An
Evening at the Red Dragon Club
The Red Dragon Club was located down a dark alleyway, right in the centre of
London’s Chinatown district. The entrance was designed so that you would not
know it was there unless you were looking for it. It resembled a grotty old
fire exit with green paint peeling off the woodwork. But if you were to walk
inside you would be confronted with two burly security guards, who would only
let you past if you presented them with your invitation, a black slip of paper
on which a red dragon was inscribed. The bouncers would then stand aside and
let you past into the interior.
The main area was dimly lit with red tinted light bulbs, barely
reflecting off the jet black leather furniture. Dotted around the room were
priceless Ming Vases on pedestals and valuable Chinese artwork hanging off the
ruby red walls. The guests of this exclusive establishment were required to
dress extravagantly, the men in tuxedos and the ladies in expensive cheongsam
dresses.
It was the small hours of the morning, and the venue was now devoid of
clientele. Only the staff remained. Mei-Zhen, a mid-twenties Chinese girl
dressed in an emerald china dress with the hem cut off at the knees, with dark
nylons and ankle strap, high heel pumps, had just been about to lock the
takings in the safe and go home. Yet upon entering the head office she came
face to face with a dark haired Caucasian girl in her own blue coloured
cheongsam dress, rifling through the desk of the clubs proprietor. Yet Mei-Zhen
didn’t call the police; instead she called for her two fellow bar girls,
Huilang and Yuehai, and together they cornered the intruder.
This girl didn’t go down without a struggle, but the three Chinese
bargirls knew how to handle rowdy troublemakers, and soon got the intruder
under control. Huilang went to fetch the owner, Yuehai to access the database
to find out the girls name, while Mei-Zhen sat on a bar stool applying
anti-sceptic to the scratches inflicted on her cheek during the struggle. She
muttered Chinese swear words under her breath as the cotton pad stung her skin,
angrily eyeing the bound and gagged girl seated on the opposing sofa.
MI5 agent Penny Powell snarled over the red cloth pulled between
her teeth, her shoulders alternating up and down as she tried writhing out of
the ropes pulled about her upper body and keeping her hands tied behind her
back. The bright blue of her cheongsam dress and her long opera gloves stood
right out against the black leather of the sofa she’d been shoved into. The
long flaps of her dress were swept to one side, revealing plenty of her tan
nylons and blue ankle strap sandals, in addition to the ropes wound about her
knees and ankles. Her long raven hair had spilt out of its bun, and now tumbled
over her shoulders. She wanted to be out of here by the time the Red Dragon’s
proprietor arrived.
She didn’t manage it. The main entrance opened and in walked a
Chinese lady in her forties. She too wore a china dress, jet black with red
trim and a red dragon embroidered into the front, it hugged her slim figure as
she walked over on four inch high heel pumps. Her lips were coloured ruby red
and her face had so much makeup her skin was coloured a powdery white. Her name
was Xifeng, and she was as dangerous as she was glamorous.
She was carrying with her a vase, which Penny could tell was of
vast expense. She snarled at her captor through her gag as the Chinese lady
formed a malicious smile with her rouged lips and said, “This what you were
looking for?”
“Gggvvv ttthhh tttt mmmggg!” Penny roared, stamping her high
heeled sandals in a pool of spilt vodka and lime, wanting nothing more than to
wrench this vase out of her grip.
Xifeng laughed loudly at her, before looking about her
private club wistfully. “I will miss this venue. I’d forged an enjoyable life
for myself here in London, not to mention profitable. But if MI5 are going to
start interfering then I have no choice but to relocate.”
Penny’s hazel eyes widened. If Xifeng knew her true identity, then
all bets were off.
Her immaculately varnished black nails caressing the antique
china, Xifeng added, “But at least you won’t be getting your hands on my latest
investment. I have many interested parties in the information this vase
contains. A list of British agents working undercover should raise me enough
funds to start afresh. Which is why I can’t allow you to run off with it.”
“What shall we do with her mistress?” asked Mei-Zhen over
Penny’s muffled protests.
“Stick her in the kitchen freezer while we clear this
building,” Xifeng informed her loyal servant. “Who knows, maybe the British
Government will manage to find her before she succumbs to hypothermia!”
