Russia Girl

by Kenneth Rosenberg

  Tozar pulled his car onto the sidewalk and stopped. “Which one?”

  “There,” Natalia pointed. “On the top floor.”

  “Are you all right?” Tozar looked her over with apparent concern.

  “Yes,” Natalia answered, “I’m all right.”

  “Ok, let’s go.”

  “Me, too?”

  “Don’t worry. It will be fine.”

  “I think you need more men.” Natalia tried once more to convey the urgency of the situation

  “Relax.” Tozar opened his door and hopped out. “These rats are not as powerful as they think. Especially when confronted by the law. They will not attack a police captain.”

  Natalia climbed out of the car more slowly. “You’re sure about that?”

  “I’m sure. Come. I need you to identify Zigic, if he is there.”

  “But these men, I don’t think you understand, they are killers!”

  “You witnessed a murder?”

  “No, I heard the stories…”

  “Do you want to save your friends?”

  “Of course…”

  “Then I suggest you come with me.”

  Natalia didn’t like this at all. Her purported savior seemed an incompetent buffoon. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? But then, she knew the clock was ticking. Every minute that she left Sonia alone in there was a minute too long. “Ok,” she relented. “Let’s go.”

  Tozar nodded. “Stay close to me.”

  Natalia followed him across the narrow street to the front door. Tozar reached up and pushed the top button on the column. After a moment the electronic lock buzzed and Tozar pushed the door open. He went through first and then held the door for Natalia. Just like that, she was back. The door swung shut, leaving them in the dimly-lit stairway. Natalia followed behind as they climbed the steps, Tozar breathing heavily from exertion. When they reached the top, they found the entryway unguarded. Just an empty chair. Perhaps Dusan was inside.

  “This is it?” Tozar nodded toward the door.

  “Yes. That’s it.”

  Tozar gave a loud knock. Natalia took one step backward, ready to flee down the stairs if she had to. She wanted to believe this ordeal was nearly over but couldn’t shake her doubt. Tozar was married to a former prostitute himself. Surely he knew the score. He had to realize there would be at least one armed guard inside, if not more, yet he showed no concern at all. Everything about this just seemed wrong. The door opened. Inside stood Zigic, arms folded across his chest. Beside him was Dusan. Natalia tried to bolt but Tozar was on her in a flash, gripping her in his arms and squeezing tightly. Dusan rushed into the stairway and together the two men dragged Natalia’s thrashing body into the apartment while Zigic slammed the door closed behind them.

  The men threw Natalia to the floor at Zigic’s feet. “My little lost puppy.” He lifted a leg and kicked her in the gut as hard as he could, knocking all of the air out of her. Natalia gasped for breath. From the corner of her eye she saw Zigic hand a wad of bills to Tozar, who tucked the money into his pocket.

  “She says that one of the girls is pregnant,” said Tozar. “I thought you might want to know.”

  “Is that so?” Zigic replied.

  To Natalia these words were worse than any beating. Now her betrayal was complete. Dusan opened the door and Tozar walked out without another word. When bolt slid shut again, Zigic bent low and twirled a few strands of Natalia’s hair before closing his fingers around them tightly. “So…who could it be? Sonia, perhaps?” Zigic jerked Natalia’s head up until her face was inches from his own, his foul breath nearly choking her. “We’ll take care of that. But not before we take care of you.” He turned to Dusan. “Give me a cigarette,” he said. “And a knife.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  She lie curled up on the floor in her room, naked and alone. Knife wounds, bruises, cigarette burns; pain so overwhelming she could hardly distinguish the sources. Natalia pushed herself up on her forearms. Violent sensations ricocheted through her brain, nearly causing her to collapse. Blood pooled on the wooden floorboards beneath her. Natalia touched the edges a wound on her abdomen and winced. She’d been branded, the letter “Z” carved into her flesh. She had to stop the bleeding. Reaching the bed, she pulled herself up and then in, pressing the sheets close against her.

