The search

The three men follow Zoe close in tow as she leads the way to their bedroom. Once they arrive, the two men who have remained mute through this whole interaction immediately make their way towards the dresser and start opening drawers, pulling every item out and tossing it to the ground. Zoe gasps as she sees them tossing her and Matt's belongings around so carelessly.

"Sorry about the mess, but like I said, we're on something of a schedule here." Vic explains.

Whilst his two associates are searching for any high-value items they can find, Vic remains at Zoe's side, guaranteeing her heart rate remains elevated the whole time. She wasn't sure exactly how this whole process would go, but she knew she was powerless to stop it. Her mind was slowly accepting that Matt had landed them in this situation, whether it be through gambling or some other means, and her anger towards him only started to grow.

"Oh my, what happened here?" Vic asks, pointing at the wet patch on the sheets.

Zoe looks back at the bed sheets, blushing immediately as she realises what he's talking about.

"This probably explains it, boss." One of the men searching through their belongings says in a deep, gravelly voice.

He tosses Zoe's vibrator back to Vic from the drawer he is currently looking in. Now, Zoe's cheeks are really bright red with embarrassment.

"Hmmph, good thing we didn't arrive when you were in the middle of that." Vic says with a chuckle.

Zoe nervously laughs a little too, almost instinctive to try and appease the intruders and remain on their good side. The men continue tearing through every storage container in their bedroom until all of their belongings lie in messy piles all along the floor.

"Nothing of value in here aside from this watch, boss. Maybe worth a little over a hundred." The men say, completing their search of the bedroom.

"Damn, that's not good for your boyfriend. Maybe there's more stashed somewhere in the other rooms." Vic says, motioning for them to move into the next room.

"You know, you could help speed things along if you want, Zoe. Let us know where all the goodies are and we'll be out of your hair faster." Vic says sarcastically.

"Umm... how much exactly are you looking for?" Zoe asks, not exactly wanting to help them steal their most valuable items but also wanting this to be over with as soon as possible.

"Well, your boyrfriend has landed himself in a debt of over $50000, and we need at least 20% in collateral, which means we'll need to collect items totalling at least $10000." Vic says nonchalantly.

Zoe's heart drops. Did he just say $10000?! There was absolutely no chance in hell that they were finding $10000 worth of items in their apartment right now, with or without her help. Even if she assumed they had already taken their car, which Matt had taken with him on his night out, that old piece of junk would barely cover half of what they needed, and these men certainly weren't finding the other half lying around their apartment.

"Did... did you say ten thousand?" Zoe asks nervously.

"That's right." Vic responds, still seeming relatively unbothered.

"And what... what if we don't have that?" Zoe asks.

"Then... let's just say that it would be very bad news for your boyfriend." Vic responds with a dead serious expression.

Those words cut through Zoe's confusion and disbelief like a knife. She suddenly grasps the severity of the situation. She can't help but feel her anger towards Matt grow even more as she finally accepts that he really did land himself in this mess. Even still, she did love him, and desperately racks her mind for a way to help get him out of this mess.

"Am I correct in understanding that you don't think Matt can cover the collateral then?" Vic asks.

Zoe hesitates, torn between not wanting to lie but also not wanting to put the nail in Matt's coffin. Eventually she decides that it's best to tell the truth and try and figure out some sort of alternative way out of this mess.

"No... he doesn't." She responds, defeated in tone.

"Well then. Thank you for saving us from wasting any more of our time. We'll leave you to your night in peace then. I think it goes without saying, but if you contact the police after we leave here tonight, you can expect another, much more unpleasant, visit from our organisation." Vic says, before turning to exit the apartment with his colleagues.

Zoe watches as the three of them begin walking away. A sense of panic rushes through her as she feels the need to say something to help save her boyfriend from a terrible fate, she just can't think of what. As she watches the three of them walking away, staring at their big, muscular figures, she senses that same feeling starting to rise once again. This time, it's unmistakable in it's nature, arousal. She's ashamed that it sways the idea that comes out of her mouth next.

"Wait!" Zoe shouts after them.

The three men pause, turning back to look at her.