"Fresh coffee?" Lois asked her husband, turning away from the kitchen counter as she held the steaming cannister with one hand.
"Please," the dark-haired man in the crisp grey suit, who was sitting at the table, skimming some articles on his phone.
He nudged the ceramic cup forward, and Lois poured more of the dark, rich beverage; filling it just under the brim.
"Thanks, honey," he told her, picking the mug up before taking another sip.
"What're you reading?" she inquired, as she fixed herself a cup and joined him at the table.
"Local listings," he told her, continuing to swipe the screen down. "Apparently, it's a good time to buy houses right now; everyone is selling."
"Gee, wonder why that could be," Lois mused, as she patted the man on his shoulder, and resumed her breakfast she'd laid out on her plate: a nice spread of scrambled eggs, toast & bacon.
"Finished yours quickly," she remarked, munching on some toast.
"Well, lots to do today," the husband answered, as he powered down the cell phone and took the mug again, flashing his wife a big smile.
"If you're that eager; you want to clear out the 2nd floor, then?" she asked, lifting a eyebrow expectantly.
"Let me guess; so you don't have to deal with the stairs?"
"You know me so well," she smiled. "Thanks, John."
The man stood up from the table, finishing the second cup of coffee before picking up a rumpled black mask that had been laying off to the side.
"You think our daughter is doing okay?" asked Lois, in between bites as she watched her husband don the mask; pulling the balaclava down over his face, leaving only his eyes visible through a narrow slit in the fabric.
"She's fine," John assured confidently, adjusting the balaclava until it was even on his face. "The hard part's already over."
"Perhaps I should check on her..." Lois said uncertainly, pushing away the breakfast plate to stand.
"She needs to get accustomed to handling things on her own," the husband insisted, as he bent over to retrieve the sack he'd left on the kitchen floor. "She won't learn if we keep doting on her."
"I suppose you're right," Lois breathed, though still seemed anxious.
John rested a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. "Tell you what...let's get the job done up here; then we'll go and get her together," he promised. "We can take some breakfast for her to-go."
Lois took her husband's hand, nodding with a smile. "Very well," she told him, pulling away from him as she retrieved her own mask she'd left by the kitchen sink, and slipping it down over her dark hair.
She turned to lock-eyes with her partner, brown eyes flashing through the balaclava. "Shall we begin?"
He nodded, and took the sack with him as he headed for the upstairs, passing several photos framed in the hallway of a lovely brown-haired lady and her two smiling kids, a boy & girl with matching-colored hair.
Lois started humming busily as she grabbed her bag and went towards where the office would be, thinking that perhaps the lady who lived here might have something of worth in one of the drawers.
Her thoughts drifted back to her daughter, who was handling things downstairs while her parents worked. There was that nagging sense of worry about bringing her along for one of their "jobs"; but the mother quickly pushed those thoughts away.
Ophelia was a capable young lady now, she thought to herself as she opened the door to the office. She'd be fine.
Besides...they had tied up the family who lived in the home quite well, after all!
--
"Plmph! Ymph dnm't hmph tm dmph thsmph...!"
Ophelia sighed, looking up from the book she'd procured from one of the rooms upstairs. "Please be quiet," she said politely to the lady making the noise. "I'm trying to read."
But the brown-haired woman continued to plead in the adolescent girl's direction, attempting to lean forward and speak as best she could, as she shook her head in frustration.
The reason why the lady couldn't speak properly was because Ophelia's father had crammed a sock into her mouth, and tied a white cloth tightly over it to hold it in. This hadn't deterred the woman, however, as she had continued to mumble shortly after Ophelia's parents had departed the basement, leaving the single child to tend to her guard duty.
"Plmph!" the woman urged again, her long brown hair strewn about from her struggling. "Lmph umph gmph!"
"Look," Ophelia finally responded, closing the book & un-crossing her legs from where she'd been sitting. "I get it. You're upset."
"Mmmph...!" was the response that Ophelia received, as the woman grunted through the gag & pulled against the ropes holding her.
Her father had tied her up good...the room in the backroom of the basement had a metal pole that was embedded into the concrete floor all the way up to the ceiling; so her dad had made the mother slip her hands around the pole behind her back before binding her wrists. The mother had been preparing breakfast in the early hours of the morning, and so had still been in her pink robe...making sure that the sash of the robe had been properly fastened to ensure that the robe kept her decently covered-up; Ophelia's father had then taken lengths of white rope and wrapped them around the mother's arms & torso; pulling the cord above & below the lady's breast to ensure the ropes could not be slipped out from, before securing her legs to the pole at the knees & ankles.
The mother wiggled in her rigid, upright position against the pole; the folds of her pink bathrobe neatly tucked under the cinches of the rope binding her. She couldn't move and inch, let alone free herself from the basement pillar she now found herself tethered to; and so had been reduced to merely shaking her head & vocalizing through the gag covering her mouth.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to you," Ophelia tried, attempting to console the haggard woman. The daughter stood up from her chair, setting the book down on the seat as she did so. Like her parents, Ophelia had dressed in dark clothing & wore a mask...like her mother, she wore a black turtleneck sweater, jeans, boots & had on a charcoal balaclava with her long black hair tucked underneath to obscure her face. Anonymity was a key part of their job.
"We just need to keep you tied up for a bit while we take a few things," Ophelia went on, approaching where the brown-haired mother had been secured. "It's nothing that you can't live without."
But the mother continued to shake her head, the sock in her mouth obstructing protests to the contrary. "Kmmpf mmph!" the mother tried to say through the gag, as she jerked her chin past Ophelia to somewhere behind her. "Lmt mmph chrldrmph gmph!"
Ophelia arched an eyebrow, turning to regard where the mother was directing her gestures.
The children had been MUCH quieter than their mother...they sat in wooden chairs that had been unstacked from the corner of the basement storage room, placed side-to-side. Ophelia had observed her mother first secure the two siblings upstairs by tying their wrists behind their backs. Then, keeping a hand over the brown-haired boy's mouth, Ophelia's mom had instructed that she do the same for the daughter; as they led the siblings down into the basement with their mother; stifling their cries as they kept their palms pressed over their lips.
After they had settled-down was when Ophelia's mother finished tying them up: Ophelia started with the boy, easing him into the first chair while Ophelia kept the sister quiet. While her father had busily been securing the mother, Ophelia's mom had wrapped rope around the brother's arms to hold him against the chair, and then tied his legs together.
"Mom, what's going on?" the boy had said as he'd watched himself get tied up, his head snapping back and forth from his mother against the pole & his sister being held by Ophelia in the corner. "Who are these people, and why are they tying us u...UMPH!?"
The boy had had his words cut short as Ophelia's mother had lowered a piece of white duct tape down over his face & pulled it firmly over his lips to silence him; followed by two more pieces smoothed over his mouth. The mother had been gagged by this point, and had howled from her trapped position against the pole as Ophelia's mom taped the son's mouth.
Gagging the hostages, Ophelia's mother had once told her, was a necessary aspect to their job...while it could only prevent a person from yelling only to a certain point; it did keep the hostage from talking & asking probing questions.
Ophelia had watched as the boy had mumbled through the duct tape for several minutes, eyes wide has he watched his sister be taken by Ophelia's mother & secured to the chair in the same way next to him.
