Evelines Strangest Journey Ch 26

Chapter 26 - The Mayor's Daughter

Comandante Foxtrot seemed to have no further interest in Coach Strickland. He turned to Nancy:

"I have another tasking for you, Nancy Lombardi, which will be of mutual benefit, and perhaps of benefit to an American family; a happy reunion, so to speak."

The Supreme President clapped his hands and one of the Amazon guards brought in a terrified collared young woman. She immediately assumed the "Nadu" position and the dictator placed his hand on her head in a condescending manner. Like the servant who escorted the women to the Lear Jet, the servant was black, but not African. The guard briefly knelt until the Supreme Leader dismissed her.

"You know I like beautiful women. I like to collect them, enjoy them, and allow those most loyal to me to enjoy them as well. The Cosmos created women for man's enjoyment, especially for a man of action like myself. That is a divine truth, regardless of what the lies coming from the books of the false 'magic men' from Palestine and their paper gods might say. Every week I purchase and bring hundreds of the finest women from the Western Hemisphere to enhance my realm. You know that. And yet, sometimes a woman can be worth so much more than simple enjoyment. This one, for example."

Comandante Foxtrot explained the girl's significance. The servant's name was Denise Jackson, and she was the estranged daughter of the mayor of one of the largest cities in the US. Mayor Jackson was newly-elected to lead a city that just happened to have a museum that had several very famous ancient African and Egyptian artifacts. The girl got caught up in a dispute between her father and some land developers who he had cheated after winning the election. One of the developers had Denise kidnapped and collared for a delinquent college loan. She was sold at a private auction to a broker who purchased young women for several wealthy political or corporate despots, including the Supreme Leader of the West African Confederation.

Along with hundreds of other newly collared women, Denise boarded a jumbo jet to make the journey to West Africa. Upon getting off the plane, each woman's fate would be determined by the dictator's servant-handlers, who were responsible for deciding which estate to send her to. The handlers also examined each woman's biography and identified special skills or circumstances to separate any who had any personal circumstances that made them stand out.

The handlers knew they had a very high-value captive when they discovered there was a US mayor's daughter among the newest plane-load of servants. Not just any mayor's daughter, but the mayor of a city with a famous museum full of ancient goodies the Supreme Leader coveted...

"So now you know the story of Denise Jackson. You will escort her to her father's house and you will see to it that she safely enters the residence. Then you will explain that just because his daughter Denise has returned to his house, she is not released from her obligation to me. Even though she has returned home, she remains my servant and will act as my servant, even in her father's house. She is not to get dressed or do anything else that one of my servants is not allowed to do. There is a camera and a recorder in the girl's collar to make sure she complies with her obligations."

Comandante Foxtrot continued massaging the kneeling servant's head.

"I will not release ownership of Denise until her father agrees to work with me and ensure the success of a project that is of great interest to me. If he performs to my satisfaction, I will deliver the controller and ownership certificate to Mayor Jackson, and he can do with his daughter as he sees fit. If he fails me, then I will simply reclaim what is mine, return Denise Jackson to the WAC, and he will never see her again. I will ensure he has other regrets as well. Do you understand me, Nancy Lombardi?"

"Yes, Comandante Foxtrot. I understand."

"Excellent. You have a good way of explaining things. I'm sure Mayor Jackson will be reasonable."

"Yes, Comandante Foxtrot."

"And when those items go up for auction, make sure Eveline Rogers is the presenter. I'd like to see her perform again."

"To hear is to obey, Comandante Foxtrot."

A few minutes later, Nancy, Coach Strickland, and Denise boarded the Lear Jet. The servant who had accompanied them earlier was waiting to escort them back to the US. To their huge relief, Nancy and Strickland were allowed to get dressed as soon as they boarded the plane. Denise had to remain naked.

Upon returning to the US, Nancy wanted to deliver Denise as quickly as possible and get rid of her. The Lear Jet first stopped in the women's home town so Coach Strickland could get out. Then Nancy instructed the pilot to fly to the airport closest to Mayor Jackson's residence. An unmarked SUV was waiting to take them to the mayor's residence.

The Jacksons' youngest daughter let them into the living room. Denise immediately went to her knees, while the little brat beamed with sadistic pleasure and fingered her older sister's collar.

The Mayor came downstairs. His first reaction was to be infuriated at Nancy. How dare she...

"Mayor Jackson, I'm just a messenger. I'm tasked to safely deliver your daughter. I am also delivering a letter. Your family is in a lot of trouble, a lot more than you can possibly imagine. This letter will tell you how you can get out of it. Right now, you are in a very bad situation."

