Page 23 of A Light in the Darkness
“I mean, there are sixty men and women waiting in cages for us to come save them. They’re probably being tortured and raped as we speak.”
I’ve decided to stop dancing around the language, too. As horrific as it is to think in terms of such violent things, it’s the truth of what’s happening, and calling it something more flowery is a disservice to those living through it and those who have already lived through it. It’s a disservice to me, to Genevieve.
“You can’t be serious.” He laughs, but I don’t believe the senator finds anything about the situation funny. He looks rattled, and I have no doubts that whatever he thought he was getting me a plane for, it wasn’t this. “This is your idea of a joke?”
“No.” I shake my head. “My ideas of jokes are a bit more… violent.”
His brow furrows deeper as he tries to decode the meaning of that. “Okay.” He nods. “Look, I see you took the whole ‘women sold in cabinets’ online thing seriously. You need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid, kid.”
“I wish I was joking. Unfortunately, this is the reality for thousands of people all over the world... men and women, children. And I have reason to believe that you know someone this may have happened to.”
“Me?” The senator shakes his head. “No.”
He doesn’t say that he was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, that he doesn’t know the sort of people that this sort of horrible stuff happens to, that trafficking is a crime that isn’t sophisticated enough for someone of his caliber to have been involved in. His bias is written all over his face.
“Not all trafficking is the same. And not all victims are used for the same purpose. Some are sold to the highest bidder—Claire was.”
I notice the interest in his eye at the mention of Claire, telling me he certainly didn’t forget her. He’s opening his mouth to say something about it, but I don’t give him the chance. “Some are taken to be used for their bodies or their body parts… organs. Some are taken to be used as toys by people with demonic tastes in the bedroom… and the kitchen.”
His face is white as the meaning behind my words sinks in. Cannibalism. It’s probably not the fate that most people end up meeting, but Davos has given me plenty of assurance over the years that it happens. Nothing ever goes to waste for some people.
“I… What does…?”
“What does this have to do with you?” I guess. “You’re a human rights activist, aren’t you? Always trying to please the greatest amount of people with your progressive vision yet traditional values?”
I think he’d be offended if he wasn’t already so disgusted by the reality of what I’m suggesting. “What does this have to do with politics?”
“Nothing.” I shrug. “And also, everything. It’s a human rights issue. And I think it’s a personal issue for you. Or at least, it’s about to be.”
“You’re taking me to see it?” He sounds faint, like he isn’t up to the task. And I believe him. Either the senator is a great actor, or he is so horrified by the idea of what I’m telling him that he wants to run from it. I don’t blame him for that, either. I also wanted to run from it. I tried. But you can’t run from yourself, and I think Victor has realized as much already.
“I’m taking you to witness as part of the empire crumbles. And while I do it, I want to tell you a story.”
“A… a story?”
“A story.” I confirm. “About someone you seemed very interested in when you met her.”
“Claire.” The senator whispers, his eyes searching me for answers to questions his brain hasn’t even come up with yet. “I don’t understand, though.”
“You will.” I promise him.
And he does. By the time I finish telling him about how my employee dropped my sister’s best friend into the lap of the devil’s minions, I can practically see the wheels turning in his mind.
“Did you buy her?” he asks, no doubt thinking back to the night he met Claire at my father’s wake.
“I tried.” I tell him honestly. “And she wouldn’t have been the first person I bought.”
The sound that comes from his chest is something like a wheeze, pushed through his lungs by disbelief looking to burrow deeper. “I couldn’t get into the auction; they’re encrypted. You need an invite link, and you need a password. He wouldn’t give them up to me, but they made sure that everyone knew Claire was involved with me. All of my enemies, and my father’s, had a little extra incentive with her. So, somebody else paid for her… a very good chunk of money, but not enough for a life. Not enough for her life.” I clear my throat, wondering if my voice is betraying the feelings I’ve been trying to deny from the first moment I saw her.
“Before they got her on the plane, I found them and killed them all. Well, I killedalmostall of them.” I decide not to go into details about Wes right now, since that will probably only serve to confuse him more. “Anyway, a week later you show up to my house, and you start asking questions about her. You had a weird interest in her for a married man, senator.”
“She…” he shakes his head, runs his hand over his face like that will chase away the fog of shock and horror. “She reminded me of someone.”
“Lauren?” I guess, watching the way his entire body goes rigid at the name. But though his body stiffens, his eyes melt, softening so much that they start to shine with tears.
His voice is guarded when he asks, “How do you know about Lauren?”
“This is Elaine’s story, but I’ll tell it anyway since she’s entertaining your wife.”
