Riga, Commissionerate District of Ostland
It's early spring in Riga. The air is warm and fragrant. The streets are bustling with people. Big radio and green-clad orderly policemen with batons knocked on the door from door to door. The streets are dotted with shop signs in German, Russian and Latvian.
A large number of soldiers were deployed on the streets. Many residents walked by. The entire city is divided between German residents and other residents by five-meter-high concrete walls. A large number of streetlights with the letter "G" on it were set up, and many of the city's houses and streets were changed to the German system. Compared to other Eastern commissionerates, Riga was a model colony. In the factory for Latvians, A young girl with short blonde hair is wearing a simple brown skirt, standing on a tall step stool. She is cutting leather with a scissor in her left hand and holding a small hammer in her right hand, using the hammer to tap on the leather to cut out shapes. Her hands were as fast and numb as a machine, her face pale with hunger and fatigue, her blue eyes cold as ice, with a thin layer of dust on her cheeks. Her name is Irina, 16 years old.
In front of the leather factory, two Latvia policemen knocked on the iron gate with their nightsticks, their expressions calm, and the supervisor stood by the window in the small office in the back of the factory and watched them through a glass window. Irina's eyes darted up, her hands pausing for a brief moment as she stared at the policemen, a bitter expression on her face. All machines gradually stopped working.
"Hitler, the leader of the century, and Göring, the great Führer of the Reich, are both dead," a young man with curly brown hair shouted from the back of the factory as soon as the factory gate was opened. His words echoed throughout the building. The orderlies with the word "Latvia" on the back of their uniforms pointed their nightsticks at him.
"Come with me!" An old orderly shouted with a cold face. The other orderly followed the old orderly, the nightstick on his waist ready for use at any time. "Everyone come out!"
The leather factory had about a hundred people, including the workers who were still working. Everyone walked out of the factory like animals and lined up in the square, surrounded by a group of Latvian orderlies with batons and green uniforms. Irina pursed her lips tightly. The policemen stood at the factory entrance and started reading the speech of Hitler's death aloud. She didn't care about politics at all. In the deathly silence, a bunch of words rushed into Irina's mind from the mouths of the German lackeys.
She stood straight and didn't know what she was thinking, staring at the wall. After the German policemen read the speech, a blond, bearded German officer walked over with an army dog in a green uniform. Irina stared at the dog and thought wildly. Nazi Germany seemed to be the first country to pass an animal protection law?
A soldier stood up. The blond German officer said something and pulled out the army dog. The orderlies immediately grabbed the man's arms, the man struggling desperately. Irina looked around the factory entrance and found the boss hiding at the window. Her face was white, and the sweat on her forehead was about to drip off her body. A scream broke the silence, followed by a few barking sounds from the German officer. Irina bit her lips tightly. A large blood stain slowly appeared on the man's lower body. He twitched twice and then stopped moving. The man's body fell to the ground and he was dragged by the orderlies, his legs leaving a deep blood stain on the concrete floor.
"Next, anyone who dares to rebel, the army dogs will eat him alive," a blond officer shouted, his eyes as cold as steel. "We all observe an hour of silence for the two great leaders and heads of state of the century!"
The orderly shouted loudly and stood behind the German officer. The orderlies then followed the German officers, the German army dog was dragged away by a blond German officer.
Irina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stood silently. Her heart was beating violently, her body cold.
When the sun is at its brightest, Irina gets off work, carrying a small suitcase in one hand, and wearing a worn brown dress that is a size too big on her. At least the deaths of Hitler and Göring gave her three days off. The streets are quiet. Most of the people have been locked in their homes and have stopped coming out of the house. The roads have been blocked by the military, and a few armored vehicles are parked at every corner.
Irina dragged her suitcase along the separation wall. The long-term twelve-hour work system year-round made her unaccustomed to the calmness of military martial law. She couldn't help but look back a few times, as if someone were watching her. She quickened her pace and kept going forward. She tried her best not to touch the walls on both sides, the feeling of being surrounded and suffocated.
