by John Charles
14
I was sitting on my bed. It was two in the morning. I had just rescued a teenager from three thugs and now she was taking a shower in my room. I’m pretty sure I’m breaking one of the many rules Elana set forth.
I heard the shower turn off, and a few minutes later, Natasha came out of the bathroom with the same clothes on. I gave her one of my clean shirts and a sweater to change into, which she did. I didn’t think my jeans would do her any good.
She sat quietly in the chair with her hands obediently at her side. The bath must have helped because she didn’t seem to be shivering anymore. She stared at the floor, but I could tell she was taking quick glances at me. I didn’t think she was afraid of me, but certainly she was wondering what would happen next. That made two of us. What now, Darb? It’s not like you can hide her away until you leave. If I was going to help her, I needed more information. From what little she had said so far, I knew she was Russian and she seemed to understand English to some degree.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Natasha continued to look at the floor. I was afraid I had a non-talker on my hands when she opened up. “I was taken, how you call it….?”
“You mean kidnapped?”
“Yes, kidnapped,” she said with her strong accent.
“By those men who were chasing us?”
She nodded.
“Why did they kidnap you?”
I felt sick when she described how she had been abducted by men right off the street; it took only seconds, she said. You never know how you’re going to react when you hear this stuff. It shouldn’t be happening in this day and age even though you know sex trafficking is alive and well because of the occasional news report highlighting it. The proof was sitting right in front of me.
“How did you escape?”
“The men, they drink and not pay attention. I take key to my handcuffs. I go to bathroom. One always comes, but he was drinking and I convince him to wait outside. Then I climb out of window and I run.”
“Are there more girls like you, taken?”
“Yes. Seven.”
“We should call the police.”
She leaned forward urgently. “No, we cannot. Is dangerous. These men have many connections.”
I frowned. “But we can’t leave them there.”
“I can help. Later.”
“What can you do?”
“Not me, my father.”
“Is that who you called?”
“Friends of my father. They will come get me and take me back to Ukraine. I will tell them everything, where girls are. They can help rescue them.”
“Wait. You’re from Ukraine?”
“Yes, that is where we are from. Me and the other girls. The men said they were taking us to Poland. From there, we go anywhere they need to send us. To Germany, to France, to Middle East, even to U.S.”
“As working girls?”
She looked confused by the term.
“Prostitutes, I mean?”
She lowered her head and barely nodded.
For the next hour, I asked her questions and she answered them. We watched a little TV. I even fed her some of the snacks I had bought in the lobby earlier. They were souvenirs for Tav, but I figured she could use them more. While she munched away on a candy bar, we both heard a knock at the door. Natasha jumped out of her chair toward the door and said something. A man responded and she immediately opened the door. Two very large KGB-looking men entered the room. They were dressed in leather jackets and jeans and could easily have been mistaken as one of the thugs who chased us.
Natasha practically leapt into the arms of one of the men and they hugged each other. He was definitely happy to see her. The two spoke for a few minutes before he turned his attention to me. “Thank you for helping Natasha. I am…we all are very grateful.” The giant then stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Oleg Barishnikov.”
My hand disappeared inside of his grip.
Before I could introduce myself, he pulled a handgun out of his jacket with his free hand and pressed it against my head.
“Now, who are you?”
15
The three thugs had split up and were combing every street near the park looking for the girl. The leader found it hard to believe that she could have escaped them and decided to double back. Retracing his steps, he looked closely at the moisture on the street and the sidewalk. And then he saw them, her footsteps. He knew the girl was wearing athletic shoes. But that’s not all he saw. There was another pair of prints next to hers. Someone was helping her.
The stone-faced man tracked the footsteps up to a building. He walked up the stairs and looked into the pitch-black nook. They hid here. He could still smell them. He had run right by them earlier.
He left the building and picked up their tracks again. He followed them for another fifty yards until they disappeared. He searched a ten-foot radius, but could not find them again. Where did they go?
Looking at the bushes off to the side of the sidewalk, he finally realized where they went. Little frightened rabbits hiding in the bush. He figured they moved within the brush, so he kept walking along side it until the footprints appeared again. And they did, not far from the Hotel Yubileinaya. He looked up at the tall building. Every room had a view of the river. And only one of them had a light on.
I know where you are.
The other two men caught up. He pointed to the hotel. Both men nodded and started to walk toward it. He stopped them. Not tonight. They must get back to the other girls.
Thirty minutes later, the three men were back at their safe house. The rest of the cargo, the other seven girls, was all accounted for. Letting one escape was a big deal, especially that one. She was the prize. She was Viktor’s special one.
Natasha Buchko was the daughter of an important government official. She would have brought them a lot of money. Fucking her would be akin to fucking the government. Her escape was the worst possible thing that could have happened. Not only would they have to answer to their bosses, but they now would have to deal with the repercussions that could arise from the girl’s family.
