December 10th
Chapter 10 — Loyalty Test
The stink of cheap aftershave still clung to Kateryna’s skin. Her lower body ached, and her face hurt from fake smiling. Christmas party season brought the worst kind of punters. Loud, sweaty men smelling of beer and fags, slapping down notes like they were buying a round at the pub. Most came on dares, egged on by mates. They laughed while she faked moans and tried to disappear inside herself. One vomited all over the bed.
Christmas wasn’t their busiest time though. The real rush came when the Church of Scotland Assembly descended on the city and men of the cloth packed into Club Elysium like sinners at the gates of paradise. Business was heavenly.
It was almost two in the morning before the girls made it to the bathroom.
Kateryna locked the door, then turned and lifted the lid of the toilet cistern. Inside, still wrapped in the condom, was the burner phone and the stolen USB stick Tanya had smuggled from reception.
“I want you to see this,” she whispered, looking at Marta and Tanya. “In case anything happens to me.”
Tanya nodded, her face pale.
Kateryna said, “I texted Michael to tell him about the USB.”
“We need a better hiding place,” said Marta, leaning against the door. “I heard something tonight. Enzo and Mace. They were shouting in the corridor by the back office.”
“What about?”
“I’m not sure. Mace said something was ‘missing’. Enzo told him to shut up and sort it. Could be the USB.”
Kateryna felt a chill creep up her spine. She tried to push it down. “We need to move carefully.”
Marta nodded. “Too many eyes now. And too many drunks. You hear what the last guy said to me tonight? ‘It’s a tradition. We come every year. Like a treat.’” She spat, “Some treat.”
The door handle rattled.
Kateryna froze. Then the knock came. She quickly placed the lid back on the cistern.
“It’s me,” said a small voice.
Alina.
Kateryna looked at the others, then Marta moved away from the door.
Alina slipped inside, eyes darting. “What are you doing?” Her voice was sharper than usual, full of fear.
Marta stepped forward. “Just talking. You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I know you’re up to something,” Alina whispered. “I’m not stupid.”
Tanya’s eyes narrowed. “So what? You going to tell Mace?”
Alina shrank back. “No! No, I swear. I just—” She swallowed. “I want out too.”
Kateryna studied her. There was a bruise on her cheek, half-hidden under concealer. Her lower lip was swollen. Her voice trembled, but there was something else behind it. Desperation.
Alina looked at them all. “I can’t go on like this. I’ve just had a guy who wanted me to pretend I was a rape victim.”
Silence settled thick in the bathroom.
Tanya looked at Kateryna. “Well?”
Kateryna hesitated. Her gut clenched.
“We’ll see,” she said at last. “If you want in, you follow instructions. You tell no one. Not unless I say.”
Alina nodded quickly. “I understand.”
“Good,” said Kateryna . “Then get some sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.”
They filed out in silence.
Later, curled up in her bunk, Kateryna stared at the ceiling, every muscle sore. Alina’s words replayed in her mind, again and again.
She said she wanted out. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t sell them all to save herself.
Kateryna didn’t sleep. Not because of the aches and pains—but because, deep down, she wasn’t sure if the real traitor had already joined them.