Since the General Plan for the East began in full swing in 1945, the Nazis began building German settlements and separation walls in the commissionerate area. The separation wall was initially a fence and barbed wire, then a wooden wall, three-meter-high stone bricks and five-meter-high concrete. The wall is reinforced by military force. On both sides of the wall, a large number of barbed wires and electrified iron gates. On the right of the separation wall, there was once the beautiful suburb of Riga. But after the Germans occupied Latvia, they tore down all the old buildings and planted new ones, forming a beautiful and unique cityscape.
Irina stared at the separation wall, Eyes blank. Pale Face was a bit weak. Shoes were full of holes, rubbing against the dirty asphalt road from time to time, as if Irina were dancing with her suitcase. The separation wall looked as far away as if it were 20 meters away, getting closer and closer and bigger and bigger.
——
On the other side of the wall is Riga's beautiful and quiet suburbs. German children in clean and bright white coats and black school uniforms study hard. The mothers, dressed in black skirts, smiled at each other.
On the other side of the wall is Riga's working class. Latvians in shabby houses and houses made of stones and straw were fighting over fire. The roads on this side are uneven and damaged. Children were playing at the foot of the separation wall.
Even though Irina is used to the stench, The smell is getting denser. There are black garbage heaps piled up everywhere. Dirty and homeless children were wandering everywhere in this world, fighting with the dirty, homeless dogs.
Irina's home is a 20-square-meter wooden house on the working-class side of Riga. Compared to German Riga's houses, it is much taller than a garbage can. Irina didn't knock on the door when she returned home. The door was unlocked, and the tuna with deep eye sockets was still sitting on the sofa staring at the German lottery book.
Irina opened the door with a key and quietly walked to the dark kitchen without looking at her Mother Tanya. It was only six or seven o'clock in the afternoon in spring Riga, but it was already dark.
Irina couldn't see her mother Tanya in the dim kitchen, but the dim light from the bedroom was constantly swaying through the old and faded doors of the bedroom. "Where is bro?" Irina asked softly, pulling out the dirty bucket on the shelf and rinsing it in the sink.
"Don't wake me up," Tanya lying on the Sofa. "Have you paid your salary?" Irina bent down to scoop water from the bucket.
"Yes," Irina raised face, and the corners of her eyes were filled with dark water spots, a young, slightly attractive, somewhat sad face. "A few days ago the factory owner paid my salary directly."
"It was sixty and fifty Reichsmark on time," Irina turned off the faucet.
"I thought you had at least eighty." Irina lifted the bucket and took it out of the kitchen with both hands, a dozen water spots splashed to Tanya feet on sofa, and the old, rotten, wooden sofa became more disgusting.
Tanya rubbed her feet. "I need money."
"Get out! Go to hell! Feed your body to the dogs!" Irina carried the bucket and opened the bedroom door with one hand. In the dim light, two thin, filthy beds lined up by the wall.
A ten-year-old skinn, little boy, the only son of the family, was sleeping quietly under a pile of quilts in the darkness. Irina climbed onto the bed and unbuttoned his shirt and shorts, his bare upper and lower body exposed to the cold air.
Tanya ran over from outside. "You're freezing him to death!"
"I know! Get out!" The ten-year-old thin little boy shivered in bed, Irina set the bucket of water under the bed. "Are you here to help Alexei boil water?"
Irina washed her brother's thin little body, her white hands constantly plunged into the bucket, the water in the bucket becoming lighter.
"No, I want you to earn some money." Tanya grabbed an old white towel next to the bedside and gently wiped the body of the 10-year-old thin little son one by one. "We need money."
Irina pursed her lips. The sound of a heavy armored car's running sounded far away, echoing through the walls of their homes, slowly fading away.
Alexei opened his dark blue eyes wide. "Mommy?" Tanya wiped Alexei body quickly and got into bed to hug Alexei, kissing Alexei forehead. Alexei body kept shaking, Tanya held his fragile body tightly.
"That's good. It's my mother, " Irina washed his left leg. "Go back to bed!" Alexei nodded blankly, and Irina stuffed the quilt into the arms of Alexei.
——
Buildings in slums are usually constructed unevenly. A building looks like a row of big wooden houses, which are as close together as a flock of wooden boards. There is only one small villa built on a separate open space. The windows and doors of the villa were closed, the curtains were thick and the lights were off, there seemed to be no one inside.
