text: [Themes: modern, serious, drama]
  
  The police can't be trusted, so it seems your only hope is a former drug addict. Even if Sophia is reliable you still have no idea how you're going to rescue your sister from the most wanted man in town. First thing however is finding where your sister is and then taking it from there. You remember when Victoria and Sophia were friends, they would hang out at Sophia's place at the Fuhrman Apartment Complex and as far as you knew she still lives there. You grab your car keys and head off to see her. Night is threatening to fall as you arrive at the apartment building. You head to the entrance and read the names on the intercom. One says "Unit 102: S.Glass", it looks Sophia still does live here and you push the intercom button.
  
  "Yeah?" A groggy voice greets.
  
  "Sophia, it's me Ben" You tell her.
  
  "Ben who?"
  
  "Ben Higgins, Victoria's brother"
  
  "Oh, Ben, hang on a sec I'll let you in"
  
  A second later you hear a buzzing sound and you enter the building. After walking up a set of stairs you reach apartment 102 and knock on the door. The door opens and you see Sophia standing in the doorway, she is around your age, but bags under eyes and lines on her face made her look older.
  
  "Ben so good to see you, please come in" Sophia greets.
  
  You walk into the small apartment and follow Sophia to sitting area in the back. There are two stuffed chairs across from each other that were once green but had faded badly and each had a few stains.
  
  "Please have a seat," Sophia requests while pointing at one of the chairs.
  
  You sit down one of the chairs while Sophia sits in the others.
  
  "So what can I do for you Ben?"
  
  "It's my sister Victoria, she's missing and I need your help in find her," You respond.
  
  "I'm not sure how helpful I'll be, your sister and haven't spoken in years."
  
  "I know she was taken by Westfield, because of your...past, I felt you'd know something,"
  
  "You mean because I was a lowlife junkie, you thought I would have knowledge on other lowlifes."
  
  "That's not what I meant."
  
  "It sure as hell sounded like that's what you meant, and not only do you want information on any scumbag, you information on Westfield, the top dog, if you try to fuck with him he'll kill you and he'd kill me too for leading you to him."
  
  "So you do know something."
  
  "Why I should help you?"
  
  > plead with Sophie
  "Please Sophie, my sister needs you right now," You plead.
  
  "Years ago I when needed her most, she turned her back on me instead of helping, so why shouldn't I do the same?" Sofia countered.
  
  "The Sophie I remember, would always help someone in need even if the person had hurt her, she would never let someone suffer because she couldn't let go of a grudge."
  
  The expression on Sophie's face softens after hearing this. "You're right, no one deserves to go through the hell that Westfield inflict on people, I'll help you try to find her".
  
  "Thank you Sophie."
  
  "If she was taken by Westfield, that most likely means he wants her to be one of his girls, and as far as I know there are two places where you can find them, a nightclub called Ellis and Hillside Apartments, which is actually a whorehouse."
  
  > say "Tell me about Ellis"
  "Tell me about Ellis," You request.
  
  "Ellis is a bar, but it's also a front for an illegal casino in the basement," Sophie explains.
  
  "What makes you think my sister would be there?"
  
  "They have girls who serve the gamblers drinks, but in actuality they are there to distract the gamblers so they will make mistakes, kind of like any regular casino, only in your sister's case they won't have to pay her and I can tell you from personal experience they will harm her if she acts defiant."
  
  "They would kidnap her and force her to be a waitress?" You query. "That seems rather excessive"
  
  "Working in a secret casino run by a crime lord is not exactly the kind of job you can put in the wanted ads, besides the free labor speaks for itself."
  
  > say "Tell me about Hillside Apartments"
  "Tell me about Hillside Apartments," You request.
  
  "It looks like an apartment building, but like I said it's a whorehouse" Sofia explains. "Guys will go inside, they tell the 'supervisor' what girl they want, hand over cash and are given an hour to fuck as much as they want, normally the girl gets a cut of the money she makes, but in your sister's case since she is being held against her will, they won't have to pay her shit, I heard rumors Westfield was losing money, I guess forcing people to do things against their will is a way to cut operating costs."
  
  > go to Hillside Apartments
  "I think I'll check out Hillside Apartments," You decide.
  
