Bobbi Dale: Babysitter

by Imperator

Bobbi nodded her head as she listened to UN diplomat Jameson Bruner explain the situation. He was meeting with several world leaders to outline a plan for a cease-fire between to warring Middle East factions. However, he had received threats by unknown parties indicating that he shouldn't make any proposals that had any possibility of success.

Bruner was in his early fifties, with slightly greying hair, but otherwise a very distinguished-looking gentleman. Based on his description of the threats, Bobbi saw how influential and persuasive he could be. Heck, if he talked much more, she'd be tempted to take this case pro bono, which was a definite compliment to his eloquence.

The threatening party's identity had yet to be determined, which was where Bobbi and her agency came in. Bruner had received a letter with detailed information about his home and lifestyle, meaning there was at least one mole on the inside.

Bruner's primary concern was his daughter Lori. Bruner's wife had died giving birth to Lori, and Bruner had spoiled the girl growing up. Lori was now a sophomore in college and was intimately involved with several "revolutionary" groups just to spite her father.

Bobbi glanced over at Lori several times during Bruner's explanation and caught her rolling her eyes upward and showing other signs of disrespect for her father. Lori was a striking redhead who would've been even more beautiful if she hadn't embraced the punk look. Black streaks ran throughout her hair, she was wearing grungy clothes, and a large, dagger-shaped earring hung from her left ear. No doubt Bruner's schedule prevented him from being more involved in his daughter's life, and Bobbi had a feeling Lori was going to be more than a handful.

Once Bruner finished, Bobbi outlined her plan.

"Mr. Bruner, I'm sure we can find out the source of the letter and keep your daughter safe in the meantime.

"First of all, we'll need the letter. I'll have Pepper run a series of tests to determine if there are any distinguishing characteristics or other clues that could lead us to its sender.

"I'd also like to ask for a copy of your house keys and any security system information. Jasmine here will search your home looking for anything that might reveal the mole's identity.

"Angelica and Ginger will take your daughter to a safe house only my staff knows about. Because the mole could be in this room, we're going to keep its location a secret, even from you. The house has a full security system in place and no one gets in without someone knowing about it.

"I will be contacting a few sources I know in the political underground. One of them may have an idea as to which group has been more active as of late."

Bruner nodded his agreement. "That seems like a very thorough course of action, Ms. Dale. I have a feeling I chose the right agency for this task. Lori, sweetheart, I'm going to leave you in the hands of these fine women. I'll pick you up just as soon as the conference is over." He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

Lori leaned away from her father, muttering "Whatever..." in a melodramatic sigh.

Bobbi noted the disappointed look in Bruner's face. Lori was definitely going to be a problem. Good thing Angelica and Ginger were the most patient of the group.

Bobbi shook hands with Bruner. "Don't worry, Mr. Bruner, we'll have this sorted out in no time flat. Jasmine will follow you out to get your information, while we get organized here."

Once Bruner and Jasmine left the room, Bobbi turned to the others. "Well, you know your assignments. Angelica and Ginger, take Lori to the house at Fifth and Seabrook. Not only is it the most secure, it's also centrally located should we need to regroup."

Angelica and Ginger nodded, while Lori rolled her eyes and sighed.

Bobbi did her best to ignore Lori and continued, "Pepper, I want to know everything about this letter — what kind of paper, the make and model of printer, and anything else you can come up with to determine the source. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to check phone records to Bruner's home, either."

"I'm on it," gleamed Pepper taking the letter and heading toward the computer lab.

"So who do you know in the underground?" asked Angelica.

Bobbi hesitated for a moment and then said, "Treespike..."

"Treespike?!?" exclaimed Angelica. "He's still speaking to you?"

"We'll find out," answered Bobbi. "He's probably still pissed at me after last time, but he'd have done the same thing had our roles been reversed. Besides, I've got my backup, right here," she replied, patting her shoulder holster.

"Still, be careful," cautioned Angelica. "He is pretty unpredictable."