Irina and Tanya were walking in the corridor wearing their best clothes. The walls of the corridor were covered with paintings in the classical style of Greece and Rome. Kristine, Irina's elementary school classmate, is wearing a revealing halter top and high heels and smoking a cigarette. These are all forbidden things! Although not as serious as anti-Nazi and drug trafficking, the two crimes of being shot on the spot. Irina thought to herself, she'd better wear denim shorts and take drugs, so she could get a life sentence?
Irina thought this in her heart. Tanya stopped and looked up at Kristine. "You little bitch!"
"Just wear better clothes." Kristine breathed out white smoke with a hint of arrogance on her face, and suddenly lowered her voice, "The higher-ups in Germany like your daughter, and I am here to introduce you to money-making opportunities."
Irina didn't like her classmate, she knew her classmate was very dirty before she graduated, Tanya just glanced at the halter top without saying anything.
"That's what we're going to do." Kristine touched the paintings on the wall with her fingers. There were nude parts among them. "A lot of money for one night."
Irina looked at the nude women painted on the painting. "How much?"
Kristine smiled, "Five hundred Reichsmark!"
Irina raised her eyelids, Tanya gave Irina a stern glance. Irina and Tanya stood still at the entrance to the room. "Where's the virgin?"
"One thousand marks, but you have to take a photo first to show the gods. Naked."
Irina eyes light up, Irina heart skipped a beat. This was equivalent to about four years of all my salary income. "Can you get a commission?"
Kristine shrugged his shoulders. "Have to wait here all evening," The black cigarette butt was inserted into the mouth of a man's mouth statue.
Tanya held Irina's hand and shook her head, whispering, "Irina, do you really want to do this?"
Irina brow wrinkled. She was desperate to earn money for the family, but she was unwilling to do such things, and this kind of thing was almost impossible to happen in the German-German side of the separation wall. Irina pursed her lips secretly without a hint. Tanya then shook her head. Kristine unlocked the villa door with a smile and waved at Tanya and Irina, gesturing for them to go in.
Irina turned to her mother and said. "No one forces you to have children! Poor woman!"
——
8:30 pm, Riga.
Kristine put on a dress and a necklace of pearls, which made her look even more beautiful and dignified. Her face was a little thin, her eyes like cold pools. Irina stared at Kristine, and then at herself, a trace of fear rising in her chest, her heartbeat racing. She was wearing a waiter's clothes that were bought from a German second-hand clothing shop. Her face was thin and haggard and her hair was pulled into a ponytail, with a little makeup on it. Kristine walked out of her bedroom and saw Irina, she nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "You are also very beautiful."
"Is there anyone else?" Irina asked.
"It's just the two of us." Kristine looked at her, smiling gently. "Don't worry, no one will come for us, it's just a dinner. I told the female manager and she will look at you. You are too young, maybe you have a chance to leave your factory job."
"Do you think they can tell from your look that we're Latvian girls? What if they tell you?" Irina said with a frown. "What should we do then?"
"Then we can tell them we are Germans," Kristine replied firmly, smiling at her. "When we are not in front of the Germans, we are Germans."
The door opened, and a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup, about 40 to 50 years old, came in. She was wearing a revealing backless dress. The dress was thin and red, with a large diamond ring on her finger and a silver-white bag hanging from her arm. Irina immediately knew she was the owner of a high-class brothel. "Are you Irina?" the middle-aged woman asked.
Irina looked at her for a moment, then nodded her head and answered with a smile, "Yes."
"I'll introduce you, she's my friend." Kristine said, "She's my teacher, she knows German etiquette better than we do. She is the owner of this German hotel in Riga."
The middle-aged woman nodded expressionlessly. "Nothing is allowed to be leaked here, do you understand?"
Irina nodded. the middle-aged woman said in a low voice. She then added, "Come here, let's see how much you can earn for us tonight."
Irina followed the two of them and went into the hall. The hall was dark. A row of chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. At the end of the hall, a row of red sofas with armrests were arranged neatly, and a small stage was in the center. Kristine took out a cigarette and lit it. She leaned back on the sofa with a calm expression. Irina sat beside her, her body trembling, a sense of unease growing in her mind, her chest tightening as she inhaled the strong smell of perfume.
