Post by 727sky on Oct 2, 2015 5:53:39 GMT -6
WC4........ Sofia
“From the Ends of the earth and across any sea I will track him and destroy everything he has ever held dear,” was his sworn “oath” to himself as he gazed upon the carnage of men, women, and kids who had been shot where they stood, or as they knelt upon their knees.
As time passed and many of his leads ended up being wrong turns in a maze of subterfuge, the only thing that kept him going was his deep felt rage at a corrupt system that had destroyed so much and given back so very little.
Casualties of war and the collateral damage of any operation, was always a toss up between the goals of the mission, the welfare of the troops, and any local assets that might be involved. Locals unfortunately were always less than a secondary mission parameter unless they were politically important . Even then, use them and lose them, if they got in the way or could not be bought.
The trail he sought had gone cold for over a year; and then it happened. A casual business proposition at a nondescript Chinese restaurant with one of the local girls had once again given him hope.
She really was a facially pretty little little thing but no doubt her best days would soon pass with the selling of her body to support her drug addition. No one can live that way without sowing rot in their soul and destroying their body; yet, there were those who, always seemed to try.
She, in a bold and reckless way, had offered him a very special favor in the restaurant’s rest room for way to much money.
After he refused several of her price quotes, she finally came down to just the price of a meal .
“Are you really hungry or just wanting to buy something else besides food”?
“I promise you it is for food and you can watch me eat it”!
“Then sit down and place your order and we will have a meal together; if that is alright with you”?
“You mean I can sit here with you and eat? I am filthy and stink”?
“As long as you behave yourself and chew with you mouth closed, I think I can tolerate your company”.
She ordered a cheap dish of fried rice with chicken and would have been done with it but I told the waitress to, “Come back in a moment for we were still deciding”..
By telling her, “I was hungry too” and letting her know we could share a few food dishes together (at least her hands and nails were clean) she was so surprised and shocked that she finally decided to just let me do the ordering. I did ask her if she could read and she said she could with an answer that seemed rather perturbed at the question by crossing here eyes and saying, ”Duh, I have a university education and graduated one year early”.
I did not say anything, for I figured this table talk, would be all the right answers, and all lies.
According to her, it was because many of the dishes on the menu were priced at such an expensive rate she did not want to take advantage of my kindness (a likely verbal hook.... as in a fishing story).
'OR'?
“What do you want me to do for you after we are finished eating”?
“Nothing, just eat and enjoy; talk to me like I am your friend”.
“That may be hard to do; I don't think I have any real friends I can trust left”.
“Few people do so let's start with your name”.
“My name is Sofia but I just tell everyone to call me Sofi”.
The business side of her was still looking for an angle but she evidently was so hungry she would have sold her soul to the devil for a meal.
Street urchins like her were a dime a dozen in any war torn country. The lucky ones who had nothing but themselves and passable good looks could usually find a meal if they were of what some might call low morals and even slightly creative in their thinking at getting a meal or a dollar. Survival is a universal trait in our species;. especially in women.
“So Sofia, how did you end up in a place like this offering bathroom favors”?
She Looked at me and it was as if something snapped behind her eyes for the tears started to form.
“Do you know where Table Top is”?
“You mean on the south side of the city where all the big houses and reported police on the take live”?
“Yes, I used to live there until a couple of weeks ago”.
“You have got be be kidding me,” was all I could say as I reevaluated my dinner guest. She was clothed in a big sweat shirt that was at least 4 times to big for her and the baggie jeans she wore had the pants legs rolled up several times to keep from dragging the floor and probably tripping her as she walked. She had tied two pieces of string around each side of the pants at the waist to make the waist smaller so the pants wouldn't fall down around her knees ! All of this had been taken in at first sight of her. Not a very flattering image even for a hippie or a broke back packer thief as you can imagine.
“My parents had a house there at 2341 Butterfly lane. After my parents were killed, I stayed at one of the smaller houses that faced the cliff on the west side of the development. I was at that small blue trimmed house for maybe a month before I was able to escape”.
“They were going to sell me to someplace or someone because I am still a virgin”.
I had to clear my throat and swallow unless I might spit water.
Part of me thought I had enough of her B.S. and lies but I tempered my reply with, “Sofia friends do not start out with lying to each other, it is bad manners”.
“I am not lying ! After we eat you can take me to the hospital and have them check me out; if you pay for it and make them let me take a bath”!
“Sofia excuse me, if you are telling me the truth. I had you figured for a druggie trying to pay for her habit and willing to do anything for money. This town is full of them”.
“That is understandable for the places I have been these last 5 days have not exactly shown me the best the city has to offer; so I can understand your thinking, even if you are wrong”!
