by Nancy Miller
On her way to the meeting, Sasha saw her mother walking into the school office. She hurried over to find her mother and Master face to face in front of the secretary’s desk — a picture of opposites, and it wasn’t just their ages. Her mother wore a fine yellow wool suit over a white silk blouse. Master wore her usual faded blazer, uneven skirt, and held some papers, which she quickly dropped on the secretary’s desk.
“Mother, what are you doing here?” Sasha asked.
In Russian, her mother said: “Just checking on my girl. I want to talk to the principal about how you are doing. You don’t need to come in with me.”
Master looked at Sasha and mouthed: “Introduce me.”
“Uh, Mother, this is my friend Mast . . . uh, Martha. She’s with that group I told you about.”
“I’m the head of that group, Mrs. Asinov. I really appreciate how helpful Sasha’s been at the seniors’ home. You should be very proud of her.”
Frowning slightly, Sasha’s mother looked Master up and down. She said, “How do you do?” then turned away, ignoring Master like she was an annoying mosquito. In Russian, she said to Sasha, “I’ll see you at home later.” She waltzed into the principal’s office.
Master looked at Sasha, nodding slowly. Then she said, “We’d better get to the meeting.”
Sasha agreed. She needed to see what they had to say about Grace’s account. If it were part of a test or a joke, she’d find out. Then, she’d be accepted. But after her mother’s snub of Master, she wasn’t sure it would go that well.
Master ushered Sasha into a side room in the library, then closed and locked the door. The CREW would not be disturbed.
Sasha waited for Master to say something about her mother. But Master launched into a report on how much money they had made that month.
“Fringe arranged one hundred dollars a month from her church’s foundation. That gives socks to the homeless. And Zorro and Sage together brought in five hundred dollars for Seniors’ Advice, our blog on ways to help seniors. I have five hundred dollars from the lottery we put on for the teachers on their PA day. Someone won a trip to Jamaica and we pocketed five hundred dollars for our personal causes.”
Sasha’s mind raced. Seniors’ Advice? Five hundred dollars? What was going on? Was that the money that came out of Grace’s account? She had helped set up Grace’s account. She had given the CREW the account and password. Grace said $500 was missing. And now $500 showed up connected to Seniors’ Advice.
Sasha was starting to worry that the CREW was not what it appeared to be. She liked these girls. Well, Master was hard to like. But she was smart, as BB said. If they were out to get innocent people, though, she didn’t want to be here.
Big applause from the CREW cut into her thoughts. Master was saying, “That’s eleven hundred dollars this week. Each of us gets a cut.” She handed a crisp one hundred dollar bill to each CREW member. “The rest goes in the pot. And here’s more good news. I got us all tickets to the Grisly Grizzlies at the Danforth Music Hall on Saturday. It’s not all work and no play with the CREW.”
Another gift? Or a bribe?
“Sage, this is cool, right?” Master stood in front of Sasha, holding out her one hundred dollar bill. When Sasha didn’t move to take it, her smile turned to a scowl. “I said, isn’t this great?”
“I guess,” Sasha’s usual response triggered a new response from Master. Sasha had seen Master’s sarcasm, greed, and manipulation. Now she saw fury.
“You guess? You guess?” Master’s voice rose. “Why is that always your only response?” Master stomped to the front of the room and ripped down the CREW sign that said Confident, Remarkable, Excellent, Welcoming.
Fringe wheeled over: “Not yet, Master. She’s not ready.”
But Master just ignored Fringe. She turned the poster around and held it up in Sasha’s face.
On the back, the poster read:
The CREW
Con
Rip-off
Exploit
Weaken
Chapter 9
Trapped
Sasha covered her eyes. This was no joke or test. This was the real thing.
Master pulled Sasha’s hands down and held them, forcing her to look at the poster. Her fingers dug into Sasha’s wrists. Master’s mouth twitched as if it were hard to get the words out. Finally, she spoke in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. “Don’t you see this, Sage? This is who we are. Your mother might not approve. But this is it.”
