My Voyage of Submission Ch. 23

******

Manuel and Sherry were married in a beautiful, small Greek Orthodox Church in Santorini. Neither of them were Greek Orthodox, but apparently, the priest didn't care. Björn gave the bride away, Dave was best man and Master was another groomsman. Dave was one of the few who didn't give Manuel a hard time when he became submissive and their offices were next to each other so they had frequent contact. Lynn was the Matron of Honor and Yasmine was the other bridesmaid.

Before they walked down the aisle, Lynn removed their collars and told them they were free of her will for the next week. They could fuck as little or much as they wanted without interference from her. No one had suits or tuxedos except the groom who wore a nice suit; just nice casual clothes for the wedding. Sherry wore an off white matching skirt and blazer over a pale aqua blouse. Everyone was there except for the newer guys who stayed on the ship to guard it. Master bought them a couple nights at a boutique hotel on the island for their honeymoon.

Master felt comfortable enough to let us all do sightseeing on the island, although we had lots of security. None of them were carrying firearms, only well hidden knives, snap open batons and chemical agents, although Smitty's armed men were never far away. Going around with guns without the permission of the Greek government wasn't a good idea, and without Miranda there, it was hard to claim the rest of us needed armed bodyguards on what was a tourist island.

I wanted to go to a museum and find out what Manuel knew about the Thira volcano, so Master took me to one on the island. It seemed the island used to be much larger and a volcanic eruption around 1500-1600 BC blew the island apart. What remained was a big caldera with ash hundreds of feet thick. The outer rim of the volcano formed the current island. It occurred at the end of Minoan civilization on Crete and some believe a massive tidal wave caused by the eruption on Thira hit Knossos, the capitol of Crete, ending one of the great pre-Christian era civilizations, home of King Minos, Daedalus, the labyrinth and the Minotaur. One of the cities that wasn't totally destroyed in the explosion was Minoan and went back to 2000 BC and had evidence of trade with Syria, Egypt and Greece so Thira had been a major part of trade in the Aegean Sea.

Santorini was very romantic and Master and I had a wonderful night under the stars on the stern deck room after the wedding. We were far from shore and the stern was facing the open sea. We made love several times and I was very happy to share the night with only him.

******

We were still about a day and a half from Algeria when Smitty's second-in-command, Harvey, code name, Wallbanger, called to let us know they'd found Fatima's parents residence in Algiers, and were following leads to Djelfa, roughly eighty miles to the South. They hoped to have something more to go on in the next twenty-four hours.

After group that day, before doing my post hypnotic conditioning with Maahnoor, I talked to Hibbah.

"Have you told Jake you like him?" I asked. "I know that's more forward than you were raised to be, but he won't ask you."

"I have," Hibbah admitted to me. "About a week ago."

"What did he say?"

"He seemed interested. He wanted to think about it, he said not so much because he doesn't like me too, but because of the problems Maahnoor had. He knows I've had sex with other men and women, and he's wondering if I would want to stop."

"I understand. Would you want to stop having sex with other people?"

"If I were to want children and to get married."

"Do you want to do those things?"

"Eventually. I don't know if I'm ready yet. I do like Jake a lot, but I don't know. I was raised a certain way all my life, then my slavery took all that away from me. It opened my eyes to the way other people in the world live their lives. I feel like I'm damaged, not as much as Sahar, but damaged. I'd like to remain faithful to one man, but I'm not sure if I can anymore. Jake does know that I care for him more than others and we spend more time together. I want to be sure. I don't want to hurt him."

"You weren't a slave as long as Maahnoor was. Your conditioning as a slave shouldn't be as strong. Maahnoor seems to be doing fairly well under her hypnosis treatment. She reports she's concentrating more on Henry and less on other men. The same thing might work for you with less effort."

"And perhaps I'll try it if I decided to marry and have children. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"At least you're thinking about it. That's important."

******

I spent roughly twenty minutes with Maahnoor reenforcing her conditioning. I liked that she always got to remember our discussions and conversation while she was in her dream state except for her code phrase. She knew what we were doing and could approve of it and know there was no attempt to make her do things she didn't want to do. She was roughly eight to ten weeks away from delivery at this point. She was much bigger and her job had been altered to allow for her ungainliness. Less time on her feet, more time sitting, less strenuous things, less lifting and bending.

