THE INDUSTRY

BY THE ONE
wordzwizardz@hotmail.com

[ part 10 ]

NOTE: ‘The Industry’ is a series of 11 chapters. It will only make sense if you read them in order!

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The Industry building had once been a warehouse for the city docks. When new facilities were constructed for shipping, the warehouse was abandoned, giving Smith an ideal headquarters for his perverse sex empire.

Nicole could smell salty air from the harbor as it wafted in on a light breeze. She breathed deeply; it was the first time she had been outside in three days. Maybe four; she didn’t really know. It had been even longer for Amy. She was gazing upwards, enjoying her first glimpse of the night sky in three years. It had been far too long.

“So. Where do we go from here?” Nicole wondered. “Where are all the police?”

“They’re out front, most likely,” Katrina said, “It’s just an open field. Come on, it’s this way.”

They set off to where they hoped to find authorities. Nicole hoped desperately that their lives could be put back in order.

By walking parallel to the burning ruins, they soon found the front of the lot. It wasn’t an open field anymore. Things had changed since Katrina last saw this place from the outside: an expanse of concrete pavement stretched out along the piers and docks of the harbor. Buildings had been constructed in rows, warehouses and private storage garages. About five hundred yards out, a sprawling factory had been put up bearing the name of a steel products company. The open field had been transformed into an industrial park.

“Whoa…” Katrina breathed, “Looks like we have some catching up to do…” She looked at Amy, who was just as shocked at the changes.

Nicole couldn’t believe that the Industry had sat this close to civilization and had gone undetected for…how many years? She supposed that was the reason the police had never before searched the area. They assumed no crime organization that extensive could exist so close to a factory without someone noticing. The important thing, though, was that the police were here now. Flashing red and blue lights, white cars, and a sea of people filled the parking lots and alleys between the buildings. The girls were filled with relief as they emerged from the shadows and walked toward a group of what looked like high-ranking police officers, hoping to get directions on what to do next.

As they came into the light Amy looked down at herself and cried out. She had forgotten that she was naked. “I can’t go out there like this!” she insisted.

Looking around, Nicole spied a discarded tarp lying next to a stack of scrap metal. She gave it to Amy to cover herself, then they approached the policemen.

Noticing the girls coming out of the shadows, one of the men turned. “Oh my God!” he exclaimed, “Where did you three come from? I thought we had everybody out!”

“You did,” Katrina said, “But we had a little unfinished business to take care of. We went out the back door.”

“What do you mean unfinished business?” the man asked skeptically.

“The man who ran this show? He’s dead.” Katrina said, almost proudly.

“You killed him?” assumed the officer, “That’s murder, you know.”

Katrina’s face fell, as if she just realized killing Smith was a still a crime.

“It wasn’t murder!” Nicole blurted, “It was self defense!”

“Self defense?”

“Yeah!” Amy added, “He had taken me and Katrina downstairs right before the raid. Nicole came to save us,” she put her arm around Nicole’s shoulder, “But he shot Katrina and dropped his gun to come after us with a big knife. Katrina grabbed the gun and…well…”

“So it wasn’t self defense at all,” the cop said.

In disbelief, Nicole cried, “But she saved us! We would all be dead if it weren’t for her, and Smith…the man who ran the Industry…would have gotten away! Katrina’s no criminal; she’s a hero!”

The man considered for a tense moment. He looked into the girls’ eyes, one face after another. They weren’t lying; he could tell. He had dealt with murderers plenty of times before, and this girl was no murderer. She had pulled the trigger, but it had saved two good lives and ended one evil one. Even so, there was no guarantee that she would be pardoned by the courts, and she stood a good chance of going to jail.

“Don’t mention a word of this to anyone else,” the officer said to Katrina, “If anyone asks, this Smith guy shot you and left you for dead but was then caught in the explosion. Your two friends here found you before the place went up, and you got out.”

“Sounds good to me,” Katrina said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Thank you!” cried Nicole and Amy, almost at the same time.

“Now, get over to the ambulances to get checked. They’ll show you where to go from there.”

“Thank you,” Katrina said.

“Sure thing, ladies,” he said as he started to walk back to the other officers, “Now get going before someone gets suspicious.”

At the ambulances, a man was ready with a pair of bolt cutters to remove the locks from the girls’ corset collars. As he freed Katrina, he noticed that most of her corset was stained with blood. He immediately recognized the gunshot wound, and scrambled the ambulance crew to tend to the emergency. Katrina realized the severity of her injury as two men took her to put her in the ambulance to go to the hospital, but she broke away from them.

“I haven’t said goodbye yet,” she snapped in traditional Katrina fashion. Turning to her companions, she said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t the greatest friend in there. You’re both amazing girls, and I regret that I didn’t take the time to get to know either of you better, especially you, Amy. You’re really sweet, and I know how much you hated that place. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” She winced as pain from her wound shot through her stomach, where she assumed the bullet was still lodged. “Nicole,” she said, gathering a breath, “I owe you everything. Without you I’d be dead, and so would Amy. You were the real hero today. Coming after us took guts.”

