People Trafficker (44 page)

“Why inhuman, Karen, that’s their function in life, to please a man. Besides, you took their payment off my mother, so you have only yourself to blame if I have to now re-sell them to get it back,” Saeed said.

Karen looked at him sat in the wheelchair grinning at her.

“I thought I’d killed you, Saeed? But by turning up here you’ve saved me the trouble of coming to find you and this time you won’t be so lucky, you should have remained in the sewer, like the stinking rats you and your mother are.”

“Just as arrogant and stupid I see?” Saeed began, “I warned you what would happen if you touched my mother. Now Sirec has released you to me, you can expect no favours. But I’d think twice about trying to make a run for it, there’s two guns trained on you from behind, you have nowhere to run this time.”

For Karen to hear those words, confirmed to her she’d lost. This was the end of the line. Secretly she’d always hoped she would get out with the girls. But Karen had had enough of this country, the people and the value they put on life. In her view her life was valuable, very valuable so they would pay dearly, because if she was to die, so would all of them.

“I don’t intend to run,” she replied quietly, at the same time moving her thumb and slipping the pin out of the grenade, and releasing the catch. Now all that remained was for her to open her hand, to allow the trigger to release.

“If that’s the case drop your gun, like Sirec told you to. It’s time we were gone, after I collect my girls of course.”

Karen stood there, the nightmare that began weeks before was finally coming to an end. In minutes she’d be dead and all she could do now was pray her death would be quick.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Saeed, but you don’t seem to understand. I’m not going to run or put my gun down, because I intend to kill you, Sirec and your mother. You see, you can have a hundred gunmen outside, it means nothing, because I am going to make sure that the misery and despair you’ve brought to so many children, which both you and your mother have wallowed in for so long, will finally finish now. I realise I’ll have to die to achieve this; it’s inevitable, but what’s one if it saves hundreds?” Then she just shrugged indifferently. “Anyway I’ve lived on borrowed time for so long, I’m no longer scared, and for me it will be a release.”

“She’s insane, kill her, Sirec,” Saeed urged.

However, Sirec was beginning to become worried. This girl standing in front of them seemed very confident that she could kill them all. But even if she could get her gun to fire before his men took her out, she’d struggle to kill everyone. Unless, that is, she had an alternative to using the gun? Suddenly he went very cold. Of course, Lomax’s house, didn’t she blow them all up?

“Shut up, Saeed,” he demanded, then lowered his voice. “Tell me, Karen; is that a grenade in your left hand?”

Karen just shrugged. “You know, Sirec, you were very stupid to leave the front door open for me. You see it rang alarm bells deep inside. I’m a very untrusting girl at times, especially when a door that should be shut and bolted, is not. So it seemed prudent to set my gun at max, the safety is off and already, like you suspect, I hold a grenade with the pin out. But this is a very special grenade. You being in the arms trade may have heard of them? It’s a zero delay grenade, so when I open my hand that is it. I can assure you no one will have time to leave this room. No one will survive in this room. I suspect you’ve seen, or heard about the devastation in Lomax’s house, of a hall twice the size of this room? So as I’ve just said about the gunmen outside, I’d forget them, they can’t help, because no matter what they could do, I will have time to release my hand.”

The men behind Sirec, Saeed and his mother stared at her open-mouthed. She really did intend to kill everyone in the room and as she said, they could not escape.

Sirec, on the other hand, took a cigarette out of a packet and lit it carefully. “Let’s not be hasty, Karen. It’s clear you’re not such a stupid girl to want to die yourself. So as you have the upper hand, what is it you want?”

She gave a weak smile and sighed, looking down at her gun. “You’re right, I don’t want to die, I’m only just eighteen. All I ever wanted was my life back. That wasn’t too much to ask, after all I’d won and you’d lost. But of course I’ve found to my detriment, while you live and Saeed for that matter, you’ll never let go, still believing you own me. When I told Saeed once no one owns anybody, he just laughed and ridiculed my beliefs. Even now he prefers to say nothing, still believing he will leave this room alive. Well, Saeed, you should listen to your mother, she will believe, because she has read my future. I’ve always walked on this land with the Angel of Death at my side; the only difference now is, he’s not only come for you, your mother and of course Sirec, but me as well.”

Saeed’s mother hated this girl, and like she’d said she’d read Karen’s hand. For her the story any hand told was absolute. Everything she’d predicted had come to pass, except one tiny point. At no time did she see Karen’s death, and to her, a hand reading had never lied. She leaned close to Saeed, her voice very low and in their own language.
“The girl’s bluffing, Saeed, I read her hand. Karen’s death is not there. Take this knowledge - I am not wrong.”

Sirec drew carefully on his cigarette. While she talked he was weighing up the possibility of taking her on. But she was too well armed, too well protected, with her bulletproof jacket reducing the kill area considerably. It was a grave error on their part to underestimate, Karen. She was a girl of principle, absolutely focused in what she must do. But for them no matter what, no one can protect themselves from a suicide bomber, and that’s effectively what she was intending to become.

“You may have your life, and that of the girls, Karen. It’s not necessary for you to die or me for that matter.”

“What are you offering, Sirec? Karen’s mine and the others not yours to give away,” Saeed shouted.

Sirec swung round and glared at him. “Are you out of your mind, she’s holding a bloody grenade if you haven’t noticed? If she drops that, like she said, we’re all dead,” he retorted.

“Yes… yes… I know that, but she’s bluffing,” Saeed replied. “I know Karen; she’s all talk, that’s all. Give her an hour’s start to escape, and she’ll take it. But no longer mind, she’s worth not a minute more, and then we go after her.”