“DDNNNNTTT YYYYY DDDRRRR. LLLLTTTT MMMMGGG TTTT FFFFF
TTHHSS!” demanded Penny as loudly as her gag would permit. But no matter how
hard she kicked her bound feet or twisted her tightly fixed arms she could not
break free from the grasp of her captors, as Xifeng grabbed her by the feet and
Mei-Zhen underneath her arms. They were stronger than they looked, and sharing
her weight she was hauled into the kitchen. Penny’s eyes widened as she saw the
freezer door getting closer and she writhed about like a girl possessed.
Yet her efforts were all in vain. Mei-Zhen pulled the freezer door
handle and the three women were hit by a blast of frigid air, causing the flaps
of their cheongsam dresses to flap in the breeze. The two Chinese ladies took a
couple of steps into the freezer, then unceremoniously dumped the grunting
Penny onto the cold, stainless steel floor amid a cluster of ice crystals.
“Hope you take the time to, as you westerners say, chill out!”
Xifeng laughed at the bucking raven haired girl, just before she slammed the
door shut and sealed Penny in the freezing darkness.
Ignoring the indignant screams from beyond the white coloured
door, Xifeng told her servant in Chinese, “We must evacuate this building
within the hour. Find Huilang and Yuehai and gather my most prized possessions.
I will go to the office and erase the computer hard drives. Go!”
Mei-Zhen didn’t need telling twice. Spinning on her high heels
she strode out of the kitchen in the direction of the store in which all of
Xifeng’s valuables were stored; incredibly expensive ornaments traded on the
black market, earning the woman a small fortune. The rest of her earnings were
gained from the transfer of confidential information to her contacts back in
China. They were all aware this would make them targets of governments and spy
agencies across the globe, but the financial rewards were worth not being able
to settle in the same country for much more than a year.
They all knew the drill, having enacted it countless times before
both for practice and for real. Which was why Mei-Zhen knew something was wrong
the moment she stepped into the antiquities vault. There was no sound of
activity; of goods being safely loaded into carry cases. Instead there was only
silence, and the occasional grunt.
Mei-Zhen walked around a metal shelving unit, and gave a gasp of
astonishment at the sight of Huilang and Yuehai sitting back to back on the
floor, dressed in their china dresses the same colour and style as her own. But
now their nylon covered legs were bound with strong white rope at the ankles
and knees. Their hands were bound behind their backs in a box shape, and
attached to more ropes surrounding their upper bodies like a harness. Black
rags had been pulled into their mouths, cleave gagging them, and another two
had been pulled over their eyes as blindfolds. Yet despite not being able to
see they had still heard the sound of Mei-Zhen’s high heels as she approached,
and were facing her direction crying out though their gags, trying to warn her
away.
Mei-Zhen only then noticed the shelving units on which all of
Xifeng’s possessions were stored were now completely bare. But the goods were
not stored in their silver carry cases, but a bundle of black rucksacks
positioned beside the bound and gagged girls. Mei-Zhen knew what this meant.
Penny was not the only intruder to their establishment that night.
Mei-Zhen realised this only too late, just before she felt the
steel tip of a pistol being placed right in the small of her back. She
instinctively put her hands up, at which a gloved hand grabbed her shoulder and
spun her round. Mei-Zhen could only gasp when she saw the face of the
intruders. Or rather, the masked faces of the intruders. Masks belonging to an
infamous gang of thieves who had been at large in Britain for as long as she’d
been living there. Mei-Zhen gulped, knowing what was coming next, and knowing
full well there was to be no escape for her this time.
Xifeng was unaware of events transpiring in her vault. She was instead
in her office sending one last encrypted email. She typed as fast as her long,
immaculately varnished red fingernails would allow. She typed the words, ‘Been
discovered and must leave immediately. Will leave the vase at the pre-arranged
drop off but twenty four hours early. Will contact you for payment once I’m
settled in a new location.’ She hit send with a thump of the keyboard, and
activated the computers blue screen. Then without hesitation, she started the
process of wiping the hard drive. Not even the most skilled computer expert
would be able to find any evidence once it was finished.
Sighing, she got up, gathered what she could into her shoulder
bag, and gave one last scour of her office to ensure there was nothing
remaining which MI5 could use to track her. When satisfied that she had
everything she needed, she grabbed the expensive Ming Vase to have caused her
all this trouble and left the office, turning the lights out as she went.
She hadn’t taken two steps into the club when she found herself
staring right into the barrel of a pistol.
