Third Degree

by J. D. Dudycha

  “New York. For an auction.”

  “An auction?”

  He nodded.

  “Good, Walter. That’s good.” She rubbed his back.

  “Where in New York?”

  “I don’t know. Upstate somewhere around Rochester. He never gave me the exact location.”

  “Thank you, Walter.” Collar turned to leave.

  Walter asked, “What will happen with the girls?”

  “Let’s just hope we’re not too late.”

  After exiting the interrogation room, Collar returned to join Risen in the adjacent viewing room. They stared at the burly man who couldn’t contain his tears.

  Risen looked at Collar and said, “I thought you said he wouldn’t look the same after you went in there.”

  She grinned. “He won’t be the same after that. I may not have broken him physically, but emotionally, that man is done.”

  “Where does that leave us?”

  “On the first plane to Rochester.”

  29

  Upstate New York

  NIKI PACED INSIDE ROOM 8 for over an hour, maybe two, she wasn’t sure; she had no sense of time. Occasionally glancing up to watch her reflection in the mirrored wall, she hardly recognized the image staring back at her. With the lack of nutrition Walter offered, the muscle mass on her body had begun to deteriorate. She didn’t feel as strong as she had even a week prior. But that wouldn’t stop her from protecting herself or the other girls. Since her arrival at Sergei’s auction house, she hadn’t seen anyone besides Ashley and the other woman from the shack, but she assumed all eight rooms were full.

  A lone nightstand sat in the corner next to a single mattress. Niki didn’t dare sit down, not with the amount of STDs that surely lingered there. Sergei didn’t even have the courtesy to cover the mattress with a sheet.

  She shifted her focus from the mattress to the nightstand. Maybe something was inside that could help her in some way. I doubt it, she thought. Out of curiosity, though, she reached down and gingerly grabbed the handle of the small drawer, using only her fingertips. The drawer screeched as she pulled it open. Immediately she ripped her hand away and turned into the middle of the room. The contents were exactly as she thought; every tool of pleasure rested there for the revolting men who visited this establishment.

  Disgusting.

  As she stood in the middle of the room, a knock on the door sent her away from the nightstand and toward the farthest wall possible. She didn’t answer the knock, and at that moment a sound from a loudspeaker rang out overhead near the camera.

  “Open the door,” the voice boomed.

  Startled, Niki turned and saw a small camera in the opposite corner. She stepped toward it. Those sick bastards watch everything.

  While staring into the camera, Niki shook her head no. To her surprise and without another sound from the speaker, the door clicked open. A man entered, one of the oversized guards that had guided the women up the stairs. He was holding a slim black dress adorned over a hanger. Without speaking, he walked inside and draped the dress over the stained mattress.

  Gross. She grimaced.

  Niki watched him exit, and once he shut the door, the voice came back over the speaker.

  “Put it on.”

  She scowled at the camera but didn’t move to put on the dress.

  “Do it now, or I’ll call him back in and he’ll force it on you.”

  Niki walked to the side of the bed and lifted the dress, taking note of the quality. A designer dinner dress and precisely her size.

  “Hurry. You don’t want to keep our guests waiting.”

  Turning her body away from the camera, she shielded herself from the mirrored wall. Niki slipped out of the nightgown and stepped into the black dress quick as a flash, pulling it over her hips and dipping her arms into the cutouts.

  “Now that’s more like it,” the voice said. “Walk to the door and face the mirror.”

  Niki gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to follow directions, but she had to play nice until she gained the upper hand. She faced the door and reached for the handle, but before she could touch it, the door clicked open. Her advance was cut off by the same guard.

  “Turn around,” he said and walked into the room.

  Niki lowered her eyebrows. “What? Why?”

  “The zipper on your back. You need help.”

  She turned and pulled her hair away from her neck. He zipped her up, then said, “Follow me out of the room, but stop in front of your door.”

  After stepping out, seven other girls stood waiting. Each one wore the same exact black dress. She studied each girl. Again, their looks were strikingly similar, with subtle differences only friends and family could distinguish.

