Aurora - Blood Moon Tribute Pt. 03

They were all by the door when the old man turned up. Tanya, Maya, Hayley, and the mystery visitor. Their kid at least by the look of her, small, slim, very blonde, dressed in muddy sports gear- black shorts, a grass-stained gurnsey, and rainbow socks up to the knees. At second glance they were actually shin-pads, and she was, in spite of first appearances in fact a woman, of indeterminate vintage, early thirties he guessed. She and Tanya were circling in a clinch, exchanging endearments. The visitor held Tanya at arms-length. "Five bloody years, Tanya McHale. It's been five bloody years. What's up? Don't you love me anymore?"

"Are those skinny little legs just painted on?" Tanya teased. "You know where I live."

"As if you're ever home."

"You can talk! Where were you last time I called you?"

The elfin woman studied her fingernails. "Madagascar. What of it? You've got a map." She looked at Tanya and her face lit up. "Jesus Christ Tiggy-Tan, you look good enough to eat."

Tanya arched an eyebrow. "Well you never know your luck in the big city. Here, remember Maya?"

The visitor took Maya by both hands. "Little Maya?" she cried. "Tan's baby sister?"

"Caitlin's daughter, actually." Maya corrected.

"No way!" the woman said, not missing a beat. "You were just a wee little babby last time I saw you."

"Uh huh!" Maya nodded excitedly. "I still remember that day. When you came around for that Easter Egg hunt. Remember? You brought those eggs. Little Swiss easter eggs all wrapped in gold."

"And you fell over and skinned your knee." the woman nodded.

"That's right." Maya said. "And I started crying. So you picked me up. Then piggy-backed me round the rest of the time, showing me where you'd hidden your eggs."

"How could I forget." The woman grinned. "You ate your own weight in Easter eggs that day. I can still see your face, chocolate from ear to ear."

Yet to be acknowledged, the old man looked past the new arrival through the open front door, at the deluge hammering the forecourt. It was bucketing down, and for one giddy instant he was back on Aurora. On the night of the storm, struggling back to the cockpit through the wind and the rain, where a tiny blonde waif in a drenched T-shirt and oversized briefs stood at the helm, face fixed in an expression of intense concentration.

"And this is my girlfriend Hayley." Tanya said.

"Our girlfriend!" Maya corrected as Hayley reached out and shook the visitor's hand.

"You look exactly like Rebekah." Hayley breathed. "That's just incredible."

"Gawd," the woman snorted, "poor Rebecca."

"No," Maya said, "it's Rebekah. With a 'k' and an 'a' and an 'h'. And she's totally gorgeous."

"So she doesn't look like me?"

Tanya elbowed the woman gently in the ribs. "Stop fishing, Nikki."

The woman stuck her bottom lip out. "But I love fishing. Go on, this girl who looks like me? Just how gorgeous is she?"

"Well you're about to find out." Tanya said. "In the meantime though, here's her partner."

Taking his cue, Watson took a step forward and offered his hand. The woman took it in her firm, cool grip and gave it a shake. "Oops, didn't notice you there, with all this girl stuff going on."

"That's okay," the old man said, inclining his head, "I could see you were busy."

"Nikita Flynn." the woman announced then thumbed over her shoulder at Tanya. "I went to school with Tiggy here."

"Tiggy?" Watson echoed, "Is that what they called you?"

"Among other things." Tanya said under her breath.

"Like what?"

"Not in polite company, Dear."

Nikita picked up a sodden backpack. "I've just come from hockey." she said. "Any chance a girl can grab a quick shower?"

Maya hooked her arm through Nikita's. "You can use mine. Need some dry clothes? We're about the same size."

Nikita gave her backpack a pat. "That's okay. Have trakky daks will travel."

"Come on then." Maya said with a jerk of the head, "Let's go make you feel human."

10 minutes later, a freshly-showered Nikita Flynn breezed into the living room. Hayley and Tanya were seated on one sofa, while Watson had claimed an armchair at one end of the glass-topped coffee table. Clad in comfy grey tracksuit pants and matching fleece-lined hoodie, her hair still damp and tangled, she looked every inch the girl next door. Sitting herself down on the sofa opposite Tanya, she tucked her bare feet up and snuggled into her sweater. Maya padded in from the kitchen, tongue out for balance, carrying a tray, bearing two silver pots, 5 porcelain mugs, a plate of biscuits, a jug of cream, a bowl of sugar. "Tea or coffee, Nikki?" she asked.

"Tea please."

Maya looked around after doing the honours. "And no, I won't. You guys will have to help yourselves."

"Ooo..." Nikita piped up over the groans of protest, "I'm special."

