Below is a collaboration between @AcerRo and myself.
Once they came to a stop in front of her building, Jennifer remained in the back seat for a moment to count the money in hand. She rounded up the total fare to $60.
"Keep the change," she said with a smile. She liked this particular cab driver; he showed her respect and the decency to leave her alone through the entire ride home. Who knows how many sleazeballs would have been trying to get her to talk to them at this point.
Once outside, she closed the door behind her and rapidly went inside to reach the main lobby of her building. The employees there waved, but some strangers just gave her a funny look. Screw them, they can't afford this place and are probably visiting. She made her way to the elevator on the far left side, the same one she always took for some reason. After pressing the button with the number 18 on it, she leaned back against the side of the elevator and hoped no one else would come in at the last minute. When the doors started to close, she felt some relief as she started ascending towards her floor.
A minute or two later, Jennifer got off with her key in hand. She hoped no surprises would be waiting for her inside her apartment. Well, maybe the guys with chocolate and wine waiting to apologize, but realistically speaking, that would never happen. As she stepped through the front door, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, although she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched...
From the closet in Jennifer's apartment, average in a way, the man waited for her to arrive. On his hip was a stun gun, one when he pulled the trigger would be more than enough to knock out someone the size of Jennifer. His heart rate was steady as he heard the door open. This wasn't his first time doing something like this as he peered through the slightest of cracks in the door. He wasn't worried about her opening the closet door, heaven forbid she make this any easier.
He waited for the right moment to spring into action as only fools jumped at the first chance. The wise move was to wait and make sure she was alone. Just Jennifer and an average, nondescript man. When the time was right, he calmly stepped out and shot her in the back. He never let go of the trigger until she fell to the ground.
When she fell he couldn't help but stand over her for a moment. She was pretty, and out like a light. He pondered all the things he could do to her. All the little, and not so little things he could do. Sadly this was a business call, and not a pleasure trip.
The trip back to Harrison's office wasn't long. One trip around the back and service elevator to the right floor and there she was, sitting in his office. He only needed to hit her a few times for her to come too.
One slap, then another, and finally a third one on her left cheek again. All the hits stung, but at least they got the attention they wanted from her. Much to her surprise, however, Jennifer looked up to see Harrison standing a few feet away from her, and a man she'd never seen before by his side. Harrison's obvious lack of concern gave Jennifer the impression that maybe he had something to do with this.
"Mind telling me why I'm tied to a chair in
your office?" The dull pain in the center of her back cleared up for mind a little bit. Jennifer remembered that she'd been attacked in her apartment after arriving home, so her instincts had been right after all. With her hands tied behind her back, she made a subtle attempt to loosen up the tape without alerting Harrison or the other man present in the office. She looked down in the process, only to sigh in disappointment.
"And you could have at least dressed me up like a proper lady instead of leaving me wearing these slutty clothes."
"Seems you're dressed just like you should be." Harrison nodded towards her and the unremarkable man slapped her again.
"Now the the real people I work with want you in New Orleans. I should have just told them to send some blow and a pretty boy with a swinging dick and you'd follow him to the ends of the Earth. So in the mean time, you're gonna sign everything over to me and then you and little boy toy bodyguard will go to meet your fates.... Any questions?" Harrison said smugly behind his desk.
After the stranger slapped her yet again, Jennifer bit her lip to stop herself from giving either of them the satisfaction. She looked at Harrison immediately after the slap, the look on her eyes that of betrayal and disbelief.
"So, you are a sellout after all," she said to him in a tone that meant business, "guess I should have seen it coming. But good luck finding Nate, him and that other guy have their minds set on finding out what the hell happened to them. As for us...I'll sign whatever you need me to, as long as you don't kill me. You do have to free my hands first though, that's my only condition. You more than anyone know I'm not easily swayed."
"Nathan and whoever else, they'll be found." Harrison reached into his desk and pulled out his gun. He wasn't one to get his hands dirty, but this was special occasion. Harrison walked over to Jennifer, confident he had command of the situation, and pulled her to her feet. After untying her hands, he took a step and handed her a pen, one that would sign away everything her mother ever built.
There was nothing she could do, not now. With that single thought in his head, he waved off the unremarkable man, and reluctantly, the man stepped outside and waited.
Jennifer's hands started to shake as she grabbed the pen. So maybe the son of a bitch wasn't a complete moron after all. She looked him in the eye, then she looked into the barrel of the gun he had pointing at her. As her hand settled over the document, she couldn't help but allow a single tear to roll down the side of her cheek. After she quickly scribbled some signature, Jennifer pushed the paper over to Harrison's side of the desk. It was then she swore on her dead mother's grave that Harrison would regret every last second of this meeting...both him and whoever he was working for.
Member
StarfrostedFox
evierose
RPM
KactusPunch
Pathei Mathos
RothicusRex
