NALEDI’S POV
We arrived at the location two hours before midnight.
Which gave us an edge, and an opportunity to make a thorough overview of the area before making our move. We parked the car afar off and moved closer to the area on foot. Only stopping when we saw some men patrolling around the entrance.
“What’s the plan?” Korah asked, brimming with energy.
“We take them and steal their identities.” Marcus said, “Since there are only two of them, one of us will have to wait behind.”
“Not me,” Korah spoke first, and we gave her the look. She shook her head, “You expect me to come all the way over here only to sit out when the actual fun begins?”
“This is serious business, Korah. There’s hardly any fun in putting your life at risk.” Marcel intervened, “Besides, we can’t all waltz in there, we’ll need someone outside, just in case anything goes wrong.”
“Nothing will go wrong.” I quickly refuted his words, “But we need someone out to watch for us.”
Korah didn’t look the least pleased but she agreed, stepping back and letting us take charge. With a nod from Marcel, I proceeded forward, pointing to the one I was going to kill.
Marcus had his eyes on the second guard and when the time seemed right, we struck. I placed a silencer on my gun, knowing it was my strongest suit and shot directly for the heart.
The other guy suddenly started gasping for air, something I knew was a direct effect of Marcus’s witchy abilities. Soon enough, the other guy was lying dead on the floor. A smooth job if you asked me.
We rounded our victims and Marcus performed a quick spell. I felt a prick and suddenly, I looked like the man I’d gunned down, and Marcus looked like the other.
“We need to hide them, so they don’t suspect a thing before the changes,” Marcus said and I was confused.
“Changes?” I voiced my confusion.
“The guards change positions at midnight, the shift changes.”
“You mean there will be new people who will take over guarding the entrance?”
Marcus nodded, “We have to hide the bodies in order to pose as them when the change happens, that will make our entry smooth and without suspicion.”
“You are a genius.” I said, and meant every word.
“Let’s get to work.”
We dragged the dead bodies towards the bushes and whistled for Korah who came out, taking her sweet time.
“Is that you, my lady?” She asked from a distance, weary of us.
Marcus spoke, “Do something with these. The last thing we need is getting caught before the operation is over.”
She looked at our hands and suddenly it seemed like everything made sense again. She took the bodies from our hands, muttering something about how she was going to burn them to a crisp and we returned to our positions.
At midnight, just as Marcus predicted, two other men came and took our place. We entered the camp, walking like we belonged there and kept our eyes open for any attack.
“Hey! You both!” A voice called and I was sure they were referring to us.
We froze and slowly turned around.
“Where do you think you are going? You are supposed to check on the women, the boss has said he wants eyes to be on them at every second of the day.” I nodded, while Marcus kept a stoic look. “You both will have to take another shift, and watch over the darned women until dusk.”
We stood rooted in our spot, and the man looked irritated. “Don’t just stand there like dumbheads, move along, get going!” He roared, and somewhere in between gestured us to the path we were supposed to go.
We walked towards that direction, hoping that we were not giving ourselves out. Thankfully, we got to the place and sure enough, some men were standing outside the gates of what I perceived to be a prison.
As soon as they saw us, they got on the move without a word, leaving us to the job. Like the willful soldiers, we stood for a while, and only when everything seemed back to order did we make a move.
“I’ll go check the place.” I muttered, “Keep watch.”
I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say and immediately walked into the place. My heart broke at the sight before me. Women, lots of women and children bound like slaves and sleeping in the open air.
Most of them looked like they had not eaten for days, malnourished and bony. My hands trembled in anger as I took in every one of their damaged faces. They didn’t deserve this. No one did.
Why did they have to put people through things like this? Why prey on helpless and defenceless people? I moved around the prison of beaten-up people who were sleeping in the cold, lost and defeated in life.
People who had lost hope of freedom – just like I did when I was trafficked by the Yakuza pack. I needed to set them free. There was no way I was leaving them here. There and then, my plan changed for the night. I will definitely set them free, even if it cost me my life.
But first, I needed to find Flora.
I whipped out the picture and took a long look at it, before proceeding with my search. Looking at every woman’s face and hoping it’d turn out to be her, or her mother.
By the time I went around the place, it was clear that they were not here. Flora and her mother were nowhere to be found. At least not in this camp.
“Hey!” Another voice barked from the darkness of the night. Awakening the people around me who suddenly shook in fear as they sighted me. They were terrified. Just what did they subject them to?
“Who are you? Reveal yourself!” The voice said again, this time, getting closer.
I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to do. I turned around, knowing my glamour was in place, but didn’t utter a word. The man looked buff, devilish even. I could tell he had a rank around here. He reeked of authority and command.
“Why are you not at the gate?” He asked when I didn’t speak. “Are you looking for a woman to ease your cock this night?”
It took a while before I realized that was a joke. I felt like killing the motherfucker.
“Well, I do, and since I called first, I’ll need you to watch over those ones for a second.” I didn’t speak, but apparently that was answer enough for him because he grabbed one woman who was asleep on the hair with a cruel smile.
“You’ll do.” He said, unbuckling his belt while the woman cried.
I didn’t need a soothsayer to know what was about to happen. I’d seen it take place a couple of times. Yet it still managed to sting more when I witnessed it take place again.
I moved to the side where the bastard came from and sure enough, I saw a cage with two people. A closer look told me that they were women, and by the time I was standing right over them, I made out the face of the woman I knew too well.
A bloodied and beaten-up Flora lay in the arms of her sleeping mother.