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Tickle Street Chapter 22 – “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League”

Strelnikov

4th Level Red Feather
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
1,820
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By Strelnikov
Copyright 2004 by the author


Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance)

Rachel Griffin
Rachel is 25 years old. She has shoulder-length fiery red hair, a crooked grin, fair skin and a fit and shapely body. Her eyes are jade green – they twinkle with merriment. She’s smart and tough, but tickle her and she’s helpless. She’s originally from Georgia, but settled in Tieson City after sharing an adventure with Ashley Curtis and Kelly McGuire. She’s close friends with both younger girls.

Kelly McGuire
Kelly is a Junior at TCHS, just turned 18. She’s tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with long coppery red hair, a beautiful face, hourglass figure and long, shapely legs. Her skin is flawless, and so fair that it freckles up like a turkey egg if she goes out in the sun. Her eyes are deep blue, almost indigo. She’s insanely ticklish, and regards that as her greatest weakness.

Ashley Curtis
A.K.A Beauty Queen. Tall and shapely, just turned 19 yrs old, long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Her mother started entering her in beauty pageants and contests as soon as she could walk. She lives with her mom, a former beauty queen herself, who always showers Ashley with positive influence on how beautiful she is. Ashley and her mother moved to Tickle Street about a year ago. Besides being exceptionally beautiful, Ashley is also exceptionally ticklish – an ideal combination.

Vicky and Veronica Righetti
They’re "mirror twins" - identical, but Vicky, the leader, is a lefty (Latin “sinister”) and Veronica is right handed. They’re 20 years old, medium height, with very trim and fit figures that they maintain by martial arts. They have shoulder length wavy dark brown hair, dark brows and lashes, brown eyes. They’re extremely ticklish, but since they’re a team, they don’t get tickled much.

Morgan Ernst
A.K.A. Girl Genius. Almost 19, medium height, slender, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. She gets straight A’s in all subjects. She hasn’t been in town for long, her family moved to Tieson City at the beginning of the previous summer. She’s extremely ticklish. Because of a horrible experience in her former town, she had a deathly fear of tickling – but her neighbors cured that!

Emily MacDonald
Emily is a petite girl with bright green eyes and a glorious mane of fiery red hair. She's somewhat older than the rest of the senior class at TCHS – she spent a year in rehab after a car wreck. She and her widowed father moved to Tickle Street last summer. Her ticklishness is her greatest weakness, she feels that it makes her too girly and weak.

…plus the Usual Suspects.


********************


Rachel Griffin unlocked her apartment door and ushered her young friend inside. It was just before 11 AM on a beautiful Saturday in late spring. “Make yourself at home, Kelly,” she said. “We need some help. I’m gonna call for reinforcements.”

Theirs was an odd friendship – superficially, they had little in common. Kelly McGuire was a Junior at Tieson City High School, just turned 18. She was tall, drop-dead gorgeous, with long coppery red hair, a beautiful face, hourglass figure and long, shapely legs. Her skin was fair and flawless – she had to stay out of the sun or it would freckle up like a turkey egg. Her eyes were deep blue, almost indigo. She wore white shorts and a t-shirt that matched the color of her eyes.

Rachel was 25 years old. She had shoulder-length fiery red hair, fair skin and jade green eyes. Her forest green t-shirt and hip-hugging denim capri’s showed her fit and shapely body to good advantage. She was normally good-humored, but there was a lot of hard bark under the amiable surface. Originally from Georgia, she had settled in Tieson City after sharing an adventure with Kelly. She had an over-the-store apartment two doors down Main Street from Rosen’s Rexall Drugs, and a job waiting tables at the Tieson City Café across the street. She would never get rich there – it was fortunate that she lived close, because she couldn’t afford a car. But it was a living.

Both girls kicked off their sandals. Kelly went to the kitchen for a Coke while Rachel dialed the phone.

“Hello, Ashley? Rachel.”

“Hi, Rachel. Haven’t heard from you lately – how are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks. Hey, can you drop what you’re doing and come over to my place? Kelly’s here too. We need to talk right now.”

Ashley had shared the adventure with the two redheads. “On my way,” she said.

Ashley parked behind the building and headed upstairs. She was tall and shapely, just turned 19 yrs old, with long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She had the same beauty-queen build as Kelly, and like the younger girl, she was exceptionally beautiful. She wore a red t-shirt and red-and-white striped capri’s – like the others, she left her flip-flops just inside the door.

“What’s this about? Why the rush?” Ashley asked.

“Look at this,” Rachel replied, handing Ashley a flyer printed up on a home computer. It said:

TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of $100.00 a week for purely nominal services. All red-headed women who are sound in body and mind, and 18 to 25 years of age, are eligible. Apply in person on Saturday, between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM, at the Tieson City offices of the League: Fleet Memorial Student Center, 7 Pope’s Court, Tieson City College. Call 555-6228 for appointment.

“Weird!” Ashley said. “Where did you find it?”

“They’re all over town,” Rachel said. “At the high school, the diner, drug store, grocery stores, probably other places too.”

“I checked it out,” Kelly said, “and…”

***

“Interesting,” Rachel said, and handed the flyer back to Kelly across the lunch counter. “Where did you find it?”

“I got it off the notice board at the high school,” Kelly said. “There’s another one next to the cash register here – I’m surprised you haven’t seen it.”

