THE LIGHTS WERE AT A LOW DIM TO PREVENT ACCURATE PHOTOGRAPHY, AND
THE ROOM SHOOK SLIGHTLY AT THE CONSTANT VIBRATION OF A FILTHY CEILING
FAN. THE MEN LINES THE AISLES OF CHAIRS, SOME SWEATING IN THEIR FADED
BUSINESS SUITS, OTHERS INSPECTING THE SPORTS PAGES, AND OTHER STILL
CHECKING THEIR WALLETS TO ENSURE THEIR RESOURCES WERE AS DE’
SCRIBED. THEY WERE SILENT, SMOKING, AND WAITING. THE SHOW WAS YET TO
BEGIN. THIS WAS NOT THE KIND OF SHOW MOST OF US WOULD DESIRE TO
ATTEND.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS ONE OF THE DIREST AND MOST INHUMANE PRACTICES
IN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND YET IN THIS TINY SPECK OF HONG KONG, THERE
HAD BEEN A MARKET FOR THE SALE OF WOMEN FOR CENTURIES. THE GIRLS
WERE BACKSTAGE, BEING PREPARED AT THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE, AND MADE
SURE TO LOOK AS PRETTY AS POSSIBLE. SOME WOULD LEAVE THIS PLACE
AND TRAVEL FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES, THEIR HOMES WOULD LONG BE
BEHIND THEM. A WARM BED AND A SMILE A WORLD AWAY. THEY HAD COME
FROM ALL OVER, WHITE, BLACK, CHINESE AND A HUNDRED DIFFERENT BACK-
GROUNDS AND SKIN TONES.
ALL WAS MANAGED BY LIN FOU, THE ENFORCER. HE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A
TRUE POWER PLAYER IN THE WORLD OF HONG KONG CRIMINAL POLITICS, BUT
HE STILL RULED HIS SMALL SECTION WITH AN IRON FIST. THERE HADN’T BEEN
QUITE SO MANY OF THE GIRLS FOR SALE IN ONE PLACE, AND HE WAS EXPECT
ING TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY. HE’D BEEN DRINKING FOR MOST OF THE AF’
TERNOON, AND LONG INTO THE EVENING, SO BY THE TIME THE AUCTION WAS
DUE TO START, HIS PARAMOUR HAD GIVEN HIM MORE THAN HIS FILL. THE
BOTTLE SLIPPED FROM HIS FINGERS AND FELL DOWN ONTO THE CARPET,
STAINING THE FINE THREAD WORK. IT WAS TIME.
JENNIFER DIDN’T KNOW HER TRUE NAME, THE ONE HER PARENTS HAD GIVEN
HER. SHE ONLY KNEW THE NAME THAT FOU HAD DECIDED SHOULD BE HERS.
THIRTEEN YEARS SHE’D SPENT IN HIS SERVICE, UNTIL SHE’D DISCOVERED THE
WAY OUT. A REBEL OUTFIT HAD PREPARED A DRAUGHT FOR HER THAT WOULD
BOTH PARALYSE AND DETAIN FOU FOR LONG ENOUGH FOR THE SECOND ‘0 0
TO DO ITS WORK. SHE COULD HAVE LEFT A FEW WEEKS BEFORE, BUT THERE
WAS STILL MORE WORK TO DO.
DRAINING THE FLASK DOWN HIS FAT THROAT, HE GAGGED ON THE LIQUID, BUT
SOON CALMED. THEN THE TRANSFORMATION BEGAN. FULL, HEAVY BREASTS
GREW FROM HIS CHEST, AND HIS STOUT LEGS LENGTHENED NOTICEABLY. HIS
HIPS HEAVED THEMSELVES APART, GROWING WIDER AND MORE FEMININE, AND
HE FELT THE STRANGE CRACKLE OF BONE AND MUSCLE CHANGING AS HIS
FACE GREW DELICATE AND BEAUTIFUL. IN A MATTER OF MOMENTS HE HAD
TURNED INTO A TALL, SEXY BLONDE WOMAN. BUT THAT WAS NOT THE END OF
JENNIFER’S PLAN.
SHE FORCED HER WAY PAST HER MASTER’S GUARDS, DRAGGING THE CON-
FUSED NEW GIRL BEHIND HER. ON INSTRUCTION FROM MASTER FOU, THE REST
W THE GIRLS WERE TO BE RESERVED FOR HIM. BUT IN EXCHANGE, THE LOVE-
LIEST OF THE LOT WAS TO BE AUCTIONED AT HALF PRICE.
FOU WAS TOO DISTRACT ED BY THE NEW SENSATION OF HAVING MEN STARING
AT HER TO ARGUE.