Legends of the Waif
Issue 2: Part 2
Wicked Nightingale: Part 2
Chapter 5
The clock ticked on the wall, its hands drawing close to 11. The city got brighter with neon lights, the clubs and bars noisier, but the suburbs turned quiet and dark, and the narrow alleys - more dangerous.
Munir sat on the sofa, bouncing her leg up and down as she watched Cam and Chaz walk inside, returning from work.
Lia walked out of her bedroom, putting her hair up and searching for her glasses with narrow, sleepy eyes. The night robe slid from her shoulder, revealing her silky, ivory-white skin. Munir leaned in, taking her glasses from the corner of the couch and handing it to Lia.
“Thanks,” she smiled and flopped next to her.
“You took a nap?” Munir asked, her voice overdrawn by Chaz and Cam chatting.
“A long nap,” Lia chuckled shyly and sipped water from a tall glass.
Finally taking their jackets off, Cam and Chaz entered the living room and joined the two on the couch. Cam opened the take-out Thai food and put the paper boxes on the table. Chaz quickly grabbed the chopsticks and opened one of the boxes, slurping the noodles.
“We found out about Chaz’s new coworker, Angel,” said Cam and popped a bottle of beer. “She is the one who stole from Mr. Shilo.”
“I recognized her tattoo,” Chaz said with her cheeks full.
“And I followed the van I texted you about,” Lia said and took one of the beer bottles. “It went to Chinatown to some weird black building. A man with two guards took the items and paid those traitors.”
Munir looked at her with her eyes wide, surprised to see Lia so calm as though they talked about their skincare routine.
“What?” Lia asked as she felt Munir’s eyes drilling her face.
“Why did you go all alone? You know how dangerous it is!” Munir let out an unhidden shock.
“What could I do? It was the right thing to do at that time,” Lia shrugged.
“We would not have that information now,” Chaz added quietly as if scared of angering Munir.
Lia sighed. “Sorry, I know it was dangerous.”
Munir shook her head from disappointment but at the same time, she felt thankful to Lia.
“How are we going to find out who that man was?” Asked Chaz.
She stood up, pulling out her phone. The women who had begun eating looked up at her with wide eyes.
“I know a woman in Chinatown,” she said and began searching through her contact list. “She’s a chef in one of the restaurants.”
Cam shared a surprised look with her friends though this expression was mixed with acceptance as if they expected to hear something similar.
To distance herself from her friends’ curious gazes and the intense scent of fried noodles, Munir walked into her bedroom, closing the door. Lights coming from outside scattered the darkness.
“Yes?” The woman’s strict voice answered.
“J, it’s me, Munir,” said Munir with a smile.
“Oh, how are you?” The woman’s voice turned welcoming and Munir soon heard the noisy restaurant kitchen sounds halting. J seemed to lock herself in another room too.
“Fine, thanks. I’m calling to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know a three-story black building in Chinatown and a short chubby man with two guards?”
J was silent before she breathed deeply.
“Why are you asking?” J asked Munir without giving an answer.
“There’s some weird stuff going on and I think he may be the link to it all, I would rather not involve you more than I need to.”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but… they call him Kin.”
“What does he do?”
“Sells drugs. He is looking to expand his empire and is using robberies and black market goods as capital.”
Munir nodded.
“I see; thanks, J.”
As she walked back to the living room, the women had finished eating. Only her box lay untouched.
Telling them the new information, Munir flopped on the couch and grabbed the fork.
Cam watched her as if watching a rare animal coming out of its lair.
“How do you know so many informants?”
Munir shrugged, putting the bite in her mouth. The grease stuck to her tongue.
“Working in the food and wine business, you meet many people,” she said. “I just have a habit of keeping every contact and also good memory to remember the right people.”
Chaz smiled as though listening to a professor in her first lecture.
Cam sat quiet, her eyes following Munir’s movements, her lips, fingers, and hands as the memories began floating back.
**
The police station was loud and stuffy. Cam had just finished her workday and was going home. Walking out in the corridor, she put her bag over her shoulder, walking through the usual noise she was already used to, not paying attention to the different voices and the stomping of feet.
But her attention was drawn by two women arguing with a police officer. He stood shaking his hands while they kept on asking.
“We know his address,” the dark-haired woman demanded. “You just need to follow us, and every evidence is there.”
“We will look into it,” the officer said monotonously.
“You keep saying that and don’t take action,” the red-haired one almost yelled.
Their pleading faces made Cam stare, and she couldn’t look away. She could feel their anger spreading onto her.
Suddenly the brunette’s eyes met hers, and she shoved the policeman away, hurrying to Cam.
