Journal Entry 1
October 20, 2009
Dear Diary,
I've never had a diary before, nor have I had anything close to one. I never planned on having a diary either, why do I need to write down my own thoughts? But as my stay here becomes longer and longer, with little hope of release, I can't help but do something with all this wasted time. I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself here; I should start from the beginning. I'm an American who's in…a bit of a predicament. Guess who is sitting on the couch next to me as I write this. Oh, so close, but you're wrong. How do I know you're wrong? Simple, did you guess that I'm sitting next to one of the world's most notorious criminals? No? See I knew you didn't guess it right!
I'm sitting next to the one, the only, Vladimir Makarov. Now don't go thinking I'm on his side or anything, you can trust me when I say I would never side with him on anything. I'm just sitting next to him because there really isn't anywhere else I can go. This house isn't very big and it's not like I can just leave. To ensure that I'm stuck here, Makarov had one of his lackeys super glue one of those dog collars for electric fences around my wrist ( Yes, I did say super glue!). Although, it's not a normal electric collar, Makarov felt the need to amp it up a bit. While it was being put on I was told 'If you try to leave, this will send 1,200 volts through your wrist as soon as you get 100 feet away from this house. I wouldn't suggest making an escape attempt.' But of course I didn't listen and tried to run away that very night, I can tell you I won't be trying that again.
I'm not the only one being held captive here so I don't get too lonely. There's Analdea (she's not much for conversation considering she's Russian and barely speaks English). Deniz has been here since they robbed some bank in Istanbul a few years back. And Amy is the youngest at only 17 years old, she got here the same time as me. We're not really kept here for any specific reason as far as I can see. They do what they want with us, but for the most part they just leave us alone (I think they may be keeping us here in case they need hostages for something, I don't know that's just a guess). We were just normal people; we didn't do anything to deserve being taken away from our friends and families. My biggest mistake was walking too close to a dark alleyway where no one would notice me disappear.
You're probably wondering how an American was kidnapped in Russia, am I right? Well, I was planning on going back to school and attending Saint Petersburg State University, but I never even got to go to one class. I had my first semester paid for and everything. I've been here for about two months and all I want to do is see my family again, even if it's only for a few minutes. Personally, I'd rather never see my family again than see Makarov contact them for ransom money (he would probably just kill me after getting the money anyway) and that's exactly why I never gave Makarov my name. Makarov just calls me Anonim, I learned Russian before coming to Russia, but that's not one of the words in my vocabulary. He could be referring to me as 'bitch' and I'd be none the wiser.
I just wish I could leave this house; being stuck in one place with the same people for such a long time takes a toll on the brain. I don't understand how Deniz is still sane after being here for so long. I hope I'm not here that long, I'd honestly rather them kill me. You wouldn't think that being around criminals would be boring, but it's not what you're imagining. I have tried to listen in on their meetings to see what they're planning, but they speak only in Russian so I can barely piece together the sentences. By the time I can figure out what one sentence meant they are miles ahead and I'm completely lost as to what's going on in the conversation. I guess I don't know the language as well as I'd originally thought. Well, I think I'll stop here, I don't feel like writing anymore and there isn't much else for me to write about. If something interesting happens, though I doubt it will, I will be sure to write about it soon after.
I can't end by signing my name since it is very likely that one of my captors may read this and I don't want them to know my true identity. Therefore from this point on I will use the name Makarov gave me.
Security Camera 3: Living room
The woman sitting on the couch next to Makarov closes the journal she has been writing in for quite some time and gently places it in her lap. She looks around her at the men playing poker on the coffee table as if just noticing them for the first time.
"After you finish this hand can I play?" she asks quietly, but they just laugh and continue playing.
One of the men says something in Russian and by the confused look on her face, you can tell she doesn't understand him. "Be nice Kiril." Makarov says without looking up from the newspaper in his hands.
"She has nothing to put in the pot. Why should we let her play without putting in any money when the rest of us put in 3,000 Rubles each?" Kiril growled and angrily threw some more chips into the middle of the table.
Makarov sends a quick glare over to Kiril. "I never said to let her play, just to be nice. Although, I've never known you to understand what that word means."
"Hey Kiril, I will show you an example of kindness. You are the only one left against me and I have three aces, so instead of taking the chips you just put in I will allow you to take them back and fold." The man next to Kiril speaks up.
"That's bullshit Anatoly! You don't have three aces. I have a pair of queens; show me what you really have?" Anatoly places his cards on the table and he indeed won with three aces. Kiril, in response, began cursing in Russian and left the room.
Anatoly laughed and stacked his newly acquired chips in front of him. He looked towards the woman who had been sitting silently throughout the exchange. "Would you like to take Kiril's spot for the rest of the game?" She nodded and smiled taking the chips he had left.
