The moment the plane landed, the tension in everyone's bones heightened. The air thickened and no one seemed aware of the situation. Myung, a man of many talents, landed the plane safely. I found out on the ride to Busan Port, that he was an ex-pilot turned right-hand man of one the most dangerous men alive. Life, huh?
We stopped in a field, taking a car that was called previously called for on our ride here. It took us straight to the port. Port of Busan was huge, in a way that felt unnerving. You can't possibly make sure every inch of this place is safe. Apparently, however, Ye-jun owned nearly every worker, but that did little to reassure me.
As soon as we got off the car, one of the workers led us to an office. On the way there, the only thing that could get me to put aside my unease was the blatant nervousness that Nicolas displayed. "She'll be okay. You'll see her in half an hour. Breathe for a moment, God. Your face is all purple."
He sighed and cracked a smile, rubbing his hands on his pants. "I know, but..."
"But what?"
He huffed and ran a hand through his face. "Fuck, I don't even know. I feel like if I look at her and see a single bruise on her face, I'll go ballistic. I can't help but feel--"
"If you say guilty, so help me God. I'll throw you into the water."
He laughed, but his face shifted back into agony right after. "I can't help it. I do. For both Vee and Aera. I just feel like I should have done... something. I don't know."
"Well." I didn't know what to say. Fuck would I say? "No use thinking about that now. You got them back. In... twenty two minutes you'll see them both again."
"Yeah," he sighed. "I guess."
We followed in silence after that, not really doing much other than walking and breathing. I, too, felt a weight of guilt in my chest at them both being taken, more Vee than the other girl if I'm honest. Kiara, or Katerina-- whatever the fuck her name was, came from a bloody past of mine. Nicolas had always made sure Vee was kept far from their reach and now look what happened. Aera, unfortunately, was caught in crossfire.
"Come in," Myung gestured inside the small room when we reached it. Nicolas let me go in first, following right behind me. We sat on a small, foul smelling couch.
One of the workers began speaking in Korean, which left me the only one staring clueless at him. "What did he say?" I nudged Nicolas in the thigh.
"Oh, shit, right. Um," he seemed to process the information for a second, then began translating. "He's saying that they got a call from a one of the cargo ships saying that there was extra merchandise aboard, which he's saying is the code for things like that. He said it isn't often that they involve themselves in trafficking like this, but when it reaches their borders, they have codes to get the people off safely. The ship arrived minutes ago and they're unloading it. As soon as the girls are off, they will bring them all here. As well as the man who had them."
Good. I want to have a talk with him.
"Did he say how long it will take for them to get the girls here?"
"Like twenty minutes to an hour."
The man spoke a few other things that Nicolas must not have found important enough to translate and left. With every passing second, the tension only seemed to rise higher. Myung wasn't even speaking to be a complete asshole, which was surprising.
I continued checking my watch as time went by. It was slow at first, seconds ticking by at their leisure, not caring for the events unfolding. Then time seemed to become aware, making the minutes scramble and tumble over each other. One on top of the other they ticked until forty seven minutes had passed and a knock on the door made us all tense even more. All four of us could have easily shattered in that moment.
Nicolas took in a sharp breath. Sharp enough to poke me, making my senses alert. Unconsciously, it seemed, he took my hand and held it tight. He didn't seem to need me to hold it back, being that he grabbed onto my fingers without giving me space to hold his. Someone said something in Korean. I'd bet money that it meant come in, because, right after, the door opened.
It was a few strangers at first. Girls that looked scared out of their minds. Ye-jun told something to Myung and he got up and ordered a few of the port workers around. He led the girls to the couch, making Nicolas and I stand up. I kneeled down beside one of them. "Hey," I whispered. "You're safe now. We'll get you back to your family, I promise." She didn't say anything back, simply curled into herself and looked away from my face.
"Nick?"
My head whipped at the sound of my best friend's voice. My entire heart caught in my throat at seeing her again. By the force of the god's was I able to keep myself in my place and let Nicolas approach his sister.
Veronica's eyes watered and she stopped for a single half-second before lunging herself into her brother's arms. She full on spider-monkeyed him. Nicolas laughed and cried at the same time, wrapping his arms around his sister with a force that made the veins in his arms stick out. I felt my own eyes water, but was quick to wipe the moisture away.