Xifeng gave a start before stopping, completely caught off guard
by the intruder brandishing this weapon at her. It wasn’t Penny; nor was it a
policeman or operative of MI5. Instead it was a figure dressed completely in
grey, from their all in one catsuit to the gloves on their hands. Hoods had
been pulled over their heads and hair, and their face was concealed behind a
plain white mask that closely resembled those dolls from her home country. The
only physical detail Xifeng could discern was that the intruder had the
physique of a woman.
Xifeng also recognised them from the news reports, and hiding her
surprise with a callous laugh she said, “Well this night is really getting
interesting. Not only have the secret service seen fit to pay me a visit, but
the famous China Doll Gang too!”
The China Doll brandishing the gun said nothing. She merely
tilted her head to one side.
Xifeng licked her red lips. “Of course, you’re not really
the talkative type are you? That’s good, because I don’t have the time for idle
conversation.” She then tried to walk past the doll, but she responded by
tracking Xifeng’s movements with her pistol, not letting the Chinese lady out
of its sights.
“So that’s how it’s going to be is it?” Xifeng remarked, her already
fraught patience being tested to its limit. “Listen to me you masked deviant. I
know powerful people straight out of your nightmares. You’re out of your
league.” Yet the doll did not move, her posture rigid and her feet fixed in
position. She wasn’t going anywhere. Obviously she had powerful friends of her
own. Xifeng was now getting incredibly irritated, and with real venom in her
voice she snapped, “This is your last warning. If you and your gang don’t leave
my premises then I’ll…”
Xifeng trailed off. In her anger and surprise she’d missed a very
important fact. This doll was just one of three. So where were her friends?
One of them quickly revealed herself as she burst into the main
club, bringing her prisoner with her. Mei-Zhen was squeaking furiously behind
her cleave gag, her shoulders alternating against the ropes encircling her
upper body and keeping her hands behind her back. Xifeng stared at her bound
servant and began to realise the odds were now really not in her favour.
“If you make me miss my flight, I will ensure that you regret it,”
Xifeng remarked with a resigned, yet bitter tone. The two dolls simply shook
their heads at her in unison.
While all this was taking place, Penny was doing her utmost to
stop herself shivering into submission, as she rolled over the icy freezer
floor trying to wriggle out of her bonds. Her legs darted in and out from in
between the flaps of her Cheongsam dress as she tried kicking off the ropes securing
her ankles and knees. She wasn’t having much luck there, so instead she focused
on her hands. She was glad she’d chosen to wear her long blue opera gloves
reaching over her elbows, protecting her not just from the biting ropes but the
biting cold. They also gave her extra slack, and with a couple of experimental
tugs she realised that with her training it wouldn’t take long until freedom
was achieved. Just as well, because in temperatures of minus 15 degrees
centigrade and below she knew she wouldn’t have much time to stave off
hypothermia.
She hauled herself up into a sitting position, and twisted her
hands around and around while picking at the knot with her gloved fingertips.
She gave a shake of her long raven hair, flicking out the ice crystals that had
got tangled in her tresses. The constant hum of the fan drowned out her gagged
mumbles as she worked. The icy air attacked areas of her exposed skin and
seemed to seep right into her very soul. Yet Penny was famed among MI5 recruits
her age for her resilience, and eventually her patience was rewarded. The knot
binding her hands slipped loose and her hands jerked free. Immediately she
pulled off the ropes encircling her torso, yanked away her cleave gag and
swiftly untied her legs.
Picking herself up off the floor she teetered gingerly to the
freezer door on her high heels, rubbing her torso to warm herself up.
Mercifully the door wasn’t locked or blocked, and with a press of the release
button the door was flung open, and she stumbled out into the wonderfully warm
kitchen. Penny stood by the grill for a few seconds warming herself, while
unbuckling her high heel sandals. She needed a swift and silent exit, and she
concealed her shoes under the salad counter knowing they’d just hinder her. She
knew she could pick them up later when she returned with reinforcements.
Walking in just her nylon-clad feet she made for the large swing
door with a round porthole window which led from the kitchen into the main
club. She hesitated before walking through, cautiously peeping through the
window to check the coast was clear. It was just as well she did, otherwise
she’d have walked right into a similar predicament to Mei-Zhen and Xifeng.
The two Chinese women were bound back to back, arms pulled around
each other’s body and fixed against the opposing lady’s waist. They were both
gagged with thin black cloths pulled between their bright red lips, and looked
like they were protesting vehemently as the hooded and masked women bound their
legs at the ankles and knees. Penny recognised the dolls immediately from MI5
intel, so she was fully aware of what she was dealing with.
