“Hello?” A voice answered her. “Hi, err, this is Tina, err, I ... you probably don’t remember me but ...” “Tina! Hi there, honey, of course we remember you,” the voice warmed instantly, and Tina recognised it with relief. “Decker?” Tina asked, feeling almost near tears to hear his voice again. “Yes, sweetie, what can we do for you? Are you ok?” “Yes. I’m fine thanks,” Tina replied. They exchanged small talk for a while, then Tina cleared her throat and came to the point. “I was wondering if you could maybe help a friend of mine, Lucy. She’s 22 and still a virgin. In fact, she’s never really had a boyfriend. She’s really nice, but gets nervous around men. Do you think ...” Tina trailed off, not really knowing how to ask what she was asking for. “Ok,” Decker said, all business now. “Firstly, is she a lesbian do you think?” Tina thought for a moment. “No, I’m pretty sure she likes men, she just doesn’t know how to talk to them, and then if they talk to her, she takes fright and backs off.” Decker asked a few more questions, then asked Tina to invite Lucy to stay for a couple of weeks, and then phone back with the dates. “Let us know when and where she’ll be arriving, and we’ll take it from there. Bye sweetie.” They hung up, and Tina rubbed her sweating hands on her jeans. She hoped she was doing the right thing by asking the team to give their own special brand of help to her shy friend. Lucy dragged her heavy suitcase out of the terminal and towards the exit. She was feeling happy at the thought of seeing her best friend again. Tina had moved away to go to a new job some months ago, and this would be Lucy’s first visit. As she reached the exit, she saw a man holding a card with her name on it. Tina must have organised a taxi for her, Lucy thought with relief. That would save her having to wait in line. She walked over to the man. Mason had spotted Lucy from the pictures in the file. He whistled quietly to himself in appreciation. Tall, at least 5′8", with a figure that was slim but curvy, well proportioned. Blonde, with a natural looking tan.
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As the young woman walked confidently towards him, he couldn’t believe that men weren’t all over her -- she was stunning. She spoke hesitantly. “Hi, I’m Lucy, are you waiting for me?” The man smiled at her, and Lucy immediately looked down, blushing, realising how good looking he was. Ah. There it was -- the men might be keen, but Lucy wasn’t -- Mason thought. “Yes, I’m waiting for you, Lucy. Let me take your case.” The man reached for her case, and brushed her hand as he took it from her. Lucy quickly took her hand away. This guy was HOT -- and so, in Lucy’s mind, impossible to interact with. Mason led her to a waiting car, and put the case in the trunk. Then he opened the rear door for Lucy to get in. As they drove off, Lucy looked around at the scenery which was very different from her home town. The driver was saying something, but Lucy wasn’t really listening. She avoided any eye contact in the rear-view mirror. They drove for around thirty minutes and cleared the suburbs. Then the car pulled over. Lucy sat up. “Are we here?” she asked, looking around. The rear door opened and a large, burly man got in beside her. Lucy gaped at him in surprise. “Hey, this taxi is taken, sorry,” she told him. He just smiled at her, and then the other door opened too, and another man squeezed in, trapping her between the two of them. Yet another man got into the front seat beside the driver, and they sped off again. Lucy was annoyed. She spoke to the driver, “What’s going on? I didn’t want to share a taxi! Can you please stop and let me out? I’m going to complain to your company about this!” Mason continued to drive, and the burly man spoke to her instead. “We’re just borrowing you for a while, Lucy. Nothing to be concerned about.” He smiled reassuringly at her, but Lucy wasn’t reassured. The man, Brody, was muscled and had a shaven head and lots of tattoos. If Lucy had looked closer, she’d have seen the intelligent eyes had a look which belied his tough exterior. “How do you know my name? Who are you? Driver -- let me OUT!” Lucy started raising her voice, and her breathing increased as she became more frightened. She got out her cell phone and started dialling. “I’m calling the police! Let me out this minute!” Lucy felt tears threatening and blinked them away. This was no time to start crying. Brody gently took the cell from her and pressed end call. Lucy sat back, bewildered and frightened, heart racing. She waited for a moment, and then, as the car slowed to take a tight corner, she made a surge for the door, but it was hopeless. She was sandwiched between two huge men. Lucy panicked, and started hitting out, climbing over Brody and trying to lunge for the handle. She felt her arms taken and held tightly by the man on the other side of her, who had not as yet spoken. He spoke now. “Calm down, Lucy. It’s ok. You’re not going to be hurt. We’ll be there soon, and then we’ll explain. My name is Decker, and this is Brody. Your driver is Mason, and the co-pilot is Callum. We’re not going to hurt you.” Lucy was trembling. Decker relaxed his tight hold on her arms, and instead rubbed up and down them soothingly. The car was now driving along country lanes, and soon pulled up into a secluded driveway. Callum got out and opened the door to a pretty cottage. As soon as he had it open, he came back and opened the back door. Decker got out and tried to help Lucy out. She hung back, refusing to leave the relative safety of the car. “Come on, now, Lucy,” Decker said to her, gently pulling at her arms. Lucy fought silently, using her feet and legs to kick out at the tall man. In the end, it took all four of the team to get Lucy out of the car and into the cottage. It was testament to their skill that they managed it without hurting her, or allowing her to hurt them, as Lucy fought tooth and nail, literally, to avoid being taken inside. Once inside, Brody locked the door and secreted the key. They half-carried, half-dragged Lucy into the sitting room and sat her down. She stared at them, still silent. She had not spoken a word since Brody had taken her phone away. Tears were rolling down her face, and she made no move to wipe them away. Callum and Decker moved into the kitchen and made coffee. They discussed Lucy in low voices. They weren’t happy with the silent, almost catatonic, way Lucy was behaving. It would be more normal if she had screamed and ranted, rather than this quiet terror. Decker called Brody in. “What do you think?” he asked quietly. Brody grimaced. “She’s pretty scared. She’s shutting down on us. We need to get her talking somehow, so we can talk back to her.” “Do you think she’ll come around?” Callum asked worriedly. They didn’t want to traumatise Lucy; this was supposed to be an enjoyable experience for her eventually, but if they couldn’t settle her down, that wasn’t going to happen. Brody nodded. “Let’s give her some time. Get that coffee down her. Let her relax a little without us bothering her. Decker, start making dinner. Callum, get her case and put it in her room. Just carry on with our jobs and let her talk to us if she wants answers. I’ll tell Mason to back off - but guys? We need to watch her -- she’s the sort who will bolt the first chance she gets, so be careful she doesn’t hurt herself.