Christmas Lessons
“I do so love
this season – a time when we remember our fellow man and show compassion and
love for each other?”
“A noble
sentiment, Mister Tall,” the smaller of the two men said as they sat in the
front of the small van, “but one I regret we must, at least partially, put to
one side until we conclude our business for tonight.”
“Indeed – so
let us hope the season of goodwill extends even to our endeavours this
evening…”
“Mum? Where are you?”
“In the
kitchen,” Helen called out as Georgia came in.
The redhead was wearing a brown leather jacket over a red dress that had
a deep scalloped neckline, dark tights and black heel, and as she slipped the
jacket off the elbow length sleeves were revealed.
“Something
smells good,” Georgia said as she kissed her mother on the cheek, “Where is my
darling twin?”
“On her way,”
Helen said with a smile. She was in her
early fifties, and wore a tartan jacket over a red jumper, a knee length black
skirt, dark tights and long black leather boots.
“Trust her to
be here after me…”
“You called?”
“There you are
Angel,” Helen said as the new arrival took off her coat, revealing a pale green
long sleeved dress with a deep round neckline, dark tights and black open toed
heels.
“Sorry I was
late – work,” Angel said as Georgia handed her a mug of coffee. “How long before we eat?”
“Soon – let’s
go and sit in the front room until the food is ready…”
“So – our hosts
for the evening do seem to be at home,” Mister Small said as he pulled up
outside the semi-detached house.
“Indeed – and
so convenient of the local council to turn off the street lights,” Mister Tall
said as he looked up and down the empty street, “shall we?”
“I think we
should,” his partner said as they both pulled the balaclavas down over their
heads, before leaving the transit van, Mister Small locking it before they made
their way up the path to the front door.
Both men wore black leather jackets over roll neck sweaters, dark pants
and black trainers, with black leather gloves on their hands.
They looked at
each other and nodded as the smaller of the two men rang the doorbell…
“Now who could
that be,” Helen said as she looked down the hallway. They were sat in the front room, the lights
on the Christmas tree twinkling, the presents underneath.
“I’ll go and
look,” Angel said as she stood up and walked to the front door, opening it as
she said “Yes, can I…”
“Good Evening,”
the taller of the two men said as he showed Angel the knife in his hand,
“please, allow us to come in…”
She stared at
the two masked men as they came in, the smaller closing the door behind her,
before she did a most unexpected thing.
She screamed out “MUM!!
GEORGIA!!! CALL THE POLICE!!!!”
“Oh dear,”
Mister Tall said as he pushed Angel against the wall, pressing his gloved hand
over her mouth as he showed her the knife, “that was an unfortunate thing to
do.” As he spoke, Mister Small moved quickly
to the door to the main room, walking in with a pistol in his hand as Georgia
and Helen stood up.
“Good evening
ladies,” he said in his calm voice as Helen said “what the fuck…”
“Mum?”
“I must ask you
to sit quietly,” Mister Small said with a smile. “We have no desire to harm you, but we must
ensure nobody heard your twin sister…”
Georgia opened
her mouth to scream, Mister Small shaking his head as he walked over and
grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with his gloved hand. “As I said, I need you to remain quiet…”
“Now listen
very carefully,” the tall man said to Angel, “my name is Mister Tall, and my
partner’s name is Mister Small. We have
absolutely no wish to harm you or anybody else in this house, but if you do
that again, this may be one of those rare occasions where we are forced to do
something we do not want to do. Nod if
you understand.”
Angel’s eyes
moved from the balaclava masked man, to the knife in his gloved hand, and then
she slowly nodded.
“Good,” Mister
Tall said with a smile. “Now, are you
going to scream or shout anymore?”
She stared at
him for a moment, and then shook her head slowly from side to side.
“Good – when I
take my hand away, say nothing, just open your mouth, understand?”
As he removed
his hand, he reached into his pocket, and as Angel opened her mouth he took out
a small white cloth, and pushed it gently into her mouth, saying “just to make
sure – close your lips over that, and do not push it out, then we will all get
along just fine.”