Grisha Berzin was the man who went with her to the bathroom. She escaped under his nose, his watch. He felt bad for letting his comrades down. He was also terrified of what would happen next. Grisha sat in a chair, his head hanging low like a man at fault. Too ashamed to look at his comrades, he focused on his shoes.
Viktor came over and patted his shoulder. “It could have happened to any one of us,” he said reassuringly in his gruff voice. Grisha relaxed somewhat, but kept his eyes down. And then with the speed of a striking cobra, Viktor placed a hand on either side of Grisha’s head and twisted it with such force that everyone in the room heard the dull snap. With Grisha’s head now turned unnaturally to the left, his body crumpled to the floor.
16
“Who are you?” the big man demanded again.
I finally managed to get my name out. “Darby. My name is Darby Stansfield.”
Oleg pressed the gun harder into my head and this time emphasized each word. “Who. Are. You?”
What was he asking? I told him my name. I looked over at Natasha. She kept her head down and wouldn’t look at me.
“I’m—I’m nobody. I’m just a tourist here on vacation. She ran to me tonight asking for help. I’ve never seen her before in my life,” I blabbered.
Oleg turned to Natasha and exchanged some words with her. After a few seconds, he lowered the gun.
“Sorry, Mr. Stansfield. But I must understand complete situation. Please forgive and my apologies. We are grateful for your help.”
“Okay… Well, you’re welcome. What happens now?”
Natasha finally spoke up. “Oleg will take me back home, to Ukraine. We will leave now. Thank you very much, Darby. If not for you, I don’t know what will happen to me tonight.”
She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. I hugged her back.
“Darby, be careful
with the rest of your time here. These men are dangerous. They kill for fun. I hope they have not seen you.”
“I don’t think they did, but I leave in a couple of days anyway.”
Oleg shook my hand again. And then the three of them left.
A sparkle out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Near the entrance to the bathroom, a silver bracelet lay on the floor—Natasha’s. The bracelet had a single charm dangling from it: a hammer and a sickle. I thought briefly about trying to catch up with Natasha before they left, but decided it wasn’t worth it. I’d just hang on to this as a souvenir.
I sat on my bed thinking about her warning. They kill for fun. I traced every step from the moment Natasha ran into my arms near the park until now. I didn’t think any of those men saw me. How could they? It was dark, right?
17
Elana walked to the end of the hallway where the house phone sat on a table. She dialed the operator and asked to be connected to Darby’s room. Three, four, five rings had gone unanswered. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a faint voice.
“Darby? Is that you? It’s Elana.”
“Why are you calling so early?”
“Everybody is to meet for breakfast at 9:00 a.m. This is rule. I don’t see you, I check.”
“I can’t make it. I need more sleep.”
“What is wrong? Something is wrong. You tell me.”
“Nothing is wrong. I’m really tired.”
“Tired from what? What you do last night? You come straight to hotel after club, yes?”
“I did nothing. I came straight back.”
“What about trip to Dudutki? You not going?”
“I’m going to pass. Don’t worry. I’ll see you in the afternoon.”
“If don’t see you in lobby, I will come to your room.”
Elana took out a master key that the hotel gave her for the rooms her tour members occupied. She had learned from a previous tour that this was a good thing to have. Once she had a man who had snuck a woman back into his room after a social. It turned out that the girl was a gypsy and had plans of her own. She was able to drug the man and handcuff him to the bed. She stole all of his money and credit cards. She also left a gag in his mouth. He was near suffocation by the time a maid checked the room around noon. I hope I won’t have to use this.
Elana returned to the hotel restaurant were the rest of the group was feasting on various breads, jellies, pastries, teas, juices, hard-boiled eggs, and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Everyone seemed to be enjoying breakfast.
Alonzo, the jam guy, had scheduled a date today with one of the women he met the night before and was eager to get started. The time was nine thirty and he was due to pick up his date at ten thirty.
Elana came over to the table where the men were finishing their coffee.
“Okay, Alonzo. You wait in lobby. Lena come in half hour. She then take you to get flowers and then to Julia’s apartment. Okay?”
“That sounds great.”
“The rest of us go on tour of Dudutki. This is outdoor cultural museum which show what village life was like for typical Belarusian over one hundred years ago.”
The lawyer spoke up. “What about that other guy? Darby?”
“Darby not feel well. He stay at hotel.”
“Maybe he’s got a case of the blues—balls that is,” Alonzo suggested before laughing and being joined by the rest.
18
It was near noon when I woke up the second time. I lay in bed for a few minutes while my mind tried to make sense of what happened earlier with Elana. It was all very strange, but soon enough the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and I remembered our conversation.
I knew I wasn’t going to tell Elana or the others about what happened the night before. If she brought it up again, I would blame my grogginess on a sleeping pill. I needed it, considering what I had just gone though.
