Disclaimer: I do not own As The World Turns. As so many have said, it'd be a lot different if I did. Nazli and Lujayn are my creations, however. As for Vittore…well, you'll see.
Notes: On the Terror Alert scale, Code Blue means there's only a general risk of attack.
Arabic is not spoken throughout the entire Muslim world, and where it is spoken there are regional dialects. Saudi Arabia and Iraq are right next to each other, so I'd imagine the dialectical difference isn't too strong, though DQMOT. Saudi Arabia opens education to girls, but schooling is not compulsory.
T-visas allow human trafficking victims who assist law enforcement in testifying against perpetrators to remain in the country for three years before they are granted permanent residency. Oh, and I refer to them as "girls", but Nazli and Lujayn are only a little younger than Luke and Noah. The L/N parallel is purely coincidental, by the way.
Also…LukeVanFan's video number 320? You're gonna have to consider everything from about 2 mins and 30 seconds onward to not have happened. Heroin, when injected, starts working in about 30 seconds and causes alternate periods of awareness and disorientation. I don't know what a drug cocktail like the one I describe would result in, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be good.
Part I – Chapter IV
"All right."
The two young women, chained and huddled together, looked up at the sound of a man's voice. The language he spoke was lost on them, despite having shared a hold and whatever scraps of food were tossed their way for the past few weeks.
"Let's do this."
In a handful of minutes he was overboard. Then he was standing on the docks, screaming for someone to come help them. Within ten more minutes, Detective Steve Brown was on the phone with the Oakdale Police Force.
"Margo! Fancy seeing you here." Dusty and Bonnie had migrated from the bar to a table, once the need for alcohol was replaced by the need for dinner.
"Good evening, Bonnie, Dusty," Margo said, not stopping but slowing her gait. "Unfortunately this is not a social call, so I can't stay to chat."
"Uh-oh." Dusty smiled; a buzz gave him a sense of humor slightly easier to trigger. "Who's in trouble?"
"Damian Grimaldi is wanted for questioning. That's as much as I'm going to tell you. Now if you'll excuse me…"
"He's not there."
Margo stopped, one foot on the first step upstairs.
"He left with Noah about…half-hour, forty-five minutes ago?" He glanced at Bonnie, who nodded.
"Where were they headed?" Margo turned and walked back towards Dusty and Bonnie's table.
"Snyder Farm, I think," Bonnie piped up. "Noah was one the phone when they left, but I think I heard him tell Casey that they were headed to the farm."
"…Of course." Casey had called her about an hour ago, telling her that Ruth and Amira had appeared to meet up with Riley before re-introducing themselves to Noah. "Thanks, you two."
"No problem," Dusty said, raising his glass as Margo went for the exit.
"Mind telling me why you hustled me out of my own home, Damian?" Meg said, Eliza on one hip, her hand on the other. "The front porch doesn't count as "inside", you know."
"I apologize," Damian said. "You walked into a tense situation that I didn't think you needed to be involved in."
"Tense situation…? Does it have to do with Noah's father? Mama called me at the pediatrician's to tell me about him being alive…" Meg transferred Eliza from her hip to her stomach, using both arms to shield her from the theoretical threat.
"It has something to do with him. Don't worry; he hasn't shown up in Oakdale." Damian reached out to gently rub Eliza's back. "Noah's aunt, cousin, and a girl that I've gathered from their stories used to be married to Noah, have showed up all at once."
"Amira…? And I didn't know that Noah had any family left."
"There was some sort of miscommunication between Noah and his aunt, and they never got in touch with each other. I'm not entirely sure how it panned out, since the only thing I know about Winston Mayer is that he tried to kill my son." Meg could, later, have sworn she saw Damian's eyes turn pure black for a moment. "In any case, both Amira and Ruth—Noah's aunt—had upsetting things for Noah to hear, and Ruth was not exactly pleased to learn something about Noah. You walked in just when it was becoming overwhelming for everyone. I didn't think you needed the extra stress."
