Chat with the Sun God

The camera snapped as he took picture after picture of them breaking apart. The frame by frame change in their faces from surprised to horrified would be great stuff. "Hope you got laid real good, missy!"

And he was off.

***

Sergei arrived at the address his client had given him. The place was a fucking mansion. He could imagine what the garden would look like. A yard stretching out into a forest, maybe some horses. Of course there'd be a pool with a bar. Ah, how awesome would it be to lounge with a drink in some nice heated pool house. The wife could swim and when she got out of the water, she'd make a nice little show of it. He sighed. Keep dreaming, dude. If he got the twenty grand, he could get a decent place and maybe a decent woman. If, maybe. That was the way of things for Sergei Alkaev.

Looking at all this wealth, he wondered what had driven his target away. He'd find out. Seconds after he rang the doorbell, the door opened. A huge bear of a man filled the doorframe. "Come in."

"I'm Sergei-"

"I know, I have pictures."

This guy didn't feel right. He'd have to be very careful not to get himself in more trouble than the money was worth. Sergei followed Vlasi inside and in the gloom he almost bumped into a lounge chair standing in front of the door. What was that doing here? Just ignore it, don't mention it to the psycho.

The giant halted and picked up an envelope, turned to Sergei and held it out. "Everything you need is in here. Pictures, people she knows, the clothes she was wearing when she left. She didn't take any with her when she left, so she'll need fresh ones pretty soon."

"Okay, good. I can work with that. Does she have any transportation?"

"No, she doesn't have a driver's license."

Sergei held up the envelope and said, "Am I just doing a neighborhood sweep?"

"No, she could have taken a bus for all I know."

"Where would she go to?"

"There's nowhere for her to go but here."

"So you don't know."

"I don't. Hence the private investigator. Can you do it?"

Sergei scratched his jaw with the envelope and said, "I can catch a runaway, no problem. Any extra costs I need to make aren't included in the twenty grand though."

"Money's not a problem."

"Great. Anything else?"

"Yes, you start now and you call me when you find her. I'll take her back myself."

A chill ran across Sergei's back at Vlasi's cold tone. "I can apprehend her myself, no need for you to get involved. Wouldn't want anything against bad to happen. The cops would have to get involved and then the payment plan gets messy. You catch my drift, right?"

Vlasi leaned forward and forced Sergei to lean back. "Sergei Alkaev, you'll do your job, and I don't think your job is to ask me questions. I'll transfer the money I owe you when you locate her. You'll stay on her tail until I pick her up. Deal?"

Sergei held out his hand and grit his teeth at the iron grip of his newest client. His hand still hurt when he opened his car door. Oh, definitely a psycho. He couldn't wait to finish this job.

***

Lira was glad to exit the forest and be out on the road again. Mitra must've had her turn every rock and look in every bush along the trail. She even climbed a tree. It had been fun. The view hadn't been much, but she could imagine herself being a bird. She didn't sing, but she listened to the music of the forest. The wood's breath swept through the treetops and whipped her hair to the side. She turned so her back was to the wind and her silky hair played around her face.

Too soon Mitra had told her to go on, and she went until she was too tired and sore to go on. An old tree had provided shelter and a soft bed of leaves to sleep on, and here she was now, grubby from sleeping under the stars, but up and ready to go.

Lira: Where do we go now?

Mitra: It does not matter, whichever way you go there is much to do.

Lira: How about I follow the road?

Mitra: That will suffice.

Lira: What did you do while I was asleep? Didn't you get tired of waiting?

Mitra: I am not an impatient creature like you humans. The passage of time does not drag me along with it.

Lira: Oh. Just thought I'd ask. I was worried you might be bored.

Mitra: You needn't have worried. I had what your kind would call entertainment.

Lira: You did?

Mitra: There was a spider.

Lira: What?

Mitra: It crawled over your face and your expression changed. I guided it in circles to see more. It did no harm.

Lira shoved the phone in her pocket and marched off along the side of the road. It buzzed, but she ignored it. Stupid Mitra. Playing with spiders. What was he thinking? Lira was still grumbling when a car pulled up alongside her. The driver lowered the passenger side window and asked, "Are you lost?"

Lira startled and looked into a set of beautiful light grey eyes set in a smooth, young face and framed with a cascade of brown hair. "What?"

"I said are you lost?"

"Me? I'm on a journey."

"Where to? I can drive you."

