Chapter 6 – The Puppet Master Makes a Switch
The Puppet Master sat in the back of the stretch limousine provided by the Russian Embassy in Zürich. The limo was unmarked and it could not be traced back to its owners. Anyone who checked its license plate would find that it was owned by a shell corporations, of a shell corporation, of a shell corporation, whose office consisted of a mailbox in the nondescript building outside of the city.
The Puppet Master was in his female persona, wearing a black leather skirt and a light blue silk blouse. The chill of the winter air was muted by his fur trimmed coat. He had on white cotton gloves that hid one of the few flaws in his female appearance. Fortunately, his only flaws could be easily hidden. The Puppet Master didn't have much of an Adam's apple, but he always wore neck scarf or a headscarf to hide what was there. Today was no exception. He wore an expensive headscarf from France that covered the dark brunette wig. He liked the feel of fine silk against his face and this headscarf was very feminine, one of his favorites. The white and blue scarf at a complex pattern of white flowers, with a white boarder. The scarf was knotted under his chin hiding a hint of an Adam's apple. Headscarves were also handy when you wore a wig and might be in the fight. Much less chance that the wig would be pulled off when it was secured with a scarf. Of course he also wore all the other trappings of the modern 1962 woman, including nylon stockings with garters and modest high heel leather boots. The most exciting feature, of course, was the satin panties that he wore. Just wearing them made him excited.
The Puppet Master could not believe his luck. The Americans had sent over one of their top agents, Miss Stacy Steward, for the diplomatic detail. That was something that usually new agents are assigned to, protecting and chauffeuring diplomats around. Either the Americans knew something about their plans or they were just trying to keep Miss Stewart occupied while she grieved over her partner's apparent death. Regardless, it provided the Unit and the Puppet Master the opportunity to humiliate and perhaps even kill one of America's top agents. Of course, the humiliation would come if they succeeded in compromising the conference. To have the opportunity to kill Miss Stewart would require the Puppet Master to pull some strings, to set up the opportunity for it to happen. Of course, it was always possible that something the American agents did would present such an opportunity. The Puppet Master's hope was that he would be able to tell Miss Stewart about former her partner, Susan Harris, just before he killed the spy, when there was no chance that she could do anything about it.
He looked over at Tatiana and wondered if he should ask her to service him before the mission. She would do it, of course, and do it with great enthusiasm, as she had many times in the past. Of course, he had satisfied her, as well. She was his lover, as well as being his top agent. Although he was horny as hell – he was always horny as hell – the mission came first. If all went according to plan, and he knew it would, there would be a frightened woman between his legs very soon. He enjoyed humiliating captive women that way. She would think that he was a woman until she saw his equipment under the skirt. By then, she would be satisfying him. It was the least that she could do. After all, The Puppet Master would be responsible for her death.
Tatiana was finishing with her makeup. He had the best agents in the world, but he would only give this assignment to Tatiana or do it himself, personally. It was that important. If he didn't know who she was impersonating, he wouldn't have known that he was looking at Tatiana. The fake face was relatively new technology and made impersonation that much easier. It was a flawless representation of the woman who Tatiana would impersonate. Unless there was a fight or some other physical activity, Tatiana's new face should remain perfect for several days. Her wig of black hair, salon styled, would also remain perfect for several days. Unlike his wig, Tatiana's wig was glued in place with a special adhesive. It required a special solvent to remove it. The hair was natural hair and the scalp was real skin. It would be impossible to detect any flaws in Tatiana's new face or hair.
Because of the American's security precautions, it was necessary that Tatiana wear the woman's actual clothes and not copies. Given the timing, which would be close, Tatiana was only wearing an American bra, half slip, stockings, garter, and satin panties so that she could quickly put on the woman's clothes. Her selection of lingerie was exactly what the female KGB agents at the New York airport had deduced that their target was wearing on her trip to Zürich. They agents had literally used a mirror on a stick to look up the woman skirt while she was on the toilet in the airport ladies room.
The Puppet Master looked at his watch, a delicate piece of jewelry on his wrist. They were approaching the critical time. It was only possible to delay the American agents a few minutes without raising suspicions. If the flight from America was late or the Americans avoided the delay, the plan would be ruined and the Puppet Master would have to rethink the entire mission. But the KGB agents were very good at their jobs. They had to be. Their lives might depend on it.
The limo was not parked next to the terminal where passengers disembarked, but rather in short-term parking, where there was less foot traffic and the melodrama that would take place would appear perfectly normal. If they attempted the abduction closer to the terminal, the chances of success without detection would be much lower.
The Puppet Master saw Yana and Nika as they emerged with the young woman from the terminal. Stefaya followed the three, placing herself directly behind their target. His agents all wore wigs with brightly colored headscarves and dark glasses. They wore loose dresses under their coats and low heels, that would allow them to move quickly if something went wrong. Stefaya task was to prevent any retreat by the young woman and to hide what was happening by blocking the view from behind. Yana and Nika were telling the young woman that they were from the American Embassy and that they would drive her to her hotel. They were getting very close to the young woman, casually touching her arms as they talked. That was important. If they did their job right, the young woman wouldn't know what was happening until it was much too late. And Yana and Nika always do their job right.
