The Collector Pt. 03

One month earlier...

Alarm clock goes off and I open my eyes. I sat up and turned off the alarm. It's nine o'clock in the morning. I stood up and walked into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror and said:

"You're a good guy. You're going to have a good day".

I removed my pajamas, brushed my teeth and stepped into the warm shower. The warm water felt comfortable and kept my eyes open. After washing for 7 minutes. I stepped out and head into my closet. I put on a dark collared shirt and dark casual pants. I put on dark socks and dark shiny shoes. I was going to go with the wing-tip shoes, but I must be professional. I grabbed my leather coat and walked out the door. It's a good thing I live on the first floor. My apartment is close to the exit door of the building. I stepped outside and see the sun has risen and it's cold. I hate cold weather in the morning, but I'm used to it. A bus pulls up to me and I entered. I flashed my pass and sat down. I like to sit in the front, so I can watch where I'm going.

Ten blocks later, I pulled the cord and the bus pulled to the side. I exited and walked a block down. I entered a building that has architecture of Art Deco and Gothic revival. I stepped into the elevator which was packed with six people. I pressed the button that would take me to the tenth floor. Elevator rises at normal speed. It stopped at a few floors, people exiting. I was left alone, and the elevator took me to the tenth floor.

I stepped out of the elevator and walked into my cubicle office. It's a few feet away from the office of my boss. I removed my coat and placed it on the chair. I turned on my computer and wait for it to load. I sit in my chair and pull the telephone close to me. After the computer finished loading, I opened a database that contains the list of my clients. I opened another window to show me the stock market that's currently open. I work as a broker. I was clumsy for a few months but picked up the pace. I started dialing the numbers of my clients. Recently, the shares that my clients owned have rose to about five percent. When I first started, I would have to deal with clients being angry, anxious, cranky, excited etc. After hours of clients telling me to buy a few shares and sell a few shares, I hung up the phone and had to breathe for a few minutes.

I checked to see the stocks I've invested in and they've went up to about three percent. I decided to leave my shares alone. I go back on the phone and continue talking to the clients. Now, I got most of my clients telling me to buy shares. I watch the market and see that it's rising to about nine percent! I wait a few minutes to get a response from the clients. Then, they tell me to sell most immediately. Luckily, I managed to sell. Then the market closed. I got some praises from my clients, and they decided to send me a cut of their earnings. It was a big cut. I take only ten percent commission. The brokers in the firm thought I was cheap and crazy but screw them. I wanted to be fair and not greedy. I checked my balance of my bank account and nearly screamed. I took some of my cut and invested in some of my shares. I always invest in utilities, oil and pharmaceuticals. I decided to take a trip to the bank and celebrate.

My shift just ended, and I put on my coat. I walked into the elevator and pressed the button that will take me to the lobby. I was alone while the elevator went down. I'm guessing that most of the brokers are working late. After the elevator stopped, the doors opened. I stepped outside to walk to the bank. It was only a block away. I entered the bank and filled a withdrawal slip. I stepped in line and waited for a few minutes. I stepped towards the teller and handed the slip. She stepped aside for a few minutes. I later see a stack of $100 bills slapped on the counter. The teller rubbed her forehead and played with her hair. It must be a terror counting a stack of bills. She counted slowly so she wouldn't lose count. I managed to fill my wallet with a lot of the bills. The rest I folded into a roll. I placed the money into my pocket and head towards the exit.

I stepped outside and waited for a bus. Five minutes later, a bus pulled up. I entered, flashing the pass and sat down. Ten blocks later, I pulled the cord and the bus pulled to the side. I exited and headed to a bar that's close to my apartment by a few doors down. I stepped inside, showed my ID and sat in the bar. It's dark and has dimmed purple lighting. It has a punk atmosphere. The crowd was small. I'm guessing it's slow when the bar just opened. A lovely blonde bartender with dark beautiful lips approaches me. I give her a $100 bill and ask for a horchata. She winks, smiles and takes the bill.

As I wait for my drink, I watch the small crowd mingling. I see a dark wall with some lighting. It looks more like a projector type lighting. It was showing some music videos from different decades, mostly 1980s. I turn back, and I see my drink in front of me. I take a few sips every few minutes. Just when I finish, I ask for another horchata and handed the bartender another $100 bill. I stepped down to head to the restroom. I opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark, and it had a dimmed red light. I saw a lot of writing and graffiti. After flushing the toilet. I see some flyers posted around the mirror of the sink. It was just local bands and poets coming around the city. I wash my hands carefully and grabbed some paper towels. I dried my hands and tossed out the paper towels. I sit back the bar with my drink waiting.

I take one small sip and I observe the crowd getting bigger. They had some piercings and cool tattoos, mostly the women. Some wore leather, and some wore latex. I felt like a minority because I was only wearing pants and a collared shirt. I turned to finish my drink slowly.

After a few more sips I place the cup towards the bartender. Thirty minutes later, I started to feel dizzy. I stood up to keep my balance, but my head felt like it was being squeezed but there was no pain. I walked slowly to the exit without falling. After stepping outside, I head towards an alley next to the bar and sat down. My eyes felt like they were about to shut down. My vision was a blur, but I saw a dark and awkward figure standing in front of me. I was waiting for the figure to speak but nothing. My head starts to fall to the ground with my eyes closing. All I could hear before I was out cold was

"Rest little one, you'll be mine soon".

Now, I'm sitting across from this knockout vixen waiting for her to tell me how I ended up in her nice home. As my eyes were on her face, she started to explain,

"I slipped a powdered form of a sleeping pill into your horchata while you were in the restroom. I found you handsome and realized that you were another candidate for my collection. After you drank and felt dizzy, I followed you to the alley to make sure you didn't get mugged or hurt. I picked you up, put you in the backseat of my car and drove to my place. I dragged you to the dungeon, took your clothes, cuffed you to the floor and I left. Now you know what happened after that".

At first, I was angry, but I realized that she made sure I wasn't robbed and hurt.

"I appreciated for what you did Mistress" I responded.

"But you didn't have to drug me. I thought I was either in trouble with debt collectors, a sick prank or somebody from my job wanted to give me a surprise gift".

Mistress smiled and leaned forward.

"Don't worry, you're not in debt and it wasn't a prank. I thought it would be fun drugging you and taking you to my dungeon as if it was a movie plot. Don't worry, I don't bite. Come, you and I have got to eat".

I stand up and let her lead the way to the kitchen. I sit down in the kitchen table and watch Mistress.

"So, what's cooking' Mistress?" I speak.

She opens the freezer and turns to me.

"Something that will make you want more" She responded and winks. My mind was going,

"I'm beginning to like this woman". I wonder what's for dessert.