by Taylor Lee
“Do you know where they are? The daughters? The grandchildren?”
She sniffed dismissively.
“Yes. I grew up with them. I was their playmate.”
Bai kept his face and voice neutral. “How did you end up with Marcello?”
Jeng Ming looked up at him. Only his compassion for her kept him from dropping his eyes when he saw the pain in hers. Her haughtiness, her anger, was gone. In its place was raw anguish. He held her gaze willing her to continue. It was the two of them now. She was looking at him as though she was clinging to him, a beacon of strength, sanity in an evil world.
He nodded to her and said quietly, “I’m here, Jeng Ming.”
She trembled and gripped the arms of her chair, her fingers white with strain. She took several deep breaths. With a sigh, she said, “I was born there.”
A long moment passed. Her face was pale, her voice soft.
“My mother… my mother was his whore. For many years. Before he went crazy, like he is now.”
“Is your mother still there?”
She shook her head and once again she was silent then said, “No.”
Bai waited, letting his gaze surround her, as though he had his arms around her. His voice was gentle.
“What happened to her? To your mother?’
In a barely audible whisper, Jeng Ming said, “He killed her. Slit her throat. After he tied her up and made her watch him rape me… when I was eleven.”
She looked down at her hands and held them tight, trying to stop them from shaking. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the grandfather clock that graced the far wall.
Bai looked more closely at her features and exchanged a pained look with Wyatt. Choosing not to ask the obvious question, he asked instead a seeming non sequitur.
“What are the daughters’ names?”
Jeng Ming tossed her head dismissively with a harsh laugh. “He called one Mary; the other one Madonna.”
“Hmm. What did he call you?”
“Magdalene.”
Ignoring the soft sobs he heard from both Lei and Elena, Bai pushed a piece of paper and a pen across the desk to Jeng Ming.
“Are they all in the same place, the daughters and the children?”
“No, he has four private residences that he uses to sequester them. He keeps them in different places and continually moves them from one place to the other. He never keeps all of them in the same place at one time.”
Bai nodded and pointed to the paper.
“Please write down all four addresses.”
While she was writing, Bai turned to Wyatt and Nianzu.
“Who is the best one to handle this? Tom? Peter?”
Wyatt responded.
“Tom is the best person to oversee it. He has the resources and the people in place to complete the job.”
Bai handed the addresses to Nianzu.
“Send an urgent telegram to Tom with these addresses. Tell him I want the job done no later than eight p.m. tonight.”
Nianzu was halfway to the door before Bai finished issuing his orders.
Bai refilled his glass and raised the decanter of brandy to Jeng Ming and Wyatt; both nodded their assent. Without speaking, Elena came over to the desk and poured two glasses of brandy. She handed one to Lei, who took it with a grateful nod. Elena tossed her draft back with a quick swallow and refilled her glass.
Bai sipped on his brandy and resisted lighting another cigar. Instead, he faced Jeng Ming without buffers. He spoke to her in a quiet, controlled voice.
“Jeng Ming, I cannot take away the past. I cannot erase the horrors you have seen, the pain you have experienced. I can only tell you how much I admire and respect you. Your courage is equal to that of my most courageous battle hardened warriors. You have survived horrors that would have killed or crippled most people. But you survived and for that and so much more, I honor you.”
He stood and bowed low to her. Wyatt, Lei, and Elena all stood and did the same. Jeng Ming was surprised. She looked from one to the other, then stood and returned their bow. She reached for the edge of the desk to steady herself and closed her eyes tightly, squeezing back tears that threatened to fall.
Bai waited until she looked back at him and locked in on her gaze.
“I will also tell you that Aldo Marcello will die a painful death. Soon. His death, as hideous as it will be, cannot take away what you have suffered or the evil he has done to you and others. It is the most we can do now.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. Bai ached, seeing the pain on her face. It was as though she had shed a thick layer of skin. She was like an injured snake capable only of roughing off lone chunks of skin at a time. Just the flash of hope in her eyes when she looked at Bai hinted at the rainbow coloration possible beneath. Instead of the hard, scornful woman who had walked in the room, she looked like what she was – a young girl who had been terribly wounded. Bai wanted her to know that for the first time, she didn’t have to face the world alone. He chose his words carefully.