“Please, help us,” Munir said and grabbed Cam’s hands. “You are a woman, I know you understand how important it is to arrest a man who assaults women. Doesn’t matter how many or in what way; he does it with one woman, and it’s enough to arrest him. You don’t need proof to believe the victim. The proof is there in her eyes, on her tainted body, in her words. Police keep asking questions on and on when there are no questions, just one fact that is enough to do what’s right. If this man is not arrested now and punished for what he did, he will continue assaulting women and doing it as if it’s his right.”
Cam had gazed into Munir’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but agree. That’s when their story began. Their friendship and their legion.
Cam had followed Munir and Lia to the address and arrested the man. Munir had been right- his culpability was obvious right away.
Chapter 6
The afternoon was noisy, the usual din of Chinatown rising to the sky and reaching every corner.
Sitting in her car parked behind the stack of boxes and unused building materials, Lia peered from the windshield window. She had lowered her chair so ducking her head to hide any moment would be easy, the key still dangling below the wheel, ready to start the car and hurl away if necessary.
But there seemed to be no danger lurking from the shadows just yet. So, Lia leaned forward with her arms folded on the wheel and chin resting on them and stared at the familiar Chinese restaurant across the street. She had pushed her hair up in a bun, thin-framed, square glasses firm on her button nose. Dressed in all black and with a focused, scrutinizing gaze, she looked like a thief waiting for the right time to attack a bank. But no, Lia was there for the opposite - in this case, she was justice, and those inside the restaurant were thieves, not only of money but much more.
Suddenly the doors opened, and Kin walked out with four guards surrounding him, two leading in the front, two following back, all dressed in black suits, wearing shaded sunglasses, hair shaved, and face - square.
Kin walked with his round beer gut hanging out of his shiny, tacky attire. The piece of fake hair he had glued to his bald head was fluttering in the slight breeze, letting his empty scalp peek through. Oval-framed glasses looked too small on his round, chubby face, scars of acne spotting his soggy cheeks. He walked confidently as if there was no bullet in the world that could cut through his chest, a weak but meek smile curling his lips.
Lia furrowed, unable to hide the grimace. There was something unsettling about this man, something that could make anyone shiver with disgust and dread, that would drive people away or make them obey out of fear.
As the doors swung close behind Kin, they opened again, and a young girl ran after the man. Barely 20 years old, the girl was screaming something that Lia couldn't hear; she could only see her gaping mouth and young face warped with despair.
"Dad!" That was the only word Lia heard and she leaned forward to see better. How could this beautiful girl be a daughter of such a horrible man?
The long pitch-black hair reached her waist, so straight and light as if constantly damp with rose water. Her pale arms looked even whiter under the sunshine, and her slim face was adorned by full lips and a wide-bridged nose. Mono-lid, almond-shaped eyes were teary, desperate.
The moment Kin heard her voice, he turned and began waving his hands, pointing back to the restaurant before he lifted his right hand and slapped across the girl's face. As the girl fell to the ground, one of the guards grabbed her, threw her across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and took her inside. As he returned back, Kin got in the car with his four men and drove off, the shining surface of the Mercedes fading through the cloud of dust.
Sighing, Lia shook her head. Not only was he a thief, but an abuser too.
She pulled her phone out and began playing games, waiting for something to happen.
The sun passed the zenith, and the restaurant doors stayed closed. Lia began getting impatient, the games turning boring too. And when she thought nothing else would happen that day, the doors opened, and a young boy who seemed to be a servant dragged a garbage can outside. He struggled and huffed before finally putting it next to the entrance and going back. As soon as he closed the door, a lid was lifted off the can and the girl crawled out, peering around like a scared cat and running to the small, white car. Then jumping in it, she drove off hastily as if scared others would chase her.
Wasting no second, Lia started her car and followed the girl.
She found herself in front of a deserted bar, in some dark alley, far from the noisy streets and bright parks. Here, in this shaded alley, only those came who had been here many times before.
Walking inside, Lia sized up the dimly lit surroundings, a few clients crammed in the corners, and the smell of cheap alcohol. Her eyes quickly landed on the girl by the counter, talking to the bartender. The vivid red and blue reflecting off the different colored alcohol bottles danced on her face and turned her pale skin pink and dark eyes - blue.
"Vodka martini," said the girl, and standing next to her, Lia smiled at the bartender.
"Make it two."
The girl looked at her confused, but as she ran into Lia's charming smile and sweet eyes shaded by red lashes, she smiled too.
"I haven't seen you around here," said the girl and clicked her long nails on the counter. "Are you new?"
"Yeah, I am," Lia nodded and sipped the drink from her glass. The bitter yet pleasant taste tinged her tongue. "Can I ask your name?"