  "Alright, it's on 197 Hillside Street, the 'supervisor' is a guy named Ivo, a real sleazy individual, he won't tell you anything so you'll need to seek another way to find out about Victoria," Sophie informs you.
  
  "How do you suggest I do that?"
  
  Sophie walks to a corner of her apartment and kneels to the floor. She removed one of the floor boards and takes out a small gray bag hidden in a hole under the floor board. Reaching into the bag Sofia pulls out a roll of money.
  
  "Bribery?" You think out loud.
  
  "When you see the manager you have to give him the password, Zhavgo, he'll have one of his men pat you down so don't bring any weapons, at that point ask for Tiffany, this should cover costs," Sophie says as she hands you the money.
  
  "Who's Tiffany?"
  
  "She's a friend of mine, and more importantly someone you can trust, once you're with her, mention you're a friend of mine and she'll tell if you Victoria is there or not."
  
  You look at the roll of money Sofia gave you. "Sofia this is two hundred dollars, you don't have to give me this, I can pay the fee," You offer.
  
  "I'm going to be honest, I also want you to help Tiffany get out of there, I was able to leave because I wasn't requested very often by the costumers, Tiffany doesn't have that luxury, Westfield won't let her go because she makes him too much money."
  
  "Alright I'll help her however I can."
  
  "Thanks Ben I appreciate this."
  
  You leave Sophie's apartment, get in your car and drive to Hillside Apartments. When you arrive you notice that the apartment building doesn't look anything like you thought it would, in fact it looks ordinary. Since most of your knowledge of the outside world has been through TV and movies rather than firsthand experience, the events that have happened today have made you realize the world is for better or worse not quite what you thought it was. You pull into a parking spot in front of the building and head inside. The interior looks just as ordinary as the exterior as you make your way to the front desk. In front of the desk was an enormous man and behind the desk was a heavy set man who might as well be wearing a sign that said "sleazy", he must be Ivo. They both look at you with suspicion, you figure in this business it pays to be cautious.
  
  "Zhavgo," You greet.
  
  Ivo looks at you with less suspicion. "Welcome, how can I help you?" Ivo inquires.
  
  "I want to see Tiffany."
  
  "You have very good taste my friend, she's our most popular girl, and our most expensive, but after an hour with her you'll see why, so it's two hundred dollars for sixty minutes, deal?"
  
  "Deal," You agree as you take the money out of your pocket and place it on the front desk. Ivo glances at it and mentally counts it.
  
  "Now you're new here so I'm going to have go over the rules, you have an hour and only an hour, you can get kinky but if Tiffany feels uncomfortable with something it's a no go and last if you hurt my girl in any way we will harm you tenfold, I'm sorry if I come off as a prick but you'd be surprised how many people I get who can't follow those basic instructions, oh yeah my friend here has to frisk you before you go upstairs"
  
  "Put your hands against the wall and speared 'em" The enormous man forcefully requests.
  
  You comply and the man gives you a rather rough pat down. "He's clean" The man informs Ivo.
  
  "Great, Tiffany is in room 207, up the stairs and last door on the left."
  
  You walk away from the front desk and head upstairs. On the second floor in the hallway, there is a man even taller than the one downstairs. You walk past him, ignoring the glare he is giving you and reach room 207. You walk inside and find the room deprived of almost all furniture except for a bed and a nightstand in a corner. Sitting on the bed is a girl with long black hair who looks around Victoria's age. She stares at you blankly for a moment before turning her attention to an egg timer on the nightstand.
  
  "Alright buddy you have an hour, I suggest you make the most of it," The girl says as she sets the timer.
  
  "Uh, Tiffany?" You awkwardly ask.
  
  "Yeah that's me, listen hun, an hour goes by much faster than you might realize, I doubt you want to waste it on introductions."
  
  "I'm a friend of Sophie Glass, she asked me to help you get out of here"
  
  "You know Sophie?" Tiffany responds. "I'll admit I was worried she forgot about me when she left this shithole, now do you mind telling who you are?"
  
  "I'm Ben Higgins, earlier today my sister got kidnapped by Westfield and I think he is planning to force her to work here, Sophie said you could help and in exchange I'll help you escape this place, I understand Westfield won't let you leave."
  
