literature

Sara and Bella - The Rainy Day Kidnapping

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"Oh thanks very much you pillock!" I bellowed at the silver people carrier, a split second after it had driven through a puddle I was walking past. I gasped for air as the right hand side of my body, from my dark nylon clad legs all the way up to my denim minishorts and bright red hoodie with matching gloves, was thoroughly drenched in rainwater. Not that my left hand side was much drier, a consequence of heading out on a wet Saturday morning without a coat. But worst of all I could only stare mournfully as the takeout cup rolled around my purple converse shoes, the frothy milk and brown, caffeine rich liquid it contained before I dropped it now swirling in the puddle water.

    I reaffixed my hood against the torrential downpour and tore down the street. It didn't take me long to reach the office of Private Investigator Felicity Swann. Most of you will know by now that Felicity is more than just my boss for a work experience placement. She is also the older sister of my close friend Abigail and a firm family friend. I knew she wouldn't mind me turning up slightly late in an utterly soaked hoodie. Instead she'd just find it funny.

     And laugh she did once I'd walked in looking like I'd fallen overboard the Saucy Sue. "I was about to send a scuba team to find you," she teased with one eyebrow raised.

      "It's like Atlantis out there," I remarked, pulling down my hood which liberated my straight brown hair, allowing it to untidily tumble onto my shoulders. "Though at least they didn't have to worry about berks who drive too fast..."

    I trailed off as I realised something was different this week. Not with Felicity, who still looked as professional as ever in her immaculate black skirt suit with a purple blouse, dark stockings and black high heel pumps, her bright blonde hair expertly straightened and falling past her shoulders. What was different this week was that we had a guest.  

     Felicity saw me looking at the young woman sat across from her, and decided to introduce me first. "This is Sara Philips, Carrington's most famous girl detective. And Sara, I'd like you to meet Bella Jade."

    "Pleasure to meet you," our guest smiled at me brightly, speaking with an American accent.

    "Likewise," I replied as I walked over, my wet shoes squelching on the rough carpet as I walked. Bella Jade was a woman in her mid twenties, slightly taller than me and with a healthily slim figure. Her long hair was a bright flame red, tied back save for strands of her fringe that hung tidily down the sides of her face. Her eyes were a bright green and positioned behind a pair of black, rectangular glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, which seemed to add to her natural beauty. Though like me she seemed to prefer dressing casually. Her current attire was a gentle pink, long sleeved top that fell past her waist and hugged her thighs, with tight fitting pale blue jeans and a pair of red converse shoes.

     "You remember me talking about Bella don't you Sara?" Felicity asked. "How she was coming over from the states to have a chat with us?"

    "Was that before or after the case of the rope wielding hairdressers?" I asked, trying to jog my own memory.

     "Well Bella is a writer, and she's currently developing a collection of stories based around real life crime fighters."

     "I heard about your work from a couple of my sources," Bella explained, sounding fascinated. "You've done some amazing things Sara. I love it when people solve mysteries and fight crime of their own accord. I was hoping we could spend the morning just chatting about your adventures."

    "It's either that or the metric tonne of filing that needs to be done!" Felicity added, knowing that for me there was no contest between the two options.

     I analysed Bella Jade for a split second and decided I trusted her. I knew Felicity wouldn't have asked me to divulge my adventures to someone she didn't trust either. "Ok sounds cool," I said, as I made to grab a nearby wooden chair.

     "You can use mine, I've got to dash out and meet a client," Felicity told me while checking the messages on her phone. As she got up she asked Bella, "Can I get you a coffee while I'm out?"

    "Could I have an americano please?" Bella asked politely as she reached into her handbag for a pen and notebook.

     As Felicity put on her cream raincoat she said, "And I don't suppose Miss Caffeine Junkie would say no to a cappuccino?"

      "With an extra shot please, been one of those mornings," I requested as I took her seat. Felicity grabbed her umbrella before saying goodbye, at which she left the office, her high heels echoing off the steps as she made her way downstairs.

     "So tell me about yourself Sara," Bella began, twiddling the pen in her hand. "What got you interested in detective work?"

     "Well there are four of us that make up the CGDA, that's the Carrington Girl Detective Agency," I answered, peeling off the red woolly gloves from my hands and placing them on Felicity's desk. "There's Abigail, Felicity's sister and the glamour girl of the team. Harriet is the sporty one who makes all the wisecracks to the bad guys. Then there's Rachel, my partner in crime and official biographer...well official according to her anyway."

