by Bella Lamour
He looked surprised by her response, but gave her a wry smile. “Yeah, you're right. I know, statistically speaking, that young gentleman is just a nice boy who's going through the same things she's going through. But...I worry.”
“That's your job. And there are a lot of scary things out there. There are people who'll think she's just an object because she's a woman. There are even more that fetishize girls like us because of their so called 'yellow fever'. Between the objectification, the racism, and the misogynist, I would be afraid to ever let my daughter out of the house.”
“But you gotta let 'em live. Otherwise they'll resent you forever.”
“Yeah. It's too bad if something ever did happen that whoever hurt her would probably get away with it anyways.”
“Excuse me?”
She dropped all of her teenage act and leveled him with her most serious stare. “Think about it. How many rapists, abusers, and harassers ever get punished? They have all sorts of doors. She acted older than she was, she was asking for it, she wasn't careful enough, her mystical oriental vagina overpowered them. The list goes on and on. And when if somehow that list isn't enough, they'll just terrorize her until she gives in, smear her character, and pay off anyone else who's left.
“Is that what you would want for your daughter? Is that the hell you're afraid of?”
“I, uh-This is quite heavy subject matter for you to state so bluntly. Of course I wouldn't want that for her. Who would for their child? Does your mother know you talk like this? Perhaps you should see a counselor.”
“Mr. West, I'm not a high school student. My mother is dead.”
“What?” He jumped out of his seat and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. Yuki had to commend how quickly he adapted to her surprise.
“Please, before you call security, hear me out. My name is Yuki Kobayashi, and I'm only here to try to get what little justice I can. The man you have running your charity ball, Julian Warbucks, raped me and I'm sure many other girls.”
“What? I can't just believ-That's a completely unfounded accusation! You can't just expect me to believe someone who's tricked their way into my house.”
“True. But I'm not asking you to press charges. I'm just here to tell the truth. He uses events like this to hire escorts, sugar babies or hostesses and then drugs them, takes them to the woods, and then beats them within an inch of their life and rapes them. Or at least, that's what he did to me. He's using his wealth and power to terrorize me. I had to leave my home. My school. I have nothing now. I'm only here to beg you not to give him a chance to do this to someone else.”
“I...I...this can't be true.”
“It is. I promise. And I know my word isn't worth much, so you should ask him what happened to his older car if you can. Or just Google my name. It was all over my school newspaper and website. I'm not asking you to press charges. Just have one conversation with him about women. You'll see the contempt there. And then please, keep him as far away from your family, and your event. Tell your business connections. Don't go public, but cut off some of the prestige he feeds off of.”
“I...I think you should leave.”
“Yeah. I figured. Just please, listen to what I have to say. He isn't safe. Not for anyone.”
Yuki picked up her jacket and headed out of the backdoor of the kitchen. By some miracle, security didn't swamp her, and she made it to the gate of the estate before calling a cab. She walked along as she waited for her public transport to show up, and she was surprised to feel tears streaming down her cheeks.
She hadn't cried in so long. She had been so absorbed in plan she had forgotten she was still recovering. But she couldn't think of a better therapy. She had done everything she could do to knock them off balance. Now it was just time to wait to see if Mr. West would listen to her, or be just like everyone else Julian had bought off.
She pulled out her cellphone and dialed the number McAnany had saved into her phone on her first day there.
“McAnany speaking.”
“Hey, it’s Yuki.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Do you think you could meet me at the Hope Hill cemetery? There are some people I want to talk to.”
*
Those recovering from rape are 4 times more likely than a “non-victim” to contemplate suicide and13 times more likely to attempt suicide.
Yuki stared down at the two simple stone slabs in front of her. One was much more aged than the other, but both were fairly maintained. The groundskeeper certainly did their job well.
Technically, Yuki knew the only thing below her was mostly-decomposed carcasses, but there was still a bit of comfort looking at the last vestiges of her parents.
“Hey guys, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sorry I’ve been so busy. You know how school gets.” She dropped her gaze and sigh. “Something bad happened.” She murmured. “Something really bad.”
Her voice cracked and she paused to regain her composure. “You know, I remember when I was a teenager, how Dad would always said I needed to wear longer skirts and looser shirts. You would always put your hands in the air and say ‘Yuki! There are men out there who will see nothing but the fantasy they have! You have to protect yourself from them until someone who really respects you comes along!’ You were always so worried about me, Dad. Right up to the end.”
This time she couldn’t hold back the sob that escaped from her control. “You were right, Daddy. There are men like that. They found me, and they hurt me. Pretty badly. I survived-obviously, but they messed me up.
“I, uh, had to take a break from school. I know you both were always worried that I pushed myself too hard ever since I learned to walk, but I just couldn’t do it. The men who hurt me have footholds there. It felt like every day they were just tightening their grip around my throat a little more. I was suffocating.”
Now tears were rolling down her cheeks and hiccups were running in counterpoints to her choking sobs.
“I know you probably won’t approve, that you’ll want me to just let the cops do their jobs. But they’re not doing their jobs. I’m relying on the charity of a retiree, an ex-madam and a fellow hostess. I can’t live like that. So I have to strike back.