“One final thing, Jeng Ming. Wyatt, Nianzu, and I and every man who rides with us – and we are a world wide force – will protect you as long as you live. No one will hurt you again. That is my sacred pledge to you.”
Wyatt shared a glance with Lei and Elena, neither of whom were trying to hide the tears flowing down their cheeks. He looked down at the tiny young woman next to him. He reached out and wrapped his strong arms around her. When she tried to push him away, he pulled her close to him and held her as her sobs wracked her small body.
Wyatt’s usual twinkle was gone. His voice was gruff.
“Honey, I want you to know that Bai isn’t exaggerating. Our men are in every country on earth. We are Chinese, every variety of white man and a couple of fierce Indian tribes thrown in for good measure. Every one of us will protect you with our lives—the way we do Lei and Elena. And each of us will do our damndest to convince you that those evil assholes you have lived with are an aberration. I hope to hell you will give the rest of the male gender a chance to prove we are worthy of you.”
Jeng Ming stood quietly for a moment, then pulled away from him. She didn’t try to wipe away the tears on her face. The pain and anguish were gone, but once again were masked by a protective layer of disdain. She squared her slender shoulders and bowed to Bai and nodded to the others. Without speaking, she turned and walked out of the room, her head held high.
~~~
Later that evening, Carlos drew up to his full height. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door to Aldo’s private quarters. He was greeted with a torrent of Aldo’s prime invective.
“Goddamn you, Carlos, you fucking son of a bitch. What the hell do you want and it goddamn well better be good. You know better than to interrupt me when I’m breaking in a cunt!”
Carlos stared at the furious little man in front of him, then looked away in disgust. Aldo’s trousers were hovering at his ankles and his shriveled up prick was sticky with dark residue. Carlos averted his eyes and tried to ignore the moans of the young girl lying on the floor, a pool of blood between her thighs. One of the tools Aldo used to prepare his virgins for his assaults was lying beside her. Like the young girl and the ugly little man who had used it on her, the iron rod was covered with blood and feces.
Carlos’s voice was grave.
“Aldo, you need to call back our men, the ones we’ve sicced on the Frenchman.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You stupid piece of horse shit, you…”
He stopped in midsentence when Carlos handed him a large folder.
Aldo’s face was dark with fury. He ripped open the folder and dumped a stack of photographs on the table. His face turned a ghastly shade of white when he saw what they were. One by one, he laid them out on the table and looked in horror at close up pictures of his daughters and his four grandchildren. The pictures showed them laughing, playing or talking to one another, all clearly unconcerned about the photographer taking their pictures.
Aldo realized with a sickening jolt, the photographer was someone close to them, so familiar he wouldn’t have caused alarm. On each picture, an address was written in the margin showing the location of the subjects.
Trembling with rage, Aldo knew he had at least four informants, traitors in his midst close to his virgin daughters and his holy grandchildren. When he thought about the danger they faced, he was overcome by fear, an emotion he didn’t recognize, it had been so long since he felt it
Aldo’s hands were shaking and it took him a moment to open the folded note. Spreading it on the table he read:
“I look forward to making each of their acquaintances.
At the time and place of my choosing.
The Frenchman.”
Chapter 15
The next morning, the complex was a flurry of activity preparing for the wedding the next day. The excitement was palpable from one end of the complex to the other. A cacophony of voices rang out across the villa, everyone eager to do their part to make the celebration as festive and glorious as possible.
The wedding would be in the main garden bordering a small pool. The pool was an engineering masterpiece. Looking for all the world as though it had been there since Eden, the Chinese gardeners had created a seven layered spring fed pool filled with exotic fish, lush vegetation and an elaborate rock waterfall. A discreet system of lights showcased the unique plants and water life.
