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“No…” He paused in a perfect state of indecision.
“I think I would feel better knowing a sniper has their sights on me…no, I didn’t mean it like that, I mean on my side.” I stammered, wanting this ordeal to be over. By this point, this ordeal dashed all hopes of getting paid, and the only thing left was to free Jaxon and Jo and get out with our lives. But still, judging by my dad’s reaction, could that ball be worth more than any of us could have dreamed? I thought of my father’s illness and how desperately I needed the money. I suddenly felt anger towards Jaxon for running the deal. I didn’t think he deserved death or serious injury, but I really needed those credits for my father. I was giving up the only thing that could get me the money in time for his treatments.
Suddenly the sounds of the rain and the opening of the car door jolted me out of my head.
“…are you sure?” Davi looked at the empty seat next to him, Melanie was out of the car and heading to the trunk. Davi popped the lid as if he suspected her answer, and she took out a long, heavy case.
“I guess I got my answer.” He shrugged.
I took a deep breath.
Davi looked to me as I sat on the back of the mildew smelling seats, my stomach flipping and my teeth chattering from the jitters. “The plan is for you to get backstage and find Jaxon and Jo. You’ll be alone and maybe even see some horrible shit. But just remain focused on the people you came here for.”
“Why go through all of this?” I shrugged. “You saw the vid; they just want an exchange for him.”
“This isn’t just about Jaxon. My brother is in trouble too. The goal is to free them both, but they only offered Jaxon, so we have to take my brother back ourselves.” He sighed and continued. “If you find Jo, then free him and I’ll exchange this thing for Jaxon.”
“What the hell is stopping them from just taking it from you?”
“Easy, I won’t actually have it. I’ll hide it by the docks over there after I get you inside.” He pointed at the rickety wooden pier above the crashing waves. “If things go south, I trust Jaxon to know how to get you guys out. And Melanie is a crack shot.”
“Okay.” I huffed and got out into the icy rain. The skies were a dark gray blanketing the city in dark gloom.
Davi grabbed me by the arm, crudely pulling me to him. “Your role is some soft little thing I’m selling, so if I slap you around, don’t take it personally.” Davi opened the black umbrella to shield us from the rain. He wore a black suit that wasn’t as clean or together as he would have liked. The dress shirt had a hole in the back with droplets of blood on the fabric, most likely from the victim he stole it from.
I looked for Melanie but couldn’t find her. I doubted the woman cared about my life, but she seemed to care about Jaxon, Davi, and Jo. Knowing that was the only solace I felt as I approached the massive structure. My clothes weren’t anything fancy, just a simple light gray T-shirt and black jeans, my attempt at dressing fancy. I could do nothing about my unruly strands, so I pinned them back with some clips to get them out of my eyes.
The tall, black-clad bald men approached, ordering Davi to raise his arms while I avoided their gaze as much as possible.
“Your business here?” The man asked.
“Got a sweet young thang for sale. What else it look like?” Davi slipped into the accent typical of the ethnic hodgepodge ofthe city, which was a mixture of Euro English, Deep American South, and islanders like Jamaica. Everyone here spoke this way, and I realized that the only reason they were speaking …normal…to me is because they saw me as an outsider. They were right; I could barely understand them, even if they were speaking English. But I suppose it solidified it even more that I didn’t belong here.
One man patted me down—his hand lingering on my backside. I moved away and sneered, which only made him cackle. “Yeah, he a good catch, yeah?”
“Go in.” The other leered at me, making me feel even more nervous and uncomfortable.
The lights were dim, but the massive industrial complex was full of people. This was a black-market slave auction, but not just for the rich. Factory managers prowled these markets looking for “indentured” workers, strong men and women who would spend most of their lives paying back their debts.
Others were tech junkies looking for some poor unfortunate tripper who couldn’t pay off their debt and was caught by the collectors. Trippers were people with illegal tech implants who became addicted to the drugs needed to keep their bodies from rejecting the implants. They usually couldn’t keep up the payments on the implants. Debt collectors hunted them down to bring them back to the black market to auction off the implants and remove them for another to take. A dark place like this was where they found themselves. On stage and auctioned off like a machine with spare parts. Jaxon warned me about places like this; who knew I would visit something like this so soon?
A big man tossed a young redheaded woman onstage. She pleaded for mercy and more time.
The auctioneer inspected her, turning her head about. “She’s got a renal implant along with some cosmetic changers.” Hesaid to the eager crowd. Once the bidding began, the tech-heavy salvagers raised their hands in fierce competition.
“Oh God, just get me out of here safely,” I muttered, wanting to run out of the room.
“I’m gonna sell you to those guys there, and they’ll take you to the back,” Davi whispered in my ear as he walked me over to the large man dressed in a vintage pinstriped suit.
The exchange was a simple one that seemed to go faster than I thought. They exchanged the credits, and my hair rose straight away. Was I just duped? I became stricken with paranoia. He mentioned nothing of me being sold to the auction, even though it made sense…I guess.
A tall woman with long dreads swooped up and tied with a colorful scarf, stepped forward and slapped a pair of silver cuffs around my wrists connected by a lengthy chain. She dragged me away from the auction hall to the back rooms, which were located down a narrow red hall. The sound of the gavel echoed in the distance, along with the murmuring hush voices. This didn’t seem at all like the ragged place I had seen in the video. As a matter of fact, I saw no one that resembled the rough men with painted faces.
Oh, God. Is Jaxon really here? My eyes darted about; I wanted out the moment I was in. Was this worth it?
Several filled cages lined the darkened hall near the stage, pitiful men and women who cowered at the suited men who passed by. I couldn’t get a good look as the woman pulled me down the opposite hall and threw me into an empty, distressed communal shower room.
“Hurry up and get’em off, yeah.” The tall woman ordered, but I had no idea what she was talking about, or more accurately put, I was willfully obtuse. I didn’t want to face the reality that she was ordering me to get naked in front of her. The woman scoffedand pulled out a knife and cut the fabric, and tore the shirt and pants off my body, exposing me to the cold air in the room.
