Gregory sipped his coffee and waited, patiently, for Connie to finish reading the target file. After a few minutes she closed the file and looked up. “This is good work everything seems to be here.”

“Can you identify any potential problems?” He said, giving Connie a chance to spot them for herself. She had promise, but at only twenty years old she had a lot to learn about collection work.

Connie’s eyes rolled just a touch at being tested, again, but did not protest any further. “Well, the target is Stacy, she is twenty-four, and a trained MMA fighter with a winning record. If we are not careful, she could be a problem. She has a roommate, Penny, who should be staying with her boyfriend this weekend. However, they fight a lot, and she sometimes comes home unexpectedly. Also, a potential problem. Finally, according to records Stacy owns a firearm.”

“Very good. We need to have a plan for neutralizing possible complications.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You will secure the house while I put a tracker on the roommate’s car. After that, we must make first contact with the target via ambush or we could have some trouble.”

“Maybe, but I’m sure we could take her in a straight fight if it came to it,” Connie said.

“I’m serious, don’t underestimate this one. I have been doing this a lot longer than you.”

“I know, I know.”

Gregory gave a half smile, regarding the much younger and, very pretty girl, fresh out of The Foundation training program and assigned to apprentice under him. She was very good at all the theory and book learning parts of the job. But like many young people was eager to get to the action and often missed the details of the job. The details were everything in this line of work, but she would have to learn.

“I guess they can’t all be as easy as that last one we picked up,” she said, taking a bite of her burger.

“No, they seldom are. The girl we have in the van was young and didn’t do much to protect herself. She’s paying for that now though,” he said, with a chuckle.

“I know, when I asked her to help me jump start my car she just agreed happily, dummy, seriously.”

“I guess you just have a trusting face.”

“What do you think The Foundation will do with that one?”

“She’s very young, just turned eighteen recently. Girls that young are almost always turned into Object slaves. Young healthy bodies are always best for that work.”

“Poor bitch. I do hope this next one posses a bit more of a challenge though. I didn’t train so hard for them all to be as easy as she was.”

“Given this woman’s background I am sure she will pose a unique challenge.”

They ate lunch and returned to the van. It was a nondescript utility vehicle, large enough to stand upright in the trailer. “You should check on our guest. Her saline bag and piss pouch probably need changing by now,” Gregory said, as he climbed into the drivers seat.

Connie jumped eagerly into the back and locked the doors behind her. She enjoyed this part almost as much as the initial capture. Those first few hours when the victim still had hope they might escape or be rescued. Connie knew, by this point, the abducted had no chance and it was that knowledge that gave her the thrill she enjoyed so much. The power she had over another human was intoxicating to her and what drew her to this work.

Connie slid out one of the body-sized, metal, boxes. The boxes resembled tool containers and were just large enough to hold a woman in a prone position. A casual observer would see the six boxes, three on each side, as common in any utility Van. She undid the padlock and opened the lid to the box. Inside, was the beautiful, naked, eighteen-year-old girl they collected last night.

For now, the girls name was Marissa, once The Foundation gets ahold of her she will be issued a slave name. The girl was right where they left her about twenty hours earlier. She lay on her back; straps crossed her body from head to toe synching her in tight. Her arms folded into a box tie under her back which put painful pressure on her shoulders and elbows. The position forced her back to arch causing her firm breasts to jut upward and Connieís crotch tingled at the sight of them. Marissaís mouth was stuffed with cloth and another strap pulled tightly over muffled her cries.

By now, Marissa’s face was soaked in tears and the rest of her body slick with sweat from the suffocating heat inside the boxes. The heat is why they hooked the prisoners up with IV fluids to keep them hydrated, this prevented any unfortunate loss of life, after all, they were in the collection business not the murder business.

As soon as the box opened Marissa began pulling at her straps. The girls muffled whimpers aroused Connie further. She wished she could bury the girls face between her legs and force her to eat her out, right then and there, but she bit the inside of her cheek and pushed the urge away. Not now, she had to stay focused. Gregory was right, the saline bag was empty and the catheter bag was full with piss. She changed them both, while ignoring the girl’s complaints the best she could. Although, Marissaís helpless sobs continued to make her wet.