"Anywhere's fine."

"Hop in then." The girl in the car leaned over and opened the door, "I'm Masha, by the way."

"I'm Lira."

"I like your name. It's great I ran into you, I wanted some company. Talking to myself isn't all that."

"Where were you going, Masha?"

"Anywhere. I guess we're alike."

Lira smiled and took a seat, "Let's find out."

"You want to listen to music?"

"Sure."

"Grab that blue pouch, there's a ton of CDs in there. I made them for my road trip."

"Road trip?"

"Yeah, I've been on the road for a month now. Just driving and stopping when I feel like it. It's great to see all kinds of different places and to meet people. I love the stories they tell me." She glanced over at Lira and said, "So what's your story? What do you do? Why are you on the road?"

Lira shifted in her seat and said, "I used to stay inside all the time, but not anymore. I'm going on a journey."

"Yeah, I know. But why?"

"Why? You know, circumstances."

Masha put her hand on Lira's knee and said, "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. What did you do when you were inside?"

"I run a forum to help people."

"A forum?"

"Yeah, I had a lot of time on my hands and nothing to do besides internet stuff. So I figured I'd do something with that. I can show you if you like."

Lira took out the smart phone, pulled up the forum homepage and held it up for Masha to see. "AskSurya4Advice.com."

Masha shook her head and said, "Haven't heard of it."

"I'm not surprised, you don't seem like the kind of person who needs help."

"I get that a lot. But I'm not a robot or anything, I get sad."

"If you're ever sad, feel free to ask Surya for comfort."

"Surya?"

"That's my name on the forum. It's the Indian god of the sun. I like how the sun makes me feel warm and safe. I wanted to do the same for people who needed it."

Masha smiled and pulled the car over. "Let's get out of this thing."

"What, already?"

"I need to feel the sun on my skin now. All because of you."

"Oh."

"Let's go."

Moments after Lira closed her door, Masha locked up and bolted off towards a field of grass close by. She laughed as the wind blew through her hair. Her arms flopped behind her as she ran, and she didn't look back once.

Lira watched the girl sprint away from her. When had she last felt like that? If she ever had, she couldn't remember. She clenched her fist over her chest thinking about how free Masha was. Her legs started moving. She didn't want to lose sight of Masha. She wanted to see more and learn from this new apparition in her life. "Wait up!"

Ten minutes later, Lira dropped face down on the grass next to Masha. Masha laughed when she heard Lira's raspy breath. "Staying at home didn't help your stamina I see."

Lira lifted her hand and swatted in Masha's general direction, which made her laugh again. "It's fine, really. You've made me feel like doing some sports. Maybe there's a river nearby where they rent out kayaks. Sound fun to you?"

An okay-sign was all the answer Lira could muster.

"Well, that's settled then. But you won't have anything to wear in case you get wet. I could lend you something, but I think it would be tight on you. You're not exactly lean on top."

Lira rolled on her back and stared up into the sky. "I didn't want to take any clothes when I left. If I could get rid of these clothes, I would. But I can't go walking around naked, can I?"

"Not if you don't want to get raped, no."

At that comment Lira rolled away from Masha and said, "I don't want that."

Masha shot up at the tone of Lira's voice and when she saw the beautiful girl balled up, she put her hand on Lira's shoulder. Lira jerked a little, but didn't shake off the touch. "I'm sorry I said that, Lira. We'll stay here for a while and when we get sick of it, we'll go to a nice store, okay?"

"Okay."

Lira didn't speak anymore, but she let Masha hug her. She herself was a stranger that helped others, but she'd never believed she'd meet a stranger who would care for her in the same way, with no questions asked.

***

Masha held out a cute white and yellow dress with a retro flower print. She fitted it against Lira's shoulders and said, "Perfect. This and your blond hair, not to mention the rest of your package... you'll be turning heads for sure."

Lira took in the dress. She didn't know what to say. It would show some of her cleavage and there was nothing to cover her legs. She shook her head and said, "I can't wear this, it's not decent."

Masha pulled the dress back and said, "This dress? How is this indecent?"

"It doesn't cover my legs or my chest."

"Honey, the skirt stops just below your knees. You think anybody's going to go crazy over your calves? Give me a break. And there'll be a tiny bit of cleavage, but only because your breasts are kind of big. Trust me, you could go to church in this dress."

She pushed Lira into the fitting booth and said, "I'm not leaving here until you come out wearing that dress."