"You need to make sure that the ropes are tight; but not so uncomfortable that you hurt them," Ophelia's mother had explained, tightening knots around the daughter's ankles once she'd finished & then retrieving the roll of white tape.
"Please, miss, you don't have to do that to me," the sister had said, when she saw Ophelia's mom rip off several more strands of duct tape from the roll. "I won't...MMPH!"
"A gag also helps prevent them from trying to bargain with you," Ophelia's mother demonstrated, as she silenced the girl with a piece of tape held against her mouth. She smoothed the two other pieces over the first, and stepped back to inspect the trussed children.
Both siblings had then proceeded to kick out with their bound feet, as they rocked from side-to-side in the wooden chairs they were now bound to, grunting into the duct tape now covering both their mouths.
Soon, the basement was a flurry of fervent mumbling, creaking chairs & ropes, and stomping feet; as the family of hostages had been successfully bound & gagged in their own basement.
"Alright, honey," Ophelia's father had said, as both he and Ophelia's mother had placed comforting hands on their daughter's shoulders. "All you have to do is keep watch & make sure they don't escape. Good luck!"
And so Ophelia had been left to wrangle this unfortunate family...and while the brother & sister had eventually settled into a quiet resignation in their chairs; the mother had persisted in her attempts to convince Ophelia to free them.
"No way; not gonna happen," Ophelia told the mother with a shake of her head, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at the bound kids. "They stay right there, just like that."
"Mnt lmst tkmph thm gmgs mnf sm wmph cnmph tlkmph," the mother pleaded, lifting the cloth covering her mouth.
"No, the gags stay on, too," Ophelia muttered, pinching her nose in irritation through the mask. "You all don't need to talk to each other."
Ophelia cast a glance over at the kids, who silently sat regarding the younger burglar who was now their jailer from beneath the tape over their mouths.
"Besides, it seems like those gags are finally working," Ophelia mused. "They finally stopped their mumbling."
The brother & sister nodded slowly in unison, seemingly now willing to cooperate. Ophelia's mother had explained this particular phenomenon; in that while initially a person might resist their captivity, over time a hostage would grow accustomed to their situation, and calm down.
“So long as you make it clear that you aren’t there to hurt them; they realize that it’s better to just go along,” came yet another phantom remark, from another training session with her mother a while back. “Why bother trying to escape or irritating your kidnapper?”
Ophelia considered these words as she walked over to check on the sibling’s ropes…while the brother and sister had trashed around a bit; it seemed that the knots had held firm.
“Mmph,” the boy murmured, as Ophelia ran her thumbs back over the white tape covering his mouth, making sure it was still stuck in place.
“All just a precautionary measure,” the teenage burglar assured, as she smoothed the sister’s taped mouth in the same manner.
The mother had bristeled as Ophelia approached her children, and then relaxed as she walked back over to where she stood trussed to the pole.
“So, we going to reduce the volume a bit?” Ophelia inquired.
The mother looked over the adolescent’s shoulder, locking eyes with her kids, then gazed back and gave a slight nod.
“Fantastic,” Ophelia sighed, turning to go back to her book.
As she reached down to pick up the paperback, however; she saw that her mother had come back downstairs, and was standing in the doorway.
“These three still behaving?” Ophelia’s mother, Lois, said beneath her mask, as she came over to stand amidst the gathering. Lois gave the seemingly well-behaved kids two thumbs-up; which amusingly caused the brother & sister to look at one another in confusion.
“More or less,” Ophelia reported, cocking a head towards the mother. “She just calmed down.”
“Good timing; because I need a quick word,” Ophelia’s mom said, moving to stand in front of the robed woman. Ophelia watched as her mother slipped the gag down from her he brown-haired lady’s face; and plucked the damp sock from her mouth.
“Ah…please, we can…mmph!” the mother started to say slowly; before Lois placed her gloved hand over her mouth to stop her.
“Shh…I just need the combination to your office safe,” Lois said to her, giving the mother time to process the request before removing her hand.
“But…oh, fine,” the mother sputtered, taking a moment to recollect.
She gave the three numbers for the safe code, and Ophelia saw her mother nod.
“Heading up there to try it now,” she told the captive mother, turning to step away. “Hopefully, I don’t have to come back down here to ask again.”
Lois stopped to regard her accomplice daughter, who had immediately moved to pick up the roll of tape resting on a nearby table.
“Good,” the mother approved, as she watched the burgeonining kidnapper. “Go ahead and get them properly quiet; we shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Got it,” Ophelia answered, as she went back over to where the brown-haired mother was stuck.
“You seem like a nice young girl,” the robed woman said to Ophelia as she approached, and Lois started back upstairs. “Why are you doing this to us?”
“Nothing personal,” Ophelia said, shrugging as she stood in front of the mother. “It’s just a way to make money.”
“Surely you could find a job, or something more honest…GMPH!”
The suggestion was cut off; as Ophelia produced the other sock given to her by her father, and pushed it into the mother’s mouth.
“A job at a fast-food restaurant, or an internship or whatever, doesn’t pay as well,” Ophelia said simply, as she tore a strip of white tape from the roll.
The mother’s brow furrowed as Ophelia placed the duct tape over her lips to seal the sock inside her mouth; and added two more pieces of the tape to cover it completely. Then, after fussing with the ends behind her neck, Ophelia pulled the gag back over the woman’s taped mouth to finish silencing her.
“Hmmph…” the mother groaned, realizing that her short time without a gag had passed.
Ophelia then produced two more handkerchiefs from her satchel, and went back over to the siblings sitting in their chairs. “Time to make you both REALLY quiet,” she said to them, as Ophelia pulled the two cloths tightly over their taped mouths.
The children grunted in surprised as Ophelia added to their gags. Their surprised was doubled; when Ophelia took out two MORE cloths and proceeded to fold them into bands, and blindfold the two chair-bound kids.
“Our masks protect our identities,” Ophelia’s mother had taught her. “But blindfold’s make it more difficult for hostages to escape.”
The children continued to mumble underneath their gags, as their heads darted in random directions, no longer able to see their captor with their eyes covered.
“And now we wait,” Ophelia declared, smirking slightly as she saw the children’s head tilt slightly in her direction at the sound of her voice.
Minutes passed, and Ophelia’s mother returned to the basement level.
“We’ve got enough of the loot,” she told her daughter. “Time for us to leave now.”
“Cmph ymph lmbt umph gmph nwmph?” the gagged mother asked, leaving against the ropes holding her to the pole.
“We’ll leave an anonymous phone call to the police in about an hour or so,” Lois told the other mother. “They’ll come and untie you and your kids then…until then, just stay put.”
Ophelia’s mother lightly tussled the hair of the two gagged & blindfolded children, before turning to her daughter. “Shall we?” she beckoned.
Both she and Ophelia went back upstairs, rejoining the father as he was carrying the last bag of spoils out the front door of the house.
“How’d our girl do?” he asked as the rest of his family joined him in going out the door, where he’d parked their van in the driveway.
“Marvelously,” the wife responded with pride, lightly patting Ophelia on her shoulder.
The teenager shrugged the gesture off with embarrassment. “It was just a babysitting job,” she responded, face reddening beneath the balaclava.