Nicole blushed.

Suddenly weak, Katrina realized her time was growing short. She needed help, now. It was time to part. “Make something of yourselves, kids. Get out of this blasted city and never come back. If any of Smith’s men got away, the Industry could rise again. You don’t want to be here if it does. It’s not too late for either of you to pick up where you left off.” She didn’t know about Amy’s situation; they had never talked. “Thank you, both of you, for everything. Hey! Maybe we’ll even see each other again someday! Wouldn’t that be something?” She reached out and ruffled their hair. The effort seemed too much for her, and she staggered. The medical team caught her and carried into the waiting ambulance.

As the siren and flashing lights disappeared around a corner, headed for the nearest hospital, Amy said sadly, “I’m going to miss her. This was the first time she’s ever been nice to me, but I’m still going to miss her.” She wiped a tear from her eye.

“I know what you mean,” Nicole agreed. She too would miss the strange girl who, at the end of their time together, had suddenly become a different person from when Nicole had first been introduced to her. She assumed it was how Katrina had been before her life had been torn apart.

“Come on,” Nicole put her arm around Amy’s shoulders and started off in the direction the medical personnel had told them to go to be registered by the Missing Persons Bureau. “Let’s go get our lives back.”

As they stood in line for registering together, Amy feeling quite awkward wrapped in the tarp, Nicole heard a voice calling her name. It sounded like her mother. She stood on her tiptoes to peer over the sea of people all around her, and saw her family waving from behind the yellow police tape.

“Mom! Dad! Joe!” she shouted back, waving. She wanted to run to them, but it was her turn to be registered. Stepping into the tent that served as a temporary office, she hastily gave her full name to the agent who was filing reports for the discovery of the girls who had gone missing. After the paperwork was completed the agent told her she was free to go home if she could. More legal action would be taken, but not for a few days. On her way out of the tent a lady handed her a bathrobe to cover the erotic uniform she was still wearing. She waited for Amy to be registered. When it was done, Amy gratefully dropped the tarp in exchange for the surprisingly soft robe.

Then Nicole ran to her family. She was lost in their relieved embraces for a long moment. When they released her, she looked back at her friend. Amy was standing sadly a few paces away looking at the ground. Sensing she was being watched, Amy’s eyes met Nicole’s. Nicole went to her.

“Well…I guess this is goodbye then,” Amy said.

“But where will you go?” Nicole asked, “Will you be alright?”

“I hope so,” she answered, “I can always go to one of the shelters. That’s what most of the others will have to do.”

“But you can’t live there!” cried Nicole, “You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

“Don’t remind me,” Amy moaned, “I made out alright before. I can do it again.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nicole declared, “No. I won’t let you go back to wandering the streets just waiting to be kidnapped again. What’s the point of freedom if you have nowhere to go back too? Wait here.” She quickly went back to her parents.

“Mom? Dad? That girl over there? Her name is Amy. I met her while I was…in there…and she’s been a really great friend. But her family left a long time ago. No one knows where they went, and now she’s got nowhere to go. Can she stay with us for a few days until the Missing Persons people find her somewhere to live permanently?”

Nicole’s parents considered for a moment. Then, “Of course, honey. She can stay as long as she needs to.”

“Thank you!!” Nicole cried, hugging her parents. Going back to Amy, she said excitedly, “If you want to, you can come stay with us until you find a permanent home.”

Amy was speechless for a moment. “You would do that? For me?”

“Of course, Amy! I couldn’t live with myself if I went back home and you were left here alone! Come on!” She took her friend’s hand and pulled her back to join her parents and her brother.

Amy was overwhelmed. “I…I don’t know what to say! I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for me!”

“You don’t have to,” said Nicole’s mom, “We’re glad to help.”

After notifying the Missing Persons Bureau that Amy would be staying with them, Nicole and her family, along with Amy, finally headed home. As they left the city Amy looked back at the receding lights. Philadelphia had been her home her whole life, but she intended to follow Katrina’s advice; she was never coming back. She had no future there among all the bad memories. It was time to start anew. Though they tried to stay awake to answer the flurry of questions Nicole’s family asked, the girls were soon too exhausted to hold their eyes open. Amy rested her head on Nicole’s shoulder, and Nicole softly took Amy’s hand. Within minutes, they were sound asleep.

Back at the ruined warehouse, most of the girls who had been prisoners at the Industry were gone, either returned to families or taken by shuttle bus to a nearby shelter until permanent homes could be found for them. Police had scoured the industrial park, finding all of the escaped gunmen from the Industry. The infamous kidnapper known as Mr. Clarke was arrested. Finally, the disappearances would stop. No more notes would be found around the city saying that a girl had been taken to the Industry. It was finally over. There was only one problem:

Smith’s body was never found.