Chapter 63

Edward Pembroke was not a fan of Alexandria. The dirty, bustling streets with their chaotic mix of people, cars, and vendors overwhelmed him, and there were no visible females, anywhere. Seeking respite from the city’s grime and a break from his employees, he found solace in an upmarket cafe. The elegant interior, with plush seating and polished wooden tables, offered a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

Settling into a private booth lined with rich upholstery, Pembroke ordered fragrant tea and prepared a shisha pipe. The soothing smoke provided a welcome escape. Here, he could make his calls in peace, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility amidst his hectic life.

“Ah, Dr. Ivanov,” said Pembroke as he returned the doctor’s call. “I trust everything is in order.”

“Of course, Mr. Pembroke. I just wanted to thank you! For obvious reasons, I have no one else to share my news with about young Yasmina, but it has been a wonderful few days with her!”

“I hope you remember your Hippocratic Oath,” Pembroke smiled over the phone, half joking and half wanting to change the subject.

“Just some exploratory surgery, nothing beyond my expertise!” said the good doctor. “I have made some very interesting notes. How I will explain my findings, though, may be an issue,” Ivanov laughed.

At that moment, a waiter brought a plate of skewered lamb, and Pembroke suddenly lost his appetite.

“I never knew Arabic was such an expressive language,” Dr. Ivanov marveled down the phone with a voice of enthusiasm. “I learned so many phrases. I had to record answers to my questions from her, of course. Who would have thought there would be so many phrases for begging for mercy!” he chuckled. “I am learning as much about Arabic as about female anatomy.”

“Well, as long as you are happy with the product, Dr. Ivanov,” Pembroke said, wanting desperately to enjoy the folds of lamb in front of him. He did not want thoughts of Yasmina’s screams and skewered flesh disrupting the enjoyment of his meal, which he had been looking forward to for days.

“I am afraid I am too happy, Mr. Pembroke. I do have a confession to make, one that I can only share with you,” Dr. Ivanov sounded uneasy on the phone. “I have betrayed my wife, Lydia, with Yasmina. I succumbed to her beauty and had my way with her. My interests in her were always more than anatomical.”

“As long as you don’t fall in love with Yasmina, remember your duties to your wife!”

“Oh, of course,” the doctor sounded annoyed. “I blame myself, but the subject must be accountable too. I punish Yasmina each time it happens. The female of the species is always guilty for the male’s mistakes; that is what years of medical study have taught me!”

“An excellent philosophy, my dear doctor,” Pembroke laughed.

“Well, thank you again. Perhaps soon I will be requesting further subjects. I just have to make sure Lydia does not notice the money flowing out. You know how women care about money, but you cannot bring it with you when you die!”

“No, of course not,” Pembroke smiled. “It seems you are combining pleasure with scientific discovery, and so I must applaud you, Doctor!”

As Pembroke savored the meat with his steak knife, his mind drifted to the taste of Yasmina between her thighs, her tender folds reminiscent of the delicate flavors on his plate.

The morning sun filtered through the hotel curtains, casting long, dancing shadows on the worn carpet. Lila Kovacs was awake, the weight of the previous days bearing down on her. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the memory of groping hands over her body and leering eyes a persistent nightmare. The thought of leaving Egypt was the only thing keeping her sane.

Katalin, on the other hand, was already up, the spirit of adventure ignited by the new day. She hummed a tune as she came out of the shower, her towel barely covering her body, the robbery a distant memory.

Lila pulled the bedclothes up to her chin, growing increasingly uncomfortable with her aunt’s willingness to parade around naked. Katalin, oblivious to her friend’s discomfort, launched into a detailed plan for the day, including a visit to the “swimmer’s cave,” a little-known cave without many tourists owing to its remote location, two hours’ drive from their hotel in Alexandria. It had been recommended to her by Edward Pembroke, unspoiled and deserted, appealing to Katalin’s sense of adventure.

