roared with anger. He swung his fist at her face, but missed. She shot him twice more in the chest. He fell backward against the door. She could hear men running in the hallway.
She had six bullets in each of her front pockets. She was able to get the four empty cartridges out and put four fresh bullets in. The men were pushing on the door. She pulled the tape loose and moved over behind the desk and knelt down. She had the gun above the desk in the firing position. The men pushed the door open and one eased through. Then he saw her. He fumbled for his own gun, but she shot him twice in the chest. He fell across the body of the man in the white suit. Then a black man stuck his head through the door. She shot him once in the eye. He fell into the room. She could hear a single set of men’s steps running back down the hall. She eased out the door. She slowly walked down the hall, being as soundless as she could. Her breathing was the loudest that she had ever heard it.
She heard the front door open, and more men were hurrying in. She began to hurry down the hall. She came to a room with a locked door. She could hear children’s voices behind it. She moved on further down the hall. She saw something move at the end of the hallway. She froze.
The man was closing up the back of the truck: he was going to make a run for it. Lynda hurried down the hall and got to the truck just as he jumped off the dock. She fired three rounds at him; he stumbled and fell to the ground. She could hear the men coming up behind her. She only had one bullet left, she thought.
The four security men “popped” around the corner. Lynda was so very glad to see them. She let out the breath that she had been holding. She gasped for fresh air. Adziva was behind the men. She did not have a gun. One of her men jumped off the dock and ran to the fallen man. He was squirming on the ground. He had been shot in the back twice. The security man looked at Lynda and shot the man in the back of the head. Lynda turned away.
They went back to the room where the man in the white suit was. His suit was now mostly red. Adziva looked at him closely. She said, “I have seen him before. He is wanted by the US. He is high up on the list of most-wanted men. I think he is probably the boss of this operation.”
One of the security men pulled out a pocket camera and took several pictures of each of the dead men.
Lynda remembered the children. She had one of her men kick the door open. There were seven little girls in the room. Instead of handcuffed, they were taped together. Adziva talked to them in their native language. One of the little girls knew some English. She seemed to be aware of what was going on and what their situation was. She talked to Lynda briefly; she seemed much older than her years. She was a cute little girl, and Lynda gave thought to adopting her. They took the little girls with them, and left all the dead men where they lay. One of the guys wanted to fly the helicopter back to the center. So Lynda let him; they could use a small helicopter. They all watched him lift off and fly the little plane across the town.
When they got back to the center, Ted was waiting on them. She briefed him on their trip. One-Shot was hot. “You could have gotten yourself killed, and maybe the entire team too. What were you thinking?”
The seven little girls walked by and the one said, “Hi” to Ted.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Lynda said. She ran her fingers through a little girl’s hair and jostled her head. The little girl beamed at Lynda. Ted did not miss what was in Lynda’s eyes.
Ted said, “We could adopt her?”
Lynda nearly went to her knees, “Really?”
“Yeah, but we would have to get married!” One-Shot said.
“That is the best proposal that I have ever had,” Lynda stated.
“Do you think they will let us work together if we are married?” One-Shot asked.
‘To hell with working; I will have to stay home with our daughter,” Lynda stated matter-of-factly.
Lynda herded all the young girls into her office and gave them each a candy bar. There were seven beaming faces. The one little girl said, “They all said, ‘thank you’!”
Lynda asked the one little girl, “How would you like to go home with me?”
The little girl frowned. “I would rather go back home to my village!”
“You can’t; your father won’t take you back,” Lynda stated to the little girl.
“I know. We are orphans.” And she smiled at Lynda.
Lynda called Tom. He answered, “Hello?”
She blurted out, “I have fallen in love!”
Tom said, “Oh my, who is the lucky guy?”
Lynda was flustered. She said, “It isn’t a guy!”
“You fell in love with a woman?” Tom was irate.
“No, Tom, it is a nine-year-old little girl. Can I bring her back home with me? I want to adopt her. She speaks English very well.”