“I…I think I’m going to kill them.”
Her cries waned and she took a long, deep breath. Somehow, the sigh just didn’t feel long enough. “Anyways, I hope you understand. I love you guys, and I miss you, but I’m going to get through this.
“I promise.”
She turned and walked back to the small road that wound through the historic cemetery. She just made it to the entrance when she saw a familiar white van pull up.
“Hey,” McAnany said, rolling down his window as he pulled up.
“Hey.” She answered.
“Did the sting not go well?”
“No, it went as well as we could hope. I just, needed to talk to my parents, you know?”
He nodded. “I still visit my Gwen from time to time. I told her all about you, you know.”
She cracked a small smile as she clambered into the passenger’s side. “Only good things I hope?”
“Please, then there’d be nothing to say.”
“Good point. Let’s go home, McAnany.”
“Alright,” He agreed, patting her hand. “Let’s go home.”
*
The act of shifting the responsibility for the rape from the perpetrator to the victim is commonly known as victim blaming. It is quite a controversial subject, as some believe it is a woman’s responsibility to try to prevent rape, while others recognize that the rapist is responsible for the crime alone.
*
“Guys, guys did you see the news!”
Yuki paused mid sit up and looked to Julie, who was sitting on the couch with her laptop open. After the whole sting op, the woman had taken to hanging out at McAnany's while she looked for a new place of employment, much to the retired detective's chagrin. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, but he cert
ainly wasn’t used to having a conversational dynamo in his life on a daily basis.
“No, I didn't. What's going on?”
“Look, look!”
Yuki sighed, and picked herself up off the yoga mat McAnany had bought for her when she had finally started wanting to work out again. She crossed over to the redhead, and read the online article over her shoulder.
Noted British Judge Asked to Step Down from Charity Position.
Yuki let out an excited scream that Julie echoed. Before she could quite process it, they were hugging and high fiving.
“What's going on? I heard screaming?” That, of course, was McAnany, who came running in from the kitchen, still with his cooking apron on. Yuki just took one look at him before squealing and rushing over for a hug. The old man stiffened, but accepted the gesture for several moments before gently pushing her off. “Good news, I guess?”
“It worked!” She wheezed between excited breaths. “We did it. We finally took something away from them!”
“So was that it?” Julie asked from the couch. “We give 'em a couple bad days and settle at that?”
“Oh no,” Yuki murmured, turning back to her friend. “We're just getting started. Tell me, Julie, have you ever broken into a cadaver lab?”
The redhead smiled evilly. “No, but I'm guessing by your tone that I'm about to learn real fast.”
“Maybe not as fast as you think. The next step is more surveillance. We need to find out what these guy's schedules are now that they have nothing to do, and White is still managing to keep the ban on their passports. We need to know everything. Where they eat, where they party. If they stop to piss, I wanna know where and how long it took.”
“Oh, that's a lot less exciting.”
“It is, but you have to pay the time before you get to the best part. And trust me,” Yuki couldn't hide her malicious glee. “the best part is going to be worth it.”
“Speak of the devil,” McAnany grumbled. “I see Xavier's car pulling up now. No more talk of any extracurricular activities.”
“Got it.” Julie said with a little salute.
McAnany rolled his eyes and returned to the kitchen. Yuki could tell that her friend was growing on him, the grumpy old sourpuss.
“Hello, everyone still have their heads in here?” Xavier called, unlocking the door. Yuki wasn't sure when he got a key, but she was happy that he had access to their little heaven whenever he needed it. Even if tiptoeing around him made the plan difficult.
“Don't worry, I haven't bitten his off yet.” Yuki joked. “Oh, Detective White, this is my friend Julie. She used to work at the Black Unicorn with me.”
He nodded to her, his face instantly taking on that serious look he always wore when he was analyzing someone or something. “You alright, ma'am? Did anyone there hurt you?”
She laughed, surprising the both of them. “Oh god no, dear. I just didn't want to work for a place that would throw one of their best workers to the dogs for a few bucks. Besides, I've always had a bit of a crush on Yuki.”
“Yeah, her and I worked a lot of shifts togeth-Wait, what?”
She let out a long laugh and uncurled from the couch. “Don't worry about it, darling. Anyways, I should get home and actually do some laundry for once.”
“No, wait, stay for dinner please!”
“There's no need for you to run off so soon,” Detective White supported, still smirking slightly from her earlier statement. “I always appreciate someone who can keep Miss Yuki on her toes.”
“I try my best, sir.”
Yuki blushed, but she was awash with happiness. Sure, how she got to this position sucked, but she had a family now. It wasn't half bad.
They all migrated to the kitchen, to a veritable feast of a pot roast, mashed potatoes and a litany of garlic vegetables. It certainly looked like a lot of food, but given how much McAnany ate, it was probably going to be just enough.
“Well would you look at this!” Julie crowed, grabbing a plate. “I feel like a king in his castle.”
“Might as well,” McAnany groused. “You already act like you own the place.”
