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"All right, all right," Maxine hissed. "You know I don’t like heights."
Gregg helped Maxine to clutch on to the rope that stood stiffly at attention beside the wall of the Excelsior Hotel. "Come on you managed it in the museum," he urged.
"Yes, but then the police were chasing me, not looking the other way," she nodded towards where one of Chief O’Mara’s cordon was standing looking vacant, having been bemused by a flash of the ruby set in Gregg’s turban.
"It’s not far. Just up to that balcony. Then we’re in."
With Gregg’s help Maxine managed to make it onto the balcony and on into one of the hotel’s corridors. Gregg was with her at once, hoisting the rope up behind him and his small wicker basket as well. "Suite 1222," said Gregg, leading the way towards the lift.
"Oh yes," Maxine responded sarcastically, "I’d forgotten you knew exactly where to find her."
Gregg let the remark pass. They emerged from the lift. "Now do you remember the next bit?"
"Yes," sighed Maxine. "And I kinda feel this is playing to your enthusiasms as well." Gregg carefully opened the door to one of the service rooms.
One of the hotel’s housekeeping staff, sitting in the room, looked up as they entered. "Can I help you, Sir?" she asked.
"Yes," said Gregg. "You could just look at this for a moment." He pointed to the ruby and as the girl’s gaze travelled upwards towards it she was at once transfixed. "And now you can take off your uniform."
"Yes, of course, Sir," the girl responded compliantly, unbuttoning the pale blue and white dress that she wore.
Gregg watched appreciatively as she stripped to her underwear. Maxine looked on with barely concealed irritation. "Right," said Gregg. "You get into this and I’ll take care of her."
"I’ll bet," said Maxine, exchanging her concubine’s robes for the maid’s dress. The girl sat passively on one of the laundry hampers that stood on one side of the service room.
"So just take this basket and leave it in a closet in Suite 1222. Leave the door open slightly. Then all we have to do is to wait until Ms Leon comes back and we’ll make our move."
Maxine took the basket, got the maid’s pass key from the pocket of her dress and headed towards Victoria’s suite. Gregg set to making sure that the maid wouldn’t raise the alarm even if she did come out of her ruby induced trance. Luckily the service room had plenty of materials for him to use. The power cord from one of the cleaners gave him the perfect thing to fasten her wrists and ankles, a cleaning cloth pushed into her mouth made an effective gag and a strip torn from a spare sheet was perfect to keep the cloth in place. Gregg looked down at the helpless, conscious but compliant girl. He was pleased with his handiwork, pleased with the way that the girls white bra and panties contrasted with her olive skin pleased with the way that her almond eyes looked up at him from above the strip of cloth that gagged her. It was more than he could do to keep his hands off her smooth belly and small tits. He pulled her bra to one side exposing one of her dark brown nipples. He was about to slide her panties down over her hips when he heard the sounds of Maxine returning. Deciding that this was not the time for a row about his sexual predilections, Gregg picked up the girl and pushed her into one of the laundry hampers.
Maxine reappeared. "Can I get out of this dumb maid’s dress now?" she said.
"Sure, honey," Gregg responded. "But you know I like a girl in uniform."
"I thought out of uniform was more your sort of thing. Where is she anyway?"
Gregg nodded to the laundry hamper and then said, "Well we should expect Miss Leon back shortly."
As if on cue, the sound of police sirens heralded the return of Victoria Leon to the hotel, under police escort. Chief O’Mara was feeling relieved. At least nothing had happened at the dinner. Now it was all down to Jungle’s Jane’s plan.
Victoria headed back to her room where she was planning to change into her Jungle Jane outfit, ready to confront the robbers when they tried whatever it was they were planning to attempt. From their hiding place, Gregg and Maxine heard her returning.
"What now," said Maxine as she changed back into her eastern robes, feeling immediately more comfortable.
"Now," said Gregg, "we need a little magic. This may take a few minutes." He sat down, cross legged, on the floor of the service room, a look of intense concentration on his face. He closed his eyes. His brow furrowed. The girl in the laundry hamper gave a quiet moan. Gregg shook his head, screwed his eyes up and pressed his fingers against his temples. Maxine stood by, intrigued by his efforts. Eventually, Gregg relaxed and got to his feet. "There," he said. "Ms Leon will be ready for us."
The two of them headed out into the corridor. "What was in that basket, then," Maxine asked.
"Oh, just a few snakes .. err ... ropes," Gregg answered with a grin.
"Snakes!" Maxine wasn’t impressed by the idea that she had been walking around carrying a basket of snakes.
"Don’t worry about it," Gregg reassured her. "They were completely under my control."
They reached the door to Victoria’s suite and Maxine let them both in.
"Shit!" Gregg exclaimed as soon as he saw the room. "This isn’t right. Where’s the Leon bitch?"
It was certainly true that Victoria Leon was nowhere to be seen. Her dress had been discarded on the bed but the only other person in the room besides Maxine and Gregg was a helpless Jungle Jane, struggling against ropes that had her tied to a chair and mumbling into a great knot of rope that filled her mouth.
"Did you do that?" Maxine asked.
"Err, yes, but..." Gregg responded, puzzled by the absence of the woman they had come to rob.
"This looks like it’s been set up as some sort of trap. I think we’d better go. The jewels," Maxine nodded towards the gaping door of the safe, "don’t look like they are here any more than Ms Leon is."
Gregg and Maxine headed for the staircase. As he glanced down to the street through a window, Gregg saw dozens of policemen, circling the building. Maxine saw it too. "What are we going to do? We’re trapped!"
"Don’t panic," Gregg urged. "Come on back to Victoria’s apartment." He took Maxine by the hand and led her back. Victoria was still struggling on the far side of the room but showed no sign of being aware of their arrival. "Right," Gregg said. "Sit down on the floor."
"What!" Maxine exclaimed.
"I’m going to tie you up. Well, actually I’m going to tie us up..."
"Are you mad?"
"No. Listen to me. The police are looking for robbers not more victims. If they come in here and find us tied up they’ll think we were victims of the robbers too. It’s perfect. Just remember when you get rescued, you can’t remember what happened, anything after we left the dinner. Our khaki clad crusader here will probably assume she asked us back here to help or something."
"But she’s not been befuddled by your ruby or whatever it is that it does. She’s just tied up."
"Not until now," Gregg said, as he waved his ruby in front of Jungle Jane’s eyes. The masked crime fighter stopped struggling gazing out at the room blankly.
Maxine looked sceptical but as the sirens outside became louder she finally agreed. "All right. Get on with it." She watched in fascination as ropes snaked up from the floor and wound themselves around her ankles and wrists. Another length formed itself into her gag, the knot of rope filling her mouth painfully. "Ngg humph hhnngnn," she grunted, but Gregg couldn’t make out what she was saying and set to convincing the ropes to wind themselves around his own limbs.
In moments Gregg was as helpless as Maxine and Jungle Jane; Jane helplessly trussed on the chair, Maxine unable to move on the floor with Gregg alongside her. They were still there when the police got bored with waiting to apprehend the thieves two hours later.
(c) Freddie Clegg 2010
All characters fictitious
Nor reposting without permission
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