When I was 22 I had an unplanned and uninvited experience that I will never forget. The year before, my dad had died suddenly in a car accident. He had been a private investigator and had multiple active cases at the time of his death. A couple times we received calls from clients of his requesting information or documents pertaining to their cases. While we knew dad kept important files in a safety deposit box, we had no idea how to access it or even where it was. We were never able to provide help to those clients.
With the loss of my father's income and two younger siblings to care for, my mom couldn't afford my college tuition anymore so I found a job, moved out and started taking online courses. My job was at a health club in the city and my apartment was right across the street. One night at closing time, I was walking the last gym patron out. I was about to close and lock the door when two big, muscled guys stopped me and pushed their way in. They were closely followed by a man in a suit who closed the door behind him and flipped the lock. I explained that we had just closed, but the man in the suit ignored me. He was clearly in charge and walked past his well-muscled assistants and right up to me. My heart was beating fast and I didn't know what was happening. My cell phone was with my keys and wallet in my gym bag in the office. I didn't know what to do.
The suited man grabbed a fistful of my shirt and said, "I was a client of your father's. Your father had something that belongs to me. I intend to get back. What I am here to get from you is the location and passcode to his safety deposit box."
I was gripped by fear. What would they do to me when they found out I didn't have what he was looking for? They outnumbered me 3 to 1. I've never been beaten up before. I've never even been in a fight.
I told him I didn't know, and that I never knew. Still with my shirt bunched in his fist he pushed and guided me back from the front windows and deeper into the gym away from the view of the street. He wasn't a bulked up mass of muscle like his helpers but he was powerful in a compact sort of way. I was 5' 10" and a little shy of 145 pounds. Despite working in a gym, between my job and my studies I didn't have much time to work out and when I did, I spent that time running on the tread mill. I lacked upper body strength and as the suit man pushed and guided me around by my scrunched shirt, I provided so little resistance that it seemed like I was on roller skates.
He said, "I expected that you would claim ignorance but you will have to prove to me that you don't have what I need."
I asked, "How could I prove it?"
He said, "The only way would be to show me." He saw the confused look on my face so he clarified, "You will be stripped and searched. The information I need to access the safety deposit box can be kept on something not much bigger than the size of a postage stamp. You will have to be taken apart to prove you're telling me the truth."
I began to tremble and tried to assure him that I did not have what he wanted, but he wasn't having it.
He said, "This is happening with or without your cooperation." He then offered me some advice saying, "If you don't fight it, the ordeal will be over sooner and while it will still be humiliating, it will certainly be less painful. My friends behind me here work hard. Their jobs are not often enjoyable but tonight is going to fun for them. They deserved to have some fun and spend as much time on me as they want. I strongly encourage your cooperation for your own well-being."
I decided right then that I would not fight what was about to happen. This suited man was fierce and stubborn, but I also thought he was telling the truth. If I didn't resist, they wouldn't hurt me. Just let them do their search and I'll be okay.
The suited man continued, "We'll start with a pat-down" and he instructed me to raise my arms above my head.
I tried, "If I actually do have the safety deposit box information, why do you think I have it here with me?"
He said, "I know that if you have it must be here because we just spent the last three hours tearing your apartment apart and searching every square inch. We saw and touched everything you own. We know everything about you... all your little dark secrets," he winked at me.
I asked, "How did you---"
He cut me off and said, "We have our ways. Now, arms up. Higher, higher. All the way."
I did as I was told. The suited man knelt down and started feeling around my left ankle circling front to back and slowly working his way up my leg. It was a cool autumn day and I was wearing sweat pants and a sweat shirt. With my arms reaching up as high as they could, my sweat shirt had ridden up a good eight inches, exposing my usually covered, shy tummy. I felt like a toddler standing there with my belly button peering out. I noticed that the two muscle guys were watching and they were clearly enjoying the show.
Meanwhile, the suited man had finished my left leg and was working his way methodically up my right. When he reached the top he was not shy about exploring my pelvic and private regions. Then he reached around me felt up my butt. I had never experienced a pat-down before so I had nothing to compare it with but this seemed beyond thorough.
With my lower half complete, the suited man stood. He reached up and began patting down my arms through my sleeves. By the time he finished my arms he must have decided that my sweatshirt was too thick and bulky for an effective search because he decided to go underneath. As he reached to go under my shirt his fingers grazed across my exposed lower abdomen. The surprise sensation on my sensitive belly caused an involuntary gasp and quiver. Instinct forced me to take two steps backwards. I saw the look of a stern warning on the suited man's face and quickly stepped back into position.
The muscle guys grinned and watched on in anticipation.
The suited man now had both hands on my bare skin. He worked his way down from my elbows and into my armpits. Down my sides, across my belly, back up grazing my nipples as he passed, and finally down my sternum with a pause to insert a finger right into my concave belly button. Everything he did tickled almost unbearably. Knowing the muscle guys would further feed off any visible reaction from me, I tried my best to give nothing away. Based on their expressions, I was not too successful.
The suited man decided to explore my backside. He walked around behind me and reached again under my shirt. As he reached up to start at my shoulders, my shirt rode up even higher, up to my armpits, giving the muscle guys their best show yet -- the full expanse of my smooth, lean torso. The suited man's hands moved up and down and side to side across my back. He danced his fingers up my sides again into my awaiting armpits. Tears began to form in my eyes as it took everything in me to suppress a scream. He finally stopped and told me to put my arms down. I gladly did so and quickly pulled my shirt back down.
He walked over to his goons and told them, "He's not concealing anything obvious but while I go search his stuff, you two do your thing. If he has it, I want it." The suited man walked toward the gym office, I guessed to get my gym bag and jacket, and my new captors turned toward me and smiled.