Joe looked at his watch, they should be here any minute now. He opened the front door and left it slightly ajar. Next he took his gun out from the waistline of his back. He eyed the shiny metallic surface with a crazed expression, softly caressing the smoothness. Slowly, he kissed the gun and made his way to stand behind the door. He heard the bell of the elevator signaling that his guests have arrived. He stepped behind the door and waited.

Charmaine stood in front of Jessica’s door and turned to Raymond when she saw that the door was opened. Raymond stopped her from entering with a hand. He pushed her to the side and with his other hand pushed the door wide open. Before Raymond could react, he felt something hard crash against the side of his head. All he felt was a white blinding pain before he collapsed to the ground. Charmaine started to scream but it was cut off by a hand holding a piece of cloth to . The overpowering smell of chloroform fogged her senses. She struggled for a few seconds then blackness too over.

Joe surveyed the two unconscious forms on the floor and cocked his head slightly to study them. He closed the front door and locked it. Next he pulled two chairs to the center of the room so that they faced each other but was about five feet apart. With disgust he picked up Raymond’s body by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the chair. With a few grunts, he managed to lift Raymond onto the chair. He walked over to the table where he laid out his accessories. His fingers danced along the lined items to stop at some cable wires. With a smirk, he picked up the coil of wires and began binding Raymond’s feet to the legs of the chair. Raymond’s hands were tied tightly from behind leaving no room for any sort of movement. When he was done with Raymond he turned to Charmaine. His lovely Charmaine. Gently he lifted her up in his arms and placed her down on the sofa facing away from him. Instead of using the cable wires, he took a long scarf, which he had scouted from Jessica’s closet, and tied her hands behind her back. With tenderness, he turned her back onto her back, his fingers touching her face in a loving gesture, “I will give you one last chance. Hopefully you’ll come to your senses and make the right decision,” he whispered to her sleeping form.

The doorbell rang and the noise momentarily startled Joe. He then remembered that he was also expecting two more guests. With a demonic smile, he got up to answer the door. Before he reached the door he took his gun out again. He swung the door open.

Ron and Tavia was shocked by the scene before them. Ron turned towards Joe with disbelief and was greeted by the of Joe’s gun coming at full speed towards his head. He was knocked out cold in seconds. Tavia was terrified and it showed on her pale face. She stared at Joe in horror as she began backing out the door. Her glance flickered to Ron’s still form praying that he would get up. Joe slowly advanced towards her, “Get Michael over here or you’ll never see them alive again.”

Tavia stood motionless by Joe’s words, “M-Michael?”

Joe waved the gun in front of her face and said harshly, “Yes, Michael. Go!” he ordered.

Tavia stumbled and fell as she ran for the elevator. Her heart was beating so fast that she was sure she’ll get a heart attack. She turned around and encountered Joe’s beady eyes watching her. He shooed her with the gun, “You have an hour before I start and I’m going to start with your lover boy first.”

Tavia ran past the elevator and down the stairs. Tears spilling uncontrollably down her face.

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Jessica opened her eyes slowly and quickly shut them against the bright overhead light. felt dry and her head was pounding. What happened, she thought. With ease she opened her eyes again, only slowly, letting them adjust to the room’s brightness. She was in her own room and in her own bed. She rubbed her forehead trying to recollect what happened. She remembered meeting up with Joe for drinks. After a while, she started getting dizzy. Joe offered to take her home. But where was Joe? She swung her legs over the bed and waited a few beats before standing up. The room swayed so she quickly sat back down on the bed. That’s odd, she wondered. Why was she feeling so lightheaded. All she had to drink was orange juice and nobody gets drunk on that. Feeling queasy she again tried to stand up and this time she made it without falling. Keeping her hand against the wall to steady herself she made her way towards the door. She opened it and peered down the hallway towards the living room. Was that Raymond tied to a chair. She blinked furiously to clear her vision then looked again. It was Raymond and he didn’t seem to be moving! She scanned the room and found Ron, also tied to a chair, his head slumped against his chest. Jessica’s eyes moved further to the right and there was Charmaine lying on the sofa. She heard a soft rattle and she turned to the source. Joe was hovering over the dining table with his back to her, apparently tinkering with something on the table. He was also holding a gun! A gun! With a stifled cry, she hurried back into her room and quietly shut the door.

Jessica didn’t know why but she locked her door. Not that it would do any good since Joe had a gun. She raked her hand through her hair trying to control her emotions. What was she to do? She cursed silently at her own uselessness. She then saw her bag lying on the bed. She could call for help. She fumbled in her bag for her cellphone and quickly moved to the farthest corner of the room. She waited impatiently for Michael to answer. He answered on the fourth ring. “Michael!” she gasped out.

“Jessica?” Michael’s voice asked, instantly alert by the tone of her voice, “What is it?”

Jessica held back her tears and whispered, “Help! Joe is here. Raymond and Ron also… Help!”

Michael asked, “Where are you?”

Jessica voice trembled as she said, “H-Home,” then repeated, “Help!”

Without hearing any further, Michael spoke, “I’ll be right over!”