11
papa
I made my way outside of the tent after kissing Lily goodnight, doing my best to remain strong for the sake of my daughter.
Everything I did...
I did for her, and for my beautiful wife.
I had to keep reminding myself of that whenever I felt down and low.
I didn't sleep the whole night, as my heart thumped against my chest, knowing what was going to happen in the morning.
The night turned into day, and soon, it was time for me to meet two men today.
“What's taking the bastard so long to meet us?” came a gruff, deep voice a few paces away from me.
I figured that it was the men I was supposed to meet, because as my eyes darted upwards, I saw Lazarus Landucci standing there.
The man who offered me the deal that I was ready to take up.
Despite it meaning that I would have to leave my family...
“Fuck knows,” Lazarus spat bitterly.
I drew out a deep breath, doing my best to regather my composure, and show these men that I meant business.
Show these men that I was capable of the work that they were offering to me.
I needed money to provide for my family...
It would be the only way that we would ever make it out of this refugee camp.
12
papa
“Sorry I took so long,” I heaved.
Lazarus turned around to face me, his eyes lighting up as he saw me.
Him and the man standing beside him, Rhys, both blunted their cigarettes, giving me their full, undivided attention.
“It's fine,” Lazarus reassured.
“Don't you even have any fucking shoes?” Rhys snarled, giving me a bitter, disgusted look as his eyes darted to my bare feet.
I swallowed down a lump in my throat, feeling utterly dejected and humiliated in this moment.
“No... None that fit me anyway,” I mumbled, ashamed.
Rhys rolled his eyes sarcastically.
“It's a good job that you met us then, isn't it?” Lazarus stated matter-of-factly, folding his arms.
I scratched my arm awkwardly, not sure what to say.
My head was bursting with questions about the job and what it entailed.
“Out of all the people on the camp...” I murmured. “Why are you offering me work?”
“Because you have a good physique, and the strength that we're looking for in a man to give a job,” Lazarus explained, folding his arms.
I nodded, grateful to these men for this opportunity.
The dream of finally leaving this camp finally didn't feel like a dream anymore.
In months, after I had made some good money...
It would finally become a reality, and I couldn't be more excited for the future.
I only had God to thank.
13
papa
“How soon will I be able to bring my family with me?” I asked curiously.
Rhys lit up another cigarette, placing it into his mouth, smoking it.
“You might not see them for a while,” Lazarus shrugged. “You need to make enough money to provide for them first.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Okay, thank you for your help,” I said gratefully. “I really appreciate it.”
Lazarus nodded at me briefly.
“What will the job require me to do?” I asked.
“The roles are various...” Rhys chirped in. “Operating machinery, shifting boxes and stock.”
“Okay, that's fine by me,” I agreed.
I could feel my heart hammer against my chest, as the full extent of reality hit me from millions of different directions at once.
I was really leaving to start work...
And I didn't know when the next time would be when I would see my wife, or my daughter.
A tear rolled down my cheek, but I did my best to keep myself together.
“Is it okay if I just go and see my wife before we leave?” I asked.
“Go ahead,” Lazarus shrugged.
I turned away from them, before making my way back to the tent, not sure how I would break the news to my family that I was leaving them...
Even if it was for the best.
I would miss them so much it would become unbearable.
14
lazarus
We watched the man walk away to meet his family, and as soon as he was out of sight and earshot, me and Rhys both burst out into deep, menacing laughter.
