The back room (closed for Lady Aria, and myself)

[musicankane]

Andy Micheals sighed as he set down the book he had been reading. It was an action novel, it invovled adventure and danger and excitement, and just about everything that never happened to him. He was a poor twenty-two year old stock-room worker. He worked in a department store, in the back of the department store. He had to come to work in the middle of the night because of the truck schedule. He was the guy that put all the stuff away in the back, and put away the stuff that came off the truck.
He didn't do it alone, he worked with a crazy old Vietnamese man, who like to ramble about stuff. He would talk and talk and nintey percent of the time, Andy couldn't understand a word he said. But he was a nice guy and together they got a lot of the work done. Yet despite how good they worked together most of the time they couldn't quite get everything done.
After many weeks of bitching about getting more help. A young woman, who would change Andy's life forever. Little did he know she had an adventure for him. More exciting than anything he had ever imagined. She would take him into a world of darkness and evil beyond anything he had ever read in his books.

 

[LadyAria]

Ekatarina "Katya" Fedoseev entered into the states under a student visa that add long since expired. Luckily, her friend knew a guy who could get her a job under the table. No papers required. She needed money. She needed it fast and she didn't need INS up her ass why she worked things out.

Izmailovskaya, Измайловско-гольяновская, did not make threats without an intent to complete the task. Already, three fingers had arrived on her doorstep every Saturday at 4am like clockwork. The first one had on her mother's wedding ring, the second bore her grandfather's gnarled knuckle, and the last one was the tiny finger of a neighbor's child. If she did not return to marry Sashia Ivanov of her own free will, they would not just kill her. They would kill everyone who ever knew her.

She glanced over her shoulder nervously walking into the warehouse. Her pale green eyes glowed with suspicion under her dark eyebrows. Noticing a guy holding a book, she tried her best to seem upbeat.

"I vant to see Mister...uh...John...something...don't remember name. I am Katya. I see him for vork. Job in store varehouse, no?" she asked nervously making her accent harsher then normal.

 

[musicankane]

(OOC: I think im retarded. what the hell is going on?)

 

[LadyAria]

occ: you are going into "a world of darkness and evil ". You not into being the hero in a russian mafiya story?

 

[musicankane]

(I actually didn't realize what was happening because it was hard to pronounce those names...one of them is in russian...i don't read russian. Bu tI get it russian mafia.)


Andy held out his hand to this unbelievable woman before him. She was asking about someone named John, but no one by that names worked at Smart Lot. He looked around, he was by himself today.
"Ummm, I'm Andy. I uh, are you the girl that was supposed to start today?" He asked her but she gave him a blank look at she didn't get any of what he said. "You work here?" He asked motioning with his hands what he meant.
They needed help bad enough that HR would hire someone who couldn't speak english. Someone must have been thinking with their dick thats for sure. He sighed and slapped his hand to his forehead. He handed her a pair of workers gloves from his back pocket. "Here."

 

[LadyAria]

(Don't worry. I'll keep the Russian to a min.)

"Ummm, I'm Andy. I uh, are you the girl that was supposed to start today?You work here?"

He began motioning like a clown at the circus. She looked around for her friend John wondering if he only worked at night. She had not expected to be alone with a stranger.

задница(Asshole) Katya thought narrowing her eyes at Andy. American always think they are so smart with their patronizing.

"No," she pushed the gloves away. "I vill not take from 'ou. Bare hands vork fine. You train me now?"

 

[musicankane]

(if you use russian, can you put in () what it means?)

Andy frowned and tucked the gloves back into his pocket. "Aright then." He motioned to the numbers on the boxes. "Started with 28, each pallet has a number." He motioned to the row of pallets. "So 28,29,30,31. you know whatever. You take the boxes and put them on the pallets with the same number. You understand?" He asked looking at her.
Something thumpped on the rooftop just then. Andy looked up but aside from a clear night sky through the skylight he couldn't see anything. He looked at her and joked. "Must be John." He said with a smirk, and lifted a heavy box moving in onto the pallet it belonged too.

 

[LadyAria]

"Aright then. Started with 28, each pallet has a number. So 28,29,30,31. you know whatever. You take the boxes and put them on the pallets with the same number. You understand?"


Kayte was shaking her head when a loud thud echoed from the roof.

"Must be John."

She went rigid with fear starring up at the roof. A moment passed before she looked back at Andy.

"I understand," she answered quietly.

She started to walk off toward the palettes when she turned back around and smiled at him.

"Do you have any music we can listen to?"

 

[musicankane]

He frowned, and shook his head. They didn't have any outlets for a radio back here they were all used up. The only good thing was they let you bring a CD player, Andy broke his last week and he'd been suffering through his shifts with nothing but bored silence as company.
"I'm sorry there are no outlets, but if you have a walkman you can listen to..." The skylight suddenly shattered as a man fell through it and landed heavily on the floor beside them. There was a sickening crunch as he hit the pavement.
"Holy shit." He ran over to the guy, dropping the box he was holding. He looked a bit like someone related to Katya, but there was so much blood he couldn't see his face clearly.

 

[LadyAria]

Katya stepped back from the broken skylight motioning for Andy to get away from the body.

