FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
Stella was absent-minded in the ride back home from the club. Karla was less than three sheets to the wind, so she was just talking random. Her fading voice gave Stella a sense of how long this mission had left on it, and she rued every second of it. She’d known it wouldn’t be easy, but there was no way to expect the complicated feelings she was experiencing now. She didn’t even know she had it in her to experience these kinds of feelings for a girl. It all sucked, but it was a dog-eat-dog world and she had to do what she had to do.
Once she was sure that Karla had finally succumbed to sleep, Stella tapped the driver. “Marvel Mansion, please. Drive as fast as you can.”
*****
PRESENT DAY
Stella led Karla by the hand as they went on a morning walk. This safe house was more like a safe island; they only called it ‘house’ for code reasons. It was a vast expanse of land the size of a small village on the coast of an island no one could find on a map. It had a main house, a beach house, a plane hangar, and a warehouse, and could have a lot more on it if Karla wanted. The only reason she’d decided against that was to avoid drawing aerial attention. Stella thought she was paranoid, but she accepted it.
“Any news on Malcolm? Did they ever find him?”
“Nah. Kpodo’s got all the clues and still has no idea what to do with them. He’s still looking for those two sex bots for questioning.”
Stella got irritated at that revelation. “What? Is he high? He has the actual guy who did the dirt, what the hell does he need them for?”
Karla shook her head. “You know how police thinking can be sometimes. He’s trying to go by the book and it’s going nowhere. Yet they wonder why I never liked books.”
They kept walking in silence for a few minutes, each one lost in their own thoughts. After what seemed like a while, Karla broke the quiet.
“I still can’t believe Goosman. I knew you told me you’d made a secret plan with him about the body, just in case. Shouts to you for thinking that far ahead, cos this would have been a proper mess.”
“Ain’t that the truth. As of now, we still have the police where we want them with the false body. But that boy fucked up so badly and now the whole thing could come crashing down. It won’t be on our heads, but goddamn, what a mess.”
Karla stopped walking, and Stella turned to her. “What is it, babe?”
Karla looked at her, but Stella still didn’t understand.
“Do we want to take the sex bots up on their offer?”
Stella turned and kept walking, irritated at the question. Karla chased after her. “Babe, wait. Wait.”
Stella turned back around. “Are you kidding me? Have you never heard the saying, ‘A drowning man will clutch at a straw?’ Why would you even suggest that?”
“Babe, I understand what you’re saying, but it’s been eight weeks. Eight weeks without any leads.”
“He could really be dead for all we know.”
“Yes, but we don’t. And the risk of acting like he’s dead if he really is alive is one too rich for my blood. Let’s at least find out what they know-”
“They don’t know shit. They just wanted to stay alive-”
“Which they did. I know you’ve turned them into your torture bunnies.”
That surprised Stella, who was scrambling to find a defence when Karla put a hand on her chest.
“It’s okay, I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I may hate violence, but at least I understand why you did it. Now we need to enlist them, get them on our side, see if they can help. If they come through, you can decide what to do with them. I’d say let them go free, but that’s just me.”
Stella thought it through. She didn’t trust Caris or Carol, but letting them do the hunting would make life significantly easier for her and Karla. They needed time to catch up, and this would definitely help. Also, those two heathens could take the fall if something went wrong. She and Karla would be completely shielded from any heat, she’d make sure.
“They die after. Once they’re done, no matter what the result is, they die.”
“You sure you don’t just want to let them go? It’s not like they got me back on drugs, that was me. And I’m not in it anymore.”
Stella shook her head. “Look at you taking accountability. Rehab really fucked you up.”
Karla moved her hand down to Stella’s waist. “That’s not what you said last night.”
****
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
Stella sat behind her desk as Karla was dragged in by the guards and dropped into the chair. They hooked her restraints to the pillar behind the chair and stood back.
“It’s good to see you again, Karla.”
Karla spat at her, which triggered a slap from the guards. Karla’s head dropped as she screamed from the pain. Stella motioned to them to leave.
“Karla, I know you’re mad, but your brother’s made it clear that you will lose everything if you don’t work with me.”
Karla kept her head down and refused to look at Stella.
“Karla, I’ve apologized several times for everything. At some point, you’re going to have to forgive me.”
Karla still said nothing. Stella got up and walked towards her. “You don’t have the full information, so you feel betrayed. But I need you to know that I truly am sorry for everything, and the only reason I’m here is because I volunteered to be. I wanted to be the one to help you through this. But I need you to find a way to work with me.”
Karla lunged as far as the restraints would let her, which was just far enough to have Stella writhing in pain. She’d managed to hit Stella hard enough in the stomach, and Stella’s scream had the guards barging in.
They unhooked Karla and as the dragged her away, she yelled at Stella, “Volunteer your lying, betraying ass out of here, you bitch! Fuck you and your help!”
*****
PRESENT DAY
Carol woke up wearing a silk robe in a bed with cotton sheets. She looked around and found no signs of danger. She checked herself in fear that she’d been touched, but nothing. Everything was way too normal. The last thing she remembered was a bag over her head and now she comes to, and she’s in a soft bed in a room that looks like some mansion in heaven.
Once she actually got up, she finally felt the sweat she was drenched in. Clearly whoever dressed her did not think about the heat, but she was glad to still be alive.
She got out of the bed and wandered around the room for a bit, then she went into the bathroom. She noticed two stacked black boxes on the sink and a note stuck to the mirror right above it that said, ‘Follow the signs. Open me.’
She opened the first one and found shower products. The second one had a note on it that said, “Wear me.”
She opened that and found a red, floral lace backless teddy bodysuit with a separate red, lace choker. She was confused and mildly scared that she was about to become a victim of something she’d ran from a decade ago, but she put it back down. She snooped around in the medicine cabinet and found different kinds of facial cream and body cream.
Once she’d showered and put on her cream, she slid into the bodysuit and put the choker on. She checked herself to be sure she’d worn it right, and then she saw another note on the pull-out drawer beneath the sink that said, ‘USE ME.’
She pulled it open and there was an array of hair and makeup products neatly laid out and organized. The drawer was surprisingly deep, and there were different kinds and brands of beauty products. There was another sign in there that directed her to the drawer below that one, and in there was an assortment of women’s fragrances. She realized the assignment and got on with it.
About forty minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom and found a pair of red tie-leg stilettos in front of the bed with a sign on them, ‘Don’t forget me.’
“What the hell game is this?” She put the heels on and was a little impressed that they were the correct fit. As soon as she was done, part of the wall across the bed started to slide away, revealing a hidden passage.
“Of course there’s a secret walkway.”
Carol was starting to panic, but she did her best to keep her cool and walked into the passage.
Well, whoever is behind Carol’s release certainly had her comfort in mind. And who else is intrigued by the flashbacks to how Stella and Karla’s paths crossed?
