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Julian clutched his briefcase tightly, gloating as he thought of what it contained. ‘I’m going to be rich, I’m going to be rich’ played over in his mind. What he had tucked away among the innocuous academic files was going to fund an early retirement. This latest batch of purloined documents would bring the total of his stolen collection up to about five million bucks. Of course, he would have to share some of that with his partner in crime, but Jeff was such a blockhead, he had no idea of how valuable the little hoard was. Julian chuckled as he thought of the XXXX and dismay that would ensue when the theft was discovered. Ha, that would teach them a lesson for paying highly trained librarians such a pittance, while the coach of the college’s football team received millions. Julian had been discreetly putting out feelers to potential buyers and he had already received several nibbles. He had to be careful how he disposed of the papers, but he knew that he could do it. He was full of glee as he pushed open the door of his dilapidated house, the only accommodation that he could afford on his measly salary. HA! That would change soon. He would have something really quite delightful, albeit extremely tasteful, far far from here.

Visions of how he would be spending his ill-gotten gains filled his head as he entered his home. He was brought to reality rapidly when he found himself staring down the barrel of a rather alarming looking item. His eyes slowly moved from the item to the person who was holding. He gulped as he beheld a burly masked figure.

"Hands in the air, asshole!"

"Please, please, don’t hurt me! Take whatever you want!"

Julian wondered what kind of dimwit would bother burgling a house in this neighborhood. His scanty possessions would bring only a few dollars – he didn’t even have a DVD player!

"Drop the briefcase! Do it. NOW!"

Julian groaned as he thought of the fragile and precious pieces of papers that his briefcase contained. He gingerly placed it on the floor. Before he had time to straighten up, the intruder grabbed the collar of his suit jacket and shoved him towards the wall.

"Lean against the wall. Hands and legs spread. You heard me! Get a fucking move on, or I’ll drill you."

Julian obeyed the burglar. He shuddered as he felt the man frisking him, extracting his wallet from the back pocket of his trousers. What a brute! What huge hands this guy had. Julian felt an odd tingle as the thief methodically turned out of all of his pockets. What could he be looking for?

"OK, down on your knees, asshole. One false move and you’re dead meat."

Julian reluctantly lowered himself to his knees, thinking that this guy had watched too many bad movies. Damn, today of all days, he had to be wearing his good suit.

"Ouch, ouch, what are you doing? There is no need for this! I promise, I won’t do anything foolish."

"Shut your trap, egghead. I don’t want to hear another peep out of you."

Julian submitted, wincing silently as he his hands were roped together behind his back. He stifled a groan as more rope was round around his chest and then attached to his bound hands. He whimpered as he was pulled to his feet, turned around and then slammed into the wall. He slid to the floor, his head aching from the contact with the rotting plaster. Julian could only watch in appalled XXXX as his captor bound his feet together. Fuck, that rope was tight.

"Hey, watch the socks! They’re brand new and…MMMMMPHHHHH!"

"I told you to shut up, you geek. You should have listened. Now not another peep out of you!"

Julian watched in astounded XXXX as the burglar proceeded to go through the contents of his briefcase, extracting each of the purloined letters, carefully sliding them into envelopes with his gloved hands. OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. Somehow this guy knew what Julian had been doing. Julian almost wept with frustration as he watched his retirement fund diminish by the minute. Thank God the most precious documents were hidden away in a spot where no one would think to look for them.

"OK, Carfax, where are the rest of them?"

"MMMGGGHMDONTMMMKNOWGGMMWHATMURMTALKINGBOUT."

"Screw you. I’ll find them myself. It won’t take too long to turn this dump over."

Julian heard crashes and bashes as his meager possessions were ransacked.

"Keep away from Fluffy’s kitty litter" he prayed. "Keep away from the kitty litter!"

Julian began frantically struggling to free himself. He had to get loose, he had to! Once untied, it would only take him a moment to scoop up the precious contents of the kitty litter and then flee. He would still have the manuscript of The Marble Faun, annotated by Hawthorne, and the Melville letters, and the Poe manuscripts – the gems of the collection. What the burglar had in his possession at the moment was just the tip of the iceberg. But….he knew there were other things. How had he found out what Julian was up to? If that buffoon Jeff had blabbed…nah, even he couldn’t have been so stupid. Thinking of Jeff, Julian looked at the clock on the wall. Holy shit, Jeff would be here any moment. He must get free first, he must! Renewing his frantic efforts, Julian rolled around on the floor, straining to reach the knots in the rope, to loosen the rope…anything to get free! He forgot about his suit as he thrashed about. All of his careful plans and scheming would be for nothing if the intruder found his precious cache. The thought of his retirement fund disappearing into thin air, leaving him once again penurious added fuel the fire of his frenzy. What was that sound outside? Oh no, it couldn’t be!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Julian played by Jimbo

Photography by Caitiff