"Oh, well…thanks for thinking of me." Meg smiled and ducked her head, hiding her slightly blushing face as she adjusted Eliza. "What all did this Ruth person say?"
"She was explaining why she hadn't been in contact with him for years, and about Noah's mother. I understand it's a sensitive subject." Damian gestured for them to sit; Meg accepted his invitation.
"Well, the Colonel killed Noah's mother, I mean…"
"So I gathered. It was just difficult for Noah to hear. And then the Amira girl had her own story to tell; from what I understand it's a somewhat different version than what she told him while they were married. And there were several…disturbing anecdotes. Your mother told you how they found out Colonel Mayer was still alive, yes?"
"Yeah, through the slave trade. Al-something."
"Al-Majjaanan, I believe she called it. Apparently the girl was coerced by circumstances and her family into joining the organization, and after she escaped from it, Mayer attempted to sell her back in order to secure safe passage out of the country."
"Oh my God!" Eliza squirmed, feeling Meg's disgust. "That's awful. That man is a scumbag. Thank God Noah is nothing like him."
"I have been, all day," Damian said, silently asking permission to hold Eliza by putting his hands under the baby's arms. Meg allowed him to take her. "Though I doubt that if Noah were like his father, he would have involved himself with Luke."
"Oh…is that what Ruth wasn't happy to find out about?"
"Yes. She didn't storm out or fly into a rage, but then, neither did I."
"Ah. Yes, I've, ehm, been informed of what happened three years ago." Against her will, Meg found herself reaching out protectively for Eliza.
Damian exhaled sharply, letting Eliza rest in Meg's hands but not fully surrendering her. "I will admit that I acted like something not fit for the young lady's ears to hear." He released Eliza to gently cover her ears and give her a silly grin, earning a giggle. "The issue of the inheritance money was my own foolishness and greed, but as for Luke's sexuality…I was genuinely worried. About his health."
"His health?" Meg looked puzzled for a moment before realization slowly dawned. "You don't mean—you thought Luke would get AIDS?"
"We are not as progressive nor educated in Malta. Though it is still a possibility, even nowadays."
"Hence the deprogramming camp?" Meg raised her eyebrows.
"You have to understand, Meg, that I had been missing from my son's life for eight years. I come back and hear what is, in my mind, a death sentence for him…no matter what else I did, my love for my son has never wavered."
"I do understand." Meg lifted Eliza in the air and settled her in her lap. "I think I've had experience in misguided paternal love."
"Have you settled things with Paul?"
"I'm allowing supervised visits."
"Is that wise?"
"I think it is. If I cut off all contact between he and Eliza, there's no telling what he'd do to get her back. This way, he's satisfied enough to not try anything stupid, and he's aware that all eyes are on him."
"Ah. A good move." He sent Meg a surreptitious sideways glance. "How did Dusty take it?"
"I'm pretty sure he went back to Lakeview to get drunk."
"Well," Damian suppressed a scoff, "it really wasn't his decision to make."
"No it wasn't." Meg frowned for a moment and then determinedly set her shoulders. "It doesn't matter; I've washed my hands of both of them. You'd think I'd have learned before now that running back to my old boyfriends isn't a good idea."
"So are you giving up on men?" Damian asked, attempting nonchalance.
Meg cocked an eyebrow. "Those men in any case."
"Sorry to interrupt."
Meg and Damian didn't realize how intently they'd been staring at each other until looking up to Margo felt like breaking a spell.
"Oh, Margo, hi," Meg said, smiling weakly and somewhat jumpily. "Casey's inside."
"Thank you, Meg, but it's actually Damian I'm looking for."
"What's the problem?" Damian rose.
Margo flashed her identification to get the formality out of the way. "I need you to come down to the station for questioning."
"What on Earth for?!"
"Earlier this evening a Maltese gentleman and two Middle Eastern girls were found on one of your boats. The girls were shackled together. The man claims that you ordered them shipped and that you, in fact, have been engaged in slave trading for several years."
