Page 15 of Small Town Surrogate

“No lights, please!”

They finally came to two great doors, which once more the woman opened with a thumbprint.

Ross remembered something Manny had said the night before. The woman he’d be “matched” to would be a virgin. Ross had insisted that he didn’t need a virgin. But Manny was absolutely not moving from that point.

“No. You’ll get a virgin,” he told Ross, as if it was a mighty honor Ross would be supremely rude to refuse.

Other scientists had began walking past them. They were not particularly interesting— all dressed the same, unable to tell the men from the women. But one white coat passed with his head down, reading something, and he and Ross walked slap bang into each other. The big McCall caught a peek at the binder in the man’s hands when it tumbled to the floor. He knelt to pick it up and hand it over. He saw it was full of headshots of women.Young, hot women.

Ross continued forward.

Fuck.

Just where did Manny get these girls?

Not always from the gutter.

Fuck, McCall.

What else could this be?

Mangjeol “giving” him a bride. A virgin bride.

This was prostitution. Human trafficking.

If Ross had any sense, he’d turn around and walk back the way they came. Better, he’d run.

But it was too late. There was a door. The assistant waved her keycard like a wand, and it opened.

4

DOING A FAVOR

Ross stared down at the photograph on the table. A young black woman with a cheerful face smiled back at him shyly. She had soft, round features, doll-like lips and large eyes that slanted nearly as much as Shumi-san’s. He wondered if she was mixed race, but her skin leaned towards a darker tone, like strong coffee with condensed milk.

Her black hair was brushed back, but if the size of the puff was any indication, she had enough of it to overflow both his hands.

Manny was watching him closely.

“Ah…How old is she?” Ross asked.

“Twenty-two.”

“When can I meet her?”

“You can’t.” Manny shifted in his seat. “Not yet.”

“Is she here? In Tokyo?”

“Yes.” Manny nodded. “She is quite safe.”

What’s the matter with him?

“And she’s American,” Ross said.

“Yes.”

“Where is she from?”

---