  After a quick knock at the door, Tanya walked in. “I brought you some rubbing alcohol.” She held up a white bottle, a bag of cotton balls and a box of bandages. Even Tanya, cynical Tanya, seemed shocked when she saw Natalia’s condition.

  “Where is Sonia?”

  “I think you need to worry about yourself.” Tanya eyed the blood on the floor.

  “What have they done to her?!”

  “I don’t know. They took her away.”

  “Took her where?!”

  “I told you, I don’t know!” Tanya placed the supplies on the bedside table and then opened the bag, pulling out a single cotton ball. She unscrewed the bottle, pressed the cotton over the opening and then shook it. “You better not pull a stunt like that again. You’ll get us all in trouble.”

  “Get out,” Natalia replied through clenched teeth.

  Tanya stayed where she was, a petulant expression creeping over her face.

  “I said get out!!!” Natalia shouted.

  “Suit yourself.” Tanya put the alcohol back down and stalked out of the room. With hands shaking, Natalia summoned the strength to reach for the bottle and then poured the liquid directly onto her wounds. The shock of pain came with a flash of white light and she passed out where she lay.

  The potent odor of rubbing alcohol filled her nostrils when Natalia awoke sometime later. She felt dampness in the sheets where the empty bottle lay beside her. The bleeding had mostly stopped. She forced herself to a sitting position and put her feet on the floor. Fumbling with the box of bandages, she pulled one out and tore open the wrapper. After peeling off the backing, she gritted her teeth again as she pressed it to her abdomen. One more bandage beside it and then she paused for a moment. It took a massive effort to stand, but she managed to move to her dresser, open a drawer and pull out a T-shirt. As soon as she’d pulled it over her head, she heard the front door to the apartment open and then the sound of tramping feet. Natalia moved into the hallway in time to see a dazed Sonia being carried past. Dusan and another man took Sonia into the next room and then reappeared in the hall without her. As he went by, Dusan stopped to face Natalia, leaning in close and pressing her against the wall. “So good to see you survived,” he said. “We’ll have to do that again sometime.” He stuck out his tongue and licked the length of Natalia’s cheek as she tried to turn her head away, closing her eyes tight. “Next time you might not be so lucky,” he hissed, “but that won’t stop us from having some fun.” He took a step back and laughed before moving down the hall.

  When the men were gone, Natalia hurried into the room where she found Sonia pressing a bunched-up sheet between her legs. “Oh Sonia!” Natalia dropped to her knees beside the bed. “What have they done to you?”

  “They took my baby. My sweet Italian baby.”

  Natalia saw the color red spreading down the sheet. “You need help! You need a doctor!”

  “Don’t leave me!” Sonia pleaded, grasping Natalia’s hand. “Please, don’t leave me. I don’t want to die alone.”

  “You’re not going to die. But we need a doctor.”

  “A doctor did this to me. Their doctor.”

  Natalia looked over her shoulder. She could tell Ludmilla. They couldn’t just let her die. Not like this! She looked back to Sonia and saw her face growing ever so pale.

  “Please,” Sonia repeated. “They won’t get a doctor anyway. Not a real doctor.”

  Tears streamed down Natalia’s cheeks. “Oh, Sonia, my Sonia!”

  “Shhh… don’t cry. I don’t want you to cry.”

  “I’m here for you! I’m here for you!” Natalia put her free hand between Sonia’s thighs, pressing the sheet tigh
tly, feeling the warm sticky blood between her fingers.

  “I know you are. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

  “Shhh!” Natalia exhorted. “Save your strength.”

  “I brought you here. It’s my fault.”

  “No! I wanted to come. It was such a lovely dream.”

  Sonia forced a smile. “Wasn’t it? Such a lovely dream.” She closed her eyes and took another breath before the smile faded from her lips and she was gone. Natalia bowed her head and wept.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Natalia sat up on her bed, arms around her shins, knees tight against her chest. Her eyes were open, but her blank stare registered nothing. Her mind struggled to draw itself inward; to shut out the world. To shut down. Victoria found her, hours after Sonia’s death, hands still covered with dried blood.

