Violet's head swam about her. She floated through the nothingness for an indeterminate span of time. She couldn't think clearly, everything was a blur. She tried to move her arms, but they felt heavy, as if they were made of lead. Her legs shared this bizarre physical abnormality.
She felt something snap loosely around her neck. She tried reaching for it, but her hands were still dead weight. However, the fog in her mind slowly began to lift. She opened her eyes, just a little. Wherever she was, it was dark. She tried once again to move, but found she couldn't. This time, she felt a light tugging at her wrist as she did so. She tried to move the other arm, but experienced the same curious feeling.
At last, she felt herself again, but still disoriented. She tried moving her arms again, but they still would not budge. She suddenly thrust her eyes open wide in realization. She turned her head to see in the dim light that her hand was bound to what appeared to be a bedpost. Her heart sank as she realized that was the least of her problems.
The world around her looked as if it had been wrapped in gauze. She could make out the shape of her hand, the bedpost, and the dark cord binding her to it, but nothing in detail. She rocked her head from side to side, hearing a crinkling sound as she did so. She knew this sound all too well. She'd heard it countless times, when meting out punishment, but never from this vantage point. Her blood ran cold as she heard a tap on the floor to her right.
"Who's there?" she called out, turning her head in the direction of the sound.
She could make out the silhouette of someone standing in front of a weak light source. From the shape of their body, she guessed it was a woman. "Oh, nobody important," she said. She took three steps closer to the bed, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. The form leaned down over Violet.
"Comfy, darling?" she asked, in a low mediterranean accent.
"Who are you?" Violet asked, pulling at her restraints.
"Tsk, tsk," the woman replied, wagging a gloved finger. "You, of all people, should know the benefit of conserving your air." Violet realized the truth in her words and relaxed.
Violet could not believe this was happening. Who was this woman? What did she want? Was she related to one of her targets? If so, she had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.
"I've studied your methods," the woman continued, pacing the floor slowly. "You like to suffocate your victims, sometimes killing them."
"It's just a job," Violet quickly replied.
"And for me, also," the woman said with a sigh. "It is just a job. My methods are a bit more... direct, most of the time."
The woman walked over and tugged at the corner of the bag. "I've never tried anything of this sort before. I could walk out right now, knowing that I've completed my contract, and you're dead."
"I never leave any of my intended targets!" Violet exclaimed.
"Yes, yes, I know. You... how can I put this? You make love to them?"
Violet flushed, feeling guilty. "Not exactly," she said hesitantly. This woman would never understand what she felt when she was on the job, intimately connected to her target.
"Oh, that's right. You tease them," the woman said with humor in her voice. "You just lie there while they slowly suffocate."
Violet couldn't argue with that. That's pretty much what she did. It was always such a thrill to lie there, her target deep inside her, feeling them struggle for breath.
The woman paused, awaiting a response. Upon receiving none, she continued, "That's what you're going to get. You've been marked for death by my employer. Your trademark is well known and it was decided that that is how you'll meet your end."
Violet was beside herself. She had no idea what to do. She struggled against here restraints for a moment, realizing that it was for naught. She was trapped. The woman let out a small laugh. "Not so much fun now, is it?" she asked.
"Oh," the woman said, turning back around. "There is one small, little change. Hardly worth mentioning. There'll be no alarm for you, dear."
How could this be? Violet was always so careful. She couldn't fathom how anyone could have tracked her down. This woman meant to kill her and it looked like she would probably succeed. She had to escape, but didn't see any way out.
Violet heard the flick of a lighter and the soft glow of the flame. The woman inhaled deeply and then let it out. She couldn't see her in the darkness of the room, only the red tip of the cigarette as she took another drag. The woman sat, smoking, watching Violet for several minutes.
The air inside the bag was already getting warm. Surprisingly, though she had administered this form of torment several times, she had never experienced it first hand. She didn't actually know what to expect beyond what she witnessed externally. She guessed that 10 minutes had passed so far. Of course, there was no way of knowing how long the bag was on before she woke up. She had probably 15-20 minutes of time left, before she'd be to weak to do anything at all.
At long last the woman stood, extinguished her cigarette, and approached the bed again. The woman removed one of her gloves and pressed her bare hand between Violet's breasts. For the first time, Violet realized she was naked and she felt her face flush. "You have a strong heart, my friend," the woman said at length. She slid her fingers down her bare skin to her abdomen. "And you are a beautiful woman."
Violet didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. She, instead, concentrated on her breathing, and trying to formulate a plan to escape. The woman scoffed and retracted her hand. "A pity, really." She heard the click of the shoes recede and she saw the woman's silhouette against the pale light once again. She appeared to be thin, curvy, but that's all she could tell from the low light and clouded bag.
She had to escape, but how? It seemed impossible. She was bound too well, and there was no way she was going to free her hands or feet. The bag itself felt as if it were held on by something weak, but she knew from experience that unless it was purposely removed it might as well have been fastened by 20 lengths of chain and padlocked. She had no way of knowing where she was. There could be an army outside the door. She only had one weapon at her disposal: her voice.
"Why don't you just get it over with," Violet asked coldly.