The Predators

Amanda's beautiful, finely sculpted face crumbled into submission.

"OK, OK! Yes, I know him. He...he was a client about 10 years ago...when I was just 18, just starting out in the business."

"You can give us a name?"

She shook her head. "No...I can't remember."

"What DO you remember? How can you be sure after 10 years that this is the same person?"

"Because," Amanda said simply, "it's a night I will never forget." She shuddered. "Boss Dmitri told me to go upstairs, to please him for the night. He said 'Be careful, this one likes it rough,' and I thought to myself, 'OK, I am used to rough.' Many of the boys like to be rough, and sometimes I don't mind, you know? I even kind of like it." Amanda bit her lip as she thought back. "But this man...he was different."

"Different how?" Vick interjected. Fay gave her partner a warning look.

"He..." Amanda's gorgeous face twisted as if she was tasting curdled milk. "He cuffed my wrists to the headboard and then bound my ankles to the bedposts, making me spread-eagled, helpless. And then he...he took a needle and pierced both of my breasts! He put...he put a nipple ring on each of my breasts. I remember the searing pain, and then I must have passed out. When I woke up, he was pounding into me, practically raping me. There was so much pain...and then after he finished gushing inside me, he said he would be back with 'new rings' to pierce my cunt lips and clitoris. I was terrified. When he stepped out, I managed to wrench the loose headboard off by yanking as hard as I could on the handcuffs. I fled to Vlad, Dmitri's man who keeps on eye on us and makes sure we don't come to harm. Well, apparently this man was a VIP because even Vlad had been instructed not to interrupt us, no matter what. But when Vlad saw me naked and hysterical, with my breasts bleeding from where the man had pierced my nipples, he took me to Boss Dmitri and asked the Boss if they could find another girl. The Boss reluctantly agreed, and ever since I've been thankful to Vlad for what he did...and I will never, ever forget that awful man's face...or his tattoo."

As Amanda relived that awful night, Fay could see the vividness of those memories in her eyes. A pang of empathy made her automatically reach out and squeeze the girl's hand.

"It's okay. Thank you for telling me the truth." She reached into her pocket and took out two wads of cash, $2000 each, and handed one to Amanda and one to Kaycee. "This is my way of saying 'thank you,'" she said as the two girls gaped at her. "Are you willing to meet with me later and help one of my people work up a detailed sketch? This man is extremely dangerous. He recently murdered a young woman with an accomplice. We need to find him. Will you help us?"

Fay waited, heart pounding, desperate for the right answer.

Slowly, Amanda nodded. "Yes, I will do this for you...and for other girls. No one deserves to be touched by a monster like him. But you keep my name and involvement out of this, yes? I can't afford to-"

"I know. We will. I promise. Thank you for being brave."

Later, as Fay drove back toward the station, there was a silence filled only by the pitter-patter of raindrops and the swishing of the windshield wipers.

Vick grunted, and Fay glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What?"

"I don't see why we don't just talk to Dmitri. If this guy was such a 'VIP' then he probably can give us a name."

Fay snorted. "You're the eternal optimist, as usual. Last time I checked, it was pretty difficult to talk to the dead."

Vick stiffened. "Dead? Dmitri's dead? Why haven't I heard?"

The woman detective shrugged with a secretive smirk. "Because he just passed away a few days ago, and Southside Rain is keeping it quiet until they can figure out who's going to succeed him, Dmitri's brother or Dmitri's eldest son. Bray tells me things might get...dicey. Either way, I don't want to risk my informant by butting in. I'll have Bray make some discrete inquiries though. If someone else in the Shosveni clan can give us a name, rest assured...I'll find out."

The middle-aged detective returned to staring out the window. "Whatever you say, Boss Lady."

Fay's smile deepened, but there was this ferocity behind it too.

'I'm coming for you,' she thought. 'You two freaks are an endangered species as of now. It's only a matter of time.' In the moment, though, Detective Fay Gracey couldn't know how much it would cost her to bring down two of the most dangerous predators the city had ever known.

END OF PART ONE...To Be Continued

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I hope you enjoyed the first part of what will probably be a 3 or 4 part story at least. With more of a noir feel to it and a detective as the main heroine, I'm looking forward to exploring a slightly different kind of story. Remember, don't be afraid to indulge your darker side a little now and then...it's a healthy way to live life.

~GaggedKitty