NaNoWriMo Day 8

Word Count: 15,020

Joseph


The new digs at the Ministry of Defense are actually not too shabby, all things considered. There is such a crazy mishmash of decorations and objects on display from all of the different groups in charge over the years. I guess whenever the new guys move in they just add their stuff to the stuff that is already there. For instance, the hallway leading to my room has Chinese vases, gold statues of Hindu gods, and lavish prayer rugs. There is a lot of money in this place, that’s probably why each new government decided against getting rid of their predecessor’s prized possessions.

Xu posted an armed guard outside of my door, which is kind of weird. I would think that being inside of the Ministry of Defense I was quite safe already, but he is the expert in these things. It is pretty boring around here and I am edgy without any booze to keep me level. I suppose I could ask for some but it probably isn’t a good idea. The General seems like a guy on the straight and narrow.

This being a government institution, the only television I can get is the heavily censored, officially approved stations. Which, unfortunately, suck a lot. I’m climbing up the walls and I’ve only been here for four hours. The guard at the door knocks and comes in before I can even respond. He tells me in broken English that the General wants to see me and to follow him. We walk down a series of hallways, each becoming less opulent than the last. Finally, we are in what looks like an underground bunker and into what must be the General’s “War Room.” Xu sits at a long table in front of a series of folders and motions for me to sit next to him. He opens one of the folders as I sit and pulls out a bunch of photographs. He asks me to look at each and let him know if I recognize anyone. The first one is an odd looking Indian guy, nothing there, ditto the next few, but I instantly recognize the picture of the cute spunky girl, Candy, that we had dinner with several days ago. I tell Xu that we started talking because she was also American and she had seen the guy we are looking for around town. Xu takes great interest in this last bit and asks for confirmation that this girl was involved with Freidrich Brandt. I say that involved might not be the right word to use, she just said she recognized him but didn’t know who he was. The General seems slightly disappointed and asks me to continue. The next photo is also of Candy, laughing with a pretty Indian girl that I don’t recognize. Xu asks me to concentrate on her just to be sure, but I’ve got nothing.

None of the other photos ring a bell so he changes gears and grills me for anything that I can remember about Molly’s plans the day she disappeared. All I can remember is that she was going to check out some sort of nightclub. He opens another folder, pulls out a picture of a drab, featureless building, and asks if this is the one. I shrug and say I never saw it. He asks if Q sounds familiar, and after thinking long and hard I say it might. Nodding sharply, he turns to one of his men and barks out an order, sending the soldier hurrying out of the room.

The owner of this club, he tells me, has been under suspicion for a number of illegal activities for quite some time. The government has not yet taken him down because they believe he is small time, and they are waiting for him to slip up and reveal who the bigger fish are. Xu believes that if Molly did indeed go to this club, she could be in grave danger. The white slave trade is still alive and well in certain circles, and a pretty, blonde American like Molly would fetch top dollar. I consider this for a moment, proper Ms. Molly chained up, turned out, and auctioned off as a sex slave, and can’t help but be slightly amused by the thought. It would be horrible of course, just terrible and we must do everything we can to prevent it, but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t turn me on just a little bit in the deepest darkest parts of my brain.

Xu assures me that they will search the club thoroughly, and if there is any sign of Molly, they will severely punish whoever may be involved with her abduction. I thank him and ask if there is anything else I can do but he says no, I should return to my room. So, grudgingly, back to my room I go.

Damn it all to hell, it is the middle of the night and I can’t sleep for shit. I need a drink, Xu’s disapproval be damned. I throw some clothes on and head out to the hallway to ask the guard if he knows where I can score some hooch. Funny thing is, the guard isn’t there. I figure maybe they are changing shift and make my way to where I think the kitchen might be. The place is a ghost town, all of the soldiers and government workers that bustled around during the day are gone. The place is kind of spooky, all dark and quiet. I am surprised that I haven’t seen a single guard yet. I pick up angry voices drifting from the military wing and tiptoe over to snoop. General Xu is really giving some guy the business in a room with a door just slightly ajar. Of course, I can’t understand a damn thing he’s saying, but he really sounds pissed. Suddenly, he stops yelling and there is a sharp crack followed by a thump. Boot heels start to cross the room toward the door where I am crouching and I high tail it back to my room before anyone sees me.




Candy


Oh my god, my legs are still quivering and the endorphin overload, plus the nice alcohol buzz, has made me semi-retarded. I have to keep assuring Pratima that I am ok, much, much better than ok actually, but I am having a hard time getting the message across and she is worried to death. That dear, dear Chirag, there are very few people in this world who know what I like better than he does. If only he liked girls, I’d marry him in second. Pratima keeps grilling me about what was in the room, but all I can do is giggle and swoon. She’s not ready for something like that, in fact she never may be, and if I told her everything she would probably swear off our friendship forever. I can’t have that, she’s the one who keeps me grounded. Everyone needs a normal friend to keep them from going too far to the edge.

