The 1st Mission – A Way Out

Riley was close to tears, looking blankly at the piece of paper in her hand. She was shaking, making the paper rustle softly as it shook.

"I don't have the money," she said in a whisper.

"I never imagined you did," said the bailiff gruffly, "and by the looks of this lot I am not going get anything towards what you owe here." At this point his arms waved around indicating he meant the contents of her room. The room contained an old TV, a sofa, a few chairs and a cooker. The paint was peeling and the carpet threadbare. It was a not the kind of place a bailiff could recover thousands of dollars from.

"Pleeeeasssssse I'll find a way. Just give me some time," she pleaded.

"You are out of time sweetheart, you pay at least half now or its jail." He replied with lots of emphasis on the word jail.

"Jail!" exclaimed Riley. It had never occurred to her it would come to that.

He watched as Riley began to shake even more and then overcome, she began to cry. The bailiff stood waiting for a while, looking as though he was debating with himself and then he calmly spoke.

"Sit down," he said with a sigh, "perhaps there is a way."

Riley sat down and he sat beside her. She thanked him as he produced a handkerchief for her to wipe her eyes with.

"What do you mean?" Riley finally asked when she had recovered a bit. She passed back the handkerchief as she spoke.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself first," replied the bailiff, "I am John Shreeve." At this point he held out his hand, which Riley shyly shook.

"See now we are friends! Tell me how did you get into this mess." His face and tone showing concern but then he was used to acting that way.

"Scumbag boyfriend. Thought he loved me but just used me." She replied. Usual story he thought.

Riley continued, "Gambled money away, bought a sports car and other things on HP which have all been reposed and then ran off leaving me with all these debts. All I can afford is this dump. God, its a mess, a horrible mess. I don't know what to do. Please I don't want to go to jail. Please help me." Her hand reached out to his leg and she began to shake and then sob again.

"The idea of jail frightens you?" Asked John softly.

Riley nodded and whispered. "It terrifies me."

He continued, "Well if you really want to avoid jail I might have a way to do that."

He pulled out his mobile phone and after dialling a number he spoke briskly into the phone. "Hello its John, I think she is ready to talk. You better come in," and he hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Riley, her face a picture of suspicion and confusion. She wondered what kind of situation she had gotten herself into. Out of the frying pan into the fire as her mother would have said. God, what would her mother think if she had lived to see her now, she tried to push the thought out of her mind.

"Relax and trust me Riley. You are just going to meet a friend of mine. OK. I promise he is only going to talk to you," replied John seeing her concern. "He might have a solution to your problem. What do you have to lose by listening Riley?"

Riley felt an anxious pain across her stomach. She knew she was in trouble with her mounting debts, but she doubted she would like John's solution either. The idea of jail horrified her so she knew she had to be open minded to any possible escape. Even more worrying was the fact the man must have been waiting nearby as within a few minutes there was a knock at the door. The fact the whole thing appeared to be a set up made her very frightened indeed.

John got up from the sofa and let in an older man, maybe in his fifties, into Riley's apartment. The two men nodded at each other. He was smartly turned out with suit, tie and even a briefcase. John had arrived in scruffy jeans and a tee shirt making them a very unlikely pair.

The man looked around making no effort to hide his disgust at the décor and surroundings, and then he spoke.

"This must be Riley," he said holding out his hand, which Riley stood up to shake. "Please to meet you. I am Simon Trent. I hear you are having some money problems, which must be very upsetting for you. John here thought I might be able to help you."

Simon looked Riley up and down and smiled to himself. She was he already knew in her early twenties. Her grades at school had been excellent, but from then her life had been a car crash. Until now he had not seen what she looked like. She was wearing a white blouse, well it had been white once, but now it was faded with age. It was missing the odd button, which helped show off the fact she had larger than normal breasts and her tatty short skirt did not spoil the view of her shapely legs. He was impressed with her body if not her clothes. She was lovely and ideal for his plan. John as usual had picked well. She had a real chance to pull off his plan. The question would be was she desperate and scared enough to co-operate. He looked around and felt confident she would be.