Once finished, Connie regarded the young girl. Marissa stared up at her with terrified, amber eyes, glassy, and red from tears. “Don’t worry, honey, you won’t be alone much longer we will be bringing you a friend soon. I mean, she won’t be in a position to help you or anything. Misery does love company though. You try to get some sleep; you’re going to have a very hard rest of your life.” Connie shut the lid to the box cutting off the cries emitted by the miserable girl. The box was sound-proof, the girl was welcome to make all the noise she wanted, she thought, laughing.

Gregory read through the research he and Connie had done on the next target. She had a gun license but didn’t carry it outside the house. She likely kept it locked up somewhere. We would have to find that before making contact. It shouldn’t be a problem, they already had the house key made and they would get inside an hour before the target arrives home.

Weeks of preparation went into each target collection and the process was a science by now. Things still went wrong, sometimes, usually due to human error and inexperience. He certainly made a few mistakes in his early days.

Connie dozed quietly beside him, her feet crossed and resting on the passenger dash. He let her sleep, it was going to be a long night for both of them. She was pretty, blonde, petite, nice tits, if she wasn’t employed by The Foundation, he might have been collecting her for them instead. She was certainly Foundation quality merchandise. As a collector, she was competent, and passed training top of her class she just needed to gain some valuable experience. In a few years she might be one of the top collectors.

He glanced at his watch, 4 PM, it was time to get moving Stacy usually got home around five-thirty or six. He started the Van, letting the hum of the engine rouse her. “It’s time?” she asked, through a deep yawn.

“Yeah, I’m going to drop you near the house. I want you to prepare the property while I go to the roommate’s car. I’ll be back in time for us to take our positions inside.”

“Maybe we should just take the roommate also.”

“No, we haven’t done the research on that one. It’s best to stick to the plan.”

“Alright, it was just a thought.”

“Just get the house ready.”

Connie walked, casually, around the targets house a duffle bag of important supplies hung across her chest. She wasn’t worried about the neighbors seeing her, most should still be at work. Besides, it was no coincidence that Gregory always made her do this part, a little white girl snooping around didn’t draw as much attention.

She went around to every bottom floor window and jammed a rubber wedge between the panes so they could not be opened from the inside. Finally, she came to a storm door that led to a basement beneath the house. Removing a padlock from her bag she affixed it to the door. All this prep insured they would control the only way in and out.

Once Gregory returned, they used the key they made of the front door and entered the house. She and Gregory searched the house thoroughly and found the targets gun which they removedq. The Foundation did not allow collectors to use guns out of fear too many targets will arrive with bullet wounds. All collectors were trained in hand-to-hand combat and armed with stun devices instead. That was usually enough to get the job done.

Once everything was set, including a tiny camera that looked out on the front door and driveway she and Gregory each chose a closet and closed themselves inside to wait.

They watched the camera from their phones until they saw Stacy arrive, on schedule, eat a small dinner, and shower. Finally, Stacy sat on a sofa in the T.V. room and began surfing through the channels. She had removed the formal pants suit ensemble she arrived home wearing and now wore a pair of red flannel pajama bottoms. Her feet were bare, and she had on a simple white tee shirt. She was attractive, the research material had her at five foot eight, one hundred and forty pounds of well-defined muscle. Connie was almost eager to test her combat skills against this one.

After a while of impatient waiting Connie’s phone lit up with a text from Gregory, “Go, now. Trap her between the couch and coffee table,” the text said.

Connie suppressed a rush of adrenalin and slowly, silently, opened the closet door. She crossed the T.V. room, going around the left side of the couch her stun gun clutched like a vice between her fingers. Gregory did the same only going around the right side.

Stacy didn’t notice them at first, but the moment she did, It only took a fraction of a second for Stacy snap into action. Recognizing Connie as the weak link Stacy sprang into motion catapulting toward her. Connie panicked, fired the stun gun clumsily, and missed.

Suddenly, Connie was air borne rolling head first over Stacyís back as the larger woman flung her effortlessly. Connie fell onto the glass coffee table which shattered beneath her. She heard Gregory curse as he took off after Stacy who ran deeper into the house.

Connie sat up and moaned at the ache of her muscles. She picked a few small pieces of glass from her side but otherwise seemed fine. “Dammit! Are you alright?” Gregory asked, coming back into the room.

“Yeah, I’m fine. She was fast. Where is she?”

“She locked herself in the basement.”

“Good, I locked the storm door she can’t escape. And she isn’t calling for help without this,” she said, holding up Stacy’s cell phone which had been on the coffee table.

