Watching
They look
back at me, my little girls, hoping that I can do or say something, but I am as
helpless as they are at this point - perhaps more so. Instead, they sit down on the floor, putting
their hands on their head as they have been told to, and look round the
storeroom as well.
Gail is
sitting on the left - the runched material at the hem
of her brown bomber jacket rising up as she raises her arms, showing the
waistband of her jeans and the bottom of her dark blue top. Over her lower legs is a pair of brown
studded suede boots.
On the other
side is Gillian, her black leather skirt squeaking as she sits on the cold
stone floor. Shes also wearing a red
jumper, and knee length black leather boots, with a blue scarf with gold Fleur
de Lis on it around her neck and shoulders.
They were
meant to be joining me for lunch, after I shut the shop up, but instead they
have been forced in here with me by one of the two men who surprised me a few
minutes before. Now they look at me,
fear and tears in their eyes, as they wonder what is going to happen next. I wish I could tell them, but I cant - I
genuinely cant.
The men are
dressed normally - casual clothes, shirts, trousers, trainers - but they both
have scarves tied around their mouths and jaws, with baseball caps over their
heads. One of them is standing behind me,
while the other is looking through the girls purses, taking out their mobile
phones and throwing them over to the far side of the room, over the racks of
dresses.
Eventually,
he throws the bags down and looks at my babies.
What are we going to do with you, he says as he puts a gloved hand on Gillians
head, stroking her short blonde hair.
She tries to move out of the way, but he grabs her by the neck and pulls
her back, looking at me as I complain.
Dont worry,
mum, the guy behind me says, Were not going to hurt them. We just need to keep you two out of the way
for a little while. I see the two girls
look up as he throws each of them a long, thin plastic strip with a square box
at the end.
Take these,
he says from behind me, and secure each others ankles together, nice and
tightly. I dont want my friend her to
have to tighten them afterwards.
You want us
to tie each other up, Gail says, and I can hear the defiance in her voice. Something cold is pressed against my temple,
and I nod as I look at Gail, the colour draining from her face as she looks on.
All right,
all right, Gillian says as she lowers her hands and picks up one of the
strips, Just dont hurt our mum. I relax,
a little, as the cold is removed and I watch Gillian turn to Gail. Just give me your ankles, she says quietly,
and lets get this over with. Better I
do it than them.
I watch Gail
put her ankles towards Gillian, and hear the rasping sound as she pulls the
strip around the suede, the material compressing quickly as she pulls it
tightly around them. Now do the same to
me, she says as I watch Gail pick up the second strip and secure her sisters
ankles, the leather squeaking as the plastic rasps and locks in place.
As they
stretch their legs out in front of them, they both look at me as Gail says Are
you all right, Mum? I nod and try to say something, but before I can speak the
man behind me throws each of them another plastic strip.
Your legs
next, he says, above your knees, and this needs to be tight as well. As they pick the strips up, I look down at my
own legs. I was wearing a very nice pair
of boots I bought a few weeks ago, a real vintage design. The parts above the shoe, which goes over my knees,
are made from faded denim, while the shoe is cream leather. There are two white bands encircling them, holding
my legs together - one around my ankles, and one just below my knees. So I know what they are feeling as they each
take care of their own legs, Gail over her jeans and Gillian lifting the hem of
her skirt back for a minute, the plastic biting into her tan tights before she
folds the hem back again.
Comfy, the
other man says as he pulls Gails head back by her brown hair. What do you think, you bastard, she says in
response, which makes the guy behind my laugh.
She got you
there, I hear him say, but we cant have the two of you shouting out and raising
the alarm when we leave. Find something
to take care of that will you?
As the other
man goes back into the store, the two girls look at me, Gillian saying this
time Mum, what are we going to do? I want to reassure them, to tell them that if
we co-operate, everything will be all right, but I cant. Im as scared as they are, and the fact two
men forced me to close the shop up testifies to that. I always forget they both have a key -
otherwise they would never have walked into this.
