Page 104 of Casualties of War
At one of the round tables, farther away, a naked woman was bent over the edge. Her upper body was squashed against the tablecloth, her face turned to the side so she could breathe. The officer standing behind her had a hand planted against the middle of her back.
He was fully clothed. His fly was open and he thrustinto her with heavy grinding motions. In his other hand, he held a big glass of beer, that he drank from as he worked.
There were women on their knees in front of men who sat or stood. More women on their backs.
Many of the women wore collars and leather gear, with their nipples clipped. One woman wore rubber from the tip of her feet to the top of her head, with only her genitals visible. Therewere small round cut outs for her eyes, nose and mouth.
Calli squashed the disgust and horror rising in her. To show any reaction at all would be to show weakness. Despite her heavily beating heart and the sickness swirling in her gut, Calli kept her face still. She didn’t shift on her feet although she wanted to. She resisted even curling her hands into fists, because it would expose her unease,too.
She turned her head as if she was taking in the whole room, while she kept her gaze unfocused so no details registered for a second time. Then she looked at Ibarra and lifted her brow enquiringly.
Roldán peered at her nails, then frowned and picked at a cuticle.
Ibarra’s smile slipped. Just a little.
Then the sunny expression returned at full wattage and he waved his hand, beckoning them.“Come, come.” He moved through the room, stepping over limbs. He patted a woman’s jerking head as he passed.
“What now?” Roldán whispered.
Calli kept her gaze on Ibarra’s back as she moved through the room, blindly stepping over and around. Roldán stayed behind her, for there wasn’t room for them to walk abreast.
The small room Ibarra moved into was an explosion of pink, from the ceiling tothe padded floor. There was no furniture. The aroma in the room was rank.
Calli shuddered and tried not to moan. She put her hand over her nose and breathed through her fingers.
Roldán waved her hand in front of her face.
The door shut behind them, leaving them in the room with Ibarra.
Ibarra threw his hands out. “What do you think of my little project?”
“This place was your idea?” Calliasked, not moving her hand.
“It was started by the late, great Zalaya. I have…improved upon the original design.”
This, then, was where Téra had been held. No wonder she had emerged from the palace with glassy eyes, flinching at any sharp movement.
“There is a place here for both of you,” Ibarra added.
Calli dropped her hand, her disgust outweighing the stench. She stared at Ibarra. “Thatis what this whole performance was about? Threatening to throw us into the bordello? How naïve do you think we are, Ibarra?”
“No, he wants something,” Roldán said, her eyes narrowed. “Enough to put on a performance and dazzle everyone. Including Serrano, right?”
Ibarra’s smile faded.
The insane gleam left his eyes.
Calli shuddered. He wasn’t mad at all. The man peering from those eyes hadseen horrors and done worse, although he hadn’t lost all sanity…not yet, at least.
“You can get me out of this place,” Ibarra said. “Serrano is crazy, he can’t see the end is coming. He still thinks he can win, even with the Americans firing rockets at us. His plans…” Ibarra swallowed. “He will kill us all.”
“Let me guess,” Roldán said. “You don’t want to die.” She said it flatly.
“I wouldbe of immense benefit to Mexico,” Ibarra said. “With my training and knowledge—”
Roldán laughed. “You want to defect to Mexico?”
Ibarra frowned. “You can lock me up in prison for the rest of my life, but get me out of this placenow.”
