Family Cornered (MF/MmFf)

[Detective-Gag]

(the following story was based on a request)

“Alright, Paul…see you when you get home!”

Tracy swiped the touch screen on her phone to end the call, setting the cell phone down on the counter. Her husband had just gotten off work, and had told her that he needed to make a few stops on the way home.

Which suited her just fine; it gave her some extra time to prepare dinner for the evening. Tracy had spent the last several hours doing a heavy cleaning of the home…she had her brown hair held back with a pink bandana to keep the loose strands out of her face, a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, her blue denim jacket tied around her waist by the sleeves, as she had made her way from the upper levels of her 3-story home, vacuuming & dusting everything from the windowsills, furniture & carpets; as well as scrubbing the bathrooms. She had removed her cleaning gloves when she had taken her husbands call; now she started to put her supplies away so that she could decompress for the afternoon.

Her oldest daughter occupied the renovated 3rd floor that would have normally served as an attic; the 19 year old Katie had gotten home from her classes and immediately made her way upstairs to study. Her two youngest children, Stella & Toby, were spending time with their grandmother downstairs in the basement…she’d have to remember to thank her mom again for looking after the kids while she got the chores completed!

Add to that, her friend Vera stopping by later for a visit…Tracy wanted to make sure she had everything finished so that the two of them could spend some relaxing time together.

She had just wheeled the vacuum cleaner into the closet & was shutting the door…when she saw a tall figure standing just beside her!

Startled, Tracy yelped a bit and was about to shout…when she felt a gloved hand clamp down over her mouth from somewhere behind her.

“Don’t scream,” came the sound of a woman’s voice, speaking softly into Tracy’s ear so she could hear her.

“Whrm ymph…!?” Tracy mumbled into the hand, about to pull away when the lady holding her wrapped an arm around her.

“Hold still!” the woman hissed, keeping Tracy’s arms at her sides.

Tracy’s eyes were wide with shock as she saw the figure approach her: the man wore a a black turtleneck, jeans, and balaclava that covered his entire head, save for a narrow eye slit so that he could see. His gloved hands took hold of her wrists; and Tracy felt the woman’s hand remove itself from her lips.

“Gah!” Tracy breathed. “What are you doing in my hou…MMPH!”

Tracy realized too late that her brief moment to speak should not have been wasted on a question; as she felt a white piece of cloth be pulled tightly over her mouth, swiftly cutting off her words.

“Gmph!” Tracy murmured, as the gag was tied behind her neck by the woman.

“I said be quiet!” the woman told her gruffly, finishing tying the cloth in place, before spinning her around to face her. Tracy saw a blonde ponytail poking out from beneath the black mask; otherwise the woman intruder was dressed identically to the man. Meanwhile, the male intruder took Tracy’s hands behind her back, and began binding them with rope.

As Tracy stood boxed-in between them, she glanced off to the side, and saw two more masked men keeping watch…how had these people entered the house without her hearing them?

The man finished securing her, and nudged her over to the two others. “Keep an eye on her while we take care of the others downstairs,” he told them, as the two flunkies both took her by either arm.

“Whmph!? Nmph, dmn…HRMPH!”

Tracy had attempted to tell the group to stay away from the rest of her family, when one of the men placed their hand over her already gagged mouth, and held her still…

—

Moira had been idly watching the television in the basement, her two youngest grandkids chasing each other around, playing some kind of tag.

“Hey!” yelled Toby, a boy with short dark hair, as his sister narrowly scored a touch as he rounded a corner.

“Got you!” she declared triumphantly, as the boy in the green t shirt & black gym shorts attempted to return the favor, lashing out with an extended hand.

She dodged, laughing as she danced out of reach, and took off towards the other end of the basement, longer brown hair whipping behind her as her sibling gave chase.

“Both of you, be careful!” Moira chided, her back to the whole game as she sat in the reclining chair, eyes never breaking away from the TV. The older woman had her graying brown hair tied up in a loose braid, a maroon sweater & long black skirt. The program she was watching was a crime drama of some kind; the sort that played episodes back-to-back continuously all day long.