  The guard continued forward, stopping once he passed by them all. “Stay behind the girl in front of you. Walk down the stairs single file. Girls one through four first, followed by five through eight.”

  “What is this? Some spectacle of blonde bombshells?” Niki mumbled so only Ashley could hear.

  But Ashley didn’t acknowledge her attempt at a joke. She was either too afraid or too distracted. When the guard turned, the women followed, one behind another. Niki moved in close to Ashley, whispering in her ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of this.” Niki expected a response, but Ashley didn’t offer one. Maybe she didn’t believe her. Just as Niki was about to speak again, she heard a commotion erupt from the lower level.

  As the women walked down the staircase, parading themselves, the commotion ceased, and all eyes turned to them. Niki watched as the collective group sipped their champagne from their flutes. Every man and woman (there were two, believe it or not) was dressed finely. Men were dressed in black tuxedos and the two women wore black dresses, much like the ones Niki and the others wore.

  As the women reached the bottom of the staircase, Sergei awaited them. He guided each to a numbered mark on the floor coinciding with their room assignments.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please,” Sergei stepped in front of the line of girls and held his hands in the air. “Before we start dinner, I just wanted to give you all an appetizer of what is to come later. Shop around. Please look, but don’t touch. Not until you buy, that is.” Everyone in the room chuckled, everyone except the eight.

  This is sick. Niki studied the onlookers. To her surprise, they looked like normal, everyday citizens. Conversing amongst themselves, some eyeballing the eight girls. Others jawing with one another like this was just another party. A cocktail party one might enjoy with colleagues from work. That was the most peculiar thing: not one seemed to think they were doing anything wrong.

  “Enjoy the night and have fun. Dinner will start in five minutes, but please”—he opened his chest and held his arm out toward the women—“see why you’ve come.”

  Niki held her breath, expecting the worst from these vile people. She caught sight of one man who couldn’t take his eyes off her. He hadn’t approached yet, but his unrelenting stare made her uneasy. And that took a lot. She focused on the others around the room, but every so often she returned her gaze to the man who wouldn’t even blink, staring at her from afar.

  “Hello,” one man said in a thick Spanish accent.

  Niki changed her line of sight and looked at the man in front of her. He stood shorter than she and twice as wide.

  “What’s your name?” he whispered from behind as he circled her.

  “Chase.”

  “Ah,” he said, chuckling to himself. “Then I must pursue you.” He slapped her on the buttocks.

  It took everything inside her not to turn and deck him. She no doubt would’ve dropped his fat ass to the ground with one quick punch to the throat. But she refrained.

  He returned to face her. “See you soon, honey.” He winked.

  She hadn’t felt so humiliated in her entire life. In her disbelief, she could’ve never imagined a scenario this dark, this appalling. If she hadn’t experienced this firstha
nd, she may have never believed it happened at all.

  After a few more men looked her, Ashley, and the rest of the women over, Sergei spoke again. “Dinner is served. Please. Come.” He waved his guests over.

  The two guards, who stood one on each side of the line of eight, waited for all the guests to funnel into the dining room before they guided the women forward.

  Once inside the dining area, Niki couldn’t believe her eyes. Two twenty-foot tables paralleled each other with five chairs on each side and one on each end. Sergei made specific arrangements for the girls to sit in front of their numbered place settings. Exactly splitting the guests in half, each girl took her seat.

  Niki sat, splitting two men. Their haughty eyes watched her as she sat; they were drooling over themselves and grinning at each other. She could only imagine what their devious desires were. On second thought, no she couldn’t. Her mind couldn’t even go to such places.

  Sergei split the two tables, but Niki instead of paying attention to him, she was looking at what was in front of her. Two forks sat on the left side of her plate, and a spoon and knife sat on the right. The dishes were fine china, and the silverware sterling silver. In front of the plate sat a glass full of champagne. The bubbles cascaded upward in the glass, and as she studied the bubbles, something looked peculiar.