     "Yeah I read her blog. She's a very talented writer. She'll easily get her work published if you keep on having such fascinating adventures."

    "Well they aren't all that fascinating," I smiled. "Unless you want to know what it's like being tied up by criminal masterminds all the time."

     Bella gave a laugh of someone who knew exactly what I was on about. "Well...speaking as someone who's been in plenty of those situations..."

     I almost gave a double take, wondering if she actually meant what she had just implied. "Wait a sec; you were once tied up by a criminal mastermind too?"

    "Oh more than that," Bella answered with a wry smile. "I've been kidnapped, found snooping around warehouses, overheard conversations I shouldn't have, been caught in home and office invasions and just rubbed some unsavoury people the wrong way. And every time that's happened they've immediately reached straight for the ropes and duct tape.

      "I know!" I exclaimed excitedly. "What is it with those creeps? It's like they can't help themselves isn't it?"

   She laughed at my outburst, at which I laughed in return. At that point Bella and I clicked. Her notepad remained blank as I rattled off one of my stories, before she responded with one of her own. And so it went on as the rain continued to drum against the window pane. It was always great meeting someone with such a passion for mystery solving. Plus Bella Jade had such a relaxed and genuine nature, and was far less in your face than the other journalists I had encountered.

    "So tell me about this Mr White," Bella asked.

    "He's an arch criminal responsible for nearly all the major crimes in this area. I'm determined to bring him in and he's determined to put an end to my snooping career. I first met him in this very office actually."

    "Wow what happened?"

    "He burst in, held Felicity and I at gun point, taped us to some chairs and tried to blow us up. One of my more interesting work placements I'll admit."

    "And guess what darling, history's about to repeat itself," a husky male voice growled from the doorway.

      Bella and I stood up in alarm as three men strode purposefully into the office, each holding a pistol in their gloved hands. They were dressed completely in black with dark boots, jogging bottoms and hoodies. Their hoods covered their heads, and their faces obscured with fancy dress masks depicting the likenesses of various Disney cartoon characters.

    Before either of us could say a word of protest the lead man with a Mickey Mouse mask barked, "We're here to see Miss Swann. Is she in?"

    I debated internally whether to lie and say she was at home, or to tell the truth with a slight hint of a lie. I decided on the latter. "Miss Swann isn't here at the moment, but if you'd like to leave your name and number she'll get back to you as soon as possible."

    "Cute that you think you can protect her, but it won't do you no good," the invader wearing a Donald Duck mask sniggered at me. "Back into your seats ladies!"

     As we reluctantly did as ordered Bella sighed, "I know where this is going."

    "Hey, a Yank!" the man wearing a mask resembling Pluto the dog exclaimed happily. "This must be different to sunning yourself on the beach in LA right?"

    Bella scoffed indignantly at his suggestion. "Do I look like a pampered Beverly Hills princess to you?"

     "Either way, you're both going to look a damn sight better with this wrapped around you," Mickey exclaimed as he pulled a full roll of silver tape from his pocket. "Pluto, you sort out red head, I'll take hoodie girl!"   

      I watched Mickey move behind me, experiencing more an air of resignation than of fear. How typical that after our long conversation about being repeatedly restrained it was happening to us both at the same time. These thoughts didn't help me as Mickey grabbed my arms and pulled them around the chair back, where he crossed my wrists over. Then a familiar ripping sound preceded the sensation of having tape wrapped around my wrists. I stared defiantly ahead, pretending to ignore him as he encased them with well over ten turns of tape. Only after he finished did I test my restraints, finding them strong and unyielding.

     I glanced over at Bella as Pluto, having taped her hands together, began wrapping her upper body with the sticky material. Mickey was only seconds behind him, pulling a long strand around my waist and winding it around the chair, slowly but surely fixing my body and my arms against the wooden back. More was wound about my shoulders and chest, and when he was done I couldn't break free for the life of me. Beside me Bella was wrapped so stringently it looked like her pink top now came with grey stripes.

     "You ladies have been very disappointing," Donald remarked from where he stood by the door. "Not even a whimper or beg to be let go."

     "You picked the wrong girls if that's what you wanted," I snarled.

      "Despite you being nice and quiet so far we can't take any chances," Mickey announced, as he grabbed my pair of discarded gloves from the tabletop and rolled them into balls, handing one over to Pluto.

