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Bryce swore loudly as he realised he only had one choice of hiding place. He took a deep breath and dropped himself into the hole. The liquid was thick as honey but smelt nothing like anything even remotely similar to honey. The stench was unbelievable, the goo was swimming with maggots, wriggling around in it and now eagerly making their way onto Bryce. They swam under his shirt and moved across his skin, they were covering his body more than his clothing now. The maggots were in his trousers and his shoes and some were climbing up his neck. The worst part, Bryce was sinking.

Sophia was in the cab alone. She was silent. The memory of the past three hours would be with her for the rest of her life. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. If she focused hard enough she could hold back the tears long enough to get back to her room.  The bar wasn’t far away, a fifteen minute trip at most, but to Sophia it seemed to take hours, the only thing that comforted her was that she was done for the evening. She would go back to the bar and meet with Bryce, then he would pay and take her somewhere far for the last few hours of the evening. Sophia thought about telling the cabbie to turn around and take her somewhere else. But where would she go? She couldn’t go to the police, Alik and Andrei had whatever law enforcement there was in their pocket. She couldn’t leave Mogadishu, the road was too dangerous so even if she had the money to pay the driver he would not likely agree to risk his life for her. And of course money. She had no money. It was the rule, they were not allowed to carry any money, they weren’t even allowed to come in contact with money. Whatever plan her and Bryce managed to come up, they would need money, and lots of it.

Whoever was at the quarry seemed to be taking a slow stroll around the fence, that’s what Bryce deduced from what he could hear. He had sunk a few centimetres lower into the maggot infested goo and it was now up to his chin, but fortunately his feet had come in contact with the bottom of the hole and he was able to stand. Though the smell and the weight of the goo still made things rather unpleasant, as well the maggots which were still determinedly exploring his body, a few had made into the creviced that Bryce now dreaded having to clean. He could the footsteps of the person outside, they sounded heavy so Bryce guessed it was a man. So far he walked around the fence four times, occasionally stopping at a corner for a while but then continuing his walk. Bryce sincerely hoped it was not a night guard; he did not want to have to spend the whole night swimming in the maggot soup.

Alik was standing outside the bar when Sophia arrived in the cab. She could tell by the way he greeted her that he had been there waiting especially for her.

‘You have a nice time I trust?’ asked Alik smiling at her almost warmly.

‘Screw you!’ spat Sophia pushing past him. ‘I’m done for the night!’

Alik grabbed her arm and turned her around. ‘I’m afraid not. You’ve been in a luxurious hotel all evening, I don't think you need a rest.’

Sophia ripped her arm away from him and slapped him so hard he staggered backwards. ‘You know what happened in there!’

Alik rubbed his face which was now a painful looking red colour. ‘There is going to be a time very soon, when you regret that. But for now, you will get back to work. And I don't suggest you seek out your friend Mr Donogan.’