"That's what we all used to say." Tanya said.

"I always thought you were home-schooled." Watson frowned.

"Except for a couple of years." Tanya replied. "The parents made us go to the zoo. To hang out with the riffraff."

"Ten grand-a-term riffraff at any rate." Nikita said.

Watson nodded absent-mindedly, noting the focus of the new arrival's attention. Maya was bent over the table, pouring some tea, and Nikita was staring straight down the front of her loose white shirt, feasting her eyes on Maya's little jiggling tits. 'Can't be all bad' he thought.

"So how's work, Toots?" Tanya asked, opening the bidding.

"The bloody plague's still making life a misery." Nikita tutted. "You know, dunny paper was so hard to source I had to buy a factory."

Already armed with the truth, Watson asked, "What line of business are you in?" The way she answered would tell him all he needed to know.

"Shopkeeper." Nikita said, then bit into a biscuit.

"Shopkeeper." Tanya scoffed. "If by shop you mean shopping centre."

Nikita hefted a shoulder. "Same diff."

"Oh bollocks. You've got ten of the. things, am I right? What are you worth?"

"Anything you're willing to pay." Nikita mugged.

Tanya gave the old man a wink. "Don't let that down-to-Earth façade fool you, old boy. Nikki is a dinky-di, multi, multi, multi, multi-millionaire."

Using her fingers, Nikita counted off under her breath. "Multi... multi... multi... You're close. Though these days it starts with a 'B'."

"No kidding? How much of a 'B'?"

"Wouldn't have a clue." Nikita shrugged. "I've got an army of accountants who take care of that."

"Must be tough." Watson said, unaffected by the woman's personal wealth, but very much warming to her energy. "How has this last year treated you?"

"We're doing okay."

"Nikki has an ethos." Tanya explained.

"In this day and age?" Watson asked, hand on his heart.

"Strange as it may seem," Nikita nodded, "yes. The Germans call it 'mittlerer platz'. Middle place. Based on steady, reliable service and ethical profits. Get rid of the quarterly review, play the long game. Avoid chasing ever greater profits by keeping rents reasonable and tenants secure. Pay the executive well, but not at the cost of the retailers, or, more importantly the customer. Customer, never consumer, that word has such a nasty ring. Plus, every member of management has to spend a month on the shop floor every year, to remind them who pays their wages. It's a Japanese thing."

"Including you?" Maya joked.

Nikita nodded and swallowed a mouthful of tea. "Of course. I just did two months at a hobby shop, behind the counter. The owner's wife just had her first babby. I was only going for a month but loved it so much I stayed for two. It was such an eye-opener. You know, I discovered, it's almost an exclusively male thing. Playing with toys."

"Got news for you Sister." Tanya muttered.

"Radio control aeroplanes and sich, silly. And train sets and scale models."

Watson nodded. "Yep. That's a boy thing. Hobby shop used to be my favourite store."

"So how's your hubby these days?" Tanya asked, changing tack.

"Had to have him killed." Nikita tutted. Watson's jaw hit the ground.

Tanya took one look at the old man's expression and sat back laughing. "Oh, Damon... you should see your face."

"Really?" Nikita asked brightly, "Do I look like the type?"

"You never can tell." Watson said darkly, thinking back to his former wife.

"So how is he?" Tanya asked, drying her eyes.

"Connor?" Nikita replied, then hefted a shoulder. "I think he has a mistress to be truthful. I wish it was a chick but I think it's a rocket." Nikita noted question marks all around. "My husband's a rocket scientist."

"Like, he's really, really smart?" Maya asked.

"Hell no," Nikita shook her head, "he just designs rockets. So, Tan, what about Rodge? I hear the silly duffer's turned into a stinky old hippy."

"That was this guy's fault." Tanya said, thumbing at Watson. "But yeah. Spends his whole time on crazy crusades these days, which is why I asked you here"

Nikita patted her pockets. "You wanna get rid of him? What do you need?"

Tanya exhaled through puffed cheeks. "You know sometimes I almost feel like I could. He's such a worry, always sticking his neck out. Love him to bits, don't get me wrong, but one little slip and we're in a world of pain."

Nikita took another sip of her tea. "Goodness," she said, "I didn't realise corporate law was so exciting."

"If only he would stick to law. No. It's all the bloody windmill tilting. Especially when those windmills are owned by the Triads. Or the Yak. Even the Russian Mafia's been piling on."

"Is Roger in trouble?"

"He's always in trouble." Tanya said dryly. "And sadly, now, so are two of our staff."

"Okay." Nikita said, plainly mystified.

"Look. I didn't want to say too much over the phone, but... you see... Roger's in Ab Aldafra."

