The Warehouse

The Education of Lisa Rose, Chapter 1 – A serialized crime novel by T. D. Wolf

Part I

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.
—Dante Alighieri


Baby if you wanna be wild,
You got a lot to learn, 
Close your eyes, let them melt,
let them fire, let them burn
—Bruce Springsteen

The Warehouse

Lisa Rose uncrumpled her phone. The screen read five minutes to noon, January 10, 2048. She verified that the sign on the warehouse door read “TransGlobal Productions.” It did. Pacing back to the Robo, she placed her hand on the open door. She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, then shut the door. The car beeped twice and drove away. Lisa returned to the warehouse, curled her fingers into a fist and knocked.

She heard the click of high heels—Evelyn’s—accompanied by heavy boots. That would be Bernard. Her stomach tightened.  She had hoped Evelyn’s bald headed enforcer would not be here today. Metal slid against metal, and the door swung towards her. She stepped through the doorway into the darkness inside.

“Hello dear,” she heard Evelyn say in her silky accent. “You look so beautiful. Come with us.”

Lisa said thank you, but it came out like a whisper. It was cooler inside. She’d been sweating in the black Dior suit she had worn at Evelyn’s specific request. 

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. The hallway took a left, then a second left, and the three of them came to a stop at another steel door. A red light glowed to the right. Under it a warning sign read, “Do not enter—Production in progress.”

Evelyn stepped in front of Lisa and looked her square in the eyes.

“Once you walk through this door, you can’t turn back. Do you understand?”

Evelyn’s brown eyes were deep, expectant. Lisa met her gaze and nodded.

“I need you to tell me that this is what you want for yourself, Lisa. I need you to say it.”

Lisa swallowed. Part of her wanted to run, as fast as she could, away from this place. Away from that door. Away from Bernard. Away from… not Evelyn. As she gazed into the boss’s unblinking eyes, she realized there was a bond, an allure, and she was powerless to break it.

“It is, Chefa. This is what I want.”

Bernard turned the lock, and opened the door. Evelyn stepped through, but as Lisa followed, Bernard clutched her arm tightly. 

“You already knew too much to turn back,” he whispered, coldly.

Lisa’s heart almost stopped at those words. She pulled her arm from Bernard’s grip and went inside. What she saw next was horrifying beyond anything she could have imagined.

The room was a cavernous garage. Sunlight filtered through a row of skylights high above, catching on flecks of dust in the air. Parked along the periphery were dozens of luxury automobiles, including several gas-powered models that had been illegal for a decade. 

A space was cleared in the center of the room. Within that space, two long chains descended from a beam high in the rafters. At the end of the chains, secured by wrist shackles, hung a motionless young man with a black cloth bag over his drooping head. His t-shirt had pulled out of his jeans, leaving his abdomen exposed. Only the toes of his bare feet contacted the oil-stained floor. At their approach, the young man stirred. 

“Who’s there?” He asked in a trembling voice.

Evelyn held her hand up, instructing Lisa and Bernard to stop. She walked up to the young man and stood in front of him. The boss was solidly built, in her mid forties, with deeply tanned skin. She wore a black pants suit with a clingy white blouse that showed off her cleavage.

Evelyn took her hands and slid them under the young man’s shirt. He shuddered.

“What do you want from me? Who are you?” he pleaded.

Lisa knew his voice. She held a hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp. It was Troy Darrow, her former boyfriend. They started dating soon after Lisa moved to L.A., and broke up six months later. It was an ugly break-up.

“Who are you?” he repeated.

“Shhh,” Evelyn said to Troy. “You’ll know soon enough.” Her voice was honey sweet, as if she were leading one of her meditation sessions.

Troy’s body swayed helplessly as his toes scraped the concrete, struggling in vain to back away from Evelyn. She continued stoking his chest with an eerie tenderness, her touch gentle yet malicious. Then she held out her hand. 

Bernard walked forward and placed a switchblade on Evelyn’s outstretched palm. Lisa held her breath as she realized the scene playing out before her was a cruel routine that Evelyn and Bernard had perfected over time, against countless victims.

Evelyn snapped the knife open. The blade was long and thin. She pierced Troy’s shirt and ripped it in two as if gutting a fish. Slicing each sleeve, Evelyn removed the shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Lisa heard Troy sniffling under the bag.

“Please…,” his trembling voice broke.

Evelyn pressed the point of the blade into Troy’s belly button. “It would be better if you don’t speak, for now,” she said.

Evelyn took the knife away, and Lisa saw a crimson stain on its tip. She shuddered and tried to back away, but Bernard squeezed her arm with an unyielding grip.

Next, Evelyn removed Troy’s belt and handed it to Bernard. Then she slipped the blade under the waistband of his jeans. With a calm expression as if she were preparing a meal, Evelyn sliced the cloth of one leg from waist to cuff. Then she did the same to the other leg and the jeans fell away, ruined on the floor.

Troy was openly sobbing now, his chest heaving with each breath. Lisa desperately wanted to shut her eyes, but Bernard’s presence and tight grip stopped her.

Evelyn handed the knife to Bernard, who closed it expertly with one hand. Now Lisa watched in fascinated horror as Evelyn began to knead and twist Troy’s nipples between her fingers.

With a wicked smile, Evelyn gestured towards Troy’s underwear. The fabric was pushed forward by his arousal. Lisa turned her head, recoiling from the sight, but she could not look away. Evelyn reached down and freed Troy’s erection, allowing it to protrude through the fly of his boxers. Her fingers delicately stroked his penis, coaxing until it stood straight and hard. A knot formed in the pit of Lisa’s stomach

“Look at him, my dear,” Evelyn cooed. “It happens to all of them.” 

