Joanna Henry awoke in a metal room, curled up on her side.

As soon as her eyes fluttered open, she shot up straight and looked around, not trusting a single thing around her. The last thing she remembered was when those four people left her apartment. So, what was she doing here?

She took in her surroundings. Metal. Everything was made of metal, save for the bedding on this bunk of hers. At least that was soft, so she could actually get a decent night's sleep in whatever this place was. There was a table and two chairs in the center of the room, and the door was directly opposite of her. A small toilet and sink were in the corner on the right side of the door, with a mirror hanging over the basin. A small window in the door let some light into the room, and she immediately got up, heading over to try and peer out.

The hallway she could see outside looked like a prison. Was that where she was? Was she in prison? Why would she be in prison? She hadn't done anything wrong...had she?

Suddenly, a man appeared at her door, looking through the window right at her. Joanna immediately stepped back towards the table, a yelp escaping her lips as the door swung open to reveal an older man, maybe in his forties or fifties, standing there.

"Ms. Henry, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he started, stepping through the doorway, but Joanna just shook her head at him.

"Who are you, and what am I doing here?" Joanna questioned, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke.

"My name is Dr. Tyrone Lyttleton. Before your father's death, I was quite a good friend of his," the man replied as the door closed behind him.

"Dad never mentioned you," she challenged, tilting her head slightly.

"Well, I sure thought we were friends. That is, until your father wrote me out of his will. He gave everything to you, or will once you turn twenty-six," Dr. Lyttleton replied, stepping a little closer to her.

"So what? Let me guess, you want me to agree to write over all the money to you so you can get what you want, huh?" Joanna rolled her eyes as she sat down in one of the chairs, crossing her legs.

Dr. Lyttleton was surprised; generally, nobody came to that conclusion so quickly. Then again, this was only the second person he had had kidnapped, so he didn't know what to expect. Oliver was stubborn, but this girl was fiery. He had expected a timid little girl, not someone as spunky as this. "Well, yes, actually," he replied, a slightly sheepish look on his face. "You're pretty quick, aren't you?"

Joanna smiled a sweet smile at him, hiding her budding feeling of hatred for this man already. "Well, let me tell you something, Dr. Lyttleton. You are never gonna get everything you want in this world. First, you get what you deserve. And right now, I'm thinking you deserve the police out to get you, or some private investigator. You're not getting any of my money, or anything else. So deal with it, and get out of my room, okay? Buh bye," she declared, shooing him out.

He was clearly surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. She had the nerve to address him like that? Well, she was still in shock, of course. Tomorrow, she'd be more willing, having resigned to her situation, at least that was what he could hope. "I'll let that insolence slide for now, but tomorrow...I'll have a contract here, and you will sign it," Dr. Lyttleton ordered, standing his ground as Joanna stood up.

"Whatever saves your pride. Now, leave. I'd like to get some real sleep, or do some yoga, or something else. I don't know," Joanna explained, and glared at him.

Dr. Lyttleton left in silence, keeping his cool until the door slammed shut and he could no longer be heard. Joanna was alone again in the metal room.

Once she was sure that he was gone, she walked back to the door and knocked on it, hoping for somebody else.

A new man appeared in the window and opened the door, stepping inside. He was dressed fairly similarly to Dr. Lyttleton, but appeared to be more kind, or at least that was what could be hoped for. "Ms. Henry. Can I help you?" he asked her.

"Can I get your name first?"

"Of course. My name is Liukin. I'm the supervisor down here," he replied.

"Alright, Liukin. Dr. Lyttleton was very rude, and I'd like some information on why I'm here, how long I will be here, and what I can do here in the meantime, please," Joanna replied, moving to the table again to sit down.

"Alright. Well, Dr. Lyttleton probably answered that question, but I'll rephrase it. He is a little bitter about being left out of your father's will, and a lot of bad things have been happening to him recently that caused him to snap, so he wants to get back at people in a variety of ways. This way of getting your money is just part of it. I'm very sorry you had to be pulled into this," Liukin apologized.

