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The journey seemed to take hours. Bound and rattling around in the back of the van, all Teri could do was think about what was going to happen. Who was this guy, and what did he mean by he was going to save his life ? Teri's hands hurt and flexing them did not help, pinned as they were with the hard steel of the handcuffs. Teri felt butterflies in her stomach.

Eventually, the journey ended and the engine died as the van pulled up. Teri heard a car pull up behind. The driver got out of the van and she heard the door slam. She heard voices outside but, straining her ears as much as she could, she could not make out what they were saying. The back doors of the van opened up and she felt herself being dragged out. Teri tried to shrug off the grip of her captor, but she was held firm in his grip.

Teri was led through a series of doors and placed down hard onto a chair. She heard a door shut and then the lock click shut. Teri felt the cover being lifted off her head. As she opened her eyes, she found herself being dazzled by a strong, bright light glaring into her eyes. She squinted in a vain attempt to shut out the light, but it seemed to travel straight through her eyelids. Teri opened her eyes and looked around, but could not tell if she was alone of not. Slowly, she started to get up off the chair.

"Sit down now", a voice boomed at her. "You will get up when I say". Teri sat down quickly.

"What are you doing to me?" Teri asked. "Have you any idea who I work for?" The man eclipsed the light that shone down on her as he stepped in front of her.

"You stupid little idiot," he snarled, "I know exactly who you work for. You any idea what he does to people like you after they have done his dirty work? I'll tell you, shall I?" Keller grabbed her by the neck, pushing her back into the chair. Teri flinched backwards. Keller stepped backwards, composing himself

"Your boss has been involved in countless murders, and countless women have just plain gone missing. All we know is that we can't prove it." Now Teri was confused. She had thought that this man was a rival dealer or something, now it sounded as if he was something else, something different.

"Who are you?" Teri asked

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"More of that later," Keller replied. "Maybe I will show you what I am talking about. Stand up now" Keller unlocked her cuffs and stood back.

"Very good. Now I want you to strip"

"Why?" Teri asked meekly

"Why not? I'll show you what he's going to do to you." Keller said threateningly. Teri slowly stripped off to her underwear. "That's enough now. Very nice too" Keller said while appraising her. "Now turn around while I give you a demonstration of what is going to happen to you."

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He had moved like lightning. He had obviously done this before, Teri thought to herself. She had guessed that resistance would have been fruitless. In no time at all, Teri found herself bound to a chair. She tested her bonds, but they would not move.

"So, what do you think?" Keller asked her, his voice sounding as if he were in a daydream.

"I don't like it. I can't move. I feel so helpless" Teri replied, again trying to shrug her way out of her bindings.

"Exactly right" Keller replied. "This is how we found the last of your employer's couriers, more or less….. well, you are a little less damaged than she was. A lot less damaged to be precise. She had a broken jaw, ribs and every finger had been dislocated." Teri shuddered as Keller continued his tale.

"Did she tell you that Mr….." Teri began

"No, she didn't tell us anything" Keller interrupted "Among the other injuries were a bullet in the temple. She was executed, stone cold dead. I don't want to see that happen to you." Keller stopped abruptly, and swallowed hard. "I want to see no more" he said, then went quiet.

"What do you want?" Teri asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"To stop him" Keller replied simply, then almost to himself "It has to stop"

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Keller seemed to snap out of his thoughts. "The way I see it, you have a choice. You can go with him and end up in great pain, hoping for a bullet, or maybe worse, or….."

"Worse?" Teri said incredulously, "What could be worse than that?"

"Oh I forgot to tell you…. We reckon he also has farmed a few of his female couriers into the slave trade. Bodies for sale and that sort of thing. Of course, we have no proof, nothing that will stand up in court or anything like that, but we are pretty sure that is what has gone on" Keller replied. "Anyway, what I am offering you is a second chance"

"I'm listening" Teri said, her voice wavering as the butterflies in her stomach got worse.

"You sign up with us. You get trained up, we protect you. You do some good for once and we take him down. Boom boom."

"What choice do I have?" Teri asked, but the look on his face told her everything she needed to know. "No choice, huh?" Keller shook his head in reply.

"Way I see it, I am going to take you home now. There will be a car to pick you up at 7:30. You are there or you aren't. It's all a matter of who you trust."

"What is your name?" Teri asked.

"Doesn't really matter for now" Keller replied, as he started to untie her from the chair and stood her up. "Just call me Jim" he told her as he put the pillow case back over her head.

 

 

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The journey back was just as disorientating than the first. Teri found herself being led back into what she assumed was her flat. She was laid out on the sofa and Keller bound her feet together.

"What are you doing?" Teri asked nervously, hoping that everything that he had told her was true and he really was one of the good guys.

"It's you first test" Keller replied. "If you want to survive, you have to prove it to me. You know what time the car is coming, you know that you have to be out there to meet it."

"But you can't leave me like this. How am I going to meet the car if you leave me like this?" Teri said pleadingly.

"You want things to change, you have to fight to make it change. Show me what you have got. I hope to see you tomorrow" Keller said as he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone. The emotions got the best of her. Teri began to sob. Keller's words rang in her head.

"Things have got to change", she said to herself as she gritted her teeth and began to struggle.

She had no idea how long it took, but finally the ropes got loose enough for her to find a knot to pick at. A lot of struggling, tears and frustration later, she finally got her hands and elbows free. She was exhausted and couldn't even raise the energy to pick herself off the sofa. She drifted off to sleep, knowing that she had an early morning and an appointment to keep.

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