  "Well no new girl has arrived today but that piece of shit Ivo would know if anyone is being brought in the future, we'll have to get him to talk"
  
  "Did you have something in mind?"
  
  Tiffany reaches under the mattress of the bed and pulls out a combat knife. "Something I keep with me in case a client gets too rough," Tiffany clarifies. "If we can get to Ivo with and scare him, we'll able to make him talk and shit himself at the same time, but first we have to take care of his protection starting with that Neanderthal in the hallway"
  
  "It sounds like you've planning this for a long time," You notice.
  
  "You have no idea, now I'm going to scream for help and when that beast gets in here one of us is going to have to jam this knife into him."
  
  > have Tiffany deal with the guard
  "You can deal with the guard," You suggest. "I can only imagine how times you've fantasized about this."
  
  Tiffany gives you an evil looking smirk as she leans up against the wall next to the door. "Help he's getting too rough!" She shouts.
  
  Almost immediately the door swings and the guard comes running in with his gun drawn. He begins to walk towards you but as soon as he is in front of Tiffany, she sneaks up behind him and drives the knife into his neck. Blood comes pouring out has he falls to the floor. Within seconds he is dead and Tiffany bends down to retrieve the knife from his throat, completely unfazed by the pool of blood, and then wipes the blood off the knife using the dead man's shirt. She proceeds to pry the gun from the dead but still warm fingers.
  
  "So do we deal with Ivo now?" You ask as you take a seat at the foot of the bed.
  
  "No, if you go back downstairs now, Ivo will get very suspicious that you're leaving early, we have wait for the hour to be up," Tiffany points out as she puts the knife and the gun on the nightstand and sits down next to you.
  
  > ask Tiffany how she wound up here
  "Tiffany if you don't mind me asking, how'd you wind up here?" You request to know.
  
  "A few years ago I ran away from home," Tiffany answers. "I was a trouble maker, cutting class, shop lifting, staying out all night, hanging out with bad boys, you name it I did it, I eventually got tired with dealing with my parents, my teachers, the police, so one night I left, taking several hundred dollars my parents had hidden and I took a bus to Van Hove where I'd able to do what I wanted when I wanted."
  
  "Where are you originally from?"
  
  "The town of Ronan."
  
  "That's a rather wealthy area."
  
  "I know, rich girl rebelling against her parents by running off, can you get any more pathetic?"
  
  "So how'd wind up working...here?"
  
  "You mean how'd did I become a whore?"
  
  "Well I wasn't going to use those words."
  
  "You don't have to be gracious, it won't get you far in this town, anyway once I was here I quickly learned how little a few hundred bucks would get me, within a few months I was broke and in a shitty apartment, no place would hire a runaway sixteen year old, so my landlord got me in touch with Ivo and rather than swallow my pride and go home, I started hooking, about a year ago it finally hit me what an idiot I was being, but by then it was too late, I was making so much money for Ivo, he'd never let me go, I took what money saved up and bought this knife, not just for protection, but in hope one day it would help me get out here, and I can go home, provided my parents will take me back, now it's my turn to ask a question about you."
  
  The comment catches you off guard. "Why you do you want to know about me?" You reply.
  
  "In order for me to get out of here and you to find your sister, we need to trust each other and that'll be easier if we know one another better," Tiffany tells you.
  
  "Ok then, what do you want to know?"
  
  "Tell me about yourself, tell me all about Ben Higgins"
  
  "I was born and raised in Van Hove, I work from home fixing people's computer's, five years ago my parents died in a car crash, so my sister had to live with me, she's all I have, this morning I discovered she was missing, later I learned that Westfield had murdered her boyfriend and possibly kidnapped her, so here I am."
  
  "You're not very social are you?"
  
  "Is it that obvious?"
  
  "Painfully."
  
  > ask Tiffany how she knows Sophie
  "How'd you and Sophie become friends?" You ask Tiffany.
  
  "She came here about two years ago, she was buying drugs from one of Westfield's dealers and when she ran out of money, she started working here, mainly to able to buy more drugs," Tiffany explains. "At first no one wanted to be near her because of her addiction so I started to talk to her mainly out of pity, but I found out she was actually a decent person when she wasn't high, so for over a year I helped her get clean and eventually she was off the stuff completely, I was still trapped here, but at least I had a friend."
  
