June 27, 2004
1352 Hours

    Amanda was in her bathroom in her and her husband’s লন্ডন apartment. She was pacing back and forth. She was nervous, not knowing what to expect. She looked at her watch again. The 15 মিনিট were up. She picked it up and examined it. She beamed and began crying tears of joy. She couldn’t wait to tell Hans. He was stationed in Denmark at the moment but was scheduled to be back tomorrow afternoon.

1824 Hours

    Amanda was in the living area of her 5th floor apartment reading. She heard the light pattering of rain outside, along with some thundering. Suddenly Hans burst through the door. He was covered in blood. “Amanda! We have to go!” He ব্যক্ত going into the bedroom, pulling out the suitcases and beginning to pack. Frightened, Amanda set her book down and followed him. “Hans! What happened?! আপনি weren’t supposed to be back from Denmark until tomorrow! Why are আপনি covered in blood!? … And why on Earth do আপনি smell like fish?” Amanda ব্যক্ত as she examined Hans’s bloodstained shirt. She grabbed his arm and he flung her to the ground. “Amanda! I’m sorry! I…” She got up angrily. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Answer me Hans!” She shouted in his face. “Amanda, something has happened in Denmark. We have to disappear.” Hans told her. Amanda still needed answers. “Hans, tell me what happened অথবা so help me I will go to the police!” Amanda commanded. Hans acted without thinking. He backhanded her in the face with excessive force. “You will not go to the police! আপনি hear me Amanda!?” Amanda, on the verge of crying, remained on the ground where she fell when he hit her, frightened, holding the side of her face. Hans’s angry face turned into concern. “I-I’m sorry…Amanda…I…” His voice trailed off. He left the room and went out onto the terrace and stood in the rain. Amanda couldn’t tell him now. She got up, grabbed her টাকার থলি and জ্যাকেট and left as fast as she could. When she got to the sidewalk, she looked up. Hans was still on the terrace, his face in his hands, elbows on the railing. He saw her. He turned and went into the apartment. She knew he was coming after her. She quickly started running, without looking back. She ran around the corner and hid in an alley, behind a dumpster. She saw him run দ্বারা the alley, frantically looking around for her, and then kept running. She waited there a moment, trying to catch her breath. Then she cautiously got up, and took a step অগ্রবর্তী in a puddle. She looked down into her reflection. The bruise on the side of her face encircled her right eye, reached around to her temple, and down to her upper cheek bone. She reached up and traced the edge of the bruise lightly with her index finger. Then she put her জ্যাকেট on and put the ঘোমটা on to cover as much of her face as possible. She peeked around the side of the building. There was no sign of Hans. She saw a phone booth and approached it. She picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hey Sherri…Yeah, it’s me, Amanda…Remember that favor আপনি owe me? ...I’m afraid that দিন has come. Look, I can’t talk right now. Where can I meet you? …Okay, I’ll be there in about half an hour.” She hung up. She left the booth and went to a storm drain. Opening her bag, she pulled out her cell phone and credit cards and dropped them in the drain. Now she couldn’t be traced. She then pulled her ঘোমটা up tighter and made her way to her friends’ apartment seven blocks away.