"That's absolutely ludicrous!"
"That's for me to decide. The man's testimony is the only one we have right now, as the girls don't speak English. With no contradicting or supporting evidence, my only course of action is to bring you in for questioning."
"Margo, this is ridiculous," Meg said, standing with Eliza. "Damian was just speaking to me about the slave trade; why would—"
"No, Meg, this is fine," Damian said, his expression set in a glower. "I'd like to face this man and see just what he has against me, to accuse me of such a disgusting crime." He turned to face Meg. "If you could tell Luciano and Lily what has happened…?"
"Of course." Meg ran a hand nervously through her hair.
Damian hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say more. He settled for patting Meg's shoulder and tweaking Eliza's ear, before exiting through the door Margo held open.
Meg turned toward the door leading to the kitchen. She pushed it open to see Noah embracing who she assumed to be Ruth. They broke apart as the door hinges creased.
"Damian's in trouble."
"Why, what happened?" Lily asked, stepping down from the stairs.
"They found these two Middle Eastern girls and a Maltese guy on one of his boats, and the guy claims that Damian's been engaging in slave trading."
"You're kidding," Luke said, his jaw dropping open. Noah shifted his weight to take hold of Luke's arm.
"The girls can't speak English so they can't confirm or deny the claims, so Margo's taken him down to the station for questioning. She didn't say it, but I think he might be arrested." Meg, to her surprise, felt the corner of her lip trembling.
"This is insane," Luke said, turning helplessly to Noah. "Damian let Lucy use his ships to smuggle medicine, not people. And with the weapons scandal…someone would have seen something." Luke stepped away from the small group.
"Luke? Where do you think you're going?" Holden said, a slight warning in his voice.
"I'm going to the police station. I have to find out exactly what's going on."
"I'll go with you," Meg said, moving to the door.
"I don't think that's a good idea, for either of you," Holden said, his eyes narrowing.
"Dad, I know you hate the guy—"
"That's not why I don't want you to go. It's not exactly safe right now, remember?"
"I'll go with them," Jack said. "I should probably know what's going on, anyway. Holden, we're really something like Code Blue at the moment, but if you need it, Emma gave Janet the shotgun. It's still in the barn."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Noah asked, catching Luke by the hand.
"Absolutely, but I don't want you to abandon your aunt."
"Especially since I should go with Luke, too," Riley said, cutting in. "I'm obligated to investigate all reports of human trafficking."
"And I should go as well," Amira piped up, rising from the table.
"What for?" Luke asked.
"Even if they don't speak my dialect, we might still be able to converse. I might be able to translate."
"Riley can't do that?" Luke cocked his head.
"They don't speak Arabic colloquially in Afghanistan," Riley explained. "I know Dari, and that's it. Unless the two girls are Afghani, I won't be able to speak with them."
"Then that's five people and all I can fit in the squad car," Jack said. "Looks like I'm back on duty…"
"Jack, you be careful," Janet said, putting her arms around her husband and kissing him. "That goes for all of you," she continued, pulling back and casting a stern eye on those preparing to leave. "Here, Meg, give me Eliza…"
"It might be best if you let your aunt in on the exact situation with Damian now instead of her probably finding out the hard way later," Luke said, glancing over at Ruth's bewildered face.
"You sure?" Luke nodded. "Okay then…" Noah's face had settled into an uneasy look. "Be careful."
"I will. I love you."
"Same here," Noah said, automatically, and kissed Luke.
"Take care of Aunt Ruth," Riley said, clapping Noah on the shoulder as he and Amira passed. Luke gave Noah's hands a squeeze and moved to join the small group congregating at the door.
"I should really start charging an entry fee," Margo muttered, looking up when Jack, Luke, Riley, Amira, and Meg walked into the police station.
"Mind briefing me on the case, Margo?" Jack asked.