Another girl ran in the room. I knew it was Aera without needing to see her face. She ran straight to Ye-jun and he picked her up in his arms, eyes shut and arms tight around her small frame. He spoke a string of words I didn't understand into her ear, running his fingers through her hair a bunch of times and kissing her cheeks, forehead and hair. In a weird, caught-off-guard moment, the scene made me miss my father. I looked away immediately.
Nicolas and Vee resorted to sitting on the floor. He was smiling so bright it made any worry of mine fade for that moment. He looked like the boyish version of himself, playing with her hair and pinching her cheeks. Like nothing had happened at all, the twins had gone back to teasing each other and making each other smile like no one else could make them smile. It could have been so easy to take this day as a victory, and a part of me did. Yet, another part of me felt the anger rising higher. Having a clear view of Veronica's face made it impossible for me to not notice the yellowish bruise on her top lip. I curled my hands into fists, looking away. Kiara Mussolini will pay with her blood.
The rest of the girls came in the room. By then, the men Myung ordered had already brought blankets, water and crackers. To busy myself, I helped hand them out, but stopped when I saw a man standing by the doorway. Definitely not Korean. I knew almost immediately that he was the one who brought the girls. I gave the blankets I was passing out to one of the men and walked toward the guy. He saw me as I made my way to him, his eyes widening and his body straightening, taking small steps back. He held his hands up, "hey, listen, it's not what you think."
I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, despite the man being about a foot taller than me. "Who the fuck are you?"
He swallowed hard, "I can't--"
"Rayaan?" The man's eyes went behind me, a grin growing on his face.
"Nicolas! I thought you wouldn't recognize me!"
What the fuck?
Nicolas stood next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. His eyes didn't leave Rayaan, though. "He's a... friend. It's okay."
I looked back at the man and let go of him, not feeling convinced at all. "Friend? Since when?"
Both were giving each other googly eyes in a way you'd think they were long lost lovers. I felt like a third wheel between them. Who knows? Maybe I was.
"Since I was ten and he was thirteen," Nicolas muttered. "Until he left and didn't ever contact me again." His attention left me and turned fully to his 'friend'. "I thought I was going crazy when I found the voice over the phone to be familiar."
Rayaan smiled bright. "Surprise!"
"Dickhead." Nicolas rolled his eyes. "Does Vee know about you?"
He shook his head, "nah. I've been wanting to keep myself on the low. I have been doing... stuff."
Nicolas scoffed. "Stuff that somehow led you to rescue more than a dozen sex trafficking victims? Coincidence?"
"Something like that."
"Right," Nicolas remarked sarcastically. "And I'm Laura Pausini."
Rayaan laughed, "no idea who that is, brother."
"Can one of you explain to me what the fuck is going on?"
They both seemed to remember that I existed and turned to me. "Right," Nicolas cleared his throat. "Anastasia, this is Rayaan, a friend of mine from when I was little. Rayaan, this is Anastasia, my... the leader the of the Sicilian Mafia."
I raised an eyebrow at his response. So did Rayaan, "she's your the leader of the Sicilian Mafia? Funny title."
I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't explain shit. Why was your friend anywhere near the trafficking sites? You said you haven't seen him in years and coincidentally he comes back when Vee is taken? Smells like bullshit to me."
Rayaan turned to me. "Maybe your nose is clogged with the smell. Nothing crappy about me, I promise."
"What is that stuff you were dealing with?"
"Anastasia," Nicolas grabbed my arm. He mostly did that when he thought I was going to hurt someone. I moved away from his grasp and gave him a warning look. He didn't reach for me again.
Rayaan eyed us as the exchange came to an end, eyebrows raised. He looked at me with serious eyes, "I would never hurt my best friends sister."
"A little late on that. You left your best friends years ago. Not exactly very 'best friend' of you. Listen," I sighed. "I'm not in the mood to reason so just tell me the reason or I'll take you with us to Sicily and keep you locked up until I figure it out myself."
Eyes narrowed and lips in a tight line, Rayaan breathed out through his nose. Can breathing be aggressive? His breathing sounded aggressive. "I got them back for you. Is that not proof enough?"
"Not when you could have easily been working for them. Bringing them back as a diversion. Next words coming out of your mouth better ease my worries or you won't like what I do to you."
