Night hung over the city like a shroud. Off in the distance, a police siren wailed into the sky. Down below, Abigail walked by herself along a street of empty, closed shops. But for the occasional passing car, the 20-year old woman was all alone. Abigail wrapped her jacket tighter around her shoulder as a cold gust of wind blew over her. She hated working the last shift at the restaurant, but she needed the money… For a young woman working her way through nursing school waiting tables, having to walk home late at night was a small price to pay if she didn't want to have to eat Ramen or shop at thrift stores the rest of the semester.
The young woman paused, standing underneath a street light, as a white van drove past her. Not much further. Just another couple blocks and she'd be at the small apartment she shared with two other med students. Abigail suppressed a yawn, all too aware of how early she'd have to get up to make it to her classes tomorrow. Her mind preoccupied with class schedules and upcoming exams, Abigail didn't notice as the white van did a U-Turn and drove back down the road.
Wits dulled by exhaustion, the young woman was slow to react as the vehicle suddenly came to a halt alongside her, doors opening, and a pair of masked men jumped out and grabbed her. Abigail's attackers moved with the skill of long experience. Before she even knew what was happening, the young woman found herself helpless in their grasp. One of the men wrapped his arms around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides in his tight grip. The other went low to grab her legs. When she opened her mouth to cry for help, they casually stuffed a wadded up sponge ball into her mouth.
Abigail struggled furiously, the rising panic giving her strength, but the slim woman was helpless in her burly attackers grip as she was lifted up and carried into the waiting van. Briefly, Abigail got a glimpse of the van's other occupants, two women, bound and hooded, then she was forced to the floor, lying flat on her belly. Doors slammed shut. Tires squealed as the van suddenly accelerated away from the scene of the crime. No one had seen the poor woman's abduction.
Inside the van, one of the men leaned his weight onto Abigail, pressing the frightened girl into the rough carpet paneling. She heard tape ripping and a sticky strip was pressed over her lips, sealing the sponge inside. A thick black hood was pulled over her head, plunging the scared girl into darkness. As the van sped away, the kidnappers began tying her wrists and ankles…
Secret agent Viny sat on a park bench, listening to the people around her, out enjoying a rare April weekend with clear skies and warm weather. Idly, the young woman ran her fingers through her short, white hair. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cellphone and turned it on. Before coming here, Viny had uploaded the information about her newest mission to the phone. Pressing a button, she brought it up.
The picture of a young, blonde woman smiled up from the screen. Miss Abigail Williams, 20 years old, nursing student. She was reported missing two days ago by her roommates after she didn't come home one night. Viny pressed a button and the picture changed to a young Chinese-American woman, looking at her with a friendly expression. Miss Amy Chen aged 19, also a student. Another press of the button, another picture. Mrs. Mary Jones aged 35, mother of two. Altogether, seventeen women had disappeared in the last three weeks, the work of a white slaver ring. Now, Viny was here to find them and put the slavers to justice.
"Mind if I sit here?" A voice asked.
"Sure." Viny said, putting her phone away. She looked over at the man who sat down beside her. He was a short, pudgy, slightly balding man, wearing jeans and a windbreaker. It was hard to believe the man sitting next to her was responsible for kidnapping dozens, maybe even hundreds of innocent women and selling them as sex slaves all over the world. His name was Albert Brown, and he was Viny's contact.
"Before we go any further, I just want to be clear," Albert said, leaning back on the bench. "I want full amnesty, clean slate. Plus a million dollars and a plane ticket to the Caymans." Viny had been surprised when the slaver had contacted her, but this was just the sort of breakthrough she needed for a case like this. It seemed Mr. Brown was ready to retire from slaving, and he didn't want his retirement ended early by the police.
"That can be arranged." Viny replied. It grated on her sense of justice that someone like Mr. Brown might be allowed to go free, without any consequences for his many crimes. Still, if he was willing to go straight, and if he helped put a lot of his former coworkers behind bars, Viny was willing to work with him. "Provided you can get us what we want."