The girl smiled shyly but then put the hair behind her ear and twinkled at Lia.
"I'm Alex."
"Lia."
They continued beaming and sparkling at one another before Lia felt how wrong lying to Alex was. Deceiving people was part of her job and daily tasks, but she hated lying to innocent people.
"Actually, I don't want to lie to you, Alex," she confessed, and Alex's hand froze with the glass in it. "I know you are Kin's daughter."
As the surprise faded, Alex's eyes darted toward the exit.
"Don't worry. I don't want to hurt you or rat you out," Lia quickly added. "I need your help to put your criminal and abusive father away."
Alex narrowed her eyes, at first with shock and then with doubt.
"I know about the crimes your father does to innocent people. My friends and I can't defeat him without your help."
"What do I have to do?" Alex asked, still suspicious.
Lia put a scrap of paper on the counter, small text scribbled on it.
"This is our place," she said. "You can drive there yourself. If you don't like anything or change your mind, no one's stopping you from leaving."
Alex took the paper, twirling it in her hand before nodding, curiosity, and intrigue sparkling in her eyes.
Agreeing, she got up and left before Lia followed, seeing her getting in the car and reading the address before starting it.
Chapter 7
It didn't take more than twenty minutes to reach the apartment building that was so familiar to Lia but completely strange to Alex. Lia saw how the girl stopped the car and got out, staring up at the building. Getting out of her car, Lia approached her, and they stood quietly next to one another while Alex examined the surroundings.
"I know what your father does to you," Lia broke the silence. "You are not alone."
Alex looked at her with tinges of sadness.
"These words meant so much to me when I was younger, around your age," Lia continued. "I had an anonymous account online and posted that my friends ostracized me for being gay. I couldn't take any more of it. I was sure my grandparents wouldn't understand. I lived with them as my mother died and my father was a deadbeat. That was when I received the first message. It was from Munir, who is my best friend and leader of our Legion now. Her message stopped me from committing suicide," Lia smiled melancholically. "We went on to chat the whole night and became close, closer than I had ever been with someone. I brcame the second member of the Lex Tal Legion."
Alex listened quietly before she nodded and raised her brows.
"Okay, I will help you," she said and looked at the building. "Take me to your apartment."
Cam had just left for work and gathered in the kitchen. Lia, Munir, and Chaz watched Alex sitting on the sofa and staring out the window with unblinking eyes, her expression empty and devoid of emotion.
"She doesn't look good," Chaz murmured as she poured tea into a mug and went into the living room.
Unable to notice her, Alex kept gazing out the window, sitting with her hands between her knees, lips slightly droopy.
"Hey," Chaz said. To attract her attention, touched her shoulder, and as if hit by electricity, the girl jolted and jumped from the seat, staring at Chaz with horrified eyes.
Startled by her reaction, Chaz stepped back, too, shaking her hands.
"Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" she asked, confused.
Alex, realizing she was safe, shook her head and apologized.
"Thank you," she said and took the teacup, sitting back on the sofa and slowly sipping the hot liquid.
Returning back to her friends, Chaz glared at her with the same shocked eyes.
"Even a slight touch or movement scares her," she said.
"That's another sign of being abused," Munir said.
"Is she even an adult?" Chaz asked.
"She's 20," Lia replied before they noticed Alex standing up.
"Can I go to the bathroom?" she asked like a kid, staring at the women with eyes pleading for approval.
"Of course," Lia smiled. "It's down the hall and right."
Alex smiled back, weakly but still gratefully, and headed to the bathroom.
"Asking permission for everything is another sign of being a victim," Chaz whispered.
"I think she's the most comfortable around you," Munir looked at Lia. "I think you should lead the conversation."
Lia nodded, and when Alex returned, they all gathered on the couch. The evening let the sun slide behind the horizon, and streetlights twinkle like fireflies.
"Is your father acting violent?" Lia asked carefully.
Alex was quiet before she nodded.
"Is he violent toward you?" she nodded again, her eyes turning moist. "And others?"
"Toward everyone," Alex muttered.
"Do you know that he steals from people?" Lia kept on. Munir and Chaz listened quietly, only nodding and trying to encourage Alex with their compassionate eyes.
"Yes, he does," Alex almost whispered before tears flowed out of her red eyes, and she broke down.
Burying her face in her hands, Alex began sobbing and forcing the words out of her tight throat.
"His real name is Daniel Lim. He stole everything," she sobbed. "Cars, estates, bank accounts, yachts... he owns everything."
Munir, who had prepared her phone, searched through her contacts and found the familiar number right away. Her fingers quickly typed the short text that was enough to say everything needed.
