text: He brought them one by one over a period of only a few hours. He took their shoes, jewelry, and watches before he left them. Their wallets and purses, too. Stripped them of anything personal but the clothes they wore as they stood blindfolded in a dark no man’s world before shoving them inside. There was no telling how long they’d been in the room since the door slammed shut.
  They were strangers to each other. The only thing they had in common was that they’d all been targeted, picked up, bound, blindfolded, and then deposited in this room. They didn’t know why. And they didn’t know what would happen the next time that door did open.