Secretly Mine

A few days later. Night of the secret auction.

-

"How do I look?"

I glanced at Zach from the reflection in the mirror in front of me.

"Well... It's actually less ridiculous than I thought it would be," he laughed. It was finally the time to get dressed in my masquerade ensemble.

It took me almost an hour to get dressed, and that was with Zach's help. Neither of us had much experience with these slightly more artistic articles of clothing, but eventually we had it figured out.

"You remind me of the mysterious male lead of that one superhero anime. The one where the girls transformed into moon goddesses or whatever," he said.

I raised my eyebrow, unsure of what he was talking about. But my outfit certainly did look out of the ordinary.

"Is the invitation ready?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"Yep. It's right here," said Zach, holding up a golden envelope. "I've had it tested a few times to make sure that it works as you've described."

"Good," I nodded, and walked over to slip the envelope with the forged invitation into my pocket.

I turned my attention to the surface of the bed in front of me. Lying on top of the sheets were a variety of secret recording devices. An event like this would certainly not allow phones or electronic devices, so I had to prepare special, military grade hidden cameras and recorders.

They were made from a special polycarbonate material that prevented them from being picked up by any detector or scanner.

"I'm surprised that you even managed to get your hands on these gadgets. I thought this kind of stuff was strictly managed by the military?" asked Zach as he picked up a small pin camera in his hands.

I flashed him a smug smile, "When the military wants a special contract with your company, they're willing to throw in any extra bells and whistles to make it happen."

"Must be nice," scoffed Zach.

"If you want this kind of treatment, go and start your own company. I'm sure your father would be thrilled to see you so proactive.

"No way! I'm enjoying my current life, thank you! I'll leave all that complicated stuff to you and just ride your coattails like a good friend."

I shook my head, but the smile on my face widened. Zach's been a free spirit ever since we were young. No matter how hard his father tried, he couldn't get him to focus on anything business-related.

"Sure, sure. You just keep doing your own thing," I said, flashing him a smile. I reached down and picked up the pin cameras and recording devices, fastening them to my suit.

"I wish you could bring your gun. I don't like the thought of you going there unarmed. What if a similar thing happens? Something tells me that if you get caught this time, you won't be waking up in the hospital the next morning."

"I won't get caught. Don't worry." I said resolutely.

It was more of a promise to myself. I couldn't afford any more mistakes; there was too much at stake.

Zach nodded and walked over, placing his hand on my arm. "I'll be on standby in the area. If anything dangerous happens, I'll do my best to help."

"Thanks, Zach. I appreciate you."

I returned the gesture, placing my arm on his. He's always been a good friend, and I knew that no matter what, I could always count on him.

With one final goodbye, I walked out of the room. Outside, my brand new car was waiting for me. I specifically purchased it for tonight's event. It was very low profile and tied to a name and address of someone who didn't exist.

I wasn't sure how tight the security would be, but I wanted to make sure that all of my bases were covered.

-

When I arrived at the auction house, I noticed that there were many cars already parked in the parking lot. Beautifully dressed couples were full of smiles and laughter as they made their way inside.

Women wore magnificent ball gowns that looked as if they belonged in the halls of Versailles, while the men were dressed in a similar manner to how I was. The only difference was the style and color.

Most of the ladies opted for bright colors and floral patterns, while the men wore darker colors.

I sat in my car for a few minutes, observing the people around me. It was difficult to digest the sheer number of people who were here tonight.

Initially, I felt that this event was very, very exclusive, where only maybe fifty people were invited, but there were hundreds.

Looks like there's more filth in this city than I had originally thought.

I couldn't believe that there were this many people interested in buying humans. I didn't even want to begin to think of what they did with them, but I knew it was nothing good.

A few minutes later, I got out of my car and joined the crowd, making my way over to the entrance. Everyone around seemed relaxed and in high spirits, so I did my best to act like I was, too. The mask that covered the majority of my face made it easier, allowing me to spare the constant fake smiles.

"Hello there, Mr. Mysterious. I must say, you're outfit tonight is quite wonderful."

A woman wearing a bright baby blue gown twirled over to my side. She was wearing a mask that covered her eyes and the upper half of her head, so I could clearly see the wide smile she was showing me.

"You look exceptionally lovely, Miss," I said, doing my best to flash her an equally big smile.

She giggled at my reply and wrapped her arm around mine. I was momentarily caught by surprise, but I allowed her to do as she wished.

"I told my husband that I was out with my girlfriends tonight. How about we enjoy today's event together?"