The woman’s eyes are completely glazed over, like her body ishere but her mind isn’t.
“Champagne sir?” She slurs and I shake my head. “No thanks.”
“I can get you something.. stronger.” She pushes once more and it takes everything in me not to get her to safety, to tell her that I’m here to get everyone out but I can’t. Instead, I school my features and slip back into character.
“Get the fuck outta my way.” I say through gritted teeth which sends her on her way, scuttling through the crowd to serve someone else. My eyes follow her swaying form as she stumbles over her high heels.
“Nice piece of ass isn’t she.” A man’s voice pipes up at the side of me and I turn to face whoever it is, plastering a dark smirk on my face. “That indeed she is.” I say, feeling sick at my own words.
“Mr Andrews, and you are?” The short, bald man shoves his chubby hand out in front of him for me to shake. I’m reluctant at first but I can’t afford to draw attention to myself so I slip my hand into his and give it a firm shake, he winces slightly but brushes it off. “Blackwood.” I say with a neutral tone.
“Nice to meet you. Business or pleasure?” He asks with a sinister gleam in his eyes, one that makes me want to knock his lights out.
“Both.” I reply with a grin which seems to appease Mr Andrews.
“Well, happy bidding. May the best man win.” He sends me a wink before filtering off into the crowd and I have to grit my teeth in anger, forcing it down into my stomach until I can release it.
Keeping a low profile, I keep my head down and keep to the edges of the crowd, overhearing conversations of business before they swiftly move onto the darker subjects.
“I heard Ricky’s got some younger ones this time.” One man states to another who has a dark hunger in his eyes. “They’re my favourite. All fresh and pink.” The other one replies and I have to give myself a moment to collect my thoughts.
How long has this been going on for?
These sick fucks can walk into here, protected by their obscene amount of money and buy these innocent girls and women like they’re nothing but food off of a shelf. It makes me want to sink my fist into someone’s face.
“C4 is done and I’m in.” Eli states in my ear.
“Copy that. This place is full of sick fucks.” I state in a low tone, my eyes scouring the open space.
“Yeah, it makes my skin fucking crawl.”
“Got the weapons in?” I ask, making my way around the edge of the crowded space.
“All in. Head over to the office and we’ll get geared up. The auction doesn’t start for another twenty minutes.”
“Heard.” I reply and head over to the back of the mill, remembering the blueprints Eli showed me. I half expected to bump into more guards but the further I move away from the crowds of people, the less guards I find which is a bonus for me. Entering into the lone corridor, I spot a single door at the end and with haste I walk towards it, rapping a single knock on the door.
“Viper?” Eli’s voice is muffled on the other side of the door. “Storm.” I reply and enter the small office, softly closing the door behind me and turning the lock.
Eli’s changed from his casual clothes into a black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. He digs into the holdall bag that’s sitting on the table and hands me a gun holster to put on undermy suit jacket, once that’s secured I slip the jacket back on and slot the loaded handguns inside. We’ve had to carry light for this mission, if we went in guns blazing, God knows what Ricky would do to Ana and the other girls.
Grabbing another gun from Eli, I slip it into the waistband of my trousers.
“There’s enough C4 on this building to create a fucking firework show.” Eli sniggers.
“You’re relentless, but I’m more than ready to see this shit show explode.” I say, grabbing my mask out of the bag and shoving it in the inside pocket of my jacket.
My body itches with nerves and a lingering layer of apprehension settles in my stomach on what I’m about to see at this auction. Dropping my head I check my watch again, noting that it’s about to start soon.
“Let’s make a move.”
The once heavy bass of the music has now settled into a quiet background noise as me and Eli enter back into the main space of the mill. A man in a suit, who looks just like everyone else in here, enters the room with a microphone in his hand.
“Gentlemen.” He starts and the low chatter of the crowd falls silent. “Welcome to Selection Day. Where fine men like yourselves are given the chance to spend your cold, hard cash on the fresh plump fruits of the earth.”
A holler of woos and claps fill the room, and I have to fight with myself to keep the anger at bay.
“So without further ado, you know the rules, the highest bidder claims the goods and those goods are yours to do with whatever you see fit. Shall we begin?” The announcer speaks with excitement and the audience claps, then begins to funnel into another room.