“Lila, darling, come on! It’ll be fun. We have an old camera so we can still take pictures. Don’t worry, just enjoy a little freedom without our phones for once,” Katalin said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Lila forced a smile. “I’m not really in the mood for this, Katalin,” she replied, her voice flat. “I’ve had enough of being touched up by dirty Egyptian men. I just want to stay in until our flight tomorrow,” Lila said, her voice trembling slightly. “I can’t take much more of this.”

“Come on, Lila, you just need to get away from your phone for a day. That robbery could be the best thing to happen to you! You’ll get a new one back in Hungary, don’t worry. I spent years without a smartphone as a teenager traveling around the world. You need to get that freedom and experience real life.”

“How can you say that?” Lila sobbed quietly. “Those men, they touched me ... in places ... its ok for you you’ve slept with hundreds of men but I’m a virgin! And without our phones, how are my parents supposed to know I’m okay?”

“Lila stop being such a baby!” Katalin snapped at her. “This cave won’t have lots of people, Lila. It will be a peaceful, perfect end to the trip.”

“Another tomb full Arab gropers and pickpockets that doesn’t even have a listing on any tourist website? No thanks. Katalin, your life is a mess, and this is why. Even that guy Edward is playing you. If that necklace he gave you is so valuable, why were the thieves so uninterested in it when they even wanted your smartwatch on your wrist?”

“Shut up, Lila,” said Katalin, fingering her necklace, genuinely hurt. “Now get ready and stop being such a spoiled little brat!”

“I can’t wait for this holiday to be over,” moaned Lila in a huff as she changed into the hated Egyptian clothing, which did not seem to do anything to deter the hands that crawled all over her on the streets.

Katalin, frustrated with Lila’s attitude, snapped, “You need to stop acting like a child and start appreciating the world around you. Not everything is perfect, but this is an adventure!”

Tarek El-Sayed waited outside the hotel, his eyes scanning the bustling street. His phone had been stolen by a pickpocket just minutes before the arranged meeting time with the two tourists. He was annoyed, but the prospect of easy money kept him there. He needed this job, and he wasn’t about to tell them that the swimmer’s cave they were so eager to visit was nothing more than an empty quarry with a brief period of interest from archaeologists a few years ago.

At exactly 10 a.m., Katalin and Lila emerged from the hotel. Tarek forced a smile, waving them over. “Hello, hello! Ready for the cave adventure?” he said in broken English.

Katalin beamed. “Yes, very ready! We are so excited! Yesterday, we had our phones stolen, so we are dependent on you today!”

Tarek chuckled, nodding. “Don’t worry, I know the way. I am without phone, but I don’t need one. Pickpockets got me too, just now. Egypt ... phones disappear very easily. Now all three victims,” he said, his laughter masking his irritation.

Lila managed a weak smile, still uneasy about the trip. They climbed into Tarek’s car, and he began the drive to the cave. As they left the city behind, the conversation was light, filled with shared frustration over their lost phones.

“How did it happen to you, Tarek?” Katalin asked, genuinely curious.

“Pickpocket,” Tarek replied, shaking his head. “Very quick, very skilled. One moment there, next gone.”

Katalin laughed. “Seems like we’re all in the same boat. Hopefully, this cave is worth it!”

Tarek smiled, though his eyes held a hint of deception. “Yes, yes. Very worth it.”

As they drove on, Lila stared out the window, hoping this day would pass quickly. Katalin chatted enthusiastically with Tarek, unaware of his true thoughts about the cave. To Tarek, they were just easy money, and he was determined to get through the day without any more trouble.

“Just ten more minutes, then we get to the cave,” said Tarek, preoccupied with how to sell the ‘cave’ to them. He did not want to admit that he knew it was a worthless quarry, but Katalin seemed so upbeat she might fool herself.

Lila had been fed up after days of bustling streets and lecherous and predatory men propositioning her, following her, and touching her in streets filled with filth. But now, she had barely seen another car or person for nearly two hours and was a bit worried about the constant desert landscape.

“Come on, Lila,” Katalin squeezed her hand. “This is what memories are made of!”