Amidst the sound of the program, Moira heard one of the children let out a yelp.

“Are you alright…?” Moira called, still not looking away from the television screen. “I did tell you two to use some caution!”

“…mmmmmm…”

Moira paused. “What was that, dear?” she answered back. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“…mmmmmm!”

“Use your words, dear,” Moira offered.

“They might find that difficult, currently,” came the sound of a woman’s voice.

Startled, Moira turned from her seat in the chair, and the sight of two masked strangers standing in her daughter’s basement greeted her. The larger of the two, a man, stood with a length of white rope clutched between two gloved hands. The other, a woman with a blonde ponytail, stood with both Toby & Stella standing beside her, her hands covering the children’s mouths.

“Mmmmmmmmm!” her grandkids intoned, unable to form words, their eyes wide above black gloved hands.

“What is the meaning of this!?” Moira gasped, rising from the chair. “Who are you!?”

“Be silent,” the woman holding the kids hostage told her. “We’re not here to hurt anyone…but we will be keeping you three a bit tied up while we conduct some business.”

She nodded to her partner, who approached Moira with the length of rope.

“Hands behind your back, m’am,” he told her.

Moira grimaced as her wrists were crossed behind her & bound with the rope, as the masked man proceeded to then loop additional lengths around her arms & torso, while the children watched silently.

“I don’t understand this at all,” Moira sputtered, as her arms were snugly locked into place at her sides, rows of rope encircling above and below her chest. “Are you burglars…? Please, you can take what you want and simply go!”

“You don’t need to ask any questions,” the man said when he finished tying the grandmother’s arms. He then produced a roll of white duct tape, tearing off a piece. “In fact, you don’t need to speak at all.”

Moira looked between the duct tape and the man’s covered face. “Oh, no…that isn’t necessary,” Moira assured. “We can be quiet.”

“We prefer not to take the risk,” the lady stated. “Consider it some additional “persuasion” to behave yourselves.”

“But…mmph!” Moira started to say, before the white tape was pressed over her mouth by the man. “Mmph!”

Moira grumbled as additional pieces of duct tape were smoothed over the first. Then, much to Moira’s dismay, the man then took a white handkerchief from his pocket, and tied it tightly over the tape so that she could not peel in off.

“Sit, please,” the man said to the now-silent grandmother, who was then lowered back into the recliner, as her ankles & knees were secured with more ropes over her skirt.

“Alright, now that we have the adults taken care of, time to tie and gag these brats,” the woman said to her partner.

“Mmmmmm..!!” the two siblings mumbled in response, shifting where they stood as their captor held them still.

“Dmph!” Moira pleaded, leaning forward in the recliner, voice muffled by the tape and gag.

“Start with the boy,” the woman ordered, and the man tore off another piece of duct tape as he approached.

“Remain calm, young man,” the man suggested to the boy, as the blonde woman removed her hand from Toby’s mouth, and the white tape was applied.

“Mmmm…” the boy murmured, as he was gagged with two more pieces of tape.

The man went on to tie the young man’s hands behind his back, passing the roll of tape off his partner. The blonde kidnapper momentarily released Stella’s mouth, as she tore more duct tape from the roll; but the young girl did not attempt to flee.

“Are you two kidnappers?” the girl inquired, as she watched her brother get tied up, ropes fastening around his arms.

“Technically, yes,” the blonde woman grunted, between ripping two more rips from the roll. “Except you aren’t coming with us; we’re just keeping you from causing trouble.”

“Like a hostage?” Stella specified. “I’ve seen shows on TV like that.”

“Then you know that the chatty kid always gets gagged,” the blonde woman stated, before pressing one of the strips of tape over Stella’s mouth.

“Mmph!” the girl said, as the lady applied the rest of the tape over the first, then began tying Stella’s hands behind her.

Eventually, both the children had their upper bodies bound with ropes. The sibling’s exchanged glances, not able to communicate with the tape covering their mouths.

“Put them with the grandmother; and tie their legs so they stay put,” the woman ordered. “And make sure they keep those gags on…don’t want to alert the older sister.”

