Note: Inspiration for this story struck when I couldn’t sleep after drinking too much caffeine during supper. At 2AM I was watching a country music video of Miranda Lambert’s Fastest Girl in Town. I was annoyed they got away with stealing a car. So I asked myself how they could get caught. Then my attention turned toward the question of “What would happen if they stole the wrong car?” What follows is inspiration from that idea. (An older, re-edited story)
Miranda and Danica were laying their claim to the title of fastest girls in town. That’s because everywhere they went vehicles would end up being stolen. Authorities were on the case, but there appeared to be no leads.
The duo were stealing cars. It was believed they were dropping them off at some as yet to be discovered chop shop somewhere in the greater Phoenix area. There had been many sightings, but so far no arrests. The two were deemed folk heroes by some. Law enforcement had different view of their chosen profession.
They had no way of knowing their fate would be sealed the day they stole a Grand Prix from Big Sol’s wife while she was shopping at the mall. Witnesses claimed it had certainly looked like the infamous pair in the automobile. A brunette was behind the wheel while a blonde sat in the passenger seat. Big Sol was infuriated, and he put his men on it right away.
Miranda and Danica were staying at the Roadside Inn just outside the southern end of the city limits. They were hidden in a back unit out of sight from prying eyes. The two daring car thieves were giddy with excitement at their latest job.
They had stolen a souped up Plymouth from some guy at a bar. The unsuspecting victim was obviously into fast cars and faster women. By the time he found out his vehicle was no longer gracing the parking lot the two bandits were gone, hitting the accelerator with their hearts pumping from the excitement of another successful theft.
Miranda and Danica were in the room feasting on beer and pizza when they ran out of booze. It was Miranda’s turn to make the drive into town to pick up another six-pack. Danica told her to make sure she wasn’t caught. After all, they had their sights on a juiced up Buick the guy at the chop shop was itching to get his hands on.
Miranda went out and took the back road to a local convenience store where she bought a six-pack. The trip was uneventful. She returned about 20 minutes later.
She didn’t expect to find her partner lying face down on the bed with her arms tied behind her back. Her favorite red bandana ran through her mouth to muffle her cries. “Danica??” she blurted out in alarm as she rushed over to her.
Her friend tried to warn her, but it was too late. The bathroom door suddenly swung open. Two men stepped into the room wearing gloves and brandishing revolvers.
“So nice to finally meet you at last,” the taller one in the pinstripe suit said menacingly as he waved the weapon at her. “We’ve been getting acquainted with your partner in crime. It appears she’s the driver. That must mean you’re the lookout.”
“Who the hell are you?” Miranda wanted to know. Her heart pounded in her chest at this unexpected turn of events.
“Big Sol sent us,” Pinstripe said coldly. “You two bitches stole from the wrong man. Tie her up, Phil!”
The man in the navy blue suit handed his gun to Pinstripe. Then he reached inside his suit and pulled out a length of rope. He grabbed Miranda and spun her around before roughly pulling her arms behind her back.
“You bastards are going to PAY for this!” she protested indignantly. Her partner grunted in protest.
Pinstripe just sneered at her. “No; I think you two bitches are the ones who are going to pay. Gag her, Phil. Then let’s get them out of here!”
“You can’t do this to us… HEY!”
He took the blue bandana from around her neck. He ran it through her mouth, tying it off behind her head. Miranda let out muffled protests to no avail.
Phil made sure the coast was clear. Then he and Pinstripe slung the grunting, struggling duo over their shoulders.
They were hauled out to the car they’d stolen. Miranda and Danica were given the honor of taking their last ride in the trunk. Both were unceremoniously dumped inside.
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO US!” Miranda protested through her gag. Her companion let out muffled grunts of alarm. Then the trunk was slammed shut on them.
Phil climbed in behind the wheel. Pinstripe crawled into the passenger side. Then they took off.
The two bandits were driven around for what felt like an hour. They kept rolling around against each other in the back of the trunk. It was their first truly uncomfortable ride.
Neither one knew who Big Sol was. But they suspected they were going to meet him soon. Then they would probably be given instructions to retrieve the vehicle they had stolen.
When the car finally stopped they both breathed a sigh of relief. It was getting hot and stuffy in the trunk. And with the desert heat outside they were both starting to sweat something fierce.
The trunk opened up and blinding sunlight filled the interior. Phil was there to reach in and pull Danica out, slinging her up over his shoulders again. Pinstripe was right beside him waiting to grab Miranda.
“I see you bitches got all hot and sweaty back here,” he observed dryly as he pulled her out. Then he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Well, don’t worry. You’ll be cooling off real quick where we’re taking you.”
Miranda’s protests were muffled as she demanded to be put down at once. She kept trying to tell them they had no right to do this. Her cries to be released went unheeded.
From what Miranda could observe of her surroundings they were on some sort of isolated estate. There were no neighboring houses nearby. No one would be able to see them and call the cops.
Miranda suspected they were being taken to see Big Sol. They believed they were about to face his wrath. Instead they were taken through a couple of gates until they ended up in a backyard.
The sun beat down mercilessly; it was 105 in the shade. Big Sol’s men rounded the corner. A large outdoor pool came into view, a heavy canvas insulating it from the sun’s rays.
“Welcome to the Henderson residence, bitches,” Pinstripe said formally. “This is where you’ll be staying.”
He and Phil dropped the grunting, protesting bandits onto a couple of patio loungers. “They’re in Europe by the way,” he continued as he walked over to a set of controls on the wall of the pool shed. “They won’t be back for several weeks. We’re just borrowing their pool for the day.”
He activated the controls. The immense pool cover began to open. The scent of chlorine wafted up to their nostrils.
