"Welcome to the big city!" Madelyn skipped into the air and spun around, her arms raised high.

Her beautiful blonde hair billowed in the city wind. Even in her casual travel apparel, she was still gorgeous as ever. She could make almost any outfit look good, and today she was just rocking a t-shirt, leggings, and sneakers and yet somehow she still looked stunning.

Kayla trailed behind, wearing a similar casual outfit, smiling as she watched Madelyn dance around. While not as outwardly expressive, Kayla was equally as excited to be in New York. Not for the same reasons as Madelyn who was mostly looking forward to the shopping and food. Kayla was excited for the Annual Journalism Conference.

Reporters, detectives, journalists, etc, were all invited to this conference for a weekend of seminars and other activities. It had been Kayla's dream to go for a long time now, and she finally had the perfect excuse to go: the Hazeldale Tribune was paying for it! That's right, she was on an all expenses paid trip to New York for the conference and she could not have been more thrilled.

Even though Madelyn wasn't getting a free flight, she decided to join Kayla anyway. She loved New York and always jumped at any opportunity to visit the Big Apple. Kayla was thankful for the company too, it was nice to travel with someone and there was no one in the world she'd rather travel with than her best friend.

"What should we do first?" Madelyn asked.

"Well," said Kayla, "we should probably drop our stuff off at the hotel. Then do you want to grab some dinner?"

"Do I ever! Hey, when can we go shopping? There's a couple places I want to hit up if we have the chance."

"Well, I'll be busy with the conference most of the time, but maybe on Sunday. Remember, I'm here for business technically, but please don't let that stop you from shopping 'till you drop."

"Oh, it won't."

Kayla smiled. It was great having her best friend join her on this trip, and from the looks of it so far Madelyn was already having a blast. As much as Kayla wanted to join Madelyn in being a tourist, she was indeed here for business. She still had plans to make the most of her trip and find times to hang out, but the conference was definitely top priority.

That being said, up first on her agenda was to check into the hotel and get herself situated. She and Madelyn were staying right in the heart of Manhattan alongside all the other journalists and reporters. As she and Madelyn entered the hotel lobby, they were greeted by dozens of other folks either checking in or hanging out. Kayla took a deep breath in of excitement. Getting to surround herself with this many like minded people was always a rush.

Kayla made a beeline for the front desk. She was offered a friendly greeting from the man behind the desk.

"Hello, and welcome! I assume you're here for conference?"

"Yes, that would be correct."

"Excellent, if I could just see some i.d. that would be great.

Fishing around in her bag, Kayla grabbed her driver's license and handed it to the man. He started typing up some things on the computer, followed by some more logistical questions, but after a few short minutes everything was taken care of and he handed Kayla a pair of room cards.

"Alright, thank you miss Grace, you're all set! The elevators are to your right, and you'll find your room located on the fifteenth floor. Just head down the hall once you get off the elevator, and after you take the first right it will be a few rooms down on the left. Enjoy your stay!"

As Kayla and Madelyn grabbed their bags and headed up to their rooms, Madelyn stifled a laugh as she glanced back at the man that checked them in.

"For a New Yorker he was super nice!"

Kayla raised an eyebrow, "not everyone here has to be an asshole. You know that's just a stereotype."

"Wait...do you like him? Oh my god, you totally do! I'll have to go back and grab his number for you."

Kayla shook her head, giving Madelyn one of her famous exaggerated eye rolls as she strode off toward the elevators. Madelyn just snickered as she skipped behind Kayla.

Arriving at their room, Kayla plopped her bags down on the bed as Madelyn plopped herself down onto her own.

"So, where we getting dinner?"

"Not sure, I've got a bunch of stuff bookmarked on my Yelp though so probably something off that list."

"Ooooh, let me see!"

"Here," Kayla said tossing her phone to Madelyn, "you can pick a place. I'm going to unpack first. I'm getting hungry though so don't take too long figuring out what you want."

Kneeling on the bed, Madelyn sat up straight and saluted Kayla before plopping herself down again and scrolling through Kayla's phone. In the meantime, Kayla opened her suitcase and laid out her clothes on the bed. She was a textbook over packer, and always had WAY too many clothes with her when she went away for vacations and the like.

In her defense, being tied up and gagged around every corner was quite taxing on her wardrobe. Countless pairs of tights and cute dresses had been ruined thanks to all the tape and rope that was so often applied to her. Not to mention all those pairs of socks that had been...repurposed for other things. So yeah, she definitely had developed a habit to pack heavy.

Not that she was planning to get into any trouble on this trip, but hey...at this point in her career she just never knew.

"Okay," Madelyn said as she sat up in bed, "I think I found a spot."

"Great, you ready to go?"

"Let's do it!"

Heading out, the girls made their way uptown to the place Madelyn had chosen. It was this cute little Thai restaurant that Kayla had actually been dying to try. Most of the places on that list she gave Madelyn were places she'd been wanting to try. Kayla never traveled anywhere before scouting things out ahead of time. Even if she was just in New York for a weekend, she was going to make the most of it! Especially when it came to getting good food.

They rode the subway there, which for Madelyn wasn't the most fun of experiences given how dirty parts of it were. Kayla on the other hand didn't mind too much, and thought it was a pretty neat way to get around town. There was almost something magical about going underground and then getting "teleported" across the city to a brand new part of town. Sure there was lots of trash and funny smells, but besides that it made getting around super easy!

After enjoying their meal the girls headed back to their hotel and started getting ready to turn in for the night. The conference started first thing tomorrow, and Kayla wanted to get as much rest as she could beforehand. She planned to make it to as many seminars as she could, which meant she had a full day ahead of her.

Madelyn was going to join her for the first part of the morning, but then after lunch she was going to hit the city while Kayla continued onward. Madelyn wasn't a reporter, but she had done her fair share of snooping and detective work alongside Kayla so perhaps there were some things for her to learn.