After a while, the middle-aged woman got up to answer the landline phone. "They are coming, please pay attention." The middle-aged woman left after she hung up the phone.
"Be confident. Don't worry too much," Kristine said as she sat beside her, taking out a cigarette for her. "There will be no more than a dozen people there at most, just like a birthday party. Let them order the most expensive dish and we'll serve it." Kristine paused and laughed softly. "We're in luck."
Irina lit a cigarette, her expression not good. After a while, she turned to look at Kristine, who was staring at her with a smile on her face. "What if they harass?"
"Irina." Kristine exhaled a smoke ring. "Don't be stupid. You have to think of something. I was doing it in the last half year and I was earning money. After serving the food, he stripped down to his underwear in front of them. Just think of it as being on the beach."
Irina took a drag on the cigarette and nodded. "Yes, it's just like the beach."
Irina breathed a sigh of relief when the men came in, only three men. Kristine took off her clothes, and they looked at Kristine, but then looked back at Irina. "Two waiters at a German banquet." A blond man with a thin mustache on the sofa smiled at the two of them. "Are you new?"
Irina didn't speak, so Kristine spoke up with a smile on her face and a glass in her hand: "Yes, it's a small German hotel."
"What is the most expensive item on the menu?" Blonde man sitting on kristine's opposite side asked Irina. The blond man has a beard on his chin, with a hard, stern face and dark green eyes. The beard made his face look particularly cold.
"Yes." Irina paused for a moment, and said in a slightly embarrassed voice. Kristine quickly handed the menu to the blond man. "It's very delicious. It's called..."
The blond man's eyes were on Kristine, "Very delicious, the meat of the endangered animals from America, with special seasoning.
"The food in Germany is much better than ours," said Kristine on the opposite sofa, "Mr. Schwarz, you want a taste of my flesh? You can." She smiled, revealing a row of snowy-white teeth and two bright red lips.
The man looked up at Irina, a slightly sly expression on his face. Irina was not the kind of person who was good at coaxing others, but she forced herself to smile and say: "Mr. Schwarz, Kristine is beautiful."
Kristine sat on the sofa opposite her with her legs wide apart. Irina looked down, trying not to look at her. Mr. Schwarz put the menu down on the coffee table in front of him, lit a cigarette and leaned back on the sofa.
The other two men were sitting next to Kristine. The two men were a middle-aged bald man and an old man. Unlike the blond Schwarz, both wore black jackets with swastikas on them instead of suits. They stared at Kristine with lascivious eyes. The two of them whispered and laughed as they chatted. Irina couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she was sure that it must be dirty things.
"Your first time here?" Mr. Schwarz asked, his expression cold, and he seemed to have no desire for women at all. He just looked at Kristine like a piece of meat, as if it wasn't worth it at all. "Go to your manager and ask her to come over."
"No," Kristine replied softly. "We have been in this business for a long time, so you can believe us."
Irina glanced at Kristine in surprise. Why didn't she go to the middle-aged woman? But Kristine did not know her well, and did not say anything, she was sure that Kristine would not betray her.
Mr. Schwarz took the cigarette from his mouth and pointed to Kristine's cigarette butt in front of her with a calm face. "You are, she's not."
Kristine frowned, put the cigarette in the ashtray and stood up and looked at Irina, a slightly embarrassed look on her face. Irina frowned as well and whispered: "It's alright. We don't know much, so it's normal not to be able to make good decisions."
The bald man whispered in the old man's ear. Kristine leaned against the sofa and put one leg on the coffee table. Her skirt was loose, exposing the fair and plump thighs underneath. Mr. Schwarz sat in his chair without making a sound. The bald man got up and walked to Kristine with a bottle of champagne and a glass in his hand.
Irina wanted to stop him, but she didn't have time, she was afraid of doing something wrong, her legs tightening. She stood by Kristine and saw the bald man pour champagne into Kristine's mouth, the champagne overflowing from the corner of Kristine's mouth, and then poured it all over her neck, chest, and abdomen. The champagne spilled all over the sofa and onto Kristine's body, the smell of alcohol everywhere. Kristine took the bottle of champagne from the bald man's hand, her voice slightly hoarse, as she said to the old man with a smile on her face: "You can try it too. I'm delicious."
