That’s hardly on her mind right now. As JJ and Noah get closer, they see fresh and old pinpricks on her arms, the glazed eyes of the strung out and the expression of someone who lost their childhood so long ago, it’s not even a memory.
“Fifty bucks,” says the girl in perfect Chinese.
“That’s a Beijing accent,” responds JJ in similar perfect Chinese. “Why are you here?”
“Are you going to pay me or not? If not, get out of my way and don’t interrupt my business,” says the girl. This time, her speech is tinged with fear.
“I just want to get to know you better.”
“You can know me very well for fifty. Both of you for seventy-five.” Fear turns to desperation. “Please, I need it.”
She begins shaking. “Sixty... fifty for two... ”
“Come with me. We’ll take care of you.” JJ puts his arms around her to catch her from falling.
The girl screams, “It’s not me! Don’t hurt me! Leo! Tony!”
Suddenly, from the alleyway, spring two tough-looking Chinese dudes. Both in identical black T-shirts with leopards emblazoned on the front and back, both with leopards tattooed on their arms, both built like Sherman tanks.
“You tryin’ to snag a freebie or you tryin’ to muscle in on Leopard Land?” asks Leo, as he waves a baseball bat at Noah.
“We just want to protect the kid,” says Noah.
“She ain’t no kid. She is one full-fledged thoroughbred you can ride all night long, and you ain’t taking her away,” says Tony, waving chains in each hand.
Tony lunges at JJ, chain, swinging hard.
JJ throws the girl to the side out of harm’s way as he falls to the ground. He narrowly ducks the swinging chain and rolls on the ground in the opposite direction of the girl.
This leopard dude is fast though, and it is all that JJ can do to avoid being hit by the relentless windmill chain.
After narrowly avoiding having his head walloped by the linked pieces of iron, JJ springs to his feet, and a swift kick connects JJ’s foot with Tony’s hands.
The chain master flinches momentarily. That split second is enough for JJ to send a hand chop to Tony’s wrist, knocking the chain out of his hand.
JJ moves in with lightning speed and grabs his assailant’s hand.
Leo launches an all-out offensive with the baseball bat.
And Leo’s fast. With natural muscle speed, he slices and swings at Noah, advancing on him seemingly at will.
Noah has to duck, sidestep, jump, somersault and roll over to avoid the assault that seems to come at him with terminal velocity.
Recognizing that sooner or later one of these blows will connect, Noah tries another tactic. As the bat comes at him, rather than ducking, he grabs the bat and pulls as hard as he can.
The maneuver works, and the bat is yanked out of Leo’s hands.
Noah knees Leo in the groin, but this has little effect.
Leo comes down hard with an elbow. Can lightning strike twice?
Noah tries the same trick that he did with the baseball bat. He allows the elbow to hit but again goes with the flow of direction of the hit, again minimizing the blow’s impact.
Noah rolls over toward his opponent’s legs and knocks him down. Noah springs up and grabs his assailant’s hand. He shouts to JJ, “You good?”
“Yes, sir,” is the reply.
Both Noah and JJ, each holding a hand of their enemy, start spinning. Their foes have no choice but to run as fast as they can, circling like a merry-go-round to avoid having their arms torn off.
Noah shouts, “Now!” and he and JJ simultaneously release their victims so that they are directed right at each other. There is a huge collision as their heads bang together.
Leo and Tony fall unconscious.
Noah offers his hand to the girl on the ground. “I don’t think you want to be around when they come to.”
She nods, takes Noah’s hand and allows him to help her upright.
The temple visit is forgotten as the three make their way down the street as quickly as a girl wearing six-inch heels can travel.
“I’m JJ, and he’s Noah. What’s you name?”
“You can call me Ling Ling,” says the girl in English.
“So you do speak English then,” says Noah. “How long you been doing this?”
“Eight months. Ever since I came from Guangdong. I came by boat.”
“Who was the snakehead? How did you get started?”