"Hey... I know you. You're that auctioneer... "

"That is correct, Mayor. And there is a specific reason I am the one who is delivering your daughter, which you'll understand when you open the letter. Just follow the instructions, don't tell anyone why, and you'll be fine. And another thing. Don't expect to be able to talk to Denise. If she uses her voice, she'll get a severe zap."

"You... you fucking Foxtrot bitch, I'm gonna...

"I am Comandante Foxtrot's messenger, not his bitch, Mayor Jackson. And I wouldn't ever use that type of language or make threats again if I were you. That collar is recording everything going on in here, and it just recorded that remark. Don't think it'll go unnoticed."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. The Mayor was trying to think of a come-back that would give him the upper hand, but his mind had gone blank.

"At a loss for words, Mayor Jackson? That's OK, because talking won't do you any good. Your future's detailed in the letter. What you need to do, how to get the collar off your daughter, how to avoid unpleasantness. It's all there. So don't worry."

Nancy briefly glanced at Denise and her sister. Tears were rolling down the older girl's cheeks. The brat had just whispered a disparaging remark in her ear. She couldn't answer. The instant the collar detected sound from her vocal cords, she'd get a horrible zap. Oh yes, little sis was certainly going to be enjoying herself until that collar came off.

Nancy left the residence without saying anything more. As she entered the SUV to return to the airport, she thought: Wow, I just humiliated one of the nation's fastest-rising political stars.

A few minutes later she was in Comandante Foxtrot's jet, staring out the window as she rose through the clouds and flew home.

I really am turning into a cold-hearted bitch. Oh well, too bad. Seems that's the only way you can make any money nowadays. It wasn't what I wanted to be, but I didn't make this world. I just have to live in it.

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Within a few weeks of Nancy's visit to Mayor Jackson's house, the directors of another large urban museum decided it was time to part with its most valuable antiquities to raise some much-needed operating money. Interesting... if the administration needed money so badly, wouldn't have made sense to advertise the auction months in advance to get the highest possible bid? Why just a three-day public notice?

The objects included in the latest auction included the most valuable item Eveline had seen to date. It was a 4000-year old golden scarab mounted on a solid jade circle. The base was the largest single piece of carved jade in existence and had been imported from ancient China to Egypt. The scarab was made from solid gold and weighed more than 50 pounds. The artifact was worshiped as a deity for its entire existence and, like the Niger Heart-Pot, was buried by cultists in the 1800s to prevent French colonialists from capturing it.

The scarab-deity sold for $ 28 million dollars, but that was only a fraction of what it was worth. Probably $ 600 million would have been a more appropriate price given its fame, age, and the materials that went into creating it. The problem was there was only one buyer who had the capital on hand to make the purchase. And... who could that savvy buyer have been?

There were other items as well, including a jade cat statue that was the companion of the cat the African leader had purchased several months earlier. Now that Comandante Foxtrot had both jade cats in his collection, they were worth much more when put together than they had been when they were separated.

Knowing who the buyer was, Eveline was more playful and flirtatious than she normally would have been. He threw in a couple of extra million dollars to his bids to reward her for acknowledging him. In spite of the fact the purchases were a total rip-off against a famous US museum, she was going to get a nice amount of money from the auction, as was her mentor Nancy.

Commentators often speculated why Comandante Foxtrot chose auctions as the means to obtain pieces for his imperial collection. It was a complicated process, having to bribe or blackmail officials, making sure the auctions happened suddenly so he would not be out-bid, dealing with the public controversy... why? Why bother? Wouldn't buying antiquities in secret, or even simply having them stolen by professional art thieves be quicker and cheaper?

There were several reasons Comandante Foxtrot was so patient and conducted his business the way he did. The main reason was he wanted to make sure his acquisitions were totally legal and could not be fought in international court. The WAC had a team of lawyers ready to make sure the paperwork for each acquisition was in proper order and that he could openly transport his purchases out of the US or Europe. Also, the Supreme Leader wanted to publicly display his power over the hapless curators and western art lovers. They were losing their beloved collection items to one of the world's richest and most powerful men, and no one could do anything about it. Museum owners now realized that, if there was something in their collections Comandante Foxtrot wanted, sooner or later he'd get it.

The auction of the scarab-deity was yet another art-scandal that would have Eveline as its face. She was becoming a celebrity, even though in reality she was mere a bystander in the dictator's schemes.