"Are you all going to enjoy?" Kristine said. Irina wanted to pull her out of here immediately, but her mind was a blank, and her body couldn't move. The smell of alcohol in the air was choking, Kristine was dripping wet. Kristine's eyes were a bit red, but her eyes were still as clear as a pool. She leaned towards Schwarz and asked softly, "Is this not delicious enough for you?"
"Let's order first." The blond man lit another cigarette, his expression relaxed.
"Yes, I'm very thirsty," the old man replied, his voice hoarse. The bald man handed a champagne glass to Kristine. Irina's face turned red and purple, and after a while, Kristina went to the kitchen with herself and the laughter of the three men.
After returning to the kitchen, Irina glared at Kristine and said, "Are you out of your mind? We must leave now."
Kristine handed the glass to Irina with a cold expression, the smell of alcohol so strong that her nose stung, "Calm down," she said coldly, her expression cold as ice.
"Calm down? Do you want them to do anything to me?" Irina grabbed a bottle of water and poured it all over Kristine, wiping her face, body and arms. "You are not meat!" Irina wiped her body, the clothes were completely wet, revealing a piece of white skin under the red dress. Irina couldn't help but stop for a moment. "They're going to tear you apart, don't you know?"
"Do you know how many people would give you a hundred dollars just to fuck them?" Kristine was silent for a moment, her expression becoming darker. "Even the manager of this hotel would be so lucky if she could be in my shoes now."
Irina shouted. She grabbed a cigarette and lit it, "I want to leave here, do you still have time to be crazy?"
"Wait until you serve the meal and get paid first." Kristine looked at the red-faced Irina, a little puzzled, and her expression was a little cold, "We came here to work, Don't be a wooden block; they spend money, and you get a cut. One night is equivalent to four years of your salary!"
Irina shook her head and sighed, her eyes full of anger and frustration. "I want to go home!"
Kristine stood by the table, staring at Irina in silence, a cigarette in her hand, and there was no emotion on her face, and no expression in her eyes. "You are free to choose, I can't stop you."
After Irina's clothes dried a little, they both went back to the dining hall, where the bald man sat on the sofa smoking a cigar. Schwarz was leaning against the sofa smoking a cigar, staring at them, a smile in his eyes. He said slowly. "What else do you have on your body besides the wine?"
"I've always been afraid that it might stain my body, so I took it all off." Kristine took a step towards Mr. Schwarz and said gently, "What else do you want?"
Kristine sat on Mr. Schwarz's couch, and Irina sat on her original couch. The bald man handed her the cigar, a smile on his face. The old man poured a glass of red wine and gave it to her. The old man poured himself a glass of wine. "Let's make a toast. May I have your name?"
"My name is..." Irina thought about it and smiled: "Irina, just call me Irina. The wine is not for us. We can only watch the wine."
"Irina?" The bald man raised the glass and looked at Irina. "Have some. I like your country very much. The meat is the best."
"Thank you." The meat he said should be referring to me? Irina smirked and clinked glasses with him. "Who are you? Party leaders?"
The bald man looked at her and replied with a smile, "I'm the chief of police here in Riga."
Kristine didn't wait for Schwarz's move. She kissed his face, and her arms held Schwarz tightly in her arms.
"Yes, the new governor of the city." old man smiled and looked at her. "I have just moved from the city to the capital of this place. I haven't had time to enjoy myself in Riga, and you two are here to please me."
"This is Mr. Schwarz, he is businessman," the bald man said with a smile on his face, "We all love beautiful girls and wine, you see? It is better than a German woman."
Schwarz suddenly slapped Kristine hard on the face. Her head spun from the blow, and she staggered backwards, a hand-shaped mark clearly visible on her cheek. Mr. Schwarz lit another cigarette and looked at the red mark on her face without saying a word. Kristine sat there for a while and slowly put her face back, her eyes not even wet.
Irina looked at the bald man in fear. "Shall we drink a toast? This is my first time here."
The bald man and old man drank a toast. Irina tried her best to remember everyone's name, but there were no names to be remembered. The bald man and the old man were always calling each other "Party Comrade" and "Comrade Governor," while Schwarz was only called "Herr" and "Herr Schwarz."