Suddenly, there was a bump, and the car veered to the side of the road. “Damn! Tire puncture,” Tarek cursed in Arabic and English.

Katalin’s eyes widened. “Oh no, are we stuck?”

Tarek pulled over and got out of the car, muttering under his breath. He examined the tire and then looked back at the women. “Yes, tire flat. I fix, but it take some time.”

Lila glanced around nervously. “Great, just great,” she mumbled, crossing her arms. “Stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

Katalin, always the optimist, tried to lighten the mood. “Well, it’s part of the adventure, right? We can handle this. Maybe there’s something interesting nearby while Tarek fixes the tire.”

Tarek, however, was more preoccupied with the fact that the tire seemed to have been completely destroyed by something more than just a puncture.

“Ladies...,” Tarek began. Katalin and Lila turned to see a look of alarm on his face. Just then, a jet of blood flew out from the side of his head, and he collapsed on the ground, dead.

Both girls screamed and froze, looking around in terror, seeing and hearing nothing. Suddenly, two figures jumped up from the ground, having been camouflaged. They appeared to be soldiers, holding guns with masks, sunglasses, and camouflage.

“Don’t move!” came a shout with an Arabic accent.

The girls hugged each other, crying, “Please don’t kill us, we don’t have anything!”

The sound of a car erupted from somewhere, and as the two men leveled their guns at them, the girls turned to see a Toyota pickup truck kicking up dust and driving toward them from the desert, away from the deserted highway. The lone driver stopped, got out, and, also masked with sunglasses, spoke with an Arabic accent. “Keep still,” he barked, issuing commands in Arabic. The two other men frisked the terrified women, who were both sobbing. Lila had thought she had experienced groping in the last week, but this was nothing compared to the rough hands ripping off her garments and running under the elastic of her underwear, over her bare skin, even through her hair.

The two were cuffed at the ankles and wrists, wrists behind their backs, and tied around their necks with cord from wrists to their necks. Gags and blindfolds were placed on them. The men carried both of them to the Toyota truck and placed them under a series of carpets.

Tarek’s body was placed in his car, which was tied with a chain to the Toyota and towed off the road onto the desert paths, roughly.

After a mile of driving, they came to a newly dug hole in the ground and stopped. Tarek’s body was thrown in and covered with earth. They continued until they reached some rocks and abandoned the ruined car behind them, hidden from the highway. Then they drove back to the highway, making the long drive back to Alexandria.

Lila and Katalin had not been able to see or communicate with each other for hours in the truck. They could only hear the sounds of engines and the babble of men speaking in Arabic. They moved closer under the carpets, finding comfort in each other’s familiar scents, rubbing their heads together in a desperate attempt to find solace. Were they being kidnapped for ransom, by religious fanatics intending to cut off their heads? Or was it something even darker?

They were carried within the carpets, hearing the sound of the ocean above the din of engines and street life. Soon, they felt the unmistakable rhythm of the sea moving beneath them. After what felt like an eternity, they were finally pulled from the carpets, the oppressive fabric lifted off them. They were roughly pulled to their feet, disoriented and anxious.

Their blindfolds and gags were pulled off. It was nighttime, cool, with the moon illuminating their surroundings. They found themselves on a boat in the middle of the sea, both naked and exposed. Before them stood four people: three men and a woman. The woman, blonde and impassive, wore nothing but a white robe dress, her demeanor submissive.

The two men appeared to be the same gunmen who had originally captured them. One was enormous, with a deformed face, half his lower jaw missing, and only one eye. His muscular frame was intimidating. The other man was of normal build, both Arab-looking, now shirtless, wearing only shorts and barefoot. The girls, still bound with their wrists behind their backs and ankles, exchanged terrified glances.

Even more formidable was a tall man, about six feet tall, wearing a baseball cap that cast a shadow over his face. He was shirtless, dressed only in cargo pants, barefoot, and lounged casually against the rail of the boat. His relaxed posture belied the control he seemed to exert over the situation.