So I thought, O.K. I will play.
“So how did you end up for sale or on the auction block”?
“My parents owned a small shop that sold motorcycles on the south west side of town. Every month some of Rico's tough guys would come by wanting their....they called it, 'Tea money'..
We had always paid, and there were never any problems, until the economy crashed and people quit buying bikes..With the drug war and killings every day and night, those with money, who could run from the triad and cartels, left last year”.
“We could not leave for everything we had was tied up in the Motorcycle shop, our house, and some land we own.
Dad had tried to get me to go live with my Aunt and Uncle in America but our visa application was not approved before Rico's thugs came and stole our limited supply of bikes. The cops were there and everything.... yet they shot mom and dad in the back of the head …... I was on my knees with my hands held behind my back as a pistol was placed on the back of my head. Then one of the thugs called Troy said he thought Rico would want to check this one out, so I was spared”.
“They took me to one of Rico's hide out bungalows where a doctor checked me from head to toe”. “Once they found out I was a virgin, instead of being shot or raped an sent to work in one of their whore houses, they put me up for sale, I guess; for no one laid a hand on me”.
“After a week of terrible boredom in that house, I asked for some paper and a pencil to draw with. They surprised me with actually giving me a sketch pad and several pencils; my drawings had been all over the motorcycle shop so they all knew I could sketch. I spent many an hour drawing their faces as they sat and just stared at me”.
She paused for a moment and her eyes got a far away look in them.
“They kept me in the house without any clothes and just a bare cot to sleep on. I think is was partly because the guys wanted something to look at and fantasize about”.
“I would like to call all of them animals but that would be an insult to animals everywhere”!
She paused for a moment and then continued.
“One evening, everyone was gone, but this one guy, they called Sam, who they had left behind to guard me. I was sketching and refining some of the drawings of people I had seen since being taken when he entered my room. I had my knees up with my sketch pad resting on my legs so he got an eye full.
Being without clothes for a month around a bunch of sick guys while knowing they can not lay a hand on you does have some advantages”.
“He came to my cot and bent down to see what I was drawing. He started touching my breast and I acted like I liked it. He then started kissing my breast and he finally closed his eyes (he was to close to see anything anyway) so I took the number two pencil I was drawing with and with all my strength I rammed it into his ear. He screamed and jumped back clutching at his ear but I was able to ram another pencil into his left eye as he danced around with his ear pain. He hit me so hard in the chest I almost got killed right then and there. He stumbled out of the door screaming and moaning the whole time before he tripped and fell on the two steps leading out of my room. I knew the pencil in his ear had gone in maybe 4 inches and the one to the eye had been a solid strike for I could feel the ocular bone shatter at the end of my sharpened pencil”.
“I followed him out of the room to find Sam in the floor screaming, shaking and maybe convulsing so I picked up a metal desk lamp that was just outside my door and with all my strength I hit him hard in the head with it's base. His screaming only paused for a moment but it did not stop ! The pencil which had been in his ear was laying on the floor so I picked it up and since his undamaged ear was sticking up, I rammed it in that ear and tapped it half way in with the metal lamp. After the first tap he quit screaming”.
Our food and and a bottle of water arrived.
Sofia's hands we shaking so badly she was having trouble opening the plastic seal cap of the water bottle, so I volunteered my services. Once opened I poured her a glass of water, which she drank without pause; so I poured her another glass and she drank half of it before she started on the food.
Sofia was so hungry she unknowingly made little cooing sounds in her throat as she took each bite and mouthful. The sounds reminded me of some starving cat who had found a meal. Some cats make the same type sound of pure joy as they eat.
This was a Chinese restaurant and I had ordered General Tso's chicken, Mandarin beef, and two bowls of Swan La Ton or more commonly know in English as hot and sour soup which also came with spring rolls. The Soup was the best in town for I had tried other places and none were this good.
About halfway through our food dishes she continued her story.
“I could not find my clothes but I did find these baggy jeans and this pullover. These Tennis shoes are several sizes to large but I needed to get out of there before the rest of Rico's guys returned. I did manage to pull Sam's body to the back porch and push him off to fall to the bottom of the cliff where the river runs. So I left with just these clothes and my sketch pad”.
“Why did you approach me Sofia”?
“Look around this part of town. You are the first person I have seen that does not look like a local cop and is dressed like someone who can afford to buy a girl a meal”.
“Also, now that you know my life story may I ask what is your name”?
“My name is Ray Striker,” as I reached across the table to shake her hand.
“How old are you Ray”?
“I will be 33 in December, and you”?
“I just turned 22”.
“And still a virgin. Miracles do happen after all.”