"Well, since you're here I'm sure Meg's already done that." She rose from her desk and crossed to the small group. "Earlier this evening a Maltese man named Vittore Mari appeared on the docks. He had swum from one of the Grimaldi ships and got hold of Detective Steve Brown. He claimed that he along with two girls had been trafficked from the Mediterranean on Damian's orders. The girls were found held captive, but there was not one other soul on the ship. We've been trying to question the girls but their English is severely limited…they know maybe forty words between them, and it's all very basic." Margo cast a puzzled eye on Jack's companions. "Mind briefing me on them? Riley, I understand; I assume he has to investigate this."
"Exactly," Riley said, nodding.
"Meg and Luke are just here to see what happens with Damian. And Amira…" She stepped forward at Jack's vocal cue, "…says she can help with translating whatever the girls have to say."
"Good, since the nearest Arabic speaker is in another county. Meg, Luke, take a seat. Everyone else, this way…"
Meg and Luke uneasily sat and watched as Margo led Jack, Riley, and Amira down a small hallway. Margo pushed open a door to reveal two girls clad in ripped and soiled black robes and huddled under police-issue blankets, staring up at them from where they sat together at the stainless steel table.
"Steve's got Vittore in the other room; Damian's with Heather," Margo explained, leaning back against the wall. Jack nodded and stood opposite her on the other side of the door. "Amira? You understand that any purposeful misinterpretations will land you in jail for obstruction of justice?"
At the sight of the two girls Amira had stopped in her tracks, memories of the explosion that had spared only her plastered on her mind's eye; Margo's voice dragged her back to the present. "Yes. Yes, I understand."
"They're all yours."
The two smiled nervously at Amira as she sat down, and at Riley who stood behind her, their gaze still shifting like frightened birds. One offered a "Hello" in a heavily accented voice.
Amira began to speak, slowly and calmly. The one who had spoken before lit up at the sound of Arabic and began to babble, as if words couldn't come out fast enough. Amira stopped her after a moment and looked up at Margo.
"These two are from Saudi Arabia…they lived in a less developed area and their parents did not send them to school. That's why they don't know English. The one who has been talking is named Nazli; her friend is Lujayn."
"Ask them when they were kidnapped, and where they were taken."
Amira did as bade; the same girl answered. "A few months ago. They're not exactly sure where they were taken, though they have been traveling a long time. Most of the time they were inside a boat; whenever they weren't, they were blindfolded."
"I'm assuming they don't speak Italian but did they hear anything that could identify their abductors?"
Amira relayed the question; Nazli answered in such a tone that Margo knew that such had not been the case. Lujayn opened her mouth, allowing a noise to escape, but quickly clammed up and pulled back, hunching as if wanting to curl up into a ball.
"Amira, she wants to say something," Margo said, gesturing to Lujayn.
Amira gently asked what Lujayn had to say; Nazli put her hand on Lujayn's back and spoke softly to her, encouraging her. Lujayn glanced at Nazli, gathering courage from her weak reassuring smile, and stammered her answer to Amira.
"Lujayn says that at one point, she heard two men talking, and she heard the word "Salvatore" repeated several times. She memorized it, thinking that it might be important."
"Either a name or a codeword," Jack said; Margo nodded. "What do they know about Vittore?"
"Nothing," Amira reported after Nazli spoke. "He was brought down in chains sometime after Lujayn heard the "Salvatore" conversation, and he was treated just as they were, until tonight when one of the crew unchained him."
"That matches up with what Vittore told Steve," Margo informed Jack.
"Do they know anything else?" Riley asked. "Why they were kidnapped, perhaps?"
Nazli and Lujayn fell equally silent when Amira asked. Amira pressed on gently, inquiring as to whether their families were exceptionally poor; had they been taken from their parents to pay debts? Amira stopped suddenly and flushed; Lujayn had begun to cry at the mention of "parents". Nazli turned her focus to Lujayn, speaking rapidly, almost angrily.
