The Assassin's Blood: The Confradia Assassins 3

Chapter 30: Action

Santana

I don't know where I am. I look around the empty darkened room and pull my messy hair behind my ear. My body aches from being dragged, and my knees sting. There's dried blood on them and on my bare feet. I must have lost my flats while they dragged me around. I'm alone, but I can hear male voices outside the door. I struggle against my bonds and slide across the barren floor, trying to decipher what they are saying but scurry back as soon as the door opens. Two men step inside. One of them is Perroni, and the other one is the one that dragged me out of the bus.

Perroni smirks as he takes in my haggard appearance and squats down in front of me. "Hello, Santana. Surprised to see me?" He asks with a mocking sneer. I don't respond. There's no point because I know he's playing with me. "I heard Connor got away. Unfortunately, he didn't make it very far." My heart skips with terror as I sit up and look into his eyes. "Where is he? What have you done to him?" Perroni shrugs. "We still haven't found him. But if all the blood we found in the forests is any indication, he's either dead or dying. Who knows, one of the animals in the forest might have gotten to him already. Either way, it doesn't matter because he has nowhere to go. And my men are very angry after what he did to his compatriots in your apartment. Let's hope he's dead already, it will most definitely be less painful than what my men have in store for him."

I clench my lips tightly as hope sparks in my heart. Perroni still doesn't know about Declan. There's still a chance. My optimism is tempered when Perroni's man releases me from my binds and lifts me up from the floor. My body shudders, and my knees tremble weakly as he drags me out of the room. I struggle beneath his hold, scratch at his hands, but it's no use. Perroni's laughter follows us out the door.

There are two men holding weapons and an older austere woman in a long dark dress standing outside the room. Her hair is gray, and her face is wrinkled. But she doesn't look like your typical grandmotherly type. Her weathered face is scarred, and one of her eyes is missing. Her gaze is analytical as she looks me over and mutters in a gravelly Russian accent. "She vill do. I vill take her to bath and prepare her for the auction. You..!" She points to the man holding me in the prison of his arms. "Take her to the dressing room, she needs to be cleaned."

Using the little energy that I can find, I resume my weak struggles. It doesn't even faze the man holding me in his arms. Eventually, he stops in front of another room and lugs me inside. My shoulder and back slam hard against the opposite wall, and my head bangs painfully against the concrete. I blink my eyes to clear the fog that threatens to overwhelm me and glance up when the woman steps into the room. "Strip her!" She orders the man.

I scurry against the wall at his approach, but my vision waivers. To my horror, he takes out a knife and cuts through my clothing. I cry as the knife grazes my fragile skin, and rivulets of blood gather around the shallow abrasions. I don't even have time to react before he steps back, and a barrage of water smashes me in the face and body. I open my mouth in a wordless cry as the unfeeling woman sprays me. The man takes off his mask, revealing a scarred face and an evil sneer. "Wash that bitch good." He utters to the old woman. Protecting my body, I roll into a ball on the floor and close my eyes.

"Hold her down!" The woman orders out as she reaches for something. Male hands grip my arms and turn me onto my back. I look up in dismay as the woman plunges a syringe into my arm, but I don't give up. Using the last bit of my strength, I rip the syringe from my arm, toss it away, and kick the man in the stomach. Unfortunately, the man is not fazed by my attack. Before I can do anything, he pulls his fist back and punches me in the face. I must blackout because when I awaken, I'm lying on some kind of pallet. Looking up warily, I spit water out from my mouth and face the old woman. The man is gone. I have to blink my eyes to see because the overhead lights are nearly blinding.

The old woman is drying me with a towel. I try to rise, but my legs won't cooperate. As a matter of fact, my whole body except my head is unresponsive. I'm paralyzed from the neck down. "There's no use in fighting. You were injected with a paralytic. You won't be able to move for hours. And by the time you're able to move, it will be too late for you."

Tears stream down my eyes as I gaze into the woman's impassive eye desperately. "Why?" I managed to hiss out through numb lips. The woman shakes her head with an inscrutable shrug. "Why? Because Mr. Perroni pays me well. That's why." My lips tremble at the severity of her words. She's not going to help me. This is just a job for her. I look around the room in hopes of finding some way to get out of this and cringe at what I see. Curtains cover the walls, and there's a side table laden with syringes next to my bed. But that's not what makes me cringe. No, it's what's hanging on the wall that terrifies me. There are bodies of bruised and bloodied girls tethered against one of the walls. I can't tell if they're alive or dead. Their bodies are bare, and their heads are hanging down their chests. "You like my girls?" The woman mutters with a sly smile. "They are to be prepared for the auction tomorrow too."

