Behind the door

After watching on the surveillance monitors as Emma rushed to the employees' changing room, grabbed her stuff and left, Mr. Long left his office hand headed towards the back storage area of the club. At the end of a dark corridor with doors leading to many storage rooms, after a right turn, there was an unassuming steel door. Most of the employees didn't know where it led, or were even aware of it, as few of them ever came this way. And that was the just way Mr. Long wanted it to be.

As he approached the door, he pressed a small button hidden in the rough concrete wall. A small key pad appeared from behind a sliding panel just to the left of the door, and Mr. Long tapped in a code, his fingers moving in a fluid and well practiced motion over the keys. The lock gave a soft click, and he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

On the other side of the door stood two brawny guys with stony faces. They both straightened as they saw their boss and gave Mr. Long a respectful bow as he passed.

Where the storage room corridor in the club had been dark and barely illuminated, the corridor beyond the door was brightly lit. As Mr. Long passed further into the hidden complex, it became more lively and bustling. Mr. Long walked past several men, who all stepped to the side and bowed respectfully until he had passed, before promptly resuming their tasks. Anyone laying eyes upon it for the first time would immediately get the impression that this was a smooth running operation.

Finally, after descending a flight of stairs down to a basement, Mr. Long reached his goal. The basement was large, with a rough concrete floor which slanted downwards to a large drain. Although the room was regularly cleaned, the pungent smell of blood, sweat and fear could not be washed completely way.

On a hard steel chair in the middle of the room sat the customer who had harassed Emma. His name was Yu Changcheng, and he was currently frightened beyond his wits. He had sobered up enough to understand that he was in deep trouble. From what had started as a fun night out with some friends, had now turned into a nightmare.

When he had been led away by Mr. Chen, he had expected to be taken to some exclusive back room, hopefully filled with some beautiful girls to amuse and appease him. What he did not expect was to have a black hood shoved over his head, before being forcefully dragged away.

Upon reaching this gritty basement room, the two burly men who had done the dragging had shoved him roughly into the chair. When he tried to stand up, one of them hit him backhanded across the face. Yu Changcheng took the hint and made no further attempt at getting up.

The two men stood ramrod straight on each side of him, their faces stony. They looked more like statues than real flesh and blood men. His frightened inquiries about what was going on, what they wanted from him and when he could leave fell on deaf ears. He might as well have been talking to the wall.

The third man, who seemed to be the one in charge, was leaning casually against a table to one side. The man seemed quite relaxed, tapping away at his phone. Yu Changcheng contemplated trying to talk directly to the man. But then thought better of it, as the man, almost seeming to be aware of his intent, abruptly stopped typing and looked up from his phone directly at him. That emotionless, dead-eyed look was so terrifying that Yu Changcheng almost pissed himself.

After what seemed like an eternity, when the pressure of the dead silent room was starting to become so loud in Yu Changcheng's ears that he though he might break down in hysterical tears, something finally happened.

The third man, Yu Changcheng seemed to remember his name being 'Chen', stood up abruptly, tucking his phone away in the inner pocket of his immaculate grey designer suit. He went over to stand beside Yu Changcheng looking expectantly at the only door leading to and out of the basement. Soon, firm footsteps could be heard descending the stairs beyond.

When Mr. Long stepped into the room, Yu Changcheng trembled. There was no other way to describe the expression on his face other than 'diabolical'. He looked like he was returning from a casual stroll in Hell.