Treasure Hunters (MM/ff)

[Detective-Gag]

(the following short story was a request):

Teenage sleuths Samantha & Cameron we’re absolutely jubilant; their latest misadventure had led them on the path to reclaiming the obscure, carved stature known as the Jade Rabbit…a rare monument carved in the likeness of the animal using the pale green, precious stone; said to bring good fortune to it’s owner.

…and perhaps ironically, that statement was actually true: the value of the Jade Rabbit itself was such that it was already worth a fortune; and had circulated amongst the underworld black market for the last hundred years by superstitious owners, eager to add to their own wealth & believing that merely possessing the statue would grant them luck in this regard.

None of this mattered to the two teenage snoops: upon learning that the statue had been obtained by a wealthy business owner & local scumbag…stolen, of course, by hired thieves…the duo had resolved to locate the statue and bring it back to where it belonged: in a museum.

…the two of them MIGHT have been inspired by the classic “Indiana Jones” flicks; but the principal still stood firm.

Upon learning that the greedy baron planned to sell the Jade Rabbit to a black market buyer, the young detectives had managed to break into the villain’s manor estate, sneak past his security, and delve into the lower basement levels…where they found all sorts of priceless relics.

Upon scouring the rows & rows of artwork & various treasures, they finally found their prize: a Jade Rabbit, presented upon a humble pedestal.

“Excellent!” Samantha uttered in a hushed whisper, gazing over the stature. The round-bespectacled girl had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, her white buttoned top, black tie, and black skirt giving her a scholarly appearance for a student. Samantha had a passion for history; and the prospect of actually finding a ancient relic like this excited her to no end.

“Take that, scumbags!” Cameron whispered fiercely at her friends side. Whereas her friend had academic interest in their exploits; Cameron was in it for the thrill…she enjoyed adventures, overcoming dangers, and foiling the bad guys. The brown-skinned adolescent had long straight black hair, a short leather jacket over a red shirt, jeans, and combat boots.

Their prize right in front of them, with seemingly nothing in their way to claim it, finally tempted them: Cameron reached out and took the weighty statue, holding it in both hands.

“Well, that was easy,” she muttered, turning the statue over to inspect it.

“Careful with it!” hissed Samantha, raising her hands as she watched her friend ogle it from every angle.

“Relax,” stated Cameron lazily, as she spun it around in one hand with a dexterous twist, showing off.

“Seriously!”

Cameron grinned wickedly. “Nothing to worry about,” she said, bringing the priceless jade carving to a halt.

Samantha sighed. “We need to get this out of here,” she said.

“Alright; back the way we came, then,” Cameron replied, shrugging, and the two of them began to traverse the winding basement, retracing their steps.

“There’s so much stuff down here,” Samantha whispered, gawking at all the valuables.

“Can’t believe this guy just leaves everything out like this,” mused Cameron, as they reached the end of the dimly-lit basement from where they entered.

“It’s almost as though he installed an silent alarm system in case someone came snooping around.”

“Yeah, that,” responded Cameron. “Wait…what?”

Suddenly the lights to the basement came on; and the two young detectives found themselves surrounded by lumbering men in security uniforms, who’d been waiting silently in the shadows amidst the valuables, and an older man with greying hair in a suit, positioned at the staircase, flanked by two more goons.

“Well, now…much younger trespassers than I expected,” the man in the suit remarked, smiling with amusement. “I don’t believe I’ve had the honor…I am Edward Graves.”

“We know who you are!” accused Samantha. “You’re the thief who masquerades as a legitimate businessman; when really you rob countries of their historical artifacts!”

“A lucrative trade, I can assure you,” Edward Graves answered. He extended his hand. “The statue, please.”

“Over my dead body!” Cameron shouted, clutching the Jade Rabbit.

“Please, don’t be so dramatic,” Edward scoffed, as he snapped his fingers.

Immediately, the hulking security guards descended upon the two teen investigators.

“Hey…!”

“Watch it…!”

Cameron swore as the Jade Rabbit was snatched from her grip by one of the brutes, and Samantha found her arms wrenched behind her back, as the guards produced white lengths of rope and began binding her wrists. Cameron received the same treatment, and in moments the two girls stood with angry expressions on their faces, hands tied behind them, with the heavy hands of the guards holding them in place by their shoulders.

“Let go!” Samantha cried, trying to pull away.

“Hands off, asshole!” Cameron threatened, stomping & kicking at the larger men.

“I would take it easy, young ladies,” Edward suggested condescendingly, as the statue was brought over to him. “You’re little dilemma has been extended indefinitely.”

“You STOLE that relic!” accused Samantha, as more ropes were added around her arms & chest by the guard.

“Yeah,” grimaced Cameron, as she was restricted in the same manner. “That statue should remain in the museum your goons took it from!”

“Fortune favors the bold, dears,” yawned Edward, as he took the Jade Rabbit. “Guards, please go ahead and gag these two snoops…I tire of their self-righteousness.”

One of the guards nodded, and produced a roll of white duct tape. Tearing off some strips and distributing them to his partner, they approached the two girls, still in the clutches of their captors.

“Don’t you dare…! MMPH!”

“Please…GMPH!”

Their responses were cut short by the duct tape, as the gags were smoothed over their mouths. Cameron furrowed her brow angrily at Edward Graves, grumbling through her gag; while Samantha eyes went wide behind her glasses.

