REMISSION

RICH SHADOWS

"Do you have to keep the blindfolds on? The van has no windows anyways which..." Richard tried to speak but he was forced to shut up by the heavy blow that landed on his face. The pain kept him silent long enough for his "transporter" to put sticky tape over his mouth. "Take it off, and I will give you more than just a blow princess," the deep voiced dude said after he was all done. The rest of the short journey was quiet. Richard was shaking from fear but he tried his best to keep it together. Beneath the dark, quiet face, was a loud eventful brain that was at the moment holding some sort of a self evaluation test. "Am I really this dumb? Seriously, I am taking myself to God knows where for the sake of a girl I only met once? Well, to be fair, we did some stuff that most people do on a fifth date so maybe that's the reason I feel compelled to help her...but then again she is just a hooker, a cold, cold one for that matter. She is also the best company and s*x I ever had, that have to account for something at least..."

He didn't even notice the van had stopped until the banging of the door which stopped his spinning mind. He felt the huge hand grab him and before he knew what was happening, he was hanging from the huge guy's shoulder like a sack. He felt the guy go forward a few steps, then down some stairs. He stopped and there was a beep, Richard heard what he could only assume was a door opening followed by more stairs. He was trying so hard to map the movement in his head but between the fear and the uncomfortable position he was in, he just couldn't record a thing. One more beep and another door opened. Richard counted seven more steps before he found himself mid-air. The tape and blindfold were removed and even though he couldn't yet see a damn thing, at least he had the balance to get himself up to standing position. "Did you have to drop me like that? Also, I have been trying to tell you that you smell like roadkill, do you even shower?" He saw the fist coming down at him but this time round the ugly guy from the previous day's ordeal saved him.

"Is that how you treat customers Tiny?" he asked. The question made Tiny evaluate his move and Richard's face was spared. "No Boss," he answered before following the order his boss was signing at him. He said sorry to Richard and left the room banging the door behind him. "Did you just call that mountain of a stinky dude tiny? I would hate to see who you call huge," Richard said the moment the door shut. "Sorry about that and welcome to the Shadows Mr...," The boss extended his hand towards Richard. "Richard...," he knew the pause after "mr" meant that the boss wanted him to introduce himself. Richard was seeing double at the moment and he missed the boss's hands a couple of times. "We could just sit and get on with the business," Richard finally gave up on the handshake and sunk into the closest chair he could find. The office was neither huge nor fancy. The smell of cigar and alcohol filled the place and from the looks of it, there were no windows. The gun on the tiny table showed that Mr ugly meant business. Richard had no doubt to the idea that he was deep underground which meant a step mistake would probably lead to his death and his body would never be found.

"Relax, I don't kill foolish rich bastards, or rather, I at least wait to get some money from them," he intended that as a joke but Richard didn't find it funny. Infact, he peed himself a little when Mr ugly took the pistol and stared at it for a moment. "Damn thing isn't even loaded," he said at last before putting it in the desk's drawer. Richard could finally breath though he was still a little shaky. "Okay, you said you were willing to pay for one of our girls right?" Mr Ugly asked and Richard faked a smile before nodding. "I also see that you brought the money. Tiny already counted it and he told me you even threw in some extra, that is thoughtful. However, the girl you wanted is one of our most valuable and I kind of changed my mind...," his voice had gone from just annoyingly squeaky to a deep, serious one and Richard was a little bit more scared. "But we had a deal? You said you are a man of your word..." He started but Mr Ugly cut him short. "You didn't let me finish... I will give you the girl, but for a much better price," he looked at Richard for a moment as he awaited for the offer.

"I could pay double but not more..." Richard offered but yet again, he was cut short. "Richard, I am not all about money. I want something else, I maybe one of the shadows, but I happen to be a rich shadow. I will give you the girl but I will expect something in return..." Richard couldn't wait so he just cut in and asked Mr ugly what he wanted in return. "In a month, I will call you and you, you will come running. You will do what I will ask of you and you won't ask a question," he smiled for a moment before extending his hand for a deal. Richard would have asked some questions but he was too scared. He just wanted to get out of there so he shook on it. A moment later, Tiny walked in with the girl in a blindfold. Richard tried to engage with her but he was asked not too. In a few seconds, he was also blindfolded and together they were led out of there.

The way back was quite peaceful as Richard could feel Annie right next to him. Tiny was also a bit soft and he let the two whisper without hitting them even though he still found it annoying. "How did you manage to change his mind? Yesterday he assured me I wasn't going anywhere unless you gave up all your money and your head as well," She whispered to his ear. Her words scared him a bit and the question of whether Mr Ugly intended to to kill him in a month went through his mind. Annie would have seen the scared look but the blindfold played its role. "Oooh, I paid him some serious cash and told him a couple of jokes. I guess he just found me too funny to kill," he said as he hoped to God that Annie wouldn't sense his newly found fear. "Wow, he must be one hell of a bad joke taste guy because I don't find you even a little bit funny. Thank you for saving my life though. I just hope you didn't save me just so you could e*****e me all over again," it angered him to think that she thought he was even remotely capable of being inhumane to her. He may have never been a good guy but he wasn't a monster either. "Of course not. All I ask is you let me offer you a job and promise you will not go back to the club again," she knew what he meant and he had no idea just how much she couldn't wait to get as far as possible from her dirty job.

After the drop off, the two had a small fight. Annie wasn't quite convinced that Richard had no hidden agenda, Richard was furious because he felt he had sacrificed enough for her. He couldn't understand why she still couldn't trust him and after a whole twenty minutes of arguing, the two realized that passersby were staring at them. "You know who fights anywhere anyhow? Old married couples," Richard said. From the little time he had spent with Annie, he knew that the one thing she didn't fancy was the though of being old. "Well, we are not a couple and I am definitely not old," she said as she took a step back and folded her hands to her chest to indicate that she was not willing to keep fighting. "Well, Finally some peace. You know what else I definitely know? I am starving and I need an ice pack," Richard said while touching the bruise on his face. "Well, I don't need ice but I definitely need food," she said and smiled. Richard was glad that the fighting was over and he told her he knew just the best eatery and he could take her for what he couldn't tell whether was lunch, dinner or afternoon snack.