TW: rape, drug use

"I'll be fine," Ethan muttered after them as the foursome hopped back into the car. He didn't dare say anything else because he knew his brother was more than in love with Virginie and trying to make sense with him right now would be futile.

Jabari laughed and leaned affectionately on Ethan's shoulder. Ethan quickly knocked him off, trying to ignore the blush rising in his cheeks.

"You still got me, babe. We could have some fun while everyone is gone." Jabari winked.

"You're the last man I would ever want in my bed, Jabari. Now please be quiet so I can forget that you're here and figure out an explanation for the officers who are about to raid this place."

Jabari looked at him thoughtfully. "You're right. But luckily, Virginie restrained herself and left the explanation right there. We don't need to make anything up or create a story. If Robert was dead, however, we'd have a mess to clean up."

"The cops are coming? I remember when I was a cop." Boss mumbled to himself, slightly soberer but still obviously intoxicated.

"You were a cop?" Ethan asked, turning to his prisoner, intrigued at the idea.

"Yeah, I even made it to police chief but then I had to give it up! I had to protect kids who the law wasn't doing justice for." He replied, his words slurring into one another. He looked like he wanted to say more but something was holding him back.

Ethan hovered over his two prisoners with a pair of scissors, weighing his options. "If I let you go, do you promise not to try to kill my brother?"

Boss laughed. "My little flower is going to leave your brother soon anyway so I don't need to hurt him. She can do that all by herself."

Without another word, Ethan sliced the ties. Boss got up and bowed deeply. "Thank you so much, commissioner. I will not be bothering you again, I promise."

"If you do, you will never have another chance," Ethan promised.

Boss stared at him for a long time before nodding and heading outside. Jabari and Ethan watched as he ran down the driveway and disappeared into the midday sun.

"You're letting him go, but not me? I'm not the one who shot the golden girl in the lung. It's a wonder that she's still alive." Robert shouted, struggling against his restraints.

Ethan knelt down and studied him. "You're right, Mr. Chavez. You did not do that." He grabbed his chin and forced him to look at the crumpled body of Father lying on the floor, his eyes still open and scared. "That's what you did. You murdered a man in cold blood. You deserve to be here more than he does."

Robert shook his head to rip his chin from Ethan's grasp. Ethan straightened himself back up and went back to Jabari.

"I get such a strange vibe from that guy. It's like he wants to be nice but he's just pretending to be," Jabari murmured. "Why did you decide to let him go?"

"For that exact reason. I need to find out more about him before I show him any more of my cards. He knows that I'm better than him but he probably thinks that he can buy his way through the system and escape again. He won't get away from me."

"But wouldn't it be easier to keep him here and question him for a little bit more? I know he was a cop but that doesn't mean we can let him do whatever he wants," Jabari pressed.

"I want to see what he does next. He is at a crossroads because he cannot harm Alex without Virginie coming to his rescue. I don't think that he thought that Virginie would block the shot he was making at Alex, but then again, he was pretty drunk."

"What do you think that his next move will be?"

Ethan paused, giving it some thought. "I honestly don't know. He's quite unpredictable from what we've seen so far. I think he's going to go back to his office to regroup and figure out what he's doing next."

"If need be, how are you going to find him again?"

Ethan laughed heartily. "Have you forgotten that I used to be an assassin? Regardless, we know his biggest weakness and that's a dangerous thing for your enemies to find out."

Jabari nodded and stared thoughtfully out of the open entryway, knowing exactly what he meant.

❦

The helicopter was still running with Elizabeth sitting in there, writing something on her notepad. The gurney that Boss spoke about was behind her.

Corey rushed in front of them and started shouting out orders faster than Alex could comprehend them. "Elizabeth! It's Corey Hall with the medical department! I need you to clear the area and help Alex put Virginie on the gurney. Alex, keep the pressure on the wound. Pilot, please take us to the nearest hospital as soon as we are all in here."

Elizabeth hopped off the helicopter immediately to give them some assistance. Alex gingerly laid Virginie on the table and continued to keep the hard pressure on the wound. He didn't even know if it was still bleeding or how bad it was but Virginie's skin was losing its usual glow and luster.

Corey and Colette did what they could. They hooked her up to a heart monitor so they could at least see how she was doing until they got the headquarters. She couldn't speak for herself so the machine would have to speak for her.

As they reached the skies, Elizabeth reached over and squeezed Virginie's hand. "I know you can't talk but I want to say something."

Alex raised an eyebrow, staring at the secretary with curiosity. What on earth does she have to confess at a time like this? "I don't know if that's the best idea."

She looked up at him with earnest eyes. "Please, it's important. I don't know when I'm going to have another opportunity like this."

"She's not going to die," Alex assured, mostly to himself. "You can have plenty of time to talk to her after she stabilizes."

"I have to get this off my chest. C'mon, it won't take long. Besides, Virginie is a strong girl, right?" She squeezed her hand once more with a sad smile.

"Okay, that's fine, I guess," Alex allowed. "Go ahead but make it quick."