     "Oh come on not my gloves!" I growled, writhing about as he approached. "Seriously do we have to go through thhhssss nnnggggg!" My outburst was curtailed by him cramming my mouth with my left hand glove. It was woolly and thick, and despite still being damp with rainwater it still managed to absorb my saliva like a sponge. Beside me I heard a groan of, "Tthhhssss ssss rrrrdddccclllssss!" from Bella as she was subjected to my right hand glove. Then our mouths were covered in numerous tape strips, slapped over our lips and sealing the fabric inside.

     Just as Mickey smoothed my gag over we all heard the front door below opening and closing, followed by high heeled footsteps. "FFffflllllsssstttt nnnnnnnmmmm!" I cried out before Mickey walked behind me with a pistol in his hand, his free hand grasping my left shoulder.

    The office door opened and in walked Felicity, balancing a tray of three takeout coffees one handed. "I bought some Danish Pastries if you're hungry, though I suppose Miss Caffeine Junkie will be more interested in her..." She trailed off when she saw Bella and I taped to chairs and flanked by two masked figures. She stared at us with a look of blank shock, before she dropped the cardboard tray to the floor, exploding the coffee over the carpet.

    Donald, who had been hiding behind the door, darted forward and grabbed her right arm while pressing his pistol into the small of her back. "What a delight to make your acquaintance Miss Swann," he announced mockingly.

     "What the hell is this about?" Felicity murmured, unable to take her eyes off Bella and me.

     "You know full well what this is about," Donald hissed. "We want the evidence for the upcoming Richardson court case. We couldn't find it when we broke into your office a week ago."

    "As if I'd keep hold of such important evidence."

    "We know you have it Miss Swann," Mickey barked, tightening his grip on my shoulder. "If you don't tell us then we'll make life very unpleasant for your Red and Brunette here!"

     "Ddddnnntt wwrrrrryyy bbbbttt sssss!" Bella suddenly yelled through her gag, desperately wriggling her shoulders.

    But I could tell from the stunned look on Felicity's face what her answer would be. "It's at my house on my home computer. You promise not to hurt Sara and Bella then I'll take you!"

     "NNNNNNMMMMM!" I cried, not wanting her to put herself in danger on my account.

     But Felicity then said something unexpected. "Just make sure you look out for Abigail when you pick her up from her photography course later!" she told me directly, her assured voice not betraying any underlying fear or emotion.

     "I don't think these two are going to be seeing anyone else for the rest of the day," Mickey cackled. "Donald, Pluto, accompany Miss Swann on her commute home! I'll stay here and finish off with these two!"

     Bella and I made loud muffled protests as both men flanking Felicity ushered her out the office. Yet we were limited to uselessly thrashing about as she was escorted down to the car park at the back.

   Ripping more tape loose Mickey told me, "Right then darling, let's finish fixing you up." I tried kicking at him but he dodged my futile efforts and successfully pushed my knees together before he began winding tape around my thighs. I stared angrily at him as he moved down to tape my legs under my knees, then finishing off by welding my ankles together.

    While he was preoccupied by my legs Bella took the initiative. I saw her green eyes gaze through her glasses at her handbag on the desk, and using her unbound legs she shuffled around to try and reach it. She just grasped the handle, making it slowly slide forward to her along the desk. Her fingers were only inches away from reaching inside and grabbing her phone when Mickey glanced up from my feet.

     "Ah ah ah red, can't have you contacting anyone for help just yet!" he scolded mockingly as he grabbed her bag, then flung it into a distant corner of the room. He then dragged her chair back beside mine, before withdrawing his tape roll again.

    "Yyyyllll rrrrgggtt tthhsss!" Bella growled, narrowing her eyes as Mickey began to encase her jean clad legs in tape. Soon she was bound just like me, with tape around her thighs, lower legs and ankles.

      "That should stop you both from raising the alarm for a few hours at least," he guffawed happily as Bella and I squirmed about in our seats. "By the time someone does find you we'll have the information we need." He cleared up all traces of his visit, and to hinder our attempts to escape further he took mine and Bella's phones and placed them on a high shelf, agonisingly out of our reach. And with that he gave us a cheery wave before slamming the door on his way out.