"It's a wonder Henry wants to have sex with me still. I feel so fat and ugly. It's not even his child."

"But he loves you and there is a special glow to a woman with child. Are you having more sex in other positions other than missionary to keep pressure off your baby?"

"About 3/5 of the time, cowgirl, about 1/5 is doggy style, and another fifth is lying down with him behind me. We're doing less anal sex because of the hemorrhoids the pregnancy has given me. He's giving me lots of oral sex which I love."

"How is the marriage doing generally?"

"It's better, but not as good as when it started. We're still working through some of things he felt due to my infidelity."

"If I can help in any way, just ask. You know I care for you both."

"I know, and it would have gotten much worse if he knew what brought on the hypnosis. I appreciate you not saying anything about me wishing to have sex with other men."

"You're addressing the issue. It's not critical unless you refuse help. Everyone thinks of sex with other people, Maahnoor. You're not unique in that respect. Even Henry likely thinks of sex with other people. I think it's human nature to imagine what else is out there. In Henry's case, he has the strength not to act on his imagination. Your ability to restrain yourself was severely damaged by your slavery. You were conditioned not to resist your Master's sexual urges or your own, to act upon them to be more pleasing. That's the only difference between you and Henry. When he was single, he could do what he wanted, but he knew marriage would require a change and he was ready to make that change because of you. I also think the baby might help settle you down. Once you're holding that little bundle in your arms and know all you risk by ruining your marriage, it will become easier, I think."

"I hope so. The hypnosis does help a lot. I don't feel ill nearly as often as I did when it started."

******

Harvey reported that Fatima's family had left Djelfa, but was still in the area, taking temporary lodgings in a small town roughly thirty miles to the north called Hassi Bahbah. The move was recent and Fatima was consulted and she asked if she could go to Hassi Bahbah as it seemed they would be found there. Master agreed, though he wanted a large security presence. In addition to Fatima, he decided to take me, in the event some mental health counseling was needed, Hannah, because he was always conducting more business, Jîngyi, in the event of technical difficulties, Roberta, for sharpshooting, and Sahar because Edgar said she was the deadliest shooters he had.

In addition to Smitty's half group already on the ground in Hassi Bahbah, Master wanted another eight security guys from the ship, consisting of Edgar, Jake, Al, Palmer, Oz, Shedrick, Buck, and Jerry. He also brought Manuel because he was an extra gun if needed, but more as a medic. It required an additional helicopter to take so many so Master arranged for the one which usually helped ferry Smitty's guys around when they needed to move quickly. Because Master was bringing so many women to North Africa, the balance of Smitty's guys were repositioned to Aïn Oussera, the next town north of Hassi Bahbah for rapid force support.

During the helicopter ride, 'Wallbanger' reported they'd found the residence where Fatima's parents were staying. They weren't there now, but were expected to return by the afternoon. That gave us plenty of time to get there and surprise them. For our trip, Master had all the women including Sahar in haiks, covering our bodies and faces. The loose robes allowed us to keep ballistic armor on and guns around our waists. The men were also in loose robes which allowed the same. They even had their assault rifles slung under their robes. The helicopters set down about two miles from the address we were going to because the streets were tiny and twisted and with no open spaces to land a helicopter. They had a large truck rented to take us to the residence. Edgar and one of Harvey's guys were in the cab up front and the rest of us in the back.

We found the address easily enough, though we had to crawl slowly through the streets. The owner of the house was surprised to see a large contingent of big, tough looking men and women outside of their door. They didn't want to open their doors and let us in until Fatima spoke to them in Arabic and said she was the daughter their guests were looking for and all she wanted to do was wait for them to return and reunite with them. She removed the face covering from her haik and the man recognized her face from pictures her parents passed out. She told them that the man who'd originally taken her was still around and the armed men were to keep all the women safe.

He finally let all the women, Master and Edgar inside his small home to wait. The rest took up positions around the outside of the house. Using Fatima as an interpreter, Master apologized for their presence. He gave the man a large sum of money, large for him anyway, and asked if it was possible to be fed as no one had eaten since leaving the ship. The wife began making an Algerian stew. The rest of the women dropped our face coverings.