The gaggle of young women were now within 10 feet of the car. The Puppet Master prepared to do his task, a simple one, to open the door at just the right moment. This was a simple assignment. His team had practice such abductions with trained KGB agents, both male and female. A mere college professor, a woman at that, would stand no chance against his agents. The only concern was that an onlooker might figure out what was going on, but that was very unlikely. With his three agents surrounding their target, it would be difficult to see what was happening.
The women were now five feet away, the Puppet Master opened the back door of the limo. Yana and Nika grabbed the woman's elbows, almost lifting her off the ground. In the same motion, Yana clamped a handkerchief over the woman's mouth. The Puppet Master could see that the young woman was puzzled. She hadn't realized yet that she was in grave danger. She was thinking that the women must be trying to help her in some manner. The woman's expression quickly changed to fear as her mind processed what was happening. The Puppet Master grabbed the woman's head as she was shoved into the limo and forced the handkerchief completely into her mouth, effectively gagging her. Their target was allowed to fall to the floor of the limo, sprawled out on her stomach. Yana and Nika quickly got in after the woman, with Yana grabbing her arms and Nika grabbing her feet. Stefaya closed the door of the limo and calmly put the woman's luggage in the trunk of the limo. She then walked around to the driver's door and got in.
Inside the limo, the woman was fighting as best as she could given that she was outnumbered and didn't have the skill set of the KGB agents. Tatiana immediately forced a thick oblong silk scarf into the woman's mouth, pulling the ends behind her head and knotting them tightly. Nika tied the woman's ankles with cord and took off her shoes. The limo started up and began to move. Nika and Yana took off the young woman's jewelry and handed it to Tatiana, who put it on. The woman's coat and hat were next to be removed and given to her replacement. Nika carefully unbuttoned the captive woman's silk blouse while Yana held the struggling woman. Together, they forcibly removed the blouse and handed it to Tatiana. The woman's arms were brought behind her back and Yana secured them with cord. Nika wrapped cord above and below the woman's breasts, pinning her arms to her body, while Yana pulled off the woman's skirt, leaving her silk half slip in place. The hapless woman's bound wrists and bound ankles were corded together, severely limiting her movement. Tatiana was already fully dressed and ready for her mission, only having to put on the woman's shoes to complete her outfit.
The limo pulled into the passenger pickup area next to the terminal. Tatiana got out and Stefaya already had the woman's luggage on the ground behind the limo.
The Puppet Master smiled at the woman on the floor of the limo. Yana and Nika pulled the woman up so that she was leaning against the Puppet Master. The captive knew that she was in grave danger, but she didn't know the extent of what these people intended to do to her.
Chapter 7 – Traffic Can Be a Bitch
Stacy Steward and Lori Trackman were frustrated. All that they had been doing for the past two days was chauffeuring various American dignitaries to their hotels. What was maddening on this trip was that there had been a minor accident in front of them and two women had been outside the car screaming at the top of their lungs at each other, one in French and the other in the Italian. The Lady Spies always gave themselves plenty of time to get to the airport because they were supposed to meet the dignitaries at the gate, but on this trip they were going to be late. Of course, this woman was a minor dignitary, not one of the bigwigs of the conference. She was a university professor was just there to observe. What could possibly go wrong? Apparently, the woman had argued with the American Embassy about being put under guard by a couple of goons, even if they were women.
They had missed the flight by nearly 20 minutes because of the accident. They quickly pulled their car next to the curb where incoming passengers were picked up. They got out of the car and almost immediately spotted the woman. She was nowhere near the entrance to the terminal, but was slowly walking towards the terminal and was next to a long limousine. This made Stacy suspicious, but why should it? She probably thought she was going to be taken to the hotel in a limousine, even though the car Stacy and Lori had was a regular four-door sedan. They trotted up to meet the woman, who looked relieved to see them. They introduced themselves and then Lori Trackman stood back and examined the woman. She took a folded piece of glossy paper out of her purse and looked at the grainy fax image. Although not commercially available yet, the agency had prototype models and allowed images to be faxed through telephone lines. A picture of the woman had been faxed to the embassy prior to her getting on her plane in New York. And there was a difference.
"You were told not to change her outfit in any way during your trip," Lori told the woman, who suddenly got a worried look on her face. And then there was a smile.
"I'm sorry. I change the position of the scarf, didn't I?" The woman replied as she moved the knot of the neck scarf from the left side to her right side of her neck. Stacy and Lori relaxed. Tatiana had mistakenly tied the scarf on the wrong side of her neck. She was lucky that she realized her mistake and recovered in time. Simple mistakes like that can be fatal for spy.