“I was either working at the shop or was at the catholic school for girls and then Saint Ann's university all my life. Not much of an opportunity to date or mess around. Besides, since I like to sketch, I was born with a good eye, which I suppose, also makes me rather picky with the looks of any guys I meet”.
“There is much more to see about someone than just looks Sofi”
“That is true...... but most of the guys just want to hop in the bed with you, like wham bam and if you are lucky you might get a thank you before the run and tell all their friends. Maybe being raised Catholic made me want to give myself to the right guy. Either way, I am what I am”.
We had almost finished our meal when Sofia jumped up and went to the little table at the entrance of the restaurant. When she returned she was carrying what looked like her sketch pad.
“This is all I have left of my former life. I have been to afraid to go back to my house for clothes or anything. You want to have a look”?
She handed me her pad and as I thumbed through her drawings, I had to confess, she was better than any street artist I have ever seen no matter what part of the world I traveled. She could have been an illustrator for any outfit I could think of, to include my own agency.
About ten pages in her sketch book I came across a face I could never forget. The shock must have been displayed on my face for she asked me, “What”?
“Sofi who is this guy”?
“That is Rico's second in command. He is in charge of security and collections for this part of the world; if not other places too? He came to my room several times checking on me and I think he was the one who told the guys to get me the pencils and pad. He is hansom in a rugged sort of way... but his eyes are very hard Ray; he seemed to look right inside you, creepy”.
“Did you ever hear his name”?
“He said his name was Ray, also”!
“If your drawing is accurate, and I have no doubt it is, his name is Jason Strong”.
“Ray you are now scaring me. How do you know him”?
“He used to be a golden boy for a government agency we worked for. Jason went rogue..... many people were killed..... to include some friends of mine. I have been looking for him for almost three years.... so I could cut his throat, after few other, not very nice things”.
“Not taking anything away from you Ray, but, he is always with some of Rico's guys..... They are very proud of the rifles and pistols they were carrying every time he came to visit me. These guys are killers without remorse or conscience from what I have personally seen”.
“Sofi are you safe here for a couple of hours”?
“I don't think I am safe anyplace ! This town is crawling with cops who are on Rico's payroll. Between Rico and this guy you say is really named Jason, they have people just about everyplace. I have been waiting on this block, across the street in that boarded up shop, for 2 days before I saw you enter here. I thought I would risk coming, for I was about ready to faint from hunger”.
The sketch pad did it for me and I made a snap decision I hoped I would not regret.
“Sofia I have a car in the back parking lot. It is a Black Yukon with dark tented windows”.
I paused and looked outside through the small window above the restaurant’s door. “It is already dark outside; do you think you can make it to the car as I stand by the corner of the building to provide you some cover and protection.... just in case someone you don't want to see shows up”?
She waited for the blink of an eye, smiled, and then said,” Miracles do happen even for me, when do we leave”?
I paid for the meal and as we rounded the corner of the building I used the Yukon's FOB and clicked the unlock button for the doors. The damn lights flashed along with a chirp so Sofia darn sure had no problem finding the Yukon's position. I had told her to shuffle walk like a normal Bum to the car and if assaulted try and keep the bad guy's back to me. I had not thought through exactly what I would do if there were more than one assailant but in my mood I planned on winning either way...... this show was on the road.
Sofi made it to the car unmolested and by the way she was dressed there was no problem looking like a shuffling Bum. Once she was inside the car, I waited a few moments to clear the area and then, I too headed for the Yukon. Once inside we headed outside of town to my safe house, which was not much, but it was isolated without neighbors. Enroute I got Sofi to write down her shoe, jean, and dress sizes...She really did smell like something mildewed and unpleasant so even with the air conditioning I keep both of the back windows cracked open to hopefully help in exhausting the smell.
We arrived at the house in about 25 minutes and after showing Sofi around I offered her a 6906 9mm S&W which had a 15 shot magazine. She had never shot a pistol before but had watched several movies so she thought she was already a good shot ! Those kind of people scare me so I gave her a 10 minute safety briefing to include dry firing practice. I really tried to make sure she would at least not shoot her foot off while I went to buy her some clothes.
It was already 20:30 hours and most of the malls and stores would be closed by 22:00 so I road the Yukon harder than usual to the closest Mall which was thankfully on the East side of town.
Luckily, the store I was in had fully dressed manikins which helped me pick and chose a few outfits for Sofi to wear. She had a 23” waist, 33” butt and needed a 34 “C” cup bra; she was 5'6” .
I purchased 3 pair of Jeans of different fit and design to go along with four pullover tops, 3 Bras, and 4 different type underwear.. I did see a really cute dress so I went ahead and got that too. One pair of walking shoes and another shoe type (high heals) for the dress which were all given to the girl who worked there and was helping me pick out clothes. While looking at some of the young girls around Sofia's age walking in the Mall I spied a few wearing some rather classy colored tennis shoes so I bought her some white socks and a size 6.5 in those shoes too. I finished my shopping by purchasing her a tooth brush and some body lotion.