Well, this was a complete waste of time, thought Bobbi as she continued to rub the tape encasing her hands against the exposed bolt. Not only did Treespike not know anything about the Bruner conference, but he ambushed Bobbi the second she relaxed her guard.

Treespike's gang had taken her to an abandoned building where they pushed her up against a pole and taped her wrists together around it. They hadn't stopped there, however, as they completely wrapped her hands leaving her no means to free herself or remove the tape over her mouth. Fortunately, the pole was a two-piece, and the bolt holding the two halves together was exposed just enough to slowly abrade the tape.

Bobbi had to be careful, though. Tape was wrapped around her thighs, knees, and ankles. If she were to lose her balance and fall, she'd never be able to stand herself back up, and the bolt would be out of reach.

Hopefully, the others were faring better.

No sooner had they arrived at the safe house when Lori excused herself to use the restroom. Quickly, she text-messaged her boyfriend, Dylan, letting him know where she was. After a quick exchange, Dylan told Lori how to disable the security system so she could sneak out.

That's what Lori loved about Dylan (well, besides the fact that her father hated him) — not only was he politically-conscious and active, he was also very smart and resourceful, too. Now, all she had to do was distract her two "babysitters" and she could have some real fun.

Ginger and Angelica tried everything they knew to entertain the young woman, but Lori was having none of it. Everything was either "boring" or "so five years ago". Finally, the two detectives gave up.

"Fine, entertain yourself, then," shrugged an exasperated Ginger. "I'm going to go up to the gym and work out." Ginger headed for the staircase without even looking back.

"I suppose I'll get a movie on pay-per-view," replied Angelica. "Interested?"

The look on Lori's face made Angelica feel like she'd extended an invitation to a quilting bee.

"Whatever..." Angelica sighed, walking into the living room and flopping down on the couch. She picked up the remote and started surfing through the cable menus.

Lori stood there for a moment, wondering how long she'd have to entertain herself. Her phone buzzed. It was Dylan letting her know he was right outside.

Quietly, she slipped over to the security panel and followed Dylan's instructions to completely disable the alarm. Systems like these were designed to keep unauthorized people from entering, not the other way around.

Lori slowly made her way to the front door and opened it a crack. There was Dylan with that bad-boy smile on his face. His van was parked out front, and several members of the group were waiting outside.

Dylan opened his arms and Lori practically leapt into them, enjoying a passionate embrace. Their reunion had not gone unnoticed, though.

"What's going on here?" yelled Angelica. "Uh-uh! No way are you leaving this house, young lady!"

Suddenly, Dylan pulled out a wicked-looking knife with an eight-inch blade. He spun Lori around and put the blade at her throat, pinning her arms with his free hand.

"Oh, she's leaving all right," ordered Dylan. "The only question is whether her head is still attached or not."

Angelica put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay... Just take it easy," she said, trying to calm the situation.

Ginger overheard the commotion and came bounding down the staircase wearing only a sports bra, spandex shorts, and tennis shoes. She stopped abruptly when she saw Angelica with her hands raised. Then she saw Dylan holding Lori at knifepoint.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"What's going on is that we're taking Lori," answered Dylan, nodding to his compatriots. "Tie them up and gag them. Make it good and snug, too. I want to make a clean getaway before anyone even knows we were here."

Six members of Dylan's group rushed into the house and the detectives were led into the living room.

Angelica was pushed onto the couch. A girl climbed on top of her to hold her down, while at the same time tying a rag between her teeth and around her head. One boy walked behind the couch and pulled Angelica's arms over the back, tying a rope from her wrist to the respective back leg of the sofa. Similarly, another young man did the same thing to her ankles and the front legs. When they were finished, Angelica was in a sitting spread-eagle, only able to move her hips and not much else.

