Troy woke up with the mother of all headaches. He felt awful. Looking around he tried to work out where he was. His memory flipped through options, rejecting each in turn. The room was totally unfamiliar, it was large, pretty scruffy with no window; so he had no inkling of if it was day or night. Troy looked at his left wrist, but he seemed to have lost his watch. "Where the hell was he? and what was the time?"
Troy realised he was naked and wondered who had undressed him. He gingerly got to his feet and tried to find his clothes, but without success. Looking down he saw someone had shaved his pubic hair. Surely he should be able to remember something like this. Troy held his head in his hands; he had some vague memory of meeting a Chinese girl and watching the Los Angeles games on TV in a bar. They seemed to get on well and she had invited him to some party. He must have got drunk and then some 'friends' must have played a practical joke. It didn't seem that funny to him. Troy laid down on the bed and looked around for the duvet, perhaps if he went back to sleep he would find this was a dream and he was back in his hotel room in Boracay. Troy couldn't find any bedclothes but went to sleep anyway.
When Troy woke for the second time, his head felt a little clearer, but he was even more confused. He was naked in a locked room that was clear, but he had no idea how he had got there. He reasoned he must have got monumentally drunk. But he had no memory of anything after turning up to the party. Why was he naked and who had taken care of him? Again, no memory at all. He felt himself and could find any bruises and he was sure he hadn't been raped. So why was he naked? and where was he?
He checked the door again and it was definitely locked. So he shouted, or really just croaked, "Hello is anyone around? Can you please help me."
Troy tried to clear his throat, but before he could have a second try, he saw the handle of the door turning and a small middle-aged Chinese lady was standing before him. "Oh you have woken up. I am so pleased, we were very worried about you."
Troy stood stark naked, hands over his balls, wondering if he had some serious apologising to do, had this sweet old lady picked him up out of the gutter, vomit all over his clothes, and then like a good Samaritan taken care of him?
She continued, "My name is Jiaying and I have been looking after you for the last few days."
"I am terribly sorry to put you to so much trouble. I will of course repay you for all your kindness. I have some Traveller's cheques back in my hotel. I can easily be back in an hour or so. But um ... do you have my clothes?"
"No, I am very sorry, but your clothes were ruined when you were rescued. But I will see if I can find something for you."
"Do you know who rescued me?"
"A friend."
"Sorry to be rude, but do you know why I have been shaved?"
"I'm not sure, probably some medical reason. We had to call a doctor to check you were OK."
"I feel fine now." Troy lied, "If you could find me some shorts. I would like to return to my hotel. My friends may be worried."
"No, I very much regret that won't be possible at the moment. Unfortunately your rescuer incurred considerable costs in bringing you here, so you will need to repay these before you go home. He will visit and I am sure you will work something out."
With that Jiaying bowed and closed the door. Troy heard the key turn in the lock and realised he was a prisoner. But the lady seemed so sweet and considerate, he couldn't believe things wouldn't be solved with a few apologies and a little cash. He wondered how much his rescuer would want. Troy knew he had about a few thousand pesos in his hotel and must still have almost two grand in US dollar Traveller's cheques. He would lie and say he only had a few hundred dollars, this should cover even the greediest scam merchant. Troy laid down on the bed and fell asleep again.
Troy woke again to see a fat Chinese gentleman perched on his bed, stroking the hair, staring at his naked body. Behind him were four large Chinese men in matching black suits and white shirts. Even in his groggy state he realised they were 'heavies'. Troy looked around acutely embarrassed about being naked and immediately rolled over onto his front. The leader started talking, "Hello Troy. My name is Johnny and I have come to answer some of the questions you asked Jiaying. You were rescued at great personal risk by a friend of mine who didn't have a place to nurse you back to health, so he sold you to my organisation. I am here to look after my investment. You have been very ill and have cost me a large sum of money in doctors' bills, so it seems only reasonable that you should repay me with your labour. These chaps behind me are here just to ensure there are no misunderstandings."
More about being rescued, Troy wished he could remember something about last night, "Of course I will repay any costs you may have incurred, just let me get back to my hotel and I will return with the money."
"Sorry Troy, too many foreigners have promised to come back with cash and then jumped on the next plane out of the country. The only sure way of you repaying me is with your labour. Until you repay the debt you will be my guest. As my guest, you will obey the House Rules. First, you will be respectful and call all my male employees 'Master' and female 'Mistress'. Second, you will obedient and do exactly what you are told. Third, you will clean yourself up and be ready to work should I need you. Fourth, you will kneel naked, hands behind your back, in the centre of the room when you hear the door buzzer. There is a camera above you and if you are not kneeling you won't get any food, if don't kneel a second time you will be punished. Lastly, you will lose your childish inhibitions about your nudity. Do you understand?"
"Yes ... er ... Master."
Although 'Johnny' seemed as if he was trying to be friendly there was an unmistakable air of menace in his words. He spotted Troy looking at the four well built men behind him, "Don't be scared by the knuckle dusters, it is the guy with the syringe you should fear. Any disobedience and you will be initiated into the wonders of heroin. I find that those who get a taste for it become most amenable to their supplier; in fact I have seen the most respectable boys offering all kinds of physical services for their next fix, if you get my drift. In case you are thinking of making a run for it, you should know there are a dozen security guards in the building and spotting a naked westerner is pretty easy. Please don't be silly, you are a nice boy and I want to be your friend."
"Yes, Master."
"Right, stand up, hands behind your back and let's have a good look at you." Troy knew he was hopelessly outnumbered and had no desire to become a punch-bag, still less a junkie, so rose and stood before the guards.
Johnny stared at Troy with ill disguised desire, he turned to one of his men and asked, "What do you think Guang? Pretty little thing."
"Yes Sir, probably useless but pretty." The man placed his cosh between Troy's kegs and gradually raised it, until Troy felt the cold metal under his balls.
"You are not planning on giving us any trouble, are you boy?"