  “Natalia.” Victoria gently grasped her arm. “Natalia, speak to me.”

  Natalia turned slowly in the direction of the voice.

  “You must eat something,” Victoria continued. “To keep your strength up.”

  “They killed her.”

  “Yes. I know.”

  “They killed my Sonia. They killed my Sonia and her baby. Her Italian baby.”

  “Look at you!” Victoria examined Natalia’s cuts and bruises. “We need to change this bandage! And these burns, you need some ointment!”

  “I need to go home.”

  “We all want to go home, Natalia. They won’t let us go home.”

  “I’m going home.” Natalia was firm, as if the time had simply come. She climbed from the bed and moved to her dresser, pulling open the bottom drawer. She stripped off her now bloodied shirt and took out a new one, along with a pair of underwear and some jeans, then socks and a pair of sneakers; the clothes she’d worn on the day she first arrived. Clothes she hadn’t worn since, but now she began to put them back on, struggling with even the slightest movement.

  “Natalia! Listen to me! Don’t do this!” Victoria pleaded. “They’ll hurt you Natalia! Don’t let them hurt you again!”

  “Nobody will hurt me.” Natalia slipped the clean shirt on over her head. “Never again.” When she was fully dressed she reached back into the drawer to retrieve what little money she’d saved and then stuffed it in her pocket. Lastly she looked under the bed and pulled out the leather shoes she’d worn on the way home from the police station. She picked up the right shoe and peered inside to find a business card still resting on the bottom. After a quick look, she tucked it into her other pocket.

  “You can’t just leave!” Victoria began to panic.

  Natalia walked out of the room and down the hall, driven by purpose, intent on one thing. She pushed open the kitchen door to find Tanya, Helena and a few of the others drinking coffee.

  “It’s alive,” said Tanya with disdain. Natalia paid her no heed. She went straight to the counter, pulled open the drawer beneath it and pawed through a mess of utensils. Spoons, ladles, egg beaters… She slammed this drawer shut and opened the one beside it.

  “Come on, Natalia. Enough is enough,” Victoria begged.

  Natalia finally spotted what she was after. She pulled out a large carving knife and gripped it tightly by the handle before walking out briskly the way she had come. Victoria still trailed along behind as Natalia marched through the lounge, past a few of the girls and a handful of clients. None of Zigic’s men were in sight, but Natalia knew where to find them. She marched swiftly to the front door and pounded loudly with her free fist. All eyes turned to her, some filled with fear, others mere curiosity.

  “This is the last time I’m going to tell you,” Victoria continued. “Put down the knife!”

  Natalia heard the bolt slide in the lock. When the door opened she was faced by a bored-looking Dusan. “What the hell do you….” he began to speak but had no time to finish. Natalia lunged forward, thrusting her blade deep into his belly. Dusan’s jaw dropped. He looked down in amazement, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. Natalia grasped the handle tightly and twisted. Victoria’s screams pierced the air as Dusan dropped to his knees. With a kick from Natalia’s foot, he fell backwards, gurgling blood, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

  Ludmilla burst into the room to see Natalia with the bloody knife still in hand. On the floor was her henchman, writhing in his death throes. “What have you done?!” was all the madam could muster.

  “Come closer and you’ll be next,” Natalia seethed.

  “You know we’ll find you. We know where you live. We will find you and we will kill you. You and your entire family.”

  “I should slice you open right now.”

  “Go ahead then! What’s stopping you?”

  “I’m not a monster like you.” Natalia moved past the dying man and dropped the knife on the stairs as she rushed downwards. When she got to the bottom she let herself out, pushing her way past a small group of sailors on the sidewalk before running off into the night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I killed a man,” Natalia whispered into the phone.

  “What? Who is this?”

  “Natalia.”

  “Natalia? Which Natalia? Do I know you?”

  “We met in the jail.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Who did you kill?”

  “A man. Just a man.”

  “I’m sure he deserved it,” said Marina. “Where are you now?”