"Leave it," she whispered loudly. "Ve need to GO now. Please..."

She held out her hand to the stranger fearing at any minute they would rush in to kill him for just being near her. They had found her. They would not like her having a job with a possiblity of financing an escape. Her future belong to another because a man on the street had fallen in love with her from a far. Her family tried to get her out of the country with the student visa. They had found her and worked their magic at the university. She was kicked out with a letter. Her dislike for him did not matter to Sashia. It seemed to make his desire to possess her even greater. No one rejected him.

"Is there a back vay out?"

 

[musicankane]

Andy was just confused now. Some guy falls through the ceiling and she wants to leave. Well, it sounds reasonable but they needed to call the cops or something. "Shouldn't we call the cops or something?" He asked trying to push his way to the phone as she pushed him toward the delivery entrance. "What's going on here? Why are you psuhing me?" He asked, pushing past her to the phone.
He picked up the handset and dialed 9-1-1 but when he held his ear to the phone, the line was dead. "What the," It was then that all the power in the place went out and they were bathed in darkness.

 

[LadyAria]

"No time!"

She reached from him as the warehouse went dark grabbing onto his arm. With all of her strength, she dragged him out the delivery entrance. The alley was dark as she hurried despite his struggles and objections.

"Ve must go," she ordered in hushed tones. "NO fighting!"

"We need to call the cops."

"No, they no help me," she answered dragging him into a dumpster.

"It stinks in here. This is ridiculous!" he objected lifting the lid slightly.

To punctuate the point, as he cracked open the door. A loud boom echoed as the warehouse blew up. Fire shot down the alley and flames licked through the gap he provided. A second explosion sounded as the building's electricty gave the fire a boast. Katya covered her ears as she curled against the inside corner of the slimy dumpster.

"Ve vait. They vill vant to vatch it burn for a vhile."

 

[musicankane]

the explsion was big enough to rumble the dumpster a few feet further from the building than it had been before. He ducked as the heat licked the rubber lids of the canister.
"Jesus!" He cried as he ducked down sticking his hand in a pile of something wet and nasty. "You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" He asked while he tried wiping his hand on his shirt.

 

[LadyAria]

Katya could feel his anger even though his face was nothing more then a black shape in the darkness. He wanted an explaination and since he was in jeopardy, he deserved one. She inhaled deeply trying to find the words to explain the madness that now consumed her life.

"Those mean are with Izmailovskaya or the Russian mafiya. Sashia Ivanov, son of the father, wish to marry me. I run from the proposal. So, he kill everyone I come into contact with until I return home to be bride. He mean to make me realize I have no choice. I am sorry. I only meant to come to varehouse for money to run again. I did not mean to endanger you."

The last of her words stumble on top of each other as she began to cry. The stress and fear collapsed on her as an unbearable weight. She cursed herself for being so weak and not taking her own life. Every minute she lived, she created nothing but destruction for others.

 

[musicankane]

He frowned. "You know I don't think any piece of ass is worth this." He said.

Yet he knew that she had to be telling, at least part of the truth, otherwise why would someone blow up a fricking Target? He slowly opened the containor door and peered out. Three men came walking down the alley wearing what looked like riot gear and carrying guns.

HE dropped below quickly as the men came close.

"What about here?" The muffled voice came from outside.
"Don't be a fool, Sashia's beloved would not dare to hide in filth." Another voice came and the footsteps faded away as the men disappeared.

Andy turned back in the darkness. "All this for you? What makes you so goddamn important?"

 

[LadyAria]

"All this for you? What makes you so goddamn important?"

Katya looked up with her eyes huge with tears. She stuttered slightly before responding to his question.

"I-I say no."

It sounded ridiculous to an outsider she was sure. But, they owned the village, they owned the people in the village and no other woman would have said no to him. She had been sheltered from the corruption by her family. When he had come to her on the way home from school, she had not comprehended the weight of the rejection at the time. She had thought a crazy rich stranger was joking with her. It wasn't until she got home had her father opened her eyes to what she had done. There was no way to make the American understand. So, she reached out her hand to cover his as an act of friendship.

"Please help me. I have novhere to go. I must go north. They vill not expect it."

 

[musicankane]

Andy almost laughed. "Help you?" He said. "Lady, I don't know what you think I am, but I'm just a back room worker. If you needed help why didn't you go get a private eye or something? Can't you go to the police?" He asked, wondering how much leverage these people could have that would keep her out of the police's custody. IT would make her easy to find though, but the PI wouldn't be traceable. Not until they actually saw the man with her.
Andy wasn't a Soldier, he wasn't anything. If he tried to help they'd both probably end up killed. He slumped against the wall on the trash can. Besides what's in it for him except a chance to die.
"Why should I risk my life? What good will it do me?"

 

[LadyAria]

double post

 

[LadyAria]

"Help you?" He said. "Lady, I don't know what you think I am, but I'm just a back room worker. If you needed help why didn't you go get a private eye or something? Can't you go to the police?"Why should I risk my life? What good will it do me?"

"If I have money for private eye, I vould not ask you. Police can not be trusted!" she retorted frustrated and scared.