  “Let’s raise our glasses to our guests.” Sergei held his glass high. Everyone followed suit, but Niki hesitated. She looked around to see each of the other seven women stunned by what was happening. They reluctantly reached forward for the glasses in front of them. Niki figured she should too.

  “To new friends and new delights,” Sergei said.

  Niki watched him press his lips to the glass and drink. Everyone else drank as well. Niki brought the flute to her mouth but pursed her lips and didn’t allow any liquid to enter her mouth. Once the glasses were set down, Sergei stalled momentarily and spun in a circle. He was looking at the eight, seemingly waiting for something to happen, and within moments it did. One by one, the women began to glaze over.

  Niki’s eyes bulged as she saw the first girl fall back into her chair and lean into the disgusting man to her right. Then another, and another. Niki looked to the glass full of champagne.

  They’ve been drugged. She knew it for a fact. Niki had to react, she had to follow along, but she didn’t want to. What would these despicable people do to her, to the rest of the women, once their inhibitions were gone?

  30

  Rochester, New York

  THE PRIVATE PLANE ROLLED along the tarmac. Collar stared out the circular window, noticing more snow piled up along the edges of the runway here in New York than when they took off in Minneapolis. She wasn’t dwelling on the cold that was awaiting them outside, but rather the last time she stepped foot in Upstate New York. It was with Niki last summer, shortly after Niki returned from Cannes, France. Niki’s first assignment with the ZULU team was a success. Collar couldn’t help but think this mission was far more dangerous—riskier than she originally planned when she approached Niki in Miami.

  Niki, I hope you’re taking care of yourself. She began to blame herself for putting Niki in this situation.

  “Looks cold,” Risen said, standing in the aisle hovering over Collar as she peered out the window.

  “I’m sure it is.” Collar continued staring.

  “So, I’ve been in contact with Jimmy Kramer. He’s with the bureau in Pittsburgh.”

  “Pittsburgh? What’s he doing up here?”

  “You know the four women who went missing in Pennsylvania?

  Collar nodded.

  “Well, he’s heading up that task force. Apparently, an anonymous tip brought him and his team to Rochester.”

  “What kind of anonymous tip?”

  “Neighbors of a home just south of here. They said there’s been some interesting things happening around the property.”

  “Define interesting things.”

  “Can’t. That’s all the detail I have right now, but Kramer’s here. So I’m sure he’ll fill us in once we deplane.”

  Collar breathed a sigh of relief. This could be it, the break they were looking for. It made sense. At least according to Walter’s testimony. And with this new information from a valuable source in the bureau, things were looking up.

  When the plane rolled to a stop, Collar rose and stood behind Risen. They waited for a ladder outside the plane so they could disembark. As Collar stood behind her friend, she leaned in and asked, “If things go sideways during this and I . . .” Collar stalled.

  “You what, die? I’m not going to let that happen.”

  “Dying is the least of my concerns.”

  Risen turned to face her, confused.

  “My concern is, if we find my niece and my operative dead, I can’t tell you how I’ll react. Especially when we find the men responsible. If it’s too late, I cannot guarantee their safety. There will be no fair trial, no just cause, I promise you.” She stared him directly in the eye. “I will kill him. And everyone else around him.”

  Collar waited for Risen’s response. She wasn’t sure how he would handle her thoughts. But she didn’t really care; she just didn’t want him to be caught off guard.

  “I appreciate the heads-up.” Risen smiled, then turned back around. “I guess we better find them then before it’s too late.”

  “Guess so.”

  When the interior door opened, the wind blew and whipped inside the cabin. “Damn. It’s colder here,” Collar said, then followed Risen out of the airplane.

  On her first step down, she saw multiple oversized SUVs awaiting their arrival. Only one man waited outside in the bitter cold. Risen walked up and stuck out his hand for a shake and said, “Kramer, good to see you again.” He turned over his shoulder and said, “This is Agent Collar with ZULU.”