Meanwhile, Ginger was sat down in one of the heavy wooden chairs in the room. Her arms were held down against the stiff back and rope wrapped from wrist to elbow. Her legs were tied together at the ankles and knees with a short rope connecting her ankles to the crosspiece between the front legs of the chair. More rope was tied around her chest and abdomen, ensuring she would remain seated no matter how she tried to fight it. Finally, she was gagged with a rag in a similar fashion to Angelica.

Once the detectives were immobilized, Dylan released his hold on Lori. Ginger and Angelica gasped in angry surprise as they realized Lori's danger was a ruse.

"Oh, Dylan," cooed Lori, "you were holding me so roughly, I was getting turned on! For a minute there, I thought you might actually be serious."

"Actually, I'm very serious," replied Dylan flatly. Before Lori could react, Dylan shot his fist forward, catching Lori square in the diaphragm, knocking her unconscious. "And that was for not letting me get past second base," he added.

Realizing Lori had been double-crossed, Angelica and Ginger cried out and struggled furiously against the ropes, but Dylan's crew had done too good of a job, and they soon realized they were stuck.

Dylan hoisted Lori's limp body over his shoulders and said, "In the unlikely event you free yourselves first, tell Lori's dad I'll be in touch with ransom demands." He then motioned to the other activists. "Let's go."

Dylan made sure to re-arm the security system so no one would notice they had been there until they were long gone.

Ginger and Angelica looked at one another as if one of them should know a way out of this. Suddenly, the phone rang. Both women cried in frustration towards the phone. Ginger tried to move towards it, but her feet were tied securely enough to only allow her to move about an inch per lunge. There would be no way to reach the phone in time. Plus, it was sitting up on the kitchen counter. Even if she was right next to it, there would be no way to get a hold of it.

Bobbi hung up her cell phone. No answer at the safe house — That can't be good, she thought. Fortunately, Treespike had only wanted to humiliate her, so he left her gun and phone lying in a pile next to where his gang had left her. She pulled up the last of the tape off her legs and called Jasmine.

"Yes, fearless leader?" Jasmine answered on the second ring.

"Hey, I ran into a dead-end with Treespike, and no one's picking up at the house, so I'm headed back there right now. Did you find anything?"

"Yes and no," replied Jasmine. "I couldn't find any outward clues about a mole, but Lori's diary had some interesting stuff in it. Turns out her boyfriend Dylan McShane is a wannabe revolutionary, and he could be involved with this. The address I found for him was 2837 Ranier, Apartment 6B."

Bobbi sighed. "Okay, I'm going to head to the apartment and see what the boyfriend knows. You head back to the house and see if everyone's okay."

"Will do, boss," answered Jasmine. "I'll call you as soon as I get inside. Be careful."

"Will do," said Bobbi hanging up.

No sooner did Jasmine hang up when a figure darted into her field of vision. Jasmine spun, but a man clad completely in black was on top of her, pressing a strong-smelling cloth into her face. Jasmine tried to fend of her attacker, but his power combined with the fumes held her fast.

In moments, Jasmine was out cold. The man pulled Jasmine to the floor and sat her with her back against the bed's footboard. He lifted Jasmine's wrists and tied them to the top center of the footboard. He then pulled her legs up and out, tying ropes from each of her knees to the corresponding post at the end of the bed. He then pulled off a pillowcase and tied it securely over her mouth.

He then gathered up the diary and other information Jasmine had collected and left as silently as he entered.

Bobbi speed-dialed Pepper back at the office. "What did you find out?" she asked as soon as Pepper answered.

"Fine, thanks, and you? Nice weather we're having," joked Pepper.

"No time for pleasantries," responded Bobbi curtly. "I think something's happened at the house and I need your analysis on the letter."

"Well," replied Pepper, "the paper is your typical office supply stock, so no lead there. However, font analysis tells me it was printed on one of the new high-end HP laser printers."

"How high-end?" asked Bobbi.

"Bleeding edge," said Pepper. "We're talking multi-thousand dollar machines, not something your average person could afford."