Nikita visibly flinched. "Okay." she said, instantly wary.

"He was trying to stitch up some Chinese ivory trader." Tanya went on. "A billionaire crook."

Synapses lit up in Nikita's brain. Ivory. Chinese. Billionaire crook. All abundant in Ab Aldafra. She'd never liked Bragg, thinking him boastful, arrogant and shallow, but word on the vine was that he'd changed. "Is he okay?"

"At the moment, yes, which is more than I can say for our crew."

"Go on."

"Well, they flew over in our jet, for a hot extraction. And now they've gone missing."

"Did anyone check the Trap Bar? They're probably shacked up with some sweet little renters."

"They're not dudes, Nikki." Tanya said woodenly, "Though that's never stopped Alana. Beck either come to think of it. But no. They're both girls."

When Nikita took a sip of her tea her hand was shaking. "Not a part of the world where a chick wants to go missing."

"Name one that is." Maya said darkly.

"Yeah, but Ab Aldafra, you know. Its culture is still a little on the... how can I put it...?"

"Medieval side?" Tanya suggested.

"To put it mildly. The royal family has absolute power, shored up by a corrupt and all-pervasive clergy. In spite of the laws, in spite of the trappings of western democracy, it's a totalitarian state with the king at the top. And the royals have some very... err... unfortunate obsessions."

"Like western girls?" Maya asked.

"Especially western girls."

"I gather you've been there?" Hayley cut in, fingers crossed that the answer was no and she was merely spouting a hackneyed rumour.

Nikita looked at Tanya, who gave her the nod. "I have as a matter of fact. A few years back now but not much has changed. I still keep tabs for old time's sake."

"Nikki's always been a bit of an adventurer." Tanya explained. "A it of a thruster, if you know what I mean. The first girl in my class to try anything. Everything in fact."

"Well it's not like I was trying to prove anything." Nikita said defensively.

"Never said you were. But you were out there, admit it."

"So why Ab Aldafra?" Watson asked. "I never knew it was a tourist destination."

"My dad was... is... a seismic specialist." Nikita replied. "Amazing guy, a real eclectic. Knew everything about everything. And he had no fear. Thought the whole wide world was just some sort of Adventureland. Now and then he'd take us with him- Middle East, Africa, Central Asia. He used to read seismographs, from explosions set off in bore holes. It was a real art, and he was the best of the best, he could just about tell the specific gravity of the crude from looking at these nondescript squiggles."

Nikita sipped her tea and licked her lips. "Anyway, my sisters and I... over the years he took us to all sorts of exotic locations. He had a hand picked crew so we were always safe, even in bandit country. There was just one place where Dad would never take us, which was sort of odd, because it looked quite wealthy and civilised."

"Ab Aldafra?" Tanya asked.

Nikita nodded. "Ab Aldafra. I was always put-out that Dad wouldn't take us. It had all these shopping malls and zoos and aquariums, old-style souks and bazaars. Sky diving, speedboats, desert safaris, it just looked incredible. But Dad said, 'No!', and when I asked why, he would just fob me off. He just said he didn't have to break it to Mum. That their youngest child had been spirited away to be a Blood Moon Tribute."

"A what now?" Tanya frowned.

"A tribute, a gift for the king. Like countless other girls over the centuries. Western girls especially."

"Why western girls?" Watson put in.

"Ah, well, you have to go back in history. To what we would have called the tenth century. Ab Aldafra was less than a third the size it is today, ruled by a king named Salman the Great. It was invaded by the south and after a string of crushing defeats, Salman fired his generals and took personal command. Waged a brilliant and brutal campaign, 'hit 'em where they weren't', to paraphrase MacArthur. Drove the invaders back across the border, all the way to his rival's fortress, then staged a feint and took them from the rear."

"From the rear!" Tanya fanned herself. "Oh my goodness."

"Both literally and figuratively." Nikita confirmed. "So there he was, King Salman, sitting in the southern king's palace, on the southern king's throne, with the southern king's head on a platter keeping him company."

"Nikkers," Tanya snapped her fingers, "western girls. While we're still young."

Nikita blushed. "What? Oh, sorry. I've always been a bit of a history buff. Anyway, the conquered sheikhs and warlords were given a choice- pledge fealty and pay tribute or die. Ten percent of their wealth. A few heads joined the king's but they soon got the message." Nikita paused and sipped her tea. "Now. What are the spoils of war? Anyone? Right. Treasure and blood. And the most desirable loot of all-"

"Chicks." Maya glared.