“I’ve never heard of the Red-Headed League. How about you?”

“Nope. I thought I’d check it out. My appointment is at 10:00.”

Rachel checked her watch. “It’s 9:30 now,” she said. “I’m not working lunch today – I get off at 11. Come see me here when you get through. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, and you can tell me about it.”

Tieson City College was a small liberal-arts school on the eastern outskirts of Tieson City. Most of the campus buildings were ivy-covered red brick, and dated from the end of the 19th Century.

The Student Center was on the west side of the campus – it had once been the official residence of the college president. It was a tall red-brick Victorian pile, built in Italianate style. Its most striking architectural feature was a round cone-roofed turret or tower that sprouted from the second floor on the left front corner. Officially, the building was named for the first president. The students called it Munster House.

The building had been used as office space, years ago. These days, it provided space at no cost, for the asking, to student organizations. The Model Railroad Club had their setup in the formal dining room, the orcs-n-dragons tabletop wargamers had the library, other groups had the smaller rooms. Because of its inconvenient shape, the turret room – formerly a sitting room off the master bedroom – was normally vacant. Not now, though – a neat computer-printed sign taped to the hallway wall declared that the Red-Headed League had their offices there.

Kelly met a red-haired young woman coming down the stairs as she entered. The other was rumpled, sweaty and a little short of breath.

“What’s the deal?” Kelly asked.

“Interviews and testing. They said someone from the League would contact me within two weeks if I make the first cut,” the other replied.

“What kind of tests?”

“Can’t tell you,” the other said. “They told me not to give out any information.”

“No kidding! Well, I guess I’ll find out.”

The old master bedroom had been subdivided in the building’s office days – she entered a sort of vestibule. The room was furnished with battleship-gray steel office furniture that dated back to before World War II – a secretarial desk and chair, a coat rack, four straight chairs. To one side of the desk was the door to the turret room.

A young woman with shoulder-length dark hair sat at the desk working on a laptop computer. Obviously, the Red-Headed League didn’t insist on formal office attire – she was dressed in a navy polo shirt, khaki shorts and backless white sneakers without socks. She looked up and smiled as Kelly entered.

“Hi, come on in,” she said. She was about 20 or 21, Mediterranean looking, very attractive, with brown eyes and dark brows and lashes. “I know what you’re thinking. The League is just getting organized here – I’m an office temp, not a member. Have a seat and tell me about yourself.”

Kelly identified herself and provided a few details. This girl looks familiar somehow, thought Kelly, but I can’t place her. Where have I seen her before?

The dark-haired girl stood and went into the inner door, moving with the grace and economy of motion of a dancer. Kelly took the opportunity to check out the room. What she saw wasn’t impressive – the hardwood floor was scarred, the walls could stand a coat of paint, and that ancient furniture… Well, they were just getting started in Tieson City. She would reserve judgement until she knew more.

The receptionist came out a minute later and said, “You can come in now. Please follow me.”

Kelly froze just inside the door. Another dark-haired young woman, identical to the first, identically dressed – twins. That’s where I’ve seen them, Kelly thought – Ashley pointed them out to me at the mall.

“Vicky and Veronica Righetti, am I right?” Kelly asked, a little uneasy. “What are you two doing here?”

“I’m Vicky,” the second twin said. “Like my sister said – we’re office temps.”

“We’re students here – Psychology majors,” Veronica said. “That’s why the League hired us to do some preliminary screening of new members.”

The room was furnished with another steel desk and swivel chair, two steel straight chairs, a battered sofa and two armchairs of the same vintage, a classroom desk-chair and (oddly) a massage table. Vicky told Kelly to have a seat on the sofa. The twins took clip-boards and pencils off the desk and sat in the armchairs.

What came next was like a cross between a job interview and a psychological examination. It lasted about 10 minutes. After that, Vicky sat at the desk and turned on a boom box – she sang along with the music as she worked on a laptop computer. Veronica told Kelly to sit in the desk-chair and take a simple math test – a train leaves Chicago at 2 PM traveling 50 mph, problems of that sort. Veronica told her that she had 10 minutes to do it, then left the room.

Kelly stood and handed her finished paper to Vicky, who checked her watch, turned off the boom box and stood up. “Very good – just under 8 minutes,” Vicky said. “Just so you’ll know, that wasn’t really a math test. It was intended to find out how well you can concentrate when there’s distractions.”

“Oh. What next?” Kelly asked.

“One last test of distractability,” Vicky said. She called her twin back into the room. “OK, Kelly, up on the massage table, on your back.”

This was weird, but not overtly threatening – Kelly’s uneasiness had faded. She did as she was told.

Four hands grabbed Kelly’s wrists and ankles. Almost before she knew what was happening, her wrists were pinned over her head and her wrists and ankles were tied together. Kelly squirmed and struggled, but the twins were a lot stronger than they looked. They tied her bound wrists and ankles to the top and bottom of the massage table.

“What are you doing? Please! Let me go!” Kelly begged.

“I don’t think so,” two voices said in chorus.

“HELP!” Kelly yelled, straining against the bonds.

“Save your breath,” Vicky said. “You’re gonna need it.”

“Nobody will hear you anyway,” Veronica added. “There’s two oak doors between you and the hallway, and the walls are solid plaster.” She slipped off Kelly’s sandals, dropped them on the floor and traced a figure-eight on Kelly’s left heel with one perfectly manicured fingernail.

