Seventies Bound

The smartly dressed man looked across the table at the visitor, tapping his pen on the wood before he said “you do know what it is you are asking for?”

“I do – but I need to fulfil this obligation. I am not saying I will not miss them, but – I am desperate…”

The first man nodded, as he said “well then, we shall execute the request. Do you wish to know the details?”

The visitor shook his head as he stood up and walked out, passing the secretary – her long black hair was falling over the white crochet cardigan, which she was wearing over a brown jersey, and a matching suede mini skirt, the laced brown boots completing the outfit.

“Sir – I know this may be out of line, but…”

“We do not do this as a rule – and I know Suzanne,” he said quietly. “Have Derek come into the office – and I want you to prepare a file for forwarding to certain parties. Here are the details.”

He handed his secretary a paper with writing on it, and she nodded as she said “thank you for this, Sir – I am relieved we are going to do the right thing…”

Carole sat by her pool, sipping from her glass of lemonade as she read the latest issue of Woman. The forty year old woman had yellow blonde hair cut into a bob, and was wearing a purple leather waistcoat and knee length skirt, a long sleeved yellow blouse under the waistcoat. Her outfit was completed by her long black leather boots, the material hugging her legs like a second skin and with a three inch tapered heel.

Her husband had left for his job at the city as usual, but Carole was concerned – he had seemed more distant recently, colder, and it was as if he had something on his mind…

The telephone ringing caught her attention as she stood up and went inside their home, walking down the corridor and picking the handset up from the Bakelite bracket.

“Hello, Windsor 2580?

“Hi Jackie – are you still free to come round?

“Yeah, he’s in the city – and he was just as cold this morning. I really need the company – I can’t shake this feeling something is very wrong indeed.

“Good – I’ll see you in half an hour – and thanks again.”

Replacing the handset, Carole looked at herself in the mirror – she was so grateful her younger sister lived nearby, because at times like this, she wanted the company, if only to drive away the loneliness…

It was the heavy footfall she heard first, and then she saw the man behind her in the hall mirror – taller than her, with short dark hair, wearing a black roll neck sweater.

“What the hell… SHMMHMHLLPMMMHHH!” Carole shouted out – only to have the words muffled by the leather gloved hand that was clamped over her mouth, her head pulled back against the intruder’s chest as she looked up at him.

“Don’t struggle, don’t scream, just remain calm,” he said quietly as Carole struggled against his chest, her hands trying to pull the arm down, “I have no desire to render you unconscious, but if I have to, I will do.”

Carole stared up at him, and stopped struggling – his threat sounded genuine, as she said “whtsdhuhwhnt?”

“I want you to do what I tell you to,” he said, “so first, if I take my hand away, are you going to scream?” He watched Carole for a moment as she considered what he had said, and then smiled as she shook her head from side to side.

As he took his hand away, Carole said “what do you want – if it’s money, or jewellery, you can have whatever I have…”

“What I want you to do is to stand still, and put your hands behind your back.”

“All right,” Carole said quietly. It was as if she was in a Thriller play, as she felt the man cross her wrists behind her back, and then the rope as he wound it round them, forcing them together before he made several more passes around and between her limbs.

When he tied the ends off, all she could do was wriggle her fingers – and then she saw the brown hemp rope as it was passed round her body, and pulled tight, forcing her arms into her sides and her waistcoat to the sides.

“What… What are you doing,” she whispered as the rope went round her again, this time around her upper arms and chest, then below, then above…

“Making sure you do are not in a position to do anything about what may happen next,” the man said quietly as he passed the rope round again and again, each band tightening the way her arms felt against her body, framing her chest before he tied the ends off behind her back. He then walked beside her and passed a shorter length round both bands, between her arm and her body, bringing them together and making it even tighter as he tied that off.

As he walked round to the other side, Carole looked at him – dark pants, shoes and leather gloves, as the bands got tighter on that side. She tried to move, but all she could really do was wriggle round – and then she saw a second man, this one with reddish brown hair but identically dressed, come into the hallway.

“You know what you need to do,” her binder said, the second man walking up the stairs as Carole was guided into the main room of her house, and made to sit down while the man went to the windows and pulled the curtains closed.

“Please, just take what you want,” she said as she twisted round, feeling the sweat on her blouse under the bands of rope.

“Oh we will,” he said as he went to a leather bag on the floor, and took another length of brown rope out, kneeling and lifting her legs up so that he balanced her crossed ankles on his leg.