"The location of the auction." Albert replied. Viny nodded. Much as she would have loved to rush into the slaver's base, guns blazing and rescue all the missing women before they had to suffer another moment in captivity, Viny knew she couldn't. It was useless, just stamping out one ring of slavers or another. Before you'd finished locking them up, another group of ruthless thugs would show up to take their place. No, she thought to herself, if one was ever going to stamp out the awful slave trade, they needed to go after the buyers. It took a lot of money to purchase a person as a slave, money and a complete lack of humanity. The people who bought the slaves tended to be powerful and influential men and women; politicians, CEO's, organized crime bosses. The only way to put them away for good would be to catch them red-handed, at a slave auction.
Albert shrugged. "I don't know where the auction will be held." He held up a hand as Viny opened her mouth. "Nobody does. They don't decide that until we're ready, and we still need a few more…ahem…'items' before we can hold the auction."
Viny sat back on bench. Silently, she fumed in frustration. She had no choice but to wait. It seemed the slavers would be allowed to continue their evil activities a little longer. More innocent women would have to suffer before she could stop this monstrosity.
"When everything has been set, I will contact you with the location of the auction."
"And when will that be?" Viny asked.
"Very soon. We only need a couple more girls, and plans have already been made to…err…'recruit' them."
Melissa Phillips walked through the front door of her house, shutting it behind her. The young woman kicked off her heels with a quiet sigh of relief. Work today had been a killer, but now, she was just glad it was over and done with. She could sit back and relax and try not to think about work the next morning…
Walking into the kitchen, Melissa dropped her purse onto the table. The young woman decided she'd take a bath before figuring out what she was going to fix for supper. Humming to herself, Melissa walked to the bedroom. With more than a little relief, she stripped out of the restrictive business clothes she'd been wearing all day. Reaching behind her head, she undid the tight bun, letting her red locks cascade across her bare shoulders.
Pausing in the bathroom, Melissa admired her naked figure in the mirror. At 29, Melissa had a great body, kept fit with regular visits to the local gym. Personally, the young woman suspected that was why she'd gotten that promotion last year, making her the youngest manager in the company, and the only female one to boot. As much as it offended her sensibilities, Melissa was more than willing to put it to good use from time to time…
The hot water felt simply glorious as it flowed over Melissa's skin. She sighed in relief, as she rubbed lotion across her wet skin, easing the knots of tension and stress out of her muscles. Feeling immensely relieved and very clean, she shut off the water and wrapped herself in a soft, white fuzzy towel.
She'd just stepped out of the bathroom when all of a sudden an intruder came up behind her. A white cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose and a sharp chemical smell flooded her nostrils. A second arm wrapped itself around the young woman's chest, pinning her arms to her sides, helplessly as she squirmed in fear.
"mmmppphhh!!!" Melissa grunted in panic, as the chloroform began to take hold. Her struggles weakened as her strength faded. Just before she swooned, Melissa saw her closet door open. A space had been cleared out inside. Someone had been playing solitaire on the closet floor. "How long was he waiting here?" Melissa thought to herself, just before everything went black…
Viny sat in a corner booth of the restaurant, watching the widescreen TV over the bar. Instead of the usual sports channel, someone had turned it to a news network. The volume was turned low, but Viny could guess what the anchors were saying. On screen was the picture of a young, redheaded woman, one Melissa Phillips. Only the day before, her next door neighbor had found her home ransacked. Melissa was missing, just the latest women to go missing without a trace.
The secret agent turned her attention from the TV, as Albert walked up to the booth and sat down. "The last two girls were brought in this morning. The location for the auction has been chosen. It's scheduled three days from now."
Viny grinned. Finally, she'd gotten tired of sitting around, waiting, helpless to do anything. Now, it was time to put an end to these dirty slavers for good. "What's security going to be like? Can you get me into the auction?"
"Security will be tight." Albert replied, looking over the menu. "But I think I'll be able to get you added to the list of buyers, under a false name."
"Perfect."
Viny looked at herself in the mirror, as she applied the last touches to her makeup. She had to be convincing tonight, or else she would be in a lot of trouble. Viny made a face in the mirror, assuming a cruel, haughty expression. Tonight, she wouldn't be Viny, the secret agent. Tonight she was Victoria, the cruel rich heiress, looking to buy a slave for her own, twisted reasons. At least, that's who the slavers would see her as, Viny hoped.
