<strong>Name:</strong>Liua Rhodes<br/><strong>Status:</strong>Slave (unknown)<br/><strong>Owned By:</strong>Michael Cooper<br/><strong>Location:</strong>City street, Horizon City<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>. Cooper's men<br/><br/>There was something odd going on.  Indefinable, but odd all the same.  It seemed to Liua that some people who glanced her way did a swift double take, a glimmer of recognition in their eyes. . .<br/><br/><em>Ridiculous paranoia,</em>she berated herself, even as flesh crawled eerily.  Her sense of self preservation battled against her stomach.  The fact that her stomach was winning would be her greatest downfall.  Close second was her ignorance.<br/><br/>Coddled Liua had little idea how the BFA actually worked, aside from the cold truth that they wanted her money if she cared to retain her freedom.  She assumed, wrongly, that no one would<strong>actively</strong>seek her once her citizen status was revoked.  After all, she reasoned, there had to be numerous women who failed to pay.  Surely some -- if not most of them -- succeeded in evading authorities.  Keeping their heads low and working diligently towards freedom in another country; yes, they could avoid the BFA.<br/><br/>Surely, that had happened many times over.  Yet Liua did not realize that there was a highly specialized market among men with time, money, and a thirst for challenge.  Young socialites such as she, with fair forms and faces, were prized if only for their illustrious pasts -- even if, stripped naked and subjected to men, all women screamed the same.  She failed to realize that her name and upbringing alone was worth far more than her indebted amount.  She failed to realize that the BFA would compile information on her, add a few choice photos, and sell her before she was even acquired.  Unbeknowst to Liua, she was already a slave -- and had been for some time..<br/><br/>Though numerous restaurants and quaint shops tantalized the senses, Liua held out for an alternative that was both cheap and filling.  She purposefully kept her pace brisk, giving the illusion that she had somewhere to go and most certainly could not afford to linger at any high priced establishment.  Few food trucks dared to encroach upon territory of restaurants lining the street.  She immediately gravitated towards them, daring to peruse the price lists.  One promised beefy, cheesy burritos for only three dollars!  They looked huge.  One could probably feed her for two days.<br/><br/>She decided to buy two.<br/><br/>Despite the niggling unease and the itch between her shoulder blades, Liua moved towards the end of the line.  She huffed impatiently, but none too loudly, shifting from heel to booted heel.  Just an illusion, right?<br/><br/>No..  she had to admit, she felt exposed.<br/><br/>"Two beef and cheese burritos, please."<br/><br/>The man looking just as beefy dipped his head and extended a hand, fingers wiggling.  As Liua passed him the money, he seemed to blink away his stupor and stare at her.  Intimately.  He said something in Spanish just before a second man joined, leaning out of the truck to look her over.    Hitching a breath, Liua hurriedly glanced down and rummaged through her purse, shoving the lone bill into awaiting hand.<br/><br/>"Quick, please.  I'm..  running late," she nearly stammered.<br/><br/>The men took her money and withdrew, conversing excitedly.  Customers around her were looking now, brows raised in confusion.  She couldn't take the burritos and her change fast enough.  Once she had both in hand, she forced herself to remain calm though body screamed at her to run.  Brush was removed from her purse and added to the change in her pocket.  One burrito was shoved inside while the other was unwrapped, ready to eat.  Nodding once, Liua turned and hurried down the street.<br/><br/>Of course, she noticed when five large, black, expensive cars suddenly filled a street that was full of degenerates and middle-class locals.  Everyone noticed, sharing excited whispers and wild speculations.  Liua just felt her heart hammer as men piled out, quickly melding into the crowd.<br/><br/>Around her.<br/><br/>Her nerves were so tightly wound that the bite of hot burrito in her mouth turned into a dry wad.  Reflexively, she spit it on the ground and kept walking.  A man to the right of her inclined his head, just barely...<br/><br/>...and Liua screamed, throwing the combination of scalding cheese and seasoned beef into his face.<br/><br/>If things had been any different, maybe she would have born a chance.  If she had been bitten by a radioactive spider, say -- or, at the very least, had been raised as anything but a proper young lady.  As it was, Liua only knew how to run.  Not to dodge, or avoid, or execute a stellar combo to render her enemies incapacitated.  While one man cursed and grappled with the burning substance coating his face, another loosened a dart.  She had only just gotten started, purse swinging and carefully arranged curls flying, when she felt a stinging between her shoulders.  Before a hand could even move towards the offending object, the special serum did its job and shut her down.  Swiftly.<br/><br/>In mid-run, her muscles ceased to cooperate.  Suddenly, the sidewalk below was rushing to meet her.  She hit it, hard, and skidded a few short and very painful feet.  A scream built and lodged in her throat, unvoiced, as skin rubbed away from cheek and arm, as blouse was ripped and ultimately ruined, as temple collided painfully with unrelenting concrete.<br/><br/>Wide eyes, coffee brown with flecks of green, stared uncomprehending as the men descended.  Her vision swam unsure, victim to both shock and fall.  Colored streamers painted the thugs grasping at uncooperative limbs.<br/><br/>She wouldn't pass out.<br/><br/>She wouldn't give in.<br/><br/>....she passed out.