Monday dawned like any other with Bill walking towards the Star Cafe through the crowded streets and alleyways of the Old Quarter, the noise, humidity and throng of scooters had become his second home. He loved the grittiness of his life in Hanoi, and the juxtaposition of its innate beauty. As he walked he could see through the limbs of the overhanging Banyan trees that the sky was transforming into the dark and leaden form which occurred each afternoon right before the torrential downpour and the respite from the tense humidity.
He began to hear the first heavy drops on the leaves above him and so instinctively stepped under an awning. He hadn't seen the shadowed form of the two men standing deep inside the darkly lite store front nor felt the blow that rendered him unconscious.
Bill's head ached as he slowly became aware of where he was, or where he wasn't to be more precise. He wasn't able to remember much about anything as his brain felt completely muddled. He tried to open his eyes, but realized that he had something over his head which felt like a cloth or bag of some sort. His hands and feet were tightly bound behind his back and he was lying on his side on a cold floor.
What the bloody hell was going on he thought as his mind began to regain some semblance of order and understanding to his predicament. He could hear the muffled sound of voices nearby but couldn't decipher what they were saying. He wondered how long he'd been here? And why he'd been trust up like a pig and left on the floor.
His first thought was to yell, but soon thought better of it. Although never being in a situation like this before, he sensed that this was more than a simple scare tactic and that if he knew what was good for him he needed to remain silent as though he was still unconscious and try and glean what information he could.
The ropes on his hands and feet were cutting into his wrists and feet and so uncomfortably tight. His mouth dry with the lingering taste of blood and wondered if the wound on his head had been reopened, it sure felt like it from the blinding pain that emanated from his head... His mind raced as he tried to remember his last conscious thought before he found himself here.
A deep fear began to build...
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