“I don’t know. Someone came to my father. He lost his job and couldn’t get another. So he made a deal for me. When I got here, that’s when I met Prince. He’s the leader of the Leopard Gang.”
“Where’s your family now?”
“Waiting for me to make enough money to bring them over.”
“How long is that going to take?” asks JJ.
“Maybe five years, maybe a bit longer. I’m fourteen now so if I can get them here by the time I’m twenty, I’ll be happy.
JJ looks at Noah - they are both thinking the same thing. She’ll be lucky to live that long. And if she does, there’s no way that they will give her enough money to bring the family over unless they want to be slaves too.
“Well, Ling Ling, JJ and I are going to try and make things right for you so you can be with your family sooner than that.”
Ling Ling asks matter-of-factly, “How many thousand men do I have to screw to do that? Prince said that I get two dollars every time, and it cost fifteen thousand to bring them over. If you give me less, I’m going back to him.”
It’s heartbreaking that she’s not even jaded. Ling Ling is saying this matter-of-factly as if discussing how many cups of flour are needed to make a loaf of bread.
“Zero. You’ll never have to do this again.”
The brave front collapses. Ling Ling bursts into tears. “Don’t lie to me. I’ve heard so many of them.”
JJ changes back to speaking in Chinese. “I am not your boss. I am your brother, and you are my little sister, and I will take care of my sister. Do you believe me?”
Ling Ling wants so desperately to believe, but she’s just been savaged and lied to so many times. She finally says, “I don’t know.”
“Do you want to go back to them?” asks JJ, pointing back in the direction of the guys with the leopard tattoos.
Ling Ling shakes her head. “But what about my family?”
“Ling Ling, they will never bring your family over. Why should they? You can make money for them. The only way they would bring them over is if they can make money for them too. Is that what you want? Is that they want?” asks Noah.
“No. But why are you doing this?”
“Because we know what it is like to be completely lost in the world. Someone helped us, and now, because we can, we want to help others. That’s the truth. Right, JJ?”
JJ nods. “I was a Shaolin monk. Very bad people destroyed my monastery. I was lucky to get out alive. It made me realize that for me to live I had to go beyond the monastery’s walls into the world.”
“But you still have a monk’s heart?”
“I still have a monk’s heart.”
“Can I ask two things?”
“Sure.”
“Can I take off my shoes? They are killing me.”
JJ laughs. “Of course. I’ll carry you. What’s the second question?”
“I have two friends. Can they come too? They have shoes just like mine.”
“We’ll take a taxi.”
CHAPTER 2
Abby and Olivia hold court as they sit in the middle of a carpet in the living room of a large apartment. They are surrounded by a dozen young Russian girls ages twelve to seventeen whom they helped rescue just a few days ago from Alexei Gudonov, a New York Russian mob leader.
Getting the children here was not straightforward - there is no Human Trafficking for Dummies textbook. But it’s not rocket science either. Some children were “adopted” by fictitious American “parents” or sponsored by
a “relative.”
To get them here willingly, Alexei employed a lot of deception. There are not likely many candidates that will come over to be prostitutes for ten hours a day for little money or free time to service Alexei’s growing clientele of men who want young white girls.
Alexei has an ulterior motive too: They are also here to satisfy Alexei’s personal cravings of young girls - something he acquired as a soldier during the Afghanistan war. American girls are okay, but he prefers those of his own background.
While it’s only been days, it seems like forever has passed. There is no talk of the horror that they experienced. No, the young girls are only interested in gossiping and finding out about the love lives of these two beautiful “older” women of twenty-six. It must be so exciting to have the dashing Noah and JJ interested in them, but of course, because Abby and Olivia are so hot, they must have had their pick of “millions” of men.
“Olivia, how many boyfriends have you had?” asks one of the girls.
“Oh, you don’t want to know that,” says the jazz pianist cum lawyer cum Chad Huang executive.
“Oh yes, we do,” shouts the young female chorus.
“And how often do you and Noah do it? Once, twice, three times a day?” asks another.