"Nazli is telling her to forget about their families back home."
"Their families sold them?" Jack said, incredulous. Amira nodded, looking sick to her stomach. "Christ…why on earth…?"
"It's not unheard of," Riley said through gritted teeth.
Margo had picked up a box of tissues from a filing cabinet in the corner of the room; she set them before Lujayn with a soft, kind smile. "Amira, I need you to stay in this room and try to get her to calm down. We might need to question them again."
"Of course." Amira removed a tissue and offered it to Lujayn; Nazli took it and pressed it to Lujayn's face for her.
"Jack? Riley? Out in the hall."
The two men took her invitation to exit the room; she shut the door behind herself and leaned against it.
"I think Damian is being set up."
"As much as I don't like the guy, I'm thinking the same thing," Jack said, frowning. "Even if he's an evil mastermind, he's not a stupid one. No way in Hell would he have slaves transported on his own ships to a town he's living in. Especially not after that whole weapons smuggling ordeal back in May. And with that in mind, wouldn't Lucy or Fredo have noticed if Damian was smuggling people?"
"There's always the chance that they wouldn't, but I doubt it, considering how much free rein Damian gave Lucy. I'm more interested in the fact that Lake Michigan is landlocked. It's not like they took a boat from England to New York. He'd have to take them through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Malta, probably Spain or Morocco, and Canada, just to get them to Oakdale. And there's the fact that the only word Lujayn knows is "Salvatore". Makes me think they repeated it on purpose, so she would remember it."
"The whole thing with Vittore stinks, too. Why the hell would they leave him unshackled at a port?"
"Let's not forget how convenient it is that the entire crew walked off the boat and hasn't been seen since. So, yes, I don't believe for a second that Damian is involved in human trafficking. This was either a truly sloppy frame job, or…" Margo frowned.
"Bait?" Riley interjected. "Someone—maybe this Salvatore person—could be trying to lure Damian back to Malta."
"Sounds about right," Jack said. "Margo, what about Vittore? You think he's a stooge?"
"No. Steve contacted our guy at Interpol; Vittore Mari was reported missing a few weeks ago. He's just another pawn. They probably slipped him the name "Damian" the same way Lujayn was fed "Salvatore"."
"So the next step is to figure out who this Salvatore is."
"Yeah, and I've got a pretty good hunch. A hunch that involves you going to Statesville."
"Pinarosa?" Margo nodded. "All right." Jack looked at Riley. "What do you need to do now?"
"Report to HQ that we've found three victims. I need to stay involved in this investigation until we find out who exactly sent these people to Oakdale."
"We're going to need to see papers authorizing you to do this," Margo said.
"Not a problem; I'll have them faxed."
"And what about the girls and Vittore?" Jack asked, jerking his head towards the door. "What's happening to them?"
"Since someone filed a missing person's report, Vittore's obviously got someone waiting for him; we should get him on the earliest plane back to Malta. As for Nazli and Lujayn…" Riley grimaced. "I sincerely doubt they'll receive any sort of welcome back in Saudi Arabia. The best thing for them to do is to just get their T-visas and find someone to stay with and teach them English."
"And what about tonight?"
"They shouldn't stay here. They need to stay in the care of a police officer, but keeping them shut up here is only going to remind them of where they've been. Expatriates are like infants—they need the right environment effective immediately. Otherwise some therapist is going to become very wealthy."
Margo sent a pointed look at Jack, who sighed. "I'll ask Meg and Luke to call Aunt Emma. I'm assuming you three," he looked at Riley, "are going to be staying for longer than a day now."
"I apologize for the inconvenience."
Jack shook his head. "Don't. Really. We've had worse."
"All right," Margo said. "Jack, go talk to your family. Riley, come back inside with me; we need to explain the situation to Amira."
Jack had barely reappeared in the lobby when two voices identical in tone if not in gender demanded, "Can we see Damian?"
"In a minute. I'll tell you right now that at the moment it looks like he's got nothing to worry about."