The man shepherded the two siblings over to their writhing grandmother, as both sat on the carpet next to her, watching as the woman disappeared back upstairs…presumably to capture their eldest sister, Stephanie…

—

The blonde woman checked back in on the mother in the living room, who sat on the couch between the other two hired goons.

Tracy locked eyes with the blonde woman as she entered. “Whrmphs mmph fmlmph!?” she mumbled through the cloth covering her mouth.

“They’re fine,” the woman reassured the mother. “We’ve got them tied & gagged…which leaves only your oldest, Stephanie.”

Tracy made a move to stand up defiantly; but was held back down by the two masked men flanking her.

“Relax; she’ll be joining them shortly,” the woman laughed, leaving Tracy to her struggles.

Making her way upstairs, the woman inspected the other rooms; finding them to be empty. Perplexed, the female intruder continued up another flight of stairs…and heard the faint sound of music coming through a doorway.

Tentatively opening the door, the blonde intruder saw that what she had presumed to be the attic was actually the daughter’s room…music posters, a bed, and hanging lights decorated the space. At the far end of the room was a desk; where the oldest daughter, Stephanie, sat in a chair with her back to her: long dark hair, jeans, and a blue t-shirt.

A pair of headphone covered her ears; blaring rock music of some kind…convenient for the intruders; as the music had probably blocked out any sounds of struggle from the mother downstairs.

The blonde woman crept up behind the girl slowly…and just when the sitting girl seemed like she detected someone’s presence; the woman placed a hand over her mouth.

“Whmt-thm…!?”

“Shhh…!” the blonde lady hushed, as she removed the girl’s earphones & pulled her slowly away from the desk by the wheels of her office chair. “This is a kidnapping, my dear. Don’t struggle…we have the rest of your family already downstairs.”

At first, Stephanie had struggled…but the last bit caused her to freeze.

“Now, I’m going to remove my hand; and then we’re going to get you situated with everyone else,” the blonde burglar said.

Stephanie nodded, and the woman removed her hand. “Who are you?”

“Not important,” the woman answered, brushing off the question. She removed a handkerchief from her pocket, tossing it to the daughter. “Put this in your mouth.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, I can’t very well keep my hand on your mouth 24/7,” she scoffed, producing the roll of duct tape, and tearing off the strips.

“God…” Stephanie muttered, and did as she was commanded. Once the rag was in her mouth, the blonde woman smoothed the white tape over her lips.

“Gmnd enmph…?” Stephanie mumbled.

“Almost,” the blonde woman teased, and then stretched a length of white cloth over the tape, tightening a knot at the back of her head & finishing the gag. She then started tying Stephanie's wrists & arms.

"Since you asked...we're holding your family hostage so that your father does us a little favor," the woman remarked, as she ensnared Stephanie. "A simple matter; and then we'll leave you to your business."

"Bmph whmph tmm mm umph?"

"To keep you from causing trouble," said the blonde woman, tightening the final knot & causing Stephanie to grimace. "And so that we don't need to exchange pointless chit-chat." She nudged the older sister. "Now march."

The blonde kidnapper then escorted the bound daughter back downstairs, where she was greeted to the sight of her tied & gagged mother wedged between two masked strangers in the living room.

"Momph!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Lmph mm dghtrmph gmph!" Tracy demanded to the blonde woman through her gag. She tried to stand again, but was once more held down to the couch by either arm by her guards.

"Nah," answered the blonde woman, as Stephanie wriggled in her clutches. "We'll be putting her with the others downstairs...just thought you'd like to see that they're unharmed."

"Hlmph mmph!" Stephanie tried to yell, the wad of cloth muffling her speech.

"Well, tied & gagged, but otherwise unharmed," the woman ammended.

There came a knock at the door.

Immediately, the blonde woman clamped a hand over Stephanie's gagged mouth to stifle her cries. "Who is that!?" the female captor asked the mother angrily.

Tracy looked between the masked woman and her daughter. "Mmph Vrumph," she tried to say.

