A jet

Fan almost missed it due to its black color, yet there it was: a sleek, obsidian colored jet. Small and with engines that hummed so slowly that it was beaten by the howling of the wind passing through the nearby trees. The moon, a full one, was just beginning to shine as the sun made its exit behind the mountains, and the orange sky was slowly being replaced by the blue darkness of the night. Her eyes were so fascinated by the state-of-the-art aircraft that she didn't notice anything else until the woman pulled her away.

The actress finally looked at the sight closer to her. There was a small table with the clothes she'd been wearing earlier. Next to them, was her purse, and all her belongings neatly arranged: a wallet, her passport, and her personal ID, along with her membership card of the Communist Party of China. Thinking little of it, Fan went over to pick them up again but was stopped by the woman.

"No," the woman stated sharply. "These do not belong to you anymore." She directed Fan's attention to the metal barrel beside the table, filled with coals, and quickly lit a fire. She returned to shove the clothes into the beauty's arm. "Toss them."

Fan shook her head. "Are you crazy? Do you know how many these cost?" More than what the militaristic woman earned in a year, but she kept that last part to herself.

"It doesn't matter!" barked Fan's tormentor. "Rubber women do not wear them! They go into the fire!"

Fan peered into the woman's eyes. There would be no convincing, and she had come a long way now. With a heavy heart, she fed her designer clothes to the roaring fire and watched as they turned from exquisite silk to indistinguishable grey ash.

The woman then shoved the wallet into her hands. "Burn it."

The rubberized woman felt the authentic leather on the wallet one last time and then tossed it weakly into the fire. This was followed by her purse and her previous shoes. Those things mean nothing however, not when compared to the feeling of her passport, party membership, and citizenship in her hands. "You... you can't make me do this," she pleaded with the woman. "This is my life!"

The woman slapped her face. "Not anymore!" She pointed at the fire again. "Burn it!"

Fan looked at the items in her hand. Her eyes were beginning to blur. She stopped her hands from shaking and made the items slip into burning barrel, eyes never leaving until every single bit was turned to ash. The woman nodded and led her to the plane, where there were three more figures. As they got closer, Fan saw that it was another woman, Chinese if her looks were anything to go by, flanked by two burly guards. The new woman was far more beautiful than the military one, and was dressed in a business suit, yet Fan still knew she was the most attractive of the three.

"The package," said the military woman roughly. "The Party has kept its end of the bargain."

The businesswoman smiled. "We will see." She spoke in Mandarin, yet with an accent. She must be the daughter of immigrants. The woman nodded to the bodyguards and they pulled out some kits. Fan's eyes and fingerprints were scanned, her bite marks were taken and the woman inspected her closely.

The military woman was annoyed. "We showed you the documents earlier."

"Documents can be forged," responded the businesswoman. "Not to offend, of course. But I am a professional and I am expected to make sure we get the authentic product to our clients." Fan couldn't help but be irked at how they were referring to her but it only took a few seconds until the tests came back positive. The businesswoman nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you. Our client sends his regards."

The military woman huffed and stepped away. Fan's arm was now gently grasped by the new woman and led to the stairs. The two burly men were right behind. Resigned, the actress climbed until she entered the plane. As soon as the businesswoman and the two men were inside, the door closed and she felt the engine start. She looked around to see the inside of the plane.