The curtain snapped shut and Lira sighed. She needed another opinion.

Lira: Mitra?

Mitra: Speak.

Lira: What do you think about this dress?

Mitra: You ask me about raiments? Very well. The choice you have in your hands will not keep you warm when my light can't reach you.

Lira looked down at the little screen, unsure of what she'd been expecting. She laughed and shook her head.

Lira: It's a sundress, Mitra. It's not meant to be worn when it's cold.

Mitra: Is it the current ceremonial dress?

Lira: What?

Mitra: Your ancestors put on various styles of dress. It amused me to an extent.

Lira: I'll just say yes to that.

Mitra: It will suffice.

Lira: I don't have any money though, I'll have to borrow from Masha.

Mitra: I will provide payment.

Lira: How?

Mitra: I see no need to explain.

Lira: I'm not stealing.

Mitra: Put on your dress. Pay with the card in your pocket.

The screen went dark again. She touched her pocket and felt something hard and flat inside. Well, she'd just have to trust him. It didn't take long to put on the dress. In the mirror stood a blushing young woman. A beautiful smile graced her lips. There was a little twig stuck in her hair, and she plucked it out. The background wasn't the cold black and white of the bathroom back home. No, the curtain was red velvet. It was warm and vibrant. She turned on her heels and slid the curtain open in one fluid move. The rings holding it up slapped together and startled Masha, "God, Lira. Was that really..."

She shut up when she saw Lira and grabbed her wrist so she could pull her forward. After circling her a few times, Masha stopped in front of her and nodded. "I knew it. Incredible."

Lira looked down at her dress and smiled, "It's my first time wearing anything like this."

"Seriously? What a waste. You look amazing."

"I like it too. Let's get a few of these." Lira walked over to the clothing rack where Masha had found the first dress and reached out to grab a few more of the same model. Masha stopped her and said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting more dresses."

"The same ones?"

"I like this design."

Masha grabbed Lira by the shoulders and said, "You poor girl, this really is your first time shopping. Who bought your clothes before?"

"My husband."

Masha nodded and then her head froze mid-bob. "Husband?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty one."

"And you have a husband."

Lira nodded, "Yes."

"For how long?"

"Four years now."

"Four? Four years! High school sweethearts?"

"No." She worked herself free from Masha's grip and said, "I don't want to talk about it. If I can't buy the same thing more than once, then what should I buy?"

Still a little shocked by Lira's revelation, a more subdued Masha helped Lira pick some dresses and underwear. She glanced at Lira from the corner of her eye from time to time, wondering what else lay hidden still.

***

Sergei entered his umpteenth clothing store, approached the first store clerk he saw and showed her a picture of Lira. "Excuse me, but have you seen this girl?"

The clerk leaned in and nodded, "Yes, she came in here earlier today. Bought a few dresses. Why, is she in trouble or something?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. It's just that her family's in a bad situation. Her grandmother recently died, and they want her to be there for the funeral and the inheritance arrangements. The problem is that Lira's very independent, and she left on a journey not too long ago. No money and no electronics. Didn't even take much of a backpack. She called from around here a few days before her grandmother took a turn for the worse. So I've been looking around. I'm a private investigator the family hired. If you could tell me which way she went or if she was with somebody, that would be a great help."

The clerk was a little overwhelmed, but she ended up helping Sergei as much as she could. She allowed him access to the camera footage they had of the past week. After scrolling through the footage for a while, he found Lira and Masha. "This other girl, have you seen her before? Maybe she's from around here?"

"No, never seen her before. She was pretty though."

"Do you know how they came here? On foot? By car?"

The clerk shook her head and said, "Probably by car. We have a camera in the parking lot, in case someone steals something and we need to report their plates."

Sergei smiled and put his hand on the clerk's shoulder, "It would help out a lot if I could see the footage from that camera. You've been a godsend so far. Thank you so much."

The clerk blushed a little and after more fiddling and scrolling through footage, Sergei had his hands on Masha's plates. Sergei made to leave, but before he did, he pressed his business card into the clerk's hands and said, "I think I'll be in the area for a while longer. I want to take you out for dinner in the nicest place around tomorrow night. From what I can tell you're more than worth it. I'll pick you up here at seven. Call me if there's a problem."

With those words and a smile on his face, Sergei stepped outside in the sun and took his phone. He called Vlasi.