The blonde kidnapper motioned to one of her men, who slipped the cloth from Tracy's mouth.

"Ah...it's Vera; a friend of mine who was coming to dinner," Tracy explained once she could speak.

"Damn," cursed the blonde woman, passing Stephanie along to the other masked man. "Keep her hear and make sure she doesn’t make a sound!”

The man did as he was told and held the daughter in place, as Stephanie stood wide-eyed and nervous.

"Get her wrists untied," the blonde lady ordered the other man, who started unfastening Tracy's ropes.

"You're going to invite your friend inside," the blonde kidnapper told the mother. "Don't say anything about what's going on...don't tip her off; and don't try to warn her...just get her inside." She locked eyes with the hostage. "Understood?"

"I...understand," Tracy muttered in response, rubbing her wrists. She looked over at Stephanie. “I’m sorry about this; but just do as they say.”

The daughter nodded back at her mother, saying nothing beneath her gag.

“Enough talk,” the blonde woman snapped, urging the mother out of the room.

Together, the blonde woman, the masked man & Tracy all went to the front door in the foyer. Both the masked intruders hid themselves just beyond view from either side of the threshold. Again, there was a knock, and a faint voice called, “Tracy? Anybody there…?”

Tracy steadied herself, took a breathe, and unlocked the door. Before her stood her friend Vera; a beaming lady with dark hair & pearl earrings, wearing a deep red jacket over a white turtleneck, and a short black skirt.

“Finally!” Vera laughed, flashing a big grin. “Was wondering what was keeping you.”

Tracy tried to mirror the smile. “Hey, Vera,” she answered. “Sorry about that; I was upstairs.” She paused. “Would you…like to come in?”

“So formal!” Vera exclaimed, and Tracy stepped out from the doorway to let her friend enter. “I know I’m a bit early; so I’m sorry if you were still getting read…YMPH!”

No sooner than Vera had entered the foyer, that both the masked intruders ambushed her: the man pulled her abruptly to the side, and before Vera could register the danger, the blonde woman took the white handkerchief she’d use to gag Tracy, and quickly pulled it over Vera’s mouth.

“Whmt mm thmph!?” Vera yelled, eyes darting between the kidnappers.

“You’ve walked into the middle of a kidnapping,” the blonde intruder grunted, as she finished tightening the gag. “Tracy, close the door!”

“Tracmph!?” the friend mumbled, as she looked frightfully over at Tracy, who shut the front entrance closed.

“I’m so sorry, Vera,” the brown-haired woman apologized. “They have my family.”

Vera blinked, stunned, as the man proceeded to loop rope around her hands & arms.

“Go get the daughter, and bring them both downstairs with the others,” the blonde woman said. “The husband will be here soon.”

Vera moaned as she was taken away, and the blonde woman re-bound Tracy’s hands behind her back.

“Why?” Tracy asked, since she could still speak. “Why go through all of this?”

“You and your family are leverage,” the blonde woman answered, as she loosened Tracy’s pink bandana from her hair. “Your husband will take one look at the rest of you; and he’ll do whatever we say.”

“Surely there was another way to go about this!”

The blonde woman pulled the pink bandana tightly over Tracy’s mouth, gagging her once more. “This way is more dramatic…and much more fun.”

“Mmph!”

—

Paul pulled his car up the driveway, exiting the vehicle and making his way through the front door of his family’s home. A man with dark hair cut short, Paul was average height but athletically built, and sported a white dress shirt, deep blue tie, and black suit pants.

“Hello?” he called, voice echoing through the home when he entered.

“…in here, honey!” came the sound of his wife’s voice from the living room.

Paul started down the hall to join her. “Sorry I got held up,” he started to say. “Boss had a last-minute delivery that needed locked up, so I had to hang but until they were done loading…wha…?”

Paul entered the living room, and found his wife sitting on the couch between two complete strangers, both dressed in jet-black turtlenecks & jeans, with mask covering their whole faces, save for the eyes.

