Daydreams

Paranoia

Anyone would have noticed how obviously nervous they were, pacing back and forth in the small apartment. And about every other turn they began feverishly adjusting their clothes, a practically automatic process at this point. Pull on collar, roll up sleeves. Walk two to five steps, then roll down your sleeves. Repeat. And about every fifth lap they would go to the kitchen to make sure they had prepared the water jug.

The ring of the doorbell tore the person from their endless pacing and seemed to put a halt to their internal battle. The almost forgotten sound echoed between the walls. After almost five years of its absence, it brought with it bittersweet memories of simpler times.

They were pulled from their flashback by the doorbell ringing a second time, and headed towards the hall to let the visitor in. They opened the door and took a large step to the side to let in the woman who was waiting outside. The person quickly closed the door after her, paranoid even though they knew very well that there were no neighbors there to worry about. The woman stood silently and watched while the person locked with double locks, used to such precautions. Raids were unusual nowadays, but many still wanted to be on the safe side. Having guests over could have quite the consequences if you were caught and thoughtless physical contact was a thing of the past. During five years of viruses and mutations, the distances had grown greater.

The person turned and cleared their throat. The woman was definitely beautiful. She wore a dress with a very flattering cut, which showed off her collarbones and a bit of chest, little enough to be subtle. They opened and closed their mouth several times without being able to persuade themself to say something. After a while, the woman showed mercy and said,

"You weren't very clear on the phone, what kind of service are you looking for?"

When they remained silent, she continued,

"Did you read the information online before booking?"

The person nodded.

"Then you know that we offer everything from casual physical contact to bondage."

They nodded again, somewhat thoughtfully this time, and then gathered their courage and said,

"I want everything."

The woman raised her eyebrows but said nothing so they continued,

"Can we start out small? I haven't done this before. Can we have a drink?"

"Sure" said the woman and followed the person to the kitchen where they poured water into two glasses from the prepared jug on the kitchen counter. Though they seemed too nervous to drink from their glass and twisted their hands while the woman politely drank from her glass. A long silence later, when she had emptied her glass, she asked,

"Where do you want to do this?"

They nodded at the door and led her back to the living room and through a door to the bedroom.

As she stepped over the threshold, she staggered, and the person watched as she leaned against the door frame and panted.

"Hey! Are you okay?" they asked.

The woman smiled and scrunched up her face.

"I'm fine. Just a little ... dizzy."

Then she started giggling. The giggle grew into a laughing fit until she held an arm over her stomach and sank to the floor. When she eventually stopped laughing, the person took a step towards her.

"What's your name?"

"Linda" the woman answered and started giggling again

"Who's your boss, Linda?"

"I don't know, we call her Mama."

"Where do you meet with her"

The woman didn't seem to hear the question, she seemed to be lost in her own head. They had to repeat the question twice before she pulled her eyebrows together and searched for the information in her memory. After a second she managed to give them an address and they stepped over her, careful not to touch her, and closed and locked the door around her before they picked up the phone and dialed the number to the station. Barely a signal had gone through before Andersson picked up the phone.

"Did you get anything?"

"I have an address."

Trigger warnings: lockdown, pandemic, drugging, prostitution (not quite traditional)