Nice clothes for women are expensive, especially in a Mall, but at this stage I could not be picky.
I returned to the safe house and upon entry I was met by my 9mm an a scrubbed and hair washed Sofia wrapped in a towel. Amazing what a little soap and water can do for a girl ! The 9mm actually made me feel like she was more than just a pretty face; a rather smart girl who could take directions and listen.....I liked that especially after I got the gun back !
Her eyes lit up like a lantern when she saw the packages I was carrying, so she helped me carry some of the packages to the room that I had told her would be her bedroom.
I found the blow dryer for her hair and for the next 10 minutes her bedroom door was closed as I flicked through the television channels.
When she came out of her temporary bed room she was wearing the dress and heels I had purchased (just in case I could get her out on a flight).
I almost dropped the T.V. Controller from the shock of seeing her in a clean well fitted dress. I know she saw my surprised and positive reaction for she smiled and did the whole front to back model routine while asking me if I liked it.
After uttering my choked, restricted breath of approval, she was off to her room again. When she came back she was wearing one of the new tops and a pair of Jeans. To say she looked good no matter what she wore would have been the understatement of the day if not the year.
She really was a beautiful young woman when she was cleaned up.
I had a moment of thought and flash back, that before, if someone were down wind they could have smelled her previous clothes from a block away.. What a change!
I was just happy that everything fit her and she seemed to be pleased with my selections.
We both drank some bottled water as we did idle chit chat. I could tell she had let most of her guard down for she seemed to have lost the animal fear and hunger in her eyes that I had previously mistaken for some drugged-out state of mind.
It was getting close to 23:00 so I suggested we get some sleep.
She thanked me again for the ten thousandth time for saving her, the clothes, being nice, and how she would never forget it as along as she lived etc etc.
Off we went to our separate rooms.
The next morning I awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee and as I entered the kitchen Sofi was busy scrambling eggs.
After all the 'good mornings', and declarations of a good and much needed sleep we got busy on eating our eggs, bacon, and toast.
As we sat there I was amazed on how good Sofia looked in the morning with her beautiful clear unblemished skin; no make-up, just the beauty of a young girls zest for life. Her features were Eurasian for her father had been French and her mother had been 3rd generation emigrant Chinese.
Sofi spoke French, Mandarin Chinese, and a little bit of the 21 different dialects of Cantonese, plus she spoke very good English and Spanish. Not really all that surprising considering the population make-up of the city she had grown up in. It might have been funny to anyone listening to a conversation together for at times we spoke English with a few Spanish and Chinese words thrown in when convenient or because they were easier to use for a better word picture.. We both had some good laughs from each others sentence structure and creative use of the languages.
After the meal and words of appreciation I retrieved my Sat phone and made a call that I had been dreaming about for the last three years.
“Mark here”.
“Greetings Mark. The road job I have been working on looks like it is finished; could you send me a sweeper team”.
“Sure old buddy how many people do you need”?
“Well after finishing the road it is much bigger than was planned so it would be nice to get the hundred and worst airborne..... but since that might create a slight international incident...... could you send me 2 or three teams with some serious dust pans”?
“Well armed with light arms or do you want APCs and tanks too”? He wasn't joking.
I laughed and just said, “ No, but a few RPGs or M-79s and that sort of man portable stuff would really be nice. I will send you a secure report once I write it up and this time...... I even have pictures”.
“Wow aren't you special! I will get busy on this end and will wait your report... Oh, congratulations, this really has been a long road; Mark out”.
The conversation between Mark and myself was just our version of a cloak and dagger game. The Sat phone encryption was secure except for the most determined efforts of the NSA but we always found it amusing to act like we were America's version of some James Bond character.
Mark and I had graduated together from the academy and had become close friends after several overseas operations together. He was 34 and had a degree in law with a minor in psychology.. Unlike most Psych majors Mark was not weird. He had gone that route to use as a tool instead of trying to heal himself from some perceived faults or a childhood injustice.
Regardless I trusted and liked Mark.
I copied Sofia's sketch pad pictures and took three digital pictures (suitable for a passport) of Sofia to send along with the report.
Sofia had disappeared into the kitchen as I was working on the report only to reappear shortly afterward with a nice hot cup of coffee for me..
Saving someones life with a cheap meal does have its' perks !
Mark sent a secure reply that 3 teams would arrive in two days at the safe house. We should expect them them around 20:00hrs.