“Nonsense,” the father said to her, as they piled the stolen loot into the back of the van. “The whole operation revolves around keeping the hostages under control.”
“Well, when am I going to actually going to pull off a robbery solo?” Ophelia pouted, as she buckled up in her passenger seat.
“Oh, when we actually “show you the ropes”; as it were,” her mother joked.
“Ha, ha,” Ophelia sighed.
They started the engine to the van, pulling out from the driveway.
“In all seriousness, you did well,” the father remarked, as they drove back unassumingly away from the property. “I think maybe we’ll let you take lead on the next one.”
“Really!?” Ophelia said, perking up slightly at the prospect.
“You’ve earned it,” the father said, as they coasted down the road, disappearing into obscurity.
(Part 1 of 3)
Family Business (Request) (MFf/FFffmm)
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Detective-Gag
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 4 years ago
This is really good
Simply cannot wait for the next part!
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Detective-Gag
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 4 years ago
(part 2 of 3)
“So…are you ready?”
“Give me a second,” Ophelia grumbled, biting her lip in thought as she gazed out the front windshield of the van.
Her parents had parked the van in the darkness on the other side of the street; night had fallen just about an hour ago, and Ophelia had spent that time observing the residence they’d planned on ransacking.
“Your first job is to figure out a reliable point of entry…” her father began, leaning next to her from behind the seat.
“Dad!”
“John, let her figure it out,” her mother, Lois, urged to her husband.
“What, I can’t offer a little bit of advice?” he defended.
“I’ve got this,” Ophelia insisted, as she considered her options.
She and her parents had scouted out the house throughout the week; it was owned by a single mother named Kathy, along with her two young children, a boy & a girl. In addition, the family lived with their grandmother; who seemingly tended to the household while the mother was working & the children would be at school.
Ordinarily, Ophelia would have thought this would mean it’d have been better to conduct the robbery during the daytime; when both the mother & her children would be absent, and all they would have to handle would be the more elderly grandmother.
But her parents had insisted that their daughter get accustomed to wrangling a family at the same time…there would be instances where she might not be aware of other occupants inside the house, and would have to adapt. Plus, her mother had added, there was always the possibility that robbing the house during the day would result in one of the family members returning home unannounced; thus running the risk of alerting authorities & sabotaging the operation.
Best to have all the eggs in one basket, she had told her.
After a period of time spent reflecting, the daughter ventured an idea.
“Alright, so you know that one group of thieves that convinces the children in the home that they’re playing some sort of “cops & robbers” game?” Ophelia said to her parents.
“Hmm…yes, I think I’m familiar with that group,” her mother answered.
“Not really our style; it takes some convincing,” her father added.
“Yes; but they manage to pull off their robberies because they leverage the kids against the adults,” Ophelia insisted. “It’s around dinner time; so the mother is probably preoccupied…I think we should seize the kids first, then coerce the mother into surrendering.”
“What about the grandmother?” her mother pointed out.
“Right…” Ophelia muttered, thinking. “Alright, we go through the backdoor; if we come across her; we subdue her first…don’t want her warning anyone.”
“Good thinking,” her father approved. “All right, kiddo…this is your show; let’s get started!”
They exited the van, approaching the household along the outskirts of the street; edging around the perimeter of the property before entering the backyard. Dressed in their standard black attires, and their dark balaclavas hiding their entire face, save for some narrow eye-slits, they blended quite well among the shadows in the twilight hours. Upon creeping up to the back door, they found the door already unlocked; a common mistake often made in family households, probably done so by the children.
Their job made easier, Ophelia & her parents slowly opened the door and stepped inside...there was music playing from somewhere in the house; a classic station echoing from the kitchen area, most likely while the mother, Kathy, was preparing dinner.
Ophelia motioned her two parents inside to indicate the way was clear, and they began sneaking along the edges of the wall, making sure anyone crossing around a corner wouldn't spot them immediately.
Ophelia turned and shut the backdoor behind her...and there came the sound of a mature woman's voice calling from the hall:
"Kids? You aren't going back outside, I hope," said the voice, as footsteps approached the back room. "It's getting late; and we're about to have dinner."
Putting it together that the grandmother must be approaching, Ophelia quickly ducked behind a nearby couch, and prepared her satchel; while her parents flanked either side of the doorway.
Seconds later, an older woman with grey-streaked black hair done-up in a bun, wearing a red cardigan & black skirt shuffled into the room, taking a look around.
"Children?" she said, sounding confused. "Where did you scamper off to...?"
The grandmother's eyes swiveled over to the couch where Ophelia was crouched behind, and there came a moment's pause as the matronly lady thought she detected something was off.
"Is that you, dears...? MMPH!"
Ophelia's parents worked fast: her father quickly wrapped one of his big arms around the grandmother's torso, and clamped a gloved hand over the woman's mouth to prevent her from crying out. Ophelia's mother, meanwhile, grabbed the lady's legs; and together they both held the grandmother in place.
Filled with shock, the grandmother wobbled shakily as she attempted to yell beneath the father's hand. "Whrmph ymph!?" she cried.
"Start with the gag; and then tie her like we taught you," Ophelia's father whispered, as he kept the lady quiet with his palm.
Ophelia nodded, and quickly ran over with two white handkerchiefs. She balled one up in her fist, and as she raised it up to the grandmother's mouth, her father lifted his hand from the woman's face.
"Who are you!?" came a brief yell, quickly interrupted as Ophelia crammed the cloth into her mouth. "GRMPH!?"
Clearly not having expected to have the fabric stuffed into her mouth, the grandmother's yells were swiftly stifled; as Ophelia rapidly followed up by tying the second white cloth around her mouth, tightly gagging the lady with a knot behind her neck.
Now that he had both his hands free, Ophelia's father held the grandmother firm with both as he waited for Ophelia to begin tying her up. The daughter grabbed the length of white rope from her satchel, unwound it, and hastily began tying the grandmother's wrists behind her back.
"Whmnt's hppnmng...!?" the grandmother murmured, muted by the wad of cloth in her mouth, her eyes darting between her masked assailants.
"Be quiet, if you know what's good for you," Ophelia grunted, trying to focus on her knotwork she'd been practicing. She wound the cord around the lady's wrists; then cinched the coils down the middle so she couldn't slip her hands free. Satisfied, she picked up another rope, and leaned over to tie her ankles next.
"You're doing great," Ophelia mother whispered, as her daughter tied the grandmother's legs just above her feet, and then additional knots around her knees & thighs.
Ophelia's mother stood up once the grandmother could no longer move her legs, and her father let the grandmother go from his grip as Ophelia began looping the long stretch of white cord around her arms.
"Hmph!" the grandmother grunted, her eyes wide as she saw Ophelia wind the rope above & below her breast, pinning her arms to her sides as the rope hugged against her torso & cardigan sweater.
"Perfect technique," Ophelia's approved, as he watched his daughter finish tying the grandmother up.
"Get her down on the ground," Ophelia instructed, and her parents, true to their word that they would listen to their daughter's lead, obliged. Gently, the two robbers lowered the bewildered grandmother onto the carpet.
"Mmph! Hlmph!" the grandmother moaned from on her side, the gag doing an effective job of silencing the elder.
"That's one down, at least," Ophelia's mother stated, turning to her daughter.
