by A. Hargrove
“Me? What did I do?”
“You’re an accomplice. You can get up to twenty years, but if you cooperate with us, you may get a reduced sentence.”
“He’ll kill me.”
“Who? Danny?” I asked, to clarify.
“Yes! He has connections.”
“Not anymore. They’re all going to prison too.”
Her eyes bounced between the two of us as she chewed her lip. Then she said, “Aiden was supposed to come but he canceled at the last minute. Said something came up. That’s all I know. I swear.”
Gemini and I glanced at each other and I nodded. She escorted Sandra out.
Then a few of the guys went to get the SUVs. We cleared out of the house, after loading up O’Brien, Thomas, and the girlfriend. Our next stop was the airport.
The three criminals went with us while the other plane headed straight back to Denver. We’d reconvene for a briefing the following afternoon. On the way to Quantico, where we were dropping off our prisoners, I told Thomas he was the biggest piece of shit that ever lived.
He grinned. But it wasn’t a friendly one. “Danny and Aiden are my uncles. This was always planned.”
“You’re joking. You’re like one of those Russian moles from during the Cold War.”
“That’s exactly how we did it and it worked out perfectly until that damn boyfriend of yours had to check the trailer he was hauling. But we paid him back. Oh, did we ever.”
I reared back and right jabbed his jaw with everything I had. My knuckles would be bruised as hell, but it was worth the crack and groan I heard.
Drex pulled me back and said, “This will be nothing compared to what he’ll deal with in prison. An ex-fed will get the worst kind of treatment imaginable.”
Thomas rubbed his jaw. “That’s if you get a conviction. We have the best attorneys anywhere.” Then he smirked. Drex’s jaw clenched and the muscles in his cheek twitched. He was as pissed off as I was.
We landed in Quantico and drove straight to the FBI’s headquarters. When we got there, it was still the middle of the night, but the place was guarded.
We dragged the prisoners in the door where the security guards stopped us.
Drex spoke. “Inform your superiors now. They’ll want to be here. This is Danny O’Brien, his girlfriend, and Thomas Murphy, one of the dirty agents they’ll most likely be currently investigating. We just saved them a lot of legwork.”
“Who are you?” the guard asked.
“A concerned and helpful citizen. I’m exercising my rights and making a citizen’s arrest.”
Then we left, and went back to the plane to fly home.
We did get a call the next day from the Director of the FBI thanking us for all the information we provided and the prisoners we dropped off.
“We tracked your flight information,” he told Drex.
“I figured you would. It wouldn’t take much to find us. One thing though. Agent Isla Chambers from the Atlanta field office was the key in finding all this. Art Sanderson, her superior, was murdered on the job and if she hadn’t been so focused on exposing these individuals, this would not have been uncovered. The recognition goes to her.”
“Of course. I’ll see that she gets it. Oh and we’re overlooking the breaking and entering at O’Brien’s.”
“Breaking and entering? The front door was wide open when we got there. We didn’t do a thing, except walk right in. Agent Murphy let us in upstairs.”
“I see. That will be reflected in my report. Thanks again.”
Drex took the call on speaker. When it ended, I said, “Too bad I won’t be there to accept the recognition.”
Chapter Forty-Four
ACER
My first NA meeting in Denver went great. My sponsor was in his early thirties and a musician. I enjoyed meeting up with him. He’d gotten involved with heroin during high school. Even though I’d learned drug abuse during the teen years was prevalent, it was still hard to believe.
“After that, when the band started touring locally, it only escalated. You can figure out the rest. I was kicked out of the group. My parents wanted me to go to college and that lasted one semester. Until I ended up in the emergency room after an overdose. That didn’t even stop me though. It took several more years of using until it happened again. Good thing the cops had Narcan on board or I would’ve died. I’ve been clean for five years now,” Ryan said on our first meeting.
He’d gone back to school, finished his degree, and then went back and learned carpentry. “I make furniture, cabinets, doors, pretty much anything that involves wood. I found using my hands keeps my mind off everything else.”
Then I told him my story. He was empathetic and when I explained how I wanted to help other victims, he was all for it.
“That’s amazing. Most people who’ve been through addiction or something like human trafficking only want to talk to others who have too. I can totally see you doing that successfully.”
We met every day for the first two weeks. Then every other day after that, even though I went to the meetings every day. It was beneficial and I always learned something more about myself, like how I had an enormous capacity to be empathetic to others and help them. That never was in my line of sight before.
Working with my brothers was also rewarding. The software program was moving along quickly, especially since I had plenty of recommendations for them.
“Auctions. A keyword. I was put up for auction so maybe black market auction on the dark web.”
“That’s been used,” Cruze said.
“They need to look into men’s clubs because that’s where I was. Check with the PI you hired.”
“We’re doing that tomorrow. We’re all going there for his input. His team can be very helpful as they’re involved with cybersecurity too. They’re very knowledgeable about this,” Raiden said.
“I’m sure happy you knew him or knew of him.”
“Same here. Anything else you can think of?”
“Yes, drugs. And not just opiates. They gave me something that completely immobilized me at first. Ketamine? GHB? Rohypnol? It kicked in and that was it. Then there was the box I was in. It was one of those transport containers that trucks use for cargo.”
“Got it,” Cruze said as he keyed everything in.
I added, “Maybe the port in Savannah has more to do with it than just an entry point for the women coming in.”
My brothers frowned as they stared at each other. “That needs to be checked out.”
Then I thought about something. “And what about Paulie? They tossed him into that container at one point. He was either dead or unconscious.”
Cruze rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that turned up in your police report, but they haven’t found him or his body.”
“He has to be somewhere near those containers. But when they moved me out of there, I was drugged.”
“Right. And you said Danny O’Brien was involved, right?” Cruze asked.
“Yeah. I can’t believe they nailed him. Too bad his brother got away.” It had been all over the news last week, along with the arrest of the FBI agents who’d been involved with him. One of them had been Thomas, Isla’s friend. Damn! He’d been one of the guys assigned to protect us and to think he was partly responsible for my abduction. Maybe the reason she hadn’t written me back was she’d been busy with that operation.
“He’ll never see the light of day again,” Raiden said.
“I hope not.”
“He and Murphy were denied bail. So I doubt they will.”
That night we sat around after dinner and they hit me with different questions. Now that my mind was clear and it was easier for me to recall more bits and pieces of when I was held captive, I spilled what I knew.
“There were a lot of guys like me there. You know, young, in pretty good shape, and so on. One guy told me they got more money for us than they did the women, but the big moneymakers were the little boys…” I could finally say tho
se words without feeling violently ill. A thought struck me. “You need to hit up places where young kids hang out too.”
“You mean online?” Raiden asked.
“No. Physical places. Places where they might even be with their parents, but where the parents aren’t paying a hundred percent attention to them. Maybe movie theaters. They leave to go to the bathroom and never come back. Or video arcades.”
“Isn’t that a bit obvious?”
“Yeah, but that’s the thing. Grocery stores, malls. They go where you least expect them.”
Cruze jumped to his feet. “Hang on a sec.” He came back with his laptop and a few minutes later, he cursed. “Fuck. Check this out.”
Raiden and I looked at the screen and he’d done a search on the dark web under auction-young boys. After jumping through several hoops, he landed in a site that was for exotic creatures. Right. Those creatures were young boys. The pictures had their faces blurred but there was always an animal in the background. Cruze had spotted something else.
“Look right there. That’s the name of a store. This was taken in a mall. Or maybe near a shopping center and the rest was photoshopped.”
“Is there any way to pinpoint the location?”
Cