Terror clutched Jennifer’s heart as the man in the shadows revealed details of the broader scope of illegal activity she had stumbled upon. She knew immediately that she was in way over her head. She was afraid for her life and felt her palms begin to dampen. He ordered her to remove her jacket again and added her shoes this time. Her hands trembling, she unbuttoned her jacket. She grasped the cuff of one sleeve and drew it down from her shoulder and let it drop behind her back. She pulled the other sleeve in the same manner and crossed her arms in front of her body, folding the jacket in a delft gesture of one who has done it a thousand times without thought. This time, it seemed to occur in the slowed gestures of a woman underwater.<br/><br/>She stood in the light, trembling, as she held her jacket against her body. She crossed her arms across her torso and tried to steady her shaking body. Her voice quivered as she called out into the darkness, “I haven’t seen you and I really don’t know anything; please let me go.” She knew that pleading was a signal of defeat. She hoped that it would be sufficient offering to save her neck. She sensed that she was angering him by trying to maintain equal footing. She kicked off her shoes, her heels falling skewed on the floor. With the heels off, she felt she could run better. She dove to the ground in the darkness and made her way in the dark along the floor toward her impression of the door’s direction. She didn’t anticipate her complete blindness as she entered the dark of the room after standing in the light. She whimpered and panted as she felt her terror rise.