“Hehehehe! Sta-haha-ap!” Kelly begged. “That tickles!”

“It’s supposed to tickle, silly!” Vicky said. “That’s the distraction.”

“You go first, sis,” Veronica said.

Vicky stepped out of her shoes, climbed up on the table and straddled Kelly’s hips. “Relax,” she said, “you’re gonna be here for a while.” She started gently stroking her fingernails in Kelly’s exposed armpits.

“Noooo! Hahaha-HAHAHAHAHA-hehe-HAHAHAHA-HAHAHA!” Kelly laughed and giggled as Vicky tickled. Her tickle laugh was as lovely as the rest of her.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” Veronica said.

“Help me out,” Vicky said.

“How’s this?” Veronica asked, and tickled her sister’s upturned sole.

“Hehehe! Quit! Tickle her, not me!”

“Couldn’t resist,” Veronica said, and joined in on Kelly. She ticklied down the back of Kelly’s thighs from her butt to her knees, then up the front to her hips. Kelly’s helpless laughter went up a notch.

Veronica’s cell phone rang. “Take the call in the other room, sis, maybe it’s another new member,” Vicky said. “I’ll take it from here.”

Veronica quit – Vicky pushed up the bottom of Kelly’s tank-top and dug in. Kelly arched her back and laughed her head off.

Vicky tried different techniques, trying for the best tickle reactions. She explored Kelly’s ticklish body, gauging ticklishness by the amount and intensity of the laughter. The ribs were good – she rubbed the skin against them, then got in the ticklish spaces in between, while Kelly laughed like crazy. The sides were even better. Vicky grabbed and lobster clawed up and down Kelly’s sensitive sides – Kelly squirmed like a worm, laughing like mad. Then onto the tummy, tickling side to side. Suddenly Kelly was struggling, bucking, laughing her pretty head off. Tummy tickles! Vicky’s tickling fingers speeded up, and Kelly laughed like a crazy woman, streams of ticklish laughter pouring out of her.

Veronica came back, folding up her phone. “Wow! That’s more like it!” she said. “What are you doing to her?”

“Tummy tickles. Care to join me?”

“Later. Enjoy yourself.”

Vicky picked up the pace. Kelly howled with forced mirth as Vicky tickled her flat abs, one hand following the panty line and the other the rib cage. Vicky tickled in circles around her navel, watching the muscles jump and twitch. Then side to side, hand over hand, crossing over and back to the ticklish sides. Kelly was incapable of resistance, all of the fight tickled out of her. All she could do was lay there and laugh like mad.

Vicky tickled up and down Kelly’s ribs, lobster-clawed the fit sides, onto the tummy. She circled a single fingernail around Kelly’s navel until Kelly thought she would go crazy. Then tummy tickles again, faster now, and Vicky reduced Kelly to gasping, red faced silent laughter.

Vicky dismounted. “OK, Kelly – what’s the square root of 36?”

“Oh ghod… I don’t… is it 6?”

“You don’t sound too sure. Let’s try this again,” Vicky said. “Your turn,” she said to her twin.

“We haven’t tickled her feet yet,” Veronica said. “Ready for some more, Kelly?”

“Nooo… please… ” Kelly begged. “Enough… no more tickling…”

“She’s got enough breath to beg–” Vicky said.

“–so she’s got enough to laugh some more,” Veronica completed the thought. She pulled up a straight chair and sat down at the end of the table, facing Kelly’s feet. “Hmm… This should do it,” she said, and scrabbled her fingernails on the sensitive soles of both feet.

Kelly went wild, squirming, bucking, trying desperately to pull her feet away, laughing at the top of her lungs. Veronica had found the sweet spots – on the balls of Kelly’s feet, just behind her big toes.

“Check it out!” Veronica said. “This is as good as the tummy tickles!”

“Have fun!” Vicky said, and sat down to watch. She was an upper body tickler by preference, but she recognized art when she saw it – foot tickling didn’t get much better than this.

Though the sweet spots were the best, Kelly’s feet were incredibly ticklish all over. Veronica tickled Kelly’s soles, watching the toes twitch and curl. She drew circles, squares, figure-eight’s and other tickling shapes in the arches. She scratched and scrabbled on the heels. Kelly laughed and laughed, her struggles getting weaker as all resistance was tickled out of her.

Upper body tickle preference or not, this was just too good to pass up. Vicky joined in on the foot tickling, keeping pace with Veronica. Kelly laughed helplessly as the flying fingernails scratched and scrabbled, tears of laughter streaming down her face. The twins spread her toes and tickled between them, held the toes back and tickled the soft skin underneath, then onto the stretched out soles. Down the arches, onto the heels, back up to the toes again. Then four-hand tickling, all over both feet, while time expanded and the tickling filled Kelly’s universe. Finally, they held back Kelly’s toes and flicked their fingernails on the balls of her feet, fast as they could, and Kelly’s laughter went off the scale. She laughed herself breathless for the second time.

“Good one!” Vicky said. “Hey Kelly, what’s pi to four decimal places?”

Kelly caught her breath, gasped out “Please… it’s… 3.1416… please… no more…”

“Let’s double-team her next – top to bottom,” Veronica said.

“NOOOO!” Kelly yelled.

“Don’t you wish!” Vicky said.

