Seeds of the Bitter Harvest. John Sheppard

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СКАЧАТЬ and she looked to him to be no more than fifteen, maybe sixteen at the most, possibly younger. He also saw that she had a very black right eye. Daiyu was aware that he had seen her eye and she lowered her head.

      “What happened to your eye?” inquired Andy.

      “I cannot say - more will happen.”

      Andy could see her lower lip tremble a bit, and he thought he saw a single tear fall from her face. Daiyu quickly brushed tears away with the back of her hand, shook her head, then lifted her face, and attempted a weak smile.

      “You no good in bed. First time?”

      It was Andy’s turn to be put on the spot. He could tell exactly what she was doing, changing the subject to avoid answering his question.

      “Er, ah…I was just too drunk.” He could feel his face turning red again. Some man of the world, he thought to himself. Even this girl could tell he was a novice. These last several months he knew his life was spinning out of control, and somehow it had to stop. He had been raised and educated to be more than a drunken lush; hopping in and out of bed with anything he could pick-up on the street.

      Even as he had that thought, he knew Daiyu was more than just ‘anything he could pick up on the streets’. How in the world did someone so young get caught up in this life style? Was this really a choice she had made?

      “May I see you, again?”His statement shocked even him; Andy had no idea why he had even uttered those words.

      For just a moment, his request seemed to please Daiyu, but then she slipped into her role.

      “You may see, if you pay …. you can do what you wish, if money right.” The look on her face was cold, hard, and distant.

      Andy could tell that the conversation was at an end. Daiyu had built a wall around her and wasn’t going to let anyone in. Even in this rejection, he wanted to get to know her more. He made an awkward departure and headed out the door and back to his apartment. His head throbbed; the bright sun light was like a thousand points of laser beams blasting through his eyes.

      It was going to take him awhile to adjust to the light, so he walked with his head down. He knew at some point he was going to have to lift his eyes, look around and try to get his bearings, to return to his apartment, but he couldn’t do that just this moment.

      Bits of old, soiled paper, and other garbage formed long rows as he shuffled along; like the wake of a ship plying through the water. Even with his head down, and only observing what he could see with his peripheral vision; this place looks even worse in the daylight, he thought.

      Suddenly, Andy bumped into someone, and several strong hands pushed rapidly against his body, jostling him around. He tried to fight back, but was quickly overpowered. Someone grabbed his arms and forced them behind him. He yelped in pain. Another set of hands gripped his hair, forcing his head back.

      Voices swore at him, and a burly, unshaven man’s face appeared in Andy’s vision, only inches way. The man had a closely cropped hair cut, missing teeth, and smelt of too much cheap men’s cologne. After unleashing a barrage of words in what sounded like it might be some Slavic tongue, the man screamed.”Watch where you’re going, or I’ll break you in two, punk!” While Andy didn’t say it, he thought; I don’t doubt you could do it, Ivan.

      Andy tried to mumble a “sorry”, but the screaming insults continued. He made a serious effort to pull away, but punches pummeled his body. Already weaken and dazed by his hangover, he fell to his knees when his tormentors let go of his arms and hair. He fought for breath, taking in huge gasps of the foul air around him.

      “So, little man,” the man Andy thought of as Ivan said, “You got some of our little Cantonese fortune cookie. With training, we’ll turn her into a Szechuan main course. Of course, you’ll have to pay more, but she’ll be worth it. Maybe she will be too spicy for one as young as you.” He and his friends chuckled at his lousy joke.”The Chinese whore will be great for business.”

      “Daiyu isn’t a…. .” he tried to protest, but the back of Ivan’s hand, slammed hard into Andy’s mouth. The blow to his face was followed with a couple more body blows.

      As Andy crumbled to the ground, Ivan and his cohorts turned their backs to him, and sauntered away, laughing as they went. They were the playground bullies and he was the weakling who had just had his lunch money stolen.

      He lay on the cold pavement for some time, both unable to move because of the physical pain they had inflicted, and fear that they would return for more sport. Finally, Andy got up; first to his knees, then with a great deal of effort to his full height. Slowly, he looked around, afraid he would see them. When they didn’t appear to be in sight, he got his bearings and stumbled his way back to the apartment.

      As Andy headed home, he caught sight of himself in a storefront window. No wonder the few people who are out are stepping aside as I pass, he thought. His hair was disheveled, one eye was nearly swollen shut, and a thin stream of blood flowed from his puffy lower lip and his nose. Wow, my parents should see me now!

      CHAPTER 6

      Strong winds from the west were sending biting salt water spray in Jeremy’s face, stinging his skin and burning his eyes. He had some training in America with the US Navy Seals. They had pressed his limits of endurance and pain, but he survived. Nonetheless, he wasn’t a big fan of water. His preference was good old terra firma. The last couple of days on a rusting, smelly, freighter rocking several miles of the coast had not been his idea of adventure.

      While the Seals had taught him to grin and bear it through almost anything, there was nothing in the rule book that said he had to like this. The winds were cold coming from the mountains. His homeland was normally rather temperate, but when the cold blew in from the west during the winter, temperatures could plummet and the weather could be rough.

      The winds had caused swells large enough that they were nearly swamping the FC 470, known as a Zodiac in military circles, and a rubber dinghy to civilians. The little dinghy bobbed like a cork, so their forward progress was extremely slow. Jeremy’s muscles burned from the rigors of pulling his oar through these large swells, and strong winds. Still, he barked encouragement to the rest of his four man team. He could see the shoreline, silhouetted against the starry night sky.

      Their goal was to reach a small abandoned fishing village, just some five miles down the coastline from their landing point. They had been ordered to land here instead of the village, just in case an Enemy patrol decided to check out the village. Once they had landed, they would hug the tree-line, and meet up with their contact.

      Finally, the exhausted team made it to shore. There was no time to relax. The rough seas had put them considerably behind schedule. Major Trent could tell from the position of the stars, that the first glimmer of daylight could not be more than an hour or two away. The men made quick work hiding the Zodiac, and changing from their wetsuits, back into civilian clothes.

      He and his men had been wearing ‘civvies’ for more than a week now, with the exception of their brief time in the wetsuits. They had been stripped of their military ID, checked, and double checked for anything pointing to their service. Jeremy knew that if they were found in Enemy territory, in uniform, they would be tortured and killed on sight.

      The day of their departure from the base, an old pick-up truck had appeared at the rear entrance to the Ammo dump. They hopped on board, and they were driven to the docks, to mingle with the dockhands, before boarding the freighter. The freighter captain СКАЧАТЬ