My Dear Readers,
Disclaimer:
What I write is fiction/fantasy/fairy tales for adults. None of my characters are real, no one was injured during the production of my stories and just like on T.V., they all get up when the scene is over, have a beer, remove the makeup and go home, ready to return in the next chapter, all the boo boos healed.
Votes and comments are as always gratefully received. E-mail will get a personnel response if you remember to leave me a return e-mail address.
Enjoy.
Dom Woolf
Chapter nine: September Morning
I am sitting in a cold drafty barn, my butt freezing on the thin layer of straw barely covering the rough hewn boards that make up the floor. At least I'm dressed in a winter coat; the girl hanging from the rafters in a small iron cage is naked except for the dirt, excrement and other filth that covers her shivering body. A portable gas heater is pointed at the cage and is probably heating the bars to an uncomfortable degree, but only on one side, the rest of the cage is open to the cold blasts of air that swirl through the old structure. It is only the first week of September and while the days get into the eighties at night the temperature plummets below fifty. Fall is here and winter is not far behind.
I can't see her face due to the rough hemp bag tied over her head but I can remember her smile and the way her eyes would light up when she was up to some mischief. I remember her tanned and toned body glistening with oil and water as she rose from the pool, wet hair flung back and dripping, a mermaid or the Lady of the Lake. Unlike my younger sister who was the bane of my young existence, Christine was the keeper of secrets, the soft touch when I needed another quarter, the wise one that could help me with my homework or who would spend time watching those dumb monster flicks with me when no one else in the family could stand them.
We would laugh at Benny Hill or be in groused in the adventures of the Highlander and she would be the one to plead with our father to watch the last fifteen minutes promising immediate tooth brushing and bed with no further stalling. Please Dad!
She was the babysitter and the one in charge of us younger siblings and could always make us behave with a joke and laughter rather than fear and intimidation.
She was the one that got me out of a lot of trouble growing up and now she was the one in trouble and I didn't know if I could help. She had been one of a very elite group of women who were entrusted and trained to be the power behind the thrones of some of the worlds most powerful people and she let a momentary lapse of judgment ruin six years investment in her training and forcing the school to not only return her very high contract payment but also make restitution not only in monetary form but in favors owed, which were called in to hush up and mitigate the charges against some very powerful people. Charges that would never have seen the light of day had not my sister screwed up.
The Firm is the group of wealthy families that runs an international organization, some of which is legal and upstanding and upfront business, some of which is not so legal and not so upstanding and some that are down right forbidden and could bring down nations if discovered. They run the Institute that Christine was a graduate from and they use and have an agreement with my Grandfathers farm, part of which is to punish certain employees that have caused problems. It was their way of exacting payment for sins against The Firm.
Someone had to pay and that someone was Christine. My fear was that the cost would be her life. That was a cost I wasn't willing to pay.
I stood up slowly, painfully aware of my stiff muscles and headed for the big house and my father and grandfather. On the way I stopped and issued orders to the two trainers I passed, and then I walked into the house. My mother and sister slave my grand mother were kneeling beside their husbands and masters, neither wore any clothes and it was clear I was going to interrupt a quiet evening of television.
"You two, out." I ordered. They both looked up at their masters but when no orders to the contrary were forthcoming stood and left the room. I closed the door behind them and went over to the remaining chair and sat.
Several minutes of silence passed before I spoke up and they waited patiently. "Her death is unacceptable. Punishment, yes, deservedly so but I refuse to watch her die for something so stupid." I said quietly. "We have several millions in the bank and much more invested in both this farm and our lifestyle. Buying off her contract will be expensive; I understand that. It may severely dent our reserves but we can afford it!"
My father spoke up. "It will damage our standing in the international community and will cost us a lot of future business if we go against the firm."
"I have thought of that and may be able to negotiate a solution that will pacify everyone." I looked at my two mentors and began my pitch. "Here's my plan......"
Several tense days of negotiations followed that long night of discussions and arguments with my seniors, but in the end they had given over the farm to me to run and I was the one who would be responsible for what followed.
They also left it up to me to make the deal with The Firm and the Institute and that was a whole nother type of battle. I returned to the farm bloody by unbowed two weeks later.