  “I don’t know.” Natalia huddled close to a payphone as pedestrians moved past on the sidewalk. She put a hand over her abdomen, trying to hide the red stain seeping through her shirt.

  “What do you see around you? Are there any signs?”

  “It’s a busy street, with a tram line in the middle.” Natalia looked up, trying to spot a landmark. “There’s a big building on the other side with an Aeroflot sign on top.”

  “I know the place, it’s not far. Stay where you are, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Ok,” Natalia’s voice wavered.

  “Will you be all right?”

  “Just hurry, please.”

  The cab pulled down a side street and continued along until Marina directed the driver to pull over. When they came to a stop she paid the fare and climbed out before helping Natalia. “Come on honey, you can do it,” she said as Natalia wobbled on her feet. Marina closed the passenger door with her hip and the cabbie drove off, leaving the women alone on the sidewalk. Marina draped one of Natalia’s arms over her shoulder and the two of them made their way to a door. Marina struggled with her keys but managed to open the lock. Once inside, they climbed the stairs to the second floor. Natalia was only vaguely aware of her surroundings as they entered an apartment. Marina eased her onto a single bed in the center of the room and then closed the door, locking out the city. “Let’s get your clothes off and we’ll put you under the covers.” Marina pulled off one of Natalia’s shoes.

  “Just leave me,” Natalia replied, “Just let me be.” Her eyelids closed, her consciousness ebbing away.

  When Natalia woke next it was in a state of confusion. She lay naked, face down under the covers in a bed, her whole body throbbing in pain. It was nighttime but the room was bathed in dim light, streetlights outside casting shadows through lace curtains. In the sheets she smelled the sweet scent of perfume. Rolling to one side, she saw the dark figure of a woman sat slouched in a chair across from the bed. “Where am I?” said Natalia, but the woman didn’t answer, bound by sleep herself. Slowly the details came back to Natalia. She’d killed a man. Stabbed him in the gut and watched him die at her feet. Dusan. She formed the name with her lips. She felt no pity. Her beloved Sonia was dead. The shock of that realization was nearly overwhelming. She tried not to think about it. Not now. Not yet. Instead she listened to the sounds of traffic on the street below.

  “I see you’re still alive.” Marina poked her head out from a small kitchen. Early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, illuminating the room in a pale orange glow.

  �
��But I wish I was dead,” Natalia replied.

  “Shhh…don’t say such things.”

  “I should have killed him sooner. I should have killed him at the start. And Zigic, too…” Natalia was aware of the changes coming over her. No longer the naïve, innocent farm girl, she was becoming hardened. Forged in the fire of adversity.

  “I’ll make breakfast. Would you like some eggs?”

  Natalia didn’t answer.

  “I’ll cook some eggs.” Marina disappeared back into the kitchen.

  Natalia had to find a way back home. But how? No passport, little money, on the run. She tried to focus. She’d bought herself some time in coming here to Marina’s place, but she needed to warn her family. Natalia couldn’t use Marina’s phone, it would be too easy for the police to trace the call. But then, maybe Marina wouldn’t mind picking up an extra one for her at the nearest convenience store. At least nobody was going to show up looking for Natalia in Drosti anytime soon. For the time being they’d be looking right here in Istanbul. As long as she stayed in hiding and didn’t make any foolish mistakes, she would be safe with Marina for a while.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Bundled up in a blanket to ward off a chill, Natalia sat on Marina’s balcony on an overcast autumn evening, waiting while her hostess entertained a client inside. Pedestrians scurried back and forth along the sidewalk below, making Natalia envious of their freedom. Since arriving at Marina’s place several weeks before, Natalia had yet to leave the apartment. She did get that phone she wanted, courtesy of Marina. Natalia had to let her family know that she was all right and that they were in danger. It was only when she had Ivanka on the line that Natalia realized how impossible it would be to properly warn them. What was she to tell them? The truth? Instead she said what she could. Things had not worked out as planned. She was coming home. When pressed for more details, she told them she’d call back soon. “Be careful,” she’d said.