Once the woman is done dressing me in a plain blue summer dress and combing my hair, she slathers me with makeup and walks out the door. I blink my eyes and will my body to move. Every part of me is unresponsive, but hope flutters in my heart when the fingers in one of my hands move. Concentrating all of my thoughts, I gaze down at my hand and exert as much energy as I can in moving my hand. Relief immerses me when my hand moves again. She must not have injected enough of the serum before I tore it away because the feeling is coming back to my body. I'm assuming that with all the water on the floor, she didn't notice the serum spilling out of the broken injection. I guess life is finally giving me a break.

Gazing back at the table next to me, I shakily reach for one of the covered syringes and hide it between my fingers. I'm just in time too, because at that moment the woman walks back into the room. Feigning my paralysis, I observe as she frees one of the shackled girls and lays her on a gurney next to mine. She seems unperturbed by my alert presence, which solidifies my assumption that she didn't see the serum leak onto the floor instead of inside my arm. I feel jubilant when my legs twitch and flutter. Taking a few deep breaths, I make sure that the woman is not paying attention and move my legs. It's easier now. I quickly lie still when she turns around and faces me. Her smile is lurid as she caresses her fingers across the unconscious girl's body. "Do you see her?" She mutters with a sly smirk. "She's going to bring me very good money, but not as much as you are, little one." I try to control my labored breathing as she walks towards me and ready myself to attack. Gripping the syringe tightly, I maintain a distressed expression until she's hovering over me. Without another thought, I plunge the syringe into her neck and roll out of the gurney. The woman's eyes round with surprise as she clutches the syringe and falls to the ground, unconscious.

Still shaking, I cling to the gurney and stumble across the floor. My feet clumsily slide across the room until I make it to the door. I try not to think about the unconscious girls shackled to the wall. There's nothing I can do in my current state. All I can do is find help for them. Unfortunately, the door to the room is locked. Of course, life wouldn't give me that much of a break. Looking back at the old woman, I kneel down next to her and search her pockets. To my relief, I find a key card and a knife. Unfortunately, I don't find a phone.

Looking back at the syringes on the table, I take two of them and slide them into my pocket. Who knows if I might need them. As cautiously as I can, I walk back towards the door and unlock it. I almost cry with relief when I see that the hallway is empty. Without another thought, I sprint through the hallway, find a door that leads to a set of stairs, and wind my way down until I'm on the ground floor. My body is sweating, and my chest is heaving by the time I make it down. It's a nerve-wracking next few minutes, but I try to maintain my calm. At some point, I pass a broom closet and several closed doors. I'm about to try one of the doors when it begins to open. Turning in panic, I run to the closet and close the door behind me. Two men step out of the room, talking. One of them is Perroni.

"That's it. Everything is set for the auction tomorrow." Perroni smile with pride. "Everything?" The man nods. "Yes, my friend. Tomorrow is going to be a very productive night. It's also a great opportunity for us to chat up a few of the customers and feel them out for some possible future investments. The sultan of Egro is a very wealthy man, and I, for one, would like to see if he's interested in some high-quality extracurricular substances." The man laughs at his own joke while he leads Perroni to a door at the other end of the hallway. Perroni arrogantly jeers in response. "You're a very wise man, Christoph. How soon will it be before all of the girls are ready?" The man, Christoph replies. "Anja is preparing the girls as we speak. She said they should all be ready for the auction tomorrow. We're going to make a very good profit from this batch of girls. My brother, Willem, will be very happy." He mutters with an assured tone. I watch intently as the man gleefully leads Perroni to the room, then step out of the closet and make my way to the back of the house until I find an exit.

As quietly as I can, I open the door and step inside. Happiness overwhelms me when I see that I'm outside. The moon is gleaming across the dark velvet sky, and the breeze is stirring through the trees. I don't know where I am, but I don't care. All I want is to get out of here. Remaining in the shadows, I make my way slowly through the grounds. The place looks like an abandoned mansion from the outside. I'm almost halfway through the ground when I slam into a large male form. I cringe when the guard leans close to my ear and slyly whispers. "Well, hello, sweetheart. Where are you heading to? The party is this way." He says with an airy wave towards the house's front door. I was so close to getting out of here. Man, my life sucks!

The guard's hands grip my waist tightly as he ushers me back into the building until he reaches the door Perroni disappeared into earlier. Both men turn in surprise as soon as the doors open. Perroni sneers angrily while Christoph remains expressionless. "What is this?" Perroni's face is a mask of fury. The man thrusts me forward with a growl. "I found the little bitch trying to run away. Anja must not have given her enough paralytic. What do you want me to do with her?"

Perroni walks towards me, his lips puckered tight. I feel like a bug under a microscope beneath his gaze. "Where's Anja?" The guard gestures back to the door. "The little bitch injected her. She's out." My eyes widen with excitement. I have two syringes and a knife hidden in one of the dress pockets. Body coiled, I take a step back when Perroni's expression changes into a more sinister mask. "Leave the girl here. Christoph and I can use some entertainment, and it looks like she needs to learn a lesson in being a good girl." The guard nods his head with a smirk. "Have a good night, sir." Time to fight!