“I’ll bet he’s great. Not like those pigs,” says the thirteen-year-old Polina. She starts oinking like a pig as the other girls laugh.
“How many times?” shout the girls in chorus.
“Okay, okay. Noah and I, well ... ” Olivia rocks her head back and forth coyly. “Let’s put it this way. Every relationship has its problems, but frequency and quality are not two of them. Not even close. Not by a long shot.”
“Ohhh!” say the girls in that elongated way that indicates they know about the hanky panky.
“That’s why I can’t sleep at night,” says Polina. “Too much noise.”
Larissa, the youngest at twelve, turns to Abby. “How about you and JJ?”
“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” smiles Abby, jazz singer and another exec at the Foundation.
“You got to tell us. Please, Abby,” plead the inquisitive girls.
“That’s just between him and me. Some things I like to keep private.”
“I’ll bet he’s great. Just look at his muscles. He is so cute,” says the giggling, precocious Nina.
Abby just smiles and shakes her head as the girls keep peppering her.
Surly, seventeen-year-old Tanya, who has been quiet until now, finally speaks. “Hey, they haven’t done anything. JJ’s a virgin. I know because I tried, and that’s what he told me. And believe me, I tried hard.”
The mood in the room sombers.
“Hey, I wanted a fix. Thought he could get me one.”
The girls look back and forth between Abby and Tanya.
Abby nods. “That’s true. JJ wants to save himself for marriage.”
“But you’re so pretty. You don’t need him. You must have had thousands of other guys before you met him,” says Larissa. “Maybe even ten thousand.”
The sad thing about Larissa’s seemingly exaggerated number is that in the world of these girls, ten thousand sexual encounters is not out of the question.
“Nowhere even close,” says Abby gently. “But then again right now, I’m not seeing anybody else.”
“Great. So JJ’s a monk, and you’re a nun. No wonder you get along so well,” crows Tanya sarcastically.
“So you love JJ then?” asks Polina, ignoring Tanya’s outburst,
A look of tenderness crosses Abby’s face. “You could say that.”
“Then why don’t you marry him?”
“It’s complicated.”
Of course it’s complicated. What relationship isn’t? The girls continue to pepper and pester Abby and Olivia with every single detail about JJ, Noah and their relationships with these two really hot guys. First date, first kiss, how many times they’ve given them flowers...
And of course as available, single young teenagers, conversation also turns to Sam Xi and Walrus, the two boys of their age who assisted in their rescue.
Sam and Walrus are at Walrus’ family’s place. They had a fear that things were going to degenerate into this kind of hen party and wanted no part of it. It’s a good thing that the two boys are not there to hear what is being said about them as every part of their anatomy is being discussed in great detail by the girls with vivid imaginations.
***
In the midst of the discussion, the door opens. The girls’ eyes turn and see Noah, JJ, Ling Ling and two other tarted-up young Chinese girls entering the room. All the Chinese girls are sweating, shivering and shaking and on the verge of collapse.
“We got to get a doctor here,” says JJ as he steadies Ling Ling and helps her lie down on the floor.
“I know someone. Dr. Tang,” says Olivia as she rushes to the door and carries one of the other girls.
“Will he make a house call?” asks Noah as he brings in the third girl.
“He will for me.”
“Get him here fast.”
Noah helps the other girls sit. “Hello, everyone. This is Ling Ling, Mei and Lydia from China. They are here because they were in similar situations to yours.”
“Do they speak English?” asks Larissa.
“Of course we do. We’re not stupid,” says Ling Ling as she lies shaking.
“That’s not nice,” says Larissa. “I don’t want to be your friend.”
Not a great start for this new enforced friendship.
“What do you expect, Larissa? They’re junkies or close to it. They’ve got the super flu,” says the streetwise Tanya. “When was their last fix?”
Nothing like cutting to the chase.
“Last night. They were going to give us another after our first trick today. We never got that far,” says Ling Ling. “And we are not junkies.”