“That’s good, but we can’t stay here until she comes out for food.”

“Can we shoot the lock with her gun.”

He shook his head, “We can’t start firing off a gun the neighbors might call the police. Plus, a heavy metal door like that likely has more than one lock.”

“Shit.”

They stood in front of the basement door in silence for a full minute. “The roommate, she is our best option now.”

“But you said-”

“I did, but now we have to improvise. Stay here, and guard the door, make sure she does not come out until I get back.”

“You really think she will come out to save her roommate?”

“If she doesn’t, we’ll start sliding her roommates fingernails under the door until she does,” he said, already heading for the front door.

Connie grinned in anticipation for the excitement to come, her inner sadist silently hoping Stacy would refuse to come out.

For the next hour Connie sat impatiently in front of the basement. Occasionally, she pressed an ear to the door listening for any activity. It was a thick door and long stairs led down to the basement so it was unlikely she would hear anything but the loudest sounds. She was confident that Stacy could not get out except through the door she sat guarding.

Connie was still sore from the fall she took earlier but it was her pride that really suffered. She was the top of her class in The Foundation hand-to-hand training program how could this woman have brushed her aside so easily. She itched for a second chance at her and vowed to make the woman pay once they captured her.

Eventually, she had to use the bathroom and used a toilet down the hall. She dried her hands And thought she should text Gregory, see if he’s on his way. No, he already thought she was an impetuous child it was better not to be impatient.

When Connie returned to the basement door, she froze, the door was now ajar and there was no sign of Stacy. “Fuck!” She ran to the open door looking down the dark stairs leading into the basement. No Stacy, of course. She whirled around to look at the front door, closed, but that didn’t mean much. There was a feeling in her gut that told her to turn around. She barely made half a turn before she was struck by a freight train.

Connie’s lungs deflated, in an instant, she was face down on the floor gasping. Stacy was on top of her the larger, heavier, woman pinning her to the floor. Connie thrashed her legs in a desperate attempt to knock Stacy off. But her arms were quickly captured and twisted behind her back. “Nice try bitch, but I’m not just some victim,” Stacy said.

As Stacy began binding Connie with more and more duct tape, she knew she had screwed up royally this time.

Gregory’s foot twitched, but he resisted the temptation to step on the gas. Time was of the essence, but he had to remember he still had a kidnapped girl in the back of his Van. He signed and glanced at the time, it’s alright, they had time to pull this off. This mess was due to Connie’s over confidence. He tried to warn her, but often these lessons just need to be learned firsthand.

He pulled up to the boyfriend’s house, parking across the street, but still within line of sight. He pulled out his laptop and hacked easily into their home network. The Foundation offered computer training as part of its standard courses for situations such as these. He couldnít hack government systems, or anything, but a private home network was no problem.

Once in, he accessed the camera and microphone of an open laptop. He couldnít see much, as the camera was pointed towards a plain white wall, but all he really needed was to hear what was being said. After about ten minutes of listening to the couple’s inane banter he finally heard something he could use. Penny wanted Tom, the boyfriends name he learned, to take out the garbage. After a minute of playful arguing Tom agreed to take out the garbage after dinner. That would be his opportunity.

An idea forming in his head Gregory grabbed a roll of duct tape, a pad lock, threw them into his bag, and exited the Van. He snuck up the driveway to the garbage bins. A quick inspection of the bins and he saw what he was hoping to see. The bins had a loop so they could be pad locked shut. He grinned in the dark and slipped behind some hedges to wait for Tom to finish his dinner.

It wasnít long, before poor hapless Tom sauntered out to the bins. Just as Tom opened the lid, he came out of the bushes wrapped his arms around the man just below the waist and flipped him head first into the garbage. Before Tom could flip himself right side up again Gregory slammed down the lid and secured the pad lock.

“What the fuck. Get me the fuck out of here,” Tom screamed, while pounding against the plastic lid. He couldnít have him making all that noise. As Tom put pressure on the lid it bent creating gaps along the sides. Gregory removed his spray sedative, usually intended for subduing women, but it would work on a grown man just as well. He aimed it into the widening cracks and sprayed a liberal amount into the bin. “You piece of shit. Iíll fucking kill you. What is that?” Tom continued to protest.