      So that left just Bella and I, stuck in a situation we were both all too familiar with. We struggled in unison, bouncing in our seats with such vigour they rocked on the spot. Our muffled grunts through our sealed mouths filled the office over sound of rain hammering the windowpane. My brown hair whipped about my body as I struggled, while at my side Bella stamped her feet on the carpeted floor. We heard our tape bonds rustle slightly as we flexed against them with all our strength. I tried to find a loose end to peel away with my fingers but found nothing. I lifted up my legs and jiggled them up and down but the tape stuck stubbornly to my nylons.

    I slumped into the chair to recollect my thoughts. Right now Felicity was at the mercy of three dangerous men prepared to go to extraordinary lengths for a piece of information. And there was nothing I could do to help her. I had to get free! I owed it to her after everything she had done for me.

     I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I failed to notice Bella using her bound feet to scrape her chair around the office. I only noticed once she had taken hold of a mug perched on the corner of a desk. She then banged it against the wooden surface repeatedly, each attempt increasingly violent until it suddenly cracked down the middle before falling apart.

     'Oh she is good!' I thought as she took the sharpest shard available and began rubbing it against the tape binding her hands. Tape is damn strong stuff, nigh on impossible to remove from sheer strength alone. But once you've managed to create a nick or tear in the material it comes apart a hell of a lot easier. Bella proved this was the case when after creating a small rip in her wrist bonds found little trouble in breaking apart the rest of it. Soon to the relief of us both she had pulled her hands free.           

     After peeling her tapegag away Bella exclaimed, "Be right there Sara, hold on." It wasn't like I was going anywhere, so I watched on in anticipation as she unfixed the tape binding her legs and her torso. Then she ran over to me with small strands still fixed to the sleeves of her tops, and peeled away the tape carefully from my lips. As I spat out the left glove from my mouth she held up the matching one and said with a relieved smile, "Want this back?"

     "You can keep hold of it for now!" I replied breathlessly, watching over my shoulder as she used the china shard to cut my wrists loose. Once my hands jerked free we set to work liberating the rest of my body. As I peeled away the tape from my upper legs I heard faint snap as my tights laddered along the back of my left thigh. I swore under my breath; there went another pair.

    "So what now?" Bella asked once I was free, grabbing her phone off the shelf. "What's the British emergency number again?"

    "I'm more interested in what Felicity said before they took her," I said while standing up.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well Abigail doesn't do a photography course. She spends her Saturday mornings doing yoga with Harriet."

    "Maybe in the heat of the moment she just got confused," Bella suggested, though I knew Felicity would never get confused about something like that. It had to be a hidden message.

    When I glanced at the picture of her and Abigail holidaying in the Canary Islands on her desk I had a sudden brainwave. I picked it up, removed the frame and pulled out the photo. Nestled in a specially crafted groove concealed behind this picture was a small external USB drive. Bella and I gazed at it in astonishment, both of us willing to bet dollars to donuts that this was what those men had been after.

    We both marvelled at Felicity's resourcefulness. And with the evidence secured, it was time we went to her rescue.


     "So that's pretty much what's happened," I concluded, sitting in the passenger seat of Bella's rental car while speaking on the phone to my best friend.

     "You have told your dad right?" Rachel checked from her end of the line.

     "He's on his way, but he and my mum were visiting my grandma an hour's drive away. Plus he says to get an armed response unit organised and sent from the nearest city on a Saturday lunch time will take a couple of hours."

    Rachel sighed in a 'why-am-I-not-surprised' manner. "Since when were things easy?"

    "Tell me about...take a left here!" Bella responded to my direction by turning her three door vehicle down a small country lane, the ground so filthy that mud flicked up onto the bodywork and windscreen. Bella drove as fast as she felt able to, transporting us to the home of Felicity and Abigail where we surmised they were holding our friend hostage.

      "I can be there in fifteen minutes!" Rachel told me, keen to put her recently issued driving licence to good use.

      "No, you get in contact with Abigail and Harriet and wait with them for my dad."

    She hesitated in her reply, before saying, "Ok Sara, just don't do anything stupid!"

     "You know me Rach!"

    "That's what I'm worried about."

     Once our conversation was ended, Bella manoeuvred around a sharp right turn before asking, "Don't Felicity and Abigail have parents that we should contact?"

     "Not anymore," I answered with a hint of bitterness in my voice.

      Bella detected this was a thorny issue, and changed the subject. "It'll be ok Sara. Those crooks didn't expect us to escape from the office this fast, so we're already one step ahead!"