Looking forward to a hot meal, I showered, dressed, and arrived in the lobby all under thirty minutes. I made my way over to the hotel restaurant. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, the restaurant was dark and the doors were locked. It was strange because the rest of the hotel seemed lively and operational. I walked over to the front desk attendant and asked the pretty blond why the restaurant was closed. She just shrugged and went back to her book. I guess service hasn’t quite caught on in Minsk.
“Is there any place around here I can get a quick bite?”
She pulled out a map of Minsk and began drawing arrows on it. “Walk east on Masherava Avenue, this street is out front, until you reach here. This is Niamiha Street. There is a cafeteria on the corner. It’s very good and cheap.”
“What is the name of it?”
“I forget, but there is a building and it’s on the second floor. Look for a large metal sculpture of Russian men on a building.”
“And you have eaten there?”
“Yes. Why?”
Well, if the locals eat there, it can’t be that bad. “I’m just not interested in a tourist type of restaurant.”
“I didn’t say it was a restaurant. I said it was a cafeteria. Do you know what that is?”
Cafeteria? Restaurant? I don’t give a shit which one it is. I nodded with a smile and grabbed the map off the counter. I wondered if she was a product of communistic upbringing.
Once outside, my cell phone rang.
“This is Darby.”
“Yo, Darb, how are things in candy land? Tell me you’re pigging out.”
“Tav, man, the sweets are incredible. So many hot women your eyes would fall out. We had our first social last night. It was insane. These women couldn’t get enough of my Darbyness.” I totally got lost in telling Tav all about the women at the social and how I felt like I was surrounded by a pack of wild female animals all fighting to mate with me. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
I was still on the phone with Tav when I reached the corner where the cafeteria should be. The blond from the hotel was right about the large metal sculpture on a building—soldiers and farmers going forth with stoic looks on their faces.
I hung out on the corner for another twenty minutes while I finished my conversation. I had been going on and on about the girls and the social so much that I totally blanked out on the kidnapping ordeal. I didn’t remember until I stuck my hand in my pocket and found Natasha’s bracelet. What a way to rain on my own parade.
I knew I wasn’t mentioning it to Elana or any of the other guys on the tour. However, whether to tell Tav was a different story. But of course I had to tell him. He was my best friend.
“Darb, I don’t get it. How is it you always end up in the middle of shit every time you leave the country? Were you trying to get clients over there?”
“I swear to God I wasn’t. This trip is one hundred percent pleasure. Dumb luck, I guess. Like I said, she came running up to me asking for help. What was I supposed to do? She was crying, had been beaten, and looked no older than fifteen. You would have helped her, too.”
Regardless of the situation, Tav was right. This was the second time I had been involved in an overseas kidnapping. It had happened in Hong Kong. But to be honest, my travels to Hong Kong were for the sole purpose of conducting business with a local Triad gang. So the odds were greater that I would find myself in trouble there. This trip, on the other hand, was all for fun. It was a total coincidence that I ended up in the middle of a sex trafficking scandal. I hoped this wasn’t turning out to be a theme with my travels. That would suck.
“So, now what?” Tav asked.
“Nothing. She left last night with those men. It’s over.”
“You don’t have to go to the police and give a statement or anything? What about your tour guide? You tell her yet?”
“Look, this is over. Telling them will dredge it up. It’s done.”
“Hey, man, your call.”
“Plus, I get the feeling they don’t trust the police here. Natasha and her people were dead set on handling things t
hemselves.”
Truth is, I hadn’t wanted to ask Natasha or Oleg any unnecessary questions. I didn’t want to be any more involved than I was. Sure I was still worried about the other girls that Natasha had spoken of, but what could I do? She said that she would help them. I’m going to trust that she follows through on that promise.
“I’m just glad everything worked out. I’m supposed to be here fixing my love life, not playing hero. From here on out, I’m focused on only one thing: the social. And tonight these women would be in for a special rice crispy treat—something completely Darbytastic.”
Tav snorted.
“Well look, Tav, I was just about to grab a bite to eat, so I’ll talk to you later.”
“What?”
I covered my phone with my hand to muffle the traffic at the corner. “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Cool. Oh wait…I almost forgot. I caught Harold snooping in your office.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I went up there to take another look at that flier and I bumped into him coming out of your office. ‘Busted’ was written all over his idiotic face.”
“What did he say?”
“Speak up; I can’t hear you.”
“What. Did. He. Say?”
“Oh, he told me to get the fuck out of the way and then hurried down the hall acting all nervous and stuff.”
“I wonder what he was doing.”
“Darb, you don’t keep any of your consulting stuff at work do you?”
“Nah. That office is bare and that’s exactly how it’s going to stay. I always thought Harold was the type to snoop. What a weasel.”
“By the way, did you toss that Russian flier? I was going to show it to Lois; she was curious.”
Lois Burkhardt sat next to Tav and I when I was a bottom-feeder. She was the redheaded mother hen on the floor who took a special liking to Tav and I. She would always bring in baked cookies for us. “No, it should be on my desk.”
