Stronger (The Unit Book 2)

by Greyson, Sarah

  “In my office, please,” the boss yelled down the stairs and into the bullpen. Rob led the way. Once in the office, Tyrrell said, “So, I see you met Aaron. I called him in on this mission because we are down a man. Please, everyone have a seat.” Tyrrell motioned for the men to sit at the conference table that took up the better portion of his office. Behind the conference table on the back wall were monitors that tracked the comings and goings of the office as well as Tyrrell’s home, inside and out. Downstairs, in the bullpen, were the computers the guys needed. Blackrain Security was a well-respected security firm with ties to the CIA, DOD, NSA, FBI and Homeland. Tyrrell spent a great deal of time shoring up his contact list. He could call on the support of any agency if he needed it.

  “So, what is it? Helen said it’s big?” Rob questioned.

  “How many of you have heard of Americana Airlines?” Tyrrell watched as their faces showed recognition. He caught Rob’s eyes. “Well, the CEO and owner of the airline, Peter Sardeson, contacted my office last night after receiving several phone calls from his daughter’s friends. Apparently, his daughter, one Lola Sardeson, was out clubbing with three of her girlfriends in Boston the night before last, but disappeared from the club. Her girlfriends claim they last saw her dancing with a tall, good looking man of Latino decent. They were occupied and didn’t notice her leave the club. It’s highly unlikely she would leave the club willingly without her girlfriends since they all shared a cab. The girls checked her dorm and around campus; she attends Harvard, but they can’t locate her. They’ve called her cell phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. Because the subject is twenty years old, the police aren’t willing to touch it yet, which brings us to our mission: Lola Sardeson. Her father is paying double the normal price of hostage retrieval. That means the pay on this is double for each of you.” The men smiled at each other.

  “Let’s get to work. Find out everything you can about the man she was last seen dancing with. Go to the club, ask around. See if anyone remembers him.” Tyrrell produced a composite sketch the girls had done from memory. He passed out a copy to each of them. “It’s the closest thing we have to a lead. Take the jet and see what you can find out. We need a name, and hopefully that name can lead to an address.”

  ∞

  Rob, Steve, Tony, and Aaron arrived in Boston an hour later and disembarked the private jet; one of the better perks of working for such a big security company. They got into the SUV which was waiting at the rental agency and made their way to the Havana Club. Walking in through the front door, they immediately headed for the bar. The club wasn’t open yet, but there was still someone behind the bar, stocking up. “Have you seen this man?” Rob asked holding the picture under the light shining down from above the bar.

  The bartender looked closer. “Yeah, that’s Miguel. He comes in here every Friday and Saturday night. Real looker, always leaving with a lady,” he confirmed.

  “Would you happen to know Miguel’s last name?” Tony asked.

  “No, sorry. I’m not that friendly with any of the customers. You can wait until Addison arrives. She works most nights trying to pay her way through Harvard. She might be able to tell you more.”

  “Does she work tonight?” Rob asked.

  “Yes. Like I said, she rarely takes any days off. She needs the money.”

  “What’s her schedule tonight?” Tony asked causing the bartender to look up at him.

  “The club opens at 7:00 tonight. She usually arrives an hour before to get the place set up.” It was 1700 now.

  “Mind if we wait around until she gets here,” Rob asserted as he looked directly into the bartender’s eyes.

  “No skin off of my back. Just have a seat. Can I get you fellas something to drink?”

  Rob was the first to respond. “Yeah, I’ll have a glass of water.” The men looked at him, but they weren’t really shocked. He would never drink while on a mission. However, an hour of free time meant an hour to hear Lizzie’s cries and watch the movie play in his head.

  Like clockwork, Addison arrived at 1800. The men got to their feet and made their way over to where Addison was busily putting her things away in her locker. “Mind if we borrow you for a few minutes,” Rob said with a smile he knew caused ladies to melt.

  “Sure. What’s up?” She asked, as she tied her black money apron around her hips.

  “Have you ever seen this man before? We understand you are here most nights and probably know his name.” Tony handed her the sketch.