"What about colleges or libraries?" asked Bobbi.

"Possible, but doubtful," replied Pepper. "Most of those institutions wouldn't be able to justify such a purchase on the budget. If it was donated, maybe, but I can't see something that new getting donated. More than likely it was some organization with a lot of financial power."

"See if you can find a buyers list and cross-check it with various law enforcement databases," suggested Bobbi. "If you get any hits on political revolutionaries or separatist groups, find out if any are active in this area or might have some special interest in the Bruner conference."

"Naturally," boasted Pepper. "I'm running that as we speak. I should have something for you shortly."

"Thanks, Pepper, you're the best — as usual."

"Hey, those genes run in our family, Auntie," laughed Pepper.

Bobbi shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? Call me back when you've got something."

"Okay, bye."

Pepper hung up and went into the lab to check her results. No sooner did she walk through the door when a black-gloved hand clamped down over her mouth. Her attacker's other arm quickly snaked over her left arm and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her in the air. Pepper tried to kick free, but her petite frame was no match for the trained soldier holding her.

The man slammed Pepper down on an empty workbench, temporarily stunning the computer whiz. He then grabbed a large roll of electrical tape from a nearby table and looped it over Pepper's shoulders and under the workbench a few times to hold her in place. He crossed Pepper's wrists and taped them together several times, finishing by passing the tape over her waist and under the bench, pinning her hands down just below her navel. The man made similar loops over Pepper's thighs, calves, and ankles, ensuring she wasn't going anywhere. Just as Pepper was regaining her wits, he affixed strip after strip of tape over her mouth sealing any sounds of protest back inside the young woman's mouth.

Satisfied she wasn't going anywhere, the man pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Wolfman reporting. Technological threat neutralized. Awaiting further instructions."

The radio hissed, and a voice said, "Wolfman, Frankenstein has the boyfriend's location. Proceed to 2837 Romeo-Alpha-November-India-Echo-Romeo #6-Bravo and pick up our package."

"Acknowledged. Wolfman out."

The man turned back towards the helpless Pepper. He started petting her hair, savoring the wide-eyed look of fear in her face. "I'd love to stay and get to know you better, but I'm afraid there's no time. Just lie here and stay out of our way until this all blows over, otherwise, I might have to come back and do something more permanent."

Pepper could only nod in terror at the man's threat.

The man laughed slightly and left the room.

Once she calmed down, she reached towards her pocket where she kept her phone. It wasn't there! Pepper frantically glanced around and saw it lying over in the corner of the room, where it must have fallen out during the struggle. She quietly cursed and pulled at the tape a few times, not accomplishing anything.

She shook her head and lay back. Like it or not, she was stuck until someone came and rescued her.

Bobbi arrived at the apartment, and wasting no time, kicked the door open. Dylan and his gang had Lori bound, and they were in the middle of shooting a ransom video. With the element of surprise on her side, Bobbi quickly covered the room with her pistol.

"All right, everyone against the far wall!" Bobbi ordered.

Everyone but Dylan raised their hands and backed away. Dylan raised his hands, but stood fast.

"Don't you need a warrant to burst in here like this?" he asked.

"If I was a cop, maybe," answered Bobbi, "but I'm not, and you're little scheme is over." Turning to Lori, she asked, "Are you okay?"

Lori nodded then muttered something presumably unpleasant through the cloth covering her mouth.

Dylan continued to stand his ground. "I don't think you understand the situation here! You kick down our door, barge in here with a gun, then..."

Bobbi caught sight of a dart embedded in Dylan's neck milliseconds before he slumped forward unconscious. She spun back towards the door catching sight of a black-clad man with a strange-looking rifle.

"Drop it!" she ordered.

What Bobbi didn't see, however, was the second man at the window. She felt a small sting in the back of her neck just before the world went black.

As the chloroform's effects started wearing off, Jasmine remembered what happened. After a few minutes of struggling, she managed to shake off the dizziness and more carefully analyze her bondage.