"So," Madelyn said as she and Kayla crawled under their respective covers, "are they going to teach us to like...untie knots and get out of sticky situations?"

Kayla laughed, turning over to face her friend, "it's not like that. It'll be a little more...professional."

"Are you saying getting tied up isn't professional?"

"I just mean it's not technically part of the job."

"Sure seems like it!"

"Well, they don't have any sessions like that. It's mostly about how to craft a good story, and how to chase after the right leads, and stuff like that."

Madelyn pretended to yawn prompting Kayla to toss a pillow at her.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Madelyn tossed the pillow back as the two girls laughed.

"Look, you'll only be there for like a couple of hours. If it's unbearable you can dip out early. You'll miss the free lunch though."

"Can't you like...save me some?"

"Nope, gotta earn it, girlie!"

Madelyn huffed as she rolled over.

"Fine...but if I fall asleep you have to wake me up! Don't let me snore during the session or anything."

"Deal."

"Alright, goodnight, Kayla!"

"Night 'mads."

---

With a good night's sleep under both of their belts, the next morning Kayla and Madelyn were ready to go for the first day of the conference! It was a great day for it too. The forecast said it was supposed to be overcast, which at least meant the sun wouldn't be bearing down on them. It would still be humid, but the cloud coverage meant cooler temperatures for sure. Kayla was thankful for this, as she was not a fan of the heat by any means! Plus, cooler weather meant skirts and tights, and she was a huge sucker for such a combo.

She smoothed out the remaining wrinkles in her plaid dress, adjusting her tights too so that there weren't any bunches. Strolling over to the mirror she took a look at herself, spinning around ever so slightly so as to see herself from all angles. This was one of her favorite looks, and it was so easy to put together too. All she had to do was throw on a turtleneck, pull her dress over that, slip into some tights, and she was good to go! Simple, and yet quite stylish.

"Are you ready to go?" Kayla asked Madelyn, heading toward the bathroom to check in on her friend.

"Yeah, ready when you are!"

Madelyn was wearing one of her signature looks as well. A black jean jacket over a maroon sweater, with jean shorts and patterned tights. A once again simple outfit, and yet so chic. Then again, with Madelyn's looks she could make anything look good!

"I just need to put my shoes on and then we can take off."

"Same here," Madelyn said as she walked over to her side of the room and started rummaging around her suitcase. In the meantime, Kayla made her way over to her own side, her nylon clad feet softly thumping into the carpet. Pulling open the little dresser next to her bed she fished out a pair of black socks and slipped them over her tights followed by her favorite pair of white booties. Grabbing her purse she joined Madelyn by the front door, who had just finished putting on her ankle boots.

"Ready?" Kayla said.

"Let's do this!"

And so they were off. The conference was being held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in West Manhattan, so not too far from where they were staying. The conference didn't officially start for another couple of hours, but upon their arrival they were already greeting by throngs of reporters and journalists all arriving early. Kayla wasn't the least bit surprised by this. It was kind of a stereotype to be pretty "Type-A" if you were going to be a reporter after all.

Making their way through the crowds they headed into the main hall and grabbed programs for the weekend. Madelyn looked hers over, but Kayla immediately places hers into her purse. She had already read the online program and knew exactly which sessions she wanted to attend.

"Come on," she said, linking her arm with Madelyn's, "let's head to the first session room. This way!"

Together, they walked arm in arm through the crowds and over to a nearby room, which was massive by the way, and found seats smack dab in the middle of the room. Madelyn insisted they sit farther back, but Kayla wanted a view up close. So they compromised and snagged seats right in the middle.

The room was already starting to fill up, with more and more seats being taken by the minute. They were lucky to grab the seats they did, otherwise they'd be stuck clear in the back as most of the front half of the room was already filled up.

"How long 'till this thing gets started?"

"Well," said Kayla as she checked her phone, "we've got a good twenty minutes. If you need to go to the bathroom or get snacks or anything now's your chance."

"Great, I'll be right back!"

As Madelyn got up to go do...well, whatever it was she needed to do, Kayla pulled out her phone and opened up her notes app. She had made sure to make separate folders for all the sessions in advance. Pulling up the folder for this particular section, she made sure everything was still there and ready to go.

"Excuse me..."

Kayla turned to see two girls standing next to her in the aisle.

"Hi," she said, "sorry, am I in your way?"

"No, not at all. We were just wondering if you were saving any of these seats for anyone."

"Nope, they're all yours!"

"Thanks!"

The pair sat down, not directly next to Kayla but a few seats over. That didn't stop Kayla from leaning over and making conversation with them though. She'd planned to make a few friends over the weekend anyway, and these two girls seemed friendly enough that she might as well give it a shot!

"I'm Kayla, by the way," she said leaning over toward them.

The girl who had originally spoken to her, turned and introduced herself as well.

"Grace," she said, greeting Kayla witha kind smile.

The other one, leaning over her now perturbed friend introduced herself next.

"I'm Baleigh!"

"It's nice to meet you both," said Kayla, "are you both journalists or..."

"Private investigators, actually," Grace said.

"Wow, that's pretty cool!"

"How about you?" Grace asked.

"I'm a reporter for my local tribune, but I've only been doing it for like a year now. So I'm pretty new to the game! But, I'm looking forward to learning some good stuff from this weekend."

"Hey, new to the game or not, it's always good to keep learning!"

As they were talking, Madelyn came back holding some snacks. Not missing a beat, she immediately jumped into the conversation.

"Hey guys," she said as she sat back down.

"Madelyn, this is Grace and Baleigh, they're private investigators."

"No shit," Madelyn said, "that's super cool."

Grace laughed, "it can be."

"Oh, Gracey-poo," said Baleigh chiming in, "don't be so modest. We love it. It's a lot of fun."

"Well," said Grace, "I was just referring to...the occupational hazards...of the job."

"Let me guess," Madelyn said, "you've run into goons who've tied you up, yeah?"

"Madelyn!"