The redhead slung an arm around his shoulder cheekily. “Aw, what a cute grumpy grandpa act. You could almost fool me if Yuki hadn’t told me so much about you.”
The retired detective glared daggers at her. “This is all your fault then.”
“Guilty as charged.”
Yeah, she had a family alright.
And soon, she would have her revenge too.
*
The second stage of the Rape Healing Process is Denial. The two biggest things under this category are: denying that the event happened at all, or that it didn't "bother" the victim. The stages of shock and denial can take severe mental and emotional tolls on victims. The psychological destruction, types of traumatic reactions and the long-term effects and syndromes impacting victims are many. The severity or length of the incident or incidents doesn't seem to have any impact on how deeply a victim is harmed - the victim of a date rape with minor physical injuries doesn't suffer less than a victim who is raped repeatedly and receives more severe physical injuries.
Yuki had never sat outside so many night clubs, host bars, and seedy joints for so many nights in a row. Apparently being on lock down actually meant party time, because Julian, Thomas and Jean-Luc were non-stop revelry machines. They went to everything: strip clubs, gentlemen bars, entertainment lounges, hostess bars, escort agencies with part centers. They probably blew through more money in a couple days than some people saw in an entire year. It was disgusting, and misogynistic, but it certainly made them easy to keep track of.
Several times during their research, she was tempted to just run them down as they stumbled out of whatever pits they crawled out of in the wee hours of the morning. But she clamped down on that temptation. Vehicular manslaughter was not enough. She wanted them ruined. She wanted them to know what it was like to be helpless and powerless with no possible future.
And then she might kill them. Or she might not. The jury was still out on that one.
Granted, to slake her thirst for their untimely demise, the med student liked to think that they were drowning their sorrows in liquor. That illusion was always a bit ruined when they seemed pretty nonplussed about the whole situation. Except for Thomas. Thankfully Thomas looked perpetually like a bummed out mess. That was wonderful.
But all gloating aside, the men were falling into a predictable rhythm. They woke up around noon, but didn’t leave their cushy penthouse until after two for lunch somewhere. Yuki found that part particularly ridiculous. She was an unemployed, prospect-less woman who was supposed to be in hiding, but even she got up before noon to be productive. It was shameful.
Then again, Sloth was hardly the greatest sin they could be accused of.
And once they finally did drag themselves out of their over-priced, pent house beds, to get food, they would then either go work out or disappear into their penthouse again. After that, it was out to dinner, drinks at the hotel bar, and then they were out to a different club. They rarely ever visited the same place twice in one week. Even after two and a half weeks of steady reconnaissance, they couldn’t establish a pattern.
Yuki scanned through all the information they had gathered again, trying to figure out some way to predict where they were going next. The whole plan hinged on being able to set up an incriminating sting. They couldn’t do that if they couldn’t set the trap before the men go there.
“It’s all so useless!” She shouted, slamming her fist down on the coffee table.
“Whoa, calm down there missy. What’s going on?”
“I just can’t believe we’re at the finishing stretch now, only to have me trip over my own feet!”
“Relax. We’re just going to have to find another way.”
“Find another way? As if setting up a way to have them incriminate themselves in front of law enforcement is sooo easy!”
His response was cut off by
a strange ringing. Yuki frowned, then realized it was the house phone. Who had house phones anymore?
“Aren’t you gonna get that?”
McAnany shrugged. “It can go to voicemail.”
“If you say so.” She settled back into her seat as the shrill sound continued, then clicked over the messaging.
“Yuki, please, are you there? Please be there.”
“That’s Julie!” She cried, vaulting off the couch. She grabbed the receiving before it could disconnect and put it up to her ear. “Julie, it’s me! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Yuki, thank god. I’m at the park. I’m hiding under the bridge. Please, come get me.”
“I’m coming, I’ll leave right now.”
“They found me, Yuki. I don’t know how. I’m afraid they might have found Rachelle too.”
The Asian girl’s stomach dropped through the floor and into the earth’s core itself. “Are you okay? Are you safe?”
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m hurt pretty bad. I managed to get away, but I gotta keep moving. Come to the park. Hurry, please!”
The call disconnected, leaving Yuki staring at the mouth of the receiver.
“What’s going on?” McAnany demanded, already out of his chair and pulling his bat from the coat closet.
“They tried to get Julie.” She answered, running and putting on her shoes. “Apparently they’re still on her tail. She’s waiting for us at the park.”
“Then let’s go, hurry up!”
They barreled out the front door and into the van. Yuki realized that the attackers could be looking out for exactly what car was coming to rescue the red head, and that they wouldn’t be able to use it for surveillance anymore, but she didn’t care. Her heart was thundering out of her chest and her stomach was churning. Julie had to be alright. She had to!
They reached the park in record time, and McAnany pulled right onto the grass of the soccer field. As soon as he slowed enough, Yuki opened the passenger’s door and jumped out, taking off for the bridge just beyond the hill.
McAnany was just behind her, and she crested the hill just in time to see Julie bolting across the tiny stream, five hoody-wearing thugs chasing after her.
