ITALY - PRESENT DAY - II
1046 Words
Carrying the Gucci bag in one hand and feeling very chic and powerful, she went inside the busy currency exchange.
There were security cameras above each counter. Then she noticed a sign on the wall:
- WARNING -
ANYONE CAUGHT TRYING TO PASS AS MUCH AS ONE COUNTERFEIT BANKNOTE ON THESE PREMISES WILL BE TURNED OVER TO THE POLICE
Of course the money she had to change wasn’t fake - she had nothing to worry about.
“Casino chips, please,” she told the male clerk, emptying the bag on the counter.
She was disappointed with his reaction - he only looked bored. “Passport?” he said.
Marianne handed it over.
He studied the document, then took a few of the bills and studied them, rubbing them between practiced fingers.
Marianne was suddenly terrified. What if this money was fake? She didn’t know the woman who had brought her here! She could be a criminal!
With a sinking feeling, she wondered if she was being used to change counterfeit currency.
The clerk began feeding stacks of the notes into a big, complicated-looking machine. It had a red digital display that showed the total amount, the numbers escalating as the bills were swallowed up.
If any of the money was fake, it was too late now. She would be arrested on the spot, just like the sign said. And the woman who had supposedly given it to her? Conveniently disappeared.
“Here you are, signora,” the clerk finally said. He handed her a handsome, leather-crafted carrier that was loaded with casino chips.
Thank God, she thought, greatly relieved. She let out a little laugh as she carried the chips into the casino. It was silly of her to think badly of the woman she had just spent the last three days in bed with - she was a nice person, she had known it from the start.
She began playing roulette, betting only fifty Euros at a time.
A few minutes later, her friend showed up.
“Ah, there you are!” she said, rushing over to her. She took the chips and placed a drink in the girl's hand and gave her a warm smile. “Come, Bella - I will teach you how to play baccarat."
* * *
She gambled recklessly that night, delighted with the results of the experiment. Within several hours, she had lost fifteen thousand Euros worth of chips, but she didn’t care. It was a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money she would make in the coming months. She gave Marianne ten thousand Euros in chips to gamble with and sat back and watched her lose it.
By three am, she was tipsy, and the woman was getting tired.
“Let’s go back to Vernazza,” she said, stopping her before she placed another bet.
“Vernazza?” the girl said. She looked disappointed. “I thought we would stay here...”
“It’s silly to waste money on a hotel room here when I own a beautiful villa so close by."
A guilty look flickered across the girl's face. “I’m sorry I lost all that money...”
“It’s nothing,” she said. “It was thrilling, wasn’t it?”
By the time they were back at the villa, she found her second wind. She drove her lean, plum plasti-body into the young girl, bringing her to a series of toe-curling orgasms.
They lay there for a few minutes, and then she suddenly rose from the bed, took off the artificial s*x toy fastened around her waist, and started putting on her pants. “I’m buzzing with energy - I can’t sleep. Let’s go for a walk."
“A walk? Now?”
“Come,” she said, pulling on her hand. “The fresh air will make you feel better."
“But it’s so late...”
She ignored her protests and helped her get dressed, making sure she wore only her own clothes and not anything that she’d bought for her. When she reached for her wristwatch, she grabbed her hand and impatiently said, “For God’s sake, Bella, you’re not going to a fashion show!”
It was windy outside, the sky just hinting at the coming dawn. They walked up the hill, along the cliffs.
Vernazza is part of a cluster of five villages known as the Cinque Terre. They veered off in the direction of Corniglia, the next closest village, which was only three kilometers to the south. The path soon became so narrow that they had to walk single file.
“Be careful, Bella,” the woman said, letting the girl move ahead of her. “It’s slippery in places."
The sea along this particular stretch of coastline was always rough, the waves breaking over clusters of jagged rocks that were covered with razor-sharp coral. It was not uncommon for hikers to slip and fall down the sheer two hundred foot cliff face. Within minutes, their bodies were pulverized into bloody slabs of unidentifiable gristle and bone.
“Isn’t the view incredible?” she said, stopping the girl after the path widened again.
“Yes,” Marianne said, snuggling her back up against her warm breasts. Far below, the waves were exploding over the rocks, the spray filling the air with brine.
The woman kissed the top of her head, hugging her tightly. It was a shame. She was a beautiful girl - she was already developing a maternal, protective feeling for her.
Even though the fake one hundred dollar bills had passed through the casino’s verifying machine, they would eventually be detected. The girl had shown her face on video. Her passport had been in the camera’s field of view as well.
The woman gently turned her around and kissed her again, aggressively, shoving her tongue deeply into her mouth.
When she drew away, the girl's eyes widened - all at once, somehow, she understood everything.
The woman shoved her into the abyss.
A few minutes later, she placed a call to a number at a sprawling dacha on the outskirts of Moscow.
A deep voice answered on the other end. “Da?”
“I have good news, my friend. Our experiment was a smashing success."
- Writer