"Thank goodness," Meg said, and Luke sank slightly back in his chair, relaxing.
"Remember that could change," Jack said, eyeing them sternly. "But there's something else."
"What?" Luke asked.
"The two girls that were found aren't going to be repatriated. Their families were…responsible for their predicament."
"Oh my God," Meg murmured.
"So…what's happening to them?" Luke asked.
"They need to stay in police custody, but preferably not in the station. And they only speak Arabic, so they have to stick with Amira. Which means…"
"Grandma's getting a few more houseguests," Luke filled in. "There a phone here I can use?"
Jack pointed in said telephone's general direction, and smiled sardonically. "Asking is kind of a formality at this point, isn't it?"
"Grandma would kill us if we showed up with more people than she had food for," Luke said, standing up.
"Actually, Luke?" Jack caught him by the arm. "Hold on a second. Meg, do you mind making the call? I gotta talk to Luke about something to do with the investigation."
"Um…sure…" Meg said, standing and sending Jack a confused look as she crossed the room to the telephone designated for civilian use.
"What's the matter?" Luke asked, frowning.
"I wanted to warn you ahead of time," Jack said, biting his lip. "Evidence has come up saying that the investigation might involve Pinarosa."
All the moisture in Luke's mouth disappeared, and resurfaced in the bead of sweat now running down the side of his face.
"Margo is sending me up to question her tomorrow. If she says…anything…whether it has to do with this investigation or not…do you want to know?"
Luke swallowed; words seemed trapped underneath a ball of sawdust in his throat. "Yes."
"You're absolutely sure?"
Luke nodded, slowly, painfully. His breathing suddenly deepened, yet felt shallow and difficult. "The last month and a half has been hell, not knowing."
"There's no statute of limitations, you know," Jack said, dropping his voice and his gaze. "You can still press charges for—"
"They're both serving the maximum sentence already. Bringing this up when I don't absolutely need to is just going to cause everyone more pain. Sometimes I regret telling you," he added, without a trace of sarcasm.
"How about Noah?"
"Him, too."
"No, I mean, will he be okay with knowing?"
Luke hesitated. "I don't know."
"How about you talk with him tonight and let me know what you want to do in the morning, before I head out?" Luke shrugged tightly to the affirmative. "This could all come to nothing, you know," Jack said, allowing a little hope to in his voice.
"What could all come to nothing?" Meg asked, approaching them.
"The investigation," Jack said quickly, casually.
"Please God," Meg said, and Luke breathed an inward sigh of relief that she hadn't pressed for details. "Mama's a little taken aback but she says the girls are welcome at the farm."
"There's a shock," Jack said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Riley and Amira are going to have to work out a place to stay, too. I guess Noah's family will be sticking around."
"I get the feeling Grandma won't object to that either," Luke said. "Noah, too."
"So the question now is how I get you all home…two trips, I guess. You two first."
"What about Damian?" Meg demanded immediately. "Is he coming home with us?"
"You said that he's got nothing to worry about," Luke added.
"That looks like the case but we can't be sure. What happened is that the evidence and the testimonies of the three people who were found don't add up, which casts Damian in a more innocent light. He's still our only suspect, though, so—"
"Heather's got his statement and he's not under formal arrest so we can't keep him here," Margo said, appearing in the lobby, flanked by Riley, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn. "I want to question him again, though, so he'll be here for a bit longer. Their testimony hasn't changed," she waved her hands towards Nazli and Lujayn, "so they can leave."
Amira translated and gestured towards Jack. Nazli and Lujayn took timid steps forward, still clustered together as if attached surgically; Amira followed.
"Riley's staying to get in touch with his superiors and fax over his authorization papers." Margo glanced at Meg and Luke. "Are you two staying to see Damian?"
"Yes," Meg said.
"Then Luke should come back with me," Jack said swiftly. "Since I'm coming right back, Luke should be there to explain to them what's happened." He sent a glance at Luke, eyes advising him to talk to Noah as soon as possible.