Grabbing the top of the footboard with her left hand, she braced her feet and arched her back, bridging upwards. All those yoga classes paid off as she was able to dislodge her gag with the right hand, and she started working the knot free with her teeth.

Once freed, she dialed Bobbi — No answer. Then she tried the safe house — Still no answer. In a last-ditch effort, she called the office, not getting any answer there, either.

This can't be good, she thought.

She ran out to her car and sped to the safe house. Angelica and Ginger were still tied up inside. Jasmine quickly freed them, getting the gist of what happened.

"I gave Dylan's address to Bobbi," Jasmine said. "She was headed that way at least an hour ago."

Ginger rubbed her wrists trying to get the circulation back. "The phone only rang the one time, and that was at least two hours ago."

"That was probably right before she called me to let me know no one was answering here," replied Jasmine. "I ran into similar trouble, but this was no amateur. The guy who jumped me knew exactly what he was doing."

"What if Dylan was actually an unexpected third party?" asked Angelica. "Maybe the letter was actually sent by the pro and Dylan's involvement was just a convenient opportunity?"

"That's a definite possibility," thought Jasmine out loud. "Angelica, you go back to the office and check on Pepper. Ginger and I will go over to Dylan's and see if we can find Bobbi."

Why am I so cold? Bobbi asked as she woke up. She didn't like the answer.

She and Lori had been completely stripped naked and were in an unfinished basement or cellar. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs, and a large ballgag locked in their mouths. Both women were fitted with a set of leg irons, the foot-long chain wrapped inside the other's so both of them would remain on the floor where they were placed.

Bobbi's reputation had probably preceded her, and her captors must have taken her clothes so she wouldn't have access to the lock picks she had hidden in the various hems in her outfits.

Lori hadn't woken up yet, and Bobbi glanced around both to assess the layout and to locate anything she could use to pick the locks. Other than the two of them, there wasn't much of anything else in the room. A steep staircase ran up a far wall, but in leg irons, the steps would be tricky enough. Trying to coordinate steps with Lori would be near-impossible. Plus, Bobbi had no idea who or how many people might be on the other side of the door, and she certainly wasn't in any position to put up an offense of any sort.

Lori began to stir, and as she realized her predicament, began to panic almost immediately. Looking at Bobbi, she gestured as if to say "Do something!"

Bobbi just shrugged and shook her head. What am I supposed to do? she thought. I'm just as stuck as you are.

Angelica had just finished cutting Pepper free from the tape. Without even a word of thanks, Pepper dashed back to her office and began typing into her computer.

Angelica followed her out. "It's true," she joked, "you can't go twenty minutes without checking your e-mail, can you?"

"It's not that," replied Pepper, clicking some links and waiting for a page to download. "When that guy was wrapping me up, I happened to get a glimpse of his wrist and saw a tattoo that looked awfully familiar. If I'm right..."

"Bingo!" Pepper acclaimed, turning the monitor towards Angelica. "FEAR — The Federation of Extortion, Abduction, and Ransom. Basically, highly-trained mercenaries with a kidnapping and ransom motif. Their agenda seems based primarily around getting massive amounts of money from key individuals with minimal to no bloodshed."

Angelica scanned the FBI page on the group. It was a pretty good racket. Because they limited their abductions to adults, if any one of them was caught, he or she only had serve time for kidnapping and/or extortion — minor felonies often resulting in commuted sentences.

The phone rang. It was Jasmine reporting they were at the apartment, and most of Dylan's group was just now waking up from being shot with tranquilizer darts. There was no sign of either Lori or Bobbi, though.

Pepper described why she had been unavailable, and Jasmine said her attacker was dressed the same. Pepper told Jasmine to come back to the office, and they would try and locate the FEAR hideout.

It's too bad these gags aren't completely soundproof, thought Bobbi who was getting really tired of Lori's incessant whining.

