Doing the Right Thing

“You know, I’m really pleased you could come to dinner tonight,” Alice said as she looked at her two friends, the prawn cocktails in large glasses in front of them. “We need to get to know each other a bit better if we’re going to work in the same office.”

Alice was 27, and had just been appointed the head secretary at the local branch of the Williams and Glyn bank. As such, she was responsible for supervising her two guests that evening, and she was a firm believer in leading by example – hence the invitation to dinner. She had chosen the menu with care, and was wearing a black pinafore dress over a pale peach long sleeved blouse. A pair of red leather shoes were on her feet.

“Well, you’re the boss, of course we were going to come,” Wendy said. The twenty two year old was wearing a green velvet mini dress, with a gold pendant round her neck, and black shoes in the same style as Alice’s. She wore her blonde hair in two pigtails, unlike Lucy.

Lucy was a year younger, and tonight was wearing a red pinafore mini dress with a white star design over a long sleeved white blouse, the large wing collar over the top of her dress. Of the three, she was the only one wearing hose, hers dark, and she also wore a pair of crimson Mary Jane shoes.

“So what are your plans for the office,” she asked as she speared her prawns and lettuce, putting them in her mouth.

“Apart from stopping the tellers ogling all three of us?”

Lucy and Wendy burst out laughing at this, as Alice cleared the plates away. “Seriously, I want us to do the best job we can, and show them that we are as good as, if not better.”

“So you are not into this Women’s Lib?”

“Oh I didn’t say that,” Alice said as she cleared the plates away, “but I am not as radical as some of the others. Now, how do you like your...”

“Good evening ladies – I must ask you to remain seated where you are.”

Wendy and Lucy stared at the two men who had appeared in the doorway, the dark stockings pulled down over their heads as it pressed their dark hair down. They both wore black bomber jackets, dark trousers and boots, as well as leather gloves over their hands.

The thing that really caught their attention, however, was the shotgun one of them was holding in his hand. It had been altered, the barrel sawn off close to the stock, and the man holding it had an evil grin on his face.

“What the hell...”

“I asked you to sit down,” the other man said as he looked at Alice, who paled as she saw the gun pointed at her. “Do as I say.”

She nodded as she slowly sat down, the man smiling as he said “for the purposes of this evening, you may refer to me as Mr Black, and my friend with our persuasive tool as Mr Brown. Sorry to interrupt your dinner party, but we need your host to do something for us – and I think the fact you are both here will provide an additional incentive to you.”

“What does he mean,” Wendy said as she looked at Alice.

“I mean,” the man said with a smile, “that you should both stand up, place your hands on your head, and walk into the front room with your host and us.

“Now.”

Lucy nodded as she slowly stood up, Wendy doing the same as they put their hands palm down on their heads and walked into the front room. The armed man indicated the three seater couch, the other two nodding as they sat down.

“Make sure none of them move,” he said as he walked back into the hallway, Alice watching as he pulled the telephone set clear from the wall and then threw it to the ground, the set breaking as she gasped.

“Now, let me make it perfectly clear,” he said as he walked back in, “if you do not do as we say, you may not like it. Do you understand?”

All three girls nodded as he took the gun from Mr Brown. “Fetch the bag in,” he said, Mr Brown grinning as he left. “As for you, sit there,” Mr Black indicated the armchair, Alice nodding as she too sat and placed her hands on her head.

All three women watched as Mr Brown dropped a bag on the floor, and took out several lengths of rough brown rope. Shaking one loose, he walked behind Wendy and pulled her wrists behind her back, the young woman crying as she felt the rough cords biting into her skin and forcing them together.

“You’re hurting me,” she cried out as he took the cords between her arms, and tied the ends out of reach of her fingers.

“Yes, I am,” he said quietly as he pulled Lucy’s wrists behind her back and started to bind them tightly together as well.

“What is this all about,” Alice said as she watched Lucy biting her lower lip.

“It concerns your employment, and the fact you will help us with gaining entry to that,” Mr Black said as Mr Brown knelt in front of the other two women, using more of the thin brown ropes to bind their ankles tightly together.