I showed Sofia the reply and her first thought was, “Where are we going to put everyone” ?
“From the Ends of the earth and across any sea I will track him and destroy everything he has ever held dear,” was his sworn “oath” to himself as he gazed upon the carnage of men, women, and kids who had been shot where they stood, or as they knelt upon their knees.
As time passed and many of his leads ended up being wrong turns in a maze of subterfuge, the only thing that kept him going was his deep felt rage at a corrupt system that had destroyed so much and given back so very little.
Casualties of war and the collateral damage of any operation, was always a toss up between the goals of the mission, the welfare of the troops, and any local assets that might be involved. Locals unfortunately were always less than a secondary mission parameter unless they were politically important . Even then, use them and lose them, if they got in the way or could not be bought.
The trail he sought had gone cold for over a year; and then it happened. A casual business proposition at a nondescript Chinese restaurant with one of the local girls had once again given him hope.
She really was a facially pretty little little thing but no doubt her best days would soon pass with the selling of her body to support her drug addition. No one can live that way without sowing rot in their soul and destroying their body; yet, there were those who, always seemed to try.
She, in a bold and reckless way, had offered him a very special favor in the restaurant’s rest room for way to much money.
After he refused several of her price quotes, she finally came down to just the price of a meal .
“Are you really hungry or just wanting to buy something else besides food”?
“I promise you it is for food and you can watch me eat it”!
“Then sit down and place your order and we will have a meal together; if that is alright with you”?
“You mean I can sit here with you and eat? I am filthy and stink”?
“As long as you behave yourself and chew with you mouth closed, I think I can tolerate your company”.
She ordered a cheap dish of fried rice with chicken and would have been done with it but I told the waitress to, “Come back in a moment for we were still deciding”..
By telling her, “I was hungry too” and letting her know we could share a few food dishes together (at least her hands and nails were clean) she was so surprised and shocked that she finally decided to just let me do the ordering. I did ask her if she could read and she said she could with an answer that seemed rather perturbed at the question by crossing here eyes and saying, ”Duh, I have a university education and graduated one year early”.
I did not say anything, for I figured this table talk, would be all the right answers, and all lies.
According to her, it was because many of the dishes on the menu were priced at such an expensive rate she did not want to take advantage of my kindness (a likely verbal hook.... as in a fishing story).
'OR'?
“What do you want me to do for you after we are finished eating”?
“Nothing, just eat and enjoy; talk to me like I am your friend”.
“That may be hard to do; I don't think I have any real friends I can trust left”.
“Few people do so let's start with your name”.
“My name is Sofia but I just tell everyone to call me Sofi”.
The business side of her was still looking for an angle but she evidently was so hungry she would have sold her soul to the devil for a meal.
Street urchins like her were a dime a dozen in any war torn country. The lucky ones who had nothing but themselves and passable good looks could usually find a meal if they were of what some might call low morals and even slightly creative in their thinking at getting a meal or a dollar. Survival is a universal trait in our species;. especially in women.
“So Sofia, how did you end up in a place like this offering bathroom favors”?
She Looked at me and it was as if something snapped behind her eyes for the tears started to form.
“Do you know where Table Top is”?
“You mean on the south side of the city where all the big houses and reported police on the take live”?
“Yes, I used to live there until a couple of weeks ago”.
“You have got be be kidding me,” was all I could say as I reevaluated my dinner guest. She was clothed in a big sweat shirt that was at least 4 times to big for her and the baggie jeans she wore had the pants legs rolled up several times to keep from dragging the floor and probably tripping her as she walked. She had tied two pieces of string around each side of the pants at the waist to make the waist smaller so the pants wouldn't fall down around her knees ! All of this had been taken in at first sight of her. Not a very flattering image even for a hippie or a broke back packer thief as you can imagine.
“My parents had a house there at 2341 Butterfly lane. After my parents were killed, I stayed at one of the smaller houses that faced the cliff on the west side of the development. I was at that small blue trimmed house for maybe a month before I was able to escape”.
“They were going to sell me to someplace or someone because I am still a virgin”.
I had to clear my throat and swallow unless I might spit water.
Part of me thought I had enough of her B.S. and lies but I tempered my reply with, “Sofia friends do not start out with lying to each other, it is bad manners”.
“I am not lying ! After we eat you can take me to the hospital and have them check me out; if you pay for it and make them let me take a bath”!
“Sofia excuse me, if you are telling me the truth. I had you figured for a druggie trying to pay for her habit and willing to do anything for money. This town is full of them”.
“That is understandable for the places I have been these last 5 days have not exactly shown me the best the city has to offer; so I can understand your thinking, even if you are wrong”!
So I thought, O.K. I will play.
“So how did you end up for sale or on the auction block”?