Penny couldn’t help but smirk at the reversal of her captor’s
fortunes. But it didn’t do much to change her situation. If these intruders
caught her she had no doubt she’d end up bound and gagged once again. She
didn’t fancy that happening twice in one evening. But those two dolls were
blocking her one exit. Then she saw it, the emerald coloured Ming Vase that
she’d been sent here to retrieve, resting on a tabletop a good twenty feet away
from the dolls and their captives. The information it contained was of utmost
importance. Maybe it didn’t matter if she got out of here, as long as that vase
did.
Penny hatched her plan, and unfastened her left earring. Clasping
the small blue gem in her fingertips, she braced herself against the door,
pictured the nearest escape route in her head, took a deep breath, and then
barged through.
She ignored the muffled gasps of surprise from Xifeng and
Mei-Zhen, nor did she stop when the dolls stood up in alarm. She simply ran
over to the vase, dropped her earring into it, before she turned around to make
for the exit. Only to find herself staring straight at the third member of the
China Doll Gang in the doorway, blocking her escape. Penny froze, knowing there
was no way out now, and holding her hands above her head she admitted defeat.
Soon the hands of the two other dolls were on her shoulders, and
Penny was pushed onto her knees. The dolls worked swiftly, one gagging her with
another strip of black cloth while the other pulled her arms behind her back in
a box shape and bound them together. Within minutes more ropes were being
pulled about her torso and fixed to her bound wrists in a harness, while the
third doll grabbed her ankles and tied them together snugly. Then for a final
flourish she was pushed onto her front, and a long length of rope was applied
first to her arm bonds, and then to her feet. When it was pulled taught Penny
was left in a tight, immovable hogtie.
The dolls stood up and examined their latest victims in silence.
When sure they weren’t going anywhere, they walked over to their stash of loot
concealed in their dark backpacks and slung it over their shoulders. “Dddddnnnttt
tttkkk ttthhhh vvvsss!” Penny growled at them, rocking from side to side in her
hogtie with her feet jiggling about in mid-air. The three dolls looked first at
her and saw her staring wide eyed at the Ming Vase. Then the central doll
grabbed the antique in her gloved hands and picked it up.
“NNMMMM NNNTTT TTTHHHTTTT!” chorused Xifeng and Mei-Zhen in
horror. Yet no amount of conjoined wriggling and rocking could stop the
intruders from walking to the doorway with their payday in their hands. The
three China Dolls stopped in the doorway, looked back at the three bound and
gagged women, gave one last unified tilt of their heads to one side, before
they disappeared into the night.
Xifeng and Mei-Zhen struggled in their desperation to escape, arching
their backs and stamping their heels on the floor without success. Yet Penny
only shifted herself on the spot, trying to make herself as comfortable as her
hogtie would allow. She knew full well that back-up would arrive in an hour or
so when she failed to report in. And when they did she would be able to track
the signal being emitted by the secret transmitter concealed within her earring
to wherever the China Dolls had taken it. As Penny glanced over at her fellow
bound and gagged prisoners, she realised that there was a strong chance it
wouldn’t just be Xifeng and her accomplices who she’d be putting behind bars
tonight.
Two hours later Penny, now untied and changed into a dark
tracksuit, was tying her hair into a ponytail as her fellow agent, the blonde
haired Simon Grant, pulled their car up outside an old warehouse in the London
docklands. “The signal is coming from in there!” he remarked as he turned off
the ignition, while Penny withdrew a standard issue pistol from the glove compartment.
“Perfect!” she remarked as she clipped in the magazine. “I’ve a
score to settle with those dolls!”
Simon gave a sigh as he readied his own weapon. “You sure about
this Penny? I mean, you were tied up for over an hour.” Penny let him know her
answer when she flung open the car door and ran out into the night. Simon swore
under his breath as he leapt out to join her.
Together they entered the old warehouse, littered with empty beer
bottles and strewn with graffiti. It was hardly the most obvious location for
the hideout of one of the country’s most infamous gangs, but Penny surmised
that was how they’d kept it secret for so long. At last, the location and
identities of the China Doll Gang was about to be uncovered.
Both Simon and Penny progressed slowly, taking their time to check
every shadow and pillar for signs of their quarry. But the warehouse was silent
with no sign of life. In fact, the only thing they saw which indicated that
someone had been there recently rested on a rusted chair, an open brown parcel.
