The Girl Who Made Them Pay

by Tikiri Herath

  “The city bus doesn’t come for another hour,” I said, turning to the driver with pleading eyes. “It’ll be a huge help. Really, really huge.”

  The driver hesitated and looked at the woman sitting in a lone seat above him. She looked like a Chinese tour guide or translator.

  “There’s space at the back,” the driver said to her.

  “I’m okay if they pay,” the Chinese woman said. “In cash.”

  “We’ll pay,” I said, nodding. “In cash. Not a problem.”

  The driver shrugged. “Okay, I’ll drop you at the train station same as the rest of them.”

  “Thank you!” I turned around and signaled to the others to come over.

  When everyone had jumped in, the driver closed the door and turned the bus to leave. Peeking out the window, I saw the car was still there, checking the parked cars. The decal on its door said “Parken.” Parking? I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d worried for nothing, but at least we were getting out of here.

  We walked in a single line to the back of the bus, surprising the throng of tourists as we did.

  “You come with us?” one woman called out in English.

  “Yes,” Luc said.

  “Welcome!” one of the others said.

  “Thank you!” Win said.

  “Sit here,” said another, patting the seat next to her. “Join me.”

  “The driver said to go to the back,” Katy said to her, with a smile. “But thanks!”

  We found our seats at the very back, next to the smelly toilet. But our fellow bus riders were a curious bunch. Soon, one by one, they left their seats to inquire about us.

  Through broken sentences, hand gestures and the use of electronic dictionaries, we soon learned they were retired teachers from Beijing, touring the world. They were mostly women and one quiet, shy man in the back who smiled and bowed his head every time one of us looked his way.

  His female colleagues wanted to know everything about us: where we were from, why we were in Luxembourg and where we were going to college. It was hard to ignore them.

  They were especially interested in Win and asked about her parents and what kind of company they were running in Bangkok. I think she said it was a clothing company, but I couldn’t say for sure above the din. Everyone was talking all at once. I only hoped everyone was giving consistent answers.

  Pretty soon a white-haired woman sitting in the row in front of us opened her purse and took out a silver flask. She held it high and said with a sly smile, “Party, girls?” That was when I knew we were going to be okay.

  We all took sips, and I began to feel bad about lying to these people who were embracing us.

  When the driver dropped us off, I felt like we were leaving good friends. They made us promise we’d come and visit them in China before they picked up their bags and shouted loud goodbyes to us.

  We walked into the train station feeling a little lonely after that ride.

  That day was the best we’d had from our entire stay in Europe. I remembered the woman with the dog, the restaurant owner who’d served us food on the house, and the farmer who’d stopped his work and went out of his way to drive us to the ruins for free. I remembered little Greta who’d befriended and helped us, in ways she didn’t even understand.

  The world wasn’t that bad. There were good people everywhere, I thought. We just had to find them.

  We found a bench to sit, while Luc and Katy pored over a large map of the station, looking for a currency exchange booth. I watched people walk back and forth around us and listened to the PA announcements in French, German and English. Once in a while, we felt the thundering of a train as it arrived at the station.

  “Guys, look!” Win said.

  I looked up to see her staring at a drop-down television nearby. It had shown train arrivals a minute ago, but it had switched to the news now. A picture of Baroness Agathe’s castle appeared on the screen.

  My heart leaped to my mouth. Tetyana scrambled up from her seat to get a better look.

  The newscaster was speaking in German.

  “Where’s Luc?” I asked, looking around. Katy and him were walking back from the currency booth. I motioned to them to hurry over.

  “What are they saying?” I asked when he got close.

  We all stood in front of the screen, watching, trying to make sense of what was going on.

  “Are they talking about us?” Tetyana asked.

  The reporter spoke at length to the camera. He sounded very serious.

  “You won’t believe this,” Luc said shaking his head, “you’re just not gonna believe this.”

  “What?” Katy and I asked at the same time.

  “The police didn’t come for us.”

  “What the hell?” Tetyana said.

  He lowered his voice. “Remember that list we put online?”

  Everyone’s faces cleared.

  “I knew it!” Katy said. “I thought I saw Bob Halt at the dinner. He was on the list.”

  “That’s why the police were chasing that man around the castle,” I said.

  Luc shushed us with his hands so he could listen.

  To our shock, Monsieur Wilmar’s face appeared on screen next.

  “What’s he saying?” I asked.

  “He’s saying a bunch of petty thieves stole from the castle kitchen on the same weekend.”

  We gasped.

  “He’s saying several vintage bottles of alcohol are missing from the cellar and that his mini kitchen was vandalized by a bunch of, er, ruffians.”

  “Are you serious?” Katy said.

  “We never did that,” Win said.

  “Shh,” Luc said. “Local police are now looking for culprits. Supposed to be a young team of, er—” He hesitated, giving me a cautious side glance. “Unskilled, foreign cooks.”

  “What? Unskilled?” I spluttered. “The twit! What else is he saying?”

  “Er—he’s saying that’s what happens when you hire inept kitchen help with no, er, competency. He’s saying the castle will change its policy to make sure they vet their caterers better in the future.” Luc’s voice trailed off. “Sounds like he’s more scandalized by this than the arrests of johns.”