“Whhruheerrr,” Angel mumbled.
“Well – easier
if we explain it. Shall we?”
As they walked into
the front room, Helen looked from where she was sitting, her hands on her lap,
and said “Are you all right Angel?”
“You will have
to forgive your daughter if she does not answer – she has something in her
throat,” Mister Tall said as he looked at Mister Small. “A twin sister?”
“Indeed –
Helen, Georgia, my partner Mister Tall.”
The smaller man still had his hand over Georgia’s mouth as she struggled
in his grip. “I was trying to explain to
the young lad the benefits of doing as we ask, but she does not seem to
understand completely.”
“I faced a
similar problem,” Mister Tall said as Angel sat next to her mother, and he
looked at Georgia. “If you do not stop
struggling, we may be forced to hurt you – do you wish that, Georgia?”
The other girl
shook her head as Mister Small removed his hand, and guided her arms behind her
back. From his jacket pocket, he took a
length of rope, and began to bind her wrists together.
“And so,”
Mister Tall said, “to business. We are
here to relieve you of the burden of your valuables, Helen – and as we have
tried to say, so long as you cooperate, then nobody needs to come to any harm.”
“I don’t
believe you,” Helen snapped back as she looked at the two masked men.
“Whether you
believe us or not, we speak the truth,” Mister Small said as he pulled the
ropes between Georgia’s arms, and then tied the ends off out of reach of her
fingers. “Do as we say, do not raise the
alarm or try to hinder us, and it will all go well with you and your
daughters.”
“All right – I
don’t want them to be hurt,” Helen said as Mister Small went to the hallway,
and picked up the holdall he had brought in.
Placing it on the low coffee table, he opened it and handed a length of
rope to Mister Tall, who made Angel lean forward as he took her arms behind her
back.
“I can smell
some food,” Mister Small said as he sniffed, “excuse me for a moment Mister
Tall. It would be a pity if it was to be
burned.”
“Of course,”
Mister Tall said as he finished securing the young woman’s wrists, Mister Small
helping Georgia to sit in an armchair before he left the room. Mister Tall took more rope from the bag,
before saying “Now, Helen, kindly lean forward and put your hands behind your
back.”
“You don’t have
to do this – we’ll be good…”
“I know – but
your daughters may resent the fact their wrists are tied, and yours are not.”
“Mum,” Georgia
said, “they’re going to rob us, and tie us up anyway. Better do as she says.”
“Plssmmm,” Angel said as she looked at Helen. The older woman nodded, and said “why can’t
she talk” as Mister Tall crossed and tied her wrists together.
“The cloth I
put in hr mouth – she should not have shouted at you to call for help,” Mister
Tall said as he tied the ropes off. “On
which note – I need your handbags and mobile phones please ladies. Where are they?”
“In the
kitchen,” Helen said as she tried to move her wrists. Mister Tall nodded as he said “Well, I shall
fetch them in a moment – once I have your ankles secured. So please, all three of you, put your feet on
the coffee table.”
He went round
all there, taking more rope and securing their ankles tightly together, making
sure he cinched the band on each of them before he slipped out of the
room. Georgia looked at Angel and her
mother, and said “are we going to sit there and let them tie us up and rob us?”
“Themnnbesnsss,” Angel said as she looked at her
sister. Helen nodded as she said “I
think we just need to let them do this, Georgia, and make the best of it…”
“No bloody
way,” Georgia said as she stood up, and started to hop to the door.
“What are you
going to do,” Helen said quietly.
“Get outside,
go next door, try to raise the…”
“Good idea –
but I am afraid I cannot allow you to do that Georgia.”
The young girl
looked at Mister Tall as he smiled, and said “in fact, with regret, I have to
make sure now you cannot do anything else while we are here.” Taking her by the arm, he frog marched her
back to the chair and made her sit in it, before taking more ropes and binding
her legs together, below her knees.