“My parents owned a small shop that sold motorcycles on the south west side of town. Every month some of Rico's tough guys would come by wanting their....they called it, 'Tea money'..
We had always paid, and there were never any problems, until the economy crashed and people quit buying bikes..With the drug war and killings every day and night, those with money, who could run from the triad and cartels, left last year”.
“We could not leave for everything we had was tied up in the Motorcycle shop, our house, and some land we own.
Dad had tried to get me to go live with my Aunt and Uncle in America but our visa application was not approved before Rico's thugs came and stole our limited supply of bikes. The cops were there and everything.... yet they shot mom and dad in the back of the head …... I was on my knees with my hands held behind my back as a pistol was placed on the back of my head. Then one of the thugs called Troy said he thought Rico would want to check this one out, so I was spared”.
“They took me to one of Rico's hide out bungalows where a doctor checked me from head to toe”. “Once they found out I was a virgin, instead of being shot or raped an sent to work in one of their whore houses, they put me up for sale, I guess; for no one laid a hand on me”.
“After a week of terrible boredom in that house, I asked for some paper and a pencil to draw with. They surprised me with actually giving me a sketch pad and several pencils; my drawings had been all over the motorcycle shop so they all knew I could sketch. I spent many an hour drawing their faces as they sat and just stared at me”.
She paused for a moment and her eyes got a far away look in them.
“They kept me in the house without any clothes and just a bare cot to sleep on. I think is was partly because the guys wanted something to look at and fantasize about”.
“I would like to call all of them animals but that would be an insult to animals everywhere”!
She paused for a moment and then continued.
“One evening, everyone was gone, but this one guy, they called Sam, who they had left behind to guard me. I was sketching and refining some of the drawings of people I had seen since being taken when he entered my room. I had my knees up with my sketch pad resting on my legs so he got an eye full.
Being without clothes for a month around a bunch of sick guys while knowing they can not lay a hand on you does have some advantages”.
“He came to my cot and bent down to see what I was drawing. He started touching my breast and I acted like I liked it. He then started kissing my breast and he finally closed his eyes (he was to close to see anything anyway) so I took the number two pencil I was drawing with and with all my strength I rammed it into his ear. He screamed and jumped back clutching at his ear but I was able to ram another pencil into his left eye as he danced around with his ear pain. He hit me so hard in the chest I almost got killed right then and there. He stumbled out of the door screaming and moaning the whole time before he tripped and fell on the two steps leading out of my room. I knew the pencil in his ear had gone in maybe 4 inches and the one to the eye had been a solid strike for I could feel the ocular bone shatter at the end of my sharpened pencil”.
“I followed him out of the room to find Sam in the floor screaming, shaking and maybe convulsing so I picked up a metal desk lamp that was just outside my door and with all my strength I hit him hard in the head with it's base. His screaming only paused for a moment but it did not stop ! The pencil which had been in his ear was laying on the floor so I picked it up and since his undamaged ear was sticking up, I rammed it in that ear and tapped it half way in with the metal lamp. After the first tap he quit screaming”.
Our food and and a bottle of water arrived.
Sofia's hands we shaking so badly she was having trouble opening the plastic seal cap of the water bottle, so I volunteered my services. Once opened I poured her a glass of water, which she drank without pause; so I poured her another glass and she drank half of it before she started on the food.
Sofia was so hungry she unknowingly made little cooing sounds in her throat as she took each bite and mouthful. The sounds reminded me of some starving cat who had found a meal. Some cats make the same type sound of pure joy as they eat.
This was a Chinese restaurant and I had ordered General Tso's chicken, Mandarin beef, and two bowls of Swan La Ton or more commonly know in English as hot and sour soup which also came with spring rolls. The Soup was the best in town for I had tried other places and none were this good.
About halfway through our food dishes she continued her story.
“I could not find my clothes but I did find these baggy jeans and this pullover. These Tennis shoes are several sizes to large but I needed to get out of there before the rest of Rico's guys returned. I did manage to pull Sam's body to the back porch and push him off to fall to the bottom of the cliff where the river runs. So I left with just these clothes and my sketch pad”.
“Why did you approach me Sofia”?
“Look around this part of town. You are the first person I have seen that does not look like a local cop and is dressed like someone who can afford to buy a girl a meal”.
“Also, now that you know my life story may I ask what is your name”?
“My name is Ray Striker,” as I reached across the table to shake her hand.
“How old are you Ray”?
“I will be 33 in December, and you”?
“I just turned 22”.
“And still a virgin. Miracles do happen after all.”
“I was either working at the shop or was at the catholic school for girls and then Saint Ann's university all my life. Not much of an opportunity to date or mess around. Besides, since I like to sketch, I was born with a good eye, which I suppose, also makes me rather picky with the looks of any guys I meet”.