He comes back
in, with two packs of pantyhose which he rips open. This will do for a start, he says as he
throws a pair at each of them, Stuff those into your mouth, gusset first.
Youre
joking, Gail says as she looks at me, but I just shake my head. Hes not joking, I know that. I shift my legs around, trying to ease the
cramp Im feeling, and wishing I could scratch my nose, but I cant. They will understand why in a few minutes.
At least
theyre clean and new, the guy says, We could have taken the knickers off your
mum and your sis and used them. Now,
Get... On... With... IT!
I watch them
as they slowly, with a look of horror, stuff the gusset into their mouths,
their cheeks filling out as they inched the legs in as well. I dont want to see anything outside your
mouth, the man behind me says as I feel the cold against my temple once
more. I look back at them, trying to
make them know I understand as they push the last of the legs in and close
their lips.
I see the
other man pick up a roll of brown parcel tape and throw it to Gillian. Put this over your sisters mouth, he says
with a smile, and make sure her lips are sealed nice and tightly. This part I was expecting - they may have
used a blue silk headscarf to stuff my mouth, but the tape over my lisp has
been pulling at my skin since just before they came in.
The ripping
sound makes me groan, the moan audible as Gillian pulls a length of tape off,
and mumbles Msrrgl as she smoothes it over her
sisters lips. Three
more, the man behind me says, over the whole mouth. Three more rips, three more strips, three
more sticking over, and three slowly quieter mumbles as Gail starts
crying.
Now give it
to your sister - she can return the favour.
Tslrrgh, Gillian mumbles as she hands the roll to Gail,
her hands trembling as she rips the tape free from the roll. I close my eyes as the ripping sound starts
again, feeling with my fingers once more to see if I can find the knot in the
rope that is holding my wrists together, but with little joy.
When they had
surprised me, one of them had pushed me down over the shop counter while the
other had tied my wrists together behind my back, the rope digging into my bare
skin as he pulled it tightly. They had
them marched me into the storeroom, and I caught a glimpse of myself in a
changing mirror as they did so. I may be
in my early fifties, but I look at least ten years younger, and I like to dress
that way too. Im wearing a blue cap
sleeve denim mini dress with dark tights and these boots, but thats not what
worried me at the time.
What did was
the way they sat me in a chair, putting my hands over the back, and then tied
me to the chair with rope, winding it around my body and the woodwork until I
was locked in place. I barely had time
to give them the combination to the safe before the door opened, they gagged
me, and - well, here we are now.
As I open my
eyes, I see that the man has made Gail and Gillian sit back to back, and is
securing their wrists with more of those cable ties. Gillians right wrist is next to Gails left,
and after he tightens the first tie he puts another
round their arms above their elbows, forcing them tightly together.
I hear them
groan as their arms are secured, before he takes the tape and winds it round
their chests, forcing them together as the light brown clashes with the tan
leather of Gails jacket and the red of Gillians jumper. Eventually, he exhausts the roll, throwing
the cardboard inner ring away as the two girls look at me.
Rulrght, I mumble through my own gag, and Im glad that
they both nod, even if their mascara is running slightly from their tears. All I can do now is sit and watch as they
open my safe, and start to empty the takings for the week into carrier bags.
Gillian and
Gail are trying to move, their boots squeaking as they rub against each other,
and so do mine as I make another feeble attempt outbreak the plastic holding
them together. IT makes a strange sound,
especially when backed up by the sound of our mumbling and groaning.
Hey listen -
its the Spice Girls with another hit single, one of them says as they both
stand up, carrying their bags with them.
Gail and Gillian groan, and say Fcku in
unison. Me, I need to stay calm - I know
where theres a pair of scissors they havent seen, and I dont want to alert
them to that as they walk out of the storeroom.
The money I can replace - the girls I cannot.
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