A Mafia's Nightmare

I'm sitting at this auction in the heart of London. It's not the usual kind of sale, and the commodities don't know that they're up for grabs. Walking down the runway with provocative dresses, exposed cleavage and plump red lips, I and the other men in the room take note, because soon, a favorite girl is going to be picked. She is going to be handed over to the highest bidder. When that happens, she disappears from the public eye. What's funny is, she isn't going to realize what is happening until she is far away from her family and friends. I love it. The feeling of possession, control, power, over a person. It drives me. Makes me who I am. You can curse me all you want but it doesn't stop me from going home with the most wanted girl on this runway tonight. Chapter one “Gentlemen and more gentleman, we have come to the end of our little show,” I'm watching the host of the underground yet popular event. He's dressed in an all black suit, a tailcoat on top, and a black hat over what I'm certain is a bald head. He is a very ugly man, but in my world, you don't have to be attractive to pull the kind of women he owns. He has them swarming around him. Women of all sizes and colors. Fortunately for Mr Reed, I don't care for all that. I don't care about having a flock of women around me, or parading myself on the dark streets of London, because if I do, if I even think about doing it, he wouldn't be standing on that podium, holding a microphone in his right hand with a stupid grin on his face. “And now, the moment you all have been waiting for, the main reason why we are all gathered here," Reed's eyes greedily scan the crowd. I know he cannot wait to get his dirty, stubby fingers on the wads of cash that was about to flow out of men like me. I say again, he is fortunate that I do not care for the things that he does. Not only do I not care about fame, out of my sheer generosity, I let him run the show. I let him do whatever he wants, as long as he brings me what is mine on the agreed day, time and place. “It is time to place our bids," When he makes his announcement, his slightly brown colored teeth reflect against the bright light above his head. A five foot tall man who took less care of himself with each passing day, yet managed to have his way with models twice his height, and thrice his looks. Reed is living proof that… you know what, I'll keep that to myself. It's too early to hate me. “Let's start with girl number two," After he speaks, he turns. There is a projector behind us, behind all the high and mighty men. It comes on, showing an image behind Reed. The image of a girl. Girl number 1. I look around me for any interested buyers. I watch out for keen eyes, satisfactory nods, even a glistening of lust. The higher the number of patrons, the more intrigued I become. However, for this particular girl, who doesn't look so bad, there are no interests. Not even one. “Well then," My focus returns to Reed when I hear him take in a quick breath. "Let's move on to girl number two.” Then, the projector changes its image. I look around like I did the first time, searching for what will drive me. This time there were some interests. A few. Not enough. I return my gaze ahead of me. “Do we have interested buyers?" My eyes scan the slightly blurry image before me. Her eyes are light brown. Her skin is almost the color beige. She's wearing a long blue dress, with spaghetti straps. I remember watching her strut down the aisle in her bathing suit. I know other's remember it too. That's why their hands are lifted up when Reed asks for buyers. Regardless, they're only five. Out of a room containing twenty men. Twenty perverted, lustful men. Five of them after a girl is not enough. At least for me. I sit quietly as the bidding process begins. It's a rather short process, with less strife than expected. It's not my kind of environment. I live for the battle. It's thrilling. Exhilarating. Blood pumping. The slide changes, a new girl is up. Girl number two has just been bought for ten thousand pounds. Cheap. Almost nothing. While we feast our eyes on the new image, the short man wobbles down the small steps, hands the buyer a card to his new commodity, then climbs back up. It's almost enough to disgust me but the girl on the screen takes most of my attention. She looks short, almost as short as Reed. She has a pale skin tone. It's not pretty, but it works. Her eyes are almost cat-like, a black line running along the edges. It's captivating. Intriguing. Strangely, I don't remember her walking for us in her bathing suit. If I saw someone with a belly button piercing, I most definitely would remember, but I don't. It means she didn't show herself. It makes her all the more mysterious. I don't have time to make my findings known. One look around me, I see nineteen hands. There's no need to count because I'm the only one who doesn't have his hand in the air. “Wow." I hear Reed's stunned voice, bringing my eyes to his equally expressive face. “I see I have struck gold." His eyes glisten with greed, scanning across the room of hungry men. I immediately know this is the one. My eyes travel to her picture once again. I notice the dark snake tattoo slithered around her left ankle. Her small round glasses give her a naive look, hiding away the eyes that reveal a little bit of danger. The same danger that lures everyone that looks through her transparent glasses. The same danger that calls everyone in the room to her. The same danger that makes my hand shoot into the sky above my head. “She even has the attention of our host!" Eyes turn my way when Reed's voice cuts through the air. He is as shocked as the gazes that are thrown my way. My eyes lay straight ahead, staring at the snake tattoo on her ankle, wondering what it could mean. “It's going to be a long night."