Get ready. We're coming.
Chapter 8
The lights of Munir's car brightened the huge metal gates of a mansion. Sitting behind the wheel, Munir stared ahead at the iron doors as if waiting for the huge monster to open its jaws. She could hear the deep, sharp breathing of the women sitting next to her and on the backseats. She glanced at the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of Alex. The girl was perched on the car seat quietly and unmoving, but Munir could see the nervousness making her young features twitch.
"We can do this another time if you don't feel ready," Munir finally broke the silence, and everyone stayed staring ahead instead of watching Alex, not to pressure her.
"No, I'm ready," the girl replied with a confident tone. "I want to do it now."
Opening the door, she jumped out of the car and began typing a code on the security entrance machine twinkling next to the gates. Her fingers clinked away before the machine beeped and shone in green, and soon the gates began opening too, heavily and slowly like the legs of an old, tired animal.
After Alex got back in the car, Munir drove into the vast yard, followed by the big white truck.
She peered out of the window while spinning the wheel, sneaking her eyes at the lanterns illuminating the smooth path, tall pine trees, the big round swimming pool, and the red underwater lights reflecting on its calm, glimmering surface; the marble sculptures like artworks in Greek museums; rose bushes and the three-story, endless mansion that seemed to stretch from one end of the earth to the other. The wide stairs led to a porch decorated with flowers and rocking chairs, gilded squares framed the windows, brick walls seemingly freshly repainted.
"Uhu," Chaz whistled. "I wonder how many years of stealing it took to build something like this."
"It took almost all of my father's life," Alex responded with her voice full of disgust and sorrow before she got out and looked at the house. "I hate this place more than anything."
The Legion got out, and Munir turned, waving at the white truck. As she did, five women jumped out, dressed in black overalls and wearing hats, long ponytails dangling down their shoulders.
Munir smiled at the first, oldest woman leading her team of movers. Munir had known her since their first mission together seven years before, and as more time passed, the more she trusted them.
"Didn't know you started your own independent moving all-women business, Fran," Munir smiled and hugged the woman.
Fran smiled, her wrinkled face revealing her age but still lively and energetic.
"So, should we get to work?" She asked and rubbed her hands, looking back at others.
"Yes," Alex responded and hurried toward the mansion. She was the first one to enter the house.
Munir followed the others, stepping into the house. Hatred and wrath mounted in her as she couldn't hold the gasp of astonishment as she gawked at the overbearing, overshadowing wealth and luxury the whole house screamed of. Every spot was full of objects that were enough for a few people to build their whole lives on, to have a roof over their heads and food to survive. And here they were - golden and diamond jewelry, precious stone tables, hand-carved sculptures, expensive fabric sofas and smart TVs, crystal chandeliers, and real fur carpets.
"Grab everything you can," Munir ordered the Legion and Fran's employees. "Anything valuable. We have to empty this prison cell."
It took three hours to take some of the sculptures, most of the furniture, a few paintings, and a lot of jewelry out of the house and cram them into the truck. The women huffed and sweated, wasting all their energy on carrying the heavy objects, but in the end, when they closed the truck doors, they all breathed out, knowing they still had the energy to reach the end of their goal.
The mansion was not completely empty, but they didn't have much time and also didn't want to continue taking the stuff. They felt like they were sticky with the dirty money the objects had been bought with. Just one touch was enough to feel like all the sins and wickedness the house held transported onto their skin.
As women gathered in the yard, Munir looked at Alex and handed her the bottle of gasoline, carrying one herself like Lia, Cam, and Chaz.
"We're ready if you are," Munir said and opened her hand, a box of matches lying on it.
Nodding, Alex opened the bottle and poured the pungent liquid around, and so did Munir and the Legion as they splashed gasoline over the walls, on the stairs, into the open windows, and around the perfectly trimmed bushes.
Then, Alex scraped the match, and the sound of little fire kindling off it broke the dead silence. The fire lit up her teary eyes with warm yellow before she flicked it and the match fell into the ground damp with gasoline.
In a split second, the fire broke through the wet traces and raised, running toward the house and spreading over the walls. The red flames licked the gilded windows and crawled through the wooden floor. Only seconds later, the burning fire had already enveloped the mansion and crept to the new corners.
After a quiet tear, Alex wept, opening her mouth and letting the whales out. Munir, holding her from falling, hugged the girl.
"I feel like I'm finally free for the first time in my life, like I'm the one in control, not him," Alex let out as the sparking flames shone on her sad but relieved face.
Chapter 9
Chaz and Alex sat by the kitchen table as Lia searched through the system on her laptop. The glasses reflected the long codes and texts from the screen.
