“No! Please! He doesn’t have to die,” Icried. “I mean, can’t you use him to get information on the FBI orsomething?”
“You watch too much TV. This boy couldn’thelp me. It’s time for him to be punished.” He turned to me, fakinga sad, forlorn look. “Normally, unless we think we can getinformation out of someone, we shoot them on sight, but afterJericho informed me of your little snoop fest tonight, I thought itmight be good to make sure you and I were on the same page.” Iguess he thought that since he hadn’t been able to find anything ofhis on me, that I hadn’t seen anything I shouldn’t have, that Ijust needed a scare. Nikolai moved toward Hank and pulled out agun, pressing it to his temple.
I screamed out, my whole body shaking interror as I threw my hands out in front of me and attempted to runto him. “Please. Please don’t kill him!” Tears streamed down myface. “Give him another chance.”
Alexander threw up a hand. Nikolai took astep back.
“Maybe there is something we can do for thisgood, I mean great young man.”
I turned to him. I clung to a desperatescrap of hope.
“I do have a special place I send some ofthose I find dealing in treachery. It’s not a nice place, but hewould at least be alive.”
I nodded, not sure why.
“You see these others?” He swept his handout to the room and, for the first time, I noticed four otherpeople in cells around the room. “They’re all going to this niceplace.” There were three boys and one girl. “Those two large boyswill be going to the mines to help out and the others will be soldto the highest bidder. I save the best for auction. All havebetrayed me in one way or the other.”
“Sold?”
“There is always a need for personal orprofessional slaves to satisfy those pesky physical needs we allhave.”
I stared at Hank and then the others. Deathor a life of slavery? Both terrible. Both unacceptable. But if Icould convince Alexander to keep him alive, we could save Hankbefore he was sold.
“Should I spare him?”
“Please,” I whispered.
“Interesting,” he said, stroking his chin.“I’m sorry to say that I disagree.” He nodded. Nikolai lifted thegun and shot Hank in the head.
I stiffened, and my ears seemed full ofcotton.
Alexander clamped his meaty hand on myshoulders, preventing my advance and whispered in my ear, “No,”Alexander continued. “He would not have fetched a nice price atauction. I know when you think it over you will understand. Wecannot tolerate rats. They spread disease and discontent.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Hank’s slumpedbody, blood dripping from the kill shot. My breaths came in rapid,erratic pulls and pushes. The guy who shot Hank took me by the armand led me out, following Alexander.
Tears coursed down my cheeks. It wasn’t thatI’d never seen someone killed. I had, many times. It was the sheerbrutality, complete disregard for human life. He was only a boy,and on top of it all, he was my friend. The look on his face ofpanic and pleading was forever imprinted on my mind. Somewhere inmy mind I heard echoes that Hank died because of me. I knew thatwasn’t true. Alexander had told me as much. He would have died hadI been there to witness it or not. But I couldn’t shake the thoughtthat I caused it. I sucked in for air but seemed unable to get anyand clutched my neck as I tried to croak out, “I’m so sorry, Hank.I’m so sorry!” It came out as a broken, raspy whisper, and Icouldn’t avert my eyes from his still body.
Alexander spoke to Nikolai while looking atme. “Get her cleaned up. I want her back in the living room withinfive minutes. The transport for those going to auction will be herein ten.”
Nikolai punched some buttons on the keypad,and a second door opened and the one leading to Hank’s dead bodyslid shut. He shoved me toward the open door. “Get cleaned up. Youhave three minutes.”
I was in a small washroom with a shower,toilet, and sink, with a shelf full of towels and washrags. Emptyof adornment, it was cold and completely still. I grabbed hold ofthe sink and bent my head forward, renewed tears springing from myeyes.
“Two minutes.”
I had to pull it together. I was a spy. I’dseen much worse than this. But I couldn’t. Not yet. I screamed outand hit my hand on the mirror, sending shards crashing to theground. I shook my head. “No! No! No!” I grabbed at my hair. Thedoor slid open, and the guard pulled me out, pushing me into acorner of the room.
“What did you do? You’re going to get meinto a lot of trouble.” He rounded on me as I crouched in thecorner and hit me hard on the head, throwing me into the wallbeside me. I gasped in pain. When I had the sense to look up again,he was dumping the shards of glass into a waste container. Hepulled out a radio and said, “Let Viktor know I need a few moreminutes.”
He hauled me off the floor and pushed meinto the bathroom. “If you don’t get cleaned up in the next threeminutes, I’m going to go back into that room and shoot the firstperson I see.” He pointed to the room with the prisoners.
“No!” I screamed back at him.
“You have three minutes.” He pulled out hisradio again, turned around and spoke into it.
I had to pull it together or more peoplewould be killed because of me. My eyes were puffy and red, teartracks staining my cheeks. My nose was running profusely. I grabbedsome tissues and blew my nose, then used a wet rag to scrub myface. There was no way in less than two minutes to hide the factthat I’d been crying. I think that was exactly what Alexanderwanted. I felt my head where it had hit the