One of them, the man, had their arms wrapped around the back of Tracy’s head, their gloves hand pressed over her mouth, his wife’s eye wide and fearful, her link bandana dangling around her neck. Lengths of white rope lashed above & below her chest held her arms to their sides.

The other stranger…a woman, judging from her figure & the blonde ponytail poking out from the back of her mask…spoke to him, saying, “No need to apologize; it gave us plenty of time to prepare.”

Tracy groaned when she met her husband’s gaze.

“What the hell is going on here!?” Paul thundered.

“Keep your voice down,” the blonde woman chastised, as Tracy shook her head slowly to ease Paul down from his outburst.

“Thmv hmvn rm chldrmph, Plmph,” Tracy tried to tell him, her captor’s hand obstructing her.

“You can let her speak,” the blonde lady told her partner. “She knows what’s at stake.”

“They have our children, Paul,” Tracy repeated, once the hand was removed. “And my mother & Vera, too…they have them tied up & gagged downstairs.”

“This has to be some kind of joke,” Paul muttered, his eyes furrowed, looking at the masked intruders.

Tracy shook her head again. “They want something from you; they won’t tell me what it is.”

“Well, since he’s here, maybe we can just get right to it,” the blonde woman said, and stood up. “But first…” she took some rope that had been sitting next to her, “…I’ll need you to put your hands behind your back.”

Paul eyed her up and down. “And if I refuse?” he dared.

“Why, we could ask your wife…”

The masked man put his hand back over Tracy’s mouth, and her eyes pleaded with her husband.

Paul sighed, slumping a bit, and he turned around, crossing his wrists behind him.

The female intruder deftly bound his hands, and then proceeded to wrap rope around Paul’s chest and tie, fixing his arms in place. He grunted at the tightness of the ropework.

“That should hold you,” the woman praised. “Let’s go see the others; then I think you’ll be more than willing to talk business.”

Both Tracy & Paul were taken down into the basement, where they were greeted with a harrowing sight: chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle, and seated in them were their children, Stella & Toby, sitting next to each other, white tape pressed over their mouths, bound feet kicking outward as they struggled against rope holding them to the back of the chair…their oldest, Stephanie, who was angrily mumbling through a white handkerchief tied over her mouth…Moira, Tracy’s elderly mother, who silently regarded the two parents as they descended the stairs, an identical white cloth gagging her…and Paul blinked as he recognized Vera, Tracy’s friend from work, occupying the final seat, fuming angrily against her ropes & bobbing her head up and down, trying to work off the cloth pulled tight over her lips & hair. Flanking either side of the group were two more men in masks, their arms folded, watching them.

“Mmph! Dmmph!” said their youngest kids through the gags when they saw them.

Soon, all the hostages were buzzing in a series of stifled mumbles.

“As you can see; we’ve had our hands full,” the blonde kidnapper stated. She turned to her men. “Pull up a chair for the mother,” she told them.

“You won’t get away with this,” Paul told the kidnappers from where he stood, as another chair was added next to Stella & Toby, and Tracy was sat down in in. “How dare you tie up a bunch of innocent people!”

“This is just the incentive,” the woman shot back at him. She turned back Tracy. “Gag her properly this time; she’s done talking.

“It’s going to be all right, kids,” she said to them, as more rope was added to tie her legs together at the knees & ankles, and to secure her body against the chair. Then the men stuffed a rag inside her mouth, took out the roll of white tape, and smoothed several strips over her lips. Finally, her pink-dotted bandana was tied over the duct tape in a tight gag. The rest of the hostages watched as yet another captive was added to their group.

“Keep calm, honey!” Paul encouraged, and the scowled at the men. “Alright, you’ve made your point…what exactly is this about?”

“You actually mentioned it when you came inside,” the woman answered. “Your boss had dropped off some valuable merchandise just before you left your office, I believe you said?”

Paul blinked. “I don’t know anything about that,” he told them. “I just signed for the delivery.”

“…and armed the security lock,” the woman added.

“I….you…you kidnapped my family to get my security combination!?” Paul replied in disbelief.