"Someone needs to watch her," Ophelia reasoned. "I'll take the other with me to look for the two childre..."
"Grandma, what's going on?" came a voice from the doorway to the back room.
The family of burglars looked over to see a girl with long dark hair in a belted dress standing in the doorway. The daughter, appearing perhaps just about 14 or so, blinked with brown eyes at the three strangers dressed in black with masks, standing over her tied & gagged grandmother on the floor.
"What...who are these people...?" the daughter asked, not appearing to process what was occurring just yet.
"RMPH!" the grandmother tried to shout through the handkerchief gagging her, as she shook her head at her granddaughter.
With a catlike grace, Ophelia's mother quickly sped over to the doorway, scooping up the daughter with one arm, as she covered the girl's mouth with her gloved hand.
"Hmph!?" the girl sputtered, as she was brought over next to where the grandmother lay on the carpet.
"Go find the boy, and then secure the mother," Ophelia's mother hissed, as the daughter squirmed in her arm. "I'll keep these two here!"
Ophelia and her father nodded, and quickly ventured further into the house.
The music grew louder, as Ophelia heard clamor of pots & pans inside the kitchen. Peeking around a corner, Ophelia saw the mother, Kathy, had her back to them; engrossed in her preparation around a stove.
Not wanting to reveal themselves just then, Ophelia and her father navigated their way up the stairs of the house to the 2nd floor, seeking out the son.
The boy was sitting at a desk inside his bedroom, his back also facing the doorway. The black-haired boy was idly tapping a pencil against the notebook on the desk; a pair of white earbuds in his ears playing music.
Taking advantage of the boy not hearing them from the hallway, Ophelia took out a roll of white duct tape, and tore off a piece.
Pinching the duct tape in her fingers, Ophelia crept into the bedroom, approaching the oblivious boy...and then quickly dropped her hands down over his face, pulling the duct tape firmly over the boy's mouth.
"Gmph...!?" the boy mumbled, completely take by surprise by the gag, as he dropped his pencil.
"Get him out of the chair!" Ophelia commanded his father, as the two of them pulled the boy away from the desk & wrestled him out of the seat.
"Hrm ymph!?" the boy tried to say, still not accounting for the tape that had been put over his lips. "Lmph mm gmph!"
The earbuds fell from the son's ears as Ophelia's father held the boy against the rug with his belly down, and Ophelia secured his wrists with rope. The daughter then flipped the boy over, and tore off two more pieces of the white tape, smoothing them over the mumbling boy's mouth.
"Up we go," Ophelia said, as she and her father lifted the confused boy back to his feet, and dragged him out of the bedroom, and escorted him back down the stairs.
"Hlmph!" the boy tried to yell, crying out for help. "Mumph!"
"Honey, dinner will be ready shortly," the mother Kathy called back, as they approached the kitchen. "Go ahead and tell your sister."
"Nmph! Mumph!" the boy tried to warn his mother, as the trio appeared in the kitchen doorway.
Detecting something amiss with her son's muffled response, the mother slowly turned around...and gasped as she saw two masked figures standing in her kitchen, her son between them with white tape over his mouth.
"Billy!" the mother cried out, eyes veering between her son and the two intruders. "What happened!?"
"Turn off the stove," Ophelia barked, as the mother hastily complied. "This is a robbery!"
"What have you done to my son!?" Kathy demanded, still standing in her blue button-up and white cooking apron.
"Nothing...yet," Ophelia said ominously. "Put your hands in the air, and come with us."
Biting her lip, Kathy nodded her head & raised her hands above her head, as both the mother & her son were brought to where Ophelia mother was still wrangling the grandmother and the daughter.
The bedraggled grandmother groaned into her gag when she saw Kathy and Billy enter the room. "Oh, nmph!"
"Mom!" Kathy cried out upon seeing the grandmother on the floor. "What did they do to you!?"
Ophelia's mother, meanwhile, sat on the couch next to the daughter, hand still covering the girl's mouth. "Looks like your job went smoothly," she remarked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Ophelia replied, heart swelling with a tinge of pride as she tore some more strips of white tape from the roll of duct tape.
Ophelia's mother removed her hand from the girl's mouth.
Immediately, the girl spoke. "Mom!" she said breathlessly. "They tied up grandma!"
"I think they're here to rob us, Katie," Kathy said to her daughter.
The dark-haired girl looked to her brother. "They got you, too?" she observed.
Billy nodded, looking ashamed. "Thymv snck umph nm mmph," she said through the tape covering his mouth.
Ophelia approached the girl, bending over with the duct tape.
The daughter's eye widened. "What are you doing...?"
"Gagging you like your brother," Ophelia said to Katie.
"But...mmph!" Katie tried to plead, before the tape was pressed firmly over her mouth.
Ophelia added the remaining pieces of tape to complete the gag, tied her girl's wrists behind her back, and then turned back to the mother.
"Now then...let's go into the living room, shall we?"
--
"Mmph! Hlmph! Gmmph!"
The two siblings, Katie & Billy, grunted and writhed from their position on the living room carpet; as Ophelia patted her forehead through her balaclava, trying to wipe away some of the sweat that had formed there.
Ophelia had opted to tie the brother & sister back-to-back with ropes; before binding their legs together in front of them, at the ankles and the knees.
She'd left the white tape over their mouths; but for added measure, had also decided to tie two more white handkerchiefs as additional gags to prevent them from peeling the duct tape off.
"There we go," she said to them. "Now you're just like those meddling snoops from the old TV shows."
"Mmmmmmph...!!" the two kids mumbled through their gags, pulling against each other from their awkward position sitting against each other's backs.
"An utterly barbaric way to treat two children," chastised the grandmother, who was now sitting in the recliner.
Additional ropes now were wound around the back of the cushioned chair, holding the trussed-up grandmother in the seat. Ophelia had opted to allow the grandmother to speak, slipping the gag down from her mouth & taking out the stuffing so that both she and the mother, Kathy, could be addressed at the same time.
"They're safe," Ophelia countered to the elderly woman, as the two kids continued to squirm around on the floor. "That's all that matters."
"Why are you doing this to us?" Kathy asked, the mother addressing Ophelia from her sitting position.
Ophelia's parents had brought one of the dining room chairs into the living room, positioning it beside where the two children sat struggling on the ground. For now, Ophelia had merely bound Kathy's wrists behind the back of the chair, and then tied her ankles: with her family already incapacitated, the adolescent robber was confident that the mother wouldn't try and escape.
Ophelia looked to her parents, who stood idly in the doorway of the living room, watching her progress.
Her mother gave a "go on" gesture with one gloved hand; but said nothing through her mask.
"If it wasn't already clear: we're here to rob your house," Ophelia stated, turning to where Kathy sat. "Not everything you have; but definitely your jewelry, whatever cash you have stashed away, and any other similar belongings."
"None of which you deserve," scoffed the grandmother, turning up her nose as she looked away, the recliner creaking beneath her movement.
Ophelia gave the old woman an annoyed glance, but instead of responding; she took out some more rope from her bag and crossed behind where Kathy was seated in the dining chair.
"It's in your best interest to cooperate with us," Ophelia said to the mother, as she began tying the rope around her chest & arms; looping the material above & below her breasts. The mother let out a soft gasp as she was pulled tightly against the back of the chair.