“What are you
going to do to her,” Helen said as Mister Small then took a longer length of
rope, and started to bind Georgia’s arms to her sides, forming two tight bands
above and below her chest as her dress stretched over her breasts.
“I have to
ensure she will not do something we do not want her to do – I had hoped we
could wait a while,” Mister Small said as he cinched the bands between her body
and arms, “but she has regrettably forced the situation.”
“You’ll never
get away wffhttsssss,” Georgia mumbled as Mister
Small pushed a sponge ball into her mouth, the other two watching as Mister
Tall came in with their handbags.
“Ah – did young
Georgia try to raise the alarm?”
“She did,”
Mister Small said as he took from the bag a roll of white tape, and wrapped it
tightly round her head, covering her mouth and lips as the white band forms,
her hair trapped underneath.
He then helped Georgia
to lie on the floor, pulling her ankles back and securing them her chest ropes
with a final length of rope, Angel mumbling “hmmhhgeedd”
as he put a cushion under her twin sister’s head.
Mister Tall
shook his head as he found their mobile phones, and switched them off.
“Not removing
the batteries Mister Tall?”
“Sadly, that is
not possible with these models Mister Small,” he said with a little smile,
before he took another longer length of rope and started to bind Angel’s upper
body.
As their mother
watched the bands frame her daughter’s chest, and then the shorter lengths of
rope as they tightened, she said “I won’t do anything to stop you. I’ll tell you where everything is, just don’t
hurt them.”
“If you do
that, and they behave, then nothing bad will happen,” Mister Tall said with a
smile as Mister Small wrapped the white tape tightly round the younger woman’s
head, Georgia struggling and grumbling on the floor as she tried to move.
“Lie still,
dear young lady,” Mister small said as he looked over, “You do not want to have
breathing problems or make yourself sick, do you?”
“No – Georgia,
please,” Helen pleaded, her daughter suddenly looking up and nodding as she lay
still.
“Excellent –
stand up please Helen,” Mister Tall said as he helped the older woman to stand,
Mister Small kneeling and binding her other daughter’s legs below her knees
before he made her lie face down and hogtied her.
“Shall we,”
Mister Tall said as he indicated the door.
“Mister Small, normally I would suggest looking round, but in this
case…”
“I agree,” the smaller
masked man said as Georgia and Angel tried to move, “but perhaps some more
ambient lighting?” He turned off the
main light, the room illuminated by the twinkling lights as his partner took
their mother upstairs, Helen moving with short hops.
“Thank you for
your cooperation,” Mister Tall said as he pulled Helen’s ankles back, securing
them to the ropes round her chest. Her
jacket had opened up under the tension of her chest ropes, revealing the
stretched jumper, as she nodded. The
band of white tape round her head kept a folded scarf safely in her mouth, as
she looked round the open drawers and cupboards.
“Whtbbttsss?” she asked as she tried to move on the gold
covers.
“Normally, we
would leave you together, but given the valiant if flawed attempts of your
daughters earlier, you must remain here and your daughters in the front
room. Accept my apologies for that,
Helen.”
“Msreesawllll,” Helen said as she nodded.
“I bid you
adieu,” Mister Tall said with a bow, “may we never meet again.” He left the room, turning the light off as
Helen tried to get comfortable. As he
walked down the stairs, Mister Small came out with the holdall.
“The younger
ladies?”
Mister Small
looked in as Angel and Georgia raised their heads and made several muffled
oaths.
“I think we should
leave – do enjoy the rest of the evening ladies,” Mister Small said as he
closed the room door, the two men removing their balaclavas and walking out
into the darkened street as the lights twinkled behind the curtains.
“Not quite as smooth
a visit as normal,” Mister Small said as he unlocked the transit van, and they
got in.
“True – but we
handled it well I felt. I could do with a
drink however – go to the Ropanga?”
“You read my
mind,” Mister Small said as they drove off…
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