Shuttered Truth

Leona

The club was quiet as I exited the public ladies into the dimly lit corridor. I felt a slight breeze and assumed the safety crew were still packing up their gear before they left. I turned towards the main club room but a man stepped out of the gents. His movements seemed familiar and when he turned I smiled in surprise.

"Gustav, what are you doing here?" I asked and walked towards him to embrace. He smiled and pulled me in for a hug but then I felt a sharp prick at my neck. I placed my hand to the site and then looked into Gustav's face. His expression was neutral like perhaps he was keeping his emotions in check. My eyelids felt heavy and my legs began to wobble and then I collapsed.

I woke up to the sound and sting of a hard slap to my face.

I blinked into the pool of light that a bright single bulb above cast onto where I lay on a small bed. Whoever had slapped me stood in the dark. I was guessing it was Gustav.

"I wasn't sleeping by choice. Why the hell did you drug me?"

I tried to sit up because my head was throbbing and my stomach felt queasy but I quickly realised that the way I was restrained meant I couldn't. At both my ankles and wrists there were handcuffs that had chains attached and those were welded, from what I could see, to the metal frame of the bed. At my throat there was a metal collar and when I moved a chain clanged so I guessed it was attached to the collar but I couldn't trace where it was secured. I glanced around as much as I could. We seemed to be in a studio of some kind with cameras set up to capture from every possible angle.

Gustav stepped into the light and saw me checking out the equipment and while he smiled it didn't reach his eyes and I wondered how I'd never seen this side of a man I thought was my friend.

"You're going to be the last and best victim."

"Victim? I don't understand."

I swallowed rapidly, for fear that I'd vomit.

"Gustav, please just tell me what's going on."

"Yes, Gustav tell the lovely Leona what's going on."

Niamh's voice drifted from the shadows beyond the bed and then her face came into view. I gasped as she came up behind Gustav, wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed his cheek. She reached out and rubbed my reddened cheek where she'd obviously just slapped me.

"Oh my god, are you working with Hawthorne, the serial killer?" I asked and they both shook their heads.

"Do you hear that, Nigel? She thinks you're the serial killer and we're working with you?" Niamh turned to one of the cameras and spoke into it.

"I wish I could claim the honour," a male voice came over speakers dotted around the room.

"It's you?" I exclaimed, looking at Gustav but again he shook his head.

"Tut tut, Leona. That's a deep unconscious bias you're showing. Why would the serial killer not be a woman?"

I looked to Niamh now. That couldn't be it, could it?

"You? You killed all those women?"

"Give her a round of applause. The penny has dropped at last," Niamh said sarcastically.

"And the man we've been following?" I asked.

"Nigel Hawthorne, not his real name, of course just like Niamh is not my real name. A handy distraction. A stalker who got promoted to serial killer when you were clever enough to notice him."

"You had access to the club's security through Pavel at first and then directly when you revealed yourself."

"Now you're catching on."

"That explains how he knew I was in the bathrooms at the restaurant and him having tickets to the play on the same night as me and Dónal," I surmised and Niamh nodded.

"Yes, it was fun to watch. He was so close to you, the object of his obsession, each time and yet he had to run or risk being caught. It was a little cruel of me but then I do have a sadistic streak."

"How come he isn't with us now?" I asked, leaning my throbbing head back against the pillows of the bed.

"He'll be flying in shortly. That's his reward, you see. To spend time with you before your demise."

"Flying in? Where are we?"

"Somewhere they'll never find you in time," she watched me waiting for her words to register.

"When Gustav snatched us," she waved her finger between her own chest and mine, "and my team had the only suspect, Nigel, under surveillance the whole time, it sent them into a tail spin and Nigel was able to flee. The team are probably storming his home and the location where they think we were going to take you but they'll soon realise they know nothing of our true plans."

"Want to let me in on them?" I asked and she gave me a cruel smile.

"And spoil the surprise?"

They turned and left and my eyes began to drift closed again. It felt strange to think that Hawthorne was likely watching me as he travelled. We'd all been duped but which of the three had actually commit the murders? I couldn't imagine that Gustav had killed anyone but we'd only met a few months ago so I didn't know him, not really. And Niamh? I felt she was capable of murder and since she'd insinuated herself into the investigation she'd been able to steer it and control the narrative.

The sound of the door opening woke me. From the light shining in through the high windows it was probably mid-morning. I watched Niamh stride into the room. I was glad that my head was clear and my stomach settled so the drug was out of my system. Gustav and Nigel entered behind her but stopped just inside the doorway, eyes downcast and then it struck me. Niamh was their Dominant, they were her submissives or possibly slaves.

She looked rested and freshly showered and now she wore a mock leather catsuit and high heeled knee length boots.

"Would you like your reward, Nigel?" Niamh asked and Nigel took a deep breath, his body trembling with excitement.

"Yes Mistress, please."

"Come here and kiss my feet to thank me for what I've given you."

He came towards her, got down on to his hands and knees and began kissing the toes of her boots. He kept going without any sign of inhibition or distress.

I glanced at Gustav but he just stared at the floor.

"I thought we were friends, Gustav," I said, having to clear my throat because I was parched with thirst and badly dehydrated.

"You do not have permission to speak to my submissive," Niamh barked slapping her leg with a riding crop.

"But to be fair to Gustav he is being a very good friend to you. He is going to make you famous across the globe along with the three of us. You won't get to see it because you'll be dead but your name will be known as the last victim of the Zena Serial Killer. My name will be known as the rare female killer who got away with murder many times and my loyal submissives will be famous for just that...being loyal to their Domme to the end."

