Page 62 of Fear and Desire

“I hope so.”

“Then I’ll be fine.”

He kissed her hard on her dry, cracked lips, and was gone.

36

Laura:

Sherolledontoherback in the damp grass and stared at the clouds drifting overhead. It was so odd that the sky looked the same despite how far from home she was. And why was she shivering in the warm summer heat?

Sounds drifted overhead: the pop of silencers, and occasional screams. Three times a person in rough clothes startled her when they peered at her over the bushed Two of them were scruffy and bearded, and one of them was a woman. They all gave her a jaunty salute and disappeared again. She prayed for Dan, and for every member of his team who appeared and disappeared like avenging angels waging war against the evil in that house.

After the noise faded, Dan appeared again. He was dirty, and there was blood on his arm. He dropped to the ground, and his head fell forward.

“Are you all right?” Fear twisted her gut. She reached out towards the blood.

He grabbed her wrist to stop her. “It’s bleeding a little, but I’m fine, Laura, I’m fine. Most of the blood is from someone else.” He wiped a hand across his brow. “All but a few of the guards are dead, and we have the couple that remain rounded up in the front hall. Everyone on our team is okay, and searching the house for any more slaves. Did you see any?”

He handed her the canteen and let her take just one sip before pulling it away. She lunged for it, but he caught her and held her close. “One sip at a time. I know this is hard.”

“Please, Dan!”

“No. Laura, you need to listen to me.” His voice had changed, filled with a firmness he’d used often at the Farm. She sat back obediently. In reward, he gave her another gulp, and this time she managed to hand it back to him without trying to guzzle it down.

“Tell me what you know about the women,” he repeated.

“All I saw was one small Asian woman. Her name is Kamlai. But there were screams. Were there more?”

He nodded. “Three that we know of, including Kamlai. She appears to be unharmed. The other two are… I don’t know what the word is.”

“Broken?” she asked quietly. She’d almost been there herself.

He nodded again. “That’s exactly what they are. They’re both from Poland. I think Kamlai is from Thailand.”

“You’re not going to leave them here, are you?” Laura exclaimed.

“We won’t, I promise. Can you walk? I want you to stay with me.”

He gave her another mouthful of water and helped her stand. Her legs wobbled but held, and they made their way back up the lawn to the house. Along the way, they passed four bodies lying bloody and dead in the grass.

The corridors of the large home were cool and quiet until they reached the front hall. Laura pulled up short at the sight of DeLeo and two of his men up against the wall, under the curved marble staircase, guarded by three armed men. One man cradled a bloody arm; DeLeo himself looked fine. Three others lay dead, stacked in a corner. Kamlai and two other women in the same short dresses held onto each other and stood against the wall near the bodies. Kamlai caught sight of Laura but made no expression.

Laura’s legs had reached their limit, and she sagged in Dan’s arms. He helped her over to the wall, and she slid down to the floor between Kamlai and the other women. He gave her another drink. She reached out to the tiny woman, and after a moment, Kamlai knelt down next to Laura, while keeping an eye on Dan. Laura closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall behind her.

A noise made her open her eyes again. Two more men emerged from a hallway with two laptops and handed them to Dan.

“We didn’t find any more women. But it’s a big place with a lot of heavy doors.”

Laura turned to Kamlai and pointed to herself, to Kamlai, and to the other two women seated on the floor. She held up four fingers. Then she held up five fingers and made a questioning face. Kamlai looked once more at Dan, at the other men, and at Laura, then shook her head. She held up four fingers and made a gesture of finality. Laura smiled in thanks. “There’s no more, Dan.”

He nodded. “So,” he said, turning back to DeLeo and the two other men flanking him. “What do I do with the three of you?”

“I should have listened to Marco.” DeLeo spat onto the marble floor. “He knew you were no good.”

“Marco was an incompetent idiot. He’d have ruined all those women for life, even for slaves. He had no idea how to run a business, or any idea how to increase the value of the merchandise to get more money.”

Kamlai quietly slid back up the wall until she was standing.

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