The twins faced each other across Kelly’s body. Vicky reached across and tickle tortured Kelly’s sides, grabbing and lobster clawing. Veronica joined in, rib tickling, and Kelly arched her back and laughed like mad. They tickled back and forth across Kelly’s tummy, four handed, tickling in circles. Veronica circled the girl’s navel with a single fingernail while Vicky kept up the tummy tickling, back and forth from side to side. Kelly laughed helplessly, tears of laughter streaming down her face.

The twins tickled down Kelly’s tummy to her hips, onto her thighs and down to her knees, then twice up and down, each with one hand on the front and the other on the back of a thigh. Then foot tickling again – nothing fancy, fingernails flying on the sweet spots, fast as they could. The fiendish tickling was more than Kelly could bear – she laughed herself breathless for the third time.

“Last question,” Veronica said. “If a right triangle has two sides, 3 ft and 4 ft long, how long is the third side?”

“F… five… “ Kelly said, red-faced, trying desperately to get her breathing and heart rate normal again.

“Right. OK, that’s it,” Vicky said. She dismounted, flicked her balisong open, cut Kelly’s bonds and helped Kelly sit up, gasping for breath. “You’ll do. The League will be in touch within two weeks.”

“Don’t tell the other applicants what went on here, or you’ll be disqualified,” Veronica added.

Kelly stood, wobbled, steadied herself with a hand on the table. Her ribs and abs ached from laughing. She wiped her tears on her sleeve, stepped into her sandals and left without another word.

***

“They’re at it again,” Ashley said. “That’s what they do. What in the world were you thinking, Kelly?”

“Hey, it seemed believeable, especially at first,” Kelly said, a little defensively. “And they got you too, as I recall.”

Ashley sighed. “Yah, they did, and with a story so lame that even a Labrador Retriever would have seen through it.” But despite her lovely appearance, Ashley wasn’t just eye candy – their adventure had given her the habit of command. She unclipped the cell phone from her belt.

“We’re gonna turn it back on ‘em,” she said. “Kelly, use your cell and call Angie and Stephanie. Rachel, call the number on the flyer. Try to get the last appointment of the day. I’ll get us some more muscle.”

Ashley speed-dialed a number. “Hello, Morgan? Ashley.”

“Ashley! I thought…”

“Hush. We’re gonna get even with Vicky and Veronica. Round up the Vellatrices and bring ‘em all here.” She gave the address. “Park in the alley behind the building. Oh, and ditch Brittany and Joanna – they’re family. Find some way to keep ‘em both busy for a few hours.”

“Not to worry,” Morgan said. “We have… capabilities… we didn’t have before. See you inside an hour.”

Stephanie and Angie arrived first. Both were beauties like Kelly and Ashley: Stephanie Miklajcyk was fair skinned, with light brown hair and green eyes; Angie Fontana’s hair was dark, over tanned skin, dark brows and lashes and brown eyes. Ashley and the others greeted them warmly – they had shared the adventure too.

“Too bad Whitney and Amanda can’t be here too,” Angie said.

“Can’t be helped,” Ashley replied. “But you’re right – Whitney had style.”

Ashley went out onto Rachel’s tiny back porch to watch for the Vellatrices. The first vehicle arrived a few minutes later – a windowless Tradesman van with a Mississippi license plate. Proud Mary was painted on the side in Steamboat Gothic lettering, and underneath, Riverboat Rides – Day Trips – Dinner Cruises. An old phone number had been painted out – a Tieson City phone number was freshly painted over it. The driver parked directly behind the building, but no one got out.

A caravan of vehicles was next. Ashley checked her watch – Morgan had worked fast, it was just 40 minutes from the time of the phone call. The Vellatrices got out, nine pretty young women in shorts, t-shirts and sandals: Morgan Ernst, tall and slender with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes; Melissa Gabreski, Rubenesque with dark hazel eyes and blonde-streaked dark hair; Sara Rosen, with brilliant green eyes, a Dolly Parton figure and long dark hair; Meghan Meyer, a tiny blue-eyed strawberry blonde; Candice Wade, a little beauty with crystal blue eyes and ash blonde hair; Emily MacDonald, a green-eyed redhead, looking much younger than her age; a trim brunette with dazzling hazel eyes, who Ashley didn’t know. Finally, Brittany Righetti and Joanna Shaw. They were cousins – Brittany was brown-eyed and tanned, Joanna blue-eyed and freckled, but both had dark hair and looked enough alike to be sisters.

Ashley frowned – those two would complicate matters. But she needn’t have worried.

The side cargo doors of the Tradesman van flew open. Two guys Ashley didn’t know grabbed Brittany, while Melissa’s brother Michael grabbed Joanna. They dragged the struggling girls into the van and slammed the doors.

Ashley ran downstairs barefoot, stepped on a sharp rock in the alley and cursed fluently and inventively. A burst of ticklish female laughter poured out of the open front seat windows, quickly joined by a second laugher. The guys were tickling the cousins silly!

One of the strangers got into the driver seat and cranked up. He waved to Ashley. Stereo ticklish laughter streamed from the back of the van as he drove off.

“Hey sailor – great vocabulary,” the hazel-eyed brunette said to Ashley in a soft Southern accent. “I’m Anne Kincaid. You already know Michael – the other two are my brothers Josh and Jim. I’ll introduce them later.”

