##Chapter 10: Sacrifice

Elaine burned the words into her memory. She would be sure to remember every new part she learned about better than the ones before. She made herself remember them better. She never wanted to forget them. She knew they would be important.

So much had happened in so short a time.

The more she heard, the angrier she became. She wanted to get her hands on these people. She wanted to know what motivated them into acting this way. She wanted to understand how they could just... not care that they were ruining lives.

Was it for money? For fame? There were easier ways to achieve both those things than killing.

Why do all this for someone like Bobby Holiday? Was the information he had so vital it couldn't be leaked? Was he truly that important to the operations of this group? Surely, murderers were plentiful in a city like Chicago.

Whatever their reasons, one thing was clear.

The people, whoever they were, couldn't be human. It made no sense. How could anyone stand to harm another person?

She wanted to make the attackers feel the same amount of terror they inspired in others. She wanted them to be locked away forever and left to rot.

They deserved nothing less for their cruelty.

She wanted to be present at the trial. She wanted to see the looks on their faces when they were convicted. No person on earth could think they deserved mercy. The jury would have no issues taking them down.

Before that, the assailants should be forced to look their own families in the eye and explain their actions.

She was getting off topic. She needed to refocus. What was the last thing she remembered being told?

Ah yes… the assailants had been fooled into following a decoy.

There was so much more she did not know. Grace hadn't been able to go on after that. She was trying her best, but the words kept getting stuck in her throat. Elaine could not blame her at all. The ability to even recall this much of the tale on her own was an amazing feat.

She did not want to know the remaining story, but she had to know.

"Grace, I'm so proud of you. So proud. Just a little more. I just need to know a little more. Finish the story sweetheart. I need to be able to tell the police what they will be facing, okay?"

***

Mrs. Holiday had smiled and spat at the man.

He smiled back and let out a shrill whistle. Three other men came jogging in. They moved to circle around Mom, pulling thick sticks from their belts.

"I see. I was hoping to not have to resort to this but… you are being quite rude to me. I have been very civil."

"So civil I will merely perform one act upon you. I will give you another chance to be civil back to me when I am through. I hope you take the pain as a sign of respect for your situation, for that is what it is, my precious kitten."

He grabbed the back of her head after that. Mrs. Holiday's head met the concrete over and over. It snapped and cracked, and the man just kept pushing her further and further into it. The man hefted her up after a moment and wiped the blood from her face with his thumb.

"Why don't we start off with something simple? What all did you do for Bobby? What all did you see?"

Mrs. Holiday started laughing and crying at the same time

She looked… happy?

"I see your pasty a** going to jail when my little girl takes the stand. She's gonna take him down, you just wait. She's more a man than any of you in this room! I see you and all your friends going to h**l, and it's gonna be so good to see you there."

Tattoo man shook his head, pulling out a pair of gloves.

"Just you remember I offered to be civil. You are the one who went and made me do this."

He gestured to the men with sticks. They closed formation and raised them up.

The daughter, who had been watching the proceedings unaware to the assailants, ducked back into the container just as Mrs. Holiday started laughing. The girl clapped her hands over her ears and started rocking as the sounds grew louder and more agonized.

"Where is Bobby!?"

More cracks and harried screaming. There were snippets of conversation. Mrs. Holiday reiterated over and over that she did not know the information the assailants wanted to know. The men refused to believe her.

Disgusted sounds and angry words in that fast spoken foreign language echoed through the room.

"She is worthless to us. We do not need her. Make it so no one will be able to recognize her."

The gun fired and fired, and there was sounds of metal scraping on the concrete.

Boots slapped around for a while.

The warehouse fell silent.

The younger Holiday was breathing into her knees. She couldn't stop shaking. She had to do something, but she couldn't move. She couldn't think. The sounds were so loud inside her ears.

Something jostled to the floor. The screen flared to life.

There was a flurry of movement as the girl grabbed her phone and looked at the contact list.

She knew she needed to contact an adult. She had to call Abigail. The lawyer would have knowledge of what to do. She would know where they were. But the problem was the young Holiday did not know Abigail's number.

Elaine, the girl decided, would be the next best thing. Elaine knew Abigail.

It took a few tries before the girl was finally able to dial the correct contact.

***

Elaine felt positively sick.

She sat down on her heels and put her head between her knees, fighting off wave after wave of nausea.

She knew it would be bad. These people were professionals, after all. This amount of torture though?

Forget rotting in prison. She wanted them to rot in h**l.

It hurt to breathe. She did not want to move, though. It wasn't fair that she should be comfortable right now when there was so much terror and agony.

It would force her to think faster anyway.

There was a flurry of words on the other end. Elaine tuned in and caught the general gist.

Tons of guilt. Of course. What else could the girl feel right now?

Elaine broke through the tirade with a soft cooing noise, repeating it until the girl's breathing slowed and her words stilled.

"Shhh, Grace. Honey, no. You can't think like that, alright? Those people who came after you wouldn't have cared for the police coming even if you had called them. Your mom did an exceptionally brave thing, and you're doing something that's just as brave right now in talking to me."

Elaine closed her eyes, swallowing all the sounds her voice wanted to make. She gripped the edge of her shirt and ground the fabric between her fingers.

She had to be the adult in the situation. Figure out the best plan of attack to get everyone out alive.

"We're gonna figure this out, okay? We're gonna find out where you are. I'm gonna call people who know where you are, and we're gonna get the police, and we're going to come rescue you, alright? I just need you to do one thing for me, Grace. Can you do that?"

There was a soft yes in between hiccups.

"I need you to stay on the line with me and stay right where you are. I need you to keep talking and thinking about anything you can remember about the car ride over. Or you can even think about the area you saw before you came into the warehouse. I need you to just keep talking."

While the story continued, Elaine thought.

She had to do something. She had to call someone. There was only one person in the world right now who could help. The thought rankled her badly, but there was no time to worry about her personal issues with the woman for now.

She needed to call Abigail.

It was the only option left to her now.

The police would ask too many questions. Take way too much time verifying the things she needed them to know. Of course, that was if they even believed her at all, considering it would be easy to tell she was in some kind of club.

They would think her inebriated and trying to waste their time with a prank call.

She would love to call witness protection, but she didn't have their number, and wasting time searching for it felt wasteful.

She could call the district attorney's office. Try and get them to call but the same problems would ensue. They might even hand her off to Abigail since she was the lawyer handling the case.

Try as she might, there was no way to avoid contact with Abigail Fredricks.

Taking a moment to compose herself would be crucial.

Settling herself firmly into the floor, Elaine internally screamed.

Part of her belatedly hoped that Abigail could hear her.