Is there any hope left for you?

I'm gonna kill this guy. You think to yourself as you wake up the next morning. Or whatever time it is.

For some time you silently endure the confines of the cage, sometimes being motionless, sometimes biting on your gag and wiggling your arms in the straitjacket, whichever happens to suit you best. At one point (about an eternity later), the door opens, and you can hear the sound of footsteps against the metallic floor.

"How did you sleep, beautiful?" you hear Neil's voice, as he leans down to you and unlocks your blindfold.

"Mhmm!!!" you protest. To your surprise, he also proceeds to remove your ballgag.

Which gives you an excellent opportunity to spit on him.

"You don't even want to hear what I'm about to say? What a gruesome creature you are," he says, his tone and face absent of anger.

"I'm not going to be be your pet!" you raise your voice.

"Well, that is just up to you, lady," he shrugs.

What? you think to yourself. You only notice now that he holds two items in his hand: one of them is a syringe, the other is a pair of thick metal collars about the size of a woman's neck. You understand the syringe. But he already has you bound up. Why would he need the collars?

"Once upon a time, I had a friend called Gus. We went through ice and fire together. Then we noticed that the air has different currents under our wings, so to say, and we decided to part ways. Until now that is. Because, as it just happened, I needed to get to one of my hidden warehouses. And I found it empty. Out of my simple curiosity, I've decided to check the other ones. And surprise: they were also empty. There was only one person who knew about them outside the crew. Gus. So I already had a certain suspicion that he is up to something. One could even speculate he is adamant to ruin me. And so, I went back to the client I had my current assignment from. And what do I get to know? There is another person who signed up for the job. And who might that be? Well? Any guesses? Gus!"

"You want to kill him," you conclude.

"Not just kill him. I want to make an example," he says. "I had a dormant tracker on his ship, which I've just activated. And so I just happen to know when he is going to arrive with a bunch of cargo that I should have taken instead of him. So the two of us are going to get there with our ships, set up a nice ambush, and profoundly, expertly, and surgically, shoot his craft to shit."

"So these collars are there to monitor us?" you ask.

"In an essence, yes," he answers. "The added benefit is that if I die, you also die. Plus, if you stray too far, I can shock you ****, and decide to pick you up at my convenience."

"Why do you need two ships?" you ask.

"His vessel is the equivalent of mine. I will need an extra dummy for him to shoot at. Any other time, I would ask a friend. But I already had one friend to betray me, and that means the job is yours."

"What guarantees that you would let us go?" you ask.

"Nothing in the world, my dear. In fact, you can always refuse if you want," Neil answers. "With one ship, I will not risk the engagement. But I can always figure out some other way to get him. On the other hand, I already have you two here, so your refusal would mean that your life begins as my full time servants."

You take a glance at Elena, she already looking at you with fury. Just in case that your head would be thick enough to say no.