"You...you already have me and my family," Kathy breathed, as Ophelia finished securing her. "What else can we even do?"
"You can tell us where you keep your money; for starters," Ophelia said to her, coming back around to face the mother, before stooping over to tie her knees together over her cooking apron. "Save us some trouble ransacking the place, looking for it."
"We...we use the bank," Kathy stammered, fidgeting against the ropes now holding her to the chair & finding that she had no slack to do so. "We don't have anything here in the house."
"Hmm...doubtful," Ophelia answered, standing up & placing her hands on her hips. "We'll find it regardless; but some good faith will get you some favorable results."
"Do not indulge these ruffians, Kathy," the grandmother interjected from behind Ophelia.
Ophelia rolled her eyes, and picked up the roll of white duct tape she'd left on the table. "I think we've heard enough from the elder, yes?"
Ophelia strode over to the recliner, ripping off some of the duct tape before plucking the damp rag from the scowling grandmother's lap.
"Time to be quiet," Ophelia teased, lifting up the balled-up rag.
"Kathy, do not let this young lady...! MMPH!"
The grandmother winced as Ophelia shoved the wad of cloth back inside her mouth, and pressed several pieces of the white tape over the matronly woman's lips. "More of a proper gag, this time," Ophelia told her, as she smoothed the tape in place.
"Grmph mmph!" the grandmother retched angrily, before Ophelia untied the dangling cloth from around her neck, went behind the reclining chair, and pulled the gag tightly back over the old lady's taped mouth.
"Hmmph!" the grandmother grimaced, recliner pulling back slightly with her as Ophelia finished gagging her.
"There now," Ophelia breathed, as the old woman rocked furiously in the chair, her words now indecipherable. "Where were we?"
She went back over to the Kathy, who was staring lamentably at her now-silenced mother & her two children.
"There's...there a small case in my closet; in the master bedroom," Kathy said slowly, slumping a bit in the chair. "At the back, on a shelf above where the clothes are hanging."
"I assume there's a combination lock on this case?" Ophelia ventured.
Kathy nodded, and gave the numbers to unlock the briefcase.
Ophelia looked to her parents. Her father nodded, and headed up the stairs to find the hidden stash.
"Very good," Ophelia remarked, and produced a white handkerchief from her pocket before approaching the mother.
"Please, promise not to hurt us...GMPH."
Ophelia forced the white rag into the mother's mouth, and proceeded to tape the stuffing in place.
"Here's what's going to happen," Ophelia explained to the wide-eyed mother, patting her on one cheek after the last piece of white tape covered her mouth. "You're going to sit here with your family, nice & comfortable; and you're not going to cause any trouble."
"Mmmph," Kathy tried to say, but Ophelia lifted a finger to her lips.
"Shush," she said, pulling out another cloth, and going behind where the mother sat. "You'll be tied & gagged for a few hours; then when we leave, we'll notify the authorities to come and get you. Simple."
Ophelia pulled the handkerchief over Kathy's duct-taped lips, and finished knotting the gag in place. The mother let out a defeated murmur, slumping forward as far as the ropes holding her against the chair would allow.
Ophelia dusted off her hands, the hostages observing as the teenage kidnapper crossed the room to approach her mother.
“So?” she asked her mom expectantly. “How’d that go?”
“Just about perfect,” Lois answered, looking over her daughter’s shoulder at the tied up family; who had begun to wriggle in futility. “Your ropework was spot-on; and it looks like nobody here is going to be raising the alarm any time soon.”
Her mother considered a moment. “The grandmother was getting a bit mouthy for a second there,” she reviewed thoughtfully. “She could have talked the mother out of cooperating with us.”
Ophelia shrugged, looking back at the elderly woman in the recliner. “Not as bad if I hadn’t used the duct tape,” Ophelia simply said.
“Mrrmph!” the grandmother growled in frustration, giving the recliner a few more rocks as she angrily protested their assessment of her behavior.
Ophelia father returned shortly after; a bulging satchel tucked underneath his arm. “I cleared the case of the money,” he reported, patting the bag. “Some jewelry, too. The mother’s information was accurate.”
“See?” Ophelia said the mother seated in the chair. “A little trust goes a long way!”
“Hmmph,” Kathy mumbled back, nodding slowly in compliance.
Ophelia looked at the collection of hostages. “We’ve gotten what we’ve come here for,” she then said to them. “We’ll be going now…but a few things, first.”
“Your first instinct is going to be to try and escape,” Ophelia said. “We can’t really stop you…but just so you know: we’ll be placing an anonymous, pre-recorded message to the police sending them to this address once we’re far away from here.”
“So if I were you, I’d just sit here, relax, and keep those ropes & gags on,” Ophelia said, pretending to inspect her fingernails; despite her wearing gloves. “Less exhausting.”
The trussed-up family gave each other looks, unable to respond currently with the cloth tied over their faces.
“Think it over, at least,” Ophelia said to them, turning to leave with her parents. “You’ve been wonderful hosts.”
The family mumbled in distinctly behind them as Ophelia left with her own family; locking the door behind them & strolling back to where they had parked their van.
“You did fantastic, kid!” her father praised, giving his daughter a pat on the shoulder.
“I’d say you’re ready for a solo test now,” Ophelia’s mother added, as they piled into the vehicle.
Ophelia said nothing as they started the engine; but internally, she felt a growing excitement.
Finally, she thought to herself…a chance for her to earn without mom or dad doting on her constantly!
“So…are you ready?”
“Give me a second,” Ophelia grumbled, biting her lip in thought as she gazed out the front windshield of the van.
Her parents had parked the van in the darkness on the other side of the street; night had fallen just about an hour ago, and Ophelia had spent that time observing the residence they’d planned on ransacking.
“Your first job is to figure out a reliable point of entry…” her father began, leaning next to her from behind the seat.
“Dad!”
“John, let her figure it out,” her mother, Lois, urged to her husband.
“What, I can’t offer a little bit of advice?” he defended.
“I’ve got this,” Ophelia insisted, as she considered her options.
She and her parents had scouted out the house throughout the week; it was owned by a single mother named Kathy, along with her two young children, a boy & a girl. In addition, the family lived with their grandmother; who seemingly tended to the household while the mother was working & the children would be at school.
Ordinarily, Ophelia would have thought this would mean it’d have been better to conduct the robbery during the daytime; when both the mother & her children would be absent, and all they would have to handle would be the more elderly grandmother.
But her parents had insisted that their daughter get accustomed to wrangling a family at the same time…there would be instances where she might not be aware of other occupants inside the house, and would have to adapt. Plus, her mother had added, there was always the possibility that robbing the house during the day would result in one of the family members returning home unannounced; thus running the risk of alerting authorities & sabotaging the operation.
Best to have all the eggs in one basket, she had told her.
After a period of time spent reflecting, the daughter ventured an idea.
“Alright, so you know that one group of thieves that convinces the children in the home that they’re playing some sort of “cops & robbers” game?” Ophelia said to her parents.
“Hmm…yes, I think I’m familiar with that group,” her mother answered.
“Not really our style; it takes some convincing,” her father added.
“Yes; but they manage to pull off their robberies because they leverage the kids against the adults,” Ophelia insisted. “It’s around dinner time; so the mother is probably preoccupied…I think we should seize the kids first, then coerce the mother into surrendering.”