She beamed at him. "Thank you so much." She turned back to Virginie. "Listen, I'm so sorry about David. I had no idea that he did that to you and if I did, I would've never listened to his commands or allowed all those transfers to you. You are such a strong person for working with your abuser every day. I'm going to work hard on finding a replacement for him, okay? So you can work in peace."

Virginie's heartbeat picked up slightly but Alex wasn't paying attention. All he could hear was the word "abuser" echoing in his mind over and over again. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about? Abuse?"

"Uh oh," Corey muttered.

"If she hasn't told you yet, I don't think it would be proper for me to do so," Elizabeth replied.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Alex fumed. "If he did something to her, someone is going to tell me, dammit!"

"Alex, please, calm down," Corey cautioned.

"I'm not going to 'calm down'!" Alex raged, his voice becoming louder as he continued to speak. "I won't relax until I know what happened."

"Did Virginie ever tell you about Rose?" Colette asked, ignoring the jabs to her side from Corey, urging her to stop. She turned to Corey, her face full of fury. "He deserves to know and she would want him to know so stop hitting me!" He put his hand down with a resigned sigh, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop her with reason.

Alex looked down at Virginie's face. She looked as emotionless as ever, her eyes almost glassy. "Yes, she did. About a week ago, actually."

"What did she tell you about her?"

He smiled briefly, remembering how happy he felt when she divulged a bit of her history. "Not much. She told me that Boss called her that because he knew her when she was Rose. What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything," Elizabeth snapped. Everyone stared at her in surprise. "Sorry, continue."

"Before joining the Collective, Virginie was kidnapped from an orphanage and put into a high-class brothel that specialized in children and teenagers. That's where she met Boss." Colette explained, not noticing that Alex had started trembling with rage.

"He claims that he didn't know that she was so young the first time," Elizabeth continued, cutting in. "But after that, he was simply too in love with her to care."

"He continued seeing her for a few years―" Colette started but was cut off.

"You mean he continued raping her for a few years," Alex seethed, trying to keep his voice level.

Colette looked flustered. "Uh, yes. That. Anyway, he started putting together an operation to free her from the brothel so that she could live a 'normal' life with him. He ended up taking down the entire brothel and her madam was killed. Boss ended up making the Collective shortly afterward because his ongoing relationship with her was revealed to the public and he was fired from the police department. His guilt is what made the Collective into what it is today."

"Guys..." Corey warned.

"Can you be quiet?" Colette hissed.

Alex looked down at Virginie furiously. "How could you keep working for him? Why didn't you leave? Why didn't you tell me all of this?"

"Where else could she have gone, idiot?" Colette spat him. "Her mother killed herself. Her father left her. She got taken from an orphanage. Where was she to turn except to the only man who held her only way out of endless misery? The Collective gave her an opportunity to change the world and prevent other girls from suffering like she did by stopping brothels in their tracks. How dare you come for her like that!"

"GUYS!" Corey shouted, turning to grab something from the cabinet.

"What the hell do you want?" Alex questioned.

The long beep of the flatline coming from the heart monitor snapped Alex out of his fury into sorrow. He hadn't noticed that Virginie's eyes were closed. He stumbled back as he watched Corey open up the defibrillator and Colette tear open her shirt. Her gaping, oozing, matted wound stared back at him, reminding him of his terrifying reality.

As Corey and Colette desperately shouted things back at each other trying to restart Virginie's heart, the only thing that was steady in the room was the constant high-pitched beep that signaled that Virginie wouldn't be coming back.

☙

Today was the day of the raid and Rose couldn't be less excited. She was more nervous than anything. What if it didn't work? What if Madam found out about it and killed her before she could be freed? What if they couldn't find her in time?

She took a deep breath and laid down on her cot, staring up at the ceiling. The uncomfortable springs pricked her skin like talons gently scraping against her skin but she was used to it by now. It was almost comforting. Soft beds were the ones that made her hurt because she knew she would leave them sorer than she came. At least here she knew that there wouldn't be a man three times her age huffing over her, begging her to call him Daddy.

She wasn't certain of exactly what time it was. They had come around with breakfast not too long ago so that meant it was at least past 9 am. It was the usual slop, a slice of toast with margarine and gross smelling oatmeal. Madam never gave them real food because she said, "Your clients spoil you enough. If I do so too, I'm going to have to open a BBW category on my site and I don't want that."

She had a couple of hours off before she had a job in the evening. Madam never told them who they were seeing until an hour before but Rose knew the schedule by now. It was a Thursday so one of her congressmen would be asking her to come to the Hilton. They liked to squeeze in a quick session before dinner. It certainly was quick because they never lasted long, thankfully. However, she wouldn't be attending because she would be in police custody by then. If everything worked out.

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep so she rose up from the bed to watch the other girls in their cells. Everyone was home for once because they had an exam in "school" yesterday so everybody was required to stay. Some of them were sleeping, some of them were reading, some of them were doing homework. The girl directly across from her, Layla, was throwing back a couple of pills in her mouth. She was trying to avoid all eye contact with Rose out of guilt. There was brief euphoria in her empty brown eyes as she swallowed them but then there was nothing as she laid back down on her cot, waiting for the pills to take effect. Rose had tried to convince her to get off of them but Layla refused. She needed them to be able to face reality, she had pleaded.