Lori began walking the woman to their car. Stacy walked in the other direction looking carefully at the limo. There was a woman behind the wheel, the chauffeur Stacy assumed. She was wearing a dark blue cloth coat, driving gloves, sunglasses, and a light blue headscarf tied under the chin. Stacy mouth the words, "Nice limo." The driver ignored her. She walked down the length of the limo looking for any signs of who it might belong to. She was bothered by the fact that the dignitary they picked up looked like she came from the rear of the limo. There were regular license plates on the vehicle, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, something bothered Stacy. There was something wrong. The windows were strongly tinted. She took off her sunglasses and cupped her eyes against the side window trying to get a peek inside. She could only see her own reflection. Suddenly the car was in gear and pulling away from the curb. Stacy had seen this type of glass before, she thought. It looked like one way glass, where the people inside the car could see her, but it was impossible for her to see inside. She also heard nothing, which struck her as odd. Limo drivers usually respond to orders and she heard nothing from inside the limo. It was almost as if the limo was partially soundproofed.
Stacy watched the limo drive away and wondered what secrets it held. Perhaps it was nothing, but spies are trained to be suspicious. Stacy hurried to catch up with Lori and the woman.
Chapter 8 – The Trip to Hell
Helen Troy had been ecstatic when she found out that she was going to be able to attend the NATO conference. Yes, her parents had a sense of humor. They named her after Helen of Troy. People she met made that joke once and they never made it again. Helen had been brought up in a military family and had excelled in tactics and all things military. Against the odds, she become a professor in psychology. She had applied for and received a contract with the Defense Department to work up psychological profiles unknown military leaders. She was just an observer at the conference, but excited to be there. She was less excited about all the security that the Defense Department was requiring. They even went to the extent of photographing her just before she got on the airplane.
Helen had on her pink suit with a white silk blouse underneath. She also had on a pink cloth coat and a pink pillbox hat, a la Jackie Kennedy. Even her heels were pink. There was a brown silk scarf tied at her neck that contrasted nicely with the outfit. Her hair was black and salon styled.
At the gate, three women met her. She was only expecting two women, but she assumed one was the chauffeur. The women all had on nice cloth coats with matching cotton gloves. They all wore large silk headscarves with colors that contrasted the colors of their coats. The one she assumed to be chauffeur had on dark sunglasses. Two of them introduce themselves as Stacy Stewart and Lori Trackman, the women she was expecting to meet. The woman chauffeur was not introduced, but did go and pick up her bags when they were delivered from the airplane. She was surprised when three women directed her to a limo parked in the short term parking, rather than the closer area where passengers are normally picked up. She noticed that two of the women walked rather close to her on either side of her and while they made small talk, their attention seemed to be directed elsewhere. Helen assume this is what security people did.
They were almost at the limo when the back door of the limo suddenly opened and another woman appeared there. It was at that moment, that the women on either side of her, the women she knew as Stacy Stewart and Lori Trackman, grabbed her arms by the elbows and began to physically force her into the car. At first, Helen thought they were doing this for some sort of security reason and she opened her mouth to ask them what they were doing. But that option was taken away when one of the women clamped a folded handkerchief over her mouth. That was when Helen realized something was wrong, really terribly wrong.
She was almost thrown into the limo. The woman who had opened the door of the limo grabbed her face and forcibly stuffed that handkerchief into her mouth. Helen thought she was going to knock out a tooth or two when she did it. Then she looked up in time to see a woman, who looked exactly like her, force a silk scarf into her mouth, pulling it behind her head, and tying it extremely tightly, almost with anger. Now it was impossible to force that handkerchief out of her mouth.
Helen was fuzzy on what happened over the next minute or two. Most of the work was done by the two women who had guided her to the limo. The term work somehow seemed inappropriate. They were clearly enjoying what they were doing. Tying her ankles, stripping off her clothes, and tying her up so that she could barely move. The gag was oppressive. The handkerchief that had been rammed into her mouth periodically hit the back of her throat causing her to retch. The scarf was made of thick silk. It seemed too pretty and feminine to be used as a gag. The worst part was that I was saturated with perfume, probably the type the woman who wore the scarf used, to the point that Helen could both smell and taste it. The women in the limo didn't seem to care about any discomfort Helen might have. The cords bit into her skin. They had been tied quickly and as tightly as possible, but somehow they did not cut off her circulation, at least not yet. It was obvious that these women knew what they were doing and that she had little chance against them.
They were all now speaking Russian. Helen didn't understand stand Russian or at least not much of it, but it sounded like they were talking about what they were going to do to her and none of it sounded good. It was obvious that these were Russians, probably KGB, and were simply replacing her at the conference.
There was that moment when she had hope. Helen saw the face, a woman's face, looking in the window of the limo. And then the woman that seemed to be in charge told her in English that the window was one way. The woman couldn't see in, couldn't see Helen's plight. As the limo pulled away, Helen was told that the leader was called the Puppet Master. She was also told that if she wanted to live, she would do exactly as she was instructed. As they drove through the city of Zürich, the Puppet Master had Helen leaning against her leg, her head in the woman's lap. Helen felt like a dog at the side of her mistress. The sun was setting and lights were coming on in the city. Soon it would be dark. Helen felt her hope of surviving fading and setting with the sun.
From Lady Spies and the Revenge Affair by Thomas Silk, Copyright 2018 Knotty Silk Scarf Productions