The other girls had gathered around Ashley, all of them trying to talk at once – they had missed her. None seemed concerned over the ticklish abduction – it must have been part of Morgan’s plan.

Candice pushed her way to the front. “Ashley–” she started, hesitantly.

Ashley cut her off. “Chill, Candice – I’m not pissed off at you any more. There are worse things… well, never mind.” She looked around. “Morgan! I thought I told you to ditch Brittany and Joanna.”

Morgan grinned. “Hey, you wanted to keep ‘em busy for a while – the guys’ll tickle ‘em ‘til they don’t know their own names!”

“That’s harsh, Morgan,” Ashley said. “I never intended…”

“They’ll be OK,” Anne said. “And Josh’ll make it right with them afterward – he could sell ice to Eskimos. Now what’s this about?”

“In due time,” Ashley replied. “Listen up, people! Emily, front and center! You too, Morgan. Upstairs, both of you. The rest of you, wait here. Sara, we’re two doors away from your dad’s drug store – get some Cokes or something for them.”

“You’re different, Ashley,” Morgan said as they climbed the stairs. “Ever since your road trip.”

“She grew up,” Emily said, and looked at Ashley with respect. “I’m impressed – the change was good for you. What happened?”

“You’d never believe it,” Ashley said.

Emily was amused. “You’d be surprised at what I would or wouldn’t believe.”

Upstairs in the apartment, Ashley made the introductions and passed the flyer around. It was Morgan’s turn to be amused.

“I never would have expected those two to read Conan Doyle – hardly anyone does, these days,” Morgan said. “Sherlock Holmes – “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League” – this flyer is from the story, almost word for word. It was a scam in the story too – they’re playing a game with their intended victims, giving them an elementary hint.”

“That’s fine, but we have work to do,” Ashley said. “Morgan, you’re here because you’re the smartest person I know. Emily, your qualifications are obvious. The rest of us have worked together before.”

Ashley looked critically at Rachel. “Lose the capri’s – wear shorts,” she said.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Kelly said. “C’mon, Rachel, let’s see what’s in your closet.”

“Rachel has a 5 PM appointment,” Ashley told the others. “She convinced them to stay late for her. We have until then to work out our plan of attack.”

The problem was a simple one, calling for a simple solution. Ashley would be in overall command, with Morgan as her chief of staff. The twins didn’t know Rachel – she would be the decoy. The others in the apartment would be the tip of the spear, with Emily commanding. The Vellatrices would be the extra muscle, under Ashley’s direct control.

Kelly and Rachel came back into the living room, grinning like thieves. Like Kelly, Angie and Stephanie did some occasional baby-sitting – both of them burst out laughing.

Rachel looked younger than her years – redheads keep the appearance of youth longer than others less favored because they tend to stay out of the sun. Her tight black pullover jersey bared her midriff – it had a high mock-turtleneck and three-quarter sleeves. She wore loose olive-green cargo pants, gathered at the ankles, and black ninja gloves and slippers. The outfit was completed by a wide khaki belt with multiple pouches, like a cartridge belt, and a backpack-purse of the same material. Unusual though it was, the outfit would be completely unremarkable on a college campus.

Kelly explained the joke to Ashley, Emily and Morgan. “I thought it would be fun to hint back at ‘em,” she said. “The sleeves and hem are only basted – I’ll finish ‘em on my sewing machine at home. We’ve got time.”

“OK, go for it,” Ashley said. “Together, we can do anything.”

***

Rachel stood and handed her finished paper to Veronica. She had taken off the gloves and stuffed them in a cargo pocket, but she still wore the rest of the outfit.

“Thirty seconds to spare,” Veronica said, checking her watch. She turned off the boom box and stood up. “Just so you’ll know, that wasn’t really a math test. It was to find out how well you can concentrate when there’s distractions.”

“Makes sense. Are we finished?” Rachel asked.

“Not quite. There’s one last distractability test,” Veronica said. She called her twin back into the room. “OK, Rachel, off with the purse and belt and get up on the massage table, on your back. Hands over your head.”

Rachel knew what was coming, of course, but she did as she was told. She struggled when they bound her wrists and ankles to the table, cursed when they took off her slippers. But it was an act – this was her part of the plan. Tickling wouldn’t kill her, and it wouldn’t last long – she trusted her comrades.

“HELP!” Rachel yelled.

“Save your breath–” Vicky started.

“–you’re gonna need it,” Veronica finished the thought.

“This outfit she’s wearing – I think we ought to start with foot tickling,” Vicky said. “We’ll work our way toward the top together.”

“Suits.”

Rachel felt fingernails just touch the bottoms of her feet. Wait for it…

“HAHAHAHAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA-HAHAHA!” she laughed as the tickling fingernails scratched and scrabbled her soles.

Veronica had Rachel’s right foot – she held Rachel’s toes back and tickled the soft skin under them, bringing forth a stream of ticklish laughter. She tickled down onto the stretched out sole, paying special attention to the creases in the middle, scratching and flicking. Vicky tickled down Rachel’s left arch two-handed, lingered on the ticklish heel, drawing circles and other tickling shapes, then slowly back up toward the sole again. Suddenly Rachel lost it, laughing her head off at the top of her lungs as she bucked and squirmed, trying desperately to pull her foot away.

“Looks like you found THE SPOT, sis,” Veronica said.

“Yah, same as ours. Join me?”