Luke caught the silent message. "I think that's a good idea."
"Do you want me to let him know you came?" Meg asked, casting a suspicious gaze on both Jack and Luke.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks."
"All right then," Margo said. "Meg, you can sit back down. Riley, come with me. And Jack…take care of them." Margo sent a sad, sympathetic smile to the two newly freed girls.
Jack let Luke, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn out of the car a few feet away from the front porch. Amira had kept up a quiet, steady stream of Arabic throughout the ride, stopping only occasionally to breathe and to try to explain through dialectical differences, preparing the girls for where they would be staying. Luke, however, thought that was an exercise in futility. His evaluation was somewhat justified when Lujayn nearly hid behind Nazli when they opened the door to a flurry of noise courtesy of Emma, Holden, Lily, Ruth, and Noah. Nazli herself merely stopped and surveyed the room, fear expertly hidden after months of practice.
The din settled quickly enough, with Emma going forward to usher the foursome fully into the kitchen. "Casey says good-bye; he had to leave for the late shift at the hospital," she explained, as Nazli and Lujayn were shooed into empty seats, warm food awaiting them. Despite the weights on his mind, Luke had to smile at his grandmother's predictability.
"We've been discussing our situation," Emma said, also hustling Luke and Amira into chairs. "I think it's best if Noah's family stays with us for awhile."
"The thing is that my husband is away on business," Ruth said quickly, excitedly; she was sitting next to Noah. "And he'll be gone for at least a few weeks. So there's no one at home waiting for us. Of course I'll have to go back to get some of our things, but I can be here again by the end of the weekend."
"Ruth is planning to stay at least until her husband returns," Lily continued from her seat on the other side of Noah; Holden sat beside her. "At that point we'll have to decide if these two young ladies go to Omaha as well, or if they and Amira stay here, but we figure we can cross that bridge when we come to it. The course of the investigation will probably factor into that, since I'm assuming Riley has to see that out."
"And what exactly is going on with the investigation?" Holden demanded.
"Whoa." Luke put up his hands. "Okay. First of all, that sounds like a good plan. Second of all, you're right to assume Riley's going to be involved; he's still at the station getting papers faxed to him from his superior. As for the investigation…Jack said that what they saw at the docks and what they're being told doesn't add up, so there's a good chance Damian's innocent. They're releasing him tonight, and Jack's going to…follow a lead they got." He sent a quick glance at Noah, who caught it and frowned.
"I assume Meg is still there?" Holden continued.
"Yeah; Jack's going to bring her, Damian, and Riley back when they're done questioning Damian again; I'll guess he'll head back to Lakeview from here."
Holden looked put out but said nothing further.
"This is all if it's okay with you, Amira," Ruth said. "I assume you wouldn't want to go back to an empty house?"
"Of course, I'll stay," Amira said. She glanced over at Nazli and Lujayn and muttered that they were free to eat. Lujayn gingerly picked up the small piece of garlic bread on her plate and took a bite.
"Since you're living at the house, we figured we'd be able to move our guests into your rooms here," Emma continued, watching with an approving maternal eye as the girls began to shovel food in their mouths. 'Poor things are practically emaciated,' Emma thought.
"That's fine," Luke said. "But can you hold off on converting mine for a little bit tonight? I need to talk to Noah," who had been eyeing him worriedly, "privately."
"You aren't eating?" Emma said as Luke stood.
"Not hungry, Grandma." He looked back at the girls who were cleaning their plates as if they hadn't seen food in a week. There was a hard pulling sensation in his chest as he considered that just might be the truth, and he pushed his plate towards Nazli and Lujayn. "Let them have it. They need it."
"Excuse me," Noah said to his aunt, and rose; Luke saw that Ruth's hand had been resting atop Noah's. As if searching for a new companion, Noah's hand took Luke's when they met the door to the stairs.