"Who are you?" asked Riley in a whisper, wondering who this smart businessman was and how he would help her escape his debts. She imagined he must be someone important dressed like that, or was at least keen to kid her he was.

"Well, who I am is not really important," replied Simon, "lets just say I work for some very important people in government and I solve the problems they can't."

"Or you get expendable nobodies like me to solve them for you." snapped Riley. She was cross because she was scared and her experience of men to date had been a total let down. Why did these two men continued to play games with her and talk in riddles? This Simon might be important but she told herself not to be cowed by him.

Hmmm smart girl thought both men. In a tough situation, but coming out fighting, showing she has some intelligence and some backbone. Good she might work out well. Those qualities would be important if she ended up in a tight spot.

Simon smiled. "You have me there. Its true I often have to find others to solve my problems, but John and I are good at recruiting the right "volunteers"." He made the sign of speech marks with both his hands as he said the word "volunteer." This made John laugh but further irritated Riley. She hated it when people did that pompous sign.

"Which brings us to me?" asked Riley. "I suppose I am your latest "volunteer"." She repeated the speech mark sign back sarcastically.

"Which brings us to you. Indeed it does." said Simon with a hint of don't give me attitude girl. "I have a little job proposal for you. I need you to seduce a man for me and if you succeed I will make your debt go away. Since you seem like a girl that likes straight talking that's the long and short of it. I could pretty it up, beat around the bush but you seem to favour a blunt approach."

"Oh is that all?" Sighed Riley, "right in my line of work. God is that your solution? You expect me to sleep with someone? What do you think I am, a whore?" She yelled. Her worst fear was coming true and feeling sick she got up and walked to the window. The men could see her framed in the light from outside, the silhouette of her body gently shaking.

"I will pay you $300,000," said Simon flatly, her back still facing him. Up front we will pay $150,000. The rest, when the job is done. That got her attention. Riley owed around $60,000 so it was a lot of money above clearing her debts. They knew she would not of expected that.

"How would I do it?" She asked her voice shaking. "It might surprise you to know I am, um, well, not very experienced and certainly clueless about seducing a stranger. I don't know who you think I am, but I am not the girl for this kind of job."

"That's what makes you exactly the girl. He won't suspect you and he won't see you coming. Also my dear girl, have you looked in the mirror. What man wouldn't want you if you were handed to him on a plate? Don't worry we will clean you up, train you and help you every step of the way. Follow instructions, shut your eyes and think of the money and your life is reset. Refuse and you will go to jail. Its really very simple"

There was a long pause.

"What if I fail," she said quietly.

"Then you will go to jail." Said Simon.

"You will train and help me?" She said still in a nervous whisper.

"Before, during and after," replied Simon, "we are very good at this kind of thing. Trust me we know what we are doing and you will be serving your country."

"On my back." Said Riley bitterly.

"If that's how you want to think about it then yes, on your back," replied Simon.

"I bet you are good at this," she replied her back still to them. "I want 500."

John smiled to himself; she definitely had spirit he thought. Upping the price when she was in such a tight corner. To his relief Simon obviously thought the same and decided to play along.

"400, final offer," said Simon.

"450." Said Riley.

"OK, sorry we couldn't make this work Riley. Enjoy prison. Time to go John," said Simon. "I'll leave the arrest and the rest of the arrangements to you."

Simon had got to the front door before Riley caved in.

"Ok, 400," she called. Simon hesitated, Riley unsure whether she was relieved or disappointed when he returned to the room and spoke sternly to her.

"Riley, what are you saying? I must be clear, if you say yes there will be no way back," said Simon. "You will do it for $400,000? If that is what you are saying this is how it will work. John will pay off your $60,000 debt now. I will pay you $100,000 when you start training with the balance of $240,000 on completion. You only get the final payment if the video footage is good enough and it is clear you and the target have screwed, without any suspicion that it is a set-up. Obviously you must never tell anyone, afterwards, ever. If you did we would be very angry and you might have an unfortunate accident. If you back out after starting we will take the money back and you will do time. Are we clear? Do we have a deal?"