“What about the grandmother?” her mother pointed out.
“Right…” Ophelia muttered, thinking. “Alright, we go through the backdoor; if we come across her; we subdue her first…don’t want her warning anyone.”
“Good thinking,” her father approved. “All right, kiddo…this is your show; let’s get started!”
They exited the van, approaching the household along the outskirts of the street; edging around the perimeter of the property before entering the backyard. Dressed in their standard black attires, and their dark balaclavas hiding their entire face, save for some narrow eye-slits, they blended quite well among the shadows in the twilight hours. Upon creeping up to the back door, they found the door already unlocked; a common mistake often made in family households, probably done so by the children.
Their job made easier, Ophelia & her parents slowly opened the door and stepped inside...there was music playing from somewhere in the house; a classic station echoing from the kitchen area, most likely while the mother, Kathy, was preparing dinner.
Ophelia motioned her two parents inside to indicate the way was clear, and they began sneaking along the edges of the wall, making sure anyone crossing around a corner wouldn't spot them immediately.
Ophelia turned and shut the backdoor behind her...and there came the sound of a mature woman's voice calling from the hall:
"Kids? You aren't going back outside, I hope," said the voice, as footsteps approached the back room. "It's getting late; and we're about to have dinner."
Putting it together that the grandmother must be approaching, Ophelia quickly ducked behind a nearby couch, and prepared her satchel; while her parents flanked either side of the doorway.
Seconds later, an older woman with grey-streaked black hair done-up in a bun, wearing a red cardigan & black skirt shuffled into the room, taking a look around.
"Children?" she said, sounding confused. "Where did you scamper off to...?"
The grandmother's eyes swiveled over to the couch where Ophelia was crouched behind, and there came a moment's pause as the matronly lady thought she detected something was off.
"Is that you, dears...? MMPH!"
Ophelia's parents worked fast: her father quickly wrapped one of his big arms around the grandmother's torso, and clamped a gloved hand over the woman's mouth to prevent her from crying out. Ophelia's mother, meanwhile, grabbed the lady's legs; and together they both held the grandmother in place.
Filled with shock, the grandmother wobbled shakily as she attempted to yell beneath the father's hand. "Whrmph ymph!?" she cried.
"Start with the gag; and then tie her like we taught you," Ophelia's father whispered, as he kept the lady quiet with his palm.
Ophelia nodded, and quickly ran over with two white handkerchiefs. She balled one up in her fist, and as she raised it up to the grandmother's mouth, her father lifted his hand from the woman's face.
"Who are you!?" came a brief yell, quickly interrupted as Ophelia crammed the cloth into her mouth. "GRMPH!?"
Clearly not having expected to have the fabric stuffed into her mouth, the grandmother's yells were swiftly stifled; as Ophelia rapidly followed up by tying the second white cloth around her mouth, tightly gagging the lady with a knot behind her neck.
Now that he had both his hands free, Ophelia's father held the grandmother firm with both as he waited for Ophelia to begin tying her up. The daughter grabbed the length of white rope from her satchel, unwound it, and hastily began tying the grandmother's wrists behind her back.
"Whmnt's hppnmng...!?" the grandmother murmured, muted by the wad of cloth in her mouth, her eyes darting between her masked assailants.
"Be quiet, if you know what's good for you," Ophelia grunted, trying to focus on her knotwork she'd been practicing. She wound the cord around the lady's wrists; then cinched the coils down the middle so she couldn't slip her hands free. Satisfied, she picked up another rope, and leaned over to tie her ankles next.
"You're doing great," Ophelia mother whispered, as her daughter tied the grandmother's legs just above her feet, and then additional knots around her knees & thighs.
Ophelia's mother stood up once the grandmother could no longer move her legs, and her father let the grandmother go from his grip as Ophelia began looping the long stretch of white cord around her arms.
"Hmph!" the grandmother grunted, her eyes wide as she saw Ophelia wind the rope above & below her breast, pinning her arms to her sides as the rope hugged against her torso & cardigan sweater.
"Perfect technique," Ophelia's approved, as he watched his daughter finish tying the grandmother up.
"Get her down on the ground," Ophelia instructed, and her parents, true to their word that they would listen to their daughter's lead, obliged. Gently, the two robbers lowered the bewildered grandmother onto the carpet.
"Mmph! Hlmph!" the grandmother moaned from on her side, the gag doing an effective job of silencing the elder.
"That's one down, at least," Ophelia's mother stated, turning to her daughter.
"Someone needs to watch her," Ophelia reasoned. "I'll take the other with me to look for the two childre..."
"Grandma, what's going on?" came a voice from the doorway to the back room.
The family of burglars looked over to see a girl with long dark hair in a belted dress standing in the doorway. The daughter, appearing perhaps just about 14 or so, blinked with brown eyes at the three strangers dressed in black with masks, standing over her tied & gagged grandmother on the floor.
"What...who are these people...?" the daughter asked, not appearing to process what was occurring just yet.
"RMPH!" the grandmother tried to shout through the handkerchief gagging her, as she shook her head at her granddaughter.
With a catlike grace, Ophelia's mother quickly sped over to the doorway, scooping up the daughter with one arm, as she covered the girl's mouth with her gloved hand.
"Hmph!?" the girl sputtered, as she was brought over next to where the grandmother lay on the carpet.
"Go find the boy, and then secure the mother," Ophelia's mother hissed, as the daughter squirmed in her arm. "I'll keep these two here!"
Ophelia and her father nodded, and quickly ventured further into the house.
The music grew louder, as Ophelia heard clamor of pots & pans inside the kitchen. Peeking around a corner, Ophelia saw the mother, Kathy, had her back to them; engrossed in her preparation around a stove.
Not wanting to reveal themselves just then, Ophelia and her father navigated their way up the stairs of the house to the 2nd floor, seeking out the son.
The boy was sitting at a desk inside his bedroom, his back also facing the doorway. The black-haired boy was idly tapping a pencil against the notebook on the desk; a pair of white earbuds in his ears playing music.
Taking advantage of the boy not hearing them from the hallway, Ophelia took out a roll of white duct tape, and tore off a piece.
Pinching the duct tape in her fingers, Ophelia crept into the bedroom, approaching the oblivious boy...and then quickly dropped her hands down over his face, pulling the duct tape firmly over the boy's mouth.
"Gmph...!?" the boy mumbled, completely take by surprise by the gag, as he dropped his pencil.
"Get him out of the chair!" Ophelia commanded his father, as the two of them pulled the boy away from the desk & wrestled him out of the seat.
"Hrm ymph!?" the boy tried to say, still not accounting for the tape that had been put over his lips. "Lmph mm gmph!"
The earbuds fell from the son's ears as Ophelia's father held the boy against the rug with his belly down, and Ophelia secured his wrists with rope. The daughter then flipped the boy over, and tore off two more pieces of the white tape, smoothing them over the mumbling boy's mouth.
"Up we go," Ophelia said, as she and her father lifted the confused boy back to his feet, and dragged him out of the bedroom, and escorted him back down the stairs.
"Hlmph!" the boy tried to yell, crying out for help. "Mumph!"
"Honey, dinner will be ready shortly," the mother Kathy called back, as they approached the kitchen. "Go ahead and tell your sister."