Kayla gently elbowed her over eager friend for asking such a prying question. Not that it was that personal, but it was definitely not something Kayla enjoyed talking to everyone about. They'd only just met these two! And here Madelyn was asking if they'd been bound and gagged! Granted, Madelyn was a lot more comfortable with this topic than Kayla was. What with her whole bondage modeling on the side and everything.

"It's okay," Grace said, "but yes, I was referring to that."

"Oh yeah?" Madelyn said as her eyes lit up, "well I'm sure you and Kayla have lots to talk about then because boy has she found herself in that position soooo many times already!"

Kayla's face turned bright red. She shot a disapproving look at Madelyn, who just kind of smirked and shrugged. Clearly she had no shame in this matter, but Kayla on the other hand was proper embarrassed. The only solace she had was that Grace and Baleigh didn't seem to mind at all.

"You know," Grace said, "it's nice to meet someone else that has the same...propensity for trouble as us."

"Same!" Kayla said.

"Wow, what are the odds," Baleigh said, practically sitting on Grace's lap now, "I can't believe out of everyone here, the four of us managed to run into each other."

"The odds are pretty high," Grace said as she gently nudged Baleigh back into her seat, "I mean this is a convention for reporters and journalists after all. Seems like this happens to folks like us more often than not."

"It's almost like it's part of the job," Kayla said with a smirk.

"Still," said Baleigh, "it's pretty neat if you ask me. Hey, we should all go grab lunch together after this!"

"Lunch is being provided for us," said Grace, "did you forget?"

"Drat...yeah I did. Still, we should sit together while we have it! I want to swap stories and all that!"

"Swap stories?" Said Kayla, "how do you mean?"

"Like of all the times you two have been tied up and everything! I want allllll the juicy details."

Baleigh rubbed her hands together with a fiendish grin. She was clearly very into this. Her partner on the other hand...

"Baleigh..." Grace said as she rolled her eyes, "we just met these two..."

"It's fine by me!" Madelyn said.

"Great," said Baleigh, "then it's settled!"

Grace and Kayla exchanged puzzled glances wondering how they had both been roped into this lunch date. It seemed that both of their companions were much more eager to dive into this topic than they were. Still, as red in the face as it made Kayla having to talk about her bondage adventures, it was nice to meet other people just like her. And when she meant just like her...

"God, and let's not even start about how resourceful some of these thugs are."

The four of them were sitting inside the convention center with their lunches now exchanging stories about their numerous misadventures. Grace was currently ranting about the many times her own undergarments had been used against her.

"I think they get a kick out of it," she said.

"They must," said Kayla, "I can't tell you how many times I've been in the same exact position. You don't want to know how many pairs of socks I've gone through...nylons too! Those things get shredded by all that rope and tape!"

"Just don't wear them, then!" Madelyn said butting in.

"No way," said Kayla, "I will not let the way thugs and brutes treat me dictate the fashion choices I make."

"You tell 'em!" Baleigh said, causing the group to laugh.

Kayla had learned a lot about Grace and Baleigh through their conversation already. They were both older than her and Madelyn, by about three years. Their business was run out of an office above a local bar in a wealthy New England college town. And just like Kayla and Madelyn they were big believers in looking chic and fashionable. Their outfits definitely reflected that too.

Grace was dressed in a light grey turtleneck sweater tucked into a brown skirt. Her legs were encased in a pair of thin nylons, and her feet were tucked into tall brown boots with a pair of grey knee high socks poking out over the tops of them.

As for Baleigh, she was wearing a fitted black long sleeve shirt over a mustard skirt with dark tights, and black ankle booties.

"This is great," Kayla said, "I wasn't sure about talking through all this stuff...it's just a little awkward...you know? But I've really enjoyed this! It seems like we do have a lot in common!"

"For sure," Grace said, "it's always nice running into some fellow...snoops, if I can be so crass as to call us that."

"Did you just use the 's' word!?" Baleigh asked with feigned outrage.

Kayla laughed.

"Hey, as much as I love this," she said, "I think the next sessions are about to kick off. Mads and I should probably get going."

"Before you go," Baleigh blurted out, "let's grab drinks tonight! Right, Grace?"

Grace shot a look at Baleigh, "why do I have to approve? I mean, obviously, yes, that sounds like a great idea."

"Agreed," said Kayla, "let's all swap numbers and then we can just text about it later. You two probably now the city better than us, so just let us know where to meetup."

"Will do. It was nice meeting you both," Grace said as she stood up with Baleigh, "see you both soon!"

After they were gone, Kayla turned to Madelyn who was just beaming from ear to ear.

"What's that look for?" Kayla asked.

"We made friends!" Madelyn said, practically shouted actually.

Kayla laughed, "that we did. Come on, let's get going. I don't want to miss this next session!"

The rest of the day flew by as Kayla and Madelyn made their way from session to session. Surprisingly, Madelyn was able to hang with Kayla the whole time! She almost dozed off a couple of times, but other than that she powered through! Perhaps the thrill of drinks with friends was enough to keep her going.

Speaking of which, as the evening rolled around, Kayla and Madelyn made their way back down to the lobby to meet with Baleigh and Grace. The plan was to ride the subway together to a little bar in lower Manhattan.

Stepping out from the elevator and into the lobby, they spied Grace and Baleigh across the way. There was somebody else with them, however. An older woman, probably in her seventies, and looking rather distraught. She was motioning with her hands to the two private investigators as they nodded their heads and listened.

"Let's go see what that's about," Kayla said as she and Madelyn walked over.

"Those pearls have been in my family for years, please you have to do something!"

"Hey," said Kayla, "everything okay?"

"Not quite," said Grace, "this poor lady's had her pearls stolen from her room."

"Oh no," Madelyn said, "has anyone called the police?"

"She doesn't want to," Grace said, with a pained smile on her face.

"How come?" Kayla asked.

