Half of the man's face was obscured by his face mask. He looked middle-aged, maybe forty years old. He held a woman in his arms. Hearing what Pike said, he kicked him and cursed, "You idiot! You can't even handle one skinny bitch! I'm running low on patience. Bring her here tomorrow. I'll interrogate her myself! I'll show you how it's done!" He believed he had what it took to make her spill the beans.

Pike swallowed his anger and nodded to his boss. "Yes sir!"

After Pike left with his men, the woman in the masked man's arms said the most vicious words in the gentlest voice. "Kirk, it's just two women. Why not just kill them?"

Kirk Qin thought on this for a while, muscles dancing in his face, jaw set in fierce determination. "We'll soon find out if Erma Huo is really a cop. I'll break her, but it might take some *ahem!* doing. If she still won't talk after that, then there's no reason to keep her alive."

Erma's skin was fair and tender, and she was more beautiful than any other woman in the surrounding villages. All men were attracted to her. It was no secret what he wanted to be "doing."

Seeing the lust in his eyes, the woman stopped talking and carefully served him.

At dawn, Erica awoke and decided to put her plan into action. She placed a box in the hole on the ground, covered it with a wooden board, and covered that with a layer of soil. She moved the table on top of all that.

action After making sure the box was essentially invisible, she went to the sink to wash her hands, watching the dirt turn to mud and slide down the drain. Finally, she opened the door of her room.

As soon as she did that, she saw a glint of metal flash toward her. Someone was trying to stab her with a dagger. She dodged, and her attacker ducked behind her, intending to slice her throat open. She spun, and dug her elbow into her attacker's ribs.

Then, shaking from adrenaline, she took in what was going on outside her room. There were at least twenty people standing in the old yard. Tessie there too, tied up. Her mouth was covered with tape and she could only make muffled sounds.

Pike laughed wildly, "Good morning, little widow! Your friend is in our hands. I advise you to surrender, or I can't guarantee her safety!"

Erica leaned against the do

an ordinary salesman.

Kirk Qin exhaled a mouthful of smoke and was dubious about her words. "Since your children aren't here anymore, when are you leaving?"

"I'm waiting for my husband to come pick me up! How else would I get back?" She didn't want to take a carriage from the village to the town, take a ship in the neighboring town to the city, and then take a train to the airport.

"When's he coming?"

"I don't know. Whenever he misses me enough!"

Kirk Qin went quiet for a time. After a while he looked into Erica's eyes and asked, "A few days ago, dozens of my men were arrested by the police. Did you know that?"

Erica was unsurprised. "Oh yeah. I knew that. Who wouldn't?" Everyone in the village knew it. If she said she didn't know, she was either lying or stupid.

Cigarette smoldering in his fingers, Kirk Qin stared at the woman and asked, "Who tipped them off?"

The woman replied with a question. "Who? I don't know. I want to know too!"

The man stubbed out his cigarette on the ground. "You'll have some time to think about it. About 12 hours. If you still won't tell me..." The warning in his tone made Erica shiver.

Then she was left alone in the yard. Well, not quite alone, since there were ten other guards there.

Night fell quickly. Erica was still bored. He took her phone, so she had nothing else to do than to play with a few blades of grass.

When it was completely dark, she knew that her time had come. It was easy to do what she wanted under cover of night.