  “Monsieur Wilmar’s such an ass—” I gritted my teeth.

  “You should thank him.” Luc nudged me with a grin. “They think it was a petty crime. This is good news.”

  “Yes, but there’s no saying what will happen if they catch us for petty theft or otherwise,” Tetyana said. “We can’t sit around here.”

  I gave her a worried look.

  “Where are your guns?” I whispered, remembering how she showed one to the kitchen staff that morning.

  “Buried deep up the hill, while you all were asleep.”

  We stared at her.

  “I was on watch last, remember? Don’t worry. They’re hidden well, deep in the ground, far from where we slept.”

  The news anchor had moved on to a different story. We turned away from the screen.

  “Ok guys, here’s what we found,” Luc said, “next train with space for five is to Marseilles. It’s the nonstop TGV. Leaves in ten minutes. What do you all think?”

  “Marseilles sounds far away,” Katy said nodding. “And that’s a good thing.”

  “Yes, let’s get out of here,” I said.

  “I’m coming with all of you,” Win said.

  Tetyana was silent for a second. We quietly waited for her to speak with worried looks on our faces.

  “Sure, let’s do it.”

  Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  As soon as the ticket machine spat out our tickets, we grabbed them and ran to the platform.

  It was a high-speed train that took us from Luxembourg City to the south coast of France, in less than seven hours. Tetyana gave us watch shifts so one of us would always be awake. Time passed quickly as we zoomed through the countryside so fast that everything outside became a blur of gray-green.

  We pulled i
nto Marseilles late at night.

  From here, if we headed south, we’d hit Northern Africa. If we went east, we’d land in Sicily. And if we kept going thousands of miles southwest, we’d arrive in Goa, India.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  It didn’t take long for Katy and me to buy tickets to Goa with a stopover in Mumbai.

  We’d split up the cash, so we could each buy our tickets separately. That would avoid arousing suspicion in case anyone was looking for a ragtag international group of five young people trying to fly out of Marseilles all at once, we thought.

  Luc was sure the Luxembourg police had our faces on the castle cameras. Though I hadn’t seen security cameras back at the castle, I didn’t disbelieve him. There had been some interesting modern contraptions hidden in the bowels of that ancient mansion, so I didn’t want to make any assumptions.

  Also, I didn’t want to assume what the police in Brussels or London had on us either. I knew their focus would be the pimps and brothel owners, but they could have our photos, mine in particular, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

  As the train got close to the Marseilles Provence Airport, Luc had become more agitated, Tetyana more distant and Win more teary-eyed. We told her she could come with any of us, but she didn’t want to decide. As far as she was concerned, we should all stay together, and she didn’t care where that would be.

  I worried about Win.

  She was still a minor, but she’d more life experiences than many adults in this world. In fact, she’d spent a lifetime experiencing adults forcing things down her throat. The last thing any of us wanted to do was impose yet another decision on her. She had to think for herself and we had to respect whatever choice she made.

  We promised to meet at the coffee shop next to the Air France ticket booth in an hour. By then, we’d each have made a decision and perhaps even bought a ticket.

  That was an hour earlier.

  Katy and I got to the coffee shop at the same time, and to my relief, she was sticking with our original plan. We grabbed a table and some tea and waited anxiously for the others to join us.

  The coffee shop was next to a large open window. Outside, we could see people being dropped off, taxis coming and going. We sat silently watching the scene outside while we waited.

  It surprised me that no one had questioned my stay in Europe. The ticket attendant flipped through my passport quickly and handed it back, apparently thinking it natural to have an Indian passport when returning to India. I realized then they’d be more interested in illegals coming into the country than leaving it.

  Behind me, a lineup of travelers snaked through the terminal. Maybe she was in a hurry to process us all. Either way, I got my ticket and boarding passes all the way to Goa.

  I switched from nervousness to excitement, knowing I’d see my cousin soon. Finally! I wondered how Preeti was doing, where she was, and whether she’d even recognize me after these years. I was fifteen when I left India and would be almost nineteen going back.

  It was Win who arrived at the coffee shop next, with tears on her face. She looked nerve-wracked.

  We watched her walk over, our hearts in our mouths.

  “So what did you decide, sweetie?” Katy asked.

  “I really want to go to Laos,” she said, plunking herself on a chair between us.

  My heart fell. I’d secretly hoped she’d come with us.

  “But I don’t know anyone there anymore,” she said, wiping her tears with the tissue Katy handed to her. “So I’m gonna come with you. Is that okay?”

  Katy and I stared at her for a second before we both grabbed her for a hug. I felt a sob come to my throat and swallowed quickly.

  “I’m so happy you decided that,” Katy said.

  I got up to buy Win a cup of tea, feeling relieved. I’d have worried to death if she’d gone away on her own. We all would have.

  “What about Luc and Tetyana?” she was asking Katy when I returned with her drink. “What do you think they’ll do?”

  “Everyone’s got to do what they want to do,” Katy said, looking down.