Leaving the bathroom, Viny went over to where her dress was laid out on the hotel bed. She smiled. Despite what Hollywood would have one think, secret agents rarely got a chance to dress up in finery and infiltrate a swanky enemy party. This would be one of the exceptions, and Viny was going to make the most of it.
The dress was crimson velvet, with a built in corset, long sleeves and a high, buttoned collar, giving it a strict, severe look. The hem of the dress was below Viny's knees, but the sides were slit almost to her hips, to show off her long, shapely legs, encased in black panty-hose, which matched the young woman's black makeup and hair. Not without some regret, Viny had died her normally white hair black. Though she was proud of her hair, it was too recognizable. She'd wound up a captive, been put up for auction, too many times in the past to risk one of the slavers or bidders remembering her tonight. Besides, black hair went better with her dress. Viny posed, admiring herself in the mirror. Tonight she was a bad girl! Best to look the part.
To finish her outfit, Viny clasped a ruby brooch around her neck. Cleverly hidden behind the fake jewel was an advanced micro camera, which would record everything she saw at the auction. It was also she hoped, completely undetectable. She slipped a simple gold ring onto her right hand. The ring concealed a tiny needle that could be deployed by squeezing the sides of the ring with her fingers. The needle was coated with a powerful poison. One scratch would kill a man in seconds. It made a good holdout weapon, or if worse came to worst, it was quicker than a cyanide pill.
The last thing she put on was a pair of three inch heels. Concealed in the left shoe was a tracking device equipped with a panic button that was activated by stepping down hard on the heel. If needed, she could use it to summon police help if she got over her head. Viny had taken advantage of the three days before the auction to get in touch with the local law enforcement. They'd agreed to back her up when it was time to move in and round up the slavers and bidders.
One of the local policemen was waiting for Viny down in the lobby. She sighed, spotting him as the elevator doors opened. "Well, at least he had the sense to come alone, and in plainclothes." She thought to herself. "I thought we agreed to keep our distance," She said as Captain Webb walked over to her. "It wouldn't be good if they spotted me chatting with a policeman just before the auction, now would it."
"Just giving you a second chance to think this darn plan of your over, Miss." Captain Webb said. He was a middle aged man, with a mustache that put Viny in a mind of a walrus. Not to mention he had a sense of chivalry that might have come from the 50's. "Me and the boys'll have the place surrounded in minutes. No one will get out, I promise you."
Viny shook her head. They had agreed a direct raid was too risky. The slavers would be holed up in the middle of their base with who knew what kind of firepower or traps. Not to mention they might threaten to kill all their captives if the police tried anything. No, Viny would go in, observe the auction, scope out the slavers weaponry, and then signal Webb when they began to break up to leave. They would hit the place just as everyone was leaving, to make it harder for the slavers to mount any sort of defense or threaten the missing women. The police would only come in before that, if Viny got in over her head and pressed the panic button.
"I'm sure you and your men would perform admirably." Viny said, "But I think we ought to stick with the plan we made."
Captain Webb's mustache bristled, but he relented. "Alright." He said, handing her a leather briefcase. "Just be careful."
"I will." She promised. Crossing the hotel lobby, Viny made more than a few heads turn her way. Waiting for her outside, in a black car, was Albert. He'd even managed to find a chauffer's uniform from somewhere.
"Where to Ma'am?" He joked as she got in the backseat.
"Oh I don't know," Viny shot back. "I fancy doing some shopping this evening. Do you know of any places where I might get some slaves?"
"I know just the place!" Albert grinned, as he drove away from the hotel. "Do you have my money?" He asked. Viny nodded, holding up the briefcase. "Hang onto it for now. You'll need it." He explained. "At the auction, all the bidders are required to put up a deposit of one million dollars, to cover any purchases they make. Otherwise they might be tempted to take their slaves and not pay, see?"