"I'll tell you," the lady said as she wagged a finger in Kayla's face, "the police here are incompetent fools! I'm a woman that comes from much wealth you see, and I've had countless things stolen from me over the years! Do you know how many times the police have helped me recover my possessions? It's a grand total of zero! So, no, I won't be contacting the police. Instead, I thought I might enlist the help of someone here instead. I didn't realize there was such an event happening this weekend, but it seems that lady luck is on my side."

"Isn't that something," Grace said as she rolled her eyes.

"Look," said Kayla, "we'll help you search for them for a little bit, but my friends and I were going to grab drinks tonight. I know you don't like the police but you really should be calling them about this."

"Kayla, it's okay, you don't have to help us," Grace said, "Baleigh and I can just go up, poke around a bit, and meet you guys back down here."

"Are you kidding me?" Madelyn said, "and sit by while you two get all the credit for helping this charming young woman find her precious jewels."

Kayla and Grace scrunched up their faces in bewilderment over Madelyn's statement. The old woman on the other hand was more than flattered.

"It seems someone here understands me," she said.

Kayla joined Grace this time in rolling her eyes.

"Fine," Grace said, "let's go check it out."

Together, the group made their way upstairs to the old woman's room, which was absolutely massive by the way! She wasn't kidding when she mentioned she came from wealth. Her suite was enormous! It was literally a two bedroom apartment, minus a kitchen. Even the furniture was way nicer than what Kayla and Madelyn had in their own room.

"Wow...check this place out," Madelyn said as the girls all stepped inside.

"Jeez, this is nuts!" Baleigh said.

"Alright," said Grace, taking charge, "I don't want to be here all night. Now let's fan out and look for any clues."

"I'll just wait here," the old woman said taking a seat on the couch, "you kids have fun and let me know if you find anything."

"Gee, thanks," said Kayla.

She walked into the main bedroom, Grace following behind her. The room, just like the main area, had been utterly trashed. All the drawers had been pulled open, and the bed totally taken apart.

"Was any of this carnage even necessary?" Kayla asked.

"Doubt it," Grace replied.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Madelyn and Baleigh conducted their own investigation.

"Looks like a tornado blew through here," Madelyn said.

"And left the rest of the room in tact? No, I don't think this was a tornado. My guess is that there was a robbery."

Madelyn opened her mouth to reply, but then noticed Baleigh giving her a sly look. Instead she just chuckled.

"Good one," she said.

Baleigh curtsied.

"Why thank you."

So far, neither sets of investigations were proving fruitful. Kayla had no idea what she was even supposed to be looking for. Grace was equally as stumped.

"There's nothing here," she said throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Yeah, this is turning into a waste of time," said Kayla, "sorry for even agreeing to it in the first place."

"No worries, I mean at least we tried right?"

*SLAM!*

Kayla whipped around to see the door behind them now suddenly closed. She exchanged a worried glance with Grace before springing into action. She rushed over, grabbing the handle and trying to pull it open. It was locked! Or at least jammed in some way.

"What the hell?"

She kept jostling the handle but it wouldn't budge. Were Madelyn and Baleigh playing a prank on them?

"Oh shit..." Grace said.

"What is it?" Kayla said.

"There was never any stolen jewelry," said Grace.

Kayla felt a lump form in her throat when she realized it too. She hadn't seen it at first, but now that she thought about it in light of their current circumstances it was clear that this was a total setup.

"This is why she was insistent on not calling the police and having us 'help' her instead. It was all a trap." Grace said.

"Seems like it," said Kayla, "but why? What does this old woman want from us?"

"Not her, she's just a decoy. There's someone else behind this. There has to be."

"You think so?"

*BANG! CRASH!*

It was coming from outside, from the other room. It had to be Madelyn and Baleigh, and it sounded like they were in trouble! Kayla started banging on the door.

"Hey! Let us out of here!"

Grace, on the other hand, started looking around the room again.

"Hey," she said, "we don't have much time. Find something to defend yourself with."

"What?"

"I don't think their plan...whoever they are...is to just keep us locked in here forever. It sounds like they're rounding Baleigh and Madelyn up, and when they're done they'll come for us next. So get ready."

"Excellent thinking," said Kayla as she began searching for some kind of weapon.

"This isn't my first rodeo," said Grace as she readied the wooden dowel she'd found in the closet.

Kayla wielded one of the lamps that she'd taken apart and stood by the door ready to strike. There was still a lot of commotion coming from outside the room, but then all of the sudden it was quiet. She nodded to Grace, who nodded back, tightening her grip on the dowel. They could hear footsteps approaching their door now. At any minute they would be under attack, but they were ready for anything.

Well, anything except sleeping gas! After shoving a black tube under the doorway, the thugs outside started flooding the room with the foul smelling vapor. It was so strong and so potent. Both Kayla and Grace began coughing and wheezing as the chemicals filled their lungs. Grace collapsed onto the floor while Kayla hobbled her way toward the bed.

With both girls impaired and unable to fight back, the attackers breached the room and dragged Kayla and Grace out. Kayla's vision was blurry, and everything was spinning. She was dumped onto the ground, Grace beside her. She could feel rope being looped around her wrists and ankles, but there was little she could do to stop it. The gas had really put her out of it!

"MMMMMMMMPH!"

She looked up to see what had become of Baleigh and Madelyn. They were all trussed up, and slung over the shoulders of two absolutely ridiculous looking individuals. They were women, for one thing, and they were wearing these shiny green latex dresses that hugged tightly over their bodies. Their legs were encased in equally shiny black latex boots, and covering their faces were black latex hoods that were attached to the dress.

To be kidnapped by thugs dressed like this was all the more humiliating...

"FFMMMPH MMMMPH!"

They hadn't gassed Baleigh or Madelyn, but they'd made sure to gag them well. Large red ballgags were wedged in their mouths, totally muffling them.

"Hurry! Get them tied and then let's get out of here."

"We're working on it! Go stash those two in the cargo box and get moving. I'll come behind you with these ones in a second."

