Mixed Messages
Chapter 23
Homeward bound

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Amanda and her two Verrat escorts were walking out of a clothing store in Vienna when something slammed the back of her head.

Concrete pavement rose up and crashed. Her broken shopping bag scattered two shirts and three pairs of pants onto the sidewalk. She turned just long enough to see the Verrat agents thrown down and kicked. She was pushing onto her elbows when pain jabbed her neck and the world swirled. She gritted her teeth, but her elbows folded and everything went black.

The world threw her up and down. Road noise, a car engine, and the scent of automobile upholstery greeted her. Her eyes fluttered in a blur that eventually focused into gray carpeting and four pairs of boots, and her eyes closed.

The world sloshed and her eyes fluttered. Darkness and the cold scent of outdoors. Her stomach bounced on a man's shoulder and her arms draped down his back. She smelled old things and saw the carved stone pavers of the marble floor. Another castle? and her eyes closed.

Her head bounced off a hard floor. She drew her knees up and moaned in the darkness. "What's going on?" she asked the pair of legs next to her. He turned, kicked her, and left. The door clanked and clicked, leaving her in pitch black.

She smelled and listened, trying to force the cobwebs in her head to clear, sensing the room, and her eyes closed.

Her eyes fluttered. She shook her head, and groaned. She squinted against the glare of fluorescent lamps and realized she was slumped on a hard floor with her back against the wall. She tried to cover her eyes, but her hands jerked with a clank before she could get them up. She bent forward and rubbed her sticky eyes.

The fog in her brain slowly cleared and she thought, Crap.

She glanced around and noticed a dozen other girls, all slumped along the wall, chained to loops set into the floor. She rubbed her eyes, and saw a girl that looked like Miriam, except skinny, very skinny.

Thank goodness she's still alive. Now what?

She hunched and let her hair cover her face. Just be another scared girl, one of them.

She surveyed the room. There's not much in here, just a padded restraint and a huge wooden butcher block. No cameras that I can see.

And she waited. After an eon, she drifted off to sleep. She woke up and the room was black. She twisted and wiggled her wrists in silence. Finally, covered by darkness, she pulled one hand free, then the other. She crept across the room, inch by inch, and found a spot, closest to the door. She manipulated the shackles, making sure she could slide in and out at will. She laid them over her wrists.

The lights clicked on. She glanced at the guard through her hair as she hunched, as if unconscious like the others. He grabbed her and shook, but she slumped over, eyes closed. She waited until his back was turned, snuck through the door, and hid.

A gasp echoed out the door and a man cursing.

He was yelling at the girls and shaking them, but their groggy voices didn't give any useful answers.

He came tromping out and slammed the door shut behind him. He was lifting a radio to his mouth when she hooked her claws into his neck, rolled him across her hip, and slammed him on the ground face first. She injected her claws into the divot in the back of his skull, sliced, and he exhaled a slow wheeze.

She clipped the radio to her pants, dragged him into the castle's hidden service passages, rifled his pockets, and stuffed him down a trash chute.

She spirited into the servant's quarters, found a uniform, and a mop bucket. Amanda was now invisible, hiding in plain sight as a castle maid.

She crept into the kitchen, ate, and stole a few knives.

A smile crossed her face, Now, you're stuck in here with me!

She snuck into the security office, slit the man's throat and stuffed him down the trash chute. She yanked all the wires out of the security system, removed their hard drives, and disappeared into the castle. She sent a text message on the man's phone, wound her way through the castle, and unlocked the service entrance.

Five minutes after midnight, she hacked the heads off five Verrat agents and rolled them down the long spiral staircase into the foyer. The little blood splattered maid put on a show, sniffing and crying while she sponged the mess into her mop bucket as armed men shoved her aside and streamed past her.

Twenty Verrat agents marched into the foyer and were gunned down by three masked men.

Police swarmed into the castle an hour later. Amanda stood in a line with The Help as the officers marched past. They didn't even ask her why she was covered in blood from head to toe - all of the maids were by now. When questioned, cried and she told the police that the armed men said they were looking for the girls in the dungeon. She escorted one of the officers down and watched him gasp at the sight of girls chained. The policeman ran up stairs as fast as he could. Ten officers shoved Amanda out of the way as they burst into the dungeon, and she disappeared.

She watched from a distance as the police escorted thirteen young girls into ambulances. She climbed into a van with Lukas and two other men, and rode away.

Lukas asked, "So, how were the shackles?"

"I'm glad we practiced, or I never would have gotten out of them."

"And the castle"

"I only got lost once. There are a lot of hidden passages that aren't marked anywhere."

Lukas smirked, and said, "Well, yes, Maximillian's castle was first built in the thirteen hundreds. Did you end up in the catacombs?"

"Luckily not. You were right about dressing as a maid. Nobody even asked about all the blood when I had a bucket and a sponge in my hand."

