The Woman They Kept (15 page)

A rush of euphoria gripped
Gideon; the weight of the miles they had traveled, the horrible
things he had seen, the pain he had endured, it all evaporated in
this single, angelic moment of relief. He finally was getting close
to Rolanda. His breath quickened and his heart raced. “Akem,
I mean it. If you can help me get Rolanda back, I don't care what
it takes, I'll owe you whatever you want. Don't forget that.”

Akem laughed, a low and soft
sound, like silk across stone. “Oh, don't worry. What's that
old saying? 'The devil is nothing if not a good bookkeeper.'
Follow me.”

He pushed open the wrought iron
gate and pulled them up the front steps, his feet moving nimbly
across the rocky path. At the front door he didn't knock, he just
pulled the heavy oak doors open and stood aside for the two of them
to enter.

The house was comfortably
furnished with overstuffed couches and chairs, dirty dishes left on
tables and half drunk glasses of wine scattered about on coasters,
but no one was there. They passed through a hallway with painted
portraits on one side and a dining room with places set but no food
out, eventually turning a corner and walking up a creaking
staircase. Gideon thought he could hear a low moan behind one of
the doors they passed, but Akem pulled him by the arm forward. At
the end of the second floor hallway they stopped at a door and Akem
stood beside it, folding his hands into his sleeves.

“
I think you'll find what
you're looking for through here.”

Gideon jumped forward but found
himself pulled back and away by Leanin. “This doesn't seem
right,” she hissed into his ear, her eyes wide with concern,
“It's been too easy getting in here, and where is everyone? I
don't know that I trust this friend of yours.”

Gideon pushed her away. “I
trust Akem. He's helped me before, he's the reason we got this far.
Because of him I've never been closer to finishing this.”

He threw open the wooden door.
The room was sparse inside, just an unmade mattress and a few flood
lights in the corners illuminating it, a camera to one side with a
little computer screen that displayed the suggestions the patrons
chose down at the bar. Rolanda lay on the mattress like some tossed
away used tissue, her body pale and naked, her ribs showing through
her skin and running streaks of mascara under her eyes. Little wet
spots dotted the mattress beside her.

“
Rolanda,” Gideon
whispered. For a moment he wondered whether she were dead, her eyes
were very flat and very far away, but then she stirred.

“
Gideon?” she asked,
sitting up. Her hair was sticking together in clumps, but she
sprang up and ran into his arms when she saw him. Her embrace was
skeletal and hard as she gripped at him fiercely before stepping
back and glancing at Akem. “What are you doing with Shelton?”

There was a sound of doors
clicking open and boots rushing into the hall. Soldiers wearing
black masks and carrying long truncheons marched inside, surrounding
them. At the forefront Akem stood smiling. “I did tell you I
was a man known by many names.”

Rolanda moved behind Gideon,
clutching at him, as he stood wide eyed trying to get a handle on
the situation. Leanin was pushed over to them by one of the
soldiers, she stuck her chin out defiantly at them when she regained
her balance. “I told you I didn't trust him.”

“
Gideon, by the look on
your face I have to assume that you are holding a sizable amount of
hatred toward me," Akem said, spreading his arms wide. "I
have to tell you, it's mostly unwarranted. I have helped you along
this little quest of yours the entire way." He took a step
towards them. The soldiers around him followed suit. "Moreover,"
he continued, "I'm willing to give you exactly what you want.
Rolanda can go home with you right now, and all I want from you is a
slight return for all the favors I have given you.”

Gideon was very still, his eyes
level as Rolanda shook behind him. Her fingernails bit into his
arms painfully, but he barely registered the feeling. The soldiers
were still and hard as statues, he knew that he had no chance of
fighting his way out of here, especially without his pistol. “What
is it you want?”

Akem held up a bony finger. “I
have to have an even balance sheet. You can take Rolanda here, who
has made me a bit of money and been a nice incentive for you to
wreak a little havoc on my competitors, as long as you leave the
other one here for me.” Akem stepped toward Leanin and ran a
finger down her face. “I once had a girl come through my
employ that looked remarkably like you. She was a fighter, if I
remember correctly. It took quite a lot to break her.”

Leanin paled and swayed visibly,
her eyes darting to the sides. She swallowed hard and balled her
hands up into fists. Gideon stepped away from her, shielding
Rolanda with his body.

He looked between the two women.
Rolanda was rocking back and forth, very pale, her skin hanging off
her bones. Leanin looked hard, her muscles tensed and the look of a
caged animal in her eyes.

“
I accept,” he said.
The words hung in the stillness of the air as Akem smiled. Leanin
hunched over, her body tense, her breathing going faster and faster.
Gideon took off his jacket and put it around Rolanda. Akem
motioned to his men and they stepped aside as the two of them walked
out.

They left Leanin alone in that
room, black masked soldiers all around her. She was as tight as
steel, but the soldiers didn't move for her yet.

“
How does it feel?”
Akem asked, standing back from her. “It looks like Gideon
didn't really care for you except in how it furthered his own
desires. Your eyes look so sad and so scared, it's quite marvelous.
There's a slight look of confusion in your eye. You didn't expect
him to give you up that easily, did you?” He smiled.
“Wonderful. Just wonderful.”

At a signal from Akem, the
soldiers around Leanin closed swiftly, grabbing her from all sides.
As they held her he stepped close, so close she could smell the
rotten sulfur stench of his breath. He patted her breasts and her
backside as though she were nothing more than a cow he was
purchasing. “It is always the worst for those who have an
inner strength, and I see in you quite a strength. We shall have to
work quite hard to break you. I hope my men are up to the task.”

The soldiers cracked their
knuckles and grabbed at their crotches. Akem walked to one who was
standing near the back. “Cyrus, I trust you'll see that she
breaks, and breaks hard.”