  “What’s the matter, Pete? Old football injuries catching up with you again, old man?” Kramer nodded to his arm in a sling.

  Risen chuckled and simply replied, “Car accident.”

  Kramer reached his hand out to shake Collar’s. Kramer was a large man, overweight by at least forty pounds, but he had a kind face and warm brown eyes. “Let’s get out of the cold and into the truck. We’ve got lots to discuss.”

  He stepped aside, allowing Risen and Collar to enter first before getting into the backseat. Risen scooted across the bench seat, and over to the passenger side. Collar squeezed next to him in the middle and when Kramer sat down his wide frame pushed into her, forcing her to push her legs together and get as small as she could.

  “Tell me what you’ve got.” Risen didn’t waste any time, especially knowing how agitated Collar was about the whole ordeal.

  “The tip we received places the house close. Thirty miles southeast of here.”

  “Okay. And this tip? It’s reliable?” Risen asked.

  Collar faced Kramer, to study his facial features, to see how truthful he was. “Potentially.”

  “Potentially? What the hell does that mean?” Collar shifted in her seat.

  “It means we don’t know how likely or credible the source is, only that you called me with your intel, and I gathered mine roughly around the same time. Could be a coincidence, but what other leads do we have currently?” Kramer looked at Collar first, then Risen.

  “None.” Risen gulped and stared out his own window, discouraged. This was not the type of news Collar was going to take lightly, not after their conversation in the airplane only moments prior.

  “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go chase our tails,” Collar said, unable to withhold her sarcasm, then faced forward again.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because, it seems foolish going in now. Why not wait a few hours? Go in after dark?”

  “Because we’re not ZULU or SEAL Team Six. We’re the FBI, we have a warrant. We don’t need to do this in secret.”

  “If you say so.” Collar shook her head.

  Kramer tapped the headrest of the drive
r in front of him, letting him know to proceed. As they drove southeast on I-490, Collar looked out the windshield, not once taking her eyes off the road. They hadn’t traveled five miles before Kramer asked, “How is it that someone like you is involved in an FBI investigation?”

  “Someone like me?” Collar took offense.

  “That’s right. You’re a Zealot. A secret organization inside our government that nobody knows about. What’s your interest here? Aren’t you supposed to be tracking down some international terrorists, some ghosts only you and a few special people get to know about?”

  Collar didn’t even give him the courtesy of eye contact. I guess he fooled her by his warm smile and kind eyes. “That’s my business, not yours.” She kept it to herself for two reasons: one, she didn’t know this man from Adam, and two, she wanted Risen to know he needed to keep her secret.

  “Just seems beneath your pay grade, that’s all.”

  “You have no idea what my pay grade is.”

  “I’m sure it’s a lot more than mine,” Kramer mumbled under his breath, then turned away.

  They traveled down I-490 for almost fourteen miles before turning south onto a county road, and after another ten miles they turned east and pulled over in the ditch.

  “Why are we stopping?” Collar said.

  “Because unlike you, we do not have unlimited resources. We’re going to do this my way. You understand?” Kramer said.

  “But I thought you said you’re the FBI and you have a warrant.” Collar looked at him, confused.

  “I did, and we do. But this is my show. You’re welcome to sit here in the truck and freeze your pretty little ass off, or come with, it’s your call.”

  “We’re good.” Risen answered for the two of them.

  “Good. Then get out and follow me. We proceed on foot.”

  Collar scooted across the chair to follow Risen out his side. At least our fingers, hands, and legs will be numb by the time we get there, Collar thought. That will totally give us the advantage. Collar rolled her eyes and followed.

  Eight men from each of the other vehicles stepped out and jogged in a single-file line in formation. The driveway wasn’t more than two hundred yards out from their starting point, and as the eight men spread out, four on either side, Kramer walked down the center. Collar watched him walk, his feet pushing outward to make up for his oversized belly, his scrawny legs struggling to keep him upright.