“There is a group ready to empty the contents of that delivery,” the woman explained. “You’ll give us the combination; and we’ll make a phone call…and then it’s settled.”

“Why not just kidnap me, if that’s all you wanted!”

“Had to make sure you’d tell us the truth,” the woman confided. “That, and once you’re tied & gagged here with all of them; nobody will blame you for the incident…you had no choice.”

Paul frowned, processing the explanation.

The woman sighed, and walked over to him, pulling a cell phone out of her pocket. “The code,” she instructed him.

Paul let out a breathe, then leaned over to whisper the combination to the masked lady.

“Hang on,” the lady said, once he was finished. She dialed a number on the cell phone, and walked to the other end of the basement.

“…you’re inside?” A pause. “Excellent…we’ll wrap things up here.”

“See, now that wasn’t too hard, was it?” she said to Paul as she walked back to the confined group. She turned to her men. “Gag him…and make sure everyone else is nice & secured.”

“Hrrrrmph!” Paul grunted, as a wad of cloth was pushed into his mouth, and white tape was applied over his lips. “Mmph!”

He was sat in a final chair next to his wife, and fastened to the back of it with rope; then both his feet were lashed to the front legs of the chair. The blonde leader appraised his bonds, ensuring the man could not get free, then pulled a blue handkerchief from her pocket, going behind him before tying the fabric tightly over his taped mouth.

“You’ve been such a help, thank you,” the woman teased, as he finished gagging Paul.

“Hrrrrmmmph,” Paul muffled angrily.

Meanwhile, the other masked men checked on everyone else ropes, occasionally tightening a knot that had become a bit too loose. Two more white handkerchiefs were tied over Toby & Stella’s taped mouths to match the others; and Vera was briefly un-gagged so that her mouth could be taped as well.

“Gah…! You people are crazy! Let us the hell of…HRMPH!” she snarled, just before the duct tape was pressed over her lips.

Her gag was tied back over her mouth, and then everyone sat bound & silenced, looking over at each other with dismay.

“Finally!” the woman exclaimed, once everyone had been quieted. “Well, it’s been fun, family…but we’ll be making our exit now.”

A few of the hostages mumbled a worried series of incompressible words.

“Don’t worry,” the female kidnapper told them. “In two hours, a call will be made to the police; and they’ll come and find you all. Until then…enjoy the family bonding!”

The woman laughed, and both she and her men went back upstairs, leaving the captives alone. They heard the front door shut…and then all was silent.

Immediately, the adults all started shifting against their ropes, trying to escape. When it became clear that these villains were experts with their knot-work, the hostages resigned themselves to their captivity, and tried speaking to one another through their gags.

Tracy mumbled an explanation of their progressive kidnapping to her husband; then started reassuring their children of their imminent release…though the siblings did not seem too upset by the ordeal. Moira rolled her eyes and did not try to speak much, as the grandmother was assailed by a loud stream of muffled curses from the frustrated Vera.

An hour or two passed, and there came the sound of the front door opening. “Police!” shouted a man. “Anybody in here!?”

“Whrm dmnstrs!” shouted the gagged captives, and about a half dozen officers came barreling down into the basement.

“We got a bunch of hostages tied & gagged in the basement,” one of the police buzzed on the radio, while the others moved to free the victims. “Looks like the family; seems like that anonymous call wasn’t fooling.”

The group twisted & groaned as the police swarmed in to assist them. The children were freed first; followed by the ladies. As soon as they could move their arms, they pulled down their gags, peeled off the tape, and spat out the stuffing.

“Easy there,” the officers said as they moved to Paul next.

“Grmph…gah!” he gasped, as they slipped off the blue handkerchief & pulled away the duct tape, and he forced the rag from his mouth. “They blackmailed me…took my family hostage & made me give up my business’s security code!”

The police continued to gather everyone’s accounts of the event, it becoming clear that whoever these thieves were; they had already made their grand escape…

[Tiengag5]

Excellent story of a family being tied and gagged in a robbery.

[BearPlants]

You beat me to it. Well-written and a fun read!

[harveygasson]

A really well written and fun story! Great job