The Girl Who Made Them Pay Read online

  “You know what stupid son-of-ass Zero do?” Vlad spat out the words. Rivers of sweat was running down his puffed face. “You know what he do right now?”

  “Tell me!” Tetyana said.

  “This plainclothes cop was checking ’round. He ask questions. And you know what that idiot do? Pissed as hell, he shoots him. What the fuck was he thinking?” Vlad’s face flushed a deep red.

  “Zero shot a cop?” Luc asked, incredulous.

  Katy and I looked at each other.

  “Now, he in trouble. I in trouble. You in trouble. All fucked up!” Vlad shouted, waving his gun indiscriminately at the floor, the ceiling, the bed, and every one of us. A nerve on his neck was pulsing madly. No one budged. Everyone had their eyes on that wavering gun. Everywhere that gun pointed, our eyes followed.

  “Where’s he now?” Tetyana asked.

  “Downstairs. Woke me up, that bastard. Still pissed. Couldn’t walk straight. I help him put body in the basement.”

  “You brought the body into the house?” Tetyana’s eyes widened. “Seriously? What were you thinking?”

  “What the hell I supposed to do?” Vlad looked like he was about to explode. “Wait till somebody found fucking dead bobby outside? Jeezus fuck!”

  He turned to Katy, who was huddled next to me near Win’s bed.

  “This your fault!” he hissed, raising his gun and pointing it at her. “You started this! All this trouble happen only after American called.”

  Katy recoiled and brought her hands to her chest as if to protect herself. It took me only a second to remember who I was now. I stepped forward, pushed Katy behind me, and spread my arms out, as if the black robe would stop a bullet. It would go through me first, then her. But he won’t shoot his own team, would he? Or would he?

  Vlad’s face transformed from pink to a deep shade of purple. The gun in his hands shook even more.

  “For frig sake, Vlad, calm down,” Tetyana snapped.

  “Calm down?” He spun to look at her. “Don’t tell me the fuck to calm down, woman!” White froth was coming out of the corners of his mouth.

  “Settle down,” Tetyana said. “And put that thing away. I got this.”

  Either she had ovaries of titanium or she knew something we didn’t.

  “I said, I got this.” He voice was firm, commanding even.

  Vlad lowered the gun.

  “We’ve got to get out before the police come,” Luc said in a quiet voice.

  Tetyana gave a knowing nod to Luc.

  He straightened up. “I’ll get the girls,” he said, marching toward the door. Something told me they’d both gone through this routine before. Neither looked frightened as much as apprehensive.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Tetyana said looking at us.

  With an unhappy grunt, Vlad pulled a phone out of his pocket, cursing under his breath. His fingers shook as he dialed. Now that he was occupied with something other than us, Tetyana quietly motioned to us to follow her out. Katy and I tiptoed behind her.

  “What about Win?” I said, as soon as we stepped out to the landing. “We can’t leave her with that loose nut and his gun.”

  Tetyana gave me a funny look as if to say, What do you care?

  “She’ll be taken care of. They won’t leave her here to talk to cops.”

  “What do you mean taken care of?” My voice rose. “Are they going to kill her?”

  I made a move toward the room, but Tetyana grabbed me. She bent down, so her eyes were level with mine. “Those idiots just killed a cop. They won’t touch her. Luc’s gonna take care of Win. She won’t get hurt. Promise.”

  I looked into her green eyes. They were wide open, still hiding something, but honest. I nodded. I had no choice. She let go of my arm.

  “And please don’t run down,” she said, looking at Katy first, then me. “What’s downstairs is going to be worse if you’re not with me.”

  Katy and I stared as she sashayed over to the first door that was locked. She took a key from her bra, opened it and disappeared inside.

  We huddled near the stairway, waiting for her. From where we stood, we could hear Vlad on the phone, shouting, cursing at someone. Snippets of words shot out every few seconds like bullets from an angry gun. Pigs. Passports. Truck. Girls. It was clear things weren’t going well for him, which meant things weren’t going to go well for us either.

