Marty tries to make a move

“So you’re having trouble sleeping, huh?” Marty said in an attempt to sound as casual as possible. “God I’m out of practice.”

“Yeah, I have this thing where my mind keeps wandering and keeping me up late.”

“I could help you with that,” Marty mentioned as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“Oh, really?” Gwen asked, without having picked up on any of the subtle hints her roommate was leaving her.

“Yeah, maybe you could spend the night in here. I could show you a few tricks.”

“… Oh.” The small smile Gwen had was gone. In its place was a thin line of annoyance as she turned her head away from Marty. “Typical” she muttered under her breath.

“Was it something I said?” Marty joked, hoping to diffuse the situation.

“I left home because of this shit.” Gwen looked straight in Marty’s eyes. “Everyone thinks they know me because of what I am – that I’ll drop my panties for any fucker that comes along – but that’s not who I am. I’m not some whore.”

“Whoa, hold on,” Marty raised his hands in a surrendering position. “I touched a nerve there, I’m sorry-“

“No, you know what? It’s not fine. I barely know you for god's sake, and just because I’m a succu-“ Just before Gwen could go into full rant mode, she slapped her hand across her mouth, realising she had said far too much.

“Succu-what?” Marty questioned instinctively.

“… I should go.” Gwen rounded Marty and headed straight for the door.

“Wait a second.” Marty reached for her arm, but Gwen smacked it away from her.

“Just leave me alone okay. It was a mistake to come here.” And just like that, she walked out the door, nearly slamming it behind her. Marty found himself left in daze, unsure of how that could have possibly gone worse for him.

Before Marty could reflect any further on what had transpired, he heard a yelp outside his door. He could hear a struggle as multiple people shuffled about just outside. If his state of shock couldn’t get any worse, the young man was now paralyzed as he heard the struggle intensify.

Eventually, all he heard was muffled calls and a load of people suddenly charge out of the front door. Silence followed. It took him several moments, but {MS} was able to coax himself out of his daze and pulled his naked sweaty body from his bed and gingerly made his way to his door.

He peeked outside and noticed that despite some furniture being flipped over, his apartment was intact. Everything was still present so nothing had been taken either, except one thing; his roommate.

It only then occurred to him that he had been present at a ****, and was nearly taken himself. Before panic could set him, he felt a piece of card at the bottom of his naked foot. He looked to find a business card of all things stuck to his foot; one that he definitely knew he didn’t own before.

Balzz Incorporated
Leading the World to the Future

Balzz incorporated was the biggest industrial complex in San Francisco. It didn’t provide many jobs except for top-level scientists and heavily armed guard units. It was infamous in the area for always running non-stop and apparently killing off any business in the city that they didn’t approve of.

Marty knew where this was; he also knew exactly how to get there. Why would a bunch of kidnappers, who clearly had premeditated this, carry a random business card with them if this was not who they belong too? At the very least, there could be a clue there.

“Wait a second? Can I really do this?” He caught himself before his mind went any further. This place was heavily guarded, and even worked late into the night. He had no idea why they had taken his roommate, or what they would do to him if they caught him?

Could he really put his neck on the line for his stranger?