Destined for Algeria Ch. 06

Originally, the post had been erected for the purpose of tethering camels. It had later gained the addition of a flagpole on top for the use of signalling any alerts to the larger fortress in the far distance.

He wanted to check that the two metal rings, one either side were still securely attached.

Reaching up to shoulder height, he took hold of the ring closest to him and tested the security of the fixing bolts by tugging and twisting on it about its mounting.

Slightly disappointed that they weren't as high as he remembered, he moved on to test the other ring on the opposite side then smiled to himself as evil thoughts came to him.

Ingrid could now see perfectly around her inside the blockhouse but could no longer see outside beyond the headlights due to the brightness shining directly into her eyes.

This deserted barracks housed no more furniture than that of a typical suburban vacated rental. The amount of buckets lying around suggested a leaky roof in the rain but then the lack of sink or sanitary wear made her wonder if these empty pails were actually the amenities.

The room smelled earthy but by no means did it feel damp or cold. It had two rooms down stairs, one either side of the door with a fireplace in each. To investigate the upstairs she only had to look up as the flooring, which created the ceilings above, had all but disappeared.

The stone staircase remained standing, continuing up passed the first floor and out beyond the tiled roof.

Looking around her she saw three, unmatched wooden chairs and a dirty, sandy dust covered rectangular wooden dining table over to one side of the divided room.

The fireplaces, one of which housed a cooker, had broken wood in them ready to burn and she could see where the flue of the old cast iron stove disappeared into the brickwork to share the chimney of the other fire.

Ally cursed himself for accidently packing the leg cuffs he'd bought from the adult store, into one of the boxes which he'd shipped, rather than into one of the boxes he'd brought with him.

Teetering on the edge of rage because of Ingrid's betrayal, he sifted through his possessions in the back of his van, intent on extracting more information from Ingrid.

This attractive liar had almost completely suckered him in but he knew he had to keep his calm as currently she held the only key to his reunion with Tess.

The thud of the van door distracted her, she could tell by the noise and movement of the headlights that Ally was inside.

"What do you think?" he asked appearing in front of her from behind the brightness.

"Erm." She replied. "Is there a bathroom?"

"Yes there is but I must warn you it's not the most luxurious of latrines." He laughed.

Standing at the doorway gave him a view of both rooms and seeing the table and chairs gave him an idea.

"Do you need to use it?" he asked.

"No but can I see it?" she enquired back.

"Sure." He chuckled to himself picturing an image of her naked, on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor of the ablutions to earn her keep.

She watched as he returned to the driver's seat and reversed the van into a position where the headlamp beams pointed towards the wooden doors and bared gates of the outhouse buildings, attached to the side of the main house.

Pulling open the right hand wooden door allowed access to a bunch of keys in the back of the lock which Ally took possession of.

A stone floor, a tin bathtub with a hand operated water pump and a brick built square situated in the far corner supporting a toilet seat, confirmed Ally's description of not luxurious.

"Oh." She said.

Without entering the damp putrid smelling structure she stepped back and focused her attention on what lay behind the metal gates of the building next door.

"What's in there?" she asked.

Ally removed a single key from the bunch and placed it back in the lock of the wooden door before taking the rest of the keys and unlocking both of the bared gates.

A layer of sand covered its stone floor as, despite its intact roof, the gates had essentially left it open to the elements for however many years.

"This was apparently the ammunition store in days gone by." Ally explained. "But we can sleep here tonight if you want." He said looking for a reaction from her as to being caged up with him. "Or you can sleep in the van if you would prefer." He said, watching Ingrid's relief build up, satisfied with himself, for causing her startled reaction.

The floor stopped at the foot of a large stone shelf, inset across the whole width of the back wall, striking Ingrid as plenty large enough to fit two people.

He left Ingrid with the keys to the gates in one of the locks and returned to the seat of his van.

Reversing the beam of the headlamps back to the main house again, left Ingrid with limited lighting and so she headed back to the larger building to join him.

Ally lifted one of his boxes of possessions from the back of his van and carried it into the room where the table stood.

Unconcerned, Ingrid continued looking around the inside of the building as he rummaged through the box's contents, searching for the white cotton rope he'd made a point of packing.

Ally had seen that the rectangular wooden table had a slight overhang protruding from the frame work of the legs underneath, which had been the inspiration for him to go bold with a surprise entrapment technique.

He tied a large hoop in the rope, using a slip knot and looped it around the overhanging edge of the narrow width of the table, positioned closest to the door.

In plain view of Ingrid, he walked around to the opposite end of the table.

By pulling on the rope to imitate lifting, he forced the slip knot to tighten the loop around the end of the table. Exaggerating his failure with a sigh, he dropped the remainder of the rope on the table top.

Ally approached Ingrid and held out his hand in front of her.

"Can you pass me your coat please?" he asked, giving her no real choice to question his request.

Ingrid obliged and handed over the thick Parka jacket, revealing the yellow short sleeved top, which Ally knew belonged to Tess.

"I'm going to need a hand?" he said, pointing to the table. "I want to get this outside."

She agreed, not querying why he wanted her to remove the jacket to help him.

As he placed the fur lined coat next to the open box, he picked out a roll of tape and placed it on the table.

She immediately sprung into action to lend a hand, not believing he could be such a chivalrous gentleman as to attempt to lift it himself and not ask her for help in the first place.

Seeing his fingers under the edge of the table top she followed suit by placing her fingers under the opposite side where the loop of rope remained wrapped around.

"We're going that way so you might want to turn around." He said, pointing towards the front door.

Following his suggestion she turned her back to him and picked her end of the table up high enough to clear the legs from the floor, behind her.

After five or six steps, Ally spoke up again "Hold on I'll get the door." and carefully placed his end of the table down onto the floor.

Innocently walking towards the door, he leaned over and took hold of the single trailing end of the rope at the point of the slip knot.

With his free hand he then slid one side of the loop off the end of the table and shook it to free the rest of the loop from the other side.

Quickly, he pulled up on the rope behind her, lifting the loop up around the inside of Ingrid's arms, with a kind of upward lassoing action.

As he raised the rope up towards her shoulders, he tightened it by pulling it against her arms, not concerning himself with the implications of friction burns from the white cotton fibres.

As quick as a flash, both his hands concentrated on constricting her elbows as close together as possible.

Ingrid realised but a split second too late.

By the time she'd reacted by dropping the table and trying to turn around, her elbows were almost touching.

Holding the slip knot tight with both hands he pushed Ingrid aggressively forward, slamming her chest into the front door and squashing her against it.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" she shouted with her head turned to one side and her cheek pressed against the historic wood.

She tried to claw at him behind her but Ally stood well back pinning her against the door with one hand on the knot and the other hand holding the rope to keep it tight.