     I didn't share her positive outlook, as I rechecked my messages in case Abigail had replied. She hadn't, obviously still practising her high lunges. I felt shaken, Felicity's kidnapping had unnerved me in a way I had not experienced before. "I just hope she's going to be ok," I murmured, staring out the rain streaked window.

     Bella paused to choose her words, before she gazed at me through her glasses and said, "I've read your adventures Sara, and the one thing that struck me is how strong your friendships are. You seem to inspire real loyalty and companionship. You haven't escaped all those criminals by dumb luck; but having people willing to come to your aid, and that's an attribute many criminals don't have. That's what will help us rescue Felicity."

    I boggled at the pretty red head, her words filling me with a warm, reassuring sensation that I realised was pride. Smiling gratefully I replied, "That's a pretty in depth analysis."

    Bella laughed and said, "Well I am a writer. How much further?"
  
    We were nearly there. The country house that Felicity and Abigail called home had been left to them by their recently deceased grandmother. She had been a pillar of the Carrington community and a fearsome battleaxe who took her granddaughters under her wing when no-one else would. The house itself was massive; an old fashioned farmhouse built out of local stone and located down the end of a muddy, tree covered lane. Bella parked the car on the country road and we stepped into what was now a light but persistent drizzle to make the rest of the way on foot.

    We skipped around puddles as we approached the building. Felicity's car was parked in its usual place, but beside it was something that really made my blood boil; the silver people carrier that had splashed me earlier. Now it really was personal! Holding back my urge to key it, I joined Bella as we snuck round the back. The curtains were drawn but light still poked through gaps in the fabric. There was definitely someone in.

    I ignored both the front and back doors as I knew another way in. I took Bella to a clump of ferns resting against the stone wall of the house. I pulled them back to reveal a rectangular window that gave light to the large underground cellar. I easily pulled it open, knowing that it was always kept unlocked, a trick I'd learnt playing hide and seek here as a very small kid. Abigail still used it whenever she forgot her house keys, which she did surprisingly regularly.

    I landed on the cold brick floor in between two shelving units, and helped Bella as she lowered herself down. If the young writer was nervous she didn't show it. Personally my heart was beating out full on drum solo. We treaded lightly as we walked up the stone steps, leading to the ground floor, and slowly as possible we swung the door open.

    It led onto a long hallway with oak floorboards covered by elegant rugs. There was no-one nearby, but we heard animated discussion coming from Felicity's home office upstairs. I couldn't make out their conversation, but it sounded frustrated. Hardly daring to breathe in case I was heard, I crept across the hall, avoiding the floorboards that I knew would creak. Bella matching my footsteps, we slowly made for the open doorway across from which a dim light radiated.

    It led to the living room, and as I poked my head around I stifled a gasp. Felicity lay on the leather sofa bound hand and foot, with a rope conjoining her arms and legs into a tight looking hogtie. She'd been gagged with a thick strip of white cloth pulled between her teeth and around her blonde hair. She was still wearing her suit and appeared to be physically unharmed. But her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving a muscle.

      Trotting over on tiptoes I knelt at her side, while Bella began prying at the knots keeping her hogtied. Felicity felt the pressure begin to lift, and groggily opened her eyes. When she saw me she began to groan, at which I pressed my hand over her gagged mouth to stop her attracting attention. "Sssh, let's get you out of here!" I whispered to her as Bella liberated her from the hogtie.

     Felicity's pale blue eyes darted about the room, before I suddenly saw them widen. "Llllllkkk nnntttt!" she cried, with a desperate look that sent shivers through my body. In detective circles such a look is often referred to as the 'there's-someone-right-behind-you,' look.       

    Then someone grabbed my hood from behind and yanked me back. I was tugged into the waiting hands of Mickey, who swiftly clamped his hand over my mouth and kept a firm grip on my hood as I twisted and tugged against him. Bella kicked out as Donald wrapped his arm about her waist and lifted her off the floor, his other hand being used to prevent her screaming. Felicity writhed on the sofa but could only watch as our rescue bid went horribly awry.

     "Love it when snooping ladies wear hoodies. It gives you something easy to keep hold of," Mickey laughed in my ear as I tugged against his gloved hand, squealing behind it in my futile attempt to dislodge it.



