JOHN, HANNAH, HARRY, CHRISTINE were members of the Number Four Club- this name was given to them because they were always together and friends had made up the name for them.
Hannah was 16 and slim and lithe- Christine was 16 too and more rounded but not fat. The boys were 16 and whilst not short were not tall either- They were not fat as they played in the school football team.
They were all at Christine’s house trying to make their minds up what to do at the weekend.
Various things had been mooted- the cinema, swimming and some other things. There was a theatre production which seemed okay and a matinee performance was actually within their budget for once. It was one of those variety acts that were almost extinct theses days but were always popular for the people around .The friends all agreed that they would go to the Saturday afternoon. John said he would get the tickets as he was going near the theatre after school on Friday.
On the Saturday they all went to the theatre and saw a good show although the Chinese show was just a lot of simple tricks and illusions.
As they left Hannah saw a police car outside her father’s shop- she ran in to hear her father had been robbed of a diamond bracelet. A man and woman had come into the shop and asked to buy a diamond bracelet- they had asked for it to be gift wrapped and the man had offered to pay by cheque but her father said for that a bankers draft would be needed. The man held the package and then gave it back to be put in the safe until they got back. They had not come back and the banks were closed by 12 being a Saturday). Hannah’s father had taken out the bracelet and unwrapped it- To his shock inside the package was a cheap bracelet- somehow the man had switched the packages and had the real diamond bracelet !!
The description of the people was of tall man with dark hair and wearing a suit and coat. the women was a blonde - the CTV camera was out of order unfortunately.
The 4 were upset and went back to the shed they called the den at Johns. They all said “ We must do somethingâ€. After various theories Harry said - they put up a good act and with a an easy trick to swoop the packages. In each of their heads a light came on and all said “ The Chinese at the theatreâ€!! “ Of course “ said Hannah-†they have everything going for them†“ They know some tricks and I bet they are experts at makeup etc. A Plan came to mind- They would book again for the Sunday afternoon performance and try to go back stage and search their dressing room- Harry said “But they were on stage when the robbery took placeâ€. The friends considered this and Christine thought they would have time to do the job , quickly change and then go on stage. Hannah’s fathers shop was only yards from the theatre - and there was the stage door they could have gone through. They went that afternoon to see the show again and all watched the first turn of the Chinese performance- Yes there was time between that turn and the second turn they performed in. Hannah and Christine left their seats and snuck out and got in through a open window in a storeroom- Fortunate it was not locked- the found the dressing room with the sign on it “MR MACARDOâ€
On . Opening the door slowly and finding it unlocked they crept in. They carefully looked around -in a case was a suit , a wig and some shoes that would make someone look bigger. Also was a blonde wig and some women’s clothes. Hannah said “ we have to go to the police nowâ€. Unfortunately just as Hannah said that in walked the man and women. “I think not†said the man. He pulled a gun out of his belt saying “This is not a replica eitherâ€. Hannah and Christine did not argue! Okay do not move. The woman opened a bag and got out some ropes- She grabbed Christine and put her in a chair. She tied her wrists behind the chair tightly together and then her upper arms too together. The ropes were very tight and Christine’s arms were helpless.
She tied Christine’s arms to the chair and then tied her ankles and shins separately to the chair legs . Christine knew she was a helpless prisoner. The woman gagged her with a some cotton wool shoved in her mouth and a long scarf wrapped over this. Hannah was tied like Christine and gagged too, Both were helpless in the hands of these criminals- Nosey brats “ said the woman- but we will be long gone before you get free. Christine was feeling a bit venerable as her skirt had pushed up and with her legs wide open her thighs were exposed and her knickers were showing. The man and the woman quickly packed up and seemed to go in and out. The show had not yet finished . Left in an empty room the two girls looked at each other - John and Harry would come to their rescue soon they thought. The show appeared to finish but nobody came, They both tried to shout but the gags were too tight and the cotton wool prevented them from making any noise. The woman and the man returned and she checked to see if the ropes had loosened.
She said “You interfering brats will be here for hours- hope your comfortable “ She laughed and they went,
Hannah felt the ropes biting into her and tried to loosen them ,but they were tied to well!! She heard the show end and then for a while there was a lot of activity outside the room, Try as they could the gag was too cunningly tied for them to be heard. Hanna thought that her friends would search for them, but after a while the theatre went quiet, Had they been left here for the night. Hanna hoped not as her bonds were making her uncomfortable and the gag made her mouth feel sore.
Chrisitine looked very frightened as she seemed to be in pain from the tight ropes- her eyes had tears in them. Hannah could not even comfort her friend. Hannah realised that Christine had some very tight rope just under her bust that must be painful as Christine's bust was not small at all and the rope must be painful. Hannah wondered if that particular peice of ropework had been put there on purpose to make chris as uncomfortable as it could be. .. Hannah heard someone coming and thought it must be the boys- if only she could shout out but the gag held firm-the door knob turned and the door slowly opened...........to her shock...................