Alexei can’t believe his good fortune. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. But what is the saying? If it’s too good to be true, then it’s too good to be true. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. The profits are split fifty-fifty. You supply the funds to build, you supply the land, I supply my animals and myself. I will also kill Noah Reid and JJ. For this I get half the girls and one million dollars.”
“So you’re not putting up anything? To promote and build is going to take... I don’t know at least seven million.”
Prince snaps his fingers. One of his henchman brings an iPad with pictures of the audience members. “Constantin. Mikhail. Vassily. I have all their direct contact info.”
The implication is obvious. These men are all bigger fish than Alexei, in the league that he wants to be part of. If Alexei doesn’t want in, one of these men surely will jump at the chance. But it is still a lot of money, and he needs some to rebuild the Vector Building and the Skyscape Recording studio after what JJ and Noah did do that operation. But then again, the thought tasting the delectable young Slavic melons floats through his brain. Especially....
Alexei takes out his iPhone and flips through some pictures. “There is one girl I save for myself. The oldest. Tanya. She’s seventeen.
“You can have her. Too old,” says Prince.
“Oh, you like the little chickadees,” smiles Alexei.
The depravity of men. The reality of life.
“So I keep Tanya and Larissa. Let’s talk about the details of this other project.”
“Later today. After lunch.”
“Why so late? Why not now?”
Prince stand up and shows Alexei his battered and cut body. Even Superman needs time to recover.
Alexei nods. “Okay. After lunch is fine.”
“Have five hundred thousand ready as a fifty percent deposit.”
Alexei is about to argue then decides against it. He takes his cell phone out and sends a text to Prince.
DING! “That’s a picture of JJ, the man you are after, and that’s his cell phone number. The other picture is of Noah Reid. When you’re ready, my men will be there.”
Prince shakes his head. “I don’t want them.”
Alexei sniffs. “Why not?”
“You don’t trust them yourself. That’s why you got me. If you can’t trust them, how could I?”
Alexei grimaces inwardly. Is it that obvious? “I will see you tomorrow.”
Alexei leaves.
Prince smiles. For a guy who doesn’t gamble, his poker face has pulled off a bluff that could be worth more than seventy million net after expenses for the match and who knows how much else for the gambling.
He turns to Li Peng. “It went off exactly as you thought it would. Thank you for the proposal.”
Li Peng gives Prince the Shaolin hand sign.
CHAPTER 11
Tanya never knew her parents. She doesn’t remember what they looked like, their names or even what country or village they were from. She blots them out of her mind because the only thing that comes to her mind when anyone asks about them is rage. Tanya was five and Larissa was barely a month when they were abandoned at the door of an orphanage. Tanya hated the place, and when she was ten she took Larissa, and the two just walked out. They were never missed. They snuck onto a train and wound up living in the tunnels of Moscow for another seven years.
The streetwise Tanya took care of Larissa as best she could. She made sure that her sister was fed, had clothes and most importantly, never had to do anything with men that she herself did in order to survive. Home was sometimes a subway station, sometimes warm heating pipes, sometimes a shelter. Life was so tough that when out of the blue, a street worker who had befriended her told her that there was a family in America willing to adopt her and her sister, Tanya cried tears of happiness.
Talks about a cruel joke. Arriving in America, she wound up being one of Alexei’s girls, herded into the concrete apartment, let out only to be cleaned up for twenty minutes so she could fulfill some dirty man’s fantasies for an hour or two. She was then put back into her prison. Tanya worked twice as hard as the other girls because she made a deal that she would cover off all of Larissa’s “chores” until she turned thirteen, another six months.
When JJ rescued her and the others, Tanya would not allow herself to be happy - once bitten, twice shy. JJ, Noah, Olivia and Abby were a team, and there was something about this group that she could not trust. Something was in it for them - she just didn’t know what yet. Nobody ever did anything just for the sake of being nice.
And then Tanya discovered something else about herself during these past few days of exchanging Alexei’s prison for the prison belonging to the “Chad Huang Foundation.” She not only missed the drugs, she missed the men. No, she’s not a masochist nor a nymphomaniac, but she missed the physical presence of a man and the adulation that they gave her no matter how artificial it was. She wouldn’t classify it this way, but some psychologist or social worker might. What Tanya was experiencing is the basic need of every human being to be cared for, something she desperately craves but has never been given.
Of course Tanya would never even think this. All she can think of is that life with JJ and Abby is insufferable and that she’s got to get out of here. This decision to leave is made easier by seeing Larissa happy - and safe.
So now, for the first time in her life, Tanya is thinking of what she wants. She’s not sure what that is, but it certainly isn’t with anyone associated with the foundation.
The thought of escape is the only thing on her mind as the seventeen-year-old gets on the private bus with a bunch of “kids” and “old people.”
That and the taste of candy that Alexei will provide when she sees him again.
***
Nine a.m. An godly hour to be waking up - especially when went to bed at 5:00.