Then she held out her hand to Bernard once again. He placed the belt into her palm. Evelyn circled Troy’s body, letting her fingertips dance along his skin. Then she removed the jacket of her black suit and gave it to Bernard. Bending each knee she gracefully removed her shoes. Standing barefoot behind Troy, she set her feet shoulder width apart, and coiled her body.

Lisa closed her eyes, as she heard the first slap of the belt echo through the garage. Troy screamed out his agony with each successive blow. Lisa instinctively counted the slaps, but stopped after twenty. She bent her head downward. Bernard shook her arm and growled. 

“Fucking look,” he said.

After a while, Evelyn stopped. Her chest heaved as she turned her dark eyes towards Lisa. The front of her blouse was dotted with red. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she let out a laugh. Then she offered the belt to Lisa.

“It’s your turn,” she said.

“Chefa, I… I can’t,” Lisa whispered.

Evelyn stared at her, unblinking.

“What he did to me was awful,” Lisa said. “But he doesn’t deserve this cruelty.”

“No one deserves this cruelty, my dear. Yet cruelty exists, and will always exist. How do you explain that?”

Evelyn came up to Lisa, and touched her cheek. Her eyes were filled with affection.“You can be one of those who receive cruelty, or you can be among the rare few who dole it out. There is no in between.”

A shiver ran down Lisa’s spine as she struggled to find her voice. “But... but what about the consequences?” she stammered. “Is it worth losing everything I’ve known, losing my soul?”

Evelyn’s voice was a velvet whisper that echoed in Lisa's mind. “Consequences, my dear, are the shackles that confine ordinary people. In Brazil we have a saying, ‘Que seja o que Deus quiser.’ It means, fuck the consequences. You are not ordinary, Lisa. Listen to your inner voice. What does it say?”

Evelyn placed the belt in Lisa’s hand. “This boy was once cruel to you. I promise you, after this day he will not be cruel to anyone again. Nor will anyone be cruel to you, ever. That’s the deal you made when you stepped through that door.”

Over the past six months, under Evelyn’s tutelage, Lisa had been introduced to a new way of thinking, a new way of life. She had discovered an inner confidence and strength she’d never known before. For that, she was grateful. Now, in her mentor’s deep and dark eyes, Lisa thought she saw truth. 

“Take this belt, Lisa, and finish what you came here to do.”

Closing her fingers around the thick leather strap, Lisa took her shoes and jacket off, stepped up to Troy’s back, and swung the belt.

“Harder,” Bernard said.

Lisa glanced at Evelyn, who nodded. She swung the belt again, with more force, this time feeling its buckle tearing flesh. 

“Keep going!” Evelyn shouted now, with a throaty voice Lisa had never heard her use before. “Punish him!” she screamed.

Lisa swung the belt at Troy’s backside again and again. She shut her eyes and swung until her muscles ached. She finally stopped, panting, sweat trickling from her temples.

A groan of agony escaped from Troy’s lips. He pleaded for mercy in a voice that was barely audible.

Evelyn stepped toward Troy and yanked his boxer shorts to the floor. He was now completely naked, dangling helplessly from the chains. Lisa saw that his penis was still erect.

Evelyn grabbed Troys face through the bag. “You owe someone an apology, motherfucker,” she said.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” he pleaded sobbing.

“Not me, you piece of shit.”

Evelyn beckoned Lisa to stand in front of Troy. She nodded at Bernard, who then pulled the bag off Troy’s head. 

Troy’s face was contorted with pain and fear. Snot dripped from his nose. Slowly, a look of recognition came over him as he saw Lisa holding the belt.

“Apologize,” Evelyn repeated, menacingly.

“Lisa?” he croaked. “I… I’m sorry. I’m so…”

A hard slap turned his head sharply, interrupting the apology. Lisa’s palm stung from the blow. It felt strangely satisfying, so she did it again, this time with the belt.

“Good,” Evelyn said. “Punish him. Teach him not to hurt anyone again.”

Lisa swung the belt with all her strength now. She gripped it with both hands, lashing it back and forth across Troy’s naked body. Again and again, she raked him, letting out a high-pitched yelp with each effort. She swung the belt until she drew blood, feeling the buckle bite into his flesh each time. Tears streamed from her eyes as she felt the unexpected satisfaction of vengeance. When she finally tired, dropping her arms, she saw that Troy’s head had fallen forward. He was unconscious. Deep red gouges criss-crossed his torso, and blood dripped from his now flaccid penis.

Evelyn enveloped Lisa in her arms, kissing her gently on the lips. “You’re one of us now,” she whispered as she wiped tears from Lisa’s cheeks. The belt fell from Lisa’s hand as she clutched Evelyn, her mind spinning with rage, guilt, and excitement. Finally, Lisa picked up her shoes and jacket and they walked to the door arm in arm. Bernard remained behind.

“You were magnificent,” Evelyn said. “I always saw great potential in you, right from our very first meeting. And today, Lisa, you proved me right.”

A glimmer of pride flickered within Lisa’s chest, momentarily overshadowing the weight of the atrocities she had just witnessed—had just committed. But as the heavy door closed behind them, a surge of horror engulfed her again. The sound of a single gunshot echoed from the room, jolting her back to the reality of the sinister world she had now joined, irrevocably.

~🌹~