Bitter Sweet by Mason N. Forbes

been coerced. It’ll be a farce.’
    The amusement on Martha’s face was replaced with a serious look. ‘I’ve lived all my life in this town. I wouldn’t want to even guess as to how many councillors and aldermen have fondled my breasts. If I don’t know it, then it’s probably not worth knowing.’
    Martha placed her hands on my shoulders. ‘ Nina,’ she said. ‘I’ve experienced a lot of shit over the years – that’s why I’m getting out. In fact, at the end of the month  the lease runs out. A bit of advice. If you get too involved, you’ll get hurt, or worse still you’ll be drawn into the centre of it. That’s not a good place to be. It’s better to help in small ways and remain unnoticed.’
    Her words struck home. She was known for giving good advice; however, I suspected she was holding something back. I wasn’t sure whether to press her for more information. I rapidly assessed my position. I could get out anytime I wanted – even if it meant paying the lease until it ran out in July. Graduation day was at the end of June and after that I planned to exit the game, anyway. In fact, there were few if any reasons for me to continue, financially there was enough stashed away. But it irked, having to lose out, having to watch the cash dwindle. The customers, well, I’d miss a few of them, although with time they would become vague memories.
    I looked into Martha’s eyes. ‘Should I get out now?’
    Her hands fell from my shoulders. ‘That you must answer for yourself.’ She stepped back and propped herself against the sofa. ‘If it helps, I’ll tell you what’s likely to happen.’ She glanced at Mike and then back to me. ‘There’ll be a raid. The press will be told it’s all part of operation “Whatever.”  Or they’ll be told it’s a hot tip. The police will mop up those foolish enough to have drugs or cash about; they’ll get some girls who aren’t entitled to be in the country. If they’re lucky a few trafficked girls will be rescued. But, the gangs – the likes of Erjon will move into the vacuum. That’s the absurd bit about it – heartbreaking, really.’     
    At least Martha was being honest, warning me of what was to come, still something made me want to hang in. I couldn’t see myself closing the door, today: I had client bookings for the rest of the week – they’d have to be cancelled. Ivonne would need my help, but I didn’t want her anywhere near where I lived, just as she wouldn’t want me near her private life, which meant I couldn’t walk away from the apartment right now.
    I glanced at Mike.
    ‘Sounds like it going to get messy,’ he said. ‘It’s your decision.’
    That was also an honest answer. We’d agreed to placing the mini cameras and to track Erjon with his mobile phone. Why had we done it, why had we taken the risk? To stop Erjon ruining my life. Now it all seemed like a naïve attempt to stop criminal elements from encroaching into a business already fraught with problems.
    ‘Erjon is going to win out?’
    ‘Looks that way,’ Mike said. ‘He’s nothing to you.’
    ‘It’s the way things work,’ Martha said. ‘If there’s a raid, the police will be seen to be doing their job, the press theirs and society will be titillated, or go about tut-tutting for a day or two and then life will go on.’      
    That, I suppose, was the sum total of the advice that I was going get. 
    Martha hooked a leg over the arm of the sofa. ‘The way the law stands this business will continue to invite the illegal mistreatment and exploitation of women. It’s a supply and demand thing. I’m not talking about the demand from the punters – that’s something else. The supply side is what interests me, because I’m the supply side. I provide a service – it creates cash, fast cash, and with that comes the demand to control that cash. That means there is a demand to control the supply side – the girls. The criminal’s opportunity. And