“Ignore it, Alexei,” says the very hungover and very naked bimbo with the buxom boobs beside Alexei. Yvette had been the Russian’s pleasure when he got back from Prince’s, and she always made sure he got his money’s worth - repeat customers are always the best. Alexei provided the refreshments, and she provided the entertainment.
Alexei looks at his cell and growls, “Can’t.” He clicks it on and answers groggily, “You said after lunch. Why are you calling me now?”
“Get used to it if you want us to work together. My men and I have already spent our morning working, and I’m ready. I need to do some research before I go to your place and we are on the road to New York.”
“What kind of research?”
“As in if I am going to kill or capture someone, where are they? Where are Noah, JJ and the girls?”
Alexei hesitates. He knows he’s got to tell Prince everything. He couldn’t care less whether Yvette listens in, but there is one detail he doesn’t want to tell.
“I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me everything. Shall I go home?”
“No, no. You have to go to the 7th Hotel. That’s their last known address. But when you go there, be very careful.”
“And I’m just supposed to go there, and they will hand over all contact details to me? Come on, Alexei. You are holding something back.”
Alexei swallows. “Nothing to hold back. I was there yesterday but couldn’t find out anything... ”
“So why are you sending me there if you’ve already gone?”
“There is more that you can find out if you talk to the head housekeeper. Her name is Eva.”
“So why didn’t you talk to her and save us some time?”
Time to ‘fess up. “I killed Olga, a cleaning lady there yesterday because she didn’t tell me what I needed to know. I thought she’d break but turned out she really didn’t know anything.”
There is a tense moment of silence before Prince answers.
“Did you kill her quick or slow?”
“Quick. I am not a heartless man.”
“No, you’re not
heartless. Just stupid. You kill slow, she might have given up more information, hoping to make life last longer. Never make useless kills. I will see you in the afternoon.”
CLICK. Of course Prince was right. Killing Olga like that was a mistake. Alexei was just so damned mad by getting outdone by a Chinaman.
And now he has to rely on another one to find him.
***
Now’s my chance. Tanya looks around and sees that the group is spread out through the eighty-sixth floor observation level of the Empire State Building in little groups, posing for selfies or having others take their pictures.
She discreetly moves to the elevator when she gets a tug. It’s Larissa. “You can’t leave me, Tanya.”
“You will be fine here. You don’t need me now. They will take care of you.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not sure. Goodbye.”
“Tanya?” whimpers Larissa.
Tanya stops. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Larissa. I will always love you.”
Tanya gets on the elevator, descends to the main floor and steps out onto the street.
Amazing. She’s been in America for over two months, and this is the first time she been out on the street by herself. She’s only got about fifty bucks that she stole from Abby’s purse, and with Abby’s makeup garishly put on, she looks like a young runaway wanting to turn a trick.
Which is not too far from the truth.
But not what she wants to do - yet.
A lot of people complain about how hard it is to get a cab in New York.
Not Tanya though. She flags down one, then another, then another, rejecting them all until she gets what she wants - a cabbie who can speak Russian. Because she was locked up, she has to describe where she wants to go.
“I want to go to a hotel.”
“No need to go to hotel. I find you customers. Fifty for you, fifty for me.”
She whacks the driver on the head. “I’m not working.”
“Okay, okay,” cowers the driver. “What other reason does a young girl looking like you want to go to hotel? Which hotel you want to go?”
“I don’t know address. It has big park three blocks away, in old building.”
“That narrows it down to two hundred hotels. What else? Were there any signs or anything like that?”
Tanya thinks hard, then suddenly a light. “Petrushka. I remember it because it was the only Russian word I saw. And there was number seven, I think on the hotel.”
The cabbie smiles. “The 7th on Seventh. It’s an old hotel fixed up very nicely, and the Petrushka Restaurant is in it. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Great.”
It may not be the best place for her to go, but it’s the only one that Tanya can think of. She needs money, a fix, a job, a place to stay. The only people she knows that might help her right away are Alexei and Olga. Alexei for sure, but she doesn’t know how to get a hold of him. Olga? She was a strange lady, but she delivered and might be willing to help her out again.
After all, when the girls were staying there, the housekeeper snuck her out for twenty minutes to “service” one of the hotel guests on the same floor. Olga gave her twenty bucks and a fix. Had Tanya known that Olga pocketed three hundred for herself, she might not be so anxious to see cleaning lady again.
***
Eva has been in this room with Igor for what seems like forever. He’s been a bear and a boor. When they were hungry, they had room service. When she wanted to use the washroom, he went with her, kept her stall door open and watched. He demanded she provide a girl for him. One of her housekeepers was happy to earn a few extra dollars, and they did it right in her office with her watching. When it was time to sleep, he handcuffed her to his wrist. Having his body next to hers was insufferable, and she is frantic, trying to think of any way possible to leave this place of torment.
It will be several hours before check-in time for the new guests. Only then will anyone notice that something is amiss, and that is only if there are guests checked into those rooms.