"Nmph! Mumph!" the boy tried to warn his mother, as the trio appeared in the kitchen doorway.
Detecting something amiss with her son's muffled response, the mother slowly turned around...and gasped as she saw two masked figures standing in her kitchen, her son between them with white tape over his mouth.
"Billy!" the mother cried out, eyes veering between her son and the two intruders. "What happened!?"
"Turn off the stove," Ophelia barked, as the mother hastily complied. "This is a robbery!"
"What have you done to my son!?" Kathy demanded, still standing in her blue button-up and white cooking apron.
"Nothing...yet," Ophelia said ominously. "Put your hands in the air, and come with us."
Biting her lip, Kathy nodded her head & raised her hands above her head, as both the mother & her son were brought to where Ophelia mother was still wrangling the grandmother and the daughter.
The bedraggled grandmother groaned into her gag when she saw Kathy and Billy enter the room. "Oh, nmph!"
"Mom!" Kathy cried out upon seeing the grandmother on the floor. "What did they do to you!?"
Ophelia's mother, meanwhile, sat on the couch next to the daughter, hand still covering the girl's mouth. "Looks like your job went smoothly," she remarked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Ophelia replied, heart swelling with a tinge of pride as she tore some more strips of white tape from the roll of duct tape.
Ophelia's mother removed her hand from the girl's mouth.
Immediately, the girl spoke. "Mom!" she said breathlessly. "They tied up grandma!"
"I think they're here to rob us, Katie," Kathy said to her daughter.
The dark-haired girl looked to her brother. "They got you, too?" she observed.
Billy nodded, looking ashamed. "Thymv snck umph nm mmph," she said through the tape covering his mouth.
Ophelia approached the girl, bending over with the duct tape.
The daughter's eye widened. "What are you doing...?"
"Gagging you like your brother," Ophelia said to Katie.
"But...mmph!" Katie tried to plead, before the tape was pressed firmly over her mouth.
Ophelia added the remaining pieces of tape to complete the gag, tied her girl's wrists behind her back, and then turned back to the mother.
"Now then...let's go into the living room, shall we?"
--
"Mmph! Hlmph! Gmmph!"
The two siblings, Katie & Billy, grunted and writhed from their position on the living room carpet; as Ophelia patted her forehead through her balaclava, trying to wipe away some of the sweat that had formed there.
Ophelia had opted to tie the brother & sister back-to-back with ropes; before binding their legs together in front of them, at the ankles and the knees.
She'd left the white tape over their mouths; but for added measure, had also decided to tie two more white handkerchiefs as additional gags to prevent them from peeling the duct tape off.
"There we go," she said to them. "Now you're just like those meddling snoops from the old TV shows."
"Mmmmmmph...!!" the two kids mumbled through their gags, pulling against each other from their awkward position sitting against each other's backs.
"An utterly barbaric way to treat two children," chastised the grandmother, who was now sitting in the recliner.
Additional ropes now were wound around the back of the cushioned chair, holding the trussed-up grandmother in the seat. Ophelia had opted to allow the grandmother to speak, slipping the gag down from her mouth & taking out the stuffing so that both she and the mother, Kathy, could be addressed at the same time.
"They're safe," Ophelia countered to the elderly woman, as the two kids continued to squirm around on the floor. "That's all that matters."
"Why are you doing this to us?" Kathy asked, the mother addressing Ophelia from her sitting position.
Ophelia's parents had brought one of the dining room chairs into the living room, positioning it beside where the two children sat struggling on the ground. For now, Ophelia had merely bound Kathy's wrists behind the back of the chair, and then tied her ankles: with her family already incapacitated, the adolescent robber was confident that the mother wouldn't try and escape.
Ophelia looked to her parents, who stood idly in the doorway of the living room, watching her progress.
Her mother gave a "go on" gesture with one gloved hand; but said nothing through her mask.
"If it wasn't already clear: we're here to rob your house," Ophelia stated, turning to where Kathy sat. "Not everything you have; but definitely your jewelry, whatever cash you have stashed away, and any other similar belongings."
"None of which you deserve," scoffed the grandmother, turning up her nose as she looked away, the recliner creaking beneath her movement.
Ophelia gave the old woman an annoyed glance, but instead of responding; she took out some more rope from her bag and crossed behind where Kathy was seated in the dining chair.
"It's in your best interest to cooperate with us," Ophelia said to the mother, as she began tying the rope around her chest & arms; looping the material above & below her breasts. The mother let out a soft gasp as she was pulled tightly against the back of the chair.
"You...you already have me and my family," Kathy breathed, as Ophelia finished securing her. "What else can we even do?"
"You can tell us where you keep your money; for starters," Ophelia said to her, coming back around to face the mother, before stooping over to tie her knees together over her cooking apron. "Save us some trouble ransacking the place, looking for it."
"We...we use the bank," Kathy stammered, fidgeting against the ropes now holding her to the chair & finding that she had no slack to do so. "We don't have anything here in the house."
"Hmm...doubtful," Ophelia answered, standing up & placing her hands on her hips. "We'll find it regardless; but some good faith will get you some favorable results."
"Do not indulge these ruffians, Kathy," the grandmother interjected from behind Ophelia.
Ophelia rolled her eyes, and picked up the roll of white duct tape she'd left on the table. "I think we've heard enough from the elder, yes?"
Ophelia strode over to the recliner, ripping off some of the duct tape before plucking the damp rag from the scowling grandmother's lap.
"Time to be quiet," Ophelia teased, lifting up the balled-up rag.
"Kathy, do not let this young lady...! MMPH!"
The grandmother winced as Ophelia shoved the wad of cloth back inside her mouth, and pressed several pieces of the white tape over the matronly woman's lips. "More of a proper gag, this time," Ophelia told her, as she smoothed the tape in place.
"Grmph mmph!" the grandmother retched angrily, before Ophelia untied the dangling cloth from around her neck, went behind the reclining chair, and pulled the gag tightly back over the old lady's taped mouth.
"Hmmph!" the grandmother grimaced, recliner pulling back slightly with her as Ophelia finished gagging her.
"There now," Ophelia breathed, as the old woman rocked furiously in the chair, her words now indecipherable. "Where were we?"
She went back over to the Kathy, who was staring lamentably at her now-silenced mother & her two children.
"There's...there a small case in my closet; in the master bedroom," Kathy said slowly, slumping a bit in the chair. "At the back, on a shelf above where the clothes are hanging."
"I assume there's a combination lock on this case?" Ophelia ventured.
Kathy nodded, and gave the numbers to unlock the briefcase.
Ophelia looked to her parents. Her father nodded, and headed up the stairs to find the hidden stash.
"Very good," Ophelia remarked, and produced a white handkerchief from her pocket before approaching the mother.
"Please, promise not to hurt us...GMPH."
Ophelia forced the white rag into the mother's mouth, and proceeded to tape the stuffing in place.
"Here's what's going to happen," Ophelia explained to the wide-eyed mother, patting her on one cheek after the last piece of white tape covered her mouth. "You're going to sit here with your family, nice & comfortable; and you're not going to cause any trouble."
"Mmmph," Kathy tried to say, but Ophelia lifted a finger to her lips.