I could feel how angry Nicolas was next to me. I didn't care. I didn't know this man, he somehow knew me. He was right there when Vee was taken and apparently knows Nicolas. It's too fishy to ignore.
Rayaan's eyes shifted to Nicolas. "I left six years ago because my sister had gone missing. She was kidnapped from our home in Jabalpur. Ma called me days later and I took the first flight there, didn't tell anyone. I didn't know what to do because Ma was very sick, but I also wanted to look for my sister. About a month later Ma died from cancer and I've spent the last five years looking for Devina with no real luck. Whenever I run across captives, I release them. I've been doing it for six years. I came across where they had Veronica and did the same. Didn't know it was actually her until she called you guys. Feisty that one."
To say I was left speechless would be an understatement. To say I was convinced would be a lie. Any idiot could come to me with a sob story and if I believed every single one, I'd be screwed. Still, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt after hearing Nicolas' response.
"I'm so sorry about your mom, Ray. You told me she was sick but I never expected she would die. You should have called me, you fucking moron. I would have helped you find you sister. You know I would have dropped everything to help you out."
Rayaan smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "I know you would have, Nick. That's exactly why I didn't call you. You were a snot-nosed boy back then. Fourteen years old. What kind of friend would I be to bring you into this? Besides, it's something I needed to do alone. Something I still need to do alone."
"I'm so sorry about your sister. I'll keep an eye out for any news. Anastasia will spread the news. Right Sia?"
Fucking asshole. And he uses the nickname, too. What a manipulator. "What? I mean, um, yeah, I will. I'll let everyone know. Just give Nicolas all her details and I'll send out the notice."
"Thank you," Rayaan smiled at me. I nodded in response and turned around, let the lovers catch up or whatever.
The moment I stepped back inside the room, Vee lunged at me. I cursed, the air leaving my lungs. I nearly fell against the wall, but managed to regain my balance. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she started crying. Out of nowhere, just started bawling her eyes out. I set her down, sat with her on the floor and held her hand while she cried. I blinked my own tears away. She had it the hardest, I had no right to cry. I had to be strong and comfort her.
She wiped her eyes furiously, barely ever meeting my eyes. She kept looking around and I realized it was to make sure Nicolas wasn't around. He was still outside talking with his friend. Vee had cried upon seeing him, but it wasn't desperately and angered like she was crying now. Like always, both of them forced themselves to be strong for each other. Right now she was a mess. Chest rising and falling fast, sobs racking through her body, face in her hand. I simply made sure I was there for her, ready to listen when she needed it.
"I'm sorry," she tried to laugh, but only ended up sobbing again. "I'm such a mess."
"No kidding," I teased. "You have nothing to be sorry for Vee. Want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, "not really. Not right now. Right now I just want to... I just want to think about nothing at all."
"Won't be hard for you, you airhead." She laughed a little at that. "We can do that. Do you want a hug?"
"You sound like you want me to say no."
I laughed, "I do. I suck at being comforting."
"I like you that way." She leaned her head on my shoulder and I leaned my head on hers, playing with the tips of her hair.
"You like that I'm antisocial freak now?"
She nodded. I felt her tears dampening my shirt. "It makes me feel good about myself."
"How dare you. You're literally calling me your duff, except instead of fat, I'm antisocial. I'm your... duaf."
"You're not ugly, though. Not that much, anyway."
"Gee thanks. You're hideous yourself."
She stayed quiet when I said that and I just knew I triggered something in her. "I know right?" She whispered, then inhaled sharply. "I'm fucking disgusting."
"Hey," I pulled at her hair. My gut told me to take the situation lightly for the moment. She didn't need the serious talk just yet. She didn't need scolding just yet. "You're insulting my friend choosing skills. Don't do that."
"Thank you for coming for me, Tas. Thank you." I bit my lip at the defeated tone in her voice.
I stoked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Vee. Come on, let's get the hell out of here. It smells like dead octopus in here." I began standing up, helping her up with me.
"I was actually thinking rotten cow," she refuted, looking up at me with a small smile.
I scoffed. "Your sense of smell clearly stayed in Sicily. This is one-hundred-percent dead sea creatures."
"Whatever you say, deceased animal expert."
"One of my many qualities."
"You're also narcissist."
"Duh."
**
I need to start setting an alarm.
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