Already quaking inside from fear, there is no way Eva can last that long. She’s got to try something.
“I’ve got to go to the twelfth floor and check on Olga’s work. She left her cleaning and laundry carts there, and people will get suspicious if it’s still there.”
“I’m coming with you,” says the Russian bruiser.
“How suspicious will it be for you to be accompanying a cleaning lady? Or is that what you want?”
Igor resists slapping the arrogant housekeeper but does see the merit in her thought. He takes her cell phone and scrolls through the names until he sees Kotik, a Russian term of endearment for a daughter. That will work, He sends a text.
There is an extra-special lunch special. Half off. Let’s have a mother-daughter lunch at Petrushka’s. Can you come? My treat. Meet me in my office.
Thirty seconds later is there response.
I will be there in half an hour!
Igor smiles, then types. Of course. See you then.
He shows Eva the short series of messages. “If you do not show up by the time your daughter shows up, your daughter will take your place. Either in heaven or hell.”
Igor puts Eva’s cell into his pocket. “You have half an hour.”
***
Tanya gets off in front of the 7th Hotel and goes directly to the floor of the Presidential Suite and the floor where Noah and JJ had a room. She is surprised that Olga is not there. While her housekeeping carts there, the cleaning lady is not.
The elevator door opens, and Eva gets out. With her clipboard, she looks quite official.
Tanya approaches her in Russian. “Where is Olga?”
Tanya notices Eva’s nervousness as she answers. “There is no one working here by that name.”
“She was here just a few days ago, and look at the label on the cart.”
Sure enough. There is a label that reads, “Olga.”
Damn. I should have remembered to clear this out. However, Eva was so distraught about Olga’s death she never even thought of cleaning this floor or Olga’s carts until now.
“Do not involve yourself in things that are not your business. Go, now or I will call security,” says Eva firmly.
Tanya is not at all afraid of what she knows is an idle threat. “Why are you afraid? Has something happened to Olga?”
Eva’s eyes bore into Tanya, and she suddenly realizes who she is. When Alexei flipped through photos of the girls, there was more of this one than anyone else, but she just can’t remember her name. “You are one of the girls, aren’t you? You are one of the girls with the Chinaman. Why did you come back?”
“I... I came back because of Olga. She was Russian. She was nice, and I... I... she said to contact her if I ever needed anything... I can’t stay with those awful people... ”
Eva’s conflicted. She wants to tell Tanya to run away as far as she can and never come back. But she can also tell that this kid is a survivor, and to survive, she might just tell Alexei that she told her to leave. Eva also knows that while New York is a big city, everybody knows someone who could track her down. Having one of the Russian girls show up is about the last thing she expected, and she doesn’t think it can turn out well for either one of them.
“You came back because you’re a whore. Olga must have gotten you some customers, and now you want more. Yes, Olga’s gone. She’s supposed to give me fifty percent and tried to cheat me out of my cut so I fired her. Go away, little bitch.”
During this blusterous rant, Eva had nonchalantly takes some bathtub cleanser from the cleaning cart, anticipating what she felt likely would be Tanya’s reaction. Tanya does not disappoint.
“I am not a whore,” screams Tanya as she lunges at Eva.
Eva takes the bathroom cleaner and points it at Tanya’s face. Toxic stuff.
The teenager keels over and starts coughing. “My eyes. I can�
��t see.”
Eva balls her fist and makes a well-aimed punch at Tanya’s temple. The teenager is knocked unconscious.
Eva picks up Tanya up and hides her in the laundry cart. She pushes her inside the Presidential Suite to make a couple of phone calls.
One will be to her daughter, canceling the lunch. She doesn’t want to get Kotik worried so she will just tell her that someone just called in sick and she has to fill in for her.
The other will be to contact the father at the Russian Orthodox Church who might give the teenager sanctuary and hide her for a while. She’d heard of someone hiding in a church for months while his case was being sorted out. He managed to wait out all the deportation notices by building a huge public sympathy.
Maybe lightning can strike twice.
CHAPTER 12
With most tours, the operators promise that you get to see “Manhattan in four hours” or “New York in a day.” You hop off the bus, take a photo, then hop back on to the next destination. If you’re the kind that never sees what you did on vacation until you look at your photos or you want to whet your tongue on a potpourri of sights, this is perfect for you.
However, if you prefer to linger at places that you’re interested in or just drive onto the next destination if the one you’ve arrived at looks boring, a private tour is the way to go. You can dictate the schedule.
That’s the way it is with the group at the Empire State Building. To Abby, Walrus and Olivia, New York is home or a second home. Noah’s main time here has been all business running in from one meeting to another. For JJ and Sam, this is their first time here. For the Russian and Chinese girls, their New York experience to date is something they would like to forever blot out of their memories.
SLAVERY UNBOUND: Cruelty & Lust with the Emerging Eastern Mafia (Noah Reid Action Thriller series Book 4) Page 8
