It was a chilly night in the last week of November. The winter was just setting in on the almost perennially warm Florida coast. The Thanksgiving weekend was just about to get over. Friends Mike and Ed along with college buddies Laura and Heather and Heather's cousin Tina were returning home on Saturday night after a fun-filled three days at Mike's farmhouse 60 miles out of town. Mike had to catch a flight on Sunday to Phily and so they could not spend the whole long weekend together.
Mike, Ed, Laura and Heather went to the same college. Tina was visiting Heather for the long weekend. Every Thanksgiving they usually spent with their families, but they decided to break tradition this time and just planned a simple three day rustic getaway to Mike's farmhouse. They spent the three days barbecuing, sunbathing, reading and just relaxing.
They had been driving in Ed's SUV for about an hour on the state road. Laura, Heather and Tina were asleep in the rear seat. Ed drove past a red pick-up which was parked along the roadside with the hazards blinking. A man in his 40's was standing near the truck and waved for help. Ed and Mike slowed down and decided to stop their car and look at the man. The state road was deserted and dark. It was 11pm. The man came running towards the SUV and told them that his truck had broken down and that he had been waiting for over an hour for a vehicle to come along. Mike got out of the SUV and decided to take a look at the truck. Ed turned off the engine, opened the door and was about to get down, when a man appeared out of nowhere and held a gun to his head. There were four other men, all armed, apparently roadside robbers. Hearing the commotion, Laura, Tina and Heather woke up. The robbers made all five of them stand together with their hands to their heads, as one man emptied their pockets. They demanded the five to quickly surrender all their jewellery and the keys to the SUV.