Fatima explained that she'd been taken by a human trafficker headquartered in Morocco and eventually sold to someone in South America. Joshua and his people had rescued her, eventually freeing some other women as well, including Sahar. They'd been looking for her parents since they freed her, but hadn't known where they'd gone after they sold their home in Spain. Finally, the police found a man where her father worked who'd been in contact with her father and found out where he'd been staying in Algiers, and tracked them here. Sahar was translating their conversation so we knew what was being said.

When the stew was ready, the wife began passing us food, but they only had six bowls, so after six of us ate, they'd wash the dishes and six more were fed until everyone had a bite to eat. Around 3:30 local time, there was a knock on the door. When the man opened the door, a man and woman came in, exclaiming about all the men outside, and asking if there was a problem.

Fatima stood up, saying, "Padre, Madre, soy yo, Fatima."

They looked at the daughter they'd been searching for, for over two years. Mrs. Hidalgo might have collapsed if Edgar hadn't caught her. The look on her father's face was priceless, and I was so happy to witness it. He stood there, as if seeing a ghost.

"Fatima, eres realmente tú?"

"Si, padre, soy yo." She rushed into his arms, crying and he started crying, her mother started crying, holding Fatima's face like she was an apparition, hugging her, then looking into her face again as if she still couldn't believe it.

Fatima started to introduce everyone to her parents when Oz stuck his head in the door.

"Boss, Randy Andy is on the phone and I think you need to take it."

Master took his phone, putting it on speaker so the rest of us could hear. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Look, I'm sorry about everything that happened. I was a bastard and I deserved what happened to me, all right, but are you in Algeria right now?"

"Yes."

"You need to get the fuck out now. Somebody has been recruiting mercenaries for some operation in Algeria. I didn't give a fuck because I had no interest in going to Africa. A buddy just called and said I was missing out on a sweet payday. They're paying a lot to kill some billionaire named Joshua and take some women captive. He said they would be ready to go in half an hour, and that was ten minutes ago."

"Thanks, I've got to go." Master hung up and tossed the phone to Oz. "Edgar pack up everyone and let's get going."

"Joshua, can my parents fit in the truck? We were packed pretty tight," Fatima said. "Perhaps we should take the owners too. They aren't going to be able to withstand an attack. They might be killed before the attackers knew we're not here anymore."

"Shit! You're right. Edgar call in Smitty for support and get the women out of here," Master said. "You and three other men, Jake, Al and Buck, plus Roberta. I don't want her here either if things go bad. The rest of the men need to bunker up. This might get bloody."

"If both my parents aren't going, I'm not going," Fatima said, throwing off her haik. "I'm staying until we can all get out of here."

"I'm not going either," Sahar said, taking off her haik as well. "I've been waiting to kill some of these fuckers for a long time."

"You know what will happen if you get taken again," Master said.

"I won't be taken alive," Sahar said, loading a round in the chamber.

Master nodded. "Fine. Edgar take the rest. I don't want Beth, Hannah or Jìngyi at risk."

"Master, I don't want to go either," I said. "I want to stay with you."

"Beth, no. You will obey me in this. I'm not risking you. We'll have a bunch of people here and more on the way, but I don't want you risking yourself."

"Yes, Master."

Edgar had us out of the house in a minute. I got only a brief kiss to Master's lips before we left. Edgar and Buck were in the front of the truck, the rest of us in the back. We were about three hundred yards away when we heard gunfire start. At least all the homes here were mud brick. I hoped they stopped modern ammunition.

We'd gotten to within a half mile of the helicopters when there was a car blocking the road. It was empty and no one was trying to move it.

"I don't like this," Edgar said, backing up. "This looks like an ambush. Get ready for action. Buck send out a Mayday."

We all pulled our weapons from under our haiks. Another truck came up behind us, stopped and the man inside, ran out and hid.

Buck reported, "I can't get out on the radio or cell phones. They must have a frequency jammer around. We're on our own."