"You got it!"

"MMMMMMMMMMPH!"

Baleigh and Madelyn moaned through their jaw stretching ballgags as they were carted off. There was nothing she or Grace could do to stop them. They were both far too woozy, plus equally as trussed up now. The only thing left was to shove those nasty ballgags into their mouths too.

"In we go!"

Grace's mouth was stuffed first, the large rubber ball forced into her mouth and strapped behind her head. Before Kayla had her own mouth stuffed, she licked her lips one last time knowing it would be a while before she could do so again.

*WHUMPH!*

"Mmmmmmmph!"

The ballgag was slammed into her mouth, forcing it wide open. Her teeth bit down into the hard rubber material, which tasted awful, and her jaw found itself stretched to the absolute max. She could already feel drool beginning to form at the corners of her mouth....

"Nnnnngph!"

Grace was seething behind her ballgag, her face scrunched into a disapproving frown. Kayla was equally as unhappy, especially given how excited she was for the weekend and how certain she was she'd be able to stay out of trouble like this! Seems like someone else had other plans for her and her new friends...

"Alright girls, time for a nice little nap."

"Llllllllmph!?"

Suddenly, Kayla felt a sweet smelling cloth be pressed into her face covering her mouth and nose. She kicked and squirmed, but with all the rope encasing her arms and legs she wasn't going to be able to break free. With each breath in, the fumes began taking effect as once again everything started to become fuzzy before eventually, everything went dark...

.  .  .  .  .

When Kayla finally came to, she was somewhere completely different. It was some kind of storage room inside a warehouse. Tall metal shelves lined the room, stacked high with boxes. The air was cold and musty, and the room was dimly lit with only a few lamps overhead to light the space.

Kayla was sat in a chair. Her arms and legs still thoroughly tied. More rope had been used to secure her to the chair, around her chest and waist. Her legs had been pulled underneath the chair and her ankles attached to the crosspiece.

The horrendous ballgag was still strapped behind her head, her blouse and skirt ruined by all the drool that had fallen on them. It was just impossible not to, no matter how hard Kayla tried it just continued to form and fall out of the corners of her mouth.

"Lllllllllmph..."

Her head was heavy. The chloroform had done it's job and really put her out.

Beside her, she heard Grace starting to stir. She was tied and gagged like Kayla all the same. Baleigh and Madelyn were nowhere to be seen though. Kayla just hoped they were okay. She had no idea what these crazy women had planned for them.

Speaking of which, the sound of heels clomping on the concrete floors grew closer and closer as two of the latex clad ladies approached Kayla and Grace.

"Glad to see you both awake! How was your nap."

Llllllllmmmmmmph!"

Kayla grunted at the woman who laughed in response.

"Here," she said, "perhaps this will help."

To Kayla's surprise, she reached down and unbuckled the gag pulling it free from her mouth.

"There you go," the woman said, "is that better?"

Kayla glared at the woman.

"What do you want with us?" She said.

"Ah, ah, ah, I'll be asking the questions around here. I hope that's alright with you, yes? If not, I can always just shove this gag right back in that pretty little mouth of yours."

Kayla scowled at her, but knew she had to comply. She really didn't want to have to chew on that gag again, although she feared perhaps she might be anyway...

"Anyway," the woman continued, "let me just start by saying that I have no personal business with you or your pretty little friend. The blonde one."

"They're both blonde, boss."

The woman turned to her lackey who waved their hands apologetically.

"Like I was saying, you're not even who I was interested in. It's Miss Summers, and her bratty partner that I'm after. That being said, after rifling through your belongings, your purse more specifically, I found out exactly who you are: Kayla Grace, an intrepid young reporter."

"Yeah, that's me. So what?"

"Well, at first I felt bad roping an innocent bystander into all of this, but you're no innocent bystander. No, you're a lousy, no good reporter that ruins people's lives!"

Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

"Perhaps, but even still, the truth remains that you're in the business of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Just...like...Miss...Summers."

"Llllllllmph!"

"That's why I brought her here anyway. To teach her a lesson. You see, she and Miss Sommers."

"Isn't she Miss Summers?" The lackey called out.

"No, I said Summers, not Sommers."

"I don't understand."

"It's...they have the same...ugh, would you just sit there and let me do this!?"

"Right. Sorry."

The woman took a moment to compose herself before carrying on.

"Like I was saying," she said, "Miss Summers and her partner have a nasty track record of getting involved in matters that have nothing to do with them! So, to teach them to mind their own business, I devised this little ruse to trap them, bring them here, and deliver to them the consequences of their actions."

"Llllllllmph!"

"As for you..." the woman said leaning close into Kayla's face, the smell of latex filling Kayla's nose. "It seems like you are in need of a little lesson yourself."

What was it with all these thugs and teaching lessons!?

"Look, whatever you're going to do to me, that's fine," Kayla said, "but just don't hurt my friends."

The woman stepped back and laughed, cackled even.

"I appreciate you being willing to...take one for the team, so to speak. It was a noble gesture, and yet a vain one unfortunately. Besides, I have no plans to harm you, rest assured. Perhaps...humbled is a better word. In any case, I hope it teaches you all a valuable lesson."

"We'll see about that," Kayla mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"Just...whatever you're going to do, just get on with it and get it over with."

The woman smiled as she gripped the straps of the ball gag with both hands.

"If you say so!"

Without warning she jammed it back into Kayla's mouth.

"Nnnnnnngph!" Kayla yelped as the hard rubber ball once again filled her mouth up.

She was not looking forward to what was coming next...

.  .  .  .  .

Meanwhile, as Kayla and Grace were currently being...taught a lesson...Baleigh and Madelyn were hard at work attempting to get free of their own binds. For as much of a bondage fiend as she was on her own time, Madelyn quite despised being tied up in a setting like this. As such she was working furiously to get free.

"Llllllllllmph!"

