I wrote this flash fiction piece last September after publishing the Berwyn Island Trilogy. I have posted a preview here; you can download the full story at Smashwords (Mobi, Epub and PDF files available).
**Charlie Higgins has sold her body to the highest bidder and would not be dissuaded, much to her father's dismay. Zee is hired to rescue the young woman who really does not want to be saved. Zee is not concerned with what Charlie wants; it's her father's wish to have her returned. And to Zee, that's all that matters.**
Chapter One
Ronald Higgins leaned forward in a rickety wooden chair and pulled a white envelope from the top pocket of his grease stained khaki overalls. He placed it on a small metal table in front of him. On the opposite side, Zee sat quietly in a grey sweatshirt and black jeans, studying the man’s agitated state with piercing blue eyes. Ronald was rubbing his large brown hands back and forth on his thighs. It was disconcerting to see such a tall strapping man, on the edge of despair.
“This is all I have-please help me get back my little girl. She’s only nineteen and a bit naïve.” Ronald’s eyes grew misty. Zee could feel the man’s pain as if they shared a heart but he kept a cool appearance. The nature of his job restricted him from becoming too emotionally involved. He’d been helping people caught in dangerous situations from the age of twenty and he had nine years of practice under his belt.
“What information do you have?” Zee asked.
“The last time I spoke with her she was in St. Lucia at an inn called Golden Arrow, room eleven. She said she was being collected about eleven tonight.” Zee’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Mr. Higgins told him Charlie ran away.
“She runs away yet she tells you exactly where she is?” Ronald swallowed hard. He looked down at the grimy floor of the derelict warehouse Zee utilized as his office.
“My daughter knows I can’t afford to chase after her. She was taunting me. Charlie and I had very nasty words over her decision,” he replied, his voice cracking. A trip to St. Lucia from Barbados by air was a half hour flight and cost under two hundred dollars. Including tax. Zee glanced at his watch. Eleven ‘o’ clock was less than two hours away. Charlie Higgins was dangerously close to becoming a painful memory for her father.
“I’ll leave right away,” Zee announced getting up, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his dark haired head. He walked over to Ronald, his lean six foot two frame towering over Mr. Higgins who was still sitting. Tears were now falling freely down the father’s cheeks.
“I’ll call you when I have Charlie.” Mr. Higgins nodded slowly and got up from the chair, his shoulders trembling.
“Thank you-thank you so much.” He turned to leave.
“You forgot something,” Zee said, looking at the envelope on the desk then walking away.
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Hope you enjoy it!
Olivia
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