    "I've always preferred girls who let their hair down," Pluto remarked as he pulled out Bella's hair tie.

    "Get off me!" Bella snarled as her now liberated red hair draped itself over her shoulders, the ends just brushing the ropes coiled about her chest and arms.

     Mickey simply laughed at her from where he knelt at my feet. "Well that's what happens to stubborn damsels that don't learn their lesson."

    I winced as he tightly cinched the ropes he was fixing around my ankles, after which I remarked icily, "You've talked to my history teacher then."

     "Anyone told you that you've got a real loud mouth?"

     "Frequently!"

     I gave a defiant wriggle of my bonds from where I sat on the leather sofa, with Bella at my side. We'd been stringently bound with strong brown ropes, our hands crossed behind our backs, ropes encircling our bodies and our legs trussed at the thighs, lower legs and ankles. The men knew their stuff; despite mine and Bella's best attempts to wriggle free nothing was coming loose.

       There was a loud ripping sound from the doorway, where Donald was tearing off strips from a white bed sheet. Beside him stood Felicity, ungagged and feet untied but her hands still fixed behind her. She still looked shell shocked, the normally strong headed PI looking strangely indecisive. Once Donald had torn four strips he handed two over to Mickey and kept two to himself. "Let's see if we can shut chatterbox here up for a while," he guffawed at me while rolling a strip into a ball.

     "You really think you can just keep us here?" Bella snapped as Donald approached with the cloths outstretched purposefully. "I don't know what the sentence for kidnap is in this country but regardless you guys are in some serious shhhthtttt hhhgggmmm!"

     Watching as her mouth was stuffed I added quickly before it was my turn, "My dad will come after me, and believe me, you don't want him affttttrrr gggmmm!"

     "Ooh I'm terrified," Mickey sneered as he stuffed the balled up rag in my own mouth. I emitted defiant grunts as he took the un-balled strand and forced it between my teeth. It had been washed recently, and I tasted detergent as he tightly knotted the strands behind my head, trapping my hair underneath. Beside me Bella shook her head as she tried to stop Donald gagging her the same way, without success. Their work done, we were shoved back into the sofa roughly, sitting shoulder to shoulder and only able to glare defiantly at our captors.  

    "They've got a point though," said Pluto. "Surely these girls will have called the police by now. Maybe we should get out of here."

      "And return to our benefactor with nothing?" Mickey hissed. "He paid us a lot of money to get that information, and if we return empty handed then we might as well kiss our arses goodbye. But I don't suppose Miss Swann will allow that to happen, will you darling?"

     Felicity narrowed her eyes disdainfully. "What happens if I tell you to go to hell?"

     "Then we'll have to reimburse our client with something of an equivalent value. I'd say the cost of selling a red head and a brunette to a rich, reclusive Arab sheik would cover it!" Bella and I glanced at each other fearfully. Surely they wouldn't actually go so far as to sell us into slavery?

     Felicity didn't call his bluff. "Ok it was in my office. I promise I'll hand it over to you. Then will you leave us alone?"

     "Scouts honour darling," Mickey jeered as he walked over and grabbed her by the arm. "Donald, patrol the perimeter and keep an eye out for the police. Pluto, watch our pretty hostages. Miss Swann and I are going to pick the information up. And if she's bluffing again, it's a one way trip for these two!"

     "NNNMMMM DDDNNNTTT GGGGNNN!" Bella and I chorused as she was shepherded outside. But with these damn cloths wedging our mouths open there was no way we could tell them that the information was actually located in the glove compartment of Bella's rental car. We could only jiggle on the spot as we heard the ignition of the silver people carrier.

     And so Bella and I were limited to spending our time slumped into the sofa watching the minutes tick past on the nearby grandfather clock. We made plenty of frustrated groans through the fabric in our mouths as we flexed against our bonds. But with Donald in the room with us there was no point trying to wriggle free. I sighed. Tied up twice in just over an hour; Impressive even by my standards.    

    Yet Bella wasn't quite out of good ideas. I watched as she twisted her feet up and down, slowly working off her red converse shoes revealing her plain white socks. Then, checking Donald wasn't looking, she dragged them underneath the sofa with her feet and out of sight. I knew what she was up to. If things didn't go well for us then at least we'd left a clue indicating that we'd been held here. I also began rubbing my feet against each other, so that eventually my favourite purple converse shoes slipped off. Grasping the soles with my nylon covered toes I also slid them underneath the sofa, then looked up apprehensively to make sure Donald hadn't seen me.  

