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            “Come on, Blue Eyes, you can wake up now.”
            The strange voice sounded very far away and there were funny lights still flashing around in the black darkness inside of Ronnie’s head as he struggled to open his eyes again.
            “Yea, we only give you enough of that XXXX-juice to get you here,” another harsh voice echoed in his head and sounded closer as the darkness began to fade away.  Ronnie still felt very confused.  The last thing he remembered was sitting in his car and getting ready to go back to his dorm when some strange guy came up to him and said “Hey kid, you dropped something.”
            Ronnie remembered turning to thank the helpful man when all of a sudden there was a damp pad of cloth being pressed over his nose and mouth.  The cloth reeked of a XXXX sweet smell that turned Ronnie’s stomach and made his eyes all misty.  And then everything started to get blurry and dark, and then he was here, wherever here was.
            Ronnie struggled to open his eyes and turned his head to see a strange room full of muddy colors that were all running together like when you spill water on a water color painting.  The swimming colors made Ronnie’s stomach feel really queasy and he almost XXXXd when he tried to swallow down all of the drool that was now filling up his mouth.
            “He’s coming around now, Boss,” the second voice drawled near to him.
            The colors in front of Ronnie’s eyes stopped swimming and then came into focus to tell him that he was in a room that he had never been in before.  Then he looked up to see a big guy in a suit chewing on an even bigger cigar towering over him.  And next to the Cigar Guy there was another guy in a suit who looked even bigger.  The second guy was rubbing one hand over the fist of his other hand which was all decorated with big shiny rings.  No wait, those weren't rings.  They were brass knuckles.  Where was he?
            “Mmmatmougoomant?”  Ronnie was surprised by the strange sounds coming out of his mouth and then his recovering senses discovered that there was a thick knot of some kind of cloth filling up his mouth and now he could feel the pain in the corners of his mouth where the two ends of the rag were being pulled back to where they were tied tightly behind his neck.
            “Don’t try to talk kid,” the Cigar Guy advised.  “You just chew on that rag and nod your head when we tell you to.”
            Then Ronnie tried to sit up and discovered that there were tight ropes wrapped and tied all around his ankles, knees, arms and chest so that he could hardly move.  What was going on here?
            “Yea, and don’t try to get away,” Brass Knuckles chuckled.  “I tied them knots myself.”
            Then the Cigar Guy grabbed Ronnie by the shoulders and pulled him up into a sitting position on the floor.  “All right kid, now pay attention.”
            Ronnie tried working the corners of his mouth around the thick rag that was starting to hurt him and slid his tongue back and forth against the big hard cloth knot inside his mouth that was now starting to soften and get bigger as it soaked up the juices in his mouth.  What choice did he have?
             “My people tell me that you're a smart kid who knows how to play the odds.  Football, basketball, soccer, baseball, even tennis and volley ball – I hear you got a bet down on everything.”
            It was true.  Ever since Ronnie was a freshman he had cornered all of the sports betting on campus and he had already made more money than any scholarship would pay.

            “So you're gonna to come to work for us.  We're gonna broaden your horizons.”
            “Yea,” Brass Knuckles put in.  “We're gonna let you go national.”
            “So here’s the deal.  We're gonna let you put some bets down for us.  If you win, we're gonna be real nice to you.”
            “But if you start losing, we might have to put you on the Disabled List for awhile.”
            “And if you talk, then we're gonna put you on the Swim Team.”
            Brass Knuckles laughed and polished his knuckles.  “Yea, doing laps in the deep water with concrete blocks on your feet.”
            “You want some time to think it over?  Okay Carlo, let’s grab a beer.”
            The two big guys in suits went into the next room and closed the door.
            This was impossible!  Things like this didn't happen to me!  Then fear clutched at my heart.  I had to get out of here!
            So I strained and struggled and fell back down onto the floor.  Desperation gave me strength as I struggled against the tight ropes and pushed my tongue against the thick knot of soggy cloth in my mouth, thinking that if I could dislodge it, then maybe I call somebody for help.
            But Brass Knuckles was right.  Those knots were really well tied and very tight.  I couldn't even budge them.  And each time that I almost pushed that big thick knot out of my mouth all of that slimy cloth just slipped right back in between my lips again.
            Panic set in as I grunted and groaned and rolled around on the hard floor.  I even tried crawling out the door, but I couldn't get my bound body to go where I wanted it to and I only ended
            Finally my brains kicked in.  What were they asking me to do?  I'd only be doing the same thing I was doing now.  And they promised to take good care of me.  But if I got caught it could mean serious jail time.  I wouldn't be a penny ante college kid any more.
            Suddenly the door opened and I saw the two suits standing over me again.
            “Well kid,” the Cigar Guy drawled.  “What’s it gonna be?”
            “Yea,” Brass Knuckles smiled.  “You wanna bet?”

Ronnie played by Mike
Photography by Caitiff