He chuckled. "You were just the help."

On the way back, Amanda touched Lukas's arm, and said, "How will we be sure he won't just take the girls back?"

Lukas snorted, "This is too large of a scandal. There were ten news trucks outside the castle."

"So, what will happen to the prince? I wish he would have been there! I would have chopped off his head for what he did."

Lukas exhaled a slow sigh as the van bumped along the country road, and said, "He's the most powerful man in this region. Nothing will happen to him, although it will be a nasty scandal."

"Did you see the butcher block? The girls said he chopped them to pieces on it."

"Yes. The princess told me about that. He held her for five years, in that dungeon."

Amanda gasped, and said, "So that's how she knew. How did she escape?"

"Her father hired mercenaries to rescue her. That's how I met the princess, I was leading the rescue team."

She gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and said, "I'm going to hack him to pieces."

A week later, several girls were being reunited with their parents at the US Embassy. They escorted Miriam into the back and Amanda hugged her.

"Mandy, I thought it was a dream when I saw them drag you in. I knew it was you, but I thought you were dead. Then, I thought he was going to chop you up. Then you were gone. You actually came back for me?"

"Of course, Miriam. I couldn't leave you. I'm sorry it took so long."

Miriam wrapped herself around Amanda and sobbed.

The best friends hugged. Amanda whispered in Miriam's ear, "Nobody knows what happened to my parents, and I'm stuck here because I don't have a passport or any identification. If you see my parents, please tell them I'm here."

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Sandra ran her fingertips through the gray haired man's hair while Misty laid a glass of bourbon into his hand. He smiled and pulled both women against him on his brown leather couch. Sandra nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder. Misty sat down on the other side, wrapped a leg over his leg, slid her hand inside his shirt and ran her fingertips along his chest.

He finished his drink. His chest rumbled, and he said, "Mmm, this is nice, I could live like this forever."

He rubbed his hand against Sandra's thigh, and gently caressed his fingers under Misty's shirt.

Misty kissed his neck, and crooned, "You look like you had a long day. Do you want another drink?"

"You read my mind."

He pulled Sandra up onto his lap and kissed her neck while she ran her fingers along his cheekbone.

Misty got back and he had Sandra's shirt off. He waved Misty over. She kissed his neck and laid the drink in his hand. He swallowed it with a lazy smile and grinned when Misty unbuttoned his shirt and caressed his chest. He started pulling her shirt up, and yawned.

Sandra rubbed his face, Misty kissed his neck, and his face lit in ecstasy. They slowly rubbed his body and kissed him while his eyes drooped shut. His breathing slowed, heavy and rhythmic. A minute later, a low snore crept out of his lips as his head tilted back.

They laid his limp body on the couch. His breathing slowed further and became shallow. They slid their fingers into blue nitrile gloves and pressed a trash bag wrapped pillow onto his face. His body barely twitched as his breathing stopped.

Sandra held the pillow and Misty pressed her fingertips into the side of his neck. Finally Misty nodded and Sandra released.

Sandra winked at Misty, and said, "You seem to know your way around valium."

Misty tilted her head, shrugged, smirked, and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sandra chuckled, and said, "Of course not. Now let's get put of here."

They propped him on pillows and covered him with a blanket. Misty washed the glass, sloshed a little bourbon into it and set it with the open bottle on the side table. She laid an open bottle of prescription painkillers and another of allergy medication on the end table, and scattered a few pills.

Sandra stuffed a large duffel full of cash out of his stash, grabbed some clothes, and the keys to the old Chevy 1500 farm truck.

They walked out the door, and a man yelled. He marched over, "Hey! Where do you two think you're going? And what's in the bag?"

They raised their hands over their heads.

He pushed the barrel of his rifle into Sandra's back and grabbed Misty's arm. "Clark won't be happy with you two. I'm going to enjoy killing you myself, now get!"

He opened the bag, and said, "Stealing from the big man, eh? Well I got just the thing for you. How about I give you time to cool down till I talk to the boss."

He herded them towards the black mouth of the shipping container. He threw Misty inside, then shoved the gun into Sandra's back, and said, "You too. Get!"

He kicked Sandra inside, sending her crashing onto the icy floor. She huddled against Misty while the doors creaked and groaned closed, when a metallic clink sliced through the midnight calm.

His head rolled off his shoulders and bounced into the container.

Misty and Sandra huddled further back and a female voice called out, "Sorry, I must have missed one. You guys OK?"

Misty called out, "Lauren? Is that you?"

Sandra allowed her eyes to focus out of the dark, and said, "I wasn't sure if you were coming."

"Your note said Tuesday night. Come on, let's get going."

Lauren drove them an hour out of town. They stopped at an all night diner. Sandra finally asked, "How did you find us?"

"I saw videos of you fighting online. By the way, you're awesome. A total savage."