     He hadn't; instead he was pacing up and down the room, nervously fiddling with the mobile phone in his gloved hand. It appeared the situation was getting a little too intense for him. With him preoccupied by his own thoughts I shuffled around a little and grasped Bella's wrist bonds. She responded by twisting about herself as I picked at the coarse ropes with my numbing fingers. I wasn't trying to free her outright, rather loosen her ropes for a possible escape opportunity later.

    But I made very little progress, the knots small and difficult to gain a purchase on. Bella nodded at me, indicating she'd like a go. I obliged and fell still, feeling her fingers brush mine as she worked. When she too made little progress she groaned, "Dddmmmttt," casting her eyes to the ceiling. For the first time I saw a hint of panic creeping into them from behind her glasses. I gave her hand a quick squeeze to reassure her, convinced my dad would be here soon with the cavalry.

     But the minutes dragged on, and nothing happened. I recently devised Sara's theory of damsel time, which states the more stringent someone is bound the slower time passes. The ticks of the grandfather clock seemed to reverberate against my head. I waited and waited, hoping each passing second would be the one when I heard sirens wailing in the distance.

    When I heard the front door being thrown open my heart leapt in anticipation. But that was quashed by Donald's voice shouting, "I need help here Pluto!" over the sound of muffled squeaks and high heels scuffing the wooden floorboards. Pluto ran out, and seconds later he returned with Donald, helping to restrain a thrashing girl with raven hair, wearing a dark long sleeve top, jean miniskirt, dark tights and brown high heel boots.

    "RRRCCCCCHHLLL!" I exclaimed.

     "SSSSRRRRR!" Rachel cried back through the hand covering her mouth. My best friend had been so worried for me that despite my instructions she'd come out here alone anyway. She'd been snooping around looking for us when Donald had nabbed her.

      "Pass us that bag of rope!" Donald barked as he fought to keep the thrashing girl under control. Bella and I moaned and struggled but could only act as spectators while Pluto unravelled yet more brown rope and handed it over to Donald. Minutes later they applied the finishing touch to a thick cleave gag pulled between Rachel's lips and over her dark hair, before shoving her onto the sofa beside me.

     "Mmmm sssrrryyy!" Rachel murmured, testing the cords binding her hands, torso and legs.

     "Tsssss lllrrrrrttt!" I replied, trying to battle down my rising feelings of despair. I started struggling intensely on the spot, sandwiched between my oldest friend and my newest. I'd had enough of waiting; I wanted to get out of this now!

     A matter of minutes later the front door was thrown open again. "We've got to move now!" Mickey yelled before striding into the room purposefully. He gave a double take when he saw the trussed up Rachel perched on the sofa. "Where'd she come from?" he asked, pointing at us. "And what happened to their shoes?"

      "Never mind that, what do you mean we've got to move!" Pluto asked sheepishly.

     "The office was crawling with police. There's no way we're getting that information now. Let's grab these three and get back to the den sharpish!"

    We three captives writhed and thrashed as they approached. But there was nothing we could do to stop Donald kneeling down before Bella and throwing her over his shoulder, her red hair dangling down with her head facing the opposing way to her carrier. Mickey then hoisted me up into a similar carrying position, while Pluto did the same to Rachel. Our bound bodies were then hauled out the building in single file. I could only stare at Rachel's jiggling boots and listen to Bella's muffled cries as we were carried into the Saturday lunchtime drizzle.

    As we were transported to the waiting people carrier I caught a glimpse of Felicity in the front seat, held in place by the seatbelt with her hands still bound. As the door was slid open she yelled, "I can still get you the information, I swear. It doesn't have to be like this!"

     "Too bad Miss Swann, you should have obeyed us in the first place!" Mickey growled as Rachel was thrown onto the left back seat. Then I was dumped on the right back seat, with Bella deposited in the middle. As our seatbelts were pulled around us he added with a cruel smile, "Safety first ladies." We all pleaded for release, but he didn't oblige. We simply sat fearfully as Donald and Pluto took the seats in front of us, with Mickey taking the wheel.

      "Ready for a road trip?" Mickey laughed as he turned on the ignition. We mewled through our gags as we stared through the blacked out windows. We'd run out of time! I stared at Bella lost in feelings of hopelessness, while she did the same. Was this really going to be the end of her writing career, and of my detective adventures?"