  “This looks a lot like Miguel Perez. He’s in here most weekends. Tried picking me up a couple of times, but I’m too busy with school, ya know,” she said giving a Rob a dazzling white smile.

  “Thank you, Addison. You’ve been a great help,” Tony said drawing her attention from Rob.

  Once inside the SUV, Rob called the office and gave the name to Tyrrell. Tyrrell ran it through his contacts with various organizations. Several hits came back but Tyrrell matched the sketch to a specific driver’s license. Miguel had a record and a probation officer. That meant his address would be current.

  Chapter 5

  The girls were right. Lola didn’t care what was happening. She felt light and unaffected by her situation. Whatever drug they gave her could become addicting, but at the present moment, she didn’t care. At first she tried to fight the effects, but it proved to be too powerful.

  A man in a white lab coat entered the room. He approached Dangani and examined her vital signs. When he finished looking into her eyes for pupil dilation, he padded his way over to Lola who was sitting on her bed propped up against the bamboo wall. The sun was out again, which meant this was her second day. Today, she would be examined by the doctor. He gathered his stethoscope from around his neck and placed the ear tips in his ears. He placed the chestpiece against her chest and listened. He did the same to her back. He shined a very bright light into her eyes that made them water.

  “I need you to undress now,” the doctor told Lola very matter-of-factly. Because she was in a current state of mental fog, she didn’t care she was undressing in front of a strange man or the other girls. She didn’t even care what the man planned on doing to her. She did as instructed and reached for the hem of her dress. She pulled it up, over her head. She unclasped the front clasp of her bra and let it fall down her arms to the floor. Next, she hooked her thumbs in the sides of her panties and pulled them down to her feet. The doctor motioned for her to lay her naked body on the filthy mattress. She didn’t care; she laid down.

  “Spread your legs,” the doctor ordered. She watched as he squeezed liquid onto the tips of his two fingers and then felt those fingers press inside her. He didn’t press far and it didn’t hurt, not that she would care if it did. She watched as a slow, maniacal grin spread across his face. Something had pleased him. That made her happy. She was glad she had pleased him. She felt even lighter at the thought. Whatever they were drugging her with was working. She could stay in that state forever.

  “You can get dressed now,” the doctor said as he slapped her bum. She stood and obeyed him. Once she was dressed, she returned to the same position as before he came.

  “Are you marking the days?” Alisha asked once the doctor left.

  “Yes.” Lola pointed to the marks she made with a stone she had found on the floor of the hut. The next pill should be coming soon. “What time do they bring food and medicine?” Lola asked.

  “There’s no way to tell,” Alisha responded. “But don’t worry, they don’t leave us without medicine for long. They like us this way. We don’t fight.”

  “What do you think they plan to do to us?” Lola asked to make conversation.

  “I overheard the men talking a few nights ago, before you arrived. They plan on selling us.”

  “Selling us to whom?” Lola inquired. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what she would be sold to do.

  “Where did you come from?” Alisha asked, confused Lola did not know the implications of that statement.
“Why do you think the doctor examines us? To see if we’re virgins,” Alisha barked at Lola’s ignorance.

  Lola still didn’t get it. Maybe it was the drugs. Maybe it was her privileged upbringing. Maybe it was her father protecting her from all of the evil in the world. She looked at Alisha dumbstruck. “They’re going to sell us as sex slaves. Virgins fetch a premium,” Alisha attested, shocked at Lola’s naivety. Everyone knew why virgins commanded a high price

  “What? Sex slaves! When do they plan on selling us?” Lola asked bewildered.

  “The men said the next auction was at the end of the month. I have been here for twenty days. I was taken on the second of July, so less than ten days,” Alisha informed her.

  “Cece, are you a virgin?” Lola asked.

  “Nope, I had a boyfriend before I was taken.”

  “What about you, Alisha, are you one?”

  “Nope, I have had the same boyfriend for two years. We waited until I was sixteen though, so I just lost it this year.”