"Let's see your breasts." the old man took Kristine into his arms and pulled up her skirt. "It's just like a German girl," he said, a smile in his eyes. Irina quickly poured them each another glass of wine. "You can see, it's all white. My country doesn't have much sun, it's so good to see white."
Kristine was very flexible. She immediately sat on the old man's lap, taking his glass of wine in her hand and flirting with him. The old man held Kristine and drank, looking very happy. Schwarz did not seem to want to touch women. He did not touch Kristine again and kept his hands on the sofa, not even looking at Kristine.
Irina dealt with the bald police chief, but she could feel the policeman's eyes on her all the time, like a hunter waiting for prey, and her body began to tremble slightly. Irina could tell that the police chief liked her very much, and when the old man wasn't paying attention, he reached out his hands to touch Irina, or he would come and whisper obscenely to Irina, but she was always careful and quick-witted, avoiding his touches.
Finally, the dinner was almost over, and they were almost done with their wine, except for Mr. Schwarz. "It's time to talk about business. Can these two girls go back to their rooms?"
Irina put a plate of red meat on the table, put on her coat, and then smiled at them, "What are we talking about, let me stay. It's interesting to talk business."
Kristine smiled and stood next to Irina. The old man said, "Stay, and we'll pay for a few bottles of wine."
The bald police chief sat back and forth, and finally said, "I'll listen to you."
"Just You girls don't Speak." Schwarz lit another cigarette and then waved at the door, "Bring me a bottle of cognac."
The middle-aged woman quickly brought a bottle of brandy and poured it into four glasses. When Irina's eyes saw the brandy, the bald man beside her had put his hand on her thigh, a strong hand with callused fingertips. Kristina sat on the older man's lap, and the middle-aged female manager sat on Mr. Schwarz's lap. They seemed to be a couple. Irina glanced at Kristine, her face a little red from the brandy.
Schwarz asked the bald man in a serious tone. "What happened to the trade organization in Danzig?"
The bald man sat across from him. He raised the glass and smiled. "I'll tell you, Willibald Schallert is dead, in an SS prison. Officially, he strangled himself, but an autopsy was refused."
Mr. Schwarz smiled lightly and replied, "The death of Schallert is a matter of course. It has nothing to do with you."
The bald man's expression changed a little, he immediately pulled his hand out from Irina's leg. He drank another sip and said, "There are not many Germans here, so I must be careful. I know what the Nazis want to do, and the Nazis want me to take responsibility."
"Yes, your business is too dirty." The old man caressed and hooked Kristina's waist. "His death shows that this anti-corruption campaign across the country is not about fighting corruption."
Schwarz stared at the bald man for a while and said, "How do you know that?"
The bald man replied in a calm voice, "The German General Staff and the German SS are always the same. Killing is just to silence people, and they can just say they don't know about the bad things in history."
Kristine suddenly spoke up, a glass of red wine in her hand, the scarlet liquid swaying in the glass. She said, "Comrade Party Secretary, please forgive me, I need to wash my hands." She got up from the old man's lap and walked towards the kitchen.
The bald man suddenly put his hand on Irina's waist. The bald man's voice was loud and his tone was relaxed. "The Jews in my hometown are already very miserable. What else do they want to do?"
The old man suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "What are we waiting for? It's been almost 24 years. After they killed all the insiders, they blamed the dead people. The dead people did everything and it had nothing to do with them, the higher-ups."
Irina squirmed uncomfortably on the bald man, and she realized that she should have hid in the bathroom like Kristina. She tried her best not to show it, Determined to say nothing.
Mr. Schwarz nodded in agreement and replied: "Now that Willi's dead, our money's been cleaned. This time we'll give you the goods for free."
Irina didn't understand what the three of them were talking about. She suddenly felt something hard under her butt, and her body trembled involuntarily. The bald man said with his arm around Irina's waist. "Are you being so generous because the SS is investigating Danzig?"
Irina turned around, wanting to stand up. The bald man quickly held her down and said, "Wait a moment."
"I...I have to go to the bathroom too..." Irina stood up, but the bald man had a strong grip on her.
