A Delicate Flower

by Chelsea Girard

  “Calm down? Calm down? You could ruin our entire plant! You can put us all in jail, do you not understand what you’ve done?” Davis yelled in her face as his mouth began to foam.

  “Maybe it was Rose-?” she said quietly.

  “Oh no, don’t you go blaming the young one. You’re supposed to be the mastermind behind this entire trip idea! You screwed it up and you’re going to fix it.” He yelled in her face again.

  “How do I do that?” she questioned him.

  “I don’t know yet but when I do, believe me, it will be you over my dead body.

  CHAPTER 26

  JOYCE

  That little brat was probably upstairs, snickering away at me taking the blame for her stupid mistake. Someone obviously saw her luring away those girls and she messed up. But she wouldn’t be at fault, it would be me who takes the blame because I should “know better.”

  Never in my life would I purposely try to mess a plan up, especially if my life turned into a war. I felt as if I not only disappointed Davis and lost his trust once again but I also let myself down. I started to feel as if I really belong here.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Davis yelled at me. I nodded, trying to remain calm.

  “I swear, I didn’t mean to upset you.” I said sadly as I

  grabbed his hand in a comforting way. I couldn’t imagine him being any angrier with me than he already was. “You need to get your shit together!” Davis yelled as he shook his head in a disapproving motion.

  “I promise, I will fix this.” I pleased.

  He walked away back through the main door and let it slam with the wind behind him. I had never seen him so disappointed but I mean, it truly wasn’t my fault. Or maybe it was. I couldn’t help but think that I was never going to be able to prove myself again to him.

  “Rose, get your ass down here, right now!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

  I heard a tiny shuffling within the room above and the tiny voice yelled that she was coming and to give her just a minute. After coming here and trying to save her sorry ass, I want to just leave her here and feed her to the dogs, or anyone else who wants her bratty attitude.

  She made her way down the stairs slowly as she knew that when she got down here, there were going to be some angry words exchanged. I watched her as she took each step with sever caution as if it were her last. I watched as she inched down the railing with her pale arms dangling over the railing as she slide them down the balcony arms.

  “So obviously you overheard Davis’s rant about how I’m always the bad guy. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” I glared at her as her wide eyes stared off as if they looked right through.

  “Hello? Are you even listening to me?” I waved my hand in front of her eyes.

  “I heard you the first time, I’m just choosing not to respond, that's all.” she said as she crossed her arms in a defensive stance.

  I threw my arms up in the air in anger as this brat couldn’t help if her life depended on it.

  “You’re useless, I can’t believe I-” I stopped myself.

  “I know what you’re going to say. I can’t believe I wanted to save you, right? I’m not stupid, I know you don’t want to leave this place. You’re a disgusting monster, just like them, this is obviously where you belong. In hell.” she snapped at me as she made her way back to the stairs of the balcony.

  “Rose, don’t go too far because you’re going on another trip today.” Davis chimed in as he walked in through the back door. He was shaved and showered and looked as if he was attending another meeting. That was the only reason he would dress up.

  “You’re letting her go to another?” I said confused as we just discussed how the problem at hand was because of Rose, or so I thought.

  “She’s young and learning, you’re the one who should be more careful of your surroundings.” David replied with a snarky attitude.

  “But-” I lifted a finger to rebuttal.

  “No, I make the decisions around here, not you!” he yelled.

  As he walked back to sit in his chair, Rose made her way up the balcony stairs to change.

  “I have another meeting today and god knows I still won’t have enough girls, that’s if any of them want the pathetic excuse for woman you brought in here.” he mumbled under his breath. “I need more than just average girls, everything is getting tighter on us and you walk into the middle of a big populated area to take a group of girls. A group is noticeable, one at a time is not.” he angrily said while lighting a cigarette.

  “I’m not going to say sorry but I will say that I am the best you’ve got at this point. I don’t know what you’re planning or what your whole thought process is for these next trips but you need someone like me who knows what they’re doing out there.” I said calmly.

  “Yeah, just like you knew what you were doing when someone saw you, right?” he snapped back at me. “I’m not trying to be an ass Joyce, but I have bigger things to worry about than you messing up every trip we do because that isn’t happening.”

  I stood in front of him quietly as I held my tongue from saying anything more. I took a seat on the first step of the balcony stairs as I stared at my bitten to the grind fingernails. I looked as if I was broken, shattered into a million pieces and I would never be the same again.

  As multiple men started entering the room in groups, I made my way up the stairs and leaned over the railing looking down at them. Men from different races, leadership positions and the typical landscape brawl, this kind of work brought in many people from different branches of life. A couple came at the past meeting but looked even angrier than before. They were probably expecting more from this organization but they obviously weren’t getting it with Davis in charge.

  As they entered the room over and over again, within the hour, over 200 men were filled into the room and sat in rows. Eight across and three down. The guards were placed as they surrounded the room. Every exit and stairwell was guarded and every person had their place.

