Chapter 1
The Contract
She stood back and admired her handiwork. His hands and feet were securely fastened to the bed posts by a length of thick cord. A gag in his mouth. She reached in her bag and withdrew a large, black plastic bag. She brought it down over his head and securely fastened it around his neck by a rubber band. She quickly searched her bag and retrieved a short hose and pump. She inserted one end of a hose under the lip of the bag, and the other end she plugged into the small air pump. She flipped a switch and the battery-powered pump whirred to life, filling the bag with air. Once it was fully inflated, she retracted the hose and placed the whole assembly into her bag.
She nimbly plucked up the lip of the bag and quickly wafted smelling salts under his nose. She let the bag go, the rubber band pulling the bag tight around his neck once more. She stood, replaced the cap on the jar, and placed the jar in her bag.
After a few moments, she heard him let out a moan, followed by a tug at his restraints. While the bag was inflated enough to mask which direction he was looking, she could tell by his body language that he was turning his head from side to side. A muffled scream come from the bag, audible in the room, but too quiet to be heard through the walls, especially with the rain pounding the windows.
This is how it always starts, she thought. Always the panic. She could hear him breathing heavily through the holes in the gag, his head thrashing to and fro, pulling hard at his restraints. Strangely enough, she never enjoyed this part of the job. It was what came after that thrilled her.
She put a knee on his abdomen and gripped his neck with her slender fingers. Immediately, he quietened. She could feel him trembling underneath her grip.
"Listen up, you piece of shit," she said menacingly. "You've been marked. Not for death, no. You've been marked for education." She leaned down until she was face to face with him. She imagined that he could just barely make out her face through the thin material. "You've fucked up, to be in this situation, make no mistake."
She stood, snugging up her gloves. "This is your re-education." At this, she heard another muffled cry followed by more thrashing.
"Listen to me, asshole!" she said, forcefully.
The man immediately became attentive. She smiled to herself. "You will stay like that for one hour. If you survive, I will assume you've learned your lesson. If you don't, I will also assume you've learned your lesson."
She walked slowly over to the table in the center of the room. On it she sat a small travel clock. "You're time starts... now," she said. The man let out a quiet sob. She looked back and said, "I'd try to conserve my air, if I were you."
The man quieted and soon his breathing fell into a slow, smooth rhythm. She walked over to the side of the bed, removed a glove, and placed the palm of her hand over the man's heart. The man let out a muffled grunt as she did so. She could feel his heart beating slow and strong in his chest and the rise and fall of his chest. She smiled to herself.
She sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not such a bad person, you know. I just sort of fell into this line of work when I accidentally offed the leader of one of the families." She sighed, and continued. "I was in love with him. But, he didn't love me."
She stood and aimlessly paced the floor. "He was into breath play and he made me... do things to him. He had been a total asshole to me one night, so I drugged him, tied him up much like yourself, and watched him squirm."