Frustrated, Lori whipped the hair out of her face and Bobbi caught a glimpse of her dagger-shaped earring, which the kidnappers had apparently overlooked.

Bobbi scooted over to Lori and nodded towards her earring, but Lori didn't get what she was hinting at. Finally, Bobbi just shoulder-blocked Lori, knocking her on her back. Pinning the girl down with her elbow, Bobbi reached towards Lori's ear and undid the earring back. With the charm now in her hands, Bobbi went to work trying to pick the lock on the handcuffs.

It didn't take Pepper long to find the hideout. A scan of recent property purchases showed a house on the lower west side that had been paid for in full with a cashier's check from a Cayman Islands bank.

Jasmine, Angelica, and Ginger swarmed into Jasmine's SUV and broke nearly every traffic law getting there. Once at the house, they assessed the situation. One man stood outside each entrance, but there was no way to tell how many more were inside. The detectives began to formulate a plan to get inside.

Bobbi managed to get the locks picked on the handcuffs and leg irons, but the ones on their gags had too small of a keyhole to get the dagger inside. It was going to be awkward not talking, but at least they were able to move around.

Moving a crate over to the basement window, Bobbi saw Jasmine's SUV and her crew inside. She could tell it was one-way glass, though, so there was no point in trying to wave and get their attention. She tried the window latch, but either it had rusted or her captors had welded it shut. She jumped down, took the lid off another crate, then hopped back up to try and break the window.

After the third strike, the glass hadn't even cracked. It figures, thought Bobbi as she tossed down the lid.

A light appeared on the staircase. "What the hell are you two doing down here?" a male voice yelled from atop the stairs.

Bobbi scanned the room looking for a place to hide, but there was none. Two men in black commando outfits similar to those of the man at Dylan's apartment stormed down the steps. With nowhere to go, Bobbi assumed a fighting stance.

The men stopped at the bottom and looked at Bobbi. "How cute," the one on the left remarked. "She actually thinks she can win this." He stepped forward to grab Bobbi.

Bobbi threw a punch, which the man deflected easily, but his arrogance left him open to the knee Bobbi threw towards his groin. The man doubled over and dropped to his knees, but Bobbi hadn't been able to move fast enough, and she was knocked backwards from the impact.

The second man wasn't so cocky, and he grabbed Bobbi's flailing arms, pinning them behind her back. He kicked the backs of Bobbi's knees, forcing her down into a kneeling position, where she was once again helpless.

"You okay, Wolfman?" he asked the first man.

Wolfman stood up, panting. "Yeah, Mummy," he sighed, "I wasn't expecting her to throw a knee like that. Next time, I'll read the dossier more closely."

Bobbi hoped Lori had tried to run in the commotion, but she spotted her cowering in a corner sobbing.

Mummy tightened his grip. "Go upstairs and get Frankenstein and some rope. We'll truss these two up so they won't get free again."

Bobbi spent the next few minutes trying to twist out of Mummy's grasp, but he was just too big and strong. Finally, Mummy started getting impatient.

"What the hell's taking them so long?" he muttered under his breath. "I really getting annoyed here."

Mummy glanced over to the pile of cuffs and noticed Lori's earring. "Aha... that's the culprit. Let's try this again, only slightly different."

Holding Bobbi's wrists with one hand, he grabbed the set of handcuffs and re-chained Bobbi's wrists behind her back. Standing her up, he took the leg irons, attached one cuff around the chain of her handcuffs and then pulled Bobbi's arms upward at a painful angle to attach the other cuff to an eyelet in an overhead support beam.

Tears welled up in Bobbi's eyes from the tension on her shoulders, and tried bending at the waist to try and alleviate some of the pressure.

"Now your turn," said Mummy, focusing on Lori.

Lori was still in a state of shock, and Mummy couldn't keep her on her feet, she was trembling so much. Instead, he just sat her up against a support column and cuffed her hands behind the post where she wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to Bobbi.