Miranda and Danica grunted in alarm as Pinstripe returned. “I see you bitches got all hot and sweaty during your ride in the trunk. I’m a reasonable man, ladies. Why don’t I allow you to go for a nice swim to cool off, ok? You’ll have to take your clothes off though. I understand the Hendersons don’t allow clothes in their pool.”
Their eyes flew open in alarm. Pinstripe and Phil produced knives from their pockets. The women started to let out muffled screams as the two man approached, fearful of what was going to happen to them.
They were relieved when Big Sol’s men did nothing more than cut their shirts and bras off. The remaining jeans, underwear and boots were easily removed. Both ladies grunted in protest, indignant they’d been stripped naked.
The bandanas were not removed. And their arms remained bound. Instinctively they shook their heads in growing alarm, suddenly fearing the worst.
“Ok, bitches,” Pinstripe instructed as he started to pull Miranda up out of the patio lounger. “On your feet. It’s time for your swim. I hope you two can hold your breath. You’re going to be in the water one hell of a long time.”
Phil grabbed Danica and got her to her feet. Both women were marched over to the deep end. Miranda began pleading with them through the bandana in her mouth, telling them they weren’t going to get away with it and to just let them go.
Maybe Pinstripe understood, or maybe he didn’t. He just laughed all the same. “This is what you bitches get for messing with Big Sol.”
He pushed Miranda into the pool. Phil did the same with Danica. The two bandits hit the water with a splash.
Thankfully their feet had not been bound. They were able to kick themselves back to the surface. They anxiously tread water as Pinstripe calmly walked over to the pool shed.
“Enjoy your swim, ladies,” he said over his shoulder. Then he reached for the controls to the pool cover.
“You shouldn’t be interrupted for oh, say… three weeks at least. I hear that’s when the Hendersons might be getting back.” Then he activated the controls.
The cover began to close. Miranda and Danica began screaming through the bandanas in their mouths. They shook their heads, begging and pleading to be let out of the pool.
They tried to promise to retrieve Big Sol’s automobile. They would do that if that’s what it would take to spare them. But whether their muffled pleadings were understood or not seemed to make no difference.
The cover continued to work across the pool with ominous slowness. The horrified bandits tried to work their way over to the side of the pool. That’s when Pinstripe retrieved a pool skimmer.
He brought it over with him as he walked back to the pool. When Miranda got too close to the side he simply used it to push her farther out into the deep end away from the edge. He also did the same to her companion.
The cover was three quarters of the way closed when the two unfortunate bandits began letting out muffled screams and cries. “I’d say you two bitches messed with the wrong man,” Pinstripe calmly told them. He was unmoved by the approaching edge of the cover.
“You two had best say your goodbyes and fill your lungs. You’re going to have to hold your breath until… well, I’d say until you drown.”
Miranda and Danica frantically tread water, desperately trying to get back toward the side of the pool. Pinstripe calmly pushed them both away from the edge whenever either one of them got too close. Then the cover reached them.
With a bubbly cry Miranda’s head was forced under first. Danica was a couple seconds behind her. As the cover continued to close, all that could be seen of them were a couple of small bulges under the canvass.
They appeared to be trying to head-butt their way up through the sturdy material. Then it reached the side of the pool with a thunk. The would-be car thieves were sealed underneath.
It was quite dark under the surface. Miranda instinctively tried to kick herself up out of the water. But the canvas above her was solid.
She could achieve little more than making a noticeable bulge in the material. There was no air pocket to access. She blindly thrashed about, kicking with her legs while struggling to free her arms.
A few feet away Danica let out a bubbly cry of horror. She tried to hold her breath while pushing up against the cover above her. But there was very little give in the material.
Her naked body wriggled and squirmed to no avail. Her lungs were straining in her chest. That’s when she realized her days of driving stolen cars had come to a rather abrupt end.
Both women were terrified, their naked bodies trembling from a fearful arousal. Two sets of nipples protruded noticeably as they bubbled and struggled. But they could not free themselves from their bonds. All they could do was kick themselves upward, their heads bumping time and time again against the underside of the cover.
Miranda went first as her lungs finally gave out. She grunted and gurgled, her body bucking and jerking as she drifted up against the cover chest up. Bubbles escaped her lungs to burst out around the bandana in her mouth and out through her nostrils.
Danica had just enough time to experience the horror of hearing her friend and partner start to drown with horrific grunts and gurgles. Then her lungs gave out as well. She began spasming and convulsing as she floated upward with her back to the cover.
Both women hitched and gurgled, coughing up the last of their air in drowning seizures until they finally went limp. Their bodies gently pressed up against the underside of the canvas. Stray bubbles trickled out of their opened mouths as their unseeing eyes stared in shock. Their last thoughts before they both faded away was sorrow they were not the fastest girls in town anymore.
At the surface Pinstripe and Phil watched until the cover stopped undulating. They noticed a couple of minor bulges that remained unchanged. Both women were now lifelessly floating all pressed up against the underside. It would not be long before their lungs would flood and their bodies would eventually lose buoyancy.
“Let’s gather up their clothes,” Pinstripe told Phil emotionlessly. “Big Sol says they’re to go out of this world the way they came in. At least we left those bitches with their bandanas. The Hendersons can deal with them later when they get back from Europe.”
“I’d love to see their faces when they discover the ‘welcome home’ presents we left for them in their pool,” Phil added with a chuckle.
The two men quietly gathered up the clothes of the drowned bandits. Then they left the pool area. The Henderson family would experience quite a shock at what they would discover in their backyard pool once they returned from their trip to Europe.
2012; 2020 (written Dec 6 ’12; ed. Mar 23 ’20 by riwa)
(Pictures found on the internet and used for illustration purposes.)