Master turned to face the rest of the girls. “Oh, by the way,” she said in a nasty voice. “I met Sasha’s mother. She’s high-class Russian all right. The clothes, the jewellery, the snobby attitude, the very bad accent. She wouldn’t even speak to me.”
Fringe and Zorro looked on eagerly, waiting for Sasha’s reaction. Only BB spoke up. “Hey, Master,” she said. “Go a little easy, okay? She’s new at this.”
Master threw her hands up in the air and walked out of the room.
“Remember what I told you, Sasha,” said BB. “About all of us. We need each other. And if Master gets mad at the world and how it puts us down, well, she has a right.”
Zorro’s baby voice said, “She’s like a mother to us, Sasha. Or at least a guardian angel.”
“We all have flaws —” started Fringe.
“And Master’s is her temper,” finished BB.
Master came back and bumped BB out of the way. She stood in front of Sasha. Through clenched teeth, she said, “I’m sorry I got so upset, Sasha. We really want you as part of our group. You’re talented and smart. And you’re going to need good friends here.”
“I want to be part of the CREW,” Sasha said. Even if she didn’t, she had to be careful here. “It’s just . . .” Before she could finish, she saw Master’s eyes narrow.
Sasha pushed on. “It’s just . . .” Sasha took a deep breath. “I don’t know why we need to steal from Grace. Maybe from the government or big business, or really bad people. ”
Sasha could see that Master was ready to explode again. Zorro answered quickly, “Because Grace is a bitch who wants to cut her children out of her will. She’s lucky to have children.”
“Yes, but she’s just an old lady. And what about the man on the bus? I saw BB take the wallet with the seventy-two dollars. What was wrong with him?”
BB responded. “You didn’t tell us you were watching that day. Sneaky, Sasha. Didn’t you see him leaning into me so he could feel my boobs? Didn’t you notice how he was checking my ass? He’s a dirty old man.”
Sasha knew she had to be careful. “It’s just that I think I can be much more helpful to the CREW in other ways. I can do a lot on the computer. In Moscow, I was known for getting information from secure sites. I can do that here too. We don’t have to target innocent people.
“Besides,” Sasha went on. An image of her grandmother popped into Sasha’s mind every time she thought of Grace. “I didn’t know I should be careful with Grace. I left myself open to being caught. The woman at the front desk knows Zorro came in with me that day, so she could be in trouble too.” Sasha hadn’t been that careless, but she didn’t want to be part of stealing from Grace.
Zorro turned to Master. “She’s right, Master. Think about letting Grace go. Sage can do much more on the next job to make up for it.”
Master had been leaning against the wall, staring at Sasha as she spoke. But now she sauntered back to where Sasha was sitting. Then she leaned down and hugged Sasha. The rest of the CREW crowded around into a group hug.
Sasha was surprised and touched. In Moscow she was never sure if her friends liked her for herself or because of her father’s position and money. But these girls were willing to let a sure source of money go because Sasha asked. Wasn’t this proof that the CREW really were her friends?
“I think your father would approve of our actions,” adde
d Master.
She doubted he would approve. But at least she wouldn’t be stealing from old women. Sasha was ready to take on some bad guys. She stood up. “Yes. BFFs!” she shouted, then “Is that how you say it?”
Everyone laughed.
“But here’s the thing,” said Master. “Sasha, we all have something on each other to ensure our loyalty to one another. So if anyone tries to turn on the others, something will happen. You know . . . police action, expulsion from school, or . . .” looking at Sasha, “deportation. So we all have to work hard to stay together.
“In your case, Sasha,” she went on, “our insurance is that you took part in getting Grace’s account numbers.” She pulled out her phone and showed Sasha the picture Zorro took of Grace showing Sasha her private information. Sasha gasped. “And even though we will give the money back,” Master said, “this could seriously damage your reputation. And so could this.” She showed the selfie of Sasha holding the joint.