She is still a little upset with me for bringing her to a place like that, but by the time we get back to her house she is so relieved that I am ok and kind of giddy that she witnessed something she never could have imagined that she doesn’t give me too much of a hard time. We fall asleep in her bed spooning, in a purely platonic fashion, enjoying each other’s warmth and friendship.

There are several frantic messages on my machine when I get home the next morning from Jade, one of the girls who works at Q. She says something happened but neglects to go into specifics so I call her back asap. She answers on the first ring and asks if we can meet somewhere safe, which makes me think she believes someone might be listening. Or watching. I tell her to meet at Yao’s, it is a fairly crowded place and anyone of authority would be instantly recognizable in the slums. Even in disguise, official types carry themselves differently than normal people, and if you know what to look for you can spot one from a mile away.

Jade is visibly shaken and I hand her some hot tea and try to calm her down. She says the military raided Q last night after I left. They roughed up Chirag and dragged him away without reading him any official charges. She tells me that they carted off a good deal of regulars too, for indecent acts and prostitution. She is scared to death for Chirag and what they will do to him. I try to assure her that everything will be ok and that Chirag will be just fine, but I don’t really believe it myself. Xu and his cronies let the club operate under their noses all this time and they only now take it down? I refuse to believe that they didn’t know what was going on in there before. For them to bust in there like that all of a sudden, something bigger must be going down. But I know Chirag, I know all of his dealings, at least I think I do. What I do know, at least, is that he doesn’t dip his toe into anything that would bring down this kind of heat.

I ask Jade if she can think of anything unusual that has gone on in the club lately and she shakes her head with a sniffle. She thinks for a second, though, and says there was a new woman in the club a couple of nights ago. She was American, uptight looking, but Jade thinks she saw her head into the back with a handsome Turk before she lost track of her. She asks if that might have anything to do with all of this and I chew my lip in thought. It has to be that chick Molly, but what in the world was she doing there? Then I remember that Freddy was quite the regular and it makes sense. She must have been asking around about him. Shit, I hope nothing happened to her there, that is some heat that nobody needs. If someone got a little too rough and she ended up dead, Chirag could be executed just because he owns the place. Americans, they fuck everything up. I can’t let Chirag go down like this, he has saved my ass far too many times. I have to find the guy, Joseph, and find out what the hell is going on.

The hotel manager shrugs and says he is unable to help me any further. I knew this guy hated me, ever since I started flirting with Akil. All he could tell me was that Joseph left indefinitely, and I have nothing else to go on. Things are getting way too weird. I shouldn’t get involved, hell, I shouldn’t even stay in the country, but I can’t leave Chirag high and dry. Plus, it would be a shame if the traders got their mitts on that Molly chick. God, imagine if the FBI started snooping around here trying to find her. I’d have to hide out in the mountains for months. I guess I’ll have to find Joseph the hard way, by asking anyone and everyone if they have seen him around.

A few hours later, the only thing I’ve learned is that a friend of a friend of a friend saw an American man being treated for a head wound at the hospital recently. That makes some sense, if there is anyone capable of driving someone to try to bash in their skull, it’s Joseph. Otherwise, no one knows a thing about our missing friends. Anyone who might be able to give me more about Molly’s activities at the club is either in jail or in hiding. Discouraged, I walk my scooter toward home to save some gas.

I stop cold in my tracks when I get near my building because there is an army jeep parked out front. Not that I’m paranoid or anything, but I’m pretty sure they are there to visit me. Cursing, I hop on my scooter and try to start her up, but the old bitch is being stubborn and refuses to turn over. I hear someone shouting and footsteps coming fast behind me and I drop the scooter and take off as fast as I can. I duck and weave through alleys and over fences, not even bothering to see if anyone is giving chase. Shit, it’s been a long time since I had to outrun the authorities and I have let myself get shamefully out of shape. The cigarettes aren’t helping either, I’m wheezing like a fat man on a stairmaster in a matter of minutes. I make a promise to God, Allah, Buddha, whoever, that if I get away this time I swear I will begin to treat my body like a temple. When I finally dare to risk a look behind me, I don’t see anyone in pursuit. I slow to a trot before fully stopping and leaning against a wall gasping for air. God damn, it’s a good thing I know all of the short cuts around here.

I can’t go to Pratima’s, in case anyone is still following me, and I can’t go home for obvious reasons. In a moment of either genius or insanity, I decide to check into the Palace. Maybe Joseph or Molly will show up again. The manager hands me my room key with a disgusted glare, and I stick my tongue out at him before heading to the bar. Still no Akil, I’m starting to wonder if I may have gotten him fired. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. I really just should go be a hermit up in the mountains, what with all of the trouble I manage to cause.
A glass of wine has made me feel somewhat better, so I decide to hole-up in my room for a bit. Maybe things will cool down later and I can find out if it is safe to go back home. My run from Johnny Law has made me surprisingly tired, and suddenly a nap sounds just delightful. It’s a smart move, I rationalize to myself, a quick name and I’ll be revitalized, energy restored and ready to handle whatever comes next. I’m so gullible sometimes, I can talk myself into darn near anything.