Papa turned on his heel, hardly able to look at us as he walked away from us with tears streaming down his face.My Papa was really going.He was really going...And I could feel the full reality of the situation hit me all at once.I burst into tears, sobbing and convulsing uncontrollably, hardly able to keep myself upright, as my eyes fogged, and my vision became hazy.Mama pulled me close to her, her tears falling into my hair as she hugged me, doing her best to reassure me, even though inside, she was broken.“Everything will be okay, Lily...” Mama whispered.I knew that it wouldn't.That without Papa, things would never be the same.But one thing I also knew...Was that with my mama still by my side, I had nothing to fear.At least I still had my beautiful mama.She would take care of me...Just like Papa promised she would.And I loved her more than anything.18papaHours laterThe truck had set off, ready to transport us all to the work facility.My heart pounded against my ch
“Another gullible bastard that we're going to force into slave labour,” Rhys grinned, with his hands on his hips. “Stupid prick.”He trailed off his sentence, narrowing his eyes.“We'll get a good amount of money for this bastard.”The corners of my mouth curled upwards into a smirk, as I nodded.“You got that right,” I murmured, inhaling the smoke from my cigarette.15papaI stood next to the tent with my beautiful wife, with her short brown hair, her pale skin, her arched eyebrows, her beautiful, rosy cheeks.Holding her hands in mine, kissing her palms softly, squeezing them, doing my best to reassure her, even though tears were streaming down my face.She was sobbing uncontrollably, sobbing to the point that she was shaking.“I'm really going to miss you, my love,” I whispered. “Please don't cry. You know I have to go away, we don't know if we will ever get an opportunity like this again.”I swallowed down a lump in my throat.“The men are offering me work. When I have enough mo
11papaI made my way outside of the tent after kissing Lily goodnight, doing my best to remain strong for the sake of my daughter.Everything I did...I did for her, and for my beautiful wife.I had to keep reminding myself of that whenever I felt down and low.I didn't sleep the whole night, as my heart thumped against my chest, knowing what was going to happen in the morning.The night turned into day, and soon, it was time for me to meet two men today.“What's taking the bastard so long to meet us?” came a gruff, deep voice a few paces away from me.I figured that it was the men I was supposed to meet, because as my eyes darted upwards, I saw Lazarus Landucci standing there.The man who offered me the deal that I was ready to take up.Despite it meaning that I would have to leave my family...“Fuck knows,” Lazarus spat bitterly.I drew out a deep breath, doing my best to regather my composure, and show these men that I meant business.Show these men that I was capable of the work
I was lucky in life.I was a pretty woman, with long, black hair, a nice, curvy figure, plump lips, a pointed nose.I had a gorgeous, caring boyfriend, with dark brown hair, thick brown eyebrows, a beautiful, chiselled, stubbly face, pale brown eyes, a muscular physique, and the most amazing personality to match...I loved him more than anything in the world, and he loved me right back.I had got the career that I'd always dreamt of having.Right now, at this point in time...I was happy.I'd worked hard for everything I had.I'd worked hard to get to this point in my life.To achieve everything I'd achieved.With no hand-outs...Nothing given to me on a silver platter.Just blood, sweat, tears, and dedication.But my life wasn't always like this, and that was the reason for the nightmares I still had to this day.When I was younger, I was a victim of human trafficking.It went on for years and years, the physical pain and emotional damage was unbearable.It took what felt like foreve
But that didn't mean I couldn't at least try to help her.“I know,” I heaved. “She'll work any other case, Boss... just not cases like these.”Just not rape and trafficking cases.I could feel anxiety swimming through my body, as Rafael's eyes bored into mine, burning me with an intense gaze.There was so much tension in the air, that you could cut it with a knife.“Fine,” he muttered finally. “I'll talk to her.”I couldn't believe he'd actually given her the benefit of the doubt, and actually heard me out.He was usually strict as fuck, and dead-set on getting what he wanted.I couldn't thank him enough.“Thanks Boss,” I said gratefully, knowing how much this would help Lily.He gave me a brief nod, before departing from the room, to go after Lily and find where she went off to.7lilyI stood inside the middle of an empty room, staring out of the window, drawing out a deep breath as I regathered my composure, wiping away my tears and doing my best to get my head back into the game,
5lilyWe arrived at our boss's office.“You alright, boss?”“I was wondering when you two would show up,” he remarked, folding his arms, his eyes darting upwards, as he watched us both walk into the room.He put his paperwork to the side, taking steps closer to us.“You're late.”Me and Zayn began scratching our arms awkwardly, knowing that we didn't have an excuse for not being punctual.We were secret agents...We always had to be available whenever it was required of us.“Sorry, we lost track of time,” Zayn apologized quickly, running his hands through his hair stressfully.Boss shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to waste any more time.“It better not happen again,” he muttered briefly, before cutting to the chase. “Anyway, there's been some mass murders in Manhattan lately. I'll need you two to investigate these, and do what you can to find out who was behind them.”“Fuck,” Zayn heaved. “Is there a pattern between them?”“It's fucking brutal,” Rafael admitted exhaustedly, tappin