Tom was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “Lynda, honey, you are letting your emotions get the best of you. I am not sure that you can adopt being single.”
She said, “Tom, I would appreciate it if you would find out for me. I want this little girl in the worst way.”
Tom said, “I will check with the Attorney General and see what we can do.”
“Please, Tom, do what you can. I would appreciate it.” Lynda hung up.
Ted walked in. “So, you don’t want to marry me. You’re gonna go do this all by yourself.” He seemed hurt.
“I didn’t know if your offer was for real or not,” Lynda said softly.
One-Shot said, “BB, I would marry you in a heart beat.”
“Why? I would make a miserable wife! I complain all the time, and I would run you ragged,” she stated.
One-Shot responded, “And I would be a miserable husband. I would always be hanging around trying to take care of you and our daughter!”
Lynda did not know what to say. He should just ask her directly, but how would she answer? She did not think that she was in love with him.
One of the phone people yelled at her, “It’s the Director for you!”
She ran into her office. Her phone was ringing. She breathlessly said, “Hello, Tom?”
Tom was very quiet. He said, “Lynda, I talked to the AG’s office. They said that you have to be twenty-one to adopt. I am sorry!”
She said, “Wait a minute, Tom. One-Shot and I are going to get married; then could we adopt her?”
Tom was even quieter. He said, “I don’t see why not. Are you sure this is a good idea? You need to come home and talk this out with us.”
One-Shot was grinning at her.
“Okay, Tom, will do!” And she hung up the phone.
Ted said, “I will take the six other little girls to the orphanage and see if they will take them. Then we will talk about ‘our’ little girl!”
Ted loaded the six little girls into the car and took them to the orphanage. He greased the head man’s palm some more and left as quickly as he could. His heart was broken by all the little girls there.
After the other girls had left, “Tasha” came and set on Lynda’s lap. She needed a bath in the worst way. She was small for her age. She had long dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was very skinny. When Ted got back, Lynda took the little girl to the hotel and gave her a hot bath and took her to get something to eat. She smelled so much better, and already looked healthier.
Tasha had barely talked to anyone. Since the other girls had left, she seemed afraid. Lynda said, “I am taking you home with me. You are going to live with me, okay?”
Tasha said, “But what about my father and mother? Will I ever see them again?”
Lynda was stunned. She had not thought about that. “I don’t know. We will try to find them again, some day.” She knew that she was lying to the little girl.
The little girl started to cry.
Lynda was holding her tightly when a man knocked on her door. “Lynda Lassiter, please.”
She said, “I am Lynda. Can I help you?”
He said, “I am Ron Goodwyn; I am your replacement!” He pointed at the little girl. “Who is this little sweetheart?”
Lynda smiled and said, “This is Tasha. She is going home with me.”
“I see,” Ron said. “Are you sure that is wise?”
She wanted to say that it was none of his business, but she said, “I think it is fine!”
He said, “How old are you, Lynda?”
She said, “That’s none of your business.” She was already starting to dislike this man.
He held up both hands. He said, “Hold on, I am on your side; I just happen to know that you have to be twenty-one to adopt. I have adopted two children myself.”
Now Lynda was liking him better.
Ted walked in. The two men introduced themselves. Lynda was rocking Tasha. She was nearly asleep. She motioned for both men to leave. They did.
She rocked and sang to Tasha for an hour. Then she laid the little girl down on the sofa. She did not wake up. Lynda went back to her desk, sat in her chair and started looking at new reports. The top one was about a shooting at a facility on the other side of town. Four men had been killed. There were signs of slave-trading at the place. The Army was going to bulldoze the building.
The reports of children slave-trading dropped dramatically. Ron agreed to keep his eye on it. But he did not seem to have the same intensity about it as Lynda had.
Three days later, Ted, Lynda and Tasha were on a company plane back to Germany. They spent the night at a hotel. Lynda would not allow Ted to sleep in the same room with them. Ted was disappointed.
She gave Tasha a
CIA - The Slave Traders Page 13