Mr. Schwarz didn't seem to be bothered by Irina at all. He lit a cigarette and said in a hoarse voice. "Yes, we'll need to clean up this part of the organization soon. After that, it'll be your turn to handle the other stuff. If the SS doesn't show up again, the organization can go back to normal. Of course, it'll still be the same old story."
"Can you make sure they won't come here? They came in so suddenly, it really shocked us," the bald man said, a look of displeasure on his face. He stood up and pushed Irina into the bathroom.
Irina had no choice but to enter the bathroom. Kristine was inside the bathroom, washing her hands. When she saw Irina, she said, "They are very nervous today, something big is happening. Let's not say any more. Let's do our jobs well and we will leave."
"I was so stupid, I should have followed you right away." Irina stood at the sink next to her. "There are only four of them, and they seem to have a lot of money, too much for me to believe."
"That's a good thing, it's best for us." Kristine pulled off her dress, revealing the black lace underwear underneath. "Irina, can you do me a favor?"
Irina took a few steps back and bumped into the door. Her voice trembling: "Yes."
"Do you want to make more money tonight?" Kristine washed her face, her hands moving smoothly along the edge of her eyebrows. She wiped the makeup off her face, and slowly rubbed it with a towel until her face became smooth. She then asked, "I am sure that man wants to touch you."
"No, thank you. I only work as a waiter. Do you do this every day?"
"Irina." Kristine was silent for a while, then looked at the door. She continued, "Don't say no to me. I know the man very well."
Irina shook her head in fear. "No."
Kristine continued, her expression a little excited. "Do you know how many men in Riga are raping girls every day?"
Irina shook her head and took another step back, her eyes fixed on the door, as if afraid that someone would open the door. "I'm not interested, stop talking, I don't know all this."
"They said it themselves, we don't know anything. So how do you want me to do that?"
Irina bit her lip in thought for a long time before saying, "What can I do? I just need to be a waiter and be paid to be a waiter. I can't be anything else, that's not right."
"I thought the same way at the beginning. When I started working as a worker, my monthly salary was 10 marks, but when I worked as a waiter, it was 1,000 marks a night. Then I felt that money was no longer money."
"You..." Irina looked at the mirror, at Kristine's back.
"Money is life, the only difference is that it is hard to exchange life for money." Kristine wiped her face with the towel, looked up and smiled at her, and continued: "The police chief likes me very much, and if you agree, we'll split it, This is the first time I've seen them in person. The money will be huge, so big that you'll never have to worry about your sister's tuition and food."
Irina frowned, thinking about her mother and sister. "How much?"
"10,000 marks, that is, the total money." Kristine put her hands on the sink, her face looking straight into Irina's eyes. "About forty years' of your salary."
Irina's body trembled, she whispered: "You can't do it for nothing. Is this not too dangerous?"
Kristine replied softly, "There was no risk when I first worked as a waiter in this place." She turned and walked towards the door, put her hand on the door handle, and turned her head, "You not can take the opportunity to talk to that blond man."
Irina didn't move as Kristine went out of the door. Irina sat at the sink, her body trembling, the bathroom silent as she thought of her mother and little sister. The words "10,000 marks" kept ringing in her mind. She put her arms around her head, as if to protect herself from something. "I don't have the nerve to do it." Irina sat in the bathroom for a few more minutes before leaving.
When she left the bathroom, the bald man was already waiting outside. Kristine had her arms around his neck and was whispering to him, and they walked together into the bedroom. The female manager came over and asked. "You only work as a waiter?"
Irina's eyes fell on Kristine, and after a moment's hesitation, she shook her head. "Yes, I'm afraid of not getting enough money, and the risks are too high."
"What are you afraid of?" the female manager said coldly. "We are Latvians. Do you think they will protect you?" The female manager looked at Irina's clothes for a few moments before continuing, "Do you have clothes? This is too old. I will replace it with a new one later. Now, you can accompany the old mayor to the bedroom to rest."
Irina walked over to the old man, the smell of alcohol strong, and she couldn't help but hold her nose. "Where is Mr. Schwarz? Should I accompany him?" Irina asked the middle-aged woman, pretending to be confused.
"He's mine. You accompany the old mayor to his room to rest, and I'll give you money tomorrow morning." the middle-aged woman smiled at her and said, "Be more bold and you'll do better in the future."