Veronica shifted her tickling onto Rachel’s right arch, just in front of the heel. “How’s that?” Rachel’s laughter went off the scale.

Vicky’s cell phone rang. Rachel’s left foot got a brief respite as Vicky left to answer the phone. But Veronica picked up the slack, tickling two-handed. Rachel lapsed into ticklish delirium, laughing like mad.

The tickling stopped abruptly. Rachel giggled weakly as the tickling sensation faded. She blinked away tears of laughter and concentrated on catching her breath again.

Emily cut her loose with Vicky’s balisong and handed her a towel. Rachel wiped her face and sat up.

Veronica was on the floor, hogtied with black nylon straps – she had lost one shoe in the struggle. Kelly, Angie and Stephanie stood by her, a little rumpled but looking uncommonly pleased with themselves. Kelly slipped the other shoe off and tossed it next to its mate.

The door opened – Rachel looked around to see Vicky, hogtied and barefoot like her twin, carried in by Candice, Sara, Anne and Meghan. Ashley followed with Morgan and Melissa.

The Vellatrices set Vicky down next to her twin. “OK, you got us,” Vicky said. “What next?” Neither twin bothered to struggle – they were well and truly had, and knew it.

“I think you know,” Ashley said. “The Red-Headed League was just gonna disappear afterward, wasn’t it? One of life’s little mysteries?”

“Yup,” Vicky said. “This was a one-shot.”

“Worked pretty well, too,” Veronica added.

“Why – besides the obvious – were you doing this?” Ashley asked.

“You girls from the neighborhood–” Vicky started.

“–were easy to tickle–” Veronica continued.

“–we thought–”

“–having a theme–”

“–would be a challenge.”

“We tickled eight redheads today–”

“–nine, counting Rachel–”

“–and had lots of fun doing it.”

“What gave us away?” they asked in chorus.

“You tricked me once, and tickled the shit out of me – that one’s free,” Ashley said. “But today you picked on my friend Kelly.”

“Remember me?” Kelly asked sweetly. She reached down and scratched the center of Veronica’s left sole. Veronica giggled – her toes twitched and curled.

“The flyer was a nice touch – we didn’t figure it out until later,” Morgan said. “But you two didn’t figure out Rachel’s hint either, so we’re even.”

“It was worth it,” the twins said together.

“Hey, isn’t that our massage table?” Meghan asked.

Sara slapped herself on the forehead. “It sure is,” she said. “Brittany borrowed it yesterday. The twins and Joanna helped her carry it off.”

“Somehow, I don’t feel so bad anymore about the trick we played on Brittany and Joanna,” Morgan said.

“Well, get it out of here,” Ashley said. “Sara, you drove your mom’s minivan. Put it in the back.” She pointed out Melissa, Anne and Meghan. “You three, help her.”

The girls had already drawn names from a hat to determine the order of revenge-taking. Stephanie kicked off her sandals and kneeled beside Vicky’s bound feet, Candice did likewise and joined her on the other side. Angie and Ashley got Veronica.

Stephanie and Candice didn’t wait – they flicked their nails in Vicky’s sweet spots, on her arches just in front of her heels. Vicky went wild, squirming, laughing at the top of her lungs, trying desperately to pull her feet away. But the two ticklers’ knees were on either side of her own. She couldn’t roll – all she could do was lay there and laugh like mad as their tickling fingers flicked and scratched.

“Ready for a dose of misery?” Ashley asked, and started in on Veronica’s feet. She tickled lightly, flicking the sensitive soles, bringing out a stream of little giggles.

“Is– hehe! that the – haha-hehehe! best you– haha! can do?”

“Not hardly,” Ashley said, and dug in, her long manicured nails flicking and scrabbling Veronica’s arches. Angie joined in, holding Veronica’s toes apart and tickling between each pair. Veronica thrashed and squirmed, laughing her head off.

Angie held Veronica’s toes back and tickled the center of her stretched out soles, along the creases, left-right-left-right across the balls of both feet, until Veronica thought she would go mad. Ashley concentrated on her victim’s ticklish heels, flicking and scratching. They held Veronica on the edge, laughing helplessly, using their whole repertoire of tickling techniques. And just as Veronica managed to zone out, Ashley switched to her sides, grabbing and lobster clawing. Veronica bucked violently, laughing wildly, her contralto laughter filling the air.

Candice stopped tickling Vicky – Stephanie smoothly picked up, tickling both feet at once. Candice pushed up the bottom of Vicky’s shirt and attacked Vicky’s sides, poking and lobster clawing – Vicky squirmed, straining against the bonds, laughing her head off. Stephanie stopped the foot tickling and rolled Vicky onto her side. Candice never missed a stroke – she tickled onto Vicky’s tummy, watching the muscles twitch and jump as Vicky laughed and laughed. Stephanie joined in, and Vicky’s laughter went off the scale.

Ashley pushed Veronica’s t-shirt up and tickled Veronica’s ribs, rubbing the skin against the rib bones, getting her fingers between the ribs, poking and tickling. Veronica laughed musically as Ashley played her like a piano. Angie tickled Veronica’s sides, then onto her tummy, tickling in circles. Helpless ticklish laughter poured out of their victim.

Ashley felt fingernails flick her upturned sole. “Eep! Hehehehe! Morgan! Stop it!”

That was the sign to call a halt to the tickle torture. Both twins were red faced and sweaty, gasping for air, tears of laughter running down their faces.