  “Thank you for joining me, gentlemen.” Davis announced as everyone took their seats. “Today’s meeting will be a tad different then what you are probably use to. I believe that each and every one of you have heard about some of my spotters being seen while out on a trip. I’m telling you this, it will not happen again. We will not comprise our services as we have many ways that we can approach this problem.”

  He took a breath and walked around the room anxiously as he held his arms behind his back. His demeanor was angry yet subtle as you could visibly see the fumes coming from his overthinking brain.

  “We have three new girls up for grabs and they are teenagers,” he said with a wink. The entire room arose with an applause as if Davis was the president. “They are pretty pricey but I promise that they won’t disappoint.”

  “I heard that the older ones cause more trouble?” said one of the men in the third row. He was dressed in a black suit with his hair slicked back. “I mean, I don’t want to spend money on someone who is going to cause me problems.”

  “Now men, let me explain something to you newbies. This is a business, you get what you pay for. If you’re going to pay $20 thousand for a 15-year-old girl, you will be getting one of the best girls. They are trained, they know what their doing and their age means nothing anymore.” he explained. “I’ve got your back and so does everyone else. We will actually be sending out our team for another trip today so we have more for you to choose from later this evening.” he said in an assertive tone.

  I looked towards Rose’s room as she sat on her cot with her head in her hands. Her pants were half on and she was poking at different bruises on her inner thighs.

  “Now, time for the request sheets.”

  CHAPTER 27

  ROSE

  I was terrified. I didn’t want to cause any more problems than I already didbut I also couldn’t wrap my head around how it was all my fault. I tried to do all this to ensure my safety but I would never have imagined that this
would be the outcome.

  I wasn’t ready to go on another trip. I hated the feeling of trying to lure someone into this horrible place but I mean, it was my life or theirs. Speaking of which, I wonder how Winnie was doing. I heard that they made her swallow a bunch of drugs in order to sedate her for days but I mean, can’t that kill someone?

  I spent hours contemplating what to do. Do I fight back or do I subject myself to these foul attempts at bringing me into the organization. The more I steal, the more I can be in trouble. If they get swamped, I’m going down with them.

  I looked through the corner of my eye to see Joyce staring at me as she bite her nonexistent fingernails, she disgusted me. My own mother, wanting to keep me her prisoner in this horrid place. I heard male voices from downstairs that intervened with my everlasting thoughts. I figured I would have to wait until the meeting was done to be taken on the trip, I don’t think they would want to know that a 12-year-old is there only hope.

  “Rose, let’s go!” yelled one of the guards from the bottom of the stairs. I walked down the stairs and joined him. The men were all staring at me as I walked along his side without shackles or a blindfold.

  “What about her?” one man pointed at me. “She is ours.” Davis laughed at his remark. “She’s not for sale.”

  As I left the Capri, I was escorted to the transfer truck and jumped into the back. We sat still for over an hour after arriving in the city, waiting for me and one the guards, who was playing the role of my dad, to find our next target.

  We heard a three knock jungle on the back door and it was our time to do some catching of those who would be the next to join our organization, unwillingly. We walked along the sidewalk, waiting for a target to come along who would be an easy grab without anybody noticing.

  As two girls walked by, licking their ice cream cones. The guard looked at me with a nod to indicate that he found them to be our next target. With a large hand behind my back and a knife inside his pocket, the guard guided me towards them.

  “Where did you get the ice cream from?” I asked shyly. “My dad said we could go get some but I don’t know where to go.” I said, giggling.

  “It’s just over the hill.” one of the girls said as she licked her ice cream cone.

  “Could you show me?” I asked.

  “It’s really not far, you can find it yourself.” she said in a snobby tone.

  “Please.” I asked as I opened my eyes wide.

  “Jeez, fine.” she said as she grabbed my hand to drag me behind her.

  We walked over the hill and approached the ice cream stand from behind. The guard walked up behind the two young girls and covered their mouths with chloroform. With a slight struggle, the two girls fell into his arms and one guard picked us up in the van just feet away.

  I hated being stuck in the back of the car with two younger girls who I had a part in destroying their lives. Our next trip, we were trying something different, older woman. Not so much older, but more so in the 15 to 16 age range. They loved older girls which meant we were supposed to provide.

  We drove for what seemed to be hours until coming across a library.

  “We’re seriously stopping here?” I asked the guard. “It was one of our stops years ago, might as well try

  again.” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. “There is only so many spots where we can try and pick up without being seen.”

  We jumped at the opportunity to browse inside the library as if we were merely looking for a book. We walked around separately as we were tried to look for a target, but that’s when I saw it. Two older adults, sitting and reading together. This could be my chance to either try and have someone notice me or entirely ruin my life.

  I quickly ripped a piece of paper from a book and grabbed a crayon from one of the children’s activity desks. One the paper, I scribbled the world “Help” and “Follow.” onto the paper. I cautiously walked towards them, trying not to be seen by the guard.

  I walked passed them and dropped the paper onto the woman’s book that she was reading. She looked up at me in confusion as I pressed my finger to my lips to signal her to be quiet about our interaction.

