Lucy started the engine and backed out of the parking slot.“This is the tame version with six cylinders, but let me tell you, it’s cheaper to rent...a helicopter the way it guzzles gas,” she laughed.Leaving the parking lot, she merged onto San Fernando Road, heading for I-5 which she followed until hitting the Ventura Freeway. Traffic was heavy and moving along slowly. They all felt the heat in the open car, but at least there was a noticeable breeze that cooled them a little. Lucy exited at N.. She didn’t have to wait long. Two sets of hands picked her up by her arms and led her stumbling back down the hall and into her bedroom. They sat her on the bed without a word and she could feel their eyes on her nude body again. Finally, the original attacker spoke up. “We’re going to leave you for now and not gag you again, but if you make a single sound, you won’t live to regret it. Understood?”Sheila nodded dumbly. That was it? They weren’t going to kill her? This had to be a trick, she. I shook my head, denying that there was anything wrong.“Open your mouth, mom.” It wasn’t a request but an instruction. Already embarrassed, my cheeks reddened even more. I stood there looking at Evelyn for some seconds before I complied.“Is that a pair of panties?” Evelyn asked with a grin, relief evident in her voice. She stepped over to me and fished the tiny garment out of my mouth. “That’s better. Why did you have panties in your mouth, mom?”I thought I was saved from answering when Dave. They found their way at the end mostly by the light of the lightning flashes.If the storm was anything like a Kansan thunderstorm, they might only have a half hour to work.Risking being hit by lightening, Sir Johnsten, the professed best climber of the group, started up along the angle between the wall and the honey chute. The climbing gear included crude pitons that could be hammered into the lime mortar between the rocks. A narrow hook slid over the piton and a rope attached to the climber's.