[u][b]The Spit – 7:12PM[/b][/u]

[b]”I’m here.”[/b]

The low, gravelly voice was close enough to penetrate the cacophony of shuffling feet and murmuring. It wasn’t the soft spoken half-haired girl, Audrey was certain about that. But before she could scream for help the wind was knocked out of her. A fist thrust itself deep into her diaphragm, and she could feel how large it was. Its width kissed both sides of her lower rib-cage. 

[b]”Shh. Walk with me or I’ll knife ya’ next, hear me, princess?”[/b]

The young woman couldn’t speak. She wheezed violently, gripping the shadowed stranger’s leathered shoulder out of necessity. He followed suit, wrapping one arm around her waist for support and the other around her arm for control. When the lights had flickered back to life, the two were already walking toward the exit – no thanks to Audrey’s gummy legs – looking like textbook drunks.
 
“Tahh...take whatever…you want,” Audrey croaked through fits of gasping coughs.

[b]”Shut up,”[/b] the man ordered. 

He squeezed her arm to strengthen his point. The word DEAD in black ink stretched across his white hairy knuckles. The sight made the girl lurch with sickness. [i]Oh, God, I’m going to be gang raped[/i], she thought. [i]I’m going to die because of those two stupid shanks that crowded the street[/i], she raged! Shank? She’d never used that word in her life… but it tasted as familiar as the bile that threatened to spill from her mouth. Why? She had no time to consider it further. Shortly after leaving The Spit, she was forced down a nearby alley and trapped in the trunk of a dirty black car, her screams muffled by three sets of hands.  


[u][b]Trunk of an Unmarked Car – 9:45PM[/b][/u]

“LET ME OUT OF HERE!! SOMEBODY HELP ME! IT SMELLS TERRIBLE IN HERE!”

An overwhelming odor had enveloped Audrey for what felt like hours. The heat of the undercarriage only amplified the stench and left the young woman sweating profusely, adding to the overall fetor. She didn’t want to guess what kinds of stains were left on the clothing bundled up beside her, or the type of tools her white flats were pushing against. Knowing would only fuel the fire. But it was increasingly difficult to elude the terrifying thoughts of her seemingly short future. The abductors took everything – her phone, her purse, even her rings. She had no lifeline and no knowledge to help her escape. So she screamed. It was the only thing strong enough, loud enough, to keep the fear from suffocating her. 

“LET ME OUT OF HERE!!”

[u][b]The Asylum – 12:00AM[/b][/u]

Johnny Warfing waited impatiently inside The Asylum for his incompetent underlings to arrive with the ‘package’. Normally he wouldn’t take such a matter into his own portly hands, but he’d been waiting for a break like this. He’d worked under the Saito Family for far too long without the pay-out or recognition he deserved. His family, protected and better off than most, still lived in District 16. It was justice that forced him, he’d say. It was necessity for his family!

[b]“Boss,”[/b] a short blond-haired man said as he approached the dimly lit table. 

[b]“We got’er,”[/b] another added, foolishly enthusiastic. 

[b]“Keep your mouth shut!”[/b] Johnny eyed the surrounding tables suspiciously then narrowed his fat brow. [b]“Do ya’ want that whole God damned District t’hear ya?!”

“Sorry, boss.”

“Shut up,”[/b] Johnny scoffed.[b] “Tell me who she is.”

“She’s a looker, even after Carl beat on her,”[/b] the enthusiastic man replied after shooting his blond counterpart a questionable glance.

[b]“Access card says she's Audrey Webner. She’s the brat of that well-off treasurer in D2. He’d probably pay us with the Alpha treasury to get her back,”[/b] the blond advised.[b] "We got Benny by the car watching her. She's in the trunk."[/b]

Johnny’s beady eyes hid behind the folds of his greedy cheeks. A low gurgling laugh bubbled up from his throat. He’d hit the big time. 

[b]“Well done gentlemen! If we work this right, we’ll be rich enough to hire the Saito’s ourselves! Haha!”[/b]