There was no confusion over those threats. Sasha now was absolutely sure that Master and the CREW would blackmail her to keep her quiet. If they had the pictures, what else did they have? Sasha decided she would be extra careful about showing herself. From now on, no cameras and no exposure. If they wouldn’t protect her, she had to protect herself.
Master pinned the poster back up with the good side showing. “Now for today’s assignment,” she continued. “I have about fifty contact numbers. You don’t need to know how I got them. All the numbers are of men who have a reputation for going after young girls.”
Sasha didn’t like the sound of this.
Fringe piped up. “I see you squirming, Sasha. But you don’t have to have sex with them.”
Sasha let her breath out.
“No, just pretend you want to,” Master said. “Anyway, this represents an opportunity but I’m not sure how to exploit it. That’s where you come in, Sasha. How do we catch these guys? Maybe with these pictures?”
Master showed Sasha a tablet with a series of photographs of herself and Fringe from the waist up. Both were wearing skimpy bras and see-through camis. Full, slightly open lips and eyes closed, their expressions said they were in the middle of sex. As the pictures were going around, Master stared at Sasha for an answer.
This was definitely a bigger target than Grace’s account. And these guys were perverts going after young girls. Sasha nodded. “We could lure them to do more and pay for it. We send suggestive pictures of the CREW to these guys with lines like, ‘Tonight, just you and me.’ That gets them interested. We say we’ll show more skin if they send us their pictures with them wearing as little as possible. Their faces should show they are thinking of us so we can be thinking of them.”
“Can you do that, Sasha?” Master was almost drooling. “They do illegal things all the time, you know. They search the web for sites with underage girls so they can jerk off without their wives knowing. They have to pay for that.”
“I think so,” Sasha replied. “I can set up a website with a firewall so they won’t be able to trace us. When they send their pictures to us, I’ll combine their pictures with the CREW’s pictures in sexy poses and send them back.”
Fringe interrupted. “And we get them to pay — five hundred dollars a shot — to keep the pictures from their wives and bosses.”
Master jumped in. “Yes, five hundred a shot. Now we’re talking.”
“Hey,” said Sasha, “I thought we would just teach them a lesson. We don’t have to go to blackmail. Maybe one or two of the worst ones, but . . .”
Master turned to her and smirked. “You know, Sage, you’re like one of those Russian dolls. A smaller and smaller doll is revealed every time you open one up. You’re with us, but when we open you up, you’re a doll who questions everything. We open that one up and you desperately want to belong. Then we open the last one up and you are this little shivering doll at the bottom.”
Then, suddenly serious, Master asked Sasha, “The question is, can you do this?”
Chapter 10
Crime for Good
Sasha could do it. She could lure the men online and protect the CREW. But she would have to be careful to get rid of any evidence quickly. “Blackmail is illegal. You know, I’ll be the one who’ll be in trouble if it goes wrong. If they’re computer-smart, they could tell who is trying to communicate with them from my IP address. And if I’m caught, the police can force me to turn over photos of us and the information on these men.”
“Oh, shit,” said Master. “Are you going to whine about every idea we have? We don’t need to know all the technical details.”
Before another blow-up, BB interrupted. “Sage, these guys are creeps. They are breaking a major law. So we break a minor law to get them. And we get to send the money to a shelter for abused girls.”
Sasha’s mind turned to her father’s world of corruption and greed. She thought about her own petty crime at home. Maybe she was really a bad seed. Why else would she see the justice in this?
“You’re right,” Sasha agreed. Scamming guys who prey on young girls was the kind of thing she could justify. But remembering her own rule just a few minutes ago, she said, “But one thing.” Master got ready to pounce, but Sasha went on. “I will do all the computer work and combine the photos. But I won’t appear in any pictures. And we have one week to do as much as we can. But then, I’m cutting it off. Even though I’m good, the longer I’m exposed, the more chance there is that someone will find me out.”
