“Additional mission. There are some Keldara girls that might be in the town. We have visuals of them. If we see one, through you, we’ll redirect. Understand?”
“Hmmm…” Katya said, rolling her eyes. Great. Fucking Holier-Than-Thou Keldara. Nobody ever came for her when she needed it.
“You need to get more of a layout on the club. Use your American if you can.”
“HMMMM…” Teach me to suck eggs, stupid Keldara bitch!
“I can see you’re not a morning person.”
Katya sighed angrily and finished brushing, then headed back down to the street. Supposedly, there was something resembling breakfast around here, but “Tom” had had some food in his room and that was enough to keep her going through the very short night.
But, first, she wanted to take a look around. Most of the girls were still just getting ready for the day, the lazy whores. Getting out early, looking fresh, would usually pick you up at least two or three tricks. All it took was getting out of bed. If she ran this place, there’d be a reveille.
But the fact was that there wasn’t. So the girls were still getting up and she could see the faces.
It was all the way on the sixth floor that she found her. The girl was just finishing working on her hair using a bit of mirror on the wall. She was pretty sure it was the same girl, but she continued to stare, then hummed and finally sighed.
“Sorry, you’re calling us aren’t you?” a female voice said. “Yes, that appears to be the target. Find out what room she uses. Move into it if you think it will work.”
She’d hatched a plan in an instant, but she wasn’t sure how to tell the stupid Keldara. There was very little in the way of privacy. Later for that.
“Hello,” she said, walking over to the girl.
Natalya looked at her fearfully, then around for support.
“I’m not going to put on you,” Katya said, looking her up and down. The girl was young and fairly good looking. She’d look better with some cosmetics, no question. Could she swing this? “I have found a rich American. He wants two girls, even though he can barely get it up with one. And he likes young ones. But not to hit on, he is nice. You are pretty good. You want in?”
“Will I make as much as usual?” Natalya asked in a resigned tone.
“If you work with me, you will,” Katya said, shaking her head. “More and with less work. You need to learn to be a good whore, though. He thinks I’m fourteen and barely touched. I’m not going to take him some dragged out whore. If you can’t act, the deal is off. You speak English?”
“No,” the girl said, still looking at her fearfully.
“Good,” Katya said, the plan blooming. “Let me handle the talking, then. And don’t tell anyone what the arrangement is. You’ll get seven hundred euros a day. He uses traveller’s checks. I know a man who will give me a special deal on them, so I’ll cash them, alone.”
“Ah, got it,” the Keldara listener said. “We’ll supplement. I’ll get Vanner and tell him.”
“We’ll go down, you stay by the doors. I’ll find him and we’ll get together with him and tell him the deal. Yes?”
“Yes,” Natalya said, her eyes wide. “But why are you being nice to me?”
“Who says I’m being nice?” Katya said, laughing evilly. “I’m going to let you do most of the fucking and I’ll take most of the money. And because you’re such a little mouse you won’t try to double-cross me, will you?” She leaned forward and ran her sharpened nails down the girl’s neck, lightly. “Will you?”
“You know,” Vanner said, leaning back at the head of the bed and monitoring the grainy video take on his laptop. “If we were really just after the girl, we could pull her out like this. No muss, no fuss.”
“Who would have thought they’d have her out walking the streets?” Nadzia asked, shaking her head. “That means something, but I’m not sure what.”
“Well, whatever is important about the girl, the Albanians clearly don’t know it,” Vanner replied. “Upload that item. We might want to find an alternate plan to get the girl. One that is less likely to get her whacked.”
Katya realized she had screwed up by not making special arrangements to meet “Tom” last night. But as soon as she stepped down to the street, she saw his Fiat cruising slowly along the boulevard.
“Tom!” she shouted as he pulled next to her. She ran over and leaned in the window, giving him a good solid French kiss. She hoped some day she’d get the chance to tell him how her night had gone. But not today, not after that kiss.
“He hurt you,” Tom said, running his hand carefully over the fresh bruise on her cheek.
“It is okay,” Katya said. “Men have hit me since I was very young. I am used to it. I told you I have friend,” she said, waving to Natalya. “We will give you very good deal, but we must talk. And, if you don’t mind, I would like to shower at your hotel. Would you scrub my back?”
“Do we have this set up?” Katya asked in Georgian when she was in the shower. The hotel water was at least warm, if not exactly clear. And hot didn’t seem to be a setting. But there was some shampoo, thank God, and decent American soap. She scrubbed hard.
“It’s set up,” Nadzia answered. “Whenever you’re ready to make the switch. It will be in the hotel.”
“Good,” Katya said.
“We’re communicating with higher about extracting you and Natalya prior to the main op, less likely to get shot.”
“That would be nice,” Katya said dryly. “How long?”
“No more than four days,” Lydia replied.
“I hope I can string him along that long,” Katya said. “It’s the best bet I’ve got for keeping close to the girl.”
“You’re doing fine,” Nadzia said soothingly. “Just keep on like you have been.”
“Being beaten, raped and having to service men?” Katya replied sarcastically. “You try it.”
“I’ve got other skills,” Nadzia said. “One of which is making sure you have your money to keep your pimp off your back.”
“I’m done here,” Katya said.
“Out.”
“You talk to yourself, too?” Natalya asked dreamily.
Katya nearly had a heart attack until she realized the girl was never going to know the Keldara accented version of Georgian they’d been speaking. The dialect was practically another language.
“Sometimes,” Katya said, wondering what the girl might have understood. “When I think I’m alone!” Should have made sure.
“Do you have voices?” Natalya asked in the same dreamy voice. “I have voices. They tell me that the bad man is coming.”
“They are all bad men,” Katya said, wondering if the girl had implants like she did or if she was just crazy. Hopefully, just crazy.
“No, this is the real bad man,” Natalya said. “He said that he would come for me. That he would let me wait and fear. But he didn’t come back. And they sent me here, instead.”
“Well, he’s not here,” Katya said. “But I am. And if you don’t get out of damned bathroom you’re not going to have to fear him because I’m going to kill you!”
“He seemed like such a nice man,” Natalya said, as she closed the door. “So very nice. He had a nice face.”
“Bingo,” Vanner said as he replayed that portion of the tape. Of course, that also meant that he had to look at Katya’s tits from an angle he’d never seen them from before. But he managed to keep his mind on work. “She saw the face of the guy who was impersonating Grantham.”