The British Embassy’s Safe House was a nondescript, two-story, four-unit, private residence in the heart of Meijing, facing a residential street in front, and a small plot of land and parking in the rear off an alley. The neighborhood was best described as densely urban, with plain architecture, flat roofs, and smooth exterior walls painted in the colorful monotony of beige, ecru, and pale blue. Sabriya was directed to the rear entrance, where she entered a passcode on a keypad next to a solid steel door. Hidden security cameras linked back to Landon’s Scorp, monitored the entrance.
After entering the code, the door unlocked, and Sabriya and Anya entered a small, enclosed foyer with yet another solid steel door leading to the interior. Once the outer door was shut, Landon’s voice greeted the two women. “Glad you made it, Sabriya. Welcome, Anya. You’ll be safe here. Hannah should be there shortly. The house is currently empty. You’ll have access to the first floor’s two apartments. Please enter the first apartment on the left after I unlock the door.”
“Thanks, Landon.” Sabriya looked around but could not see the hidden closed-circuit camera Landon was using to see them.
“Welcome again, Anya,” boomed Landon’s voice.
Anya appeared timid, even apprehensive, as if she was trading one enslavement for another. She clutched the papers she had brought from Pohan like she was clinging to hope.
The inner door was remotely unlocked with a CLICK, and Sabriya swung the door open. But Anya didn’t move, seemingly paralyzed by fear.
“Anya, you’re not a prisoner here. You’re free to go anytime,” said Sabriya. “The door is not locked from the inside. We’re offering you a safe place to live while you heal and decide where you want to go. Then we’ll help you get there.”
Anya still didn’t move. She just stared at Sabriya and the thick inner steel door before her.
Gesturing to the outer door’s crash bar, Sabriya said, “Try it.” Go ahead, push on the handle. The door will open. And see, this inner door is the same.”
Anya surveyed the crash bars on both doors, offered a thin smile, and finally walked inside the door Sabriya held open.
Inside the apartment, Sabriya noticed recessed security cameras throughout. She pointed these out to Anya. “Anya, look. Just so you know. These are closed-circuit TV cameras. They allow our security force to monitor what happens here. If there’s danger, they’ll send help. The cameras’ purpose is not to scare or intimidate you. The house is secure, but it’s not private.”
Standing in the apartment’s living room, Anya looked around, trying to acclimate and feel comfortable. With wonder, she turned to Sabriya and asked, “Who are you? You’re not the police.”
It was then that Sabriya almost laughed, realizing she had never properly introduced herself, even though just an hour earlier, sandwiched together on her cycle, they had cheated death. “I’m sorry, Anya. My name is Sabriya Kensington. I’m the wife of the British ambassador to Pellagore. This house, although located in the city of Meijing, is owned by the British government, and everything inside it, including everyone in it, is protected by diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention. You are a guest of the British government, and, as long as you’re here, you are safe from traffickers and also from Pellagore’s law enforcement. Normally, when someone is here, as you are now, security personnel are present as well. Hannah Clark, my security attaché, will be here shortly to fulfill that role, relieve me, and help you.”
But Anya was confused, calling out the obvious. “You are Pellagorian, not British. I can tell by your accent. How are you married to a British man?”
Sabriya giggled. “That’s a long story, which we don’t have time to go into right now. But Hannah will tell you that story when she comes, since I have to go.”
“Can I go home?”
“Of course. Where is home?”
“Ko Samui, it’s an island in Thailand.”
“I thought you might be Thai.” Then, with a bit of humor, “I could tell by your accent.”
Anya laughed gently, Sabriya smiled broadly, and the ice was broken.
Sabriya had never been in this safehouse before, so the two women explored it together. It was not large or luxurious, but it was practical and sufficient. There were two bedrooms with linens, each with a closet: one with a variety of men’s clothes, the other with a variety of women’s clothes. There was a game room with a TV and a shelf full of traditional games, books, and old magazines. There was one bathroom with a shower, a toilet, toiletries, and towels; a small living room; a kitchen and pantry with plenty of non-perishable food and drinks; a stacked washer/dryer for clothing; and an informal dining room.
Once oriented, Sabriya brewed some coffee, grabbed some snacks, and sat with Anya at the dining room table. “Anya, I need to get back on task and track down the traffickers who took my daughter and her friend. Please tell me how Dr. Shin was involved. Anything that might help me find the girls.”
Anya was slow to respond and shy when she did. At the same time, it was clear she wanted to talk. “I really don’t know much,” she said. “I don’t know where the two girls are or where they’re taking them. Dr. Shin provided examinations and drugs to several gangs.” Anya unfolded the papers she had brought and showed Sabriya. “This is their urinalysis, the girls’, that is, which I conducted from their soiled underwear. They were drugged with Rohypnol, or roofies.”
“What’s Rohypnol? What does it do?”