Simon covered Penny while she emptied its contents into her open palm. Her blue
gemstone earring, a USB stick, and a sealed letter.
Simon’s eyes lit up when he saw the USB stick. “Is that the
data you were sent in to retrieve?”
Penny nodded in confirmation. “But where is the vase it was
hidden inside?” she pondered.
“Well at least those agents identities are now safely back in MI5
hands,” Simon remarked. “I’ll contact base and let them know!”
As Simon went to radio their superiors Penny stared at the letter
in her hands. Tutting in frustration she ripped open the envelope and pulled
out its contents. It was a single sheet of paper, on which was written with
immaculate handwriting:-
'To the girl we encountered at the Red Dragon Club, we
apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you. We do not normally rob
a location under surveillance by MI5, but Xifeng’s antiques proved too tempting
a target. We have left you the data you were after, but we’re sure the good
people of MI5 won’t begrudge us making off with the rest of her possessions.
Don’t waste tax payer’s money trying to find us, and may we never meet again.
The China Doll Gang.'
Blanche's Latest Victim
Offices of Fulham Finance – April 2nd – 3:36pm
Blanche swept a loose strand of her slicked back, bright white hair behind her
ear, engrossed in the music reverberating from her headphones as Nabucco
desperately sung out in despair at the thought of his daughter Fenena being
taken away in chains. She breathed in deeply at the same time he hit the high
note, revelling in his luscious Baritone voice. And then, just as the climax
was being reached, a muffled grunt sounded from right behind her, completely
spoiling the moment.
Irritated, Blanche spun around to glare at the red headed woman
she’d bound to a support pillar, and remarked with her strong northern accent,
“If you spoil one more note of Verdi’s exquisite composition then I’ll bind you
up so tight you won’t feel your fingers for months.”
The very beautiful Penelope would have loved to retort that she
was more into West End shows than high opera, but the white coloured ballgag
wedged between her teeth and buckled behind her neck prevented her. As did the
intertwining ropes fixed and knotted about her torso, keeping her in an
immovable standing position against the pillar, her hands pulled about the
support and fixed together tightly. Penelope wriggled the ropes stretched
against her black turtleneck jumper, black leather skirt, sheer dark tights and
black leather boots. The leather of her footwear squeaked against the cord as
she twisted her ankles vainly, her red fingernails prying for a loose knot to
pick at. She grunted and groaned in frustration but Blanche had her exactly
where she wanted her.
Blanche, dressed herself in a white sweater, cream coloured
trousers and bright white loafers, couldn’t help staring at her latest victim
with great smugness. The last time she’d captured a debutante to the Kidnap
Club (also by the name of Penelope) she’d got cocky, and before she knew it the
tables were turned on her. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
After nabbing this mysterious lady she’d taken her to this office block, which
she knew would be deserted over the weekend. Now it was only a question of
waiting for the tracker held within her recently issued mobile phone to go off;
then she’d abandon this interfering wench to be found by Vera’s boys and the
prize money would be as good as hers.
That was, until she heard the sound of a door slamming on the
floor below.
Both her and the bound Penelope reacted with surprise. Blanche
immediately silenced the warbling opera singer on her MP3 player, then
cautiously she crept through the empty office cubicles. Had she been followed?
Had Vera’s boys found her already? If so then she needed to get out of here as
fast and as silently as possible.
Then she heard the sound of footsteps within a nearby cubicle,
accompanied by the noise of rustling paper. Blanche’s interest was piqued, and
kneeling to the floor she silently crept to the source of the noise, and poked
her head around the cubicle wall. She had to restrain a gasp of surprise when
she saw a figure dressed head to toe in black, their face covered by a black
balaclava with dark gloves over their hands. They were searching for something
in the office paperwork, and judging from their attire Blanche could tell this
was more than an out of hours office visit.
Her suspicions were confirmed when a gloved hand clamped over her
mouth and another wrenched her hand into the small of her back.
“Over here! I found a snoop!” yelled a female voice from directly
behind her.
“GGGGTTTT TTTHHH HHHLLL FFF MMMGGG!” Blanche roared through the
leather clad palm gagging her, putting up a tremendous struggle and making life
very difficult for her attacker. But the balaclava wearing intruder she’d been
spying on rushed to her accomplice’s aid, grabbing Blanche’s flailing feet.
Then another masked figure appeared and helped pin her hands behind her back.