  “Whatever happens, it doesn’t mean we won’t see each other again,” I said. I knew though, if the others went their own way, I’d feel incomplete. We’d become close in such a short time. I crossed my fingers and looked around anxiously.

  “There’s Luc,” Katy said.

  We watched him approach us, knowing he’d have bought a ticket to Sicily. He’d been talking about it all the time.

  Luc grabbed a chair and turned it around before sitting down and adjusting his cap. He looks smug, I thought.

  “So?” Katy asked. “Don’t keep us waiting.”

  “I hear Italy’s beautiful this time of the year,” I said, with a wry smile.

  He put his ticket on the table and pushed it toward us. We leaned over to look.

  “Hear Goa’s nice too,” he said.

  “What?” Katy said, grabbing the ticket.

  “You’re going to Goa?” Win shrieked. “Me too!”

  “Hey Win, why are you crying?” Luc said, reaching to wipe a tear from her cheek. She looked away, her face scrunching up.

  “Should be happy, not sad,” he said.

  “I’m happy. That’s why I’m crying,” she said with a wonky smile.

  “Love that color on you,” Luc said, making a move to tussle her hair. Win ducked and blushed even more.

  “Where’s Tetyana?” I asked, looking around.

  For the past fifteen minutes, I’d been trying to spot her in the lineups. When I first tried to look for her, I saw her at a free Internet terminal. Checking that forum again, I thought. Wonder who she’s looking for?

  After that, she’d disappeared. I’d scanned all the desks with flights going to Eastern Europe, but hadn’t been able to see her, though she was easy to spot, even without the blazing red hair.

  We waited an hour, getting more and more nervous.

  The image of Tetyana clenching and unclenching her hands in the back of the white cargo van came to mind. I was the one clenching and unclenching my hands now. It had taken time to get to know Tetyana. I’d doubted her at the beginning, but now, I felt we couldn’t move on without her. She put herself in the line of fire more than once to save us. Without her, we’d either be in jail or dead. She was a friend. She was family.

  Luc and I went for a walkabout to see if we could find her but came up empty. I even checked all the washroom stalls. Our boarding time was now in twenty minutes and we didn’t have much time.

  “Do you think she’s already gone?” Win asked anxiously.

  “She’d never leave without saying goodbye,” Katy said.

  “Do you think she’ll come with us?” Win asked.

  No one spoke.

  “She’s got her brother to think about,” I said finally. “That would be my priority if I were her too.”

  “There she is!” Win shouted out.

  Yes, there she was, walking toward us, fast. Win jumped to her feet as Tetyana got closer. Something in her face told us all was not good.

  “We’re all going to Goa,” Win said loudly, too loudly. “Can you come with us too?”

  Tetyana didn’t answer. She gave a small smile at Win, leaned over the table and whispered, “The police are coming.”

  Her voice was so calm it took us a second to realize what she’d said.

  “What?” Katy said.

  “Serious?” Luc asked.

  Tetyana nodded. “This time, they’re here for us.”

  “Oh no,” Win said.

  “When do you board?” Tetyana asked.

  “In twenty minutes,” I said. “Still got to get through security though.”

  “Here’s what I want you to do,” she spoke in her low voice.

  We leaned toward her, ready to do anything she asked us.

  “I want you all to get on that plane as discreetly as possible. If anyone asks, you were tourists here. Don’t call any attention to yourself. Stay und
er the radar and stick together. And get out of here quickly.”

  We stared at her.

  “Is that clear?”

  “What about you?” Win asked.

  Tetyana straightened up.

  “Are you going back to Kiev?” I asked.

  “Not to Kiev.” She hesitated. “We don’t have time to talk. You need to go now.”

  “Oh, my god!” Katy said, pointing out the window.

  Two police vans pulled into the departure area, just outside the windows, near the taxi stand.

  “Go! Now!” Tetyana pushed a piece of paper into my palm and squeezed my hand for a second before letting go. I stared at her. She stepped away and blew us a kiss. Then she turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

  “This is the general boarding call for Flight Seven-Eight-Three.”

  That was our flight. We looked at each other. Tetyana had already vanished. The police were getting out of their van.

  We didn’t wait. We grabbed our bags and walked quickly toward security. I looked back once to see Tetyana’s tall brunette head near the Russian airline desk.

  I never even gave her a goodbye hug.

  We were lucky the attendant at the gate noticed our flight time and pushed us roughly to the front of the line. “You’re very late,” she admonished us, before asking security to process us first. As soon as we got through the line, we ran toward our gate.

  I saw Win wipe her face every few seconds. I felt like crying too, but couldn’t. Not right then.

  We were running along the third floor of the terminal which had glass windows on both sides. On one side were the parked planes, and on the other side were the vehicle departure and arrival areas.

  “Hey!”

  I looked back to see Luc had stopped and was staring out the window.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “We don’t have time!” Katy said.

  Luc’s face had gone white. Something was wrong. We ran up, crowded around him and looked below.

  It was Tetyana. She was in handcuffs, getting ushered into one of the police vans.

  Win gasped.

  “Oh, no,” Katy said.

  My heart dropped. I wanted to run back to her. I turned around.