CHAPTER 1

 

Penny shook her long blonde hair to stop herself daydreaming too much as she steered the chunky mini-bus through the streets of the town. She was headed along her normal route from the barracks in Kent across country, following a road which led to the country restaurant where she and the other army wives and servicewomen had booked their regular twice monthly meal. Such regular get-togethers helped to keep the wives and girlfriends bonded whilst their soldier husbands were away on duty. It was essentially a 'girls only' affair, apart from Yobad, a barracks mess orderly, there on 'duty' to drive them home afterwards; unfortunately he made an unlucky 13 in their number - but she wasn't superstitious - yet. Currently the young Asian was embroiled in texting, as youngsters tend to do. He was a bit obnoxious, Penny once had a run in with him, but he was useful at times like these as a return driver so they could all drink and enjoy themselves.

There were also a couple of female soldiers in their party including her glamorous friend Jill, a brunette of a similar age to herself and who looked anything but an army quartermaster's lieutenant. Penny wondered, abstractly, whether Yobad's volunteering for the driving duty had anything to do with the presence of Rasheed, a nineteen year old Indian girlfriend of one of the soldiers who he seemed to have a secret shine for. But the girl was presently busily chatting to Jill at the moment and not answering any texts the youth might be sending her.

The presence of those female soldiers, such as Jill, who remained at the barracks on base, rear-party admin duties and who always had the latest news from the front line, helped the wives feel less lonely. Mind you, there were rumours of the regiment possibly being disbanded next year. Although that would be bad news for some of the soldiers, it might, Penny thought hopefully, prompt her husband John to leave the army and get a job where he was around all year. Heavens, she gulped, the 'boys' had only departed the other week and already she missed them, especially her handsome young captain husband.

Thoughts of John made her daydream more. She recalled his last night at their home a week ago, just before he left on his latest tour. Hmmm, he was so hard and strong. Knowing it would be her last opportunity for several months, she felt warm, not just from her several glasses of wine, as he held her close whilst unzipping her skirt. She scarcely heard any more of the music they had been dancing to. She busied herself unbuttoning his shirt, soon pressing her scantily clad and soft 36A boobs against his torso, feeling his hands at the clasp of her bra. She pulled back to allow him to tease her bra away and then crushed herself against him, feeling her nipples, hard as berries, brush against his chest.

His hands were now under the waistband of her panties and although she always preferred to remove them herself, she allowed him the honour this time and continued unzipping his jeans. Although he was an officer, a captain, with standards to maintain, off duty he liked to lounge around. He bulged through his pants as she tugged them down to unleash his straining erection against her wriggling pubis. Holding her like that, tight against him he had somehow carried her into the bedroom whilst she shrieked and giggled stupidly and ground her softness against him.

"Hmmm," she had gasped as his manhood slid urgently between her thighs which she fully parted, feeling his hands grip the cheeks of her bottom.

Briefly opening her eyes, she caught sight of them in the large bedroom mirror, straining together. She was normally quite a demure and shy lover but after a few drinks, and knowing this would be the last opportunity for a while, she had been a bit flirty that night. Although she said so herself, she had to admit that although twenty four, she still had her teenage body. Her husband always said she had the best boobs and bottom of anyone in the regiment, and her standard reply was to ask him jokingly how he knew. Certainly she knew that some army wives and female soldiers had an almost hard aspect to them; perhaps they had been involved with army life for too long. But Penny knew that she, together with many of her friends, whose husbands and boyfriends had only joined up a year or two ago, still retained their soft femininity.

As she drove, she licked her lips at the memory of her husband on top of her, him swelling and bursting deliciously inside her as her feet drummed on his back.

Gradually emerging from her daydreams, she realised she was becoming annoyed at the car following too close behind her. She had driven the mini-coach several times before when their group of army ladies and girls went on one of their trips. She quite liked driving, hence she had insisted on driving to the restaurant despite Yobad's protestations. Also, she had taken an advanced driving course to kill time whilst John was away; her job in the local council offices didn't fully occupy her. No, she was a natural choice to drive. But to be honest she wasn't totally at home in the larger vehicle. It had been borrowed from the Logistic Corps motor transport pool, hence a duty personnel such as Yobad had to be present. The trouble was it was underpowered and just shuffled along. But in any case, she didn't like driving it too fast in case the engine packed up and then she'd have to fill in countless army forms. Perversely she slowed down a little to hopefully discourage the impatient driver behind from hassling her. Let him wait for a mile until the road widened, she decided.