Sasha could see Master planning a tough comeback. But she heard Fringe’s voice from behind. “I agree. Sasha needs to concentrate on the computer and communications. If she’s uncomfortable with the other part, it will only distract her.”
“Okay,” Master relented. “But, Zorro, as her control, you better keep her on track.”
“No problem, right, Sage? When do we start?”
Master already had her jacket on and was gathering up her books. “Friday night. I’ll email the names this week and we’ll finalize then.”
Right, thought Sasha, in another empty house for sale.
Before she left, Master called everyone together into another group hug. Whatever happened, Sasha thought, she had a group of friends. And life in Canada sure wasn’t dull.
They all went their separate ways. BB headed to the subway a block away. Zorro got into her smart car. And Master got on a motorcycle with a very hot guy. Fringe had a Wheel-Trans van pick her up and asked Sasha if she wanted a ride.
“I’ll get off first and they’ll take you home, okay? You can be my attendant, so it’s part of the service.”
“Sure. Great. And thanks for standing up for me with Master back there. I really don’t want to get into the sex trade.”
“No problem,” said Fringe. “I find it kind of fun. I always wonder what they’d think if they could see the whole me. I know there are dudes who are into that.”
When they got to Fringe’s home, she asked Sasha, “Hey, do you want to come in? We could watch Netflix. My parents are working until early morning.” Her usual confidence was replaced by a longing in her voice that Sasha had never heard before.
“I can’t, sorry,” said Sasha. “My mom is waiting for me. And by the way, Mother is not as bad as Master made her out. She is a snob, but she’s not very confident here on her own, so she plays the role of a rich lady in control.”
“It doesn’t matter. My place isn’t much to come into,” Fringe said as the driver helped her out of the truck. Without saying goodbye, she wheeled herself to the front door of an apartment that had an assisted living sign. A woman who looked old enough to be Fringe’s grandmother stood waiting.
That night, Sasha’s racing heart wouldn’t let her sleep. She thought about the meeting and all the CREW members. Seeing how Fringe lived made her depressed. She thought about how the CREW got their money and what they did with it. And how she
had basically agreed to blackmail people. But those guys were perverts. Now maybe they’d think twice before surfing for children.
Life was really different for Sasha these days. But the longer she stayed in Canada, the less she wanted to go back to Moscow. School was good and she was learning English very quickly. She had new clothes that were so much better than at home. Her mother was even giving her more freedom to go out with her friends. And with her CREW money, she would be able to go to concerts, to the mall, to the gym — wherever — without nagging her mom for money.
No way she wanted to lose all that.
And Jake. She didn’t encourage Jake. But she loved that he looked for her all the time. She felt a thrill run through her every time he stopped her in the halls to talk.
***
On Friday, at the usual 8:30 meet at her locker, Jake said, “So you’re one of the CREW now? People say they do good things. But Martha is a little creepy. She’s always making a point of talking or standing next to me in a group. What’s the deal with her, anyway?”
Before Sasha could answer, Jake leaned in and kissed her. Sasha pulled back quickly.
“What, you don’t want to?” said Jake. He leaned in again. “Or did I just surprise you?”
Quickly, Sasha looked around to see who was watching. She didn’t need the principal calling her mother about her loose behaviour in the halls. But there was Jake, inches away. Sasha leaned in too. “The second part,” she said. Her lips were ready for him this time.
The crash of a nearby locker door pulled them apart. Then they were looking into a pair of fierce, black, and very angry eyes. Sasha could see right away that this was not Martha. This was Master. She looked older and tougher. Her dark-lined eyes and black-red lipstick set off her new stringy haircut.
Bumping Sasha out of the way, the girl pushed herself next to Jake. “Oh, sorry. Are you okay, Jake?” Her sweet voice and smile did not match her look.