  "When did she leave?"
  
  "Well after getting clean she was able to get a job, she had plenty of time since she was rarely requested, anyway she saved enough money to get an apartment with used furniture, it wasn't anything special but it was paradise compared to here, Ivo didn't care that she was leaving, he was probably glad he could give her room to a girl who would make more money, before she left she told me that she wouldn't forget about me and would one day help me get out of here, that was six months ago, I was beginning to lose hope and then you came along," Tiffany revels. "Ok, my turn to ask you how do you know Sophie?"
  
  "She was a friend of my sister, Victoria, after Sophie became addicted Victoria wanted nothing to do with her, at the time I didn't think anything of it, but now I'm beginning to wonder if what she did was right."
  
  "People make mistakes, hell I know that better than most."
  
  > continue to wait
  You continue to sit on the bed waiting for the hour to be up. Your eyes focus on the dead guard in the room and the sight makes you uneasy, which is immediately noticed by Tiffany.
  
  "You're not going lily livered on me are you?" Tiffany questions with concern.
  
  "I just...being in the same room as a dead body is not something particularly enjoy," You answer.
  
  "Look, more people are going to die before this is over and if you're not focused, you, me and your sister are fucked, not to mention you're the one who has to take care of Ivo and the brute with him."
  
  "Why do I have to do it?"
  
  "When the hour is up, he'll except you to leave, if I go downstairs he'll very quickly figure out something is up."
  
  "Killing people...I don't know if I can do that."
  
  Tiffany grabs you by the wrists. "Listen to me, those scumbags aren't people, they are monsters who do horrible things to others just to make money, if we don't do this, they are going to force your sister to fuck people."
  
  "I don't know how to use a gun or any kind of weapon," You mention.
  
  Tiffany gets up off the bed and picks the gun off the nightstand. "It's easy, the safety is off so you just aim and shot," Tiffany instructs. "Don't try for a headshot, it's much more difficult than it looks, a few shots to the torso is just as effective"
  
  Tiffany puts the gun down and picks up the combat knife. "Do you mind standing?" She requests.
  
  You stand up and face Tiffany, once again she grabs your wrist and puts the knife in your hand. "To use the knife just jam into the side of their throat, either side will do," She educates you.
  
  Still holding on to your wrist she takes your hand holding the knife and brings it dangerously close to her neck. "Like so," Tiffany concludes.
  
  "How are you so calm about all of this?"
  
  "Ben I learned a long time ago that freaking out doesn't help with anything."
  
  For the rest of the hour Tiffany gives you a few more pointers on how to properly use the knife and the gun. After the egg timer goes off, Tiffany opens the draw of the nightstand takes out a sheath and places the combat knife in it. "Alright, you can hide the knife pocket and the gun in your pants just don't wind up shooting yourself, when you get downstairs take out the guard first, he's strong but a dumbass, his reaction time should slow enough for you to get the jump on him, once he is dealt with, make Ivo tell you everything he knows, the man is a coward so it should be easy enough to get him to talk once he tells you what you need to know you can take him out, good luck," Tiffany directs.
  
  You walk out of the room, into the hallway and down the stairs. Ivo comes out of a room behind the front desk. "So was Tiffany everything you hoped she would be?" Ivo asks you as you approach the front desk.
  
  "She was something alright," You responded try to act enthusiastic in order to avoid raising suspicion.
  
  "Always happy to see a customer satisfied, as long as you got the cash feel free to come back here any time" Ivo encourages as he returns to the backroom. As you walk towards the front door you pass by the enormous guard, you have to choose how to deal with him.
  
  > use the gun
  You stop in front of the door, pull the gun out from your waist band and turn around. Remembering what Tiffany had taught you in her crash course you promptly aim the gun at the guard and pull the trigger. He his hit several times in the midsection and falls to the floor. The noise however has alerted Ivo who comes out of the back room holding a shotgun. You fire at him but the bullet whizzes by his head. When Ivo returns fire his accuracy is better and you're hit in the center of your chest. The impact hits you so hard you are knocked off your feet and then fall like a rock.