Lacey knelt on the carpet and held the phone to her ear, “Yes master.” she spoke softly as she listened carefully as he spoke.

She had been investigating the local underworld for the last several months and had managed to get the scoop on several big drug deals going down.  She’d staked one out last week to make sure she had the entire story, but before she knew it she felt a strong hand over her mouth and then blackness engulfed her.

She’d woken up sometime later, tied in to a chair, a bright light shining down on her, but otherwise unharmed.  A man stood a few feet away from her, he was holding something in his hands that Lacey couldn’t quite make out.

“Lacey Dunam, ace reporter.” he said calmly, reading from what she assumed was her drivers licence.

“Look, mister, I just got lost, I don’t know what’s going on but I’m no reporter, I just want to go home.”

He gave a gruff chuckle and extended his hand towards a second man, taking the tablet he offered to him.

“So this isn’t you then?” he asked, showing her one of her articles, her picture in the upper left corner.

“Well…”

“Don’t bother, your internet footprint is almost as large as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Moster combined.”

“Ok, fine, I’m a reporter and I’ve told others where I am tonight.”

“No you haven’t.” he said calmly as he fished something from his pocket.

It was her phone, “You should really use a more secure password than 1379 you know.  You didn’t send any messages to anyone about where you were, just said you would be out of touch for a few hours.”

She felt a sinking feeling form in the pit of her stomach but didn’t let it show.

“Ok, so now what?”

He walked over to a table and set the tablet and her phone down, then he picked up a small baggie and headed back over to her.

“Do you know what this is?”

“The drugs you’ve been smuggling in I presume?”

“Yes, but what kind of drug?”

“Uh… Cocaine?” she guessed looking at the white powder.

“No, not cocaine.” he said as he opened the little baggie, holding it open between two fingers and then tossing it’s contents in to her face.

She held her breath, but the powder entered her nostrils and itched, then tickled and finally she felt her body sneeze involuntarily.  The powder few in to the air again and her body instinctively took a deep breath, drawing it in to her lungs.

A wave of dizziness came over her and her head flopped to one side as she tried to focus on the man’s face, but all she saw was his broad grin and white teeth.

Her head finally started to stop spinning when she felt him take her chin between his finger and thumb and prop it back upright.

“How are you feeling Lacey?” he asked.

She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, her mind was blank and she found no words that would describe the feeling.

“That’s good, you see this drug opens the mind to all kinds of new things.  It doesn’t last long, but I don’t need much time to take care of a nosey reporter like you do I?”

Instead of trying to say anything, Lacey nodded her head slightly, feeling his fingers on her chin move with it.

“That’s good.  From now on you work for me, you’re still going to be a reporter, but from now on you’re going to tell me everything you find out before you print it.  And anything you find about me, your going to bury, understand?”

Once more Lacey nodded her head slightly.

“From now on, your going to do exactly what I tell you to.  When I call or text you, you’ll respond.  When I tell you to do something, you’ll do it without question or thought.”

Lacey felt the words penetrate her mind and bury themselves deep in to it as he continued to tell her things.

That had been a month ago and she’d given him all her information the next day.  Then she’d continued working on the other drug dealers she was chasing, providing him with details on his competition as soon as she had any.

She continued to listen to his voice as she heard the door to her apartment open, “…and remember, this new informant is very important, make sure to pump him for all the information you can.”

She heard the call go dead and looked up to the man standing in front of her, she’d spoken with him several times on the phone but this was their first meeting in person.  She set her phone down beside her and her hands found his zipper, letting his hardening shaft free of his pants.

She wrapper her lips around it and started pumping her informant for everything he had.