by Beth Abbott
“We’ve worked together before?” Hannah said, almost embarrassed at not remembering.
“It was when your friend received information through her charity of a paedophile ring in Northern California.” Kazumi explained. “I was still working for the San Francisco PD at the time and was assigned to the case. I worked with Alice and another lady, Vicky, as a liaison. You were involved when we raided the property and rescued the girls.”
“Oh, my goodness! Kaz?” Hannah smiled. “You’re the ‘Kaz’ with the lovely voice I had in my ear throughout the raid?”
Kazumi blushed.
“I guess that would be me.” She admitted. “Kaz is the name everyone knows me by.”
Hannah stepped forward and held out her hand.
“Then it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Kaz.” She smiled. “You played a big part in getting those assholes brought to justice.”
“I just relayed information.” Kaz shook her head. “If it wasn’t for you pinpointing where the victims were being held, and then tracking the paedophiles through the woodland, we might never have gotten those animals inside a courtroom. We rescued more than twenty children that night.”
“How about we call it a team effort, then?” Hannah smiled. “Nobody ever achieves a successful outcome working alone.”
“Except James Bond.” Danny said from behind her. “Especially when he’s up against Spectre.”
Hannah turned around to see Danny staring at her with his arms crossed across his broad chest.
“Spectre and James Bond?” Niels looked confused.
“It’s Ok, Niels.” She smiled. “That’s Danny’s way of reminding me I haven’t told him who you guys are, and what you’re doing here.”
“Shall we sit?” Kaz suggested, pointing to the comfortable looking sofa and chairs.
Hannah sat on the sofa, immediately joined by her husband.
“Niels and Kaz both work for Interpol.” She turned to Danny. “They’re responsible for making sure that our guys don’t get arrested and thrown into jail for their part in the trafficking of women across Europe.”
Danny looked shocked.
“But they’re undercover!” He protested. “They’re working to take those assholes down, not facilitate the sale of the women.”
“You know that, and I know that.” Hannah said calmly. “But none of our guys are officially law-enforcement. They’re not police and they’re not part of any of the intelligence services. So, we have to be careful that we keep the relevant authorities informed of what we’re doing, so there’s no doubt we’re on the right side of the law.”
“And the relevant authority in this type of case is Interpol?” Danny looked between the agents and his wife. “How come?”
“Interpol isn’t a police force, contrary to popular belief.” Niels explained. “What we are is an organisation that obtains information from law-enforcement agencies across most of the globe, and then we use it to create a database that can be accessed by any of our partner countries to bring down organised crime in whatever form it takes, in virtually any country on the planet.”
“In Europe, the borders aren’t what they once were. There aren’t checkpoints and guards with machine guns. In fact, in many parts of Europe you wouldn’t know you’d gone over a border if it wasn’t for the change of language on the road signs.” Kaz explained. “Yet very rarely do you find the police forces in neighbouring countries communicating with each other directly. That plays into the hands of organised criminals everywhere. Commit a crime… cross over a border… get away. Too easy.”
“Which is why we’ve been talking to Interpol about our plans for the last few months.” Hannah explained. “Even with our own government backing us, and help from the Russian and Turkish authorities, it’s still not enough to guarantee a successful mission. The trucks could pass through up to ten other European countries, depending on how much of a scenic route they take. We simply don’t have contacts in every country they might pass through that will guarantee the safety of the Guardians. In some countries, if information got into the wrong hands, it could find its way back to Ilya Federov, and be a death sentence for our guys.”
“We can speak to the right people, and without disclosing the exact nature of our operation, we can basically ensure that they don’t make any raids on any organised criminal gangs within a five-hundred-mile radius for the next five days, not without running it past us first.” Niels smiled. “It’s not always popular, but it is effective.”
“Excellent, but why did you need to come over here to discuss it?” Danny frowned. “No offence, but if you have all the information, can’t you send out the messages from France, or wherever it is you come from?”
“We’re trying to take it a step further this time.” Kaz explained. “If we can be more assured of the route they’ll take, we can sometimes arrange with various countries to deploy either police or military to assist in the take-down of criminals.”
“What’s wrong with sending a team from Alpha-Stalwart?” Danny huffed indignantly. “We can do the job better than anybody.”
“Danny Simons, if you think I’m sending you guys out on a mission like this, you’re deluded.” Hannah growled. “Not one of Alpha Company is under forty now, and while you may still be fit enough, you’re not as fast as you were twenty years ago. You’ve all got families and responsibilities, and for the same reasons we didn’t want you to be Guardians, we seriously don’t want you to be back-up for the Guardians either. None of us want to be widows.”
Hannah watched the various emotions pass across her husband’s face.
Annoyance, frustration, and indignation were there in abundance, but they were swiftly joined by acceptance and regret.
“It’s a different kind of warfare, Danny.” Niels understood Danny’s frustration. “The criminal gangs we’re dealing with now are evolving into a sub-species of their own. No conscience, no feelings at all, certainly no regret. They’d kill their own mothers rather than waste time walking around them. Going up against them is a young man’s game, and not for the fainthearted.”
Hannah reached over and squeezed Danny’s hand.
