When she woke the next morning both Red and Dembe had already left. Red was probably still upset with her. In the kitchen there was a note written in red ink. 'Early business meeting, someone will be by to take you to work - R.'
She ate a bowl of yogurt with some fruit and then showered and got ready for her first day with the children. Just as she was checking herself in the mirror to make sure everything was in place, there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door to a smartly dressed man, though not in the same league as Red. The man straightened his tie before speaking, like he was interviewing for a job. "My name is Newton. Mr. Nolan has asked me to take you to work this morning."
She rolled her eyes. Why she couldn't take a taxi escaped her. This man was no Dembe, so he was obviously not here for protection. The only other explanation would be spy. Red wanted to know her every move and was going to use Newton to report on her whereabouts. She had half a mind to dismiss the new driver and take a taxi anyway just to see what Red would do, but after experiencing his displeasure last night, she really wasn't looking forward to that again so soon.
When she arrived at the orphanage she was brought to a large room that would serve as a space to get the kids ready. There was a huge bathing tub in one corner and a large rolling wardrobe rack on the side with clothing for boys and girls. There were various pairs of shoes in all different sizes underneath the rack and a small table with socks and underwear to the side. On the other side of the room was a barbers chair and a table with brushes, combs, a hair dryer, curling iron and in a wide spectrum of colors, shapes and styles.
She had expected the older woman, who was dressed like a school marm from a bad B movie, to leave as soon as she had been escorted in, but she made herself comfortable with a book in a corner saying simply, "Talk only as much as needed, clean them and send them on."
Great, so much for questioning the kids.
The first child was ushered in less than five minutes after her arrival. She had to stifle a cry before it escaped her throat. The little girl couldn't have been more than seven years old, and she looked half starved and frightened beyond belief. She smelled horribly and her clothing, if you could call what she had on clothes, were more like rags that hung off her small frame. Her hair was a greasy, haphazard mess and sticking to her face.
Liz got ahold of herself and tried to present a brave face to make the child feel more at ease. She asked the girl to step over to the tub, but getting no response she gently reached for her hand. The girl recoiled like she had been struck, whimpering and trying to curl in on herself.
Liz squatted before the girl and waited until she could capture her gaze before softly speaking. Liz's Russian was sounding more and more like her native tongue the more she used it. The ease at which she picked up the language still surprised her. "It's ok, sweetie, I am just going to wash you up and get you dressed in some clean clothes. Doesn't that sound good?"
The girl watched her warily, but nodded and allowed Liz to take her hand and lead her to the tub. Liz talked to her softly while undressing her for the tub, there were so many bruises on her and it took all Liz had not to find a gun and shoot every adult in the building. The girl was shaking, and kept darting glances to the dragon lady in the corner.
While she bathed the girl and washed her hair Liz hummed a soothing tune she remembered hearing from her father when she was scared. Once the bath was done, and the girl was dry Liz chose a frilly little blue dress and black mary janes. She chose her underthings and helped get the girl dressed. Hair came next, she was as gentle as she could be, but there were a lot of tangles. They managed to comb through without too much trouble thankfully, and Liz chose a pretty blue bow to pin the hair on top while letting the rest hang down her back.
As soon as she was done, the horrible lady in the corner roughly grabbed the girl's hand and pushed her into the next room. Liz had no time to take issue with her though, as another child was quickly sent in. The day was passing quickly: as soon as one child was done, another entered. There had been at least fifteen children already, and Liz had stopped counting after nine.
After the last child was cleaned and dressed Liz stretched her tired back and realized she was starving. She hadn't eaten all day. Dragon Lady came back into the room. While practically dragging Liz out, she said curtly, "Time for you to go. There will be another round tomorrow, and Mr. Rudenko will talk to you then regarding supervision of the children during the showing."
When she got back to the apartment she wanted to take a long hot bath and go straight to bed. She didn't even want to think of eating. But those thoughts flew out of her head the minute she saw Red.
Red rose from his chair when he heard the door, wanting to see if she had learned anything. "How was your day, Li… " He grunted as he was abruptly cut off and stumbled back a few steps as she landed full force against his chest, her arms wrapped securely around his neck. He returned the embrace and held her tightly while she sobbed, rubbing soothing strokes up and down her back and placing kisses in her hair.
Dembe had poked his head around the corner when he heard Liz's sobs. But seeing that she was safely in his brother's arms he retreated back to the kitchen. Raymond didn't do tears: usually when the women he 'entertained' resorted to tears, he sent them packing. But Elizabeth was different; he knew from the moment Raymond had told him of his plan that she meant far more to him than simple entertainment.
Liz eventually quieted, but Red continued to hold her until she pulled back a little. He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to her. He went to sit on the sofa while she dried her eyes and blew her nose.
She went to the bathroom and washed the smeared makeup off her face and then went and changed into a tank top and sleep shorts before going back out to talk to Red. She grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and sat close enough so she could cuddle into his side. She needed comfort right now; she would worry about what he thought about her sudden clinginess later. Right now she needed his solid strength to be able to relay the details of her day.
Red held her close to his side as she told him of the horrible condition the children were brought to her in. She wasn't able to question them because they had someone watching her the entire time. He figured that may be the case, but hoped she would be able to explore a little, maybe in the days ahead. But that would have to wait, he didn't want her taking any risks right now.
When she had reached the end of her tale, he kissed the top of her head. He really didn't want to tell her his news now, but it couldn't be helped. "Sweetheart, I need to leave tomorrow for a couple of days."
She stiffened beside him. He couldn't leave, not now, not when she knew how these animals were treating the kids. This had been cathartic for her, and she would be able to face tomorrow now because he had allowed her this. She didn't know if she could do this without him.
He squeezed her into his side briefly. "If I could put this off, I would. But this matter requires my presence and the deal will be over if I don't show up personally."
"I don't know if I can do this alone." She hated sounding weak and frightened, but she couldn't help it; these people were monsters.
"You can, but I will make a call and have someone I trust implicitly come here and stay with you while I'm gone."
She felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. She was a fully capable woman, she could handle this. "How long will you be gone?"
"Two days at the most if things go well." He was stroking her arm, doing his best to soothe her.
He stood and waited for her to join him before leading the way into the kitchen. "Let's get you fed and we can have a few glasses of wine before bed to help calm your nerves."
"Will you be gone before I wake up again?" She hoped he would be there, seeing him tomorrow would give her the boost she needed to get through the day.
"I will stay long enough to say goodbye, okay?"
He ate with her and they cuddled on the couch afterwards and had a few glasses of wine. Red regaled her with colorful stories of his adventures and had her laughing and feeling much lighter by the time she was ready for her bed.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for this, I know I was a basket case when I got back. I guess I didn't expect the children to be so poorly taken care of."
"It was my pleasure Lizzie. I am sorry you had to see those kids like that, but hopefully soon we will be able to liberate them." He stood and pulled her up with him. "Time for bed, we both have a full day tomorrow."
He led her by the hand down the hall to her room. When she hesitated at the door, he raised his hand and brushed the hair back from her face, letting his hand linger for a moment. He was gazing at her so intently and when he leaned forward the slightest bit, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he dropped his hand and bit his cheek before he bade her goodnight and disappeared behind his own door.