"Footage?" Said Riley eyes wide, the threat of being killed left her horror struck, though the more immediate worry of being filmed was what her mind focussed on, "not only do you want me to be your whore, you want to film it? You never mentioned that."

"Yes, it has to be filmed. How else do we persuade the target to help us? Everyone has a button Riley. Yours is your debt. His will be his indiscretion," replied Simon. "Don't worry no one will see the film. The target will get the film back when he completes his task and of course he will destroy it."

"Once he has solved another one of your problems I suppose." Said Riley

"Absolutely right," said Simon, "otherwise what would be the point?"

"So you want me to fuck, presumably a married man, and then you blackmail him like you have me?" asked Riley. "What if he says no to your task?"

"He won't, like you he will have too much to lose. Buttons Riley," answered Simon.

"What will he have to do?" asked Riley.

"That's really none of your business Riley. Lets just say he will be persuaded to help his country. You will get a profile on him, but its best not to get too close. As I said you will get lots of help ensuring you succeed. Afterwards you walk away and don't look back. We either have a deal or John here takes you to jail. By the way do not expect a sympathetic judge. He will be briefed to take a very dim view of your case."

How do I know you will pay up?" asked Riley turning away from Simon, her eyes puffy from all the stress and upset of the day.

'You don't." John replied, realising he was beginning to win her over. He knew he would. "Even after payment we could always take the money back Riley, but trust me you will get the paid when the job is done. In any case if you refuse you will be sleeping in a jail cell tonight. So do you really have a choice? This is your only way out. If you are worried about whether I have that much money I assure you the government is good for it."

"So do we have a deal?" asked Simon. He held out his hand for her to shake it.

There was a long pause.

"Yes." she said quietly, "Of know you do, as you say I have no choice, but I have no idea how I will get through this and do what you want." She ignored his hand and she sat back down. "Oh god what a mess."

She watched as John dialled his mobile and paid off her debt.

Someone will be over in the morning to move you and to start your training," said Simon, wishing he could wash he hands. "We will get you new clothes and a make over. That will cheer you up. By the way if you are thinking of running don't. Riley there is nowhere you can hide from us. I would get very upset if you were rude enough to abuse my generosity."

"Oh god, this training, I won't have to, have sex?" said Riley grabbing for Simon's arm. He deftly stepped out of the way feeling even her touch in this grubby place would soil his suit.

"Sleep with them? No my dear girl we are not training a concubine, there is only one person you need to screw with. It's not about your performance. It's about having sex with him and ensuring he does not suspect you," said Simon. He swept out of her apartment leaving John to deal with any last minute questions. He needed to find a clean rest room to wash his hands for a while.

Time to perform

It was three months later and Riley was almost unrecognisable. She was slimmer and fitter than ever before. Her hair had been styled by one of the best salons in town. She now always had perfect makeup and the best designer clothes topped off with all the necessary accessories.

She had spent most of her time in a remote house where she lived with just one other man and woman. They had never told her their names; they had just made her work hard on role-playing and preparation for all kinds of scenarios. It was a difficult time for Riley. In the end she began to wish the mission (as it was now called) would begin. Bedding a stranger or worse persuading a stranger to bed her still filled her with terror but for this nightmare to end it had to begin.

However one Monday morning dawned when she was transported to a hotel in town. At least it was five star and luxury she thought. There were only two rooms in the hotel at the very top and it was arranged so she had one and the mark (as she had now learnt to call him) would be booked into the other.

It was a long and boring day waiting around for the call to say he was on his way. Naturally her nerves were constantly on edge but finally around 6pm the message arrived to say he should be in the hotel in fifteen minutes.

She sprang into action.

First she took off all her clothes and then wrapped herself in a bath towel. Clothes for dinner she had laid out earlier on the bed so all she had to do now was put the clothes she had taken off into the closet. She scanned the room ensuring her laptop, mobile phone and other stuff were placed on the desk. She was meant to be in men's perfume so she scattered a few samples around the room for good measure.

The beep from her phone delivering the coded message that he was here made her jump, and with a deep breath she began her life as a seductress.