Misty gulped, "There's a video?"

Lauren snickered, "There are a couple dozen videos. Sandra was their most popular female fighter. I liked the ones where you killed the guards, they zapped you pretty bad, though."

Sandra groaned and rubbed her neck. "Yeah, well, those cattle prods hurt."

"That was real? It looked real, but I wasn't sure."

"So wait, what happened to Clark and the guys you decapitated."

"I've got some friends cleaning it up."

Misty asked, "So what about all the other fighters? They were all being held there."

"They'll take care of them too. Make sure they get back home, wherever that is."

Sandra sat silent for a minute, and said, "So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're not actually a glue salesman?"

A smirk crossed Lauren's lips. She leaned in and whispered, "I can't say."

Sandra and Misty leaned in, and whispered, "So, what about Amanda?"

"I don't know what happened to Amanda. I'm so sorry. I was in Thailand when I found out about you. I'll do some digging and see if I can come up with anything."

"Are you coming back to Seattle?"

"No. I'm leaving for Thailand first thing. I actually need to get going. I'm not supposed to be here."

Sandra scowled and Misty pushed her face into her palms. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"I'll contact you through Wook."

Lauren slid car keys across the table, and said, "Here, take this back to Seattle. It's a rental in the company's name. It's prepaid, just turn it in whenever you're done."

Sandra and Misty wrapped Lauren in a hug, and said, "Thank you so much." They wiped tears out of their eyes and slid into a white fullsize SUV.

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They found the main road, collected their bearings, and headed west. Two days later, they finally made it to Seattle.

Their first call was to Wook. The second, Rosalee.

Misty and Sandra silently cried as they walked through their house, ice cold, in shambles, and a moldy refrigerator full of rotten food.

They had prayed ceaselessly for Amanda to be waiting for them at home, or perhaps with The Burkhardts, but no one had heard anything.

Then reality struck. No bills had been paid. All the utilities were shut off, and notices were taped to the door.

The next day, Sandra sat outside her accounting firm and cried. They had walked her back out. They apologized, but she had been a no-call-no-show for three whole months. They had disposed of her pictures and company awards months ago.

Misty got the same from the hospital.

They had no income, a giant stack of bills, and their beautiful Amanda was still missing.

They returned to their bleak house, slumped into the couch, and cried in each other's arms. Finally Misty sat up, and said, "Adalind Burkhardt is a lawyer in a big firm in Portland, maybe she knows somebody here who can help us sort this out."

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Adalind marched into the Seattle accounting firm, dressed for battle in a black Armani pantsuit and red high heels. She already knew the receptionist was a Seelengut, so she looked straight into the woman's eyes, twisted her wrist, and the door unlocked itself. The woman gasped and cowered as Adalind sauntered past. "It's ok, I have a meeting with the owner."

She rapped once on the owner's door frame, waltzed straight into his office, and said, "Mr. Jones, I'm Adalind Schade, a partner at Berman, Rautbort, and Associates, and I understand you unlawfully terminated my client."

He stood up, scowled through his wire rimmed glasses, and said, "What? You won't just walk up in my office like this. I have lawyers!"

She smiled and flicked her wrist. The man's office door swung itself shut. She held out her hand, winked at him, and his gold pen flew across the room, settling into her fingers.

He gasped and stepped back, pressing himself against the window. He twisted his head and transformed, revealing orange and white fur and flattened canine features of a Fuchsbau. He grimaced and held his palms up in front of him.

She gently touched his hand and said, "Mr. Jones, there's no reason to be alarmed. I just want to review the particulars of Sandra Prentice's situation with you, and give you a chance to understand this unfortunate incident."

His eyes glazed over and he heaved a sigh of relief. He transformed himself back into the balding accountant wearing a gray suit.

She slid a series of documents out of her leather bound folder. She laid a Seattle police report in front of him, as well as the FBI investigation documents. She said, "Mrs. Prentice was kidnapped, along with her wife and daughter several months ago. She was recovered in Illinois a few days ago, but her daughter is still missing. You can imagine the stress she is under right now, and her grief over her daughter, and then to learn she was fired?"

He fidgeted and mumbled something about none of that being his fault.

She touched his hand again, and said, "She's been such a loyal employee, for over ten years now. Do you have children?"

"I have a son and a daughter."

"Can you imagine, having your daughter kidnapped? I'm sure you will want to make this right, reinstating her job, with back pay."

His eyes glazed over, and a tear formed in the corner of his eye as his daughter's face pleaded with him. He said, "Oh, yes, of course, absolutely. I can't imagine how difficult it must be, and Amanda is still missing? Does anyone know what happened to her?"

"They think she was taken out of the country by traffickers."

"Oh my, I can't imagine. Of course, I'll help her however I can."

"Perfect. Just sign these forms..."

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3k 3/4/21 r1