1 Shirley vs Alex

Shirley crushed the cigarette butt under her heel and pouted to herself. The wolves had sent a new girl to her warehouse. She hoped that the girl would fit Miss Lin's taste. Lin had been breathing down her neck for quite some time demanding new recruits. Running a hand through her curly black hair and plastering a friendly look on her face, Shirley entered the holding cell. It smelled of stale air and stale water.

The girl was lying naked on the rags, She was curled up in a fetal position, facing the wall.Her long blonde hair covered the most of her body.

"What's your name?" Shirley asked her.

The girl turned her head slightly in her direction and blinked.

"Rule number one: never look them in the eyes," Shirley reminded herself. She arched her eyebrow, asking again, "Your name?"

"Alex," came a whisper.

"Okay, Alex, I'll be honest with you," she said, sitting next to the girl. The girl contracted in herself at her touch. "Your old life is over. You are now the property of the wolves. You have to work for them."

"Are you a wolf?" Alex sat up.Shirley noticed. slight bruises on her thin body depicting that she was manhandled.

Shirley tucked a strand of Alex's hair behind her ear and replied, "No, I work for them. Like you do now."

"I just want to go home," she cried. "My parents, they would pay-"

Shirley shushed her and put her finger on Alex's cold dry lips. "Nobody goes home, ever," she warned.

Tears soaked the girl's pale cheeks. Shirley hugged her, patting her back. "It'll be all right. Just do what they ask you to do."

Alex nodded, hugging her bulky frame tightly and sobbing into her shirt.

"Good girl. Let it all out," Shirley said, rubbing the girl's back. "Now, let's get you dressed and fed."

Shirley left the cell but came back soon with some food and clothes for Alex. She wore the clothes without a word and ate silently.

"Now you are ready to work," Shirley said after Alex had devoured all the food.

"What work will I do?" she asked.

"Very easy work." Shirley smiled. "I like you. So I'm sending you to Miss Lin. All you have to do there is count her money."

The only people Linda (or Miss Lin, as she liked to be called) trusted with her money were those who had no use for it. For slaves like Alex, money was nothing but paper. Miss Lin preferred little fragile girls because they were easier to dominate. Shirley had no problem as she paid good money for the girls. And the wolves always gave Shirley a nice cut.

"You are lucky," Shirley continued, "most girls get sold as sex workers or sex slaves."

The horror was evident in her face as she gulped to digest the information. "I...I could be...?" She couldn't complete the sentence.

"No baby, we won't let that happen. You just need to keep your head down and be a good worker." Shirley didn't need to speak the "or else". Alex had heard it loud and clear.

"You will sleep here for tonight," Shirley told her. "Miss Lin will come and get you tomorrow."

She stepped out of the cell and locked it again. "Joseph, she'll be here only one more night," she informed the burly guard outside. He answered with a grunt and handed Shirley her pistol. Shirley never took her weapon with her in the cells. She pretended it was because she wanted to look friendly. In truth, she wanted to avoid a situation where the captive turns the tables on her. In her thirty years of working with the wolves, it had happened only once, and she was determined not to let it happen again.

Joseph wasn't the only guard on the floor. There were many more cells to guard. Most of the cells were used for torture. Some were used to starve the more difficult slaves, while some cells were used to treat the enemies. A couple of cells held fresh meat like Alex.

Shirley took out her mobile from the back pocket of her jeans and called Miss Lin. "Linda," she said.

"Tell me you have someone for me," a tired and irritated voice spoke from the other end.

"I have one. Sixteen-year-old, delicate girl. You can have her tomorrow."

"I'll send Brian to pick her up right now."

"I don't care as long as you have my money," Shirley said.

"You'll get your money." The call was cut.

"Easy money." Shirley chuckled. "Change of plans. Miss Lin is sending someone right away," she informed Joseph. He replied with another grunt.

Despite what she had told Alex, Shirley was very much part of the syndicate that called themselves the wolves. They had their hands deep in every illegal activity, be it drugs or arms or human trafficking. Shirley's job was to oversee the transition of captives into recruits.

Brian came as promised. Shirley could not wait to get her money and leave the place. "Where's the girl?" he asked. He was a mean-looking man, even by Shirley's standards. He always kept one hand on his gun and the other on his money.

"In her cell," Shirley replied and led him there. She stretched her hand towards the money, but he stopped her. "Not so fast," he said in a heavy voice. "I'll inspect the goods first."

Alex looked at both of them with a frightened face but did not speak.

"I'll take her." Brian threw the bag of money towards Shirley and moved closer to Alex. She stepped back in fear.

He easily grabbed her with his arm and said, "You are our property now."

Alex saw Brian and her breathing accelerated. She looked helplessly at Shirley, and for the first time, she registered those blue eyes. The eyes that begged Shirley to take pity on their owner looked as if they were asking her how she could just leave an innocent girl with a man like Brian.

But she did let him. Her dark skin was as thick as they came. Shirley took her bag, and Brian left with his goods. Shirley needed to deposit the money in the wolves' den. Only then they would give her her cut. Unfortunately, she could not get out soon enough.

Shirley was counting the money when she heard some commotion going on at the perimeter. Then she heard heavy gunfire, and thuds made by bodies falling to the ground. She also heard screams, both of anger, and of pain. Strangely, the first thought that entered her mind was to flee with the money. Then she decided that she would just keep her share. She saw everyone taking out their guns and running. It was anyone's guess who was fleeing and who was fighting.

Shirley opened the bag and tossed her mobile and gun inside it. Then she took out some cash and stuffed it in her underwear, being thankful that Miss Lin had paid with $100 bills. Once she was done, she threw the bag down and ran towards the cell that Alex had been inhabiting just an hour ago. Joseph was nowhere to be seen. After locking herself in, she tore her clothes and tosseled her hair. Once being satisfied with her disguise, she sat down on the cold floor looking miserable.

As she was waiting for the cops to 'rescue' her, she couldn't help but wonder how it had come to this. The boss had assured her that both the FBI and CIA had been infiltrated by the wolves. Two uniforms finally found her. They wore black bulletproof jackets and black helmets, but she couldn't understand which agency they were working with. Even their gloves were black.

"Are you the cops?" she asked as one of them helped her up.

"Sure." He shrugged. "What's your name?"

She couldn't risk giving them her real name. So she gave him the first name that popped into her head. "Alex."

"Strange," he murmured. "Have you seen another girl," he asked her, "tall, slim, long blonde hair."

So they were looking for that girl, Shirley thought. "Yes," she replied. "She was taken to another place recently."

Before the man could respond, he was called out over radio. "Stay here, I'll be back."

Shirley peeked out after him. Two uniformed men were holding the bag containing her gun and mobile.

"Is this the phone, Ron?" The man Shirley had met earlier asked.

"Yup," Ron said. "See this text." He handed over the phone.

"DEATH? That's what she texted you?"

"I didn't text nobody," Shirley thought. "What the hell is happening?"

"Well, DEATH is her call sign," Ron said.

"I asked the girl I found in that cell," he gestured towards the cell, "about Detective Hudson. She says the detective was moved recently."

That's when Shirley realized that the girl, Alex, had pickpocketed her cell phone when she had hugged her and had placed it back too. She cursed herself for using the body sensor unlocking system on her mobile. "At least she is trapped with Linda," Shirley thought. She decided to be content with the little revenge.

"That's wierd," Ron said. "I'll ask her myself."

Shirley quickly went back inside. She decided to stick with the story of not knowing where the girl went. The three men entered the cell, and Ron said, "Boys, meet Shirley Larson, long time criminal and known associate of the wolves. Handcuff her and torture her till she tells us everything."