The Baba Yaga

Chapter 26

I awoke, sitting in a dark room there were others in here. 

"Good morning Maria." A guy's spoke.  It made me jump out of my skin.  There was more than one presence in the room.  I looked around the room.  There was some loud hissing across the room. 

"Leave him alone!" I warned.  The hissing continued. 

"Do you know where you are?" He asked.  I played the tough card.  I didn't respond.  Marc cried across the room.  I looked up and started yelling. 

"No!  Stop!  Leave the poor cat alone!" I yelled.   The guy knelt in front of me, spoke again. 

"Taylor.  Lights." He ordered.  A blond that looked exactly like mom flipped a light switch and the lights came on.  Blinding me in the process. 

They did have Marc.  He was arched in a corner. 

"Recognise us now?" He asked.  My eyes widened in horror.  The one in front of me looked exactly like Santino.  Without the accent.  I fluttered my eyelashes like I didn't believe it.  These were my siblings.  And they both looked much older than me. 

The hissing began again.  The 'Taylor' girl was backing Marc into a corner.

"Get her, boy!" I said.  His hissing subsided and the Taylor girl was on the floor, crying. 

"That stupid cat!" She screamed.  "That stupid cat!" Followed by some desperate meowing, hissing and cries from him.  She was gripping him by the tail and he was attacking her arm.  He tore out claws full of skin.  I had torn free from the restraint.  The other dude was across the room.  I ran over to him and he continued to wrestle with her arm.  I had snatched a pencil from my opponent.  Literally, anything that would help me. 

The two in the room froze.  When the guy started inching closer, I gripped the pencil tighter.  "You know who my father's best friend was!  I'm not afraid-!"

"You're ex-communicado." He said.  "We could kill you right here and now." He said.  "But we're not.  We're going to hold you here as the price for your head goes up.  Then you and the cat both go."

"That's illegal." I say.

"So's what you do for a living."

~~~

It's been a day now.  Marc is consistently meowing at me.  Notifying me that we are in a lot of danger.  I pet him and let him have his fill of my rations.  He's more important to me then myself.  I wasn't very hungry yet either.  When the frantic voices outside my door began, I knew what happened. 

"Come on, Luke.  She and her friend are both up for 6 million a piece.  Let's just take her now, and start looking for him." When my door opened.  I expected the worst.  But that's not what they did.   They tied me up and convinced me to walk.  I did and they took me to a car. 

~~~

"I will take her from here Luke.  Trust me.  She will be delt with." Winston said.  I looked down in shame.  Winston looked down at me. 

"Do you know why you're here?"

"I know the rules Winston." I say sadly.  "Just shoot me already.  Give them what they want.  Let me see my father again.  Please.  Just make it quick-"

"Sadly. That's not how it works." He said. Picking up the phone and calling one of the rooms.

After a little while. A woman with short hair marched into the room and grabbed me away from Winston, literally dragging me back up to her room. When we got there, I did the normal things and disarmed myself, and removed valuables. Just like father taught me, barely a month ago. I sat quite patently as she grabbed a folder. When she opened it there were photos of me cliped all over and millions of documents in it. A voice and a face I recognized so well stepped into the light.

"Well. Leah. Sweetheart?"