"Come on, this way..." Meredith whispered to her partner. The two women slowly crept around the side of the run down old theater building. Something was definitely going down here tonight. The two reporters had been tracking a notorious crime boss, preparing a major investigative story on him and his criminal enterprises. They had no idea why, out of the blue, he suddenly flew down to this small town, but whatever it was had to do with this building. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to get close. That man in the dark jacket and ski mask had been prowling around, looking out for anyone snooping around, but fortunately, at the moment he seemed to be busy elsewhere. This was their opportunity!

"Ok, looks like another limo is pulling up..." Meredith said, peeking around the corner. In the last ten minutes more then a dozen cars like that had passed by. "A doors opening, someone's coming out..." Her eyes widened in surprise as a man in expensive evening wear walked out. The young woman following behind him wasn't dressed nearly so fine. In fact, she wasn't dressed at all, unless the metal collar around her neck counted. A short leash ran from it to the man's hand. As the girl stumbled out of the door, Meredith could see her wrists were shackled behind her back.

"Of course! Human trafficking! White slavery!" Meredith exclaimed, fighting to keep her voice down despite her excitement. What a story this would make! Busting a major white slavery auction! "I think some more people are about to come out, quick Beth, get your camera ready...uh...Beth?" Beth didn't answer, instead another man came up behind Meredith. Before she knew what was happening, he'd clamped a cloth tight over her mouth and nose. The smell of drugged fumes filled her nostrils. She swooned...

"ugh..." Meredith slowly came to. Immediately, she wished she hadn't. The reporter was seated in a chair...somewhere. Meredith couldn't really see. A thick, padded blindfold kept her completely in the dark. Tied to the chair, actually. Tight bands of rope circled her chest and the chair back, joining them into one. Her hands were crossed behind the back of the chair, and also tied. Something hard and rubber was jammed into her mouth, held in place by a pair of tight leather straps. Oh, and whoever had done this had stripped her completely naked. A quiet whimper from nearby told Meredith Beth was close by and in much the same predicament she was in.

Not far away, someone was talking. "Good job, Steve. We shouldn't have any more uninvited guests tonight, but take another look around before we clear out of here. I'll get these two ready for transport. Our first two lots for the next auction..."

Wendy had departed, along with her new slave, muttering something about how she'd figure something out to get back home. The other bidders were consoling themselves by polishing off the rest of the snacks Andy had laid out.

"Actually, I should probably get going..." Lou said, heading for the front door. The other two guys almost made their excuses, grabbing the rest of the snacks as they went. Andy shrugged. "Come back next time!" He said, cheerfully. "Shouldn't take me too long to get another girl to sell!" He turned and headed for the den, unaware of a commotion going on outside. At least until there was a knock at the door. "Probably one of the bidders forgot their wallet or something..." Andy thought to himself heading to the door. He smiled as he reached for the knob. "I think tonight went rather well, all things considered..."