As Long As She Lives (full published version!)

Chapter 33

Penda shook so much he needed both hands to hold the bottle, but soon the gin was running pink with Cait's blood into the ice bucket.

Cait felt eyes on her and caught Yellow-shirt looking at her. He snapped his head round to watch Penda retrieve a second bottle of gin. Her mouth had filled with blood when he'd smacked her across the face. Maybe he'd got some on his hand. He half-turned to steal another glance at her, so Cait raised her bloody hand and waived at him. He gagged. Cait struggled not to smirk.

"Enough. Go," Henri said, and Penda made his escape from the bar; no-one wanted to stand near him, either.

Henri took a towel form under the bar, dried his hands then held it up for all to see.

"There," he said. "Clean. Happy?"

A few nodded, but none of them were satisfied. They risked glancing at each other.

"Oh what is it?" Henri dropped the towel into the ice bucket and pointed to Purple-shirt, who had sidled up to Yellow-shirt and started whispering. "You! If you have something to say, say it to your King!"

Purple-shirt's Adam's apple bobbed, then he bowed. "Your Majesty. It– It's just that– Only blood can cleanse blood."

Cait went numb. She held her breath as she watched Henri process his words.

"Yes. Of course. Bring the girl."

"No!" Cait shouted, but a white-suit by the door was already raising a radio to his mouth. "No!"

The doorman muttered into the handset, his eyes on the screen.

"No! Please!"

On screen a white-suit with a radio nodded to the man with the saw who tugged on the starter cord. The circular saw began to slice into the metal door.

"They could cut her!" Cait screamed. "She'll open the door for me. Let me go down and get her."

"So you can contaminate her? No." He nodded at the man with the radio. "Tell them to be careful. She's no good if she's damaged."

Shit. Shit. Shit. She should have considered that they would see Daisy's blood as a cure. In the refugee camps she'd taken care of girls younger than Daisy who'd been raped by men who genuinely believed raping an innocent would cure them of AIDS. All over Africa, witchdoctors and politicians were being prosecuted for performing child ritual killings to improve their chance of election. She knew all that; why hadn't she thought of it? Idiot! How many girls was she going to get killed? Maybe she was cursed...

Panicking wouldn't help. She needed to think while they were all focused on the on the screen.

Aside from the terror of the door being cut open, Daisy wouldn't be mistreated until they got her up here. She'd be saved for Henri to defile. Cait had however long it took to cut Daisy out and the few minutes to carry her here to come up with a plan. Of course, even if she got away from Henri's men, there were the Russians to deal with... No. One step at time.

She dipped to pick up her jeans. No-one reacted to her movement. Wincing as the denim grazed her lacerated thighs, Cait pulled on her jeans then slipped her t-shirt over her head. Glancing around the room she saw the obligatory set of Samurai swords on the wall beside the bar. Even if she could get to them, she had no idea how to use them. The last time she'd tried fighting with a knife, the machete had ended up in her own back. She shuddered. The idea of grabbing Daisy and fighting her way out was plainly ridiculous.

"What the hell are your men doing to my ship?" The Russian accent came from the doorway. Polzin.

"Nikki," Henri said. "Nothing to worry about."