“There is much more to see about someone than just looks Sofi”
“That is true...... but most of the guys just want to hop in the bed with you, like wham bam and if you are lucky you might get a thank you before the run and tell all their friends. Maybe being raised Catholic made me want to give myself to the right guy. Either way, I am what I am”.
We had almost finished our meal when Sofia jumped up and went to the little table at the entrance of the restaurant. When she returned she was carrying what looked like her sketch pad.
“This is all I have left of my former life. I have been to afraid to go back to my house for clothes or anything. You want to have a look”?
She handed me her pad and as I thumbed through her drawings, I had to confess, she was better than any street artist I have ever seen no matter what part of the world I traveled. She could have been an illustrator for any outfit I could think of, to include my own agency.
About ten pages in her sketch book I came across a face I could never forget. The shock must have been displayed on my face for she asked me, “What”?
“Sofi who is this guy”?
“That is Rico's second in command. He is in charge of security and collections for this part of the world; if not other places too? He came to my room several times checking on me and I think he was the one who told the guys to get me the pencils and pad. He is hansom in a rugged sort of way... but his eyes are very hard Ray; he seemed to look right inside you, creepy”.
“Did you ever hear his name”?
“He said his name was Ray, also”!
“If your drawing is accurate, and I have no doubt it is, his name is Jason Strong”.
“Ray you are now scaring me. How do you know him”?
“He used to be a golden boy for a government agency we worked for. Jason went rogue..... many people were killed..... to include some friends of mine. I have been looking for him for almost three years.... so I could cut his throat, after few other, not very nice things”.
“Not taking anything away from you Ray, but, he is always with some of Rico's guys..... They are very proud of the rifles and pistols they were carrying every time he came to visit me. These guys are killers without remorse or conscience from what I have personally seen”.
“Sofi are you safe here for a couple of hours”?
“I don't think I am safe anyplace ! This town is crawling with cops who are on Rico's payroll. Between Rico and this guy you say is really named Jason, they have people just about everyplace. I have been waiting on this block, across the street in that boarded up shop, for 2 days before I saw you enter here. I thought I would risk coming, for I was about ready to faint from hunger”.
The sketch pad did it for me and I made a snap decision I hoped I would not regret.
“Sofia I have a car in the back parking lot. It is a Black Yukon with dark tented windows”.
I paused and looked outside through the small window above the restaurant’s door. “It is already dark outside; do you think you can make it to the car as I stand by the corner of the building to provide you some cover and protection.... just in case someone you don't want to see shows up”?
She waited for the blink of an eye, smiled, and then said,” Miracles do happen even for me, when do we leave”?
I paid for the meal and as we rounded the corner of the building I used the Yukon's FOB and clicked the unlock button for the doors. The damn lights flashed along with a chirp so Sofia darn sure had no problem finding the Yukon's position. I had told her to shuffle walk like a normal Bum to the car and if assaulted try and keep the bad guy's back to me. I had not thought through exactly what I would do if there were more than one assailant but in my mood I planned on winning either way...... this show was on the road.
Sofi made it to the car unmolested and by the way she was dressed there was no problem looking like a shuffling Bum. Once she was inside the car, I waited a few moments to clear the area and then, I too headed for the Yukon. Once inside we headed outside of town to my safe house, which was not much, but it was isolated without neighbors. Enroute I got Sofi to write down her shoe, jean, and dress sizes...She really did smell like something mildewed and unpleasant so even with the air conditioning I keep both of the back windows cracked open to hopefully help in exhausting the smell.
We arrived at the house in about 25 minutes and after showing Sofi around I offered her a 6906 9mm S&W which had a 15 shot magazine. She had never shot a pistol before but had watched several movies so she thought she was already a good shot ! Those kind of people scare me so I gave her a 10 minute safety briefing to include dry firing practice. I really tried to make sure she would at least not shoot her foot off while I went to buy her some clothes.
It was already 20:30 hours and most of the malls and stores would be closed by 22:00 so I road the Yukon harder than usual to the closest Mall which was thankfully on the East side of town.
Luckily, the store I was in had fully dressed manikins which helped me pick and chose a few outfits for Sofi to wear. She had a 23” waist, 33” butt and needed a 34 “C” cup bra; she was 5'6” .
I purchased 3 pair of Jeans of different fit and design to go along with four pullover tops, 3 Bras, and 4 different type underwear.. I did see a really cute dress so I went ahead and got that too. One pair of walking shoes and another shoe type (high heals) for the dress which were all given to the girl who worked there and was helping me pick out clothes. While looking at some of the young girls around Sofia's age walking in the Mall I spied a few wearing some rather classy colored tennis shoes so I bought her some white socks and a size 6.5 in those shoes too. I finished my shopping by purchasing her a tooth brush and some body lotion.