Baleigh assisted Madelyn's escape efforts by helping to pick the ropes around her wrists. They'd managed to scoot around in their chairs until they were facing back to back, and from here the rope picking had begun. Slowly but surely, Madelyn felt the ropes coming loose from around Baleigh's wrists. She too could feel more slack around her own bindings, until finally they had managed to pic themselves free!

Well, just from their wrist restraints. There were still many more knots to get through.

"Cmmmmph nnnnnmph!"

Madelyn focused as hard as she could, a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead from all her effort. She was determined to break free before those loony women returned to do whatever it was they were planning to them.

Her focus and her hard efforts paid of though. After painstakingly undoing all the knots holding Baleigh's arms in place, the final knot came loose. Baleigh returned the favor and untied Madelyn's last knot around her arms, and in no time the rest of the ropes were lying on the floor as the girls reached up and undid the ballgags from their mouth.

"Bleh!" Baleigh spat as she tossed the dreadful thing to the floor. "How awful was that?"

"Eh," Madelyn said as she held the gag in her hands and looked it over, "I'm usually a size up, but yeah no good."

Baleigh's interest was more than piqued.

"Does that mean you're like...into kinky stuff?"

Madelyn laughed, "I dabble in some bondage modeling here and there. I'm pretty new though, but yeah...I guess you could say that."

"Wowzers! That's pretty cool!"

"It's a lot cooler when it's in a controlled environment and the people tying you up are just going to take your picture and set you free. Getting tied up by these thugs...no thanks."

"I'm sure. God, I can't believe these creeps nabbed us...again!"

"Again?"

"Yeah, we got caught by them trying to stop a robbery of theirs. They were only just novice's back then, but it seems like they've really stepped up their game as of late!"

"Seems like it."

"Okay, well, can't stand around and gab for too long now. It's time to save the day!"

"Wait," Madelyn said as she grabbed Baleigh's arm just as she was about to take off running, "shouldn't we like come up with a plan or something? Kayla's usually the better one at that than I am."

"Yeah, and so is Grace..."

"But they're probably still both tied up right now..."

"I say we just wing it! That usually works out for me anyway!"

Somehow Madelyn didn't believe that...and yet she let Baleigh take the lead anyway. Perhaps her overwhelming confidence would be enough to save them in a pinch. Or it would just get them in worse trouble than they already were in...

.  .  .  .  .

"There we go, now that's more like it! You girls comfortable?"

"Nnnnnnnngggmph!"

Kayla and Grace were in fact not comfortable. Not one bit.

"Ggggnnnmph!"

They were still chewing on those god awful ballgags, and they were still tied down to their chairs. Their positions had been modified though. Flipping the girls around, their captors had sat them facing backwards so that their stomachs were pressed against the backs of the chairs. Their legs were spread apart and tied down to the chairs via rope around their upper thighs and ankles. A loop of rope tied around the back of their neck and to the back of the chair kept their bodies folded over and pressed in

As for their arms, they were still tied behind their backs but rope connected from their wrists to hooks in the ceiling forced their arms upwards behind them so that they were practically perpendicular to their bodies. Kayla was flexible, but having her arms held up like this was quite straining. The beads of sweat all across Grace's forehead indicated that she was probably experiencing the same thing.

"I apologize if it's a bit drafty in here. Hopefully you two won't mind."

"Lllllmmph!"

To top it all off, before they had been retied, their captors had stripped them of their clothes leaving them clad in just their bras, underwear, and tights. Both Kayla and Grace were flush red with embarrassment, Grace's face perhaps even more redder than Kayla's. Her eyes would occasionally wander over in Kayla's direction before sharply being averted elsewhere.

Was Grace...?

Kayla shook her head. Now was not the time for that. She had to stay focused.

"Now," the lady in latex said as she brandished a wooden paddle, "time for a little fun, yes?"

"Nnnnnngph!"

"Lllllllllnph!"

They way Kayla and Grace had been tied had left their rears rather exposed. Their bodies were positioned in the chairs in such a way so that their bottoms were hanging off the front edges of the chairs. The perfect position for paddling unfortunately...

*WACK!*

"NNNNNNNGPH!"

Kayla yelped as the woman smacked her ass with the paddle.

"Oooh, listen to that sound. Phenomenal."

*SMACK!*

"LLLLLLLMPH!"

Grace's rear was targeted next. She was so over this. She sighed into her gag and rolled her eyes as the latex lady continued to paddle her rear. She was taking it like a champ! Then again, compared to Kayla, she had a little extra...cushioning...back there to help absorb the blows.

"Boss!"

The woman paused her paddling as she turned to the latex clad grunt that had just rushed into the room.

"What is it?"

"The other two...they've escaped!"

"What?!"

"When we went to check the room, they weren't there. I don't know where they've gone!"

She turned back to Kayla and Grace and groaned.

"You snoops don't know when to just sit there and take your medicine, do you?!"

Kayla smiled behind her ballgag. Leave it to Madelyn to create a little chaos!

"Well don't just stand there!" The latex lady shouted, "hurry up and find them!"

Taking off with her lackey, Kayla and Grace were left alone in the room. Looking at each other, they both nodded silently before furiously struggling in their binds and attempting to get free before their captors returned.

.  .  .  .  .

"Are you sure it's this way?"

Madelyn trailed behind Baleigh who was confidently taking the lead, plowing through the creepy abandoned warehouse like it was nothing.

"No clue, but let's keep going. I'm sure we'll find them eventually."

"But what if we get caught," Madelyn said.

"That's a risk we have to take," she said.

Madelyn was about to open her mouth to speak, but then all of the sudden someone grabbed her from behind!

"Mmmph!"

Her attacker's immediately plunged a rag into her mouth as they pulled her arms back and began tying them together. As for Baleigh, well, she was too busy prattling on that she didn't even notice what was happening behind her.

"Besides," she said continuing her train of thought without even missing a beat, "you're with me, after all. I have a natural talent for staying out of trouble you know. Grace is the trouble prone one after all. So relax, everything is going to be..."