  “Does anyone know about Dangani?” Lola looked at the girl still curled into a fetal position on the cot. Lola got up and went to her, sitting down next to her. She stroked her forehead and said, “Dangani?” Dangani looked up at Lola with bright, wide eyes. Her pupils were unnaturally large. “Dangani, are you still a virgin?”

  “The men raped me before they brought me here.” Dangani’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. No wonder she was so quiet. She went through a brutal experience at the tender age of thirteen.

  “Why would they rape her if virgins fetch a higher fee?” Lola asked still stroking Dangani’s forehead, comforting her.

  “It all depends on where you live and who takes you. Some people are all about the money, some not,” Cece responded. “Where were you taken from?” She looked at Lola.

  “A Boston nightclub, in front of a large group of people. They threatened my friends with death if I didn’t go,” Lola recalled almost absentmindedly.

  “What about you guys? Where were you taken from?” Lola asked her fellow captives.

  “I was taken from a mall in Florida,” Alisha responded.

  “And I was taken from a museum in France,” Cece said.

  Lola turned her attention back to Dangani. “Where were you taken from?”

  “A market with my mother not ten feet away from me.” Dangani began to cry. Lola’s medicine must have worn off because for the first time since she arrived, she felt fear. She was afraid of being sold. Afraid of the man who would purchase her. Afraid she would never live out her dream of having a family. Afraid for the other girls in the room. Lola and Dangani wept in silence.

  Chapter 6

  Rob stared at the ceiling. He didn’t drink last night which meant he didn’t sleep either. He rolled over and looked at the clock - 0500. That suited him just fine. He got up and made his way into the hotel bathroom. His roommate, Tony, was still asleep on the other double bed. Rob opened the little bottles of shampoo and soap, grabbed a washrag, and climbed into the shower. He turned the water to scalding and stepped under the spray. He stood there for a while thinking of his Lizzie. He recalled the way her short hair stuck up so adorably in the mornings when she would wake up. He remembered how she always had coffee waiting for him downstairs; she was an early riser. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he lathered up the washcloth and cleansed his body. When he was done washing and rinsing his hair, he stepped out, and quickly dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around his narrow hips and headed back into the room to get dressed. Tony was sitting up when he entered the room.

  “Good morning,” Tony mumbled, still half asleep. If they were going to surprise Miguel Lopez, it would be early in the morning while he was still asleep. They spent the rest of last night gathering the supplies they would need to interrogate Lopez if he refused to talk. As Tony made his way into the bathroom to grab a shower, Rob dropped the towel and quickly dressed in his standard gear. This time he laced his boots and would be wearing a bullet-proof vest, company policy. He waited until Tony was dressed before he called Steve and Aaron’s room. They were ready and waiting.

  “Meet downstairs in ten. We’ll grab a quick breakfast and hit Lopez around 0630,” Rob told them. Steve agreed and ten minutes later they met in the lobby. The hotel was offering a free continental breakfast. The men loaded up on hard boiled eggs and cereal. They talked strategy and fifteen minutes later, they were ready to go.

  Rob typed in Lopez’s current address. The GPS said twenty-eight minutes. They followed the directions and parked two houses down from Lopez’s on the street. Thank God it was still early or they would have an audience. The men gathered at the back of the van and each placed a Sig 226 behind their backs, using their shirts to hide the weapons. They cautiously approached the house.

  “Steve and Aaron you go around front. Tony you’re on my six.” Rob pulled out his lock-picking tools and picked the back sliding glass door lock. Rob could pick any lock, one of the many skills he picked up as a Green Beret. He slowly slid the glass door ajar and waited. He made a fist and held it above his head indicating for Tony to be still and silent. They stood for a full thirty seconds listening for sounds. All was quiet. He stepped into the living room and the floor board creaked. He made the same hand sign to Tony and waited again. When he still didn’t hear anything, he entered the ranch home. Rob led the way down the hallway to the bedroom doors. He carefully turned the knob of the first door and peeked inside: empty. He headed towards the second door repeating the procedure and found his target. He walked quietly into the room and Tony followed; together they caged Lopez in with Tony standing in front of the door and Rob getting ready to make contact. With lightning speed, Rob rolled Lopez over, climbed onto the bed, and pressed a knee to Lopez’s back.