"You may tell her, Gustav."

He looked up at me and there was a glint in his eye that hinted at an instability I hadn't noticed before.

"After Mistress kills you we are going to make a documentary out of her time as a serial killer. She will escape and we will release the documentary and sacrifice our lives for our Mistress live on the internet. We all will instantly become famous and Mistress will get to live the rest of her life in peace. The documentary will give closure to the families of all of her victims and explain why we did what we did and how society is more culpable than us."

"She chose to kill those women, Gustav. No-one forced her to do it, just like you both chose to help her."

"Silence!" Niamh shouted and Gustav lowered his head and slowly sank to his knees.

I'd never seen the dynamic between Domme and submissive so screwed up.

"Nigel, take your reward."

She strode out of the room tapping Gustav's head on her way by. He rose and followed her out. I watched Nigel approach the bed and began struggling against the restraints but I knew it was futile.

At first he just walked around the bed looking at me. I still wore the white outfit from last night but it was torn in places. He slipped a knife out of his pocket and I braced for the onslaught of pain but instead he began systematically shredding my clothes until I was naked.

"So beautiful, my Leona."

"I am not yours. Keep away from me."

He leaned close to my ear and whispered.

"Yes, act for the cameras, I understand but we, my love, we know the truth."

I turned my head away as he reached out and stroked my cheek. My skin crawled as he traced my body with his hands and mouth. He was obviously mentally unstable, the three of them were. I wanted nothing more than to scream at him but maybe there was another way.

"Nigel," I whispered, trying to keep my tone even. His head came up and a broad smile spread across his face and for I moment I had a pang of guilt but quashed it.

"Can't it just be you and me? Aren't you tired of her keeping you from your loves?"

I was guessing from their relationship that Nigel had been with her from the beginning of the killing and that he'd become obsessed with each victim she chose. I was no psychologist and I knew that each word I spoke could be the wrong one but I had to suppose that if death at the hands of Niamh was the worst that could happen anything that prevented that had to be better.

"Not loves...there's only been you, Leona, I promise. The others were just pretend, so that I could get close for Mistress."

"I don't want to die, Nigel."

I allowed myself to feel all of my fear and anxiety so that my tears would be genuine. I began to cry softly and he cooed and soothed me.

"I can't betray my Mistress, Leona. You don't understand what she's done for me."

"You don't love me. You can't love me the way you say you do and watch her kill me."

"But that's why I'm going to die too. In death we can be together."

My brain froze at his perverted logic.

"But why can't we both live? It's not fair. She's had her fun. She's killed many times, and you've helped her, haven't you?"

He nodded vigorously as if he wanted to prove he'd been a good servant.

"Yes, we both have. We've been with her since before she started. I pointed out who our victims could be, until you, Gustav chose you..."

"He did, but why?"

"I think he was angry that you wouldn't love him the way he loved you and then she offered him the chance to make this historic documentary and so he suggested you as the target. She'd already infiltrated the investigation team as Niamh because she knew the Vincenzi brothers were after her and so when you decided to go home, she just guided everyone to where she needed them to be."

The door opened and Nigel straightened up, his expression one of concern but then Gustav entered and my stomach rumbled at the smell of soup. He pulled a table close to the bed and set down a large mug with steam rising. He looked grave and wary.

"She needs to eat," Gustav addressed Nigel but glanced down at me, "feed her the soup."

Nigel reached under the bed and a whirring sound kicked in as the top part of the bed began to rise. I squirmed a little as it folded me at the waist. Nigel took the mug, stirred the soup, blew on it to cool it a little and then held the mug to my lips.

"If you release one wrist I can do it myself," I suggested.

"No, do it this way...we need to talk," Gustav grumbled and Nigel shot him a look. I sipped from the mug but kept a watch on Gustav.

"Is she watching?" Nigel asked and Gustav shook his head.

"I heard what you were saying and he's right I do love you and so does he but you don't love us, do you?" Gustav asked and my eyes widened as I swallowed. What was he doing?

"I don't understand, I thought..." Nigel frowned at me and then Gustav.

"She never said it, did she?" Gustav asked and Nigel sighed.

"No."

"You've fallen for those Vincenzi brothers, haven't you?"

I stared at him. What answer could possibly be the right one? He shook his head.

"It's ok...you don't have to answer. It was obvious every time you were with one or all of them."

"You've been watching me?"

"She gave us access to the security feeds so we didn't see everything but we didn't have to."

"Nigel, we can't say that we love her and then watch her die, even if we're prepared to die too. It's not what she wants and that's not love. She's right, Mistress has had her fun now we get to do something that might make up for what we've helped her to do."

"You aren't to sacrifice yourselves for me. I won't allow it."

I tried to sound firm but I knew I just sounded terrified. Gustav bent and placed a kiss on my forehead and Nigel kissed my cheek.

"We love you Leona enough to let you go. Live a full and happy life. Those cameras are streaming live and I've sent the link to your Vincenzi brothers. If Fionn is as good as he seems to be he'll trace it back to the source, here and they'll come and get you. All we have to do is keep you alive until they come."

"Drink this. Best to keep your strength up."

Tears pricked my eyes as I sipped the rest of the soup down and watched these men. I hated the thought that they might die trying to save me but perhaps that was their Karma for what they'd allowed Niamh to do. I closed my eyes and brought my Vincenzi brothers to mind. Were they really mine? Could I trust them after their deception even though it was well intentioned? I truly hoped I lived to answer those questions.