She turned around to see Madelyn, eyes wide with a mouth full of cloth and two thugs holding her back.

"...okay."

"MMMMMMMPH!"

"Bummer..."

These were Baleigh's last words before a new set of goons pounced on her, plugging her mouth with a rag and tying her arms as well.

"Mmmmph!" she squealed as she was once again, thrown over the shoulder of one of the latex goons.

Madelyn was getting a serious case of deja vu...

.  .  .  .  .

"Nnnnnngph!"

"Llllllllllgph!"

Kayla and Grace had been struggling as hard as the possibly could, but to no avail. With their arms pulled up behind them, it was incredibly difficult to pick at any of the knots. These latex ladies were goofy, but damn could they tie a knot! Hearing footsteps approach their room again, Kayla sighed. Time was up, and they had made zero progress. Their only hope now was that Baleigh and Madelyn had found a way out and contacted the authorities.

*BAM!*

The doors to the room burst open as a posse of latex clad ladies stormed in. Madelyn and Baleigh were slung over two of their shoulders, kicking and struggling with all their might.

Kayla and Grace both sighed before rolling their eyes into the backs of their heads. There went their hope for escape.

"Seems we've caught a couple of loose snoops," the leader said as she waltzed over to Kayla and Grace, leaning in close to both of their faces and smirking.

"Girls, let's get them tied up."

"You got it boss!"

"Oh, and if someone wants to fetch my bag of feathers."

"On it!"

Feathers? Kayla didn't like the sound of that...

"FFFfFMMMPH! MMMMMPH!"

Madelyn and Baleigh were set on the ground as two sets of thugs held them down. They were fighting ferociously to break free from their captor's grip, but as seeing how their fights were both two against one, the odds were not in their favor. These latex ladies were strong!

"Your outfits are so cute," one of the girls chided.

"Yeah, super cute."

"But you know what would look even cuter?"

"WWRRRMMPH?!"

After a few minutes of tumbling and tearing, Baleigh and Madelyn had joined Kayla and Grace in their underwear. Their clothes laying in a pile next to their partner's. Baleigh was very unhappy with this...

"FMMMMMPH MMMMMMMMMMPH NNNNNNNNNNNMPH!"

"Ooooh, you're just as feisty as I remember you. I love that."

"Ffffffffmph!"

For as feisty as she was, she was no match for the two women pinning her down and looping rope around her arms and legs. It took the ladies a while to fully subdue their captives, but pretty soon Madelyn and Baleigh were properly trussed up on the concrete floor.

They'd been hogtied on their stomachs, the cold floor sending shivers down Madelyn's back. She was impressed with the rope work. Her hogtie was super snug, and they'd even managed to push her elbows together. Her hands were currently wresting on her behind with her ankles pressing down into them. The connecting rope of her hogtie had been cinched so tight that her chest was lifted slightly off the ground. There was so much rope applied to her body too, it was damn near professional level work! To keep her arms in place, they'd tied rope around her waist so that they could attach rope between that and her arms pinning them behind her back. There wasn't just one connecting rope for her hogtie, but rather a series of rope work attached to the rope framing her chest and wrapped around her shoulders. The ropes they'd used were soft too, they felt like some kind of braided nylon. If Madelyn's mouth wasn't crammed full with that rag she'd ask what brand of rope it was. Or would that be too inappropriate? Either way, she was really digging the way it felt. Now...if only they'd added a crotch rope...

Madelyn shook her head and forced herself back to reality.

"There we go, that's more like it! You girls look gorgeous all tied up like that!"

"Nnnnnnnnnngph!"

The girls mewed and moaned through their gags as they scowled at the latex lady. She stood there triumphantly over her captives, her hands planted on her hips. A suspicious looking bag sat at her feet. Kayla gulped knowing it was most likely her bag of feathers she had requested.

"Bleh!"

Baleigh had managed to push the rag from her mouth and spat it onto the floor.

"You'll never get away with this!" She said defiantly, "just wait until we get out of here!"

The latex ladies laughed.

"Oh, you're just the cutest," the boss lady said, bending down and giving Baleigh a pat on her pantyhose clad rear.

"Girls," she said motioning to her squad of lackeys. "Would you please finish off the gags on these other two?"

"They left the ball gags in the other room. Want us to go fetch them?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I know just the thing that should work even better."

Strutting over to the pile of clothes on the floor, she bent down and scooped up each of the girl's socks. Kayla sighed underneath her ball gag. At the very least she'd get a reprieve from that obnoxious thing.

"I've got tape here!"

"Good, as you saw with our spunky little friend, making sure a gag is properly secured is key."

Kayla, Grace, and Madelyn all glanced toward Baleigh, who just kind of shrugged.

"Whoops..." She said sheepishly as a latex thug approached her with both of her grey socks in hand.

Stuffing as much of them into Baleigh's mouth as would fit, the thug packed both of the socks in before grabbing a roll of silver tape and around Baleigh's head.

"Mmmmmmph!" Baleigh mumbled under her shiny new gag.

Madelyn was up next. The rag was plucked from her mouth and cast aside, and before she had a chance to utter any sort of snarky retort, the goon crammed her black ankle socks right into her mouth and pushed them all the way in following it of course with loads of tape.

Kayla and Grace were next, their ball gags unbuckled and tossed to the ground. Kayla took a deep breath in and out, preparing herself for the inevitable.

"Hey," said Grace while the thug behind her was busy scrunching up her long grey sock, "sorry about all of this. These ladies are a bunch loons."

"It's all good," Kayla said, "It's nothing I'm not used to at this point."

"Hey, quit your yapping! Now, open up!"

Kayla sighed, parting her lips ever so slightly.

"I said, open...up!"

"I ammmmmmph!"

Kayla sputtered as her black crew socks were jammed into her mouth. It was quite a lot to fit in, but somehow the latex lady managed to fit them both no problem. Albeit Kayla's mouth was held wide open, but there was hardly any sock leftover. Grace's captor was having a much more difficult time fitting the entire knee length sock into her mouth.