Alex quietly drank coffee, eating biscuits like Chaz who smiled and chatted about her job.
"I haven't seen Angel lately, by the way," she remembered, and Lia looked back from the couch.
"Maybe Alex knows her," she said, and Chaz opened Angel's photo on her phone, one she had taken of the nurse secretly.
Alex narrowed her eyes before nodding at the photo.
"Yes, I know her. She came over to my father often. I think he called her Janette."
"Janette," Lia repeated and put the name into the system she used to search people. For the rest of the legion, this system was just an endless, messy, and brain-hurting lists of codes and texts they would never understand. But for Lia, reading through it was as easy as doing a third-grader's homework.
"Oh, here she is," Lia smiled. "Janette Wonders. She has quite a big property nearby."
Chaz turned to Alex, who had put down her cup, and peered over Lia's shoulder.
"Do you know other names too of people who worked for your father?" she asked.
"Yes, I…" Alex took her phone out. "I can write down every name I remember. Janette was pretending to be a nurse, right?"
Chaz nodded.
"Actually, these people are not only posing as bank tellers and nurses but also as first responders, movers, and even funeral home owners. Just everything."
Lia and Chaz shared a disappointed, furious look.
"Money makes them do anything," Alex added. "Most of them have families, kids, wives, and husbands who have no idea."
As Alex continued writing down the names, Chaz typed a text to Cam and Munir, letting them know that Angel would be the first of many they would attack and threaten.
Munir and Chaz banged on Angel's door and heard her scared footsteps reaching the door. Chaz noticed the camera turning toward them from above the door.
"Janette, open up, or we are calling the police!" Chaz yelled. "We know everything, and we have proof."
She turned the photo of Angel running out of a house after theft to the camera.
After a few seconds of hesitation, the door buzzed open, and Angel peered from behind it.
Chaz, kicking the door open, barged inside, followed by Munir. Horrified, Angel jumped back and tried to grab a gun from a table drawer, but before she could open it, Munir grabbed her hands and forced her down on the couch.
"Now listen," Chaz warned as Munir stood next to Angel. "We know about your boss Daniel Lim and we have every proof to put him and you in jail. Well, he is going to prison without a doubt, and your future depends on what you decide."
Angel listened with an ashen face, eyes red from anger and realization of defeat.
"We are not taking your belongings like we are doing to others from your crew," Chaz continued. "You have an option of being a witness to everything he and his too people did and having your crimes written off, or keeping quiet and going to jail," Chaz smirked. "Which one is it?"
Angel swallowed, her gaunt features death-like. She glanced at Munir and back at Chaz.
"You have until tomorrow," Chaz said. "Don't even try running, or handcuffs will be on your wrists before you know it."
Munir stepped back as Chaz nodded and walked to the door.
"Who the hell are you anyway?" Angel screamed.
"You can tell the police we are the justice itself," Chaz winked with a smile before slamming the door.
Chapter 10
A slow melody poured out of the radio as Lia drove the car, smiling at Alex sitting next to her and Munir in the back. Cam and Chaz tittered next to Munir while trying to sing along to the trendy new song.
"Oh, we're too old for this," Cam chortled.
"Speak for yourself," Chaz raised her brow. "I'm never getting old."
They all laughed, and Munir felt relief coating her heart like a warm blanket. It had taken five days to barge into every house of people who worked for Kin, take their belongings, and warn them about that being their last chance to change for good. Then a week passed, as they sold the items only for a few bucks in thrift stores and roadside open shops, making people astonished as they could purchase luxurious items for only five or ten dollars. Though, in the end, they had gathered some money and added it to their savings to make enough for…
"Where are we going?" Alex distracted Munir from her train of thought.
"You will see," Lia asked.
Alex sighed with relief but also a hint of melancholy.
"I'm so glad my dad and his men are finally behind bars," she said. "How did you convince Janette to testify?"
"We have our secrets," Chaz smiled enthusiastically.
As the sun shone through the white clouds, Lia stopped the car and led Alex out of it, then onto the third floor of a newly built apartment building.
The door was open, and Alex walked in, peering around the small but tastefully designed apartment.
"What is it?" She asked before Lia put a key in her hand.
"It's yours," she said. "You are the last victim to be compensated."
With her eyes tearing up, Alex hugged her and then hurried to the others, wrapping her trembling arms around them too.
"Thank you for everything," she smiled, her eyes now watery from happiness. "For taking me in, for helping me be a survivor. And for helping so many others, my father could have ruined."
The Legion hugged the girl, letting her cry before her heart became lighter. Then it was time to celebrate the beginning of Alex's new life.
The End
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