Rose didn't want to think herself to death while waiting for her fate so she pulled up her sheet and tried to make herself warm. During the winter, Madam afforded them a single sheet so they wouldn't catch hypothermia but wouldn't exactly be snug and warm either.

She didn't know if she had drifted off or time had passed quickly but she heard bullets raining overhead and her heart rate picked up. The raid was happening. She smiled. David had actually come through for her.

All of the hope went out of the window when she heard the door to the cell area slam open and Madam's voice call out, "All of you! On your feet! We're getting out of here! The cops are trying to shut this place down but they will never catch me alive!"

Rose gritted her teeth. She had forgotten that a couple of detectives and sheriffs were on her payroll and used her services. They probably tipped her off to keep their secret from being exposed. It was too bad for them that Rose kept a little black book of her own.

But they had told Madam too late. From the rate of gun fire, Rose could tell that they were already here.

The doors all buzzed open and the girls stirred and stared at each other, weighing their options. Rose knew what she was doing. She didn't care if she died. She wasn't going anywhere with Madam ever again.

"I'm not moving, you miserable old bitch!" Rose shouted defiantly, sitting with her legs and arms crossed on her cot. "I hope they shoot you until there's nothing left and you rot in hell, right next to that Ronald Reagan that you love so much."

Everyone stared at Rose dazedly, surprised by her candor. They were probably all high, not fully understanding the situation. She remembered when she spent every waking moment high and she was thankful that was no longer her reality.

Rose was not afraid as Madam walked up to her cell. Madam was short with a huge nose and beady hazel eyes with crows' feet. Her arms were stubby looking and she wore a lot of jewelry that she thought made her look glamorous but it aged her. Her hair was a straw-like in texture due to stress resulting in her hair falling out. Her fingers were thick talons. Today she was in her nightgown and kitten heels.

Madam smacked her across the face and Rose didn't even move as she laughed heartily, Madam dumbstruck at her audacious behavior. "Do not test me, girl."

Rose sneered at her, full of contempt. "I've been smacked harder than that during foreplay. Is your arthritis acting up? You must be getting soft in your old age. Try again."

Madam snorted. "I will kill you, whore."

"Are you sure you can do that all by yourself? I know you usually have your goons do your dirty work," Rose sneered. She raised her hands high with a huge grin. "But please, go on ahead and kill me in front of 20 witnesses. I'd love to be another nail in your coffin, or rather, another felony on your record."

Madam leaned in. "Listen closely. You will not―"

Rose slammed her forehead into Madam's causing Madam to stumble and fall down in the center of the hallway. Rose quickly grabbed her hardcover copy of War and Peace that Madam gave them to read for homework and slammed it down on Madam's head.

Rose threw the book to the side and grabbed a pipe that she had been saving under her bed. The cheers were deafening as Rose slammed the pipe down again and again and again and again, knowing no matter how many times she slammed it down, it wouldn't make up for all of the men that raped her. All of the beatings that Madam had put her through, sometimes by her own hand. She could barely feel the blood splattering against her skin, lacing in her lashes, and dripping from her nose.

She was still swinging blindly as she felt a pair of strong hands tear her off of Madam. The pipe was ripped out of her hands and the man carried her out of the basement, into the light. Her hands were crimson as the sunlight rained down on her. Usually, things glistened in the sun but Madam's blood looked lackluster on her fingers. The police officer placed her down and mumbled something about her staying put.

Rose looked around. There were tons of police cars and vans surrounding the house that Madam called home and Rose called hell. There were news people everywhere reporting on the huge bust and their eyes lit up when they saw her and raced over, almost trampling each other to get a picture.

As they began to set up for an interview, Rose stared at them all, not saying anything. She tensed as she felt hands on her shoulders, only to see David behind her. His presence did not calm her.

"Chief, is this one of the girls that was in the house?" One of the newscasters inquired, shoving a microphone in his face.

David chuckled nervously. "Yes, I suppose she is."

The newscaster put the microphone in her face and asked her a question before David could protest. "How are you doing, little girl? How does it feel to finally be free?" He looked taken back when he noticed the blood splatters on her face. "Don't you think you need to see the doctor?"

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, not understanding what he was suggesting.

"The blood on your face, sweetie. Did you get hurt?" They asked, gentler this time.

Rose smiled and laughed softly. "Oh, this?" She asked, pointing at her face. "This isn't my blood but thank you for your concern."

The newscaster didn't know what to say as he stiffened and leaned back. David squeezed her shoulders, trying to keep a smile."Why don't you go get yourself checked up in one of the ambulances, Rose?"

Rose turned to him. "Don't touch me."

David slid his hands off of her shoulders, nodding slowly.

"How do you know her name, sir?" The newscaster inquired.

"She and I were introduced a couple of seconds before you lot ran up. Weren't we, Rose?" He knelt down next to her and smiled.

"Don't call me that name ever again." She demanded.

She didn't know who she was but she wasn't Rose anymore.