Mike the Red

Investigate the Numbered Rooms

by Mike the Red

Chapter 4 in Shadow

I stepped across and opened the room numbered six. As I opened it, I was hit with a wall of humidity that made me realize just how desiccated the air was around me. Continuing in, I found the same cot as in my room, but also a humidifier plugged into an outlet I had overlooked in...

Getting Collared

by Mike the Red

Chapter 6 in Shadow

As I stepped into the light, I was greeted by a rich, smooth voice speaking English with what seemed to be a Mexican accent, “Five, open the box on the table before you.” I’m a little ashamed to say that I jumped at the sound, but at least I didn’t drop my weapon. Instead, I loo...

Pouting

by Mike the Red

Chapter 8 in Shadow

I sat on my cot, fuming at the voice from the speaker. “What the Hell did he think we were, some sort of trained animals to be used as he saw fit? Fuck that.” At least, those were some of my thoughts that plagued my mind for the next several hours. I was so preoccupied that I...

El Viejo Guardia

by Mike the Red

Chapter 30 in Shadow

Los Caballaros del Exceso

by Mike the Red

Chapter 30 in Shadow

El Viejo Guardia

by Mike the Red

Chapter 3 in Shadow

I woke up in softness, what I should probably say is that I woke up in a soft bed, but that just doesn't cover how soft this bed was. Of course, considering that I spent the last night recovering from being while lying on the floor of some basement and, prior...

Bagged Blood

by Mike the Red

Chapter 10 in Shadow

Bagged Blood

by Mike the Red

Chapter 10 in Shadow

Bagged Blood

by Mike the Red

Chapter 10 in Shadow

The whirring of the door lock startled me and I rose to see who was entering. This time, it wasn't Nadia, but a guard who I hadn't seen in my brief glimpse into the hall earlier. The man entered, placed a bag of blood on the counter and backed out in an oddly graceful backpedal,...

Exercise

by Mike the Red

Chapter 9 in Shadow

The books were, let’s say, not something I was interested in casually reading as I ate. So, I munched down my breakfast, the crunching of the cereal evident in the silence. Then, after putting the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, I turned and eyed the bane of my existence, back...

Study Asia

by Mike the Red

Chapter 9 in Shadow

I picked up a book on Southeast Asia, an area which I hadn't honestly cared much about, and began to read. While I thought that it was going to be a typical guide for tourists, it instead started with a lesson in history, explaining the development of the area from barely agraria...

Study Finance

by Mike the Red

Chapter 9 in Shadow

I flipped open one of the finance textbooks and began skimming through it. Not surprisingly, it bore a strong resemblance to several of the books that I had back in college. As I turned the pages, I found myself comparing each chapter to cases that I'd worked. My career at the FB...

A Glance Out the Door

by Mike the Red

Chapter 8 in Shadow

As Nadia left, I wasn't able to see much of the hallway beyond. I did see, what was evidently, an enforcer standing in the hallway outside my room and I heard another man further down the hallway speaking into a radio or phone. It didn't surprise me that there would be guards, a...

New Dress

by Mike the Red

Chapter 10 in Shadow

Sitting down to dinner, I decided that the afternoon bike ride was nice, perhaps even better than the morning rides I had been doing, and I considered switching to morning stretches more permanently. As I contemplated, the screen finished its flyby of the first clinic and I was o...

Morning

by Mike the Red

Chapter 9 in Shadow

The next morning, as I was sitting in the tub, I couldn't help but look down at my chest, where my breasts swelled up above the water’s surface. With a sigh, I tried to examine just why the show last night had affected me so viscerally. The conclusion that I drew, was that my exp...

Establishing a Routine

by Mike the Red

Chapter 8 in Shadow

As the days continued, I grew used to the routine. Wake up, bathe get dressed in the shorts, eat breakfast, ride the bike while watching a soap, hey undressed, bathe again, get redressed in one of the frilly or sequined outfits, go through a stretching routine while watching the...

Contemplate

by Mike the Red

Chapter 7 in Shadow

The change was surprising enough that I had to mute the TV and think. “Okay, so you've picked up some Spanish; that's a good thing, right?” I agreed with myself that it was and that it was a natural consequence of hearing it every day, or what passed for a day in my room with n...

Establishing a Routine

by Mike the Red

Chapter 8 in Shadow

Get Angry

by Mike the Red

Chapter 7 in Shadow

It was at that point that I did something regrettable and threw the remote at the TV. The results were fairly predictable—the remote blocked in two, sending the batteries flying as the bits fell to the floor. Worse, the screen broke, leaving the left forty percent black and leavi...

A Tiny Shower

by Mike the Red

Chapter 7 in Shadow

I finish my coffee and head into the bathroom, which is cramped, with a toilet beside a tiny shower that reminded me of something that would fit in a trailer, rather than a building. I peed and climbed into the shower, where I luxuriated in the steaming hot water. Upon finishing...