  When Tetyana came out, she’d dumped her red kimono for jeans and a T-shirt, and was carrying two knapsacks. She motioned to us to follow her down. We walked in single file, Tetyana up front, then Katy and myself at the back of the line.

  There was a crowd huddled in the little kitchen when we got down.

  There were four other girls I hadn’t seen before, none older than seventeen, all anorexic-skinny and in varying stages of dress. One of them was smoking, her fingers trembling as she held the cigarette against her bright orange lips. There was a murmur of hushed, scared voices, but not one of them looked up as we walked in. A few glanced curiously at Katy, but they seemed mostly consumed with their own safety.

  Tetyana marched straight to the back door of the kitchen, yanked it open and looked out. An Arctic wind streamed inside. Katy and the others pulled their shirts and jackets around them and huddled even closer. Even I felt a cold draft under Bibi’s black robe.

  “Everyone out,” Tetyana said.

  One by one, the girls stepped outside, unsteadily, warily.

  I was the last one out. I stepped out of the house and surveyed the scene. We were in a back alley, behind the square. Nearby were two white cargo vans, parked and ready, their engines running.

  It was raining outside now, the kind of rain that comes sideways and drenches you no matter how much you try to take cover. Though it was still late afternoon, the skies were dark, as if they knew what evil was going on below.

  The girls climbed into the back of the first van, one by one. While I waited near the doorway for instructions from Tetyana, something in my brain began to whir. I tapped Katy on her shoulder.

  “Hey,” I said in a low whisper. “Let’s make a run for it.”

  She didn’t move.

  “Now!” I whispered as loudly as I dared. “Now, Katy!”

  She stood still like a statue. I followed her eyes. That was when I saw a shadow of a man near driver’s door of the first van, watching us with a machine gun in his hands.

  I felt something press against my back and push me forward. I turned around.

  It was Zero scowling at me. He had a gun in his right hand and a small laptop cradled in his left hand. The gun was pointing right at me. He had a bloodshot crazy look on his face like he was drunk or drugged or both.

  “Bibi!” Tetyana called out. “Time to go! Get in the van now!” It could have been my imagination but I thought I heard a hint of panic in her voice.

  Zero motioned the gun toward the van, and like a zombie, Katy walked toward the second vehicle. Tetyana climbed into the back of the van and leaned out to help her in.

  I stayed where I was. Do I make a run for it? Call the police? Will Zero shoot me, his own sister? Will they shoot Katy after that?

  I looked at Katy’s tear-stained, terrified face. She pulled her jacket around her shoulders as if to hug herself. I can’t leave her now. Whatever happens, I can’t leave her. I stumbled toward the van and gripped the steel handle to pull myself up, without tripping on my robe.

  Inside, the van was bare. There were no seats, no benches, just a bare floor. Separating the driver’s seat up front and us was a long black panel of steel. Tetyana had pulled out scratchy army blankets from somewhere and was spreading them out in the back. The two bags she’d brought with her were lying in a corner.

  That reminded me. Katy’s suitcase was still at the airport, probably picked up by security now. My own backpack was lying outside the window on the street, just around the corner from here. Thank god I’ve got my passport on me. I wondered about Katy’s, but this wasn’t the time to ask.

 
; Tetyana’s speed and efficiency at arranging things gave me a dismal feeling she’d done this before. She pointed to where Katy and I should sit. I hunkered across the floor from Katy and waited for what was to happen next.

  Tetyana reached over. I thought she was going to say something, so I leaned in. Instead of a whisper, I felt a prick on my arm.

  “Hey, what’re you doing?” I tried to pull away, but Tetyana was strong. I didn’t struggle for long because my mind went fuzzy. What’s wrong with me? I closed my eyes to stop the nausea, took a few deep breaths and leaned back.

  Around me, I heard vague noises of people shuffling, men’s gruff voices. Someone or something big and heavy was being put into the van, next to me. Then someone jumped out of the van, making it bounce up and down. I felt even more nauseous. What’s going on? Why do I feel so sick?

  In the distance came the sound of a police siren, an ear-splitting alarm I wished would stop. My head hurt as if it was being squeezed in a vice.