    But at the end of the lane a red hatchback pulled in front of us, blocking the carriers escape. We watched through the windshield as two girls, one with blonde hair and the other with red, got out the car and advanced on us purposefully. "If you think you can just cruise away with my sister and best friends, think again!" I heard the blonde girl shout.

    "Abigail no!" Felicity cried, staring at her sister willing her to make a run for it.

     But Abigail and Harriet were not going anywhere. Still dressed in their jogging tops and bottoms from their yoga session, Harriet bellowed, "You want to capture the only other two witnesses to your crime, then come on. I double dare you!"

     The men looked on in stunned silence at this defiant display, Mickey, Donald and Pluto eventually got out the car and began to trudge forward towards the meddlesome girls. "Big mistake coming home this early little sis!" Mickey growled at Abigail.

     Abigail simply smiled at him. "I wouldn't say that. I mean, what with the plan Harriet came up with!"

      "What plan?" Mickey snapped.

     "Oh it's a great plan, one of my best!" Harriet grinned. "In it we block your escape to serve as a diversion, while the area is surrounded by armed policeman who can arrest you on the spot."

      And that's exactly what happened. Men clad in black armour exploded out of every bush and darted out from behind every tree. They aimed their rifles at the masked criminals, shouting at them to drop their weapons. Seeing they were surrounded, they gave up without too much of a fuss, knowing they were beaten.

     "Told it you would work," Harriet told Abigail smugly.



     "Thanks so much for the rescue girls," Bella said to Abigail and Harriet, sitting on the sofa now unbound and cradling a steaming mug of coffee in her hands.

     "Hey, it's our duty as stunningly beautiful redheads to watch out for each other!" Harriet beamed at her.

      "What did those creeps want anyway sis?" Abigail asked, handing another mug to Felicity from where she sat in an armchair.

     "They were hired by local mob bosses to steal the information I had on an upcoming court case, because the defendant is going to exchange information on them for a more lenient sentence," Felicity explained. "They want the trial to collapse so he'd be released, and then they'd silence him for good."

     "That won't happen now thanks to your quick thinking ladies," said Detective Inspector Philips, aka my dad. The USB stick we'd taken from Felicity's office was in his laptop as he checked to see the information was still intact. Briefly looking up at me he added jokingly, "Though next time, try to listen to your old man and wait for the armed response unit."

     "Yeah like that's going to happen!" I laughed, before taking a sip of my extra strength instant coffee. It was probably because of the long morning I'd had, but it was the best tasting coffee I'd ever glugged back.

     Felicity gazed over at me, and smiled for the first time since 9:32 this morning. "Thanks so much for everything today girls. You were brilliant!"

     I remembered what Bella had told me in the car, about inspiring loyalty and companionship, and realised that it went both ways. "After the number of times you've bailed us out, it was our pleasure," I told her. Then glancing at the red headed writer at my side I added, "Although I wouldn't have got very far today without my interviewer."

     "I was glad to help," Bella replied as she re tied her hair back. "Plus I got a great first-hand account on real life crime fighters. Though the next time I interview you Sara Philips I'm definitely coming prepared!"

     We all laughed happily at her statement. Well everyone apart from Rachel, who sat down beside me with her blue eyes flashing jealously, before muttering, "What do you mean 'interviewer'?"
It seemed like I'd only just put my pen down from my last collab when I recieved an offer for another. But when that offer is for Sara to share an adventure with the lovely and damsel prone Bella Jade then how could I possibly refuse?

So what happens when Sara arrives at her work placement for an interview with a certain red headed writer? I think you can hazard a solid guess ;)

:iconbellajade: will be providing illustrations to accompany this tale, so keep an eye out for them! Hope you all enjoy Sara's latest crossover tale!

Bella Jade created and owned by :iconbellajade: Sara Philips and all other characters in this story created and owned by me.
© 2012 - 2024 Golavus
Comments14
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ScottGrisham's avatar
Well it's official. Felicty is my second fave after Sara.
That is subject to change though with the way you write your OCs. Sara will always be front and center though.
I love her fashion sense, her easygoing manner as a boss, her smarts, and the overall vibe I get off this character.

I liked the interaction between Sara and Bella Jade.
Fun story here, loved the descriptive gagging with the laundry detergent gag.
Also the coffee incidents were pretty good. :D