She only needed to clean up and some money to get to the next place. Her mind tried to rationalize a way to justify his personal risk. Nothing came to mind. So, she started to dig through the garbage until she wraped her fingers around something sharp she could use as a knife. Quickly, she crawled over the garbage and threw herself onto his chest. Her knee wedged between his pecs while she shove the shank into his throat. Her face was only inches from him as she could smell the sweet mint of his breath. The heat from his skin radiated from his body. Inhaling deeply, she forced a bravado she did not feel.

"How about you have no option?" she hissed. "They vill kill you vhen they find you vorked there vith me. I am lesser of two evils. I don't vant to kill you. They vill just because you survive the fire. It is clean up."

 

[musicankane]

He couldn't see her in the dark but he could feel her gaze and he gazed at her right back. His anger burned her forehead, his pulse raced, not from the shank against the meat of his neck, but from the rage he felt toward her. This was a way to get help he suposed.

"Kill me then. Take you chances by yourself, just know that my soul with laugh as they cut you cut and force you to be some asshole's whore." He told her, his voice flat and cold. "But if you want my help, then get the fuck off of me and let's get the hell out of this shit box."

 

[LadyAria]

"Kill me then. Take you chances by yourself, just know that my soul with laugh as they cut you cut and force you to be some asshole's whore, but if you want my help, then get the fuck off of me and let's get the hell out of this shit box."

Katya dug the shank deeper into his throat in reaction to his insult.

"Give ve with your fucking wallet, Andy!" she ordered digger her knee deeper into his chest. He responded by not moving. So, she reached around his body and jerked it out of his back pocket.

"Let's go," she said. "You go first. I vill follow you. Stick to the shadows. You got a car close? Ve go to your house. I need to vash and I vill get out of you life forever...and Andy....I vill kill myself before I am any man's vhore."

When he lifted the lid and slid out the top, she really thought he would run away from her. She was surprised to see him waiting for her when she dropped to the ground behind him. He looked at her with burning hate in her eyes and it hurt. However, she didn't blame him. She chose to ignore his distain. She needed his help. Her hands trembled as they scurried along. At any moment, she felt sure they would snatch her up and kill her companion. It never happened. Curled in the front floor board of his car, she watched the streetlights move over his face as he drove her away. The lines of his face were twisted with anger.

In another life or time, he would have been someone she would have like to know. She loved his exotic American features and how gentle his hands held the wheel. Blushing, she looked back out the window as the stars blurred past.

"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. "I vill find a vay to make it right."

 

[musicankane]

He sighed. "Let me ask you something." He glanced at her, shifting his fingers on the wheel. "How long are you going to run from this guy? How many people are you going to let die before you find a way to get rid of him?"

He pulled into his apartment complex, and led her to his place. He looked around quickly as he unlocked the door and let her in. His place was simply furnished, a couch, a tv, a bed in the bedroom and that was it. He couldn't afford to buy anything else.

"Sorry it's not much. There's a bathroom in there with a spare towel over the hook on the door. You can take a shower." He told her.

 

[LadyAria]

"Let me ask you something. How long are you going to run from this guy? How many people are you going to let die before you find a way to get rid of him?"

Katya just stared out the window afraid to answer. In her heart of hearts, she just hoped he would give up if she just kept running. The American had a point and she just didn't want to face it.

When they got to his place, he let her. It was really nice by her standards. Her family had lived through the down fall of communism. Everything in the states had been nicer. Even the poor seemed middle class to her.

"Sorry it's not much. There's a bathroom in there with a spare towel over the hook on the door. You can take a shower."

She turned to him and started to thank him, but paused by the stress in his face. The horrible reality she had brought into his life made her feel guilty. He seemed like such a kind and honest man. Closing the distance between them, she put her hand on his forearm. She smiled apologetically.

"I am sorry about vhat I do in the garbage. I vas scared. You bath first. It is your home ...or I vill vash as payment in service?"

 

[musicankane]

"I am sorry about vhat I do in the garbage. I vas scared. You bath first. It is your home ...or I vill vash as payment in service?"

HE turned to her. "What do you mean?" He shook his head. "The hot water here is a bitch you shower first or the hot water will not last. I can take one later it's ok."

He raised his arm and sniffed, wincing. "God, that garbage left me rank." He blushed realizing that a woman was watching him...a very hot woman.

"I'm sorry." He said.

 

[LadyAria]

"What do you mean? The hot water here is a bitch you shower first or the hot water will not last. I can take one later it's ok. God, that garbage left me rank. I'm sorry."

She watched him lift his arm and sniff. Giggling, she waved her hand in front of her nose.

"Ve smell BAD," she laughed. "You LIKE smell, no?"

She poked his side in an attempt to tease him. It had been a while since she'd just joked around with anyone. In the tiny apartment, the rest of the world seemed far away.

"Then, I shower first. You stand and STINK."

She stuck out her tongue walking over to the bathroom. While she approached the door, she stripped off the tiny t-shirt covered in an unknown slimy substance. Her red bra was faded and the lacy edge was torn. She turned holding out the shirt while pulling off her jeans.

"You have wash machine or do I wash by hand?"