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25 photos; 3:05 video

I sat in my truck, using binoculars to get a good view through the bay window into the house across the street.  I could see my customer pacing, from one end of the living room to the other. He’d be doing this ever since I had pulled up 15 minutes ago.  Even from here I could tell that he was as nervous as hell – he had probably worn a path into the rather fine Persian carpet.  That would be a pity; it was very nice, and quite valuable but, unfortunately, not easily portable.  However, on my tour of the house when we were setting up this deal, I had noticed all kinds of nice pieces that could be easily packed up and removed. It was a good thing that the client knew the value of what he owned, and had insured accordingly.  Otherwise the deal wouldn’t be worth the bother.  I decided it was time to put an end to his misery and to get things rolling.
  I barely had time to remove my finger from the doorbell when the door was pulled open.
  “Come in, come in, before someone see you.”
  The poor guy was really agitated. I could see the sweat beading on his brow, and his eyes were darting wildly, trying to see if anyone on the street had noticed Inwardly, I sighed. I had explained the whole thing to him a couple of times, in detail, but he was too nervous to remember the details.
  “Mr. Rickman, we’ve already discussed this. People are supposed to remember the truck – it is going to make the story a lot more convincing to the insurance company if there are eyewitnesses to the fact that I was here. Plus the fact that you’ll be found and gagged in your own home will add veracity to the story. I saw at least two people watching me as I brought the dolly with the cartons to the front door.  All that you will have to tell the police is that you answered the door, were immediately overpowered and bound and gagged.”
   This was a scam that I had pulled a number of times.  People had money problems. They also had valuable possessions, which were insured to the hilt. If they sold these things they would receive only a fraction of the value. However, if jewels and objets d’art were stolen – the insurance companies coughed up the cash.  I hired myself to rob these people and kept their goods for a while. Once they had been paid, I returned their goodies to them for a cut of the insurance payment.  My business had been flourishing over the last few months – so many rich people were finding themselves a lot poorer. Like this poor guy – he was desperate to keep the family business afloat.

  “I’m…I’m not sure that I want to go through with this.  It’s illegal and I’m not a bad person and..
  “Mr. Rickman, it is a bit too late to be having cold feet.  We have a contract – a very generous and fair contract, I must say.  Please – hold still.
  “Hey, is it supposed to be this tight?  I can’t move my arms at all! Why you are doing this now?”
  “Mr. Rickman, I am a professional.  Please believe me when I say that I know what I am doing.  The police will find your story much more believable if you have been tied up snugly.  Why don’t you take a sit here on this bench while I get to work?  I don’t want to have to hurry – it would be a shame if some of these lovely things got damaged while I was packing them up.”
  I placed him rather firmly on the handy bench and turned away as quickly as I could. I didn’t want him to see the bulge in my deliveryman coveralls.   What I hadn’t told Mr. Rickman was that I didn’t usually bind and gag my victims. If fact I usually did the deed while they were consoling themselves for their losses vacationing at their second or third homes.  However, most of my other clients hadn’t been so cute and appealing as Mr. Rickman.  I was definitely feeling hot and bothered.  I had to remind myself that I was a professional as I started carefully wrapping up the Rickman treasures. I tried to keep my mind on the job at hand, rather on the way I had felt as I wrapped the rope tightly around the Mr. Rickman’s upper…
  “Please be careful with that. It belonged to my great-great-great-great-grandmother and..”
  I nearly jumped out of my skin and barely caught the exquisite Belcher cream pitcher before it hit the floor.
  “Mr. Rickman, I am fully aware of the value of this piece.  There only a dozen other like it known to exist, and all of the others are in museums. I must insist that you return to the bench where I left you.”

   “I can’t move! I’m choking!”
   “Mr. Rickman, please calm yourself.  You will be perfectly fine if you don’t struggle too violently.  Even if you do thrash about, you won’t actually XXXX yourself.  You will just feel an unpleasant constriction around your throat.   You must let me continue with job on hand.  Here, let me make you more comfortable. Why, you can take a little XXXX if you like. “
  I was the one sweating now.  Adding more rope the young executive and then maneuvring him into place had made me as a horny as a goat.  Silently I was chanting to myself “professionalism, professionalism”.  It wasn’t doing much good, I must admit.  Right now all I wanted to do was to carry Mr. Rickman off and do wonderful things to him.  I gritted my teeth and continued packing.
  “GGGLLLAGGGHHHH!”
  Oh crap, the silly fool was choking himself.  I had told him not to struggle to hard. I jumped to my feet and raced over to him. Whew, I was in time.
    “Water” he croaked.
   I dashed up the stairs, knowing that there was bathroom at the top of the landing. I got a glass of water and a wash cloth.
  “What are you…MMMMPHHHHH!”
  Mr. Rickman’s eyes bulged as I stuffed the wet washcloth into his mouth, and then tied it firmly in place with a bandana.
  “ I am sorry, Mr. Rickman, I can’t have any more interruptions.  You must lie here while I finish the job.  I think I might have to reconsider the terms of the contract. I happen to have another quite large carton in my truck.  One just big enough for you to fit into.  I think that I’ll take YOU as my payment for the job.”
  I felt much more relaxed as I finished packing up the valuables, Mr. Rickman’s gagged groans music to my ears. Professionalism be damned.

Mr. Rickman played by Douglas
Photography by Ogre