They drove out of the city and into the countryside. Albert turned off from the main highway onto a long, winding country road. After a long drive, they came to a large farmhouse located in a small clearing in the woods. The place looked abandoned, falling apart, but Viny knew appearances could be deceiving. Albert stopped the car in front of the main entrance and rolled down the window as two men stepped outside and walked up. Viny noted the submachine guns they both carried. She grimaced. Captain Webb would have a tough time taking a place like this if all the slavers were this well-armed.
"Well now, who do we have here, Albert?" the lead slaver said, glancing through the window at Viny.
"This is Miss Victoria Robins. One of the late bidders." He replied.
"Has she been cleared?" The slaver asked. Viny held her breath, trying not to look as nervous as she felt.
"Of course!" Albert said, faking anger. "You think I would have brought her here if she hadn't been checked out first?"
To Viny's, hopefully unnoticeable, relief, the slaver merely shrugged. "If you say so." He muttered. Turning to Viny he motioned to her. "Right this way, Miss Robins." Viny got out of the car and followed him through the front door. As she'd expected, inside, the building was in good repair and brightly lit. The windows had been painted black, to hide the light.
In the front hall, a desk had been set up. A slaver sat behind it, looking at a computer. Two more slavers stood guard on either side of him, armed with assault rifles. The slaver behind the desk looked up, as Viny walked over. "Miss Robins?" He asked. "According to our files, you've been cleared to take part in the auction. All I need from you now is your deposit."
Without a word, Viny set the briefcase on the desk. The man opened the case and glanced at the stacks of bills briefly. He smiled, shutting the briefcase and handing it to one of the guards, who disappeared through a door. "Thank you, ma'am. Any money which you don't spend will be returned to you at the end of the auction. Please join the other guests through that door; the auction will begin very soon." He pointed to another door, on the left.
Viny followed his gesture to another door. One of the guards nodded politely and opened the door for her. It opened into a large room. There was a crowd of people in the room, men, even a few women, dressed in evening finery, gathered in groups of people, chatting to one another, the buyers, probably twenty or thirty altogether. Walking to and fro among the guests were half a dozen young women, carrying trays with drinks and snacks. They were completely naked, save for collars locked around their necks. She didn't recognize any of them from the missing women. These girls were here to serve, not to be sold. Standing aside, watching over things, were more slavers, ready for trouble and well-armed like their comrades.
Grabbing a drink from one of the passing slaves, Viny circulated through the room, casually sipping her drink. She made sure to stop at every group and talk to all of the bidders. The hidden camera she was wearing recorded everything she saw and heard. "That's right." Viny thought to herself, as she listened to a CEO joke about slaves these days. "Laugh while you can. I can't wait to shove those words down your throat in court…"
Just then, a slaver dressed in a full tuxedo stepped through a door at the far end of the room. He coughed loudly, to get everyone's attention. Slowly, the conversations stopped as everyone noticed him. "ladies and Gentlemen!" He announced in a loud voice. "If you would proceed through the door and take your seats, please. The auction will now begin." With that, he turned and walked through the door. Most of the bidders followed after him. A few stopped to get fresh drinks from the slaves, before joining the rest of the mass.
Viny followed the crowd, finding herself in a larger room. At the far end from the door, a large raised stage had been set up. Kneeling side by side along the back of the stage were the missing women. They were completely nude, save for the rope lashing their arms behind their backs. Guarded over by several slavers, the women knelt with their heads bowed miserably.
In front of the stage, a number of folding chairs had been set up. Viny took a seat, near the back. The excited chatter around her died as the slaver in the Tux took the stage, microphone in hand. "Let us begin." He said, gesturing to one of the guards. The slaver reached down and roughly hauled the captive woman on the far left of the stage to her feet. The girl gave an anguished grunt; Viny noticed the rubber plug of a ball gag lodged in her mouth. Drool flowed freely around the gag.
"Item number one…" The auctioneer said, as the helpless woman was dragged to the front of the stage, "Miss. Katherine Lind. Aged 23, 5 feet, four inches, 123 pounds…" As he listed off the girl's statistics, the guard forced the sobbing captive to slowly turn, to let the bidders see her from all sides.
