As she heard the bell ringing Adhiambo rose from the chair where she was browsing a magazine and went to the door without noticing that she was in her underwear, as she waited for Boris with dinner ready. The girl opened the door without checking through the peephole and then the night fell over her.
The blows fell all over her body producing explosions of pain in her sides, her face, her arms and legs. The brutal whirlwind lasted an imprecise time that seemed to the girl an eternity but finally ceased. Adhiambo opened with fear one of her eyes, since the other was swollen and unable to see; the woman felt her mouth full of blood and fainted.
The pan filled with water made her recover her senses at once, and in doing so she saw two young black men in front of her, one of whom wielded a stick with which she had no doubt been beaten. The thinner of the men bent down and placed his deformed face at a short distance away from the girl´s and asked her speaking in a strong accent that sounded French to Adhiambo.
"Are you awake yet? Good, because we do not have so much time to lose.”
The young woman perceived, in addition to the foreign accent, a way of talking and moving that convinced her that her interlocutor was gay.
“ You are going to answer my questions if you do not want Pierre ... “ He said pointing to the other man, a tall and stout black who had the club in his hands .” ...to continue with his softening process.”
Adhiambo's body trembled with terror and from her mouth came a bloody froth.
When Boris returned to the hotel he had a feeling of uncertainty. He asked the attendant at the grubby desk at the entrance if there had been any news.
"None but the power outage that lasted half an hour."
"And what did you do about it?"
"I was working on the electric board but finally I did not find the reason for the outage.”
"And who stayed in the lobby of the hotel during that time?"
"No one, there´s no one to replace me.”
With a sinister omen, the Russian climbed the ramshackle stairs two steps at a time. When he reached the third floor he saw that several doors of the rooms were ajar to spy who passed by and alarmed hurried to the room he shared with Adhiambo. Seeing the door half open, his heart leapt and he threw himself into the room. The girl lay on the faded floor, her face full of blood and with her undergarments torn. Boris first checked if she was alive, raised her body easily and laid it gently on the bed. He spent the following three hours healing her wounds with a first-aid kit he always carried with him because of his hazardous profession.
"They were two young black men, I think Haitians by their accent. Most likely both are gay.”
"What did they want?" Have they stolen something?”
"They took the money in the wallet and a few more things, but that was not why they came." The girl trembled as she recalled the experiences.
Patiently Boris caressed her and waited for her to recover.
"What they wanted to know ... is the name and address of Zahra.”
"Zahra? The woman who gave you shelter when you ran away from Shantaya´s brothel?”
"Yes." The woman let out a groan. "And Boris ... I had to give it to them, otherwise they would have killed me."
The Russian shook his head with fury but his professional attitude finally overcame and returned to his deceptive aspect of self-control.
“Do not worry. You've done enough to survive. Tell me ... Who do you think sent them?
“Shantaya, no doubt. She must have some grudge with Zahra ... most likely jealousy of that Argentine boy who visited her before.”
“All right. Leave it in my hands. I am going to solve this issue and avenge what they have done to you. You must do only one thing.”
“What should I do?”
“Warn that woman Zahra who are after her. You owe her something because she gave you protection when you were wandering alone in the streets.”
––––––––
Mira Brown was heading for her apartment in the midst of the storm that was hitting New York. She walked up the two-story stretch to avoid waiting for the elevator and once she reached her apartment opened the door. Still in the dark the woman left her purse and cell phone on a small table and took off her shoes, whipping them around. Then she saw the shadow sitting on the only armchair in her living room. Mira nervously turned on the light, and at the sight of her companion she felt a discharge of nerves and relief at the same time.
“What do you want here? How did you get into my apartment?”
Without answering any of her questions Boris approached her. Mira stared at his face to try to determine what his attitude toward her was but the man's cold blue eyes did not betray his plans. He simply took her in his arms and carried her to the bed. Boris suspected that despite being Shantaya´s lover of the woman was bisexual and he attracted her so that he would take advantage of that preference and the fear that he inspired.
Passively Mira let him undress her and surrendered into the Russian's arms. The animal force emanating from him drew her irresistibly.
"What are you looking for?" What do you want?
At that moment Boris penetrated her violently and whispered in her ear.
"Who hit Adhiambo?" Why did Shantaya send them?”
A series of agonizing groans of pleasure were the only answer.