She took a deep breath, walked down the hallway, screamed, and then opened the door of her room coming face to face with a smart man of about 30, dressed in a suit. He was wheeling a suitcase and holding a laptop bag. Both of them froze.

The man stood staring because a beautiful young woman wearing just a towel had screamed and opened her hotel room door in front of him. Not something that happens everyday.

Her reason for freezing was this was her first sight of the mark. Until now he hadn't been real someone they just talked about. Now he stood in front of her as flesh and blood. The constant thought in her head was he looks nice. She tried to push that feeling away.

"Oh, um Hi," he said. "Are you ok?"

"Spider!" She yelled getting back on script. "Spider in the bath, please could you remove it? They absolutely terrify me. Please." She jumped up and down acting anxiously just the way she had been taught.

"Oh sure." He said relieved that it was only that. He pushed past her and disappeared into the bathroom. She heard him say that he had got it and then the sound of the toilet flushing. Finally he emerged back into the bedroom. She had deliberately let the towel drop a bit, quickly wrapping it back round her as he reappeared.

Blushing the man said, "Its ok, I got it."

"Oh my god, thank you," said Riley, "you must think me a complete idiot but I hate spiders."

"That's ok glad to help," replied the man.

"I am Riley," she said.

"Alex," he replied and they shook hands whilst she used her other hand to ensure the towel did not slip again.

"Well, Alex you are a life saver. I new and obviously useless at this business trip lark. It was stupid of me to think I could represent my perfume company. First trip and I am already homesick and I have nearly made a fool of myself, but thanks to you I can have my shower and go downstairs for dinner. The only good thing is getting this room upgrade. You must be very successful to afford next door. Do you travel a lot?"

"You will get used to it," he replied, "the travelling I mean, but its not as glamorous as everyone makes out. Its a lonely business, meals for one and empty hotel rooms. To be honest I am upgraded too, economy rooms are more my usual hangout."

Riley moved to step two. "Alex would it be an imposition to ask you to have dinner with me, assuming you are also about to have a lonely meal. My treat."

"Gee, I don't know." he replied. "I think I will probably just do some work in my room."

She tried and tried, but he could not be persuaded. Trying to say it would be a thank you didn't work; asking him not to make a woman eat alone didn't work either. So in the end he left the room with her attempts at moving to the second stage a failure. The conversation to and fro on the phone between her and her controller that night was not exactly encouraging. The fear of jail grew again in her head. The planted spider had broken the ice, but she had not been able to get him to eat with her. It had gone so much better in rehearsals.

The rest of the night got no better as he true to his word he did not venture out of his room. Riley had to be on standby in case he did. She managed to exit her room at the same time he did the next morning, but when she suggested breakfast, he told her he was heading straight out to work. So with no idea of how to stop him she stood watching as he left. Her stress levels building as she realised this would not be easy. Her morning topped off brilliantly by some old guy hitting on her over breakfast. So a frustrated and cross Riley returned to her room, flopping onto the bed, then the doorbell rang and she stomped down the hall to open the door.

The visit from her handler was a very tense exchange of views, which ended in her storming out for some air, but inevitably she had to return again so they could formulate some kind of plan.

A nasty surprise

Riley stepped out of the shower, dried herself and covered her nakedness with a fluffy bathrobe. She opened the bathroom door ignoring the man sitting in the chair, walked to the door and taking a very deep breath she screamed and screamed.

The man in the room had stood up as soon as she had walked out of the bathroom. He was dressed all in black, from the balaclava on his head, to the boots on his feet. He waited a few moments letting Riley let rip, before gently pushing past her. He opened the door and ran onto the landing. There was a cry as he barged someone out of the way and then from the sound Riley knew he had run into the nearby stairwell.

Unseen by anyone he entered the landing of the floor below and went into the room being rented by Riley's handler. He quickly changed out of his gear placing it in a bag and put on a shirt and pair of trousers. Minutes later he was in the lift and heading out of the hotel. In a side street was a Range Rover that would speed him away from the scene. It was not the most dramatic mission he had ever had but it had brought a bit of variety to the day.