As she watched, he doubled the rope over and passed it round her ankles, pulling it tight and then taking the length sin the other direction as he wound them round her limbs. She was astonished at how quickly he worked, before he tucked the ends under the top band, and separated the ends, passing them between her legs to make the binding even tighter before he tied the ends off, and tucked them into the ropes.

“I promise, I’m not going to raise the alarm,” she whispered as he lowered her ankles to the floor, and then picked another length of rope from the bag, doubling it over and using it to secure her legs together below her knees. She felt his gloved hands as they stroked her legs, especially as he passed the rope between her legs as well. It felt rough on her skin, but it was tight, and as he tied the ends off and stood up she tried to move her legs.

All she heard was the squeak of leather on leather…

“What are you going to do now,” she said as the man helped her to lie on her side, her head on the arm of the couch.

“Keep you quiet,” he said as he produced a roll of brown sticking plaster from the bag, and tore a strip off. “Then – we wait…”

“Carole? You got the kettle on?”

Jackie smiled as she closed the front door and looked round. Carole’s younger sister by two years, she had long black hair, which today was falling over the back of her woollen midi dress. The cloth of the dress was in varying hues of brown, cream and green, almost like a camouflage pattern, hugging her arms and the curves of her upper body while the skirt flowed out from the waist. She was also wearing a pair of long black boots with stack heels and a two inch wedge sole.

“Carole? Cat got your tongue?”

Jackie smiled as she walked into the front room – and saw her sister lying on her side, the ropes round her body as she struggled and called out “RHNNJHKHHH!”

“What the…”

She then felt the pressure on her back, and heard the male voice say “welcome, Jackie – slowly, slowly, put your hands behind your back. I need to make sure you are as well secured as your sister.”

“Who… How…”

“Just do as I say,” the voice said as Carole looked at her. Jackie slowly nodded and moved her hands behind her, feeling the rope on her wrists as they were secured tightly together.

“What’s going on, sis,” Jackie said quietly as she felt the rope going between her arms, and then the final tug before the ends were tied off.

“Hdhtnkhn, twhthddfhruh,” Carole mumbled as the plaster held her lips together, while the man behind her sister passed the long rope round her and pulled it tight, forcing her arms against her body and her chest out as he made two bands to frame it.

“They… They were waiting for me to come? Who are they?”

“Hdhntknh,” Carole said as Jackie saw the tear running down her cheek. The bands were getting tighter with each pass, as she said “does it have to be so tight?”

“Yes – and you need to be quiet,” the man said as she saw him at her side, dressed in black, feeding the rope under the lower band at her side before he pulled it up and back, lifting her hair out of the way as it sat at the back of her neck before he pulled It down and under her other arm.

“Do you… Do you know how tight that is,” she whispered as he secured the ends off, and then held her arms.

“Actually, I do,” he said as he walked her over to a wooden armchair and made her sit down, then took from the bag they could both now see three more lengths of rope and knelt by her side. Carole was squirming now – the additional band he had tied round her legs above her knees also rubbing on her skin as her boots squeaked.

Jackie could only watch as he lifted her legs up, the skirt falling over them as he crossed her ankles on his leg, and then bound them tightly together in the same way as he had her wrists. She could see the brown band on the black leather – and then the same band as he wrapped another length round her legs below her knees, the skirt of her dress gathering under it as he pulled it tighter and tighter.

“So is this a robbery,” Jackie said as she looked to the door, and saw the second man standing there.

“All done upstairs?”

“Yeah Derek – now what?”

“Go and get the van ready,” the man binding Jackie said as he used the final length of rope to secure her legs together above her knees, and then let her feet drop to the floor, her skirt rising up and showing more of her boots as he did so.

“So your name’s Derek,” Jackie said as she struggled, her boots squeaking as well. “Well, Derek, when I get free, you are in so much trouble…”

“Oh I don’t think you are going to be in a position to do anything,” Derek said with a smile as he patted Jackie’s cheek, and then picked up the roll of fabric plaster, tearing a length off as he said “put your lips together.”

“If you insist?”

“I insist,” he said as he held the strip in both his gloved hands, watching as Jackie pouted before he smoothed the fabric down over her mouth, covering it and much of her chin. She tried to talk, but it was next to impossible to move her lips, much less speak…

“Now close your eyes.”

Carole and Jackie looked at each other, as the man tore a second strip of sticking plaster from the roll, and put two cotton wool balls on the underside.

“Whtdhdhushh?”