Grace stared forward with an irritated look as the woman tried as hard as she could to push the massive sock in.

"Hey boss...you're gonna have to show me how to do this. I can't seem to get this in!"

"Ugh, do I have to do everything myself? Alright, gather 'round ladies. Let me show you how it's done."

She changed places with the thug behind Grace, and started by pulling the sock out.

"It's all about filling the space in the cheeks, like this."

Taking the sock, she used both hands as she worked the thing back into Grace's mouth. She did just like she had said, and pushed as much of it as she could into both of Grace's cheeks which were now bulging out. After this, she worked what was left of the sock straight into Grace's mouth, and by the time she was done it was practically all inside.

The other ladies clapped their hands in applause as Grace moaned through her enormous gag.

"Mmmmmmmmmph..."

"That's why you're the boss!"

"Thank you, dears. Now, finish up and seal that sock in place! It's time to have a little bit of fun."

"You got it!"

"Mmmmph!"

Grace huffed as her pouting lips were buried underneath the many layers of tape wrapped around her lower face, a permanent scowl painted across her face. Kayla shot her a consoling glance. In the meantime, the thugs were busy fishing around their bag of goodies. They produced from them a bunch of feathers, approaching the girls and wiggling them around menacingly.

Baleigh and Madelyn thrashed around on the floor in their stringent hogties, desperately trying to get free. Kayla and Grace on the other hand remained calm and collected, understanding that their fate had been sealed (along with the socks in their mouth) and that resisting would prove futile.

"Well then," the boss lady said, feather in hand, "who's up first?"

"Wrrmmmph..."

Kayla tutted at her beneath her gag, but the woman's attention seemed to be elsewhere, namely on Baleigh and Madelyn who were flopping around like two fish out of water. She smiled as she bent down and grabbed Madelyn's chin with her hand.

"Let's start with you, yes?"

"MMMMMPH!"

Madelyn yelped as the lady began dragging the feather across her nylon clad soles. She scrunched and wiggled her toes, laughing underneath her gag all the while. Twisting and turning she tried to get away from the feather, but the ropes provided no escape. The woman continued to drag the feather all across Madelyn's body as she hollered into her gag. With her clothes removed, and nothing but her underwear and tights left there was lots of bare skin showing just ripe for tickling.

"Well don't just let me have all the fun," the boss said, "get to tickling the others!"

On cue, the other lackeys in the room pounced on Baleigh, Grace, and Kayla, bearing down on them with the feathers and subjecting them to the same relentless tickling that Madelyn was forced to endure.

"MMMMMMMPH GGGGGGNNNNNNMPH!"

Kayla squealed and moaned as the tickling sensations shot up and down her body. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax but it was damn near impossible with that god forsaken feather dancing across her stocking clad feet and her bare arms. In the midst of the fray, she caught a look at Grace across from her whose chill demeanor had all but evaporated due to her own tickling assault.

The whole room was just filled with the sounds of the muffled laughter as the girls were tickled for a good while! It did eventually end though, and Kayla was finally able to take a deep breath and collect herself. She was a sweaty mess, and her three companions were in the same state. It was quite the ordeal...

Their only salvation came due to the fact that the warehouse they were in wasn't all that abandoned. From off in the distance, the distinct sound of large garage doors being flung open rang out as the latex ladies, and Kayla and company turned in the direction that the sound had come from.

"What the hell?!" The boss lady fumed.

"Whoops, seems like someone's here."

"Ya' think? Hurry and pack everything up! We need to bounce!"

"You got it, boss!"

The ladies scrambled around the room, scooping up their supplies and scurrying away. The girls on the other hand took the opportunity that the universe had given them and began shouting as loud as they could through their stuffed mouths.

Soon enough, the door to the storage room opened again and a couple of men walked in. Their jaws nearly hit the floor at the sight before them. They just kind of stood there for a second, ogling the four underwear clad snoops. Kayla rolled her eyes.

"MMMPH!"

Snapping back to reality, the men called out behind them.

"Hey, fellas! You're gonna want to get in here and check this out..."

.  .  .  .  .

"God...what a mess," Kayla said as she leaned against the back of one of the police cars.

She was once again fully clothed and grateful to not be tied up anymore.

"We really lucked out this time," Grace said, "I have no idea what else those creeps were planning."

"Oh, I have a couple of guesses," Kayla said as the group laughed.

"Sorry you got roped into that," Baleigh said, "and sorry for that terrible pun."

"No you're not," Grace said.

Baleigh snickered, "I'm not."

Kayla smiled, "well, I'm just glad everyone's okay."

"Same," said Grace.

"You sure weren't kidding when you said trouble follows you around," Madelyn said.

"And neither were you guys," Baleigh replied.

"Guess it's all just part of the job," said Kayla.

"Well, we're all off the clock now," said Baleigh, "and the night is still young! Drinks?"

"Baleigh...I think we should head back and shower."

"Right," Baleigh said as she wrapped her arms around Grace's waist from behind and leaned her head on Grace's shoulder. "Let's go shower...and then head out for some drinks!"

Grace sighed, "you're not going to give up on this I take it."

"Nope!"

Grace rolled her eyes as Kayla laughed. She hadn't accomplished her goal of staying out of trouble, far from it in fact. That being said, she had managed to make some new friends. So all in all, not a bad weekend. She and Madelyn waved by to Grace and Baleigh before the four girls went their separate ways. As she and Madelyn walked off, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye...

"Wait, Mads. What is that you're holding?"

Kayla was referring to the bundle of rope Madelyn was trying to discreetly hold behind her back.

"Nothing! It's just...a little souvenir if you will. To remember the trip by."

Kayla paused as she and Madelyn held eye contact for a few seconds, followed by the two of them bursting into laughter. One thing was for sure, it was definitely a very memorable trip!