Workmen had strung hundreds of Chinese lanterns and positioned candles throughout the gardens and surrounding patios. The gardeners had been working for months to ensure that the flowers in the main gardens were varieties that would bloom at the time of the wedding and all of the plants flowered as expected. The result was a riot of colors and exotic scents that ravished the senses of all who passed by. Rare, colorful birds imported from China and the East Indies hovered in exotic trees and bushes, an open aviary for the precious birds and insects that graced their branches.
Bai and Elena were determined that their wedding would be a private affair—the only invitees were individuals who lived at the complex. Given that there were over a hundred servants and workers, as well as a hundred or so Sing Leon members present at the compound at any one time, the “guest” list included several hundred people, and that was before the influx of the young Chinese prostitutes.
Given the growing numbers, Bai and Elena decided to say their vows before three traditional altars under a leafy arched bower to the side of the pool in the presence of their immediate family, which included Wan, Wyatt, Lei, Elena’s brothers, Nianzu, and Quitin. The rest of the celebration, which was sure to be spectacular, would include all 200-300 ‘residents.’”
Rather than being problematic, the addition of the young Chinese girls added a prescient clarity to the celebration. While Bai and Elena would be celebrating their love and the beginning of their married life together, the presence of the girls was a stark reminder of what their life together was likely to be. It underscored the danger that would always be present in the life of the Frenchman and his bride. In a perverse way, it also highlighted the hideousness and depravity of the world around them. But the overriding message of the young girls was the power Bai and Elena had to use their formidable resources to light the darkness. It was an inspiring message and a challenge to the bride and groom of their obligations and opportunities.
In a practical sense, the presence of the girls turned months of detailed minute by minute planning upside down and every one from the cooks, servants, and healers to the workmen and guards were scrambling to fulfill the new requirements. But the challenge was a welcome one, and to a person, the household pulled together to make this celebration one that no one, particularly the young girls, had ever seen or were likely to see again.
That morning, cartloads of boxes from every dressmaker in the city of San Francisco began arriving at the villa. Elena and Lei had spent hours the day before contacting clothing stores and dressmakers, ordering clothes for the girls. With the help of Jeng Ming and multilingual servants, Elena created a chart indicating the age and measurements of each of the girls. She insisted that each girl was to have three sets of underwear, a nightgown, two “practical” dresses, pants and a blouse, and, of course, a spectacular dress for the wedding. Naturally, ribbons, appropriate jewelry, and other accessories were also on the list.
When Bai heard her plans, he shook his head in wonder at the woman he was about to marry. At breakfast, he turned to Wyatt in mock dismay.
“Mon Dieu, Wyatt, do you realize the force of will, Christ, the force of nature, she is? Not only did she conceive of such an impossible plan, but we both know she will pull it off!”
Wyatt, Wan, and Alex all smiled with pride and nodded their agreement.
Wyatt said with a wry grin, “You are forgetting that Wan, Alex, and I have dealt with Elena’s impossible plans since she could walk, and every one of us will tell you God help anyone who stands in her way. A word of warning, Bai. When that stubborn chin goes up and those sapphire eyes start to flash, my advice is that you make a graceful retreat and get the hell out of her way!”
Bai was glad when Alex, who had been quiet and distant for the last two days, joined in the admiring laughter of the other men and smiled at Elena when she turned and threw him a raffish wink.
But Elena and Lei were focused on the day ahead and barely looked up from the tasks they were checking off while scrutinizing the lists of calls they needed to make to recalcitrant shopkeepers.
Bai caught her attention and said “Cherie, do you realize you have decreed that each of the girls will have nine articles of clothing including a party dress –a total of nearly five hundred items—ordered and delivered in less than twenty four hours? Can you imagine what is being said and done in every clothing shop in San Francisco?”
Elena responded with an airy wave of her hand, “Well, if they are smart, they are thinking what a godsend this is and determining how much they can jack up their prices without resistance from me.”
Wyatt laughed. “If I know the two of you, the last thing they will get is price resistance.”