  The guard signaled me over to him as he walked over to a computer lounge area, “Not here, we have to find somewhere else with less people. Who would think the library was a good idea?” he said as he smirked at me.

  I looked around the room to see that the couple was no longerthere and I started to panic. What if they didn’t read the note and just threw it out. What if they couldn’t find me and told someone who would blow my cover. So many thoughts were running through my head as I couldn’t wrap my head around what I just did.

  As we left the building, the couple from inside was standing outside along the wall, talking about the note. I glanced at them quickly and then back at the ground, I was hoping the guard wasn’t going to notice anything out of the ordinary.

  He pushed me into the back of the van as the door closed behind me, my chance was over. My redemption was over. My chance for a normal life was gone.

  As we drove back to the Capri, my mind was running circles around the note I gave to the couple. I couldn’t believe my spur of the moment attempt at bravery. My confidence was long gone at this point.

  We arrived back inside the Hylander building with the two girls as most of them had already left with only a few remaining.

  “Is this the rest of them?” one of buyers asked Davis, as we entered the room.

  “Looks that way.” he responded. He looked to me with a thumbs up behind his back.

  “I’ll take both.” the man responded.

  “Not today, come back tomorrow. They need to be processed through the system first and then they are all yours.” he added cheerfully.

  “DAVIS, COPS!” One of the guards yelled as he ran in from the back door.

  “YOU WERE FOLLOWED?” Davis yelled in anger.

  “I DIDN’T-” he tried to finish his sentence but with seven gunman pointing their weapons at him, I never seen the guard instantly shut up.

  “This is over!” said one of the police officers. “Hands up where I can see them.” Everyone in the room was compliant to my surprise. Davis’ face was as pale as a ghost and Joyce’s body looked as if she were numb.

  Just then, a crowd of buyers ran through the door with guns and chairs. How they got to the vault from confusing to me but I felt as if they had all prepared for a day like this as the Hylander building was the meeting spot for all the organizations.

  As the men shot at the police officers, it didn’t take long for them to overpower the seven with the 20 men who ran in with armed weapons. I watched it all in slow motion from behind the balcony stairs alongside the two girls stolen from earlier that night. One of the buyers shot a police officer right in the neck and pounced on him with an alarming fist to his right cheek.

  This violence was absolutely terrifying but what really caught me off guard was how Davis handled it all. As the battle began, he gathered himself from off the floor and made his way to his chair, cracked open a beer and watched it all unfold before him. As if the lives of others meant nothing and they were all sacrificing themselves for Davis’s approval.

  With the room a pool of blood, Davis finished his beer and ordered the two new girls to clean it up after throwing them a mop and bucket and a couple rags. The two, sobbing on the floor, continued to clean up the floor as Joyce made her way over to Davis.

  “We know who brought them here, don’t we?” she said in a seductive tone while whispering into his ear.

  “How could she have tipped them off? She came back with the guard and the girls so there’s no way.” he looked to the guard. “Rose was with me the entire time.” he replied confusingly.

  “Rose come here,” Davis called to me as I tried walking swiftly up the stairs without being caught. I hated confrontation, especially when it came to lying.

  “Do you know anything about this little sprawl?” Davis asked me as I held my hands
in front of me, crossed in a defensive stance.

  “No, not at all.” I said quickly.

  “You may go,” he said as he turned to talk to the guards.

  “That’s it? You’re not going to question her?” Joyce yelled in my way.

  “Shut up, woman!” he yelled back at her. “I make the decisions here.”

  CHAPTER 28

  JOYCE

  I can’t believe that little brat dragged those officers here, she obviously had everything to do with this whole situation. I just wonder, how did she do it? If the guard was telling the truth, Rose hadn’t left his sight the entire night so how could she have managed to get the cops involved?

  No matter what happens, the devil of a child won’t get away with this, I will make sure of it. She’s not only ruining my life and Davis’ but also her’s and I really don’t think she understands that. No matter what she does, she will never be leaving this place.

  I sat on the balcony steps as Davis tried to calm down his guards as well as some of the buyers who took matters into their own hands. He wasn't only shaken up but he was more frustrated than anything.

  “Thanks for stepping in guys, I just don’t know what happened.” He said confused. “Is there a walkie-talkie over there or something? He said as he pointed to the pool of dead men.

  One of the guards cautiously walked over and grabbed one that was clipped to the belt buckle of one of the police officers and handed it to Davis.

  “Now, everyone shut up and let me handle this.” Davis took a deep breath before holding down the talk button. “Officer J. Trake, calling in to report nothing at the old abandoned building in the old village area. Just some teenagers messing around again.” He awaited a response. He looked at the dead man's I.D. to say a proper name that wouldn’t give him away.

  “10 -4 Trake, none of the other men are answering, did they end up following that truck? The voice on the other end responded.

  “No, didn’t see any other cars following with me but I’ll start making some calls to get a fence around this area so these brats can’t get in.” He said with a subtle laugh.