  The van’s doors slammed shut, plunging us into darkness.

  Chapter Eighteen

  My eyes opened to darkness.

  It was pitch black inside, except for a yellow light that streaked across the floor every few seconds and just as quickly faded away.

  It took several seconds for me to get my bearings.

  I was moving. I was in the back of a car. No, I was on the floor of a van, a van with no seats. I stared into the dark space around me and saw only vague shapes. Silent gray shadows, looking like ghosts that had lost their edges. There were five, no, four. Who’re they?

  I reached down and felt around me. I was sitting on something cold and hard—a sheet of steel. I leaned back to stop the nausea. My head throbbed and I felt sore and weak like I was recovering from a fever. I took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to keep down whatever wanted to come up.

  Where am I? Where am I going? What happened to Katy?

  I looked up as the light fell across the van once again. Up above us was a narrow slit of a window. Every time we passed a streetlight, the inside of the van lit up for a half a second. I waited for the next light.

  That was when I saw her. A woman crouched across from me, her head between her knees, her curly red hair cascading to the ground.

  “Katy!” I said, sitting up. “Katy? Is that you?”

  “Shh,” someone said from a dark corner.

  The redhead barely looked up, but I saw a twitch of her foot.

  I waited for the next streetlight. A girl was lying on the floor of the van, her head resting on the lap of a third woman. Who are these people? I waited for the light again. I recognized the girl’s short black hair falling across her pale forehead.

  “Win!” I called out.

  “Shh. Keep your voice down,” the woman holding her said. It was a familiar rough voice. Tetyana?

  “Who are you?”

  Silence.

  “Where are we?”

  “On the road.”

  The girl stirred awake. “Hey,” she said in a weak voice.

  “Hi, hun,” the woman said, stroking the girl’s hair.

  “Are we moving again?” the girl asked softly.

  “Yes, hun.”

  The girl looked around. She seemed more alert than I was. I had a hard time focusing.

  “Where’s Bibi?” she asked.

  Bibi. That rang a bell.

  “She stayed back,” the woman replied.

  “Is she going to be okay?” That was a young man’s voice.

  Silence.

  I rubbed my forehead. My headache was bad.

  A distant dream was playing in the back of my mind, telling me I had to get somewhere urgently, a place I was supposed go to with Katy. I shook my head to clear the fog, but it felt like my mind was filled with mud. I squeezed my temples, but that only made things worse. My throat was parched and my stomach ached. I hadn’t eaten for days. A vague memory of a cup of bitter black espresso at a seedy hookah bar crossed my mind.

  The vehicle hit a pothole, throwing us up in the air a few inches. I landed back down hard. I steadied myself and leaned against the wall of the van, wincing from the pain. I put my head into my hands. It was throbbing like it was about to explode, but that jolt helped clear my mind.

  I remembered everything.

  The van changed gears. It was slowing down. I craned my neck to see through the high window, but all I could make out was darkness.

  “Get everyone ready.”

  I was sure it was Tetyana this time. Her voice was low, signaling danger.

  Peering in the direction of the voice, I saw her sitting with Win’s head on her lap. Tetyana was trying to get everyone to move to my side of the van. She said something to Katy, then helped Win sit up. Win moaned but moved over. Katy followed her.

  The van was traveling slowly in what seemed like a lit tunnel. The steady light was shining in now, enough to see the inside of the van.

  I looked around with groggy eyes. Next to me, Katy was now leaning back, eyes closed. Is she okay? I leaned over and squeezed her hand. To my relief, she squeezed mine back. Win was leaning against her on the other side. Tetyana was busily building a fortress right down the middle of the van using the bags. What’s she up to?

  “Hey.”

  I turned to my left. It was Luc. His face was only five inches from mine.

  “Put this on now,” he whispered, shoving something on my lap—something big, black and billowy. I looked down. It was Bibi’s robe. I pushed it away. I’d taken it off a few minutes into our ride, as it had made me feel claustrophobic.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No way. I feel sick in that thing.”