“Father, how dare you? Listen to him, Lei. This is the most extravagant man in the world – except, of course, for you, Grandfather. Just so you know, Bai, you have a high hurdle to jump to meet the marvelously profligate ways of my father and grandfather. But, of course, you must know by now how terribly spoiled I am.”
Bai grinned a wicked grin and said with a chuckle, “Don’t think I don’t know that I have my work cut out for me, mon amour. But, cherie, as you know, there are other ways to spoil a beautiful woman than with riches.”
Elena blushed and looked down, seeing Bai’s eyes drift to her breasts, knowing that her nipples had hardened in tight peaks from his sensual look alone.
Bai saw her embarrassment and decided to be merciful and change the subject.
He tuned back to Wyatt in mock horror.
“Doux Jésus, imagine what she could do with a battle plan. Tell me the truth, Wyatt, before it is too late. You are my mentor, my advisor. Am I making a terrible mistake, thinking that I can control this whirlwind that is your daughter and tomorrow is to be my wife?”
Wyatt’s eyes clouded with moisture. Looking at the red haired daughter who was the pride of his life, he said in a gruff voice filled with emotion,
“Bai, I will only say that, like the gift your father gave me when he blessed my marriage to Lei, I am giving you the most precious gift you will ever receive.”
Elena saw the tears in his eyes and jumped up and ran over to Wyatt and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him and whispered, “Thank you, Father.”
Wyatt recovered his usual grin and with a twinkle in his eye said, “Don’t forget, Elena, you are my best girl ever.”
With happy tears in her eyes, she hugged her father and gave her expected response cultivated from fifteen years of repetition, “But, Father, I am your only girl.”
With a grateful sigh, Wyatt answered in form, “I
know, honey, I know.”
Bai came up behind Elena and put his arm around her shoulder. He bowed low to Wyatt.
“Please know, Wyatt, that in all my life I never dreamed that I would be blessed with a woman like Elena. I thank both you and Lei for helping to create the woman she is. I am grateful and humbled.”
~~~
The boxes arrived amidst huge excitement. Elena and Lei organized a virtual brigade in the major dining room, sorting the clothing items by size and function. There were fifty cards spread among the tables. Each card had a girl’s name and her sizes. After nearly four hours of steady work, punctuated with excited “oohs” and “ahhs”, all fifty stacks had been arranged and each of the girls was called in to receive her gorgeous bundle. Most of them were too stunned to do anything but stare at the beautiful clothes. Elena met each girl’s shy reluctance with an excited question and a hug. Over and over she asked, “Do you like it?” Or, she shrieked in delight, “Oh, look at this!” or “This is wonderful,” or “Look at how this fits you and how it matches your eyes!”
Her excitement was infectious and soon the room was filled with laughter and shrieks of delight as the girls tried on their clothes and whirled in circles in front of the beautiful woman whose admiring smiles and hugs made them feel lovely and loved.
Chapter 16
Elena waited to return to her room until all the clothes had been the delivered and the girls had gone back to their quarters to rest after the excitement of their impromptu fashion show.
She walked through the private garden on the way to her quarters when she saw Bai. Thinking that he had gone to town, she was surprised and excited to see him in the garden.
She started to call out to him when she saw that he was with Jeng Ming. They were deep in conversation and neither of them saw her. She started to turn away, not wanting to interrupt, but stopped struck by Jeng Ming’s beauty.
Lei was the most beautiful Oriental woman Elena had ever known and Jeng Ming had that level of exquisite beauty, only she was the same age as Elena. Something about her conversation with Bai had erased the hardness around her eyes and mouth and instead of her usual haughty demeanor, she looked happy, enticing. For the first time Elena could appreciate the stunning beauty not only of her face, which was remarkable, but also her body. She was small, at least four inches shorter than Elena. But her body was amazingly lush. Her breasts were high and full and tapered to a tiny waist and curvy hips. Her legs were slender and her hands and feet, delicate, lovely.