"Chicks." Nikita nodded. "Now, one defeated warlords had a division of foreign fighters- the history books call them 'Aryans' but they were more likely Norse. He was almost bankrupt after all those years of fighting, his population destitute and his palace in ruins. But he did have one thing to offer, that nobody else had. Young girls."

Looking vexed, Watson opened his mouth to speak and Nikita raised a hand.

"Not just any young girls, no. I mean young Scandinavian girls, blonde hair, blue eyes, the fairest of fair skin, so exotic they might as well have been from another planet. No one had ever seen anything like them, Salman included. The warlord handed over one hundred as his tribute and the tradition was born. The ten day ritual concluded on the night of a full moon, and there just happened a lunar eclipse. A Blood Moon. And to this day, every two years, there is a ten-day festival... the Blood Moon Tribute... where they re-enact the whole thing."

"Warlords front up and hand over ten percent?" Watson frowned.

"Not these days, no. It's more like a great big trade expo."

"On steroids?" Tanya said.

Nikita shook her head. "More like Viagra. With coke and ecstasy on the side. And it's more like trade deals and treaties these days, but there is one thing that hasn't changed."

Watson compressed his lips. "A brisk trade in blonde, blue-eyed females?"

"Correct. Most of them are sourced from legitimate modelling agencies. From Europe mainly, and the States. It's almost a cult, with a huge underground following. Lots of models have used the Tribute as a springboard to fame, likewise many Hollywood actors. Half of Europe's socialites are former travelling wives."

"Travelling what?" Hayley asked.

"Wives."

That's what I thought you said."

"That's what they call the Tribute girls." Nikita explained.

"I'm sort of tempted to ask how you know all this." Watson said, though he was pretty sure he already knew.

Nikita looked at Tanya, who gave a tiny nod.

"I went to one."

Jaws sagged and there was a short interlude of silence. "Right." Watson said. "In what capacity? Historian?"

Nikita sipped her tea and swallowed. "Gift."

There was another round of uncomfortable silence then Tanya spoke up. "You might as well just go ahead and tell us."

"Well, you see..." Nikita hedged, "I'm not quite sure if I should."

"It's okay." Tanya said, sensing Nikita's reluctance. "You're among friends."

Nikita rolled her shoulders, restively. "It's just that... I was quite young, you see. Underage, not to put too fine a point on it. And it's just that... I don't want to put anyone off their dinner."

"Stop stressing." Tanya insisted, "For god's sake, no one's judging you."

Nikita took a deep breath. "Right... Well... I guess I better start at the beginning." Pausing, she looked around to several nods of approval. "Well... for years and years I had had this fantasy. Of running away. Of going to Ab Aldafra and meeting the king. And... you know... being a tribute, with all the fringe benefits that implies."

Maya, never one to mince her words, said, "Fringe benefits? As long as you fucked some dirty old man."

"Meh," Nikita said, shrugging it off, "a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"It didn't worry you?"

"Maya, Sweetheart, I was so young and dumb. I thought bonking a king would be the coolest thing in the world. In any case, I was up against ninety nine others."

"Other what?" Watson asked.

"Candidates. Chicks. Travelling wives. Realistically speaking he'd only get through a dozen or two. The rest were farmed out to guests."

"What sort of guests? Sheikhs and warlords?"

"I wish." Nikita snorted. "No, common or garden VVIPs. Businessmen and politicians. Lawyers, billionaires, military leaders, that sort of thing."

"The king gave them his wives?"

"Hey... what do you give the guy who has everything? Sure. They were all up for grabs. Except the last girl. She's a keeper."

"How so?" Tanya asked.

"At the end of each Tribute. The king picks a perpetual and he marries her. For real."

"And?" Watson asked.

"What do you think? They live happily ever after."

"Like it or not?" Hayley asked.

"What they like is neither here nor there. They belong to the king. In perpetuity."

"And if you want to leave?"

"No one escapes the gilded cage. Hang on, I take that back. There's only one I know of, and you just happen to be looking at her."

Hayley's eyes were wide, like a kid listening to a ghost story. "How did you escape?"

"Dad, bless his heart. He came to rescue me."

"Your Dad?" Tanya demanded. She'd met him once or twice. A nice enough guy, but not so much a cold-blooded avenger than bespectacled boffin. "What did he do?"

"Swapped me for seismic data. That unlocked Ab Aldafra's oil reserves."

"So what was it like?" Maya asked. "Being his wife?"

Nikita peered into her empty mug. "Any more of that tea, Maya? That was delicious."

Maya hastened to pour a second round and, once again, Nikita helped herself to an eyeful of her charms.

"So, these girls," she said, then paused to crunch her cookie, "the two who went missing? Any idea what might have happened?"