  “Zut! You don’t have a choice. Put it on.”

  “First tell me where we are.” I spoke forcefully but it came out slurred.

  “Do it!” Tetyana hissed at me, without even looking up from her task. “They’ll open the doors soon.”

  “Who?” I demanded. “Tell me what’s going on! And how come I feel so sick? What did you do to me?”

  Luc shot Tetyana an exasperated look.

  “Gave a double dose for the Americans,” Tetyana said to him, rolling her eyes. “Too much trouble, as you can see.”

  “Double dose of what?” I asked.

  Just then, the van stopped and something or someone scraped against the back doors.

  “Are you trying to get us all shot?” Tetyana asked turning to me. I stared at her. She looked rattled. And that wasn’t a good sign.

  I reached for the robe. With Luc’s help, I pulled the dreaded cloth over my head and adjusted the eye slit. My movements were sluggish like I was wading through a muddy pool.

  “Where's your passport?”

  I peeked out through the eye slits to see Tetyana still looking my way.

  “Your passport,” Tetyana whispered. "They don't know you're you. Give it to Luc."

  “No way.”

  But Luc had already slipped his hand under the robe and was starting to root around.

  “Get away from me,” I said slapping at his hand, but he’d already pulled out my recipe booklet and my passport from my jacket pocket. He handed the recipe book back after a cursory glance and opened my passport.

  “Asha,” he read.

  I glowered at him in reply.

  “India?” he said, with a startled look on his face. “Thought you were American.”

  “Give that back,” I said reaching for the booklet. But he pocketed it before I could grab it.

  Tetyana squeezed in between Katy and me. I tucked my recipe booklet back in my jacket pocket and zipped it close.

  We were now sitting with our backs to the front of the van, behind Tetyana’s two-foot-tall fort construction. My fuzzy brain wondered how this flimsy wall of bags and blankets could stop anyone from shooting at us. Our heads were exposed. They’d get us easily.

  “Down,” Tetyana said. I felt Luc’s hand on my head, pushing me down.

  “What’s going—”

/>   “Shush,” Luc said, pushing my head down.

  The van rocked back and forth as if people were getting out. Doors slammed. Men yelled. I waited for whatever was to come. Everyone inside the van was breathing loud, fast, chest-heaving breaths, even Tetyana. I concentrated on trying not to throw up inside the robe.

  The back doors screeched open and a bright white light blinded us.

  I blinked, the screeching still ringing in my ears. The wall of bags was not high enough to hide us from them, or hide them from us. Even from my crouched position, I spotted the two strange men in khaki overalls prop the doors open. Without even a glance at us, they stepped away.

  They saw us, didn’t they?

  I lifted my head slightly to look. From what I could see through the robe’s eye slit, we were inside a large warehouse. Or an airport hangar.

  Nearby were half a dozen white vans just like ours parked haphazardly. The two men in khaki overalls were now packing brown boxes into one. It could have been a scene from any warehouse, except for a beefy man standing in the shadows of a parked truck. On his face was a balaclava mask and in his arms, a machine gun. It made the handguns I’d seen so far look like toys. I felt a chill go through my spine.

  I watched silently as the men worked methodically and rapidly, packing each van one by one. Then, a man I recognized came into view. It was Zero, smoking and talking in quiet tones to another unknown man.

  Suddenly, a scream rocketed through the warehouse. “Nooo! Aiiiii!”

  The van rocked as everyone startled at once. I craned my neck to look outside but couldn’t see a thing. The shrieking started again. It was a woman’s voice, desperate and frightened, and it wasn’t too far from us.

  “Noooo!” The woman’s voice penetrated the air again.

  The men in khaki kept working like they’d heard nothing. They might as well have been packing vegetable boxes into a grocery van. I trembled under my robe. The hair-raising shrieks went on for several minutes, but it seemed like everyone outside was pretending nothing was happening.

  What in god’s name is going on?

  After a few minutes, Zero looked up with his signature scowl. It took only a casual flick of his hand for the man with the machine gun to stroll over to the van where the screaming was coming from. A hard knot formed in my stomach.