“There are still plenty of battles for you guys to fight.” She reassured him. “Just not this one.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
“It’s Ok.” Kaz smiled. “We ordered breakfast for everyone to be delivered at six-fifteen. Niels thought we’d need an energy boost to keep us going through the morning.”
As the Interpol agents went to get the door, Niels drew his firearm and checked the peephole before standing behind the door, while Kaz did the honours.
As soon as Kaz opened the door, she handed the young man a tip, and pulled the trolley into the room. He was still blustering about leaving the trolley outside when they were finished as the door closed in his face.
Hannah smiled as Danny’s eyes lit up. It looked like they’d ordered enough food for a dozen hungry men.
“Ok, while you guys get stuck into the food, why don’t I set up the laptops, so we can see the potential routes.” Her smile at Danny and Niels went all but ignored.
“Come on.” Kaz grinned at her. “We can use the desk, and they can join us when their bellies are full.”
Hannah glanced back at her husband fondly. Kaz obviously had no idea how long that could take.
Chapter 36 – Hollywood
Hollywood glanced around the tables to see what was on offer for breakfast.
Something with meat that looked like a kebab, but smelled like a rotten corpse, had his stomach churning.
He grabbed a couple of pre-packed pastries, and something that looked like it might have chocolate in the middle and headed away from the awful stench towards his guys.
“I know they said we’d be heading out before dawn, but four o’clock is ridiculous.” Evan griped. “If I was in Cardiff right now, the clubs wouldn’t have even thrown out yet.”
“Yeah?” Logan smirk
ed. “When was the last time you hit the clubs until dawn?”
Evan shrugged.
“It’s been a while, I guess.” He admitted. “But only because I’m so dedicated to my job. Obviously, I can’t be seen raving it up if I’m supposed to be a Guardian, can I?”
“Isn’t it true that the last time we went clubbing you actually fell asleep in the VIP area?” Logan teased. “You were drooling onto the shoulder of the world-famous footballer you were supposed to be looking out for.”
“In my defence, he fell asleep first.” Evan grinned. “Plus, we had just gotten off an eighteen-hour flight from China. Man, those Chinese fans love their footballers.”
“Knowing you, you probably slept all the way back.” Logan snorted.
“I’ll have you know that I spent most of the time fighting off flight attendants.” Evan laughed. “Well, fighting them off him, that is, not me.”
Hollywood drowned out the banter as he looked around the big hanger.
“Anyone seen Niko in the last ten minutes?” He asked nobody in particular.
“Ilya turned up just before you climbed out of your truck.” Yuri nodded to the rooms at the back. “She went in there with him as soon as he showed his face, and they’re still in there.”
“Where’s the kid?” Hollywood looked around.
“Over there with the woman that showed up with Ilya.” Kris pointed to the other side of the hanger.
Sure enough, Roman was sitting on a makeshift bench, looking as bored as it was possible for a three-year-old to look, while Ilya’s lady-friend applied a fresh layer of nail polish to her toenails, and completely ignored him.
“How long until we head out?” Kellen shoved a chocolate bar in his mouth.
“It won’t be long.” Yuri pointed to the building where the women were being herded out, back towards the rear of the trucks.
Hollywood turned and walked towards Ilya’s girlfriend. She was sitting too close to where the women would shortly be passing by for his liking.
“Roman?” He called to the kid. “Come over here, son.”
Roman looked at the woman as if to get permission, but as she was taking no notice of him, he hopped up from the bench and skipped over to Hollywood with a smile on his face.
“Have you had any breakfast yet?” Hollywood crouched in front of Roman, keeping the boy’s attention away from what was going on behind him.
“No, not yet.” Roman shook his head. “Mama usually likes me to shower first, and then we have breakfast.”
He looked around the hanger.
“Do you know where the bathroom is?” He asked Hollywood.
Hollywood had been inside the so-called bathroom, and knew there was one sink, and no showers.
“I’m sure your mom wouldn’t mind if you skipped the shower today, given that we’re on a trip, y’know.” Hollywood smiled. “So, why don’t you come with me and I’ll take you to the bathroom where there’s a sink, and then after you’ve washed your hands we’ll grab you some food before everyone heads out.”
Hollywood led Roman over to the bathroom, quickly realising the kid wouldn’t be tall enough for the urinal, so he took him over to the filthy cubicle. Ignoring the stares of Ilya’s men, he stood outside the door.
“Don’t touch anything that’s not attached to your body.” He instructed Roman, who pulled a face, confirming to Hollywood he understood exactly what he was being told.
When the kid was finished, Hollywood flushed the toilet using his booted foot, which made Roman giggle.
The sink wasn’t much cleaner and there was no soap, but there was running water, so he helped the kid wash his hands. Realising there was no towel, Hollywood offered Roman the bottom of his shirt to get his hands dry.
Given all the strange goings on around him, Hollywood was surprised that Roman was taking everything in his stride the way he was. But then, he realised, with Niko’s life being a constant merry-go-round of trafficking trips, maybe the kid was used to living like this.
It was a struggle to keep the scowl off his face. How could the woman bring her son up this way?