“It’s a sedative. It relaxes the muscles and makes it hard to remember anything that happens while you’re on the drug. Where your girls end up could be anywhere, inside or outside Pellagore, and they’ll likely remember nothing. They could be forced into prostitution, servitude, most likely in another country like I was, or …” Anya shuddered and looked down at the floor. “If they’re completely sedated, their organs are taken, and they are left to die.”
Sabriya shuddered, too. “Organ harvesting.”
Anya nodded, and her eyes misted over.
“Any idea how I might find the girls? I suspect I have to act quickly.”
“You don’t have much time, maybe only a day or two at the most; then it will be all over. Maybe a brothel, but they’re a little young for that …”
“No, they’re not,” Sabriya said. “I’ve been there.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” said Anya, then stared at Sabriya for a moment, not fully understanding, and perhaps not wanting to, before continuing. “Some are given a stimulant like meth or cocaine to increase their willingness to engage in sex, or GHB if they’re going to get cut open. The drugs can change depending on their handler’s intention, intelligence, or lack of it. I did see your girls leave; it was in an expensive Land Cruiser. They were with two obnoxious men. They will try to catch up with a group that left us an hour before you came. If that’s the case, you want to look for a dark brown panel truck, you know, with tall doors in back.”
“Where was it headed?”
Anya shrugged, but added, “Maybe to Red Coast Harbor.”
“I know where that is. How could I tell it, the truck I mean, from another like it?”
Anya thought for a moment. “There were two round windows in the back doors, but they were painted black. And the truck was old-looking, with dents and scrapes, and the right bumper was bent up. It left us this morning, just an hour before your girls came. It’s a long trip, and they have to stop a couple of times for food, water, and a toilet. If they drive straight through, the girls can get sick and die.”
“At Red Coast, are they put on a boat?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.”
“Where to?”
“Mostly to Russia, I think. I’ve heard the name Vladivostok. It’s a large port on the Pacific Ocean and a military base.”
About this time, Hannah arrived and was introduced. Sabriya was anxious to leave and follow up on her new lead, but Hannah stopped her.
“The Ambassador delayed me, about which I need to talk to you. But can I ask Anya something first?
“Sure, go ahead,” said Sabriya.
“Anya, how did you end up here? Were you kidnapped? I see the bruises. Were you beaten?”
“I wasn’t kidnapped. I came to Pellagore to get a good-paying job. A woman came to my island in Thailand. She said there were jobs here, and that I could work off my travel expense after I got the job. I came with her on a bus, along with several other women, all older like me. I’ve always been interested in medical things, and I didn’t have a boyfriend to marry, so I thought it was worth the chance. That was three years ago. But as soon as we crossed into Pellagore, we handed over our passports and other identification, and we never saw them again. At first, I thought it was normal and didn’t object. But then I was told I had to work for Dr. Shin or my parents would be beaten, and if I didn’t comply, I’d be arrested, thrown into a Pellagore prison, and tortured. That’s when I knew I was tricked. I was scared. I lived in the Pothecary, in a small room, and Dr. Shin trained me to be his sometime office manager and lab assistant. I never really got paid because I was working off my indebtedness, they said. I wasn’t pretty enough or young enough to be sent to a brothel, for which I’ve been thankful. But there’s no place for me to go, and I was beaten regularly, and Dr. Shin and others threatened to kill me if I didn’t obey them.”
“Hannah,” interrupted Sabriya, “I must leave. Anya has given me information I need to quickly follow up on. Jia may still be in the vicinity.”
“No, wait. We need to talk privately,” said Hannah. “Let’s go to a bedroom and let Anya raid the pantry for food.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d love to lie down and rest,” said Anya. “It’s been an exciting day. I’ll go to a bedroom. You two stay here.”
Once Anya had slipped out of the room, Hannah opened up. “As I was leaving the Embassy, the Ambassador took me aside and told me to order you to return immediately to the Embassy.”
“I work for you now?”
“Of course, not. I’m just the messenger, and your security detail, which I haven’t been able to exercise over the past day. That may be part of David’s concern.”
“The man can’t stand a little chaos? Two vehicles catching on fire is hardly an international incident.”
“Depends on how they caught fire.”
“Did the Palace call David?”
“There’s hardly been time for them to know anything. You’ve only been gone for a day. No, I think it was a couple of police reports, like an APB.”
Sabriya grabbed the phone sitting on a side table and pulled it and the cord over to the table between them. “How do I use this to call David. The line is secure, isn’t it?”
“Punch 9-0, wait for the tone, then 7-2-6-7-7, or “SCORP.” Landon will answer, and he’ll patch you through. Use the speaker. David will want to know I’m here and delivered his message.”
Sabriya was riled. Bureaucracy, or was it diplomacy, was delaying her call to arms—finding and saving the lives of two young girls. She put the phone between them and punched in the codes.
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