“Hey! Have you two learned your lesson yet?” Ashley asked the twins.

“We won’t… tickle you… any more–“ Vicky gasped out.

“–or any… less,” Veronica added.

Ashley was impressed – these two were pretty tough. They would both be real assets to the Vellatrices, if and when. Still, they had to be taught a lesson. The girls gave them a breather, a minute or so. Then Emily and Rachel teamed up on Vicky, Morgan and Kelly on Veronica. Ashley sat in one of the armchairs and settled in to watch.

Rachel held Vicky’s toes back and drew fast, looping figure-eight’s around the balls of both feet. Emily tickled her heels, drawing circles and other tickling shapes. Vicky howled with forced mirth, laughing like a madwoman.

Morgan produced a Bic ballpoint. “We’re gonna Sherlock Holmes right back at you,” she told Veronica. “This one’s “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” – know it?”

“Foot notes,” Veronica said with resignation as Morgan grabbed her right foot and held the toes back. Hehe! HAHAHAHA-HAHA-HAHAHA!” she laughed as Morgan carefully drew a tiny dancing stick figure on her stretched out sole.

Morgan handed the pen across to Kelly. “Your turn,” she said. As Kelly drew her own stick figure on Veronica’s left foot, Morgan tickled the exact same spot on the right. Veronica arched her back and laughed at the top of her lungs.

The two redheads’ tickling fingernails spider-walked on Vicky’s soles, little flicks that tickled unbearably. They tickled four-handed, tickling mercilessly, covering every square inch of ticklish flesh. Then onto the sweet spots, faster now, and Vicky laughed her head off.

Morgan and Kelly passed the pen back and forth, one drawing, the other tickling with her nails. Veronica laughed helplessly while they drew the process out. They found her sweet spots – the same as her twin’s – carefully drew each little figure with a smiley face and all of its toes and fingers while she laughed like mad. Veronica wasn’t struggling any more – all resistance had been tickled out of her. All she could do was lay there and laugh – and laugh – and laugh again.

Emily tickled up and down Vicky’s sides and under her tummy while Rachel kept up the foot tickling. Rachel tickled both feet with one hand, grabbed Vicky’s ankles and rolled her onto her side, still foot tickling. She switched one hand, then the other, to the backs of Vicky’s thighs while Emily tickled the flat abs. Vicky was helpless, unable to form a coherent thought, lost in ticklish delirium as she howled with forced mirth.

Ashley watched the tickle torture with satisfaction – the twins were getting it good! Morgan and Kelly were really enjoying themselves. She glanced across to Rachel and Emily.

How odd! Their personalities are completely different, thought Ashley. But they look a lot – a lot – alike. Their coloring, bone structure, features are the same – Emily looks like Rachel’s kid sister. This is the first time they’ve met – I never noticed it before. Surely a coincidence – they can’t be related…

“Hey, save some for the rest of us,” Anne said, and pounced on Emily. Emily collapsed backward, laughing her head off – Anne had her from behind, tickling her tummy with both hands.

Laughing helplessly, Emily rolled into a ball to escape the tummy tickling. Instantly, Anne got both of Emily’s ankles in an arm lock. She tickled both feet, with skill and enthusiasm – Emily laughed like a madwoman, her fair skin turning pink as streams of laughter poured forth.

Ashley slipped up behind Morgan on silent bare feet, reached down and tickled her friend’s upturned sole. Morgan squeaked and jumped. Kelly giggled, then collapsed onto her tummy, laughing wildly – Melissa was tickling the balls of her feet, where it really, really tickled.

Rachel landed a rib poke on Anne, who squealed and lost her grip on Emily’s ankles. Sara and Meghan bowled Rachel over – each grabbed an ankle, stood up and scrabbled their nails in her arches. Rachel laughed her head off.

This was getting out of hand – time for another break. Just as well – both twins were a mess, red faced and sweaty, hair tangled, gasping for air.

“Holding up OK?” Ashley asked them.

“Oh… ghod…” Veronica gasped. Vicky didn’t speak – she was still coming back from Tickle Hell.

Making progress, thought Ashley. They’re not so cocky now – the next round should do it.

“Next four – go for it!” Ashley said.

Sara and Meghan kneeled on either side of Veronica and tickled her tummy – she burst into helpless laughter as their tickling hands roamed her flat abs. Vicky joined in, laughing like a crazy woman, with Melissa and Anne tickling her ribs and sides. The twins sang a ticklish duet as the girls explored their ticklish bodies with fiendish and well-techniqued tickling.

Morgan decided to stay and watch the fun. Ashley looked around – the other three from the first round must be in the outer office. It must be my imagination, Ashley thought as Emily and Rachel followed her and Kelly to the door, laughing and poking each other in the ribs. They don’t look much alike at all… not really…

Another wave of ticklish laughter greeted them as they opened the door. Candice, Angie and Stephanie sat in a triangle in three of the straight chairs. Candice’s hands were tied behind her back – the other two each had one of her bare feet in their lap, tickling fiendishly. Candice laughed her head off, loving every bit of it.

“Your friend is like Amanda, Ashley,” Stephanie said. “We like her.”

“She invited us to join a club,” Angie added. “Said you’re already a member. Know anything about it?”