"That should hold the two of you long enough for me to at least see what's going on upstairs," he said. Then he headed up the stairs, leaving two chained and sobbing women in his wake.

Bobbi eventually found a stance that was merely excruciating rather than unbearable. Although the basement was probably soundproofed, she was still somewhat uneasy about not hearing anything for several minutes. Maybe her team just had to get everyone secured before they could come down and free them.

After just a few minutes, her hopes were dashed completely. The basement door opened, and Bobbi heard the muffled, whimpering voices of her teammates. Once visible, she saw they too were handcuffed, ballgagged, and stripped down. Frankenstein and Wolfman followed carrying large bundles of rope.

"Get into the middle of the floor and sit down," barked Mummy, shoving the detectives.

The women did as they were told, giving Bobbi an "I'm sorry" look as they took their positions on the floor.

Mummy stepped behind Bobbi and unlocked the leg irons, eliciting a sigh of relief from Bobbi's strained shoulders. "Down with the others," he ordered, pushing Bobbi almost hard enough to knock her down.

While Bobbi took her place next to her employees, Frankenstein freed Lori from the column and re-cuffed her, pulling her over to the group.

"Squeeze in tight, back to back," directed Mummy. "I'm guessing Dale's niece is going to be calling the cops shortly, if she already hasn't. My other agents are cleaning out all the evidence, so the five of you are the only loose ends."

Mummy took the longest length of rope and began wrapping it around the waists and torsos of the women, pulling them all into one big bunch. Frankenstein and Wolfman began tying each of the women's ankles together.

Once the men finished, Frankenstein asked, "Aren't we going to set a bomb or anything?"

"No," replied Mummy, shaking his head. "Miss Bruner may be worth some money to us in the future, and the detectives could become assets as well. Besides, remember our no-kill policy? We're already looking at significant sentences for kidnapping and extortion. Attempted murder would lengthen any potential sentences more. Just leave them. I'm sure the humiliation of being found in this state is probably worse than any physical danger."

Bobbi frowned and muttered something incomprehensible (and most likely profane).

"Aw, how cute," mocked Wolfman who had pulled out a digital camera. He snapped several shots as he circled the group.

Livid, Bobbi tugged violently against the ropes, but only succeeded in making her breasts bounce for Wolfman's camera more.

"That's enough, Wolfman," said Mummy. "We really need to get going. Ladies, it's been a pleasure. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Laughing, the men headed up the stairs.

After what seemed like hours (which was really only about forty-five minutes), the women heard movement upstairs. Finally, the basement door opened, and several SWAT officers descended the staircase.

Once the officers were convinced there were no traps, they quickly cut the women free and picked the locks on their cuffs and gags. Next came several hours of embarrassing questions as to who had done this to them, where they were, and why they hadn't called for real back-up in the first place. After answering the questions and getting bawled out for not involving real law enforcement, they were allowed to leave.

Fortunately, the FEAR agents had left their clothes (minus all their panties — Bobbi wondered which one was the pervert), so they weren't forced to return home in blankets.

Lori's father had come to the site himself, and after giving Bobbi a verbal thrashing about taking too many risks with other people's lives at stake, took his daughter home. However, Bobbi did see a look of gratitude in Lori's eyes, so that was at least something. Unfortunately, thank-you's can't be directly converted to dollars, so financially, this was going to be a loss.

Once they arrived back at the office, they were shocked to find Pepper naked and roped to the receptionist's chair. Someone had written a message on the tape covering her mouth which read, "Didn't want her to miss out on the fun! --FEAR".

Once she was freed, Pepper said two of the FEAR agents burst in literally two minutes after she'd called the cops. Any sooner and they would all still be tied up with only the slimmest chance of rescue.

Bobbi gave an inner sigh of relief at their luck. They couldn't be that lucky twice, so she was going to have to get her staff better trained for future jobs. Also, FEAR was now on her list. She'd already taken down SIN twice, and FEAR was going to get the same treatment.

The End