He looked at Jackie, and said “close your eyes.” Carole could only watch as she did so, and he pressed the plaster down, the two strips now silencing and blinding her.

“Wthhthhhlhruhdhnn?”

“Well, you’ll find out soon enough,” Derek said as his partner came back in, and they lifted Jackie, her sister squirming and trying to call for help as they carried her out of the room.

Carole struggled even more, feeling the sweat on her body, hearing the leather squeaking as she did so, but nobody was coming to help them – and then they came back in, Derek tearing another strip of plaster from the tape and putting the cotton wool balls on as he said “your turn Carole – close your eyes.”

She knew she had no choice as she slowly closed them, and felt the pressure on them as the tape was smoothed over. She was then lifted and carried by the two men, as she tried to comprehend what was going on, and then she felt the cool breeze.

“They’re taking me outside,” she thought to herself before she was lifted up and laid on what felt like a mattress, and she heard a van door close.

“Chrll?”

“Jhkhh?”

Then they felt the motion, as they realised they were being taken somewhere….

“Ushthhlhhrrrr?”

“Yhshmmh,” Jackie said as she felt her sister’s hands with hers. They had been brought – wherever this place was – and left next to each other, bound, gagged, blindfolded, and unsure of what was going on.

The sound of a door opening, and footsteps, made them both turn their heads before someone helped them to sit up.

“Remove the blindfolds – carefully.”

Carole felt the sticking plaster been taken from her eyes, and she blinked before she looked round. They were in a bedroom, and she could see Jackie next to her as the man called Derek removed the blindfold from her eyes.

There were two other people standing in front of them, looking at the sisters. The woman was young, with long black hair, a tight white blouse and black leather miniskirt matched by her knee length boots.

It was the man both Carole and Jackie were looking at – tall, Saville Row suit, silk shirt and Eton tie, short cut grey hair, highly polished shoes.

“Ladies,” he said as the woman handed him a file, “I want you to sit quietly and listen to what I have to say, and then you have a decision to make. Firstly, I welcome you to the offices of Objects of Beauty.”

“Hbjhtctshfwht?” Jackie asked as she wriggled round.

“Objects of Beauty,” the man said with a smile, “we act as a procurer and clearing house for those who wish to obtain – well, objects of beauty.”

Carole looked at him, and then at her sister, before she said “Whtthbjhcts?”

“Guess.”

Her eyes opened wide as she started to struggle and say “Nhhphlssdnhhh.”

“Calm yourselves,” the man said quietly, “you need to know what we were employed to remove you – permanently – from your lives and ensure you were given to someone who would – in theory – take very good care of you.”

“Uhrrslffhrrs?”

“I would not put it that way,” he said as he looked at Jackie, “but you need to know who employed us.”

Carole narrow her eyes and said “hhh?”

“Your husband.”

Carole’s eyes opened wide as she looked at Jackie, and then back at the man. “Hwhttt?”

“Your husband employed us to have you, and your sister, taken and sold in an auction. In his case, however, he felt he had no choice – he told us he was being threatened and needed the fee to placate a gangster.”

“Lthmhghss – hlhdd.”

“If we remove the gags, will you talk in a civilised manner?”

Both women looked at each other, and then nodded as Derek removed the plaster gags.

“Water…”

“Of course,” the man said as both she and Jackie were allowed to sip from a glass.

“The bastard,” Carole finally said, “so are we going to be sold?”

“Not unless you want to be.”

Carole and Jackie looked at the man as he said “we do not like being used to deal with a man’s – personal problems, and we feel he needs to be taught a lesson. So we have an offer to make to both of you.

“In the eyes of the law, you have already disappeared – and we can use that to our advantage, and to yours, if you are willing. After that, we can offer you both a new life, a position within the company – or you could choose to be part of the next auction.

“So what will it be?”

Jackie and Carole looked at each other, before Jackie said “what do we need to do?”

He smiled as he sipped from his glass of whisky. His wife and that hellion of a sister had been missing for a month now, and his explanation that she had just decided to leave had been accepted by all their friends.

The blonde smiled as she stood up and walked out of the room. Life – was good.

So when he heard the muffled scream outside, and saw her come back in, the gloved hand of a masked woman over her mouth as she struggled. There was a second woman there, armed with a gun pointing at him, as his partner was forced to lie down and duct tape used to secure her.

“What do you want,” he said as the armed woman walked over.

“Everything.”

His eyes opened wide as she leaned over and whispered “Payback’s a bitch, you bastard – and so am I.”

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