The middle-aged woman pulled Mr. Schwarz into the bedroom. Kristine followed the bald man into the bedroom and closed the door. Irina looked around at the dining room, but the two men were no longer there, and all the food and wine had been removed. Irina took a step towards the old mayor. "Are you going to your bedroom, sir?"
The old man leaned over and wrapped his hands around Irina, the smell of alcohol on his body was strong and disgusting. He pressed Irina against the wall, his lips touched Irina's. "It's the first time I've done something like this," the old man said with a smile, his beard rubbing against Irina's face. He then grabbed Irina's arm and said with a smile on his face, "My bedroom is here."
Irina went to the bed, but her legs were weak, her back trembling. Her eyes were wet with tears. "Sir, I...I...can't."
The old man looked at Irina with a smile on his face and said in a hoarse voice, "Of course, I am an old man, I want a young girl like you, this is good."
"Yes." Irina wiped the tears from her eyes, a sense of loss and despair growing in her mind, "I understand. I don't look good."
——
Morning, in the hotel, Kristine sat on a chair on the second floor of the hotel, looking at Irina's room, smoking. Manageress stood behind Kristine, "What do you think of the two people in the room?"
"You should have seen it, he is old. Irina is very obedient," Kristine said indifferently, smoking her cigarette, and looking at the second floor.
"The old man likes the obedient girl the best. You know, in their words, this girl is still a virgin," the manager said in a soft voice.
Kristine nodded silently. After a while, she said in a low voice, "You should know better than me."
"Your new girl is a bit weak in her heart," the female manager said with a smile on her face. She looked at the door of the hotel, "Irina will leave us when she can, I know, that girl, she's always thinking, I can feel it."
Kristine thought for a while and said: "I didn't see it. I will do this business for a long time." She got up, walked downstairs and sat down at a table outside the hotel.
After a while, the old mayor came out with a tie on. Kristine waved her hand with a smile on her face. "Mr. Mayor, you don't have to walk. I will send you."
The mayor looked at Kristine in surprise and said, "Are you not tired of staying up late? The girl is so tired that she is still sleeping."
Kristine stood up and took out a cigarette. "You should smoke a lot of cigarettes at night."
"Don't do it." the mayor said softly. He patted Kristine's shoulder, "The smoke of the cigarette has the fragrance of your body, I can't forget."
The female manager watched them leave, got up and entered the room. The hotel is quiet. It was not until the noon that the female manager woke up Irina, she saw that the middle-aged manager was smiling and talking to Irina, who had her hair all messy and eyes red with a lost expression on her face.
"Good morning." Irina tried to put on her coat to cover her chest, "Thank you."
The middle-aged woman did not care at all and continued to speak in a calm voice, "What did the old man say to you last night?"
"I can't remember. It's a bit blurry."
"This is good." The female manager smiled and took out her small Victorian-style purse, took out ten marks of the highest denomination and threw them on the bed. "How is his?"
"He...he said he was sorry. It was small." Irina looked at the ten marks and hesitated for a while. She then took a deep breath and picked them up, "Small, old, I don't remember."
The middle-aged woman's voice became much gentler, "Good. He is 70 years old, his age has reached this point. You don't need to care too much about the money. In a few years, the country will have a new order."
Irina looked at her clothes, her clothes were still scattered on the bed, and there were some bite marks on her neck. She stood up, her body was aching and sore. "Yes, it's time for me to go back. I'll have a headache later."
"I will help you dress, come with me," the middle-aged woman said in a serious tone and continued, "My Name is Aina. The blond man is Mr. Schwarz, boss."
"Yes," Irina answered and looked down, "Thank you. I understand."
The two of them were silent for a few moments, Irina stood up slowly and went to the bathroom. She had been thinking about her sister and mother in bed. "I should have done it last night." She didn't say a word last night and the old man was satisfied with her body. "What would have happened if I refused?"
Ten marks with a face value of 1,000 spread the smell of banknotes in her trembling hands, Irina thought for a while. The feeling of her body last night came back, Irina bit her lips and stood under the running water of the bathroom. The smell of soap could not wash the smell of alcohol from her body.