Tanya shrugs. “You can lie if you like, but that’s not gonna change your situation. Pretty standard. Get you high, addicted, get a nice buzz, then Boom! Crash. When you wake up, do anything for the next hit. If it looks like that hit might not happen, desperation, even paranoia sets in. How am I doing so far?”
Not much disagreement here. Story’s the same in New York, Moscow, Vancouver, Las Vegas or Hong Kong.
***
Dr. Moses Tang, an elderly doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, enters the apartment. Dr. Tang was introduced to Abby and Olivia by Olivia’s father, Garret when he helped Tang immigrate to the United States three decades ago. Dr. Tang’s older brother was also a doctor of TCM and was the best friend of Noah’s mentor, Master Wu, in Hong Kong.
The younger Dr. Tang, after coming to the United States, opened his practice in Chinatown. While a few of his patients are well heeled or at least middle class, many are illegal Chinese immigrants, Without much money to offer, payment is often a bag or oranges or a chicken.
There is no lack of patients. Dr. Tang has a solid reputation in the community, not only for quality of work, but for keeping his mouth shut. That’s a valuable asset because a source of many patients are the snakeheads - those organizations and people that are involved in human trafficking. Some of these patients came through Chin, his son King or daughter Queenie.
Although thoroughly urbanized with Western medicine in Hong Kong, Olivia and Abby never hesitated to use Dr. Tang during their time in New York. Part of it was that visiting him was an excuse to visit Chinatown and eat some real Chinese food, part of it was that Dr. Tang always had an immediate cure for everything, be it abnormally painful menstruation, chills and fever from a nasty virus or herbs for extra energy if there was an upcoming exam or concert. He has always been grateful for Garret getting him into America and for Garret’s pulling a few strings into getting his son, Zachariah, into medical school.
After introductory formalities, Dr. Tang checks the pulses and tongues of the Chinese girls - classic TCM diagnosis technique.
He lifts his head up. “Normal withdrawal
symptoms. No poisoning. No other issues. These girls are healthy. I get many of these cases.”
“What do you suggest?” asks Noah.
“The best thing is for the body to heal itself. No drugs, no medicine. It needs to detox, to cleanse. The hard part is the withdrawal, which the girls are going through now. Curing addiction is difficult. My own opinion is that it is best to go through it cold turkey and then use Tai Chi and meditation. I can use acupuncture to help ease the pain of the withdrawal.”
“Can I get some too?” asks Polina.
“Me too,” says Nina and the other Russian girls. Tanya and Larissa are noticeably absent by their not wanting treatment. Larissa, because Alexei never touched her, and Tanya... well because Tanya’s not ready to give it up yet.
“That’s a lot of patients. It will take me a while to do you all.”
“I can help. I have had some training,” says JJ.
Seeing Dr. Tang’s skepticism, Noah speaks up. “Dr. Tang, this is JJ. He studied at the Shaolin Heaven monastery.”
“I will gladly accept your help. My brother used to speak of his best friend, Master Wu, who also studied there. Let’s begin.
The two begin inserting the long, thin acupuncture needles into Ling Ling’s body. Skeptical at first, as the Russians see the calming effect and the complete absence of pain as needles are inserted into the Chinese, the girls gladly try out this new mode of relief from a culture completely unknown to them.
Polina quizzes her new doctors, “What exactly are you doing?”
As he continues inserting the needles into the ears of other prone, stationary girls, Dr. Tang explains. “Chinese medicine is very different. We treat the whole body and believe that the whole body is interconnected. The ears are the window to stimulate the primary points of the kidney, liver and heart-lung, the most appropriate areas for dealing with heroin detoxification.”
“I didn’t understand that, but I hope it works,” says Nina.
Olivia, Abby and Noah stand together watching. Treatment for heroin overdose and addiction? This is nothing like the basketball and martial arts centers that they envisioned when the Chad Huang Foundation was started. But there is no doubt that this is an extension of the work.
SLAVERY UNBOUND: Cruelty & Lust with the Emerging Eastern Mafia (Noah Reid Action Thriller series Book 4) Page 2