Less than ideal

When you knock on the door, it’s answered fairly quickly. The man opening the door looks at you, seemingly confused. “And who are you?”

You take an immediate dislike to the man, who you assume is Bradley. You’ve learned to hold back in first impressions, however. “I am Brian, from the AWIO, and this is Edward. We’re here to do a routine check in.”

Bradley shakes his head. “It’s not really a good time. I wasn’t told about this.”

Edward speaks up. “You definitely were, sir. Weekly check ins are standard, for everyone.”

Bradley sighs. “Can I reschedule for another day? We’re busy.”

You shake your head. “I’m afraid not. It shouldn’t take long, we just need to speak with you and Carly. Where is she, by the way?”

He shrugs. “Inside. She does what I tell her.”

You share a glance with Edward. “We’ll need to talk to her. Can we come in?”

Bradley grimaces. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

Edward interrupts. “I’m afraid that’s not an option. You signed a sponsorship contract, and part of that agreement requires that we be able to inspect your home, at regular intervals.”

You nod. “So, I’ll ask again, can we come in?”

Bradley glances over his shoulder, then sighs again. “Fine. I’ll let you in.”

He steps aside, letting the two of you in the door. You note that all the blinds are closed, and the house is fairly dark, mostly lit by the television on in the living room. Bradley flops down on the couch, looks over his shoulder, and shouts.

“Carly! In here!”

You and Edward stay standing, and you hear hurried footsteps approaching from down the hall. A woman with floppy, doglike ears and a fluffy tail emerges, looking at the two of you with surprise. She looks down immediately, and you note that she’s wearing a collar around her neck. She walks over, standing beside the couch, eyes on the floor.

“You called for me?”

Bradley nods, not even looking at her. “Yeah. These guys are checking on us. Tell them we’re doing good so they can go.”

Carly looks at you, and the look in her big brown eyes convinces you that this isn’t a good situation. There’s a mix of hope and worry in her expression, though she quickly hides it. Looking back down, she shrugs.

“We’re good. Things are going good.”

Bradley waves dismissively. “There, see? You can go now.”

You and Edward share a look. Edward shakes his head. “Sir, could you show Brian here around? Just a quick inspection and we’ll be out of your hair.”

Bradley groans. “If that’s what it takes. Carly, you stay. Come on, guy, let’s get this over with.”

As you follow the grumbling man, you glance back to see Edward whispering to Carly. She’s nodding, and answering as you follow Bradley into the other rooms. The rest of the house seems fairly normal, though you note with growing anger the dog bowl and dog bed. You definitely haven’t seen any animals here, so you doubt they’re being used for pets.

Outside of that, you don’t see anything unusual, and you decide not to raise the issue just yet. Making your way back to the living room, you find that Edward is across the room from Carly, and she is studiously looking at the floor. Bradley sits back down with a sigh.

“So that’s it, right? You can go and leave us alone?”

You start to answer, but Edward is quicker. “Yes, we’ll be going. Thank you for cooperating, and we’ll be in touch.”

Bradley nods, turning to the television. “Yeah, fine. You know where the door is.”

Edward leads the way out. You follow, somewhat reluctantly, glancing back at Carly, who still waits beside the couch. As soon as you’re outside, Edward hustles you towards the car. Once inside, he explains.

“Carly wants out, so we need to hurry back to the office.”

You nod. “Not surprising, but why didn’t we just bring her with us?”

Edward starts driving. “Safety, both ours and hers. We have a team that specializes in this. If we try to take her ourselves, what happens if he pulls a knife, or a gun? As hard as it is, it’s safer this way, in all but the most **** cases.”

You sigh. “That makes sense, but it’s hard to leave her there like that.”

He nods. “It is. Fortunately we work fast. She’ll be back at the AWIO by this evening. Trying to be a hero will just end with someone hurt or killed.”

You can’t disagree, but part of you feels like there’s more that could be done. Sure, Carly wasn’t being hurt right that second, but it’s clear she was being treated like an animal, and not consensually. Having to leave her there, even for a little while, makes you feel very uncomfortable.