"Well, a polite person like you working for him is a little surprising. What's your story?" Joanna inquired as she ended up in her seat.

"What about your other questions?"

"Fine, those first, then my new one, please," Joanna resigned as she fixed her hair and pulled it into a better version of a bun.

"According to Dr. Lyttleton, you will be here until you sign the money over to him. However long that is will be up to you. In the meantime, you can spend time in here. We have books we can bring to you to read, as we've done for one of our other residents, or you could spend time in the common area, where there are some exercise machines and you can talk to the others, while being supervised, of course," Liukin explained.

"That actually sounds pretty nice. Can you take me there, please?" Joanna asked, sitting up straighter.

"Absolutely, Ms. Henry. Follow me," Liukin directed and led her out the door.

"So, tell me the story in the meantime. Why are you working here?" Joanna questioned as they walked down the prison-like hallways. There were many doors that looked just like the one she had come through, which made her a little nervous to think about how many people this Dr. Lyttleton may want to punish and lock up because of his own problems.

"It's good pay, and if he ever gets caught, I move right up into the head of the business and can run it however I want, in a better way if at all possible," Liukin explained simply.

"You move up? No offense, but you don't seem to be the second in command at wherever I am," Joanna admitted as they strolled to a room at the end of the hallway.

"Well, I am. I'm not sure he trusts me as much as he used to anymore, so he put me down here, I guess," Liukin replied and opened the door, letting her in before following her and closing the door.

There was another person sitting at a table in this common room, staring at his hands. He looked lonely, as probably everyone else was. His hair was dark and messy, and he wore a sweatshirt and jeans. He looked like he had just arrived today as well, and was in denial. Joanna stepped into the room and walked over to the boy, sitting down in the seat across from him. "Well, hello," she greeted, getting his attention.

The boy looked up, his green eyes full of sadness and loneliness. "Oh, hi," he greeted softly, his voice weak. Was it possible he had been crying?

"My name's Joanna. What's your name?" Joanna introduced herself.

"Nate. Nice to meet you, Joanna," he replied, trying to give her a smile, but he failed miserably, and it faded almost as soon as it hit his lips.

"How long have you been here?" Joanna inquired. "That is, if you feel you can answer. I don't want to push you or anything."

"Nah, it's fine. About a couple hours. You?" Nate sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to fix it a little bit as he spoke.

"The same. Got knocked out and woke up here, so I'm not completely sure, but," Joanna commented with a shrug, pursing her lips slightly as she thought about it.

"Well, I was investigating here with some friends, and we got caught, and I didn't make it out in time. Guess I was too damn slow to keep myself safe." He looked up at the ceiling, thinking before he continued to speak. "What's that saying? You don't have to be faster than the bear, you just have to be faster than somebody? Well, I was the somebody, I guess," he joked with a laugh.

"Investigating? What?" Joanna asked curiously. He was investigating the same day those guys from that detective agency showed up at her place? That couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yeah. We're, or we were, I guess, investigating a series of crimes that seem to be connected with this place. I just wasn't fast enough to get out," Nate shrugged.

"Are you part of Dirk Gently's group?" Joanna asked.

Nate's eyes widened as he looked at her. "How'd you know?"

"A group of his investigators came to my place before I got taken here. They were some pretty nice people, so..."

"You're Joanna Henry, aren't you?" Nate cut her off, realization finally hitting him. When she nodded, he sighed. "My sister was part of that group. Harper. Sorry you got swept up into this whole mess."

"Not your fault. Besides, your sister is nice, by the way," Joanna added, flashing a kind smile.

"Well, so are you, so it makes sense that you'd get along. You two both want to be actresses too, so that's a plus too," Nate commented, shrugging.

"Maybe once this is all over, we can be a part of a movie or show together. That'd be fun," Joanna mused, grinning at the thought.

"Wouldn't that be incredible?" Nate admitted, thinking about it. "Well, we probably won't be in here long. They'll get us sooner or later, when the police are on the case, and we'll be free and our lives will be back to normal...or as normal as they can be now, I guess."

"I hope so, Nate. I hope so."