few jobs with . His name was Vlad, and he was about ten years older than my twenty-five. His last name was Nikitin, and he was like Mr. Black, right from the mother country. His accent wasn’t as pronounced however , he had apparently moved to America with his family when he was only three. He was tall and angular, with a long crooked nose that had been broken more than once.
“Hey kid,” he said to me as I found the steps to the stage and moved up to greet my friend. He always called me kid .
“Hey Vlad,” I said. “Mr. Black coming?”
Vlad shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows,” he said. “I think a lot of big hitters will be here, though.”
“What is this?” I asked. “Arms deal?”
Vlad laughed and shook his head. “Not quite Kid,” he said. Then he nodded to the door which stood off to the side, leading from the stage. “ Go check it out.”
I looked at him, wondering if he was trying to get me in trouble. I was just working security. Mr. Black, and the others like him, they didn’t like us small timers getting our noses where they didn’t belong. I was muscle, plain and simple . I had my gun, in a shoulder holster under my suit jacket. Mr. Black always had us in shirts and ties.
I made my way to the door at the back of the stage and then looked over my shoulder, back to Vlad. He laughed and waved me on. “It’s fine; just us grunts here so far.”
I nodded and opened the door. It was dark in the back room, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. There were fewer lights here, their bulbs orange and slight instead of bright and yellow. In front of me, there was a cage, big enough for a man, but it was empty. I moved on.
I found another cage, but this one wasn’t empty. It was six feet high and four feet wide, and two women stood in it, holding one another and crying. They looked young, both of them no older than twenty. They had fair skin and dark hair, and their eyes were dark and hard to see in the low light. They looked to me and shrunk away. It made me feel terrible. I was a bad guy, I did bad things, I knew that, but these two women, as scared as they obviously were, seeing me and reacting physically like that, it made my head swim with shame.
“I won’t hurt you,” I said as I stepped by . Beyond that cage, there were others, each with one or two or sometimes three young women inside. I felt nauseous, and I hurried and turned back to the door, and rushed out onto the stage.
Vlad saw me and he laughed. I felt a wave of anger roll through me. “First rodeo ?” He asked.
“What is this?”
“What do you think kid , come on, you’ve done too many bad things to be naive.”
I knew what it was of course. Those women were going to be sold . Sold to rich weapons dealers and drug kingpin sold into their beds. Sex slaves. Young women, twenty, nineteen, God one had looked fifteen. I shook my head. I wanted to leave then and there, just walk out the door. And I would have if I hadn’t stopped and thought about what Mr. Black would do if I did. If I walked out of a job, there was a chance my legs would be broken . Broke legs was literally the best case scenario. I could also wake up at the bottom of a river; cement blocks strapped to my legs .
I didn’t say anything to Vlad. I didn’t know what to say. I moved to the edge of the stage and sat for a moment. My adrenalin was pumping, my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. I had been calmer in gun fights. Something about those cages, those women, it really got me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat.
Half an hour passed and men started streaming in. Not grunts like me, but rich guys. Mobsters, crime lords, all in expensive suits. Old guys, fat guys, one guy with a giant scar running from eye to chin that made Vlad’s look like a scrape a kid got falling off his tricycle. These guys were big time though I noticed none of them were good looking. They were the kind of guys who had to throw their money around
“Hey kid,” he said to me as I found the steps to the stage and moved up to greet my friend. He always called me kid .
“Hey Vlad,” I said. “Mr. Black coming?”
Vlad shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows,” he said. “I think a lot of big hitters will be here, though.”
“What is this?” I asked. “Arms deal?”
Vlad laughed and shook his head. “Not quite Kid,” he said. Then he nodded to the door which stood off to the side, leading from the stage. “ Go check it out.”
I looked at him, wondering if he was trying to get me in trouble. I was just working security. Mr. Black, and the others like him, they didn’t like us small timers getting our noses where they didn’t belong. I was muscle, plain and simple . I had my gun, in a shoulder holster under my suit jacket. Mr. Black always had us in shirts and ties.
I made my way to the door at the back of the stage and then looked over my shoulder, back to Vlad. He laughed and waved me on. “It’s fine; just us grunts here so far.”
I nodded and opened the door. It was dark in the back room, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. There were fewer lights here, their bulbs orange and slight instead of bright and yellow. In front of me, there was a cage, big enough for a man, but it was empty. I moved on.
I found another cage, but this one wasn’t empty. It was six feet high and four feet wide, and two women stood in it, holding one another and crying. They looked young, both of them no older than twenty. They had fair skin and dark hair, and their eyes were dark and hard to see in the low light. They looked to me and shrunk away. It made me feel terrible. I was a bad guy, I did bad things, I knew that, but these two women, as scared as they obviously were, seeing me and reacting physically like that, it made my head swim with shame.
“I won’t hurt you,” I said as I stepped by . Beyond that cage, there were others, each with one or two or sometimes three young women inside. I felt nauseous, and I hurried and turned back to the door, and rushed out onto the stage.
Vlad saw me and he laughed. I felt a wave of anger roll through me. “First rodeo ?” He asked.
“What is this?”
“What do you think kid , come on, you’ve done too many bad things to be naive.”
I knew what it was of course. Those women were going to be sold . Sold to rich weapons dealers and drug kingpin sold into their beds. Sex slaves. Young women, twenty, nineteen, God one had looked fifteen. I shook my head. I wanted to leave then and there, just walk out the door. And I would have if I hadn’t stopped and thought about what Mr. Black would do if I did. If I walked out of a job, there was a chance my legs would be broken . Broke legs was literally the best case scenario. I could also wake up at the bottom of a river; cement blocks strapped to my legs .
I didn’t say anything to Vlad. I didn’t know what to say. I moved to the edge of the stage and sat for a moment. My adrenalin was pumping, my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. I had been calmer in gun fights. Something about those cages, those women, it really got me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat.
Half an hour passed and men started streaming in. Not grunts like me, but rich guys. Mobsters, crime lords, all in expensive suits. Old guys, fat guys, one guy with a giant scar running from eye to chin that made Vlad’s look like a scrape a kid got falling off his tricycle. These guys were big time though I noticed none of them were good looking. They were the kind of guys who had to throw their money around
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