Chapter 2: Nadia and Karen

While I was waiting for the arrival of Sadie, my first problem with the system occurred. One of the farmers I had hired had built himself a still and was peddling moonshine whiskey. This was in direct violation of the contract he had signed in which he pledged not to drink, make or distribute any alcoholic beverages of any kind and only take drugs prescribed and distributed by our national doctor.

It wasn't so much what he had done that upset me as I had been drunk a time or two in my past but because he had pledged not to do what he had done. It meant he couldn't be trusted. I had him and his family brought me in the courtyard and in the sight of all his neighbors banished him and his family back to their native Russia effective within five days. Those who had bought the product off of him were reprimanded and fined an additional five percent of their profits for two years.

Two days before he was scheduled to leave he asked for a hearing before me. I had him brought to me and sat down with him in my private office. I had expected him to be pleading to stay with promises to be good from that point on but he didn't. He was concerned for his wife Nadia and his fourteen old daughter, Karen. He was afraid that they would be abused when he returned home. He was absolutely certain that he would be banished to Siberia and even if they were allowed to go with him which wasn't likely they would be beaten and used in his presence.

I was impressed with his concern but wasn't sure what to do about it. I thought of a solution but I was sure he wouldn't like it. However, I was so horny that the five foot three inch, 350 lb. women I had hired as a teacher for the children was beginning to look good. So, I figured what the hell and went for it.

I was right. He didn't like it but grudgingly admitted it made sense. He would go on to Russia alone and Nadia and Karen would remain in Samula as my concubines. If he was able in a year or two he could send for them and I would arrange passage to get them back to him. Once I had convinced him the hard part followed – getting the two women to agree.

When the two women arrived I was shocked. Nadia was showing a black eye and a lump forming on the side of her face. Karen wasn't showing any bruises but walked with a noticeable limp. I went almost livid with rage. So much for him being the caring husband he pretended to be. I decided then and there that whether they agreed to what I wanted or not they were not going to leave the country with this man.

As the women were ushered into the office I immediately noticed that they began to shake. I hoped it wasn't because of me and I'm sure it wasn't. "Hello Nadia. "Hello Karen," I said softly. Their combined response was a shaky "hello." I moved two chairs across the room from the man and asked the women to be seated.

I looked the man, "What do you have say about this, Ivan?"

"The bitch had it coming and her whore of a daughter tried to stop me so she got some of it too."

I was turning red with anger but managed somehow to contain myself. "And why do you think that she had it coming?"

"Cause the whoring bitch ratted me out and otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"Ivan, are you that stupid?" I could see him bristling. "I didn't learn of you illegal activities from either Nadia or Karen." I glanced toward the two women. Both of them, but Karen in particular, were sort of smirking with an "I told you so" attitude. "I learned it from one of your customers who got sick on your miserable excuse for whiskey. Said he would have been better off eating rat poison." I could see Ivan's hands clenching and unclenching. He wanted to attack me in the worse of way. If he had, he would be dead as I was holding my 9mm in my hand underneath the desk. In a way, I sort hoped he would but the down side to that was that I'd have to shoot through the desk and I paid good money to have it built.

I turned to talk to the two women. "Ladies, Ivan and I have been talking and he feels it would be dangerous for you to go back to Russia with him." Nadia snorted, "That's the first smart he's said since we got here. When I heard we were being deported I figured that Karen and I would be dead within two months." I could hear the anger in her voice.

"Here's the deal ladies," I said. "If you want to you can stay here but Ivan must go. He says if he's able to get established he will send for you but, again, that's going to be your decision. If you decide to stay, you will live here in the castle with me and my staff. With the way the population feels about your husband it probably wouldn't be safe for you to live elsewhere. Nadia, while you're here you would be responsible to help with the cooking and possibly with the dusting and cleaning. Karen, I would expect you to go to school and earn good grades. Also, you probably should consider helping your mother if she needs it."

I paused. "Are there any questions so far?" Seeing them shaking their heads, I plunged on, 'There's one other thing we discuss but before we do, have either of you seen the Doctor Raul?" It was Nadia who replied, "I wanted to, especially for Karen, but Ivan wouldn't let us."

"Before we talk any further I want both of you to get checked out. You may have internal injuries that aren't apparent from the outside. If that's the case, I would want that cleared up before anything else happens even if you decide to go back to Russia with Ivan."

I got on the intercom and asked Raul to come to my office. Since Gar who I usually would use as my enforcer was off collecting Sadie I decided that it was time to get Ivan under control. I raised the pistol which I had been holding under the desk and pointed it at Ivan. His eyes went wide. "If you move a muscle your dead," I snarled.

About five minutes later there was a knock on the door and I told the doctor come in. When Raul came through the door he immediately knew this wasn't some of the run of the mill cold or scrape or whatever. "Looks like you've got a little problem," he said wryly. "Ya think," I said. "What gave you the first clue?" Raul and I had become pretty good friends in the short time he had been in Samula.

"All kidding aside, can you give me a hand here? There's a pair of handcuffs in the second drawer on my right. They need to be on the asshole's wrists behind his back." Raul didn't say anything but simply did as I asked. Ivan tried to object but allowed it to happen when I put the gun to his forehead.

With Ivan now under control, Raul went to the two women. He went to Nadia first because her injuries were more obvious. He felt around her swollen eye which caused her to flinch. He went to the bag he had brought and took out a chemical ice pack, broke it open and told her to hold it over her eye.

He went to look at Karen. She told him where it hurt when she walked and he felt around her right hip. She flinched at certain places he touched. Finally, he looked at her, "Well, obviously something's out of place. I'm fairly sure that I know what it is and I may be able to do something. If it doesn't work, we'll have to get x-rays. Can you lie on your back on the floor for a minute." She did as he asked and he placed himself at her feet and firmly gripped her right leg just above the ankle.

"Just try to relax," he said softly. Without warning he suddenly pulled her leg down and to the right. She yelped in pain and then went quiet. The doctor felt her right hip again. He nodded to himself apparently happy with what he was feeling. "Okay," he said. "Stand up and see if that feels any better." He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. "Take a few steps and let me know what you think." She walked around in the office a bit and got a wide grin on her face. "That doesn't hurt at all anymore," she said.

Raul smiled, "I didn't think it would. Your femur was knocked slightly out of its socket. What I did put it back in place but you'll need to take it easy for a few days or it might pop back out. If it hurts at all in the next few days come and see me immediately and we'll take some x-rays to decide what to do about it."