"Fuck!" Edgar exclaimed, "we've been scammed. They didn't give a shit about the others. They were trying to separate us. Out of the truck. We're walking. Eyes up and back. Buck, you're with me in front. Al and Jake, you've got the rearguard. Roberta middle, watching up top. The rest of you keep your eyes peeled. You practiced this shit. It's time to see what you've learned, for real."

We'd gone about two hundred yards closer to the helicopter when two shots rang out from behind us. Jake dropped like a stone, and Al screamed, "I'm hit. I'm hit. Fuckers are behind us."

Al was crawling to the side of the street where there was a semblance of cover. Roberta and Edgar were returning fire, while the rest of us rushed to the side of the street as well. Buck grabbed Jake by his armor and dragged him to the side. As soon as he saw he was as safe as he could make him, he started shooting too. Al wasn't out of the fight yet. He was shooting. I didn't see anyone I could hit with my 9 MM, so I was crouched in a doorway with Hannah. Jìngyi was on the other side of the street in another doorway. I looked at Jake. He wasn't dead yet. He was groaning and bleeding. We didn't have a first aid kit, or Manuel, but I knew I had to stop the bleeding.

I took off my haik and ripped off a big chunk and held it against the wound on his shoulder. "Press hard, Hannah. I want to see how Al is?"

"You'll get shot."

"They want to capture the women, not kill us. I don't think they'll shoot me. If they do, I'm not sure I won't be better off."

Hannah nodded. I grabbed the rest of my haik and walked out on the street waving it. It was white, and they could see I was a woman, so I hoped for the best. No one shot at me, though the shooters were still taking fire.

I walked to Al and told him to stop shooting a minute so he wouldn't take fire. He stopped shooting. I crouched down beside him.

"Where'd you get hit?"

"Back. The armor took the brunt of it, but I think I've got a couple broken ribs."

"Turn over, let me look for blood."

Al turned over and I didn't see bleeding. "I think you're right. No blood visible."

"How's Jake?"

"Still alive, losing blood. Looks like the bullet took him in his shoulder above the armor. Hannah has a compress on it, but he needs medical care."

"Try calling again. Maybe the frequency jammer's range doesn't reach this far."

I tried my phone. No signal. Shit. I wondered how much ammo we had.

"I'm going back to Hannah. Don't shoot until I'm at least twenty feet away, okay?"

"You got it."

I saw Jake's weapon in the middle of the street, so on my way back, I grabbed it and ran like hell.

"How are they?" Edgar asked from across the street, reloading.

"Al probably has broken or bruised ribs, took a round in the back but armor seemed to absorb it. Jake is losing blood. He needs medical attention soon."

"We need to get someone up high, preferably Roberta. She can do a hell of a lot of damage with her long gun."

"Can you or Buck boost her to a roof top?" I asked.

"Probably."

"Let's quit shooting for a minute and see what happens."

Edgar said, "Hold fire, hold fire."

We stopped shooting and thirty seconds or so later, so did they.

"Roberta, toss your weapon over here," I said. "Take off your haik so they can see you're a woman and walk over here."

"You're joking."

"They didn't shoot at me. I think they want the women alive. If you're not shooting at them, they might not shoot back."

"I hope you're fucking right."

"Given the alternative of being taken alive, you might wish you were dead anyway, so what the fuck. Remember, Mahmoud brands his women."

She tossed her rifle to me and I caught it. She took off her haik, raised her hands and walked over. No one shot.

"Extreme pucker factor," she said when she was beside me. "I might have peed a little. What are we doing?"

"Edgar said we need you up top with your sniper rifle. We need to get you up on the roof. Buck is going to boost you up there. We're going to give it four or five minutes to make them think we're just sitting here waiting for them to get closer, then Buck is going to toss you up on the roof before they realize we're changing tactics. We need you to blow a few of the bastards away so they know they're going to hurt."

"That okay with you, Edgar?" Roberta asked.

"As good as anything I've come up with."

Roberta slung her rifle over her shoulder and we waited. They shot occasionally, doing no damage, just letting us know they were still out there.

"Right after their next test shot," I said. "Do it."

Buck and Roberta nodded. Thirty seconds or so later, they plunked another bullet down the street. Buck stepped out and tossed Roberta on the roof like a sack of potatoes and she rolled. A dozen shots followed her.

"You okay up there?" Edgar yelled.