Adrian came round lying on a bed in a semi dark room. He was handcuffed and the handcuffs were linked by another set of handcuffs to the bedpost. He felt really groggy, and soon dropped unconscious again.
When he came round, the room was in almost total darkness, and it seemed that outside the window blinds it was dark, so he had obviously been out for a few hours. He yelled out, but nobody responded. As he l ay there listening he could hear no noise, no traffic, no people noises. Nobody around.
They had taken h is watch, shoes, belt, and coat. A fter what seemed like several hours he heard the crunch of tyres on gravel accompanied by the glare of headlights flashing across the window. The sound of a door opening, some subdued conversation, and then the sound of footsteps on bare floorboards coming closer. The door opened and a flood of light splashed across the room temporarily blinding him as the overhead light was switched on.
“Well Mr Lever, are you comfortable, ” said a gaunt lo oking guy with a southern drawl?
“I could do with the toilet.”
The guy who had spoken turned and said “Reg, undo him, and take him to the bathroom, but manacle his ankles before you do.”
Five minutes later he was back in the room and handcuffed to the bed again.
“Who are you?” he asked. “What do you want?”
“Oh come on L ever, don't lets play that game. You know why you are here and why we want you.”
“Are you Groucho?”
There was a slight hesitation before he answered, “Groucho? Who do you mean?”
“The person you told my brother that I should call.”
“Never heard of a man called Groucho.”
Adrian shrugged; they were not going to admit anything. “So what happens now?”
“It's not my decision as to what happens to you now but I suspect you will be going on a little air trip; that decision will be made by others and until we are told, you will stay here with us. Reg will get you some food, but don't try anything funny or you will regret it.” With that they both left the room.
There was a whispered conversation in the room next door. “Look here Mac, I’m not going to stay here and babysit this guy; it’s not my job.”
Mac slowly turned and looked at him. “Reg, I don't think you are in a position to argue. This job has not exactly gone smoothly and some people are looking to you for that. If I were you I would keep my mouth shut and do what is needed until the job is finished.”
“The stuff ups were not my fault,” whined Reg. “Dawson gave us no real heads up on what this case was all about. Anyway where do I get food from?”
“There's a MacDonald’s a mile down the road, try that, and bring back a burger and fries for me with some drinks.”