"Give it some welly, Penny I can practically taste my first drink," came the mocking voice of Fran, a rather butch-looking and abrasive corporal admin clerk. Penny had always found her to be a bit much, often mocking 'soft civvies,' as she called some of the wives. And she had this infuriating habit of lightly patting her bottom in a somewhat unnatural manner but it was not enough to warrant her saying anything and causing ripples. Fran, probably somewhere in her forties, was really only there because she worked for Jill, and it was less hassle to invite her, but most of the time she kept in her box.

"Better safe than sorry with old bus, especially with an impatient prat behind us, but maybe you can try it next time, Fran," Penny called back, half seriously.

"Wind it in, Fran," Jill tried to soften her words, as a lieutenant to her subordinate, with a smile, and then turned to Penny. "You're doing just fine, babe," her friend, nodded vigorously at her to set her dark shoulder length hair bobbing.

Perhaps next time, Penny thought, she'd either let Yobad drive on the outward trip too or she'd vary from her normal 'comfort' route and use the motorway to bridge much of the approximate twelve mile journey from Folkestone to Canterbury rather than head directly across country.

She cursed again under her breath as another thoughtless driver pulled out right in front, forcing her to apply the brakes sharply and skid to a bumpy stop. It was lucky, she decided, that the country lane was deserted. Then she changed her mind as she caught a glimpse of shady figures in the lane and immediately pushed the door lock button to secure them.

"Don't, Yobad, no... you fool," she yelled at the Asian youngster as he pushed the door lock button again, disengaging it.

"I getting out of here," he said, pushing open the door and disappearing outside.

"Shit... no!" Penny shouted, in common with several other voices from the back as she lunged at the button again. But it was too late, two masked and armed men burst through the door whilst another wrenched open her driver's door their guns pointing at her and her now her screaming colleagues in the seats behind.

"No move, no talk, all hands in sight, right now, let go of any mobile phones or get hurt," the gruff voices instructed in strong, probably Asian, accents, she thought as they waved their guns for emphasis.

Penny cursed Yobad's stupid and thoughtless act in opening the door, albeit, she accepted, boxed in with cars in front and behind, she doubted whether they could have done much anyway. These men could simply have shot through the windows; they weren't bullet proof or anything. Then the painful jabbing of the gun in her ribs made her concentrate on what the masked figure was now shouting at her. Feeling sick with fear, wondering what was to come, she obediently turned off the engine and, picking up her handbag, shuffled out of the driving seat, her eyes wide with fear.

"OK, all sit hands behind to be handcuffed," shouted a masked figure as Penny was forced backwards to sit in a passenger seat.

"Please... we've nothing valuable, just take our bags," Jill, being the most senior rank soldier in the van, must have felt obliged to act and offer up hers.

"Keep f-king bags, we no want them, yet, just sit, hands behind for cuffs, no talking, no noise!" one of the intruders screamed at them, lashing out to kick Jill's bag to the floor.

"We'd better do it," Penny whispered to her friend, feeling lost and scared as she obediently placed her hands behind her. "Haah, ouch, please," she gasped in pain as a steely bite of handcuffs cruelly pinched her skin.

"Shut it or you get worse," the man snapped at her before similarly confining Jill whilst another masked figure snapped cuffs on the women on the other aisle.

"Open mouth, wide for gag," the man was back with her again.

"Look, please I'll not speak or... uggghhhhh," Penny gagged on the rag brutally shoved into her mouth, nearly making her choke, then held in place with tape. Desperately her nostrils flared, fighting to breathe. Then worse, he drew a smelly hood over her head to complete her utter helplessness. Now she could neither speak nor see and felt utterly frightened and vulnerable, even when she felt the strap of her familiar handbag slung around her neck. There was no way she could reach her mobile to summon help.

She went hot and cold, desperately hoping that another car would come along and raise the alarm. How could she have known that two other members of the gang had put 'Road Closed' signs on the narrow lane a mile in front and behind them; no one would come. Someone started the engine and they lumbered off into the night and captivity.