent for a moment and I held my breath waiting for her
to respond,

"Your terms are acceptable to me."

There was a slight quaver in her voice and when I turned to look
at her she was smiling and crying at the same time. We drove on
again in silence, but it was a happy silence between us. Composed
of love and a tender anticipation of the evening to come. Bad
things had been done to her but good could still come of it and
tonight I hoped to begin the process of helping her to move on,
if not forget. To rediscover the joy of living. I had a
suspicion, however, that there were some aspects of her recent
ordeal that she did not completely regret in retrospect. I was
looking forward to finding out later just how true that was.