  “What the fuck?” Lopez cried.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Rob shouted as his struggled to bring Lopez’s right arm up and pin it with his free hand. He did the same with his other arm. In minutes, Rob had Lopez’s hands zip tied behind his back with minimum effort.

  “What the fuck do you want? I haven’t done anything,” Lopez professed as Rob forced him into a sitting position.

  “We need to ask you a few questions,” Rob replied, a serious scowl on his face.

  “And what? You couldn’t knock?” Lopez all but spat at Rob. Tony had his gun pulled and trained on Lopez.

  “Do yourself a favor and answer our questions, and we won’t need to get serious with you,” Rob said with a look of menace in his eyes.

  “I’ll answer anything! I have nothing to hide,” Lopez assured the man pointing the gun at him. Rob pulled Lopez to his feet.

  “Let’s go to the kitchen. I need to get the front door,” Rob explained, leading Lopez into the kitchen with Tony bringing up the rear. Rob opened the front door and motioned for Steve and Aaron to enter.

  “Let’s get the supplies,” Rob said. “Tony, stay here with him,” he ordered, as he headed back out the door with Steve and Aaron. The men made their way to the van, where they pulled a piece of plywood, a bucket, and a thick towel out from the back. They carried it into Lopez’s living room and leaned the plywood against the wall.

  “Why do you need that?” Lopez raised his chin pointing to the plywood.

  “That’s in case you don’t want to talk.” Tony smiled.

  “Ask me anything,” Lopez shot back. He was starting to look more defiant by the minute.

  “Where did you take Ms. Sardeson?” Rob asked quietly.

  “Who?” Lopez replied looking confused.

  “You were the last one seen with her on Saturday evening at The Havana Club. So, I will ask you again; where did you take her?” Rob inquired a little more serious this time.

  Lopez met Rob’s stare. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “We already placed you with her on Saturday night. Three of her friends saw you as well as a waitress at the club. So, if you don’t want to use that board over there.” Rob pointed t
o the board, “I suggest you tell us where you took her.”

  Just then Rob’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. He looked at Tony silently asking him to stand guard while he hit the green button on his smartphone. “Yeah, kind of busy here,” he said in way of a greeting.

  “I have important information you need before you start interrogating Lopez,” Tyrrell replied. “Remember how I said our boy has a record? Well, my contact just sent his FBI record over to me. Apparently, Lopez is on their radar. You will be interested in the fact that your boy there is a scout for a major Mexican drug cartel: the Ortiz Cartel. According to my source, not only do they sell drugs, but they are also rumored to sell underage girls to buyers around the world.”

  “Fuck,” Rob mumbled into the phone. “Why haven’t they picked him up yet?”

  “He hasn’t shown his hand. He is very good at delivering merchandise. They haven’t been able to catch him. They also want to see what he can lead them to. Bigger fish so to speak,” Tyrrell countered.

  “Do you think this is what we are dealing with? A goddamn trafficking ring?” Rob asked, pacing a hole in the already worn cheap carpet stained with God only knows what.

  “Her father sent me a picture right after you guys were asleep for the night. She is a knockout with a killer body. And the way her father talks about her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was out sowing some wild oats Saturday night. Apparently, daddy kept his little girl sheltered her entire life. That was until Lola started Harvard. Then, he admitted, it was harder to control her whereabouts and associations,” Tyrrell informed him.

  “So, our simple mission just turned into an international, complicated one. Fuck, the longer we don’t get answers, the longer she is missing, the more harm could come to her,” Rob stated matter-of-factly. “And what about the FBI? Are we turning this over to them?”

  “No. They don’t want it yet. They don’t want to get involved with the Mexican government unless they have concrete proof and so far, they don’t. To them, this is just a girl that ran away from the stressors of life. They are willing to provide support once we can provide them with proof,” Tyrrell assured Rob. Rob’s instincts, which were never wrong, said Lopez knew exactly where Lola Sardeson was.