"Shush," she said, pulling out another cloth, and going behind where the mother sat. "You'll be tied & gagged for a few hours; then when we leave, we'll notify the authorities to come and get you. Simple."
Ophelia pulled the handkerchief over Kathy's duct-taped lips, and finished knotting the gag in place. The mother let out a defeated murmur, slumping forward as far as the ropes holding her against the chair would allow.
Ophelia dusted off her hands, the hostages observing as the teenage kidnapper crossed the room to approach her mother.
“So?” she asked her mom expectantly. “How’d that go?”
“Just about perfect,” Lois answered, looking over her daughter’s shoulder at the tied up family; who had begun to wriggle in futility. “Your ropework was spot-on; and it looks like nobody here is going to be raising the alarm any time soon.”
Her mother considered a moment. “The grandmother was getting a bit mouthy for a second there,” she reviewed thoughtfully. “She could have talked the mother out of cooperating with us.”
Ophelia shrugged, looking back at the elderly woman in the recliner. “Not as bad if I hadn’t used the duct tape,” Ophelia simply said.
“Mrrmph!” the grandmother growled in frustration, giving the recliner a few more rocks as she angrily protested their assessment of her behavior.
Ophelia father returned shortly after; a bulging satchel tucked underneath his arm. “I cleared the case of the money,” he reported, patting the bag. “Some jewelry, too. The mother’s information was accurate.”
“See?” Ophelia said the mother seated in the chair. “A little trust goes a long way!”
“Hmmph,” Kathy mumbled back, nodding slowly in compliance.
Ophelia looked at the collection of hostages. “We’ve gotten what we’ve come here for,” she then said to them. “We’ll be going now…but a few things, first.”
“Your first instinct is going to be to try and escape,” Ophelia said. “We can’t really stop you…but just so you know: we’ll be placing an anonymous, pre-recorded message to the police sending them to this address once we’re far away from here.”
“So if I were you, I’d just sit here, relax, and keep those ropes & gags on,” Ophelia said, pretending to inspect her fingernails; despite her wearing gloves. “Less exhausting.”
The trussed-up family gave each other looks, unable to respond currently with the cloth tied over their faces.
“Think it over, at least,” Ophelia said to them, turning to leave with her parents. “You’ve been wonderful hosts.”
The family mumbled in distinctly behind them as Ophelia left with her own family; locking the door behind them & strolling back to where they had parked their van.
“You did fantastic, kid!” her father praised, giving his daughter a pat on the shoulder.
“I’d say you’re ready for a solo test now,” Ophelia’s mother added, as they piled into the vehicle.
Ophelia said nothing as they started the engine; but internally, she felt a growing excitement.
Finally, she thought to herself…a chance for her to earn without mom or dad doting on her constantly!
i find elderly people in bondage gross but still great work man keep going.
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harveygasson
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 1371
- Joined: 6 years ago
Really great story! Interesting to see the family dynamic from the robbers side rather than the victims. Looking forward to the next part.
Well I don't often post which is kind of a shame because honestly so far I like your story, it's kind of amusing to have this "family business" point of view, it does make a touch of comedy and it's kinda remind me Family Vanished minus the long sequestration. Keep the good work !
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Detective-Gag
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 4 years ago
I owe the concept entirely to the requester; otherwise I might not have been able to think of this “family business” angle.endofstar wrote: ↑1 month ago Well I don't often post which is kind of a shame because honestly so far I like your story, it's kind of amusing to have this "family business" point of view, it does make a touch of comedy and it's kinda remind me Family Vanished minus the long sequestration. Keep the good work !
The final part is coming along.
Yes, of course, credits to the requester but you are the Feather of this story, and I gotta say that I really like your style for each of your work.Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month agoI owe the concept entirely to the requester; otherwise I might not have been able to think of this “family business” angle.endofstar wrote: ↑1 month ago Well I don't often post which is kind of a shame because honestly so far I like your story, it's kind of amusing to have this "family business" point of view, it does make a touch of comedy and it's kinda remind me Family Vanished minus the long sequestration. Keep the good work !
The final part is coming along.
Maybe I will try to write a story by myself one day but my English is still in progress.
Or if you are free for a request, one day, it would be a pleasure!
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Detective-Gag
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 4 years ago
The requests are kind of piling up…and eventually I have this series I’m going to be writing regularly…but feel free to make a request, regardless (PM me or leave it in the Request for Everyone forum).endofstar wrote: ↑1 month agoYes, of course, credits to the requester but you are the Feather of this story, and I gotta say that I really like your style for each of your work.Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month agoI owe the concept entirely to the requester; otherwise I might not have been able to think of this “family business” angle.endofstar wrote: ↑1 month ago Well I don't often post which is kind of a shame because honestly so far I like your story, it's kind of amusing to have this "family business" point of view, it does make a touch of comedy and it's kinda remind me Family Vanished minus the long sequestration. Keep the good work !
The final part is coming along.
Maybe I will try to write a story by myself one day but my English is still in progress.
Or if you are free for a request, one day, it would be a pleasure!
Every now and then, I take a break from one story to try out these requests.
Oh my, I didn't know you had already a lot of request. I think I will leave it in the request for everyone, I really don't want to add more work to you. I will wait my turn for another request when you will be more free. Anyway, once again, I really like your writing style. Looking forward for the final part !Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month agoThe requests are kind of piling up…and eventually I have this series I’m going to be writing regularly…but feel free to make a request, regardless (PM me or leave it in the Request for Everyone forum).endofstar wrote: ↑1 month agoYes, of course, credits to the requester but you are the Feather of this story, and I gotta say that I really like your style for each of your work.Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month ago
I owe the concept entirely to the requester; otherwise I might not have been able to think of this “family business” angle.
The final part is coming along.
Maybe I will try to write a story by myself one day but my English is still in progress.
Or if you are free for a request, one day, it would be a pleasure!
Every now and then, I take a break from one story to try out these requests.
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KP Presents
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 457
- Joined: 6 years ago
Hmmm - where have I heard that idea before...Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month ago
“Alright, so you know that one group of thieves that convinces the children in the home that they’re playing some sort of “cops & robbers” game?” Ophelia said to her parents.
“Hmm…yes, I think I’m familiar with that group,” her mother answered.
“Not really our style; it takes some convincing,” her father added.
“Yes; but they manage to pull off their robberies because they leverage the kids against the adults,” Ophelia insisted. “It’s around dinner time; so the mother is probably preoccupied…I think we should seize the kids first, then coerce the mother into surrendering.”
Read stories of ordinary women in peril at www.kppresents.com
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Detective-Gag
- Centennial Club
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 4 years ago
Ha…I’m very glad you recognized that reference.KP Presents wrote: ↑1 month agoHmmm - where have I heard that idea before...Detective-Gag wrote: ↑1 month ago
“Alright, so you know that one group of thieves that convinces the children in the home that they’re playing some sort of “cops & robbers” game?” Ophelia said to her parents.
“Hmm…yes, I think I’m familiar with that group,” her mother answered.
“Not really our style; it takes some convincing,” her father added.
“Yes; but they manage to pull off their robberies because they leverage the kids against the adults,” Ophelia insisted. “It’s around dinner time; so the mother is probably preoccupied…I think we should seize the kids first, then coerce the mother into surrendering.”
Great home invasion story with family members tied and tightly gagged.