Dining with the Devils

There was yet another rape in the apartment two days later. It wasn’t quite so brutal as the earlier assault, the girl was much younger and she yielded far easier as she froze in fear and allowed Rexha to do as he wished. She resisted at first but almost from the outset she could see that the odds were stacked against her with three more guards on standby as well as Kupi who all looked on. For a reason I couldn’t understand, I was made to watch again but spent most of the time studying the evil reactions of Lule who oversaw proceedings with a real venomous pleasure and at one point even helped Rexha remove the girls skirt. I remember the girl looking at her in disbelief. It was as if she could somehow comprehend the animalistic behaviour of the fat man abusing her but not from the gentler sex. The girl lay on her back like a piece of cold meat while Rexha stripped off and climbed onto her. It was almost as if she’d resigned herself to her fate and although I could see in her face that she was terrified I admired her composure to a certain extent, it was almost as if she was saying let’s get this over with.

Mercifully for the girl, Rexha didn’t last long and he soon climbed off her. They threw her clothes at her and one of the guards bundled her towards the front door aggressively. There was a little commotion and some shouting at the door and I was aware of at least two or three blows and a squeal and some sobbing but the guard was back within a minute or two and I breathed a sigh of relief that her punishment had obviously been concluded and that she’d survived the experience. Even from the outset, from my first encounter with them I sensed that these men were more than capable of killing and that life was cheap to them.

Kupi stood and buttoned up his jacket.

“Okay you,” he said looking at me, “get your coat we’re going out.”

This time I sat in the back of the car with two guards either side of me. Kupi sat in the passenger seat alongside the driver and I could see he was a little agitated, deep in thought while we once again drove beyond the city limits. I tried to take my bearings and carefully studied the road signs just in the off chance I somehow managed to get away. We headed to the west but didn’t drive too far before Kupi turned round and announced it was lunchtime and that he was so hungry he could eat a bear.

The restaurant had been well chosen once again, well off the beaten track and somewhat more salubrious than the pizza restaurant. The waiters wore black bow ties and jackets and once again, to my dismay, everyone seemed to know Kupi and his gang. There was an overpowering stench of fish, really strong fish and it began to turn my stomach it was so bad. There were live crabs and lobsters in tanks and Kupi stood and studied one of them pointing to a large crustacean and passing comment to one of the waiters. We sat down and Kupi ordered some sort of special fish dish for the table. The waiter nodded in an approving manner and returned with some wine. I got the impression that Kupi was pushing the boat out, either trying to impress people or celebrating in some way.

Twenty minutes later there was a little movement by the door and Kupi stood. Some of the other diners also looked cautiously towards the door and two men walked over in the direction of our table. Kupi embraced them warmly while the other guards shook their hands. I had never seen them before. Kupi introduced them to me and I had no choice but to greet them. I expected a kiss from them that was the normal way a man greeted a female friend but the first man just shook my hand while the other gave me no more than a cursory nod.

The special arrived soon after, a huge pot of steaming fish casserole with potatoes and other vegetables and rice. The waiters brought more wine and of course plenty of bread and the men all tucked in as if they’d starved themselves for a month. It looked pleasant enough but the smell was overpowering and after what I had witnessed yet again in Kupi’s apartment I had no appetite whatsoever. I recall watching Kupi eat like a hungry pig, and Rexha too, as if the morning’s events had never taken place. They laughed and joked and gorged themselves. These men had no compassion, as if they had somehow separated the evil and wickedness from the normality of sharing a meal with friends, an optical delusion of their consciousness. The poor girl and what they’d put her through hadn’t even crossed their minds as they fed their fat bloated faces and within fifteen minutes the huge pot that graced the table was completely empty. What Pigs, I thought as my stomach turned in disgust.

Kupi and the two strangers (I never caught their names) excused themselves and walked off in the direction of the toilets. They were away some time. When they returned Kupi ordered some fruit and some cheese and more bread and they gorged themselves some more.

I’d never seen men eat that way, not even during the huge celebrations after Ramadan where men had gone hungry for many days. And then they were away again, off to the toilets and I realised they were talking about a business that they did not want to share with me or the people in the restaurant. They brought more wine and then some brandy and by the time we all prepared to leave I realised that everyone was quite drunk and I wondered if this was perhaps my chance to take advantage of them. I looked over the table at Kupi who was staring at me and shaking his head and at that moment I was convinced that the man could actually read my mind.

We said our farewells to the strangers but I got the distinct feeling that it wouldn’t be the last time I would see them.

As we left the restaurant the driver signalled to the right and I realised we were heading away from Pristina.

“Where are we going?” I asked. “This isn’t the way back to the apartment.”

Kupi turned around.

“We’re going to Pejë,” he said. “We’re staying the night there.”

“Why?” I asked.

Kupi looked at Rexha and the other guard sitting next to me and even though it was quite dark I caught a glimpse of his teeth... a smile.

“Because my dear little virgin girl, it’s that little bit closer to Albania where you’ll be spending the foreseeable future.”