Liz arrived for work the next day and was met by Ms. Kushnir, A.K.A. Dragon Lady. "Here is your controller, follow me and I will show you how to use it."
They walked down the hall into another wing of the building to a set of large double doors. Two heavily muscled men stood guard outside. One of the men opened the door as they approached, all the while eyeing Liz warily.
Liz almost stumbled over the threshold when she saw the room. She looked on in horror as she followed Ms. Kushnir down the length of the room. There were two rows of cages, one on top of the other, lining both sides of the room. It reminded Liz of the time she went to the local animal shelter to adopt a dog.
Each contained a chair where the child on display would sit for who knew how long. A doll sized bed and furniture adorned the space to give it the look of a child's room, there were even a few containing small clear bassinets for the infants.
Ms. Kushnir stopped at the end of the room and opened a utility box and flipped a switch. The sound of electricity being brought online whirred loudly in the area. This must be the power source.
The 'dragon lady' walked over to the nearest cage and put her controller into a small slot next to the door. "If a child is crying too much or yells to get out, just place the controller in the slot next to the appropriate cage and a jolt will be sent to the child's collar."
Liz saw that the woman was watching her with a strange expression so she mentally gave herself a slap to get back in the game. She had to swallow before she could speak, her throat was so dry. "Won't that make them cry more."
The woman smiled the most evil smile Liz had ever seen."The shock paralyzes them for a moment, sadly they usually only require a jolt or two before they get the idea."
Miles strode into the room then. Ms. Kushnir walked over to him to whisper something in his ear; Liz used their inattention to quickly place the small device on the electricity grid.
"Ms. Kushnir, please open the gates and let the children in." Miles walked back to the first cage and waited for the children to enter.
Liz turned as if in a slow motion nightmare as the gates were opened behind the cages and the children shuffled in, they each wore a small collar around their neck. A few of the children's eyes widened in fear when they saw her. They probably thought she had betrayed them, just like every other adult had since they found themselves in this mess.
Miles walked along the rows of cages and inspected each child as he went. "Good, good. They still look well." He turned to Liz and held both hands towards her. "You have done a wonderful job."
Liz wanted to run shrieking at him and claw out his eyes, but she needed to remain strong, these kids needed her. She glued on a smile and tried to appear flattered by the compliment. Her face froze however, when none other than Jason Halstead walked into the room.
Jason's stepped faltered when he saw her, turning to Miles he asked, "What's Reddington's latest fuck doing here?"
Miles looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? This is Richard Nolan's wife."
Jason relished in the superiority of knowing something his friend did not. "Richard Nolan is an alias of Reddington's. If she's here, it's because he sent her in."
Miles turned to her with an ugly sneer. "Is this true, are you working for that bastard?"
Liz was suddenly terrified, there was no telling what these people were capable of doing to her... wasn't Jason one of Red's contacts?
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Jason walked up and smacked her hard across the face. He caught her roughly before she fell to the ground and pulled her against his chest. "I guess I'm going to finally get a taste of one of Red's whore's."
He ground his mouth painfully against hers.
Liz tried to pull away, but the blow had weakened her. Her vision was blurry and her head was spinning.
Miles came over and squeezed Jason's shoulder hard enough for him to yelp in pain and loosen his hold on Liz. "Put her in the back until our guests have gone, and then you can have your way with her."
She used his inattention to try to run. She made it out the doors before being grabbed by one of the muscle men who spun her around his fist connecting with her jaw. Everything went black.
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Red was sharing a drink with his business associate that evening when Dembe interrupted him. "Raymond, you have a phone call."
"Dembe, whatever it is, I'm sure you can take care of it."
When his friend's face remained impassive, Red knew something was horribly wrong.
"Excuse me, David, but it seems this one is urgent." He walked into the other room with Dembe and shut the door.
Dembe silently handed him the phone, Red took it with shaking hands, knowing there could be nothing but bad news waiting for him. "Hello."
It was Kate on the other end. "They have her Raymond, Newton went to pick her up and was turned away at the door, saying she had already left."
He tried not to panic, he needed a clear head to see this through. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, trying not to take everything out on Kate. "Our people were stationed outside all the exits?"
"Yes, no one has exited the building since she walked in."
"I'm on my way, gather the extraction team." He glanced at Dembe knowing his friend would know to call the pilot.
"Should we wait for you?"
Red wanted to be there more than anything, but he knew every second counted and didn't want her to spend one more minute there than necessary. He answered with a clipped, "no", before hanging up the phone.
Red let himself out of the room, saying over his shoulder. "Let me make my excuses to David and we can be on our way."
Once in the air, they got the satellite feed going so they could watch the raid on the monitor.
Dembe didn't want to voice this fear, but knew Raymond needed to think of all the angles. "Do you think they would sell her at the auction with the children?"
"No, I don't believe so. Those people are there to buy children, not adults." But Red knew those same people had contacts who dealt in all flesh, no matter the age.
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Liz woke up in a space that was much like the 'viewing' room, except this one was cement from floor to ceiling and the rooms were nothing but concrete walls. The floors and walls were damp, they must have sprayed out the cages after the kids left.
The poor dears must live like animals, there was no bed, no bathroom, just stark grey walls with a wire cage door. No wonder they were so filthy when they first came to her.
She didn't know how long she had been unconscious for or how much longer she would be left alone.
She crawled to the cage door trying to find a way to undo the lock. There was a small keyhole, but she didn't have anything to pick it with.
She heard footsteps approaching and squeezed herself into the back wall of her cage hoping whoever it was would keep walking.
No such luck. Jason appeared in front of her cage. "Hey baby. How do you like your new accommodations?"
"Why are you doing this?" There had to be a reason he was betraying Red.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Red is a smug bastard who thinks he's above everyone else. It's time he got taken down a few pegs."
That couldn't be all of it, Red was a powerful man, it certainly had to be beneficial to keep on his good side. "How is taking me going to affect him?"
"It probably won't, that old bastard has women on every continent waiting in line to fuck him. But for some reason he seems to favor you." He licked his lips and looked hungrily at her.
She had no idea what to do, she was so scared. Her only hope was the thought that Newton would report to Red that she didn't arrive outside for pick-up. What if he didn't come for her? No, she wouldn't think like that.
Liz suddenly realized what he wanted. "You think he will trade himself in exchange for me?"
He reached behind him under his suit jacket and brought out a device that looked like a cattle prod. Seeing the fear in her eyes he twirled it around a few times. "It's a picana, used for torture, like it?"
He pulled a small key from his pocket and opened the lock. Swinging the doors open, he reached in and offered her his hand. When she hesitated he shoved the picana into her side. Intense pain immediately forced her body to seize up. When she could open her eyes again it was to his smug visage.
"You see what happens when you don't play along?" He reached for her again and this time Liz took his hand and let him help her out of the cage.