Walking back to the truck, Hollywood grabbed a handful of pastries, handing one to Roman and stuffing the rest in his pocket. It was only when he realised the kid was having to run to keep up with him, that it dawned on Hollywood he was dealing with someone barely out of diapers.
He bent down and scooped the boy up, carrying him in one arm as he strode back to the others.
Roman didn’t seem to mind being carried at all, and he continued munching his ‘breakfast’ as though there was nothing strange about it.
As they approached the rest of the Guardians, Kellen turned around and grinned at him.
“Hey, kiddo. How’re you doing this morning, hmm?” He held his hand out for a high-five which Roman duly returned.
“I had to pee, and it was stinky.” Roman announced, wrinkling up his little nose. “But they got no showers, so H said I could have breakfast anyway.”
He held out his half-eaten pastry as evidence.
“Well, you eat that up, or you won’t grow to be a big strong man.” Kellen nodded seriously.
“I’m strong.” Roman held out the puniest arm Hollywood had ever seen. “Look at my muscles.”
Kellen pretended to test them and nodded in agreement.
“You’re pretty strong, for sure.” He grinned, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Just make sure you eat all the good fruit and vegetables to make you grow a bit more. You’re a bit short for a man.”
“I’m not a man, silly.” Roman giggled. “I’m a kid.”
“Really?” Kellen scratched his head, pretending to be confused. “Because I’m sure I heard someone say you were twenty-four, and your mama just turned three.”
Roman nearly choked on his pastry, he was giggling so much.
“No, Ken.” He insisted. “My mama is twenty-four and I’m three. That’s why she’s taller than me.”
“Oh, now that makes more sense.” Kellen smacked the palm of his hand on his forehead, wincing exaggeratedly to make Roman laugh even harder.
The sound of shouting had everyone in the hanger turning around to face the office, where the yelling was followed by a crashing sound like someone smashing up furniture.
Hollywood knew Niko was in there, but as she was supposed to be having a meeting with her brother, he didn’t suppose she’d be very happy if he poked his nose in.
As the yelling continued, one of Ilya’s men shouted something at the others, and they continued to load the women into the trucks.
“Have you seen some of those women?” Kris hissed. “They look like a puff of wind would blow them over. It turns my stomach to see them like that.”
Yuri turned and stood in his brother’s line of sight, blocking the view of the women.
“Then stop looking at them, Kris.” He warned. “Don’t forget we’re supposed to have no emotions about what’s going on.”
“Just store it all up.” Hollywood nodded to Kris. “It will feel so much better later, when everything is fixed.”
He glanced down at Roman who was busily munching away, and he wondered what would happen to the kid if his mama got herself arrested. She’d have nobody else to blame but herself, but what about Roman? He didn’t ask for this life.
All of a sudden, the office door flew open and crashed against the inside wall.
Ilya strode out, yelling something at Drago who was two paces behind him.
Even from fifty yards, Hollywood could see how red in the face Ilya was. The guy looked absolutely furious.
As he reached the car, Ilya climbed inside without hesitation, leaving Drago almost hanging out of the passenger door as he hit the gas, the tyres leaving rubber marks across the floor as he sped out.
Hollywood glanced down at Roman who was busy licking the icing sugar from his fingers, thankfully having paid no attention to his uncle’s tantrum.
A few seconds later, he noticed Kellen nod his head towards t
he office, and turned to see Niko come through the door and make her way down the steps, looking a little like she’d had one too many to drink.
Hollywood noticed that he wasn’t the only one watching her, and he leaned over to hand Roman off to Kellen.
“Have a chat with your uncle Ken.” He murmured to the boy as he strode over to Niko, now convinced she was actually limping.
She looked up to see him striding towards her, and stopped dead, obviously not sure of his purpose.
He pulled up in front of her, immediately noticing the bright red mark on her cheek. If past experience was anything to go by, Hollywood guessed that she was going to have one helluva black eye by lunchtime.
“Ilya’s guys are watching you carefully.” He said quietly. “If you want to keep any sort of control over them, I suggest you start yelling at them now. If you show any sign of weakness, they’ll start circling like vultures.”
Niko looked up at him in surprise.
“What does it matter to you what they think of me?” She demanded, and he noticed her intake of breath as she snapped at him.
“If they don’t think you’re still in a position of authority, or if they think Ilya isn’t going to back you up, then there’s no way they’re going to follow your orders.” Hollywood pointed out, turning his body so he blocked Ilya’s men from seeing her. “And if that happens, they’ll probably consider the cargo fair game, to do with whatever they want. Which will not please my employers at all.”
Niko’s eyes narrowed as though she was going to snap back at him, but then changed her mind.
Instead she stepped to one side and took a deep breath, before yelling something in Russian.
While he had no idea what she was yelling, he turned and glared at Ilya’s men, just in case it helped to show a united front.
Whether it was her yell or his glare he wasn’t sure, but the men turned and started packing everything up as fast as they could.
“We’re leaving in five minutes, so be ready.” She hissed at him as she tried to walk past him.
“Stay by my side and they won’t see you limping.” Hollywood used his bulk to hide her as much as possible.