It would take a minute for the sedative to take effect so he quickly secured the lid with many strips of duct tape. By the time he was done with that Tom had gone quiet, still conscious, but rendered helpless for at least an hour. “Here is a thought to keep you company while you are in the trash. By the time you get out of there your girlfriend will be long gone. Her body the property of others and used for all manner of unspeakable debauchery. See ya, douchebag.” Tom couldnít respond and it was needlessly cruel of him but he was just having one of those nights.

Gregory crept to the window and peered inside. He didn’t see Penny, anywhere, but he felt confident now that it was just the two of them. He went to the front door and opened it. Tom had left it unlocked, after all, he had expected to be coming right back.

He moved silently through the house and found Penny at the kitchen table bent over her phone engrossed in whatever she was doing. Her Auburn hair tied in a loose bun and she wore a form fitting short sleeved shirt with A pair of running shorts. The shorts revealed her long, smooth legs, which led to bare feet each toenail meticulously painted a deep red.

He liked admiring his prey before he struck, it pumped his adrenalin, and the girls he targeted were always the most attractive specimens. He pulled a hood from his bag. This was a very special hood however, designed from hi-tech fabric and soaked in the same sedative he used on Tom.

He moved in behind the girl and just as she looked up, maybe sensing his presence, he slipped the hood over her head and pulled the neck cord. This caused the hood to tighten around the head and neck.

He stepped back giving Penny some space as she leaped to her feet. Her mouth opened, trying to scream, but instead she gave in to a fit of coughing as the sedative had a choking noxious smell to it.

Penny pulled at the hood, but it was like trying to remove a condom by pulling at the tip, all it did was stretch and tighten around her face. He watched in amusement as she stumbled around the kitchen, blinded by the hood, and her screams coming out in dry heaves and hacking coughs.

If given enough time she could pry the fabric away from her neck, but the sedative was not going to give her that time, she was already getting clumsy as she felt around the room for, he assumed, the door.

He had enough fun; it was time to get control of the situation. He threw the helpless girl to the floor face down and buried his knee into her back. He captured her wrists and pinned them behind her back. She was a petite girl with a, tight, young body and wasn’t hard to subdue. He waited patiently as her thrashing slowed and weakened the sedative working on her major muscles. She would soon experience total paralysis.

Once Penny went limp, he gave her a hard slap on the ass. This elicited a faint gurgle from her throat about all she could manage in her flaccid state. “I wish we had time to play but I’m going to have to get right to the stripping and binding because you and I have places to be.”

Gregory grunted as he slung the duffle bag over his shoulder, a muffled moo coming from the bound and naked Penny inside, and walked toward the house. The girl couldn’t have weighed more than a buck ten tops but he wasn’t as young as he once was. He only hoped Stacy cared enough about her friend to come out of hiding.

He opened the front door and entered the downstairs T.V. room and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. In the middle of the room sat Connie, stripped to her underwear, and wrapped in miles of duct tape to a rolling desk chair. Her arms were fused together from elbow to wrist. Layers of tape covered her thighs, calves and even the arches of her feet. Her mouth was packed with something, and sealed, with more tape that went around her head multiple times.

Standing behind Connie was Stacy, holding a kitchen knife pressed against her neck. Connie raised her sagging head to look at him. Her eyes glistened with moistness, but to her credit, she was not crying. She was clearly fighting the urge to though.

He let the duffle bag drop hard to the floor forgetting about the bound girl inside. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You stupid fool of a girl,” He said.

“Take a step closer and I slit her open ear to ear,” Stacy said.

“Just calm yourself down. Let me show you something.” He bent down slowly, unzipped the bag, and untied the rope that secured Penny’s ankles to her wrists. He pulled the girl to her feet. She was naked, and bound, with rope at seven points from ankle to hip. Her elbows and wrists were cinched together tight, and anchored at the base of her spine. This caused her nice C cup tits to stick out tantalizingly. And any sounds from her mouth were muffled by a massive ball gag. “I think you know who this is.”

“You son of a bitch let her go. I’ll kill her I swear.”

“You really are impressive. Anne is going to have her work cut out for her when she gets a hold of you.”

Stacy stiffened, pressing the blade into Connie’s neck just enough to make a point but not enough to cut yet.

“Go ahead, she’s a fool for letting you overpower her anyway.” He paused for a moment, and saw Connie’s eyes widen and a slight whimper escape her tightly packed mouth, before adding, “But if you do kill her your roommate will die immediately afterwards.”