"Sergei here, I've located Lira. She's with another woman. I've got her plates, but I'll need another grand to convince a friend of mine in the force to track them through the system."

'Do it.'

"He won't make a move until the money's transferred, so wire it to my account asap."

'He'll get his money.'

"Good. I'll call you again when I find her."

Psycho or not, rich clients were easy to work with.

***

The next morning, Sergei laid back in his car. Police scanning wasn't always reliable, so he'd gone old school first, scanning the major road for little hotels where two girls with little money could crash for the night. With some perseverance he found Masha's car. No help required. Despite his fatigue he grinned. Another grand in his pocket. He'd found her the fourth day, which meant fifteen grand plus one extra. Plenty.

He called Vlasi.

"Sergei here, I've found the girls. Looking at their car right now. Got it tagged with a tracker."

'Where?'

"What? No thanks?"

'Sergei, I'm paying you to do your job, not to waste my time.'

Sergei rolled his eyes and said, "I'll text you the address. It'll take you a while to get here. Do you want me to stall them?"

'How?'

"I can catch them or slash their tires."

'Don't catch her, I'll do that myself. Slash their tires. I'm leaving right now.'

The line went dead before Sergei could say another word. That man gave him chills.

***

Masha still looked sleepy when she got out of the shower and dried her hair. She sighed in annoyance and said, "Why do men like long hair so much? Do they even realize how much work it takes to get this dry?"

Lira laughed and gestured towards the bed, "Sit down, I'll dry it for you. And then I'll brush it."

"Really? I knew you were a good girl. Paying for a room. Drying my hair. Buying me gas. Where does an angel like you come from?"

Lira couldn't help but laugh again and said, "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Trade secrets and all."

Masha leaned back and blew in Lira's face. "You want to stick with me for a while longer? I want to know more about you." Lira's hands stopped and Masha pushed on. "Look, I know there's stuff you don't want to tell me. I'm here for you if you change your mind, and you can just tell me off when I'm probing too much. That's just me sometimes. I start blabbing and poking more than people like. But that doesn't matter. You're going nowhere, and I'm going nowhere, so why not go nowhere together?"

"I'd like that."

"Your husband won't mind?"

"Oh, I'm sure he will. That's not a problem."

Masha grinned and closed her eyes. "Now that's been taken care of, I'm ready to be pampered."

Lira tugged on Masha's hair and smiled at her cute little groan in protest. Once Masha's hair was dry, Lira took the brush and said, "When I'm done with your hair, I'll see what I can find for breakfast." She glanced at the clock. "Make that lunch."

"What, it's that late already?"

"Yeah, you're going to make me lazy if I stay with you."

"Hey."

***

Lira froze when Vlasi's deep voice boomed behind her. "Lira! Don't move, don't blink, don't say a word. I'm furious with you."

In seconds he closed the distance between them and said, "You're mine. You'll always be."

Vlasi raped her mouth with a violent kiss. His hand tangled in her hair, and he squeezed her breast hard in his giant hand. A deep, rumbling groan came from his throat. When he finally let her go, both of them were panting. One in fear, the other in animal need.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Masha hit Vlasi over the head with her bag, and he growled at being forced back. "You stay away from her!"

Lira hid behind Masha, buried her face into her back and cried. Masha didn't know what to do. This guy could beat her unconscious without breaking a sweat. What to do? Stall for time? She put up her bravest face and said, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Get out of my way."

"Fuck you. Lira. Lira! Call the cops. Lira! Now!"

Masha felt hands fumbling against her back, good. Now, was there anybody around who could help? She glanced to the side for a split-second, but it was enough for Vlasi to make his move. He stepped in and backhanded Masha in the face. Blood sprayed out of her mouth as her head snapped to the side and she fell down. With a dull thud she hit the ground, too dazed to even try to break her fall.

Lira watched wide-eyed with her heart racing. She turned around to run away, but not quick enough. Vlasi grabbed her hair, pulled her back and forced her body against his. She felt his breath on her cheek and panicked. The pain didn't matter, she punched and kicked, desperate to surprise him and escape, but it was no use. He spun her around so she was facing him and landed a punch square in her stomach. His giant fist sunk into her soft belly and drove the air out of her lungs. Her body went limp and Vlasi pulled her up by her hair until they were face to face. "I'm taking you back, Lira. And I promise you... you won't run away again. There are ways."