“We have a say as well,” one of the gunmen cut in. “I only get paid to protect, not die for you fuckers.”

“Excuse me, I’m still here you know?” Karen cut in. “But I do have an offer, for Sirec’s gunmen, if you want to live that is?”

“What’s that?” the gunman asked.

“It’s simple really. You call the other two from outside, all of you leave your weapons, the guns with magazines out of course, and you may go.”

“Ignore her, it’s a trick, she’ll shoot us, we’d have no protection. Besides you work for me, I pay you, so I say if you go,” Sirec demanded.

The two looked at each other, nodded, then one turned his gun on Sirec. “Sorry, Boss, with someone stood holding a grenade and you demanding we stay, there’s no contest. No hard feelings, but you and Saeed got yourselves in this mess, you sort it out, I quit. So remove your gun from inside your jacket and throw it on the floor. You do the same as well, Saeed. If either of you try anything, this girl won’t need to kill you, I will.”

Karen stood motionless, her hand still around the grenade. She never expected this turnaround, but could well understand it. After all, who’d want to die for a few dollars pay, unless they are completely stupid? However, both Sirec and Saeed did as the man asked.

The man turned to Karen. “Come further into the room and stand to one side of the door. My mate will call the two outside?”

She remained still for a moment. “You’re sure if I move they won’t shoot? This grenade in my hand has no pin in, and will explode within a second if I let go.”

“They won’t fire, they are under instructions only to fire at you if you try to make a run for it, not come further inside.”

Karen moved in and stepped to one side of the door, now out of the line of fire from anyone watching from outside. The other man placed his gun on the floor and walked towards the open door and shouted in the local language.

After a short time two men appeared at the entrance, they looked inside and pointed their guns directly at Karen. She never moved, resigned now that it will be only minutes before she would be dead. In some ways Karen had become detached to what was happening. All her life had been around the church, even her schooling was directed towards the Catholic faith. Now her only thoughts were what she was going to say in her defence, when stood in front of the Almighty.

She was abruptly brought out of her thoughts when the man, who seemed to be taking charge, shouted at the two who’d come to the door in his own language. They hesitated, and then one saw the grenade in Karen’s hand. Immediately he pulled the clip from his gun and threw both the gun and clip to the floor. The other followed suit, before both of them turned and ran back outside. Once they had gone the two gunmen who were inside the room followed suit. Now there was only Sirec, Saeed and his mother. However, the circumstances were very different. All of them unarmed, Karen holding both her grenade and the AK47, fully primed and ready to fire.

“So where do you go from here, Karen?” Sirec asked.

Where did she go? Karen wasn’t sure except in her eyes there were two alternatives. Kill them or let them go.

“I suppose I may as well just shoot you all and get my way. After all there is no one to stop me now. I live, you lot die. It’s the way of the world,” she replied with some indifference.

When Sirec answered her, he sounded hurt. “I can see that with Saeed, Karen. But I’ve done nothing to you that you should take my life. In fact I’ve kept to my side of the bargain. You can’t blame me for being a little put out - after getting the girls with my help, you decide to renege on our arrangement and go home.”

“But your arrangement with me was not what we talked about, according to Halif. I was just some shit under your foot, to play around with, be handed out as a common whore at your whim.”

He shook his head. “There you go again, Karen, listening to the hired help. Won’t you ever learn to trust someone’s word?”

“I wanted to Sirec, I really did. In fact I was looking forward to a life with you.”

“So what’s changed, Karen?”

She sighed. “I’ve had enough of the whole sordid mess. I just want to go home, that’s all. Forget this life, the broken promises. I really don’t understand what I’ve done to deserve all this. I was brought up to respect my elders, to trust people’s word. It all makes me look a fool, a gullible and naive young girl trying to grow up and just, I suppose, survive?”

“Then you should go home, Karen. Give me the gun and I’ll get rid of Saeed and his mother. All they have done for this country is bring shame on us. You have the girls back, your work is done and this really isn’t your fight any more.”

It was at that moment British soldiers burst through both the front door and from the kitchen. To say Karen was shocked would be an underestimation. In fact so much so she nearly panicked and dropped the grenade. But how did they find her? And more to the point why hadn’t she seen them?

“Captain Masters, Lieutenant. We will take over from here.”

“Captain,” Karen replied. “Please move your men to a safe distance and take the girls home. I won’t be coming. Saeed cannot be allowed to live. I’m not prepared to go through my life with the constant threat that he’d try to take me again.”

Both Sirec and Saeed remained absolutely still; they knew just how dangerous a situation they were all in. This girl was so unpredictable neither of them had a doubt that she would release her hand if she was threatened. It was only the Captain now who might be able to dissuade her.

The Captain moved closer to Karen, his words very low so that only she could hear. “They will not go their own way, Karen,” he whispered. “We’re taking them with us. Saeed and his mother will be tried for people trafficking, rape and abduction besides being implicated in murder, at a closed international court. Sirec will be handed over to another power desperate to get their hands on him. He has very important information about the gunrunning operations from this area, which they need to know about. This knowledge will save many lives believe me. I promise you, none will ever be released. Now please leave it to us. You’ve done your part?”

Sirec was wondering just what this man had said to her because Karen hadn’t moved or even reacted to his words. Everyone held their breath as the seconds ticked by.

“Will you take my gun, Captain? Be careful it’s set to maximum and the safety is off. Then you and your men leave the room and stand well away from the house. I’m holding a very special grenade with the pin out - it has no time delay. I’ll try to make it safe,” she said the tone of her voice showing how nervous she was.