Page 11 of Beaches

His brother was gone. His friend. His business partner. The other half of their empire. They’d created all of this together. Their father had owned multiple brothels, whore houses, whatever you wanted to call them, all over Southeast Asia. He made the mistake of making them nice. Giving the women bathrooms, showers, tubs. Hell, they were even allowed to have full meals and good clothing.

They changed the model when their father died. Let the women get pregnant. Once. Then, when they had a full stock, they would sterilize the women, allowing their children to grow into slavery.

The slaves were fed and clothed. Somewhat. They were given small amounts of food, enough to live but not to run. They had no exposure to the outside world other than their clientele. And the clientele understood the conditions.

After all, you were paying to be allowed to do anything you wanted for twenty-four hours. If you killed a girl, you owed double. They could have sex, enjoy some BDSM, beat the girl, whip her, torture her, anything they wanted. All for the low twenty-four-hour price of one hundred thousand American dollars.

“What do we do, boss?” asked the man.

Boss. He would be boss now that his brother was gone. The challenge was keeping others away from that fucking island. Their father started with a few hundred POWs from a variety of nations. He was the man to make them disappear. Countries would call and beg him to take them off their hands. For a fee, of course.

The island had slowly been relieved of her bulging population. Once a month, a helicopter would drop basic needs, some basic medical equipment. But never was there an opportunity to get off the island. Never. They were so far from civilization no one would find them.

“The drop was made three weeks ago. Plan another for the end of the month. Just the basics, like always, from the chopper. Don’t tell anyone that my brother is dead. If they ask, he’s on an extended business trip.”

“Yes, sir. Rikovsky is asking for the girl again. The one your brother took to the island.” The man stared at his employee.

“That bastard is bloodthirsty, that’s for damn sure. Tell him she’s dead and that he’ll have to take another. Find one that won’t cry. He likes it when they’re silent. It excites him.”

“Yes, sir. I’m going to let the women have a swim and clean off. It’s been a few days and one of the customers was complaining.”

“They don’t get to fucking complain. They know the rules and how we operate. We keep them stupid, unaware, and illiterate. He gets to do whatever the fuck he wants to them.” He paused for a moment, realizing how much he was going to miss his brother. “Let them swim. Get them clean.”

“Yes, sir.”

“John? When we make that drop at the end of the month, I want to be on that chopper. I want to see that everything is okay.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“You see, this is California. It’s a state in the United States of America,” said Kelsey, pointing to the map. “We’re in a city in California.”

April looked at the women, obviously confused and overwhelmed by the language and terms.

“We think you came from way over here,” said Erin, trailing her index finger along the map.

“It looks not very far,” said April. Faith smiled at the girl, nodding.

“It looks that way, but that’s because the map makes it appear like that. In reality, it’s thousands of miles away. You floated from here, all the way to here, before the boat got to you.”

She stared at the map for a few moments, then stood, looking out the big picture windows at the ocean across the street. There were a few people still on the beach, but most had already left for the day.

“What about the other girls? Who will help them?” she whispered.

“We will,” said Ghost. “We’re going to help them all. That’s what we do.”

“You help girls in trouble?” she frowned. Ian smiled at the young woman, his fatherly heart breaking in two.

“We help anyone in trouble who has good intentions.”

“Good intentions?” she repeated.

“Yes. Their actions are intended to do positive things for the world around them. They mean to do good,” he said. She still looked confused, and Kelsey walked up, taking her hand to lead her to a seat.

“April, there is good and bad in this world. Good looks like those you see around you. They help others when they need it. They do no harm if they can help it. They don’t ask for praise or reward. Did you ever have anyone do something nice for you? Something that made you feel warm, here, in your chest?” she said, rubbing a fist in the middle of her chest.

“Y-yes. I think so. A man who bought me once gave me this sticky thing on a stick. He said it was a s-sucker. Is that right?” Gaspar growled low, and Nine nudged him, trying to keep him quiet.

“Yes, that sounds right. A sucker is considered a sweet. Candy. It’s not good for your teeth, but it’s delicious,” smiled Kelsey.

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