Blanche was no match for the combined strength of these three people, and she
could do nothing to stop herself being pinned to the floor face down.
Then she felt the rough touch of plastic against her wrists,
followed by a harsh zip as a plastic tie was applied, binding them palm to
palm. Blanche snarled in frustration, but no amount of fury on her part could
prevent additional ties being applied around her ankles and knees. Then the
hand gag was removed, but only so that a wash cloth could be stuffed inside her
mouth, which was sealed inside by strips of clear tape.
“Llllttt mmmmm gggmmmm!” Blanche roared at her balaclava wearing
captors as they stood over her writhing, bucking form. At first she thought
she’d been caught by Vera’s goons, but she scrapped that theory when she saw
that every member of this gang was a woman.
Suddenly a fourth female voice shouted from beyond the cubicles.
“Hey there’s another woman bound and gagged over here!”
Blanche redoubled her efforts to free herself as the intruders
stared down at her. “Been having some fun eh?” one of them asked. “Free that
other woman and bring her over!”
“NNNNMMM DDDNNTTT!” Blanche roared in frustration. But there was
nothing she could do, and within minutes the unbound Penelope staggered into
view.
“Oh God thank you so much!” the red headed woman gasped. “I was
just walking home from work on Friday and this woman kidnapped me! She’s
holding me until my husband pays the ransom.”
“Not anymore she isn’t,” said one of the intruders. “Get out of
here, and give us an hour to get what we’ve come for before calling the police.
We’ll be sure to leave your abductor here for them.”
“NNNNNMMM!” roared Blanche in wide eyed outrage. She knew full
well Vera’s boys would find her long before the police arrived. If she didn’t
get out of these bonds by then it would be another thousand pound stake down
the drain. She wriggled and writhed as Penelope made for the emergency exit,
and could have sworn she saw her previous captive wink at her before she left.
The Kidnap Club – April 3rd – 11:30pm
“Another debutante victory,” Vera mused as she handed over the suitcase of
winnings to Penelope. “You wait ages for one and then two come along at once.
Congratulations my dear. Your reputation is deserving indeed. The way you took
out Elektra was remarkable.”
“Thank you Vera,” smiled Penelope. “But I did get a huge slice of
luck when the Fulham Finance building was targeted by those robbers.”
“Hmmm yes indeed,” Vera replied with a raised eyebrow. “Though I
strongly believe luck and skill often go hand in hand. Well done either way.
What will you spend your £35,000 on?”
“Oh I’ve got a couple of new dresses in mind,” smiled Penelope.
“Pleasure as always Vera.”
“The feeling is mutual Penelope dear. Send my regards to Madame,”
Vera replied as she embraced Penelope gently. Then, with a shake of her red
hair, Penelope turned on her heel and strode out of the Kidnap Club. She passed
by the gang of twenty four bound and gagged contestants kneeling to her right,
all of whom she had beaten to prize fund. She couldn’t restrain her smile at
the sight of Blanche bound and ball gagged on front row, her eyes narrow and
full of fury.
Yet there was nothing to stop Penelope walk out into the night.
She waited by the front entrance until she saw the headlights of a jet black
sedan flash at her. She practically skipped over, money laden briefcase
swinging at her side, then clasped the door handle and sat down on the back
seats.
A darkly dressed young woman with blonde hair was waiting for her
on the opposing seat. She smiled knowingly at Penelope as she applied her
seatbelt. “A productive week then Penny?” she asked.
“I’ve certainly had less productive weeks Lily,” Penelope replied
brightly as she opened the case and saw the bundles of twenty pound notes lined
up inside.
“Have any trouble handling the other contestants?” Lily asked
with her eyebrow raised.
Thumbing the corner of a big bundle of notes with her fingers
Penelope replied, “Let’s say I owe those robbers in the Fulham Finance building
a decent cut of my profits.” Then, she looked right at into her colleagues
eyes, returned her smile, and then threw over a bundle of notes worth £5,000
into her lap. “You and the girls did a marvellous job dealing with Blanche,”
Penelope told her as Lily eagerly checked her cut.
“You know I like to keep an eye on you,” Lily laughed. “It was my
pleasure.”
“Fancy going into Central London tomorrow and blowing our winnings
on dresses?” asked Penelope.
Suddenly looking serious, Lily pulled out a sealed envelope from
the side pocket and handed it over. “I’m afraid business must come before
pleasure. Madame has summoned us. She has an important job lined up.”
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