“Now then…what to do about you two snoops?” Edward contemplated, once the duo was rendered silent. “I can’t very well have you go free; blabbing about my enterprise.”

“Yrmph gnmph pymph frm thmph…!” rumbled Cameron, as she wrestled against the iron grip of the guards.

“Hmm…” Edward pondered, pacing around in front of them. “I myself don’t enjoy the prospect of getting rid of you two…I’m a thief; not a villain…”

“Yrmph dmfntmly mmf vllmph!” Samantha corrected, lips moving beneath the duct tape serving as a gag.

Edward ignored her. “Very well…we shall load you up with the cargo you seemed so keen on stealing from me,” he said finally. “I’ll let the buyers decide what to do with you meddlesome girls when we make the exchange…I’m sure they won’t be pleased to hear you two almost took their property.”

Both girls fumed angrily at that suggestion, pulling against the guard grappling them.

“Take care of them,” Edward commanded, giving the two adolescents a wave of his hand before turning away back up the stairs. “So long, girls!”

Both of the teenagers cried out after the man beneath the duct tape…right before the guards behind then clamped two rags over their mouths.

An unusual aroma filled their nostrils; and suddenly the two girls felt their vision go black…

—

Dazed, the first thing the two intrepid treasure hunters noticed was the floor rumbling beneath them.

As they regained consciousness, the two of them jerked awake, finding that they were now sitting across from one another. Fresh ropes now encircled their arms, knees & ankles; and the captors had apparently tied white cloths tightly over their duct taped mouths.

“Whrmph hmppbmd…!?” Cameron mumbled angrily through her gag, twisting against her ropes as she stared back at her blonde friend.

“Wrm mn thm bmck mf smn knd mmph mmving vmph,” Samantha gathered, casting her bespectacled gaze over a variety of crates surrounding them. A moving van, transporting cargo…just as Edward Graves had previously stated.

Just off to their side, they saw the Jade Rabbit…this one inside a clear square case with a latch, upon a padded cushion.

“Wmn nmd tm gmph freumph!” Cameron urged her partner, as the two of them attempted to loosen their bindings.

Some time passed, and the two of them failed to make any of the knots budge.

“Whmph mn secumbd…” Samantha mumbled, as she started lifting her chin to try and slip the cloth gag off her mouth.

Cameron mirrored her friend’s behavior, and after a minutes of effort, they two of them were able to work the gags off their mouth, as they dangled around their necks, leaving only the duct tape.

“Hmph…scmmnt ovrmph tmv mmph,” Samantha said through the tape gag, and started dragging herself over to Cameron. The dark haired girl did the same, and the two of them met in the middle of the moving van, placing themselves back-to-back.

Not strangers to being kidnapped, the two worked in unison to help untie each other, their fingers working the opposites knots around their wrists & torsos.

“Hrmph…rmph…gmnt mnt!” mumbled Cameron victoriously, as her ropes went slack, and she wrested her arms free.

“Dmmph mmph!” Samantha grumbled at her, craning her neck over at her.

“Hmng mnn,” Cameron responded through the tape still over her mouth, as she began untying the ropes around her knees and ankles.

“Gah…!” she gasped, as she rose to a standing position and peeled the duct tape from her lips. “Hang on, I got you!”

Samantha continued mumbling excitedly as Cameron finished loosening the ropes holding her; and she too rose to her feet once she could move, adjusting her glasses to straighten them.

“We need to get this statue out of here,” Cameron stated, picking up the Jade Rabbit in it’s clear case, before handing it to Samantha.

“Mnn-kmnph,” the blonde teenager replied as she took it with both hands, white tape still plastered over her mouth.

Cameron went over to the doors of the van, and bent over to inspect the lock, while Samantha watched.

“Ha!” Cameron laughed. “The latch opens! Guess these guys didn’t figure we’d get free!”

“Wmn nmmd tm wnt umtlmph thm vmph stmps,” Samantha said.

Cameron nodded, and the two of them waiting until the moving van came to a halt at a certain point. As soon as it did, Cameron whispered “NOW…!!” , and the girl quickly pushed the door open, hopped out, snatching the Jade Rabbit from her pal before helping her ease down onto the back road.

Samantha had just managed to close the door behind her, before the van’s engine revved up, and drove off down the darkened street…leaving the two sleuths with their prize, standing in the road.

“I don’t think they saw us get out,” Cameron murmured, as she watched the lights of the van disappear. “They’ll have a nasty surprise once they meet with those so-called buyers!”

“Mmmph…ah!” Samantha gasped, setting down the Jade Rabbit & peeling the tape from her mouth. “Whew…we need to find a pay phone so we can call for help.”

“Hell yeah,” Cameron whooped, picking up the statue. “Let’s get this little guy back to a museum!”

(fin)

[Smythdean]

Great story

[JennyTied]

Simple but lovely.

[TimChimp]

Good story, with quite an interesting premise if I may say so

[Detective-Gag]

Good story, with quite an interesting premise if I may say so

JennyTied provided the request; I just ran with the concept.

It was an interesting premise, definitely!

[Cersei_Gagged]

Absolutely love this story. The characters, their outfits, and gags were all incredible. Also love the premise in general.

[Detective-Gag]

Absolutely love this story. The characters, their outfits, and gags were all incredible. Also love the premise in general.

That's good to hear (especially since I think I'm a bit rubbish at physical descriptions / describing outfits).

I did enjoy the characters...I might re-purpose them for some of my own stories.

[sweetvillain]

Very nice story