Luke suddenly felt Nazli talking towards him, her words rapid and excited. Lujayn joined in, more uncertain; Nazli seemed to correct her, and then turned to Amira. Luke and Noah both turned to face the girls and Amira, who looked astonished.
"Nazli is asking if you two are like them," she said slowly, looking back at forth at the two girls and Luke and Noah.
Lujayn hid her face in her shaking hands and began intoning what Amira knew was a prayer. A supplication for protection. Nazli slipped her arm around Lujayn's back and pressed her lips to Lujayn's covered head. Amira looked back at Luke and Noah, her eyes sad.
"I think we know why their families sold them off now."
A sickened silence instantly permeated the room.
"Well then," Emma said sharply, anger at the people she prayed to God she would never meet tightly contained, "Amira, please tell them that they'll be in two separate bedrooms until they get married. And also that," she gestured to their emptied plates with her hand, "there's more where that came from."
"Can anyone tell me why? Just…why?"
"I don't know," Luke said, closing the door to his bedroom as Noah passed him.
"First my trigger-addicted father, then those poor girls' parents selling them off…" Noah slammed himself onto the bed. "God, Luke, they could've been forced into sex slavery. That's preferable to them being in a lesbian relationship?"
"I'm imagining that conversation. "What's wrong with you? Wouldn't you rather be in a nice, normal, heterosexual concubinage?"." Luke sat down next to Noah and ran a hand angrily, nervously through his hair. "Somehow I'm not quite as mad about that deprogramming camp now."
"God, and that too…there are so many worse things a child could do to make their parents hate them. Why it has to be something out of their control…" Noah trailed off, noticing the far-away look in Luke's eyes. "Are you okay? Usually you'd be the one ranting at this."
"True," Luke said listlessly.
Noah ran his hand widthwise across Luke's back and wrapped it around Luke's waist. "Did something happen at the station?"
"Jack…told me that they have a lead, and he has to go to Statesville to question Zoe."
Luke felt Noah stiffen. He tightened his grip, pulling Luke closer to him; his other hand searched out Luke's.
"Jack thinks she might say something about…back in April. And he suggested I talk with you, to decide if we wanted to know if she said anything."
"You want to know, don't you."
Luke nodded and looked down. "If she is, there's the chance that—"
"Please don't say it."
"I'm sorry, baby."
Noah's hand moved up Luke's side to his head, which he pressed to rest on his shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Noah had once thought the three worst words Luke could ever say to him would be "I'm leaving you". But when Luke choked out "You were hallucinating" in the hospital, Noah knew he would have preferred Luke leaving him forever to knowing that dehydration and growing infection had fooled him into believing he'd been able to protect Luke.
Zach held Damian at gunpoint until Margo arrived with back-up and stormed the storage locker after it was too late. Zoe had broken free from Noah's weak hold on her. Luke couldn't remember anything beyond that point with any clarity, and they soon found out why: a needle full of impure heroin stabbed into his arm, combined with a Viagra tablet shoved down his throat. Bob told Luke he was lucky not to need his stomach pumped.
Luke begged Bob and later Noah not to tell his family about the pill, though the forced injection couldn't be hidden. The only reason Jack knew was because when the mild withdrawal effects wore off and Noah found Luke huddled in a corner of his bedroom shivering, wide-eyed, with liquid vomit running down his chin, Noah cried for the first time since he was given his father's dog tags and pleaded with Luke to talk to someone. Jack's past with Julia Lindsey made him the only one Luke thought he could tell.
"You don't want to know," Luke said flatly.
"What I don't want," Noah said, trying to breathe steadily, "is for you to be…if not knowing is going to torture you, then I want you to know."
"Thank you."
Noah turned his head and pressed his lips to Luke's temple, trying to force any fuzzy or clear memories of Zoe out of Luke's brain. For a moment it worked, but then Luke slumped, and a bullet carrying the knowledge that there was no complete escape from this lodged itself in Noah's heart.