I need to keep this phone hidden. I lean on my right elbow, turn my head toward the bedding, and allow these people to believe I am starting to break as I cough up more blood and spit.
These people are insane, and insanity is so unpredictable. They are all warped in the head.
I had almost forgotten Cezar was in the room until his deep accented words hit me. “Mark this as your one and only warning, Whisper. On my command, Rose will cut it right off if I hear of any disobedience, and she’s very good at it, as you have just witnessed. She made the mistake once of thinking she would get a second warning, and she was punished for it, as you have seen. You will do everything asked of you without complaint.”
My only response is to cough more blood up, the burn painful, but I’ve felt worse.
My mind is strong. I won’t be broken ever again. What this crazy man doesn’t realize is how strong Rose’s mind is too. She shows him what she needs to keep breathing, and the rest is survival mode.
Rose has been treated far worse than I had; I can see that from her reactions. There has been a lot of irreversible damage done to her soul. She is robotic, but her eyes show only me her rage that was hidden below the surface for Cezar. She might not care what happens to me, but she wants to live and will do whatever it takes, including ending me.
She has spent too long under his command. She looks mid-twenties, and I fear for the shell that will be left of this woman if she is able to walk away and get her freedom one day. Rose has been through too much, made to do too many bad things.
I have learned I may still have been a virgin, but there are many ways to abuse a woman’s body and mind.
This Cezar commands Rose, but there is a part of her mind that never obeys. Her clone is his puppet. She has learned to separate her true lost soul and keep that small part for herself when she needs to keep going.
I can become Sara. She will get me through this.
The evil man lets out a dramatic sigh. “Mess is something I have a low tolerance for.” He holds out a white square of fabric. “Here.” I grab onto it and try to mop myself up. “This was just a warning shot; the next will be permanent. If anything happens to any of the other women, it will be on your head. Somebody will always suffer for any insubordination, for any fuck ups. Santana was a fuck up. Let’s just say it is my way of keeping you all in line.”
There are other women here?
He claps his hands together in one loud smack, making me jump.
“Well, Whisper, it would appear I must cut our little meet-and-greet short. Just remember, the debt William owes me comes at a heavy price. There will be no more marks on your exterior body. I assure you of this. I will not stand for it. Just don’t test me. Underneath all that bruising and swelling and mess is a beautiful woman who will pay William’s debt off. You are my new prize and need to be in pristine condition in a short time for my high paying guests.”
He lets that comment sit in the air for a few heartbeats. I am counting them, trying to calm my shattered life and what it has now become.
Am I to become a prostitute?
“Rose will come back later and assist in cleaning you up and clothing you, as you’ve made a mess of yourself. For now, you will sit and think about what we have talked about. Rest.”
I want this sorry excuse for a man to shut the hell up and leave. I know Mathias is watching me now. I can feel his eyes on me and I can’t look at him. He helped do this to me.
He is my enemy. I must remember that.
Cezar starts for the door. “You know the cameras are always watching. Don’t give me a reason.” He beckons Rose to walk in front of him, the bloody blade being wiped on another white square of fabric he’s handed her as they exit my cell. Mathias follows, shutting the door behind him.
I stay still, scared somebody will come back. I haven’t touched the phone yet, so I haven’t done anything wrong.
Conscious of the camera in my room, I curl up on the bed, my back to the blinking light, and pretend to shudder and cry and cough. I reach up for the pillow and pull it down to me, pretending to cuddle it for comfort, and tug as much of the bedding up over me as I can, working the phone up my body. Somebody may be watching me at all times, or they might just check the footage every now and then, but what I do know is I won’t have much time until Mathias discovers his phone is missing.
Then what do I do?
MATHIAS
Fuck!
Fuck!
FUUUCK!
I got there as soon as I could.
I couldn’t stop that sick bastard.
FUCK!
Now I have to walk beside this motherfucker to his office with this calm look plastered all over my face after what he just did to Whisper.
I had to obey him.
I wanted to turn on the fucker and put a bullet in his sick brain.
I have to keep my eye on the job at hand. I can’t jeopardize the years I’ve spent undercover working my way closer to this cocksucker. I’ve only just made it into his inner sanctum. I can’t be blowing everything I’ve worked toward, infiltrating his paranoid network, to throw it all away on a beat up girl because I feel so goddamn sorry she is being put through this, and I want to save her.
I saw all three of them while I was checking to see if she’d woken up on the screens in the security room. There is no volume, so I had no clue what he was saying to her. And then he summoned me.
Jesus Christ!
How much more does she have to endure until I can get his operation shut down?
Answer: A fuck-of-a-lot. This nightmare has only just started; the rest was simply a preview.
The look of fear and disgust on her face at what was being done to her matched mine, but I couldn’t show it. I couldn’t do a thing to derail it.
Rose, from what I’ve heard, could take me on. She is trained well. She is a killer. This place is heavily under surveillance and guarded. I could kill Cezar now, but then I would be killed.
Nothing would be accomplished, because it wouldn’t stop his event from going ahead. It wouldn’t stop these ladies from being taken. These girls are never seen again once Cezar is through with them. That fucker Filip, who is Cezar’s most trusted, would just slide up into the role of head motherfucker in this highly secretive organization.
I don’t even know where here is. I was blindfolded at the last pit stop by the guy I know now as Filip, who came and met me and then a syringe was stuck in my neck. Kane didn’t make it to where I am. Got no idea where he is. I’m still new blood here, and Cezar is gonna protect his hidden lair. I now have this head fucker’s name.
Whisper can’t get in the way of what I’ve worked for. I’m now in a place of seniority, of growing trust. I’ve made it to The Pen, his holding place, until the highly secretive, exclusive event. I want every last one of his secret lairs around the globe. I want all the players taking part. There will be records. I want them all, every last one of the fuckers’ names. They are all part of a network of high profile businessmen and millionaires, some who are married men with an appetite for what Cezar has to offer.
She has to believe I’m capable of ending her life. She has to believe I’m one of the devil’s foot soldiers.
I will bring justice for all the lost lives.
WHISPER
This will be my only chance to make contact. I don’t know how much time I have so I need to make every word count. There is no time for punctuation.