"Now, what am I bid for this young lady?"
A man near the front raised his hand. "$100,000!" He called out. Almost immediately, a woman two seats from Viny raised him to $115,000. On stage, the captive woman stood, miserably, as the bidding climbed. Behind her, the other women knelt, keeping their heads bowed, as they awaited their own turn.
"$413,000!" The auctioneer announced. "Going once! Going twice! SOLD!!!" The crowd cheered as the newly sold slave was marched to the edge of the stage. Her new owner jumped to his feet and practically ran to the stage to claim his prize. As he locked his collar around the young woman's neck, and clipped a leash to it, the next girl was pulled to her feet and brought forward.
Viny watched as this girl was sold, and then the woman after that, struggling to maintain her composure, as anger built within her, watching these poor women being treated like animals, or mere things, to be bought and sold. She wanted to run over, grab one of the guard's weapons, and shoot every last person here!
Just then, Albert walked up behind her. "Ma'am, would you please come with me." He whispered to her. Viny started to open her mouth, but caught herself.
"Of course." She said, standing up. She followed Albert out of the room. Behind her, the next poor girl was dragged forward and the bidding began again. "What is it?" She said when they were outside the room.
"Shhh…" Albert said, "Not here." Silently, he led her down one of the other hallways, to another part of the house. "In here." He said, opening a door.
"What is it?" Viny said, "What's the problem?" The moment she walked through the door, the young woman was suddenly grabbed by a man hiding on the other side. She started to struggle, but suddenly felt the prick of a hypodermic needle in her arm.
"Oh, there's no problem." Albert said, as darkness started to take hold of Viny. "Everything's going according to plan…"
"uuuuggghmmmppphh…" Viny groaned as she came to. It didn't take her long to figure out she was in trouble. Her arms were behind her back, held tight in the crushing embrace of a leather monoglove. Her legs were bent back in half and secured with leather straps. A harness encircled her head, tight bands squeezing her skull, holding a massive leather plug between her teeth. She must have been secured like this quite a while, her limbs had fallen asleep, her jaw ached from the large gag, drool ran freely around the corners of the rubber ball. Oh, and she'd been stripped completely naked. She shivered, as the cold air quickly raised Goosebumps across her bare skin.
Viny looked around fearfully. She was in the padded, back of a moving van, as the drug induced disorientation wore off, she noticed the vibration of the vehicle, and how it rocked every time it hit a bump or hole. Up front, two men dressed as policemen were driving. One of them must have noticed Viny's groans as she came to, because he unbuckled himself and turned. She groaned in surprise and anger. It was Albert! The memory of his betrayal came rushing back to the young agent.
Albert simply smiled, as Viny grunted and squirmed helplessly against her bonds. "Congratulations on completing your mission, Miss." He said, enjoying the young woman's confused grunt. "You've been out for a couple hours now, so let me fill you in." He got out of the chair and walked back to where Viny lay on the van floor. The young woman squirmed as he sat down beside her, but she was helpless as he reached down and began stroking her hair.
"Captain Webb and his men attacked the house, after receiving the signal from your panic button." Albert told her. Viny looked up, confused. She hadn't pressed button. She hadn't had time, before Albert and his partner had drugged her.
Albert smiled down at his captive. "The slavers put up a good fight; most of them were killed in the shootout, the others killed themselves rather than be captured. The bidders were all rounded up, of course. You'll be glad to know all of the women were rescued. Of course, in all the confusion, it seems someone made off with all of the money for the auction."
Up front, the driver chuckled. Viny glanced over. Near her, in the back of the van was a large box. Albert saw the light bulb over the young woman's head as she put two and two together. "That's right." He said, with a grin. "Twenty-five million dollars all together! I'll admit, getting past the police was rather difficult, but we managed it. I had already removed Steve here and myself from the slaver's records, and all of the other slavers are dead. Which makes you the last person who knew I was ever there. Oh don't worry…" he said, squeezing Viny's shoulder reassuringly as the captive woman gave a muffled groan of fear. "I'm not going to kill you. I think I'm going to keep you for myself…"