"You're
coming with me," the man told Sandy as he pulled her out of the
room.
Sandy
tried to put her sandal back on but was pulled away before she could.
"My sandal!" she cried.
All she
got in response was a sharp tug towards the stairs. Great, was she
going outside with one foot bare?
Sandy
noticed that there was another person similarly clad in a black
balaclava at the stairs. She was a woman of average height and she
also had a gun.
At the
door of the next room, Celeste was there watching helplessly with her
brows knitted with worry. The man followed the masked woman down the
stairs, dragging Sandy along.
Then
Ditz appeared at the gate at the top of the stairs. "Hey, no
fair! Sandy, you're hogging all the kidnap fun to yourself!"
(We
pause for a brief moment to allow a collective groan at Ditz's absurd
protest to fade away.)
Downstairs,
Momma Lois was at the door of the kitchen, with an expression that
alternated between indignation and worry. With good cause since the
Home was not safe if masked criminals could just waltz in and take
away one of her girls.
The
masked woman watched Momma Lois as the man dragged Sandy out the
broken front door.
As soon
as the man stepped outside with his captive, a voice called out,
"Police! Drop your weapon!"
A female
police officer was standing just beside the doorway. She had her
pistol pointed at the masked head of the man.
"Police!
Freeze!" That other voice was a man's. And it came from within
the house. It appeared that the other masked intruder had troubles of
her own.
When
ordered by the female officer, the masked man dropped his weapon and
released Sandy. The officer had the man lie on the ground. Then the
blond pony-tailed officer kicked his gun away and searched him for
weapons.
Sandy
took the chance to look back into the house. There was indeed another
cop there. He had the masked woman up against the wall and was in the
process of applying handcuffs.
"How
did you arrive so quickly?" the man asked as he was handcuffed.
The
uniformed woman gave him a quizzical eye. "We were just like,
across the street." She pointed at the patrol car parked a
little further up the street. "You can't have not seen us?"
The man
groaned. Apparently, he had not noticed the patrol car.
There
was the distant sound of an approaching police siren.
The
other police officer escorted the unmasked female would-be kidnapper
out of the house. "Just punks looking to make a quick buck, eh?"
he commented. He held up plastic bags containing the gun and the
mask. "Her gun's fake. Probably his too." He nodded towards
the other weapon on the ground.
At that
moment, another police patrol car arrived at the scene with lights
flashing. More police officers came out to handle the situation.
Sandy
watched as the kidnappers were taken away. Without their masks, they
looked like a couple of youths off the streets. Sandy had been
through enough kidnappings by then to judge that that latest attempt
was a complete failure. Out of ten, that one she would rate a one.
Two
officers remained behind while the other pair drove the would-be
criminals away. They checked the surrounding area before entering the
house to ask a few questions, mostly about the well-being of the
Home's residents. The interview was done over hot coffee and warm
milk in the living room. Once they were satisfied that the house was
secure, the police left to keep watch across the street.
Ah well,
that was enough excitement for the night. Time for Sandy to go sleep.
Sandy
made her way up to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she was done
washing her face, she returned to her room where she saw the books
and stationery on the desk.
Oh no,
she had not started her homework yet!
In a
desperate time like that, Sandy had to use the greatest motivational
asset available to her: Momma Lois's CD!
"Sandy,
I'm trying to sleep!" Ditz protested.
***
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