Nice clothes for women are expensive, especially in a Mall, but at this stage I could not be picky.
I returned to the safe house and upon entry I was met by my 9mm an a scrubbed and hair washed Sofia wrapped in a towel. Amazing what a little soap and water can do for a girl ! The 9mm actually made me feel like she was more than just a pretty face; a rather smart girl who could take directions and listen.....I liked that especially after I got the gun back !
Her eyes lit up like a lantern when she saw the packages I was carrying, so she helped me carry some of the packages to the room that I had told her would be her bedroom.
I found the blow dryer for her hair and for the next 10 minutes her bedroom door was closed as I flicked through the television channels.
When she came out of her temporary bed room she was wearing the dress and heels I had purchased (just in case I could get her out on a flight).
I almost dropped the T.V. Controller from the shock of seeing her in a clean well fitted dress. I know she saw my surprised and positive reaction for she smiled and did the whole front to back model routine while asking me if I liked it.
After uttering my choked, restricted breath of approval, she was off to her room again. When she came back she was wearing one of the new tops and a pair of Jeans. To say she looked good no matter what she wore would have been the understatement of the day if not the year.
She really was a beautiful young woman when she was cleaned up.
I had a moment of thought and flash back, that before, if someone were down wind they could have smelled her previous clothes from a block away.. What a change!
I was just happy that everything fit her and she seemed to be pleased with my selections.
We both drank some bottled water as we did idle chit chat. I could tell she had let most of her guard down for she seemed to have lost the animal fear and hunger in her eyes that I had previously mistaken for some drugged-out state of mind.
It was getting close to 23:00 so I suggested we get some sleep.
She thanked me again for the ten thousandth time for saving her, the clothes, being nice, and how she would never forget it as along as she lived etc etc.
Off we went to our separate rooms.
The next morning I awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee and as I entered the kitchen Sofi was busy scrambling eggs.
After all the 'good mornings', and declarations of a good and much needed sleep we got busy on eating our eggs, bacon, and toast.
As we sat there I was amazed on how good Sofia looked in the morning with her beautiful clear unblemished skin; no make-up, just the beauty of a young girls zest for life. Her features were Eurasian for her father had been French and her mother had been 3rd generation emigrant Chinese.
Sofi spoke French, Mandarin Chinese, and a little bit of the 21 different dialects of Cantonese, plus she spoke very good English and Spanish. Not really all that surprising considering the population make-up of the city she had grown up in. It might have been funny to anyone listening to a conversation together for at times we spoke English with a few Spanish and Chinese words thrown in when convenient or because they were easier to use for a better word picture.. We both had some good laughs from each others sentence structure and creative use of the languages.
After the meal and words of appreciation I retrieved my Sat phone and made a call that I had been dreaming about for the last three years.
“Mark here”.
“Greetings Mark. The road job I have been working on looks like it is finished; could you send me a sweeper team”.
“Sure old buddy how many people do you need”?
“Well after finishing the road it is much bigger than was planned so it would be nice to get the hundred and worst airborne..... but since that might create a slight international incident...... could you send me 2 or three teams with some serious dust pans”?
“Well armed with light arms or do you want APCs and tanks too”? He wasn't joking.
I laughed and just said, “ No, but a few RPGs or M-79s and that sort of man portable stuff would really be nice. I will send you a secure report once I write it up and this time...... I even have pictures”.
“Wow aren't you special! I will get busy on this end and will wait your report... Oh, congratulations, this really has been a long road; Mark out”.
The conversation between Mark and myself was just our version of a cloak and dagger game. The Sat phone encryption was secure except for the most determined efforts of the NSA but we always found it amusing to act like we were America's version of some James Bond character.
Mark and I had graduated together from the academy and had become close friends after several overseas operations together. He was 34 and had a degree in law with a minor in psychology.. Unlike most Psych majors Mark was not weird. He had gone that route to use as a tool instead of trying to heal himself from some perceived faults or a childhood injustice.
Regardless I trusted and liked Mark.
I copied Sofia's sketch pad pictures and took three digital pictures (suitable for a passport) of Sofia to send along with the report.
Sofia had disappeared into the kitchen as I was working on the report only to reappear shortly afterward with a nice hot cup of coffee for me..
Saving someones life with a cheap meal does have its' perks !
Mark sent a secure reply that 3 teams would arrive in two days at the safe house. We should expect them them around 20:00hrs.
I showed Sofia the reply and her first thought was, “Where are we going to put everyone” ?