Akem took one last look at her
before he closed the door on the room, leaving them alone.

The man called Cyrus stepped
forward and grabbed her small breast hard. Her own reflection
glinted back at her in the mirrored gaze of the soldier's mask.
Even to herself she looked small, and frightened. There were five
of them and one of her, she didn't exactly like those odds. Nothing
in the room looked like it could be used as a weapon.

Cyrus pulled the zipper on her
shirt down, exposing the pale flesh underneath. He held the
truncheon up to her face. At the end of the long metal rod there
was a half circle of metal with two anodized points. Cyrus clicked
a button and a mean looking electric arc crackled from point to
point. Standing straight, she tried to appear nonthreatening. He
set the truncheon down and placed his hands on her bare skin.

It was all the opening she
needed. She threw herself down toward the hard metal baton and
wrapped her fingers around it, swinging it wide in an arc, catching
one of them in the knee with the little flash of electricity. The
others descended on her quickly, raining down blows with their fists
and feet.

She brought her arms up over her
head, trying to protect her face while holding on to her own
truncheon, pulling her knees up to cover her insides as they
pummeled her mercilessly. If there were only one or two of them she
would have stood a chance, as it were, with five of them barreling
down on her, things looked grim.

The sound of gunshots came from
the hallway, attracting their attention. The soldiers turned toward
the sound and Leanin reacted, swinging the flat side of the
truncheon down onto the neck of the closest one. An electric arc
lit up and all her muscles contracted at once in a blinding,
brilliant pain. Within a moment gunshots rang out again and the
pain ended.

Gideon was alone, standing at
the doorway with both his and Leanin's revolvers in his hands,
slinging hot lead with a snarl on his face. Leanin struck out with
her club and soon the rest of the soldiers fell. Grabbing her hand,
he pulled her onto her feet and they ran from the place as quickly
as they could.

Hidden in an alley a few blocks
away Rolanda sat shivering under a moldy blanket covered in stains.
When they turned the corner and stopped running, Gideon grabbed hold
of Leanin and pulled her into a hug.

“
I came back as soon as
Rolanda was safe.”

Leanin pushed him away from her.
“You traded my life for hers.” She was still holding
the electric truncheon in her fist, the anodized tips quivering.

Gideon spread his arms wide.
“Can't you see that was the only way? I had to get her out
first. She wasn't in any position to fight like you.”

Leanin was breathing heavily,
her lips curled into a snarl. An electric arc jumped between the
points on the truncheon and she stabbed it into Gideon's chest,
pushing it deep into his flesh. His body jumped and danced, his
arms flailing in spasms, and then he fell at her feet. Leanin spit
on his upturned body and turned on her heel, running away into the
night.

Gideon woke to Rolanda sitting
over him, looking down. Her eyes were wide and her hair formed a
curtain around him. His entire body hurt as he sat up.

“
Is Leanin gone?” he
asked.

Rolanda nodded. She still sat
with the moldy blanket curled around her. Looking around, Gideon
could see they were still in the alleyway.

“
How long was I out for?”

“
Awhile. You looked
peaceful sleeping,” Rolanda said in a dreamy, fluid way.

Gideon sprang to his feet,
wincing, and looked each way down the alley. “Damn it
Rolanda, we've got to be going!” His head was pounding and
his chest burned from where Leanin had shocked him. "We've got
to get out of here, fast. Akem may already be looking for us."

“
I need a shower first,”
Rolanda said.

He wrapped the blanket around
her into a makeshift dress and pulled her out of the alley toward
where his motorcycle was stashed. “We need to leave this
place. We'll get you a shower later.”

Rolanda stopped and threw away
his hand. “No, Gideon. I always take a shower after. It has
to be done.” She crossed her arms. They were standing in the
middle of the street, it wasn't like there were a lot of people
around but neither were they alone. Gideon forced himself to stop
and take a deep breath.

“
Rolanda, this is not a
game. This is life or death, we have to get out of here.”

Closing her eyes and turning her
head away, she crossed her arms. “I get to take a shower when
I'm done. Those are the rules.”

His lip curled into a sneer.
Standing like a petulant child, she pointedly ignored him, the rag
of a blanket barely covering her nudity. Forcing himself to take a
deep breath, he stopped. “Okay, fine. We'll find a house
close to the bikes and be quiet about it. You have to go fast
though.”

Rolanda dropped her hands and
smiled, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

They found a house with all of
the lights off near where Gideon's motorcycle was parked. In the
backyard Gideon turned on the hose, holding one end up so that
Rolanda could wash under the cold stream of water. An old shirt and
pair of pants swung forgotten on a laundry line and Rolanda slipped
them on.

“
Can we go now?”
Gideon asked, unable to mask his irritation and impatience.

“
How do I look?”
She said, spreading her arms into a pose. The shirt was a torn
black t-shirt with the name of a local bar on it and the pants had
holes in the knees. Gideon didn't say a word, he just grabbed her
arm and dragged her towards his bike.

Leanin's motorcycle was gone,
her spot empty, the only remnant of her was a little pool of engine
oil that shone in the streetlight. It may have seemed unimportant,
but he had hoped to catch her, to be able to explain. She had to
see reason, she just had to.

“
What are you staring at?”
Rolanda asked.

Gideon said nothing, instead
strapping his own helmet on her head. It was too large, they had to
bunch up her hair inside to make it fit. A scarf wrapped around his
own face was his only protection, it wasn't much but if it started
raining it might mean the difference between life and death for him.
It wasn't like they had time to buy a new helmet.

He checked his map, looking for
anyplace close that they could get a little more situated before
trying to put serious miles between themselves and Akem. A few
hours north there was a small bubble named Elmar, off the track. It
would have to do.