The two women wriggled round as Mr Brown stood up, and pulled two rags of cotton cloth from the bag.

“What are they forrrmmmgdd,” Lucy said as one of the cloths was pushed into her mouth, the edges sticking out as Alice was forced to allow the second cloth to go into her own mouth.

“Do not force them out of your mouth,” Mr Black said as he made Wendy stand up, handing the shotgun back to Mr Brown. “Come with me.”

“Just... Just do as they say,” Wendy said to her colleagues, both of them nodding as Mr Black forced her to walk up the stairs.

“What are you going to do to us,” she said quietly as he closed the door.

“Nothing – so long as you do as we say,” Mr Black said quietly. “Lie face down on the bed, and out your hands behind your back.”

“So you are going to tie me up as well?”

“Indeed,” he said, “lie down.”

Alice slowly lay on the bed, determined not to show fear as she felt the cords pulling her wrists together as it went around and between her arms. She then felt him cross her ankles and secure them tightly together, before he said “open your mouth.”

She was expecting a cloth to be pushed into her mouth as well, so was surprised when she tasted the lamb wool as one of her winter scarves were pulled between her lips, pressing her tongue down as Mr Black secured the ends together at the base of her neck.

“Don’t move,” he said as Alice rolled over, watching as he closed the door. she started to wriggle round, trying to find the knot or ease the tightness of the binding, but with no luck.

It was dark outside as the armed man sat, the gun over his lap as Lucy looked at him. Wendy was asleep, exhaustion finally winning over her fear as her head rested on her colleague’s shoulder.

She could hear the other intruder moving round, and then nudged Wendy as Mr Black came back in, carrying some washing line as well as two glasses and a jug of water.

“You may have a drink,” he said as he eased the cloths from their mouths, and then helped them both to sip the clear liquid from a glass, “and then we’re going to make sure neither of you can move. Your boss is going to come with us.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Business,” Mr Brown said as he stood up, the two men making Wendy and Lucy sit back to back before Mr Black wrapped some of the washing line around their waists, forcing their backs against each other as they held each other’s hands.

He then used a second length to hold Lucy’s arms against her body, and a third length on Wendy, their arms forced firmly into place as Mr Brown secured their legs together below their knees.

“Now then,” Mister Black said, “put your lips together...”

“Wake up.”

Alice slowly opened her eyes as she saw Mr Black standing over her, smiling as he untied her ankles. “Sit up,” he said as he untied her wrists, and then loosened the scarf gag.

“Were my friends?”

“Sitting downstairs – time for you to wash yourself and get ready for work – and be aware, any wrong moves and they suffer.”

She slowly nodded as she picked up a dressing gown and made her way into the bathroom, running a bath as she looked at the red marks on her wrists, and crying quietly...

“Hmggdddhlpsslsee?”

Alice looked at Wendy and Lucy as they sat on the floor, wide strips of brown fabric plaster covering their mouths as they struggled on the floor.

“Oh god – look, remain calm, both of you,” she said as she stood there, “the last thing you need to do is make yourselves sick.” Alice was wearing a dark blue jacket and long skirt over a black roll neck sweater, and a pair of baggy black leather boots.

“Your boss is right to say so,” Mr Black said as he looked at them, “if you make yourself sick, where will it go?”

The eyes of both women widened as he said this, while Mr Brown stood up and walked to the door.

Mr Black took Alice by the arm, and looked at the two captives, before he forced the captive out of the door, Wendy and Lucy holding each other’s hands as the front door opened and closed.

An hour later, Alice and her colleagues were sat on the floor of the bank lobby, their wrists secured behind their backs, their ankles tied tightly to each other, and sticking plaster covering their mouths as Mr Black and Mr Brown stood guard over them, both armed with sawn off shotguns, as their colleagues empted the vault.

And in her home, Wendy and Lisa had given up hope of being found, when they heard the front door open and close, and a voice call out “is there anybody here?”

“NHRRRR” Wendy called out, as a postman stopped and looked at both of them.

“Cor blimey – Wait there girls, I’ll call for help,” he said as he ran out, Lucy crying with relief...

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