Ashley grinned. “Yah – the Ancient and Honorable Society of Vellatrices. This is what we do. And yes, she is like Amanda – she loves this. Ask her.”

The two ticklers paused. Candice blinked away tears of laughter and looked up. “Don’t stop now – it was just getting good! Welcome back, Ashley – we missed you.”

“I… missed you too,” Ashley said – and meant it. “Let Kelly and Rachel have a turn – you’ll like them too.”

“Glad to help,” Kelly said, and she and Rachel took the place of the others. “On three, Kelly,” Rachel said. “Together now – one, two, three…”

Candice laughed wildly as her new friends flicked and scrabbled their nails on her sensitive soles. Her soprano tickle laugh filled the room and echoed off the hard plaster walls. The others – all but Ashley – perched on the desk or sat on the floor and made helpful suggestions.

Ashley stuck her head back through the door to the tower room. Foot tickling again – both twins were back on their tummies, laughing like mad.

Sara and Meghan had an electric tooth brush and a cup of soapy water. Veronica laughed helplessly as her ticklers scrubbed away at the stick figures on her feet. They weren’t having much success, but the soapy water provided lubrication and made the brush tickle much worse – overall, the girls were satisfied with the results.

Like her younger brother, Melissa was a foot tickler by preference. She knew all about it from the inside – Michael had tickled her feet regularly for years, ever since he got big enough to get away with it. Anne’s interests were more catholic, but foot tickling suited her just fine. Both girls were very good indeed – they flicked and scratched and scrabbled the bottoms of Vicky’s feet, tickling horribly and forcing wave after wave of ticklish laughter.

Ashley waved Morgan over. “Walk with me,” she said. “Let’s get the signs down. Never mind your shoes. Mine are in there someplace too – we’ll get ‘em later.”

The girls padded down the stairs, pulling down the signs as they went, and tossed them into a trash can on the porch. They continued down the steps and crossed the street to the grassy quad. The sky was a magnificent colored canvas – it was very near sundown. The ground under their bare feet still held the day’s warmth.

“God, how I missed you!” Morgan said tearfully.

Ashley hugged her friend, fighting back tears. Then she just let go, and let the tears come. They stood together that way for what seemed like a very long time.

“Look at us!” Ashley said, releasing Morgan. “Crying like little kids!”

Morgan wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Yah. Welcome back, girlfriend.”

“I’m different now, Morgan,” Ashley said quietly. “You’re gonna have to get to know me all over again.”

“I know. When can we start?”

“Tomorrow. Let’s go for a walk in the Hundred Acre Wood. I’ll tell you all about it.” Ashley paused. “You’ll have a hard time believing the story I’ll tell – sometimes I’m not sure I believe it myself.”

“No matter – I’ll listen. We’re friends.”

“Fair enough. Let’s go back – fun’s about over.”

Laughter greeted them when they returned – Melissa and Anne were tickling Candice’s feet in the outer office. Most of the others had already headed for home. The twins were still laughing in the tower room. Their laughter had an edge of desperation – they had been tickled well past the limit of their endurance.

Ashley and Morgan went into the room. The twins were on their tummies next to each other, heads pointed in opposite directions, thighs and ankles touching, all four feet lined up. Michael kneeled facing them, tickling the upturned feet with both hands. He had looped their ankles together with a pair of old nylons.

“Michael! What are you doing here?” Morgan asked.

“Hi girls!” Michael said cheerfully. “Tickling the twins, of course!” He tickled faster, on the sweet spots, and their laughter went off the scale. “I’m here to give Melissa a ride home – this is just a bonus.”

“Quit – they’ve had enough,” Ashley said.

“Party pooper!” he said, grinning, but he did as he was told. “We’re outa here, Melissa!” he called out. “You drive. Leave Candice tied up – Anne and me can tickle her all the way home.”

“Promises, promises!” Candice said cheerfully. “Find my sandals, somebody!”

Kelly, Rachel and Emily were at one side of the room, sorting through the remaining shoes. They stepped into their footgear, linked arms and headed for the door.

“Woo-hoo!” Kelly said. “The Red-Headed League ROCKS!”

Ashley cut the twins’ bonds and gently lowered their feet to the floor. They were totally limp, tickled out. She and Morgan rolled them onto their backs.

Veronica flinched at the touch. “Please… no more… oh ghod… no more…” she gasped. Her hand found Vicky’s and gripped it tight. Vicky was worse off – she was incapable of speech, eyes unfocused, staring at something a thousand miles away.

Ashley dialed her cell phone. “Brittany? Come here and get your sisters.” She gave their location and rang off.

Ashley turned back to the twins. “Have you learned your lesson?”

“Yes… oh ghod yes…” Veronica said, eyes closed.

“Gonna tickle us any more?”

“No…”

“Come on, Morgan,” Ashley said. “Our work here is done.”

The twins just laid there, waiting for Brittany. Their whole bodies ached from laughing – it would be a while before they were themselves again.

Veronica had lied, of course – but that’s another story.


***THE END***




Author’s Note: Those readers who have recently spent time with pre-teen children probably recognized Rachel’s outfit. Others who haven’t can see it here:
http://psc.disney.go.com/disneychannel/kimpossible/characters/index.html
 
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Another fabulous chapter, Strelnikov. :D
These stories really would make an excellent book.
 
Strel you naughty lad, you've been plagurizing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. *wags finger*

This was inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story, was it not? :illogical
 
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