“How was the Cave of Swimmers, Katalin?” the figure asked suddenly, his impeccable English accent cutting through the silence.

“What—?” Katalin stammered, her voice shaking with confusion and fear. She glanced at Lila, whose wide eyes mirrored her own shock.

The man in the baseball cap straightened up from his lounging position, stepping forward into the moonlight but still keeping his face shadowed. “I’m sorry I remembered, we intercepted you on the way—no matter, there was nothing interesting there.” He turned to Lila. “Your aunt has a terrible idea about holiday plans, Lila. She has placed you in so much danger.”

Katalin struggled to comprehend the situation, her mind racing. “How do you know about that?” she managed to whisper.

“Not just holiday advice, but career advice too,” the man chuckled, enjoying the atmosphere. “Mrs. Parker, bring out Ayesha and Linh.”

Katalin blanched at the familiar names. Lila looked at her aunt, seeking some explanation.

Mrs. Parker prodded two girls out of the cabin. They were both naked, both shackled at the ankles, wrists behind their backs, and neck collars, metallic ball gags in their mouths. As they were led out of the darkness, Katalin recognized them with horror. Their eyes were full of terror and swollen, black from presumably being assaulted. They looked even more frightened than she.

“Katalin, what is going on?” Lila whimpered to her aunt. “Who are these people? Why are we here?”

Katalin’s heart sank, unable to find the words. She looked at the man again, trying to rule out a horrible conclusion forming in her mind. She could not see his face, but the voice, the girls...

“Ed ... Edward,” she said in the smallest voice she could muster. “Edward, is it you?”

Pembroke finally stepped forward and took his cap off, grinning as he watched the awe-struck face of Katalin. He brought his fingers to her necklace. “This was expensive, Katalin, but very invaluable in tracing you. You will forgive me for taking it back; I will certainly be using it on another girl soon.”

Katalin’s skin grew cold. The man she loved, fantasized about, had not just fooled her around, or even betrayed her; he had manipulated her from the start, and not just her. Her niece, and the two other girls—he had used her to get all four of them.

She felt a wave of nausea and disbelief. The depths of Pembroke’s deceit were staggering, and the realization that she had been a pawn in his sick game left her feeling utterly devastated. “How could you?” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “Who are you? What are you?”

Pembroke’s grin widened. “It’s nothing personal, Katalin. Just business. I am a slaver. I recruit beautiful young women for the wealthy men who rise to the top of society and who want to indulge their evil tastes. What do you think paid for all those evenings out or that necklace? Oh, and when we first met, what do you think was within each of those seven black boxes on the plane?”

Katalin’s eyes widened in horror as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The luxurious dates, the expensive gifts, the seemingly endless resources—everything suddenly made a terrible kind of sense.

“You’re a monster,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “How could you do this to people? To me?”

Pembroke shrugged, still grinning. “It’s simple, really. There’s a demand, and I supply it. You were just another part of the business, Katalin. You and your niece and these other girls will make me a lot of money.”

Lila’s sobs broke through the tension, her body shaking with fear and disbelief. “Please, let us go,” she begged, her voice small and desperate.

Pembroke’s expression hardened. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Lila. Demand has been outstripping supply recently, and I have a buyer very interested in you, who may surprise you.”

Katalin’s heart sank further. “Who?” she asked, though part of her dreaded the answer.

Pembroke chuckled darkly, then suddenly slapped her across the face, the force of the blow knocking the wind out of her and leaving her stunned. “That is not your concern,” he sneered. “Your only concern will be to serve, be obedient, and satisfy me during your training at our complex. Then, you will justify your price tag to your new owner.”

Katalin gasped, the stinging pain and humiliation adding to her mounting fear. Lila cried out, and Pembroke slapped her as well. The sight of her niece’s distress only fuelled Katalin’s desperation, but there was little she could do.

Pembroke’s voice turned cold and commanding. “Remember, any defiance will be met with severe punishment. Your life as you knew it is over. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you.”