28/07/2021

She turned the key and pushed against the door to get it to open.

"There we go", she stepped inside.

The hallway was barren, aside from a couple posters of young women in underwear hung on the walls. They were undeniably drawn well, but each of them evoked a subtle feeling of sadomasochism which made him a bit  uncomfortable.

"This is my room", she said, knocking on one of the wooden doors, before disappearing into another room.

Cautiously, he followed her, but before he could reach her, a voice called out from behind him.

"Who are you?"

He turned around, unsure how to respond. A young man was leaning out of one of the doors scanning him up and down.

"That's my roommate", she explained, as she emerged with a kettle. "Tea?"

"Uhh… sure", he replied, looking back at the young man. He was rather short and slender, and there was a weariness in his eyes that seemed beyond his age. "Flatmate, you mean?"

"Yea, sure", she said, as she effortlessly held the kettle in one hand while unlocking her room with the other. "Come in."

The room was very small, but clean. On the far side was a window, opened slightly. To the left was a desk with a quite heavy-duty looking PC, and to the right was a bed with pink covers. Next to the door, there was a kitchen sink with a cabinet under it, and a cupboard next to it. Under the desk were a couple of boxes. Above the bed, there was a large poster - once again drawn - depicting two girls having sex in explicit detail, and in the centre of the room, there was a single chair.

"You don't get a lot of visitors, I take it?"

"Not a lot I don't share my bed with", she replied as she sat down on said bed. It squeaked a bit.

"And he doesn't mind?"

"Would you mind attractive girls?"

"I'm ace."

"Oh." She directed him to sit down on the room's single chair, then got up and pulled two cups out of one of the drawers.

"Sugar?"

"No, thank you."

She looked at him, then his cup, then him again, then his cup, then shrugged and filled it, before grabbing three sugar cubes to add to her own cup.

Inevitably, his glance turned back to the poster.

"Oh, trust me, I've drawn much worse."

"You drew that?"

"Yep."

"It's… very well done."

"Thank you."

She looked up at it for a moment, then sat back down on the bed.

"Sooo… what're you doing here?"

"There've been a couple of disappearances around here lately. We believe they might be tied to an international human trafficking operation." He took a sip of his tea. "So, that's what the FBI is doing down here."

"You're with the feds, huh?"

"Yea."

After a moment of deliberation, she sighed. "Fine, I'll help you figure this out - you seem genuine. But remember you owe me your life. Don't fuck with my country."

"We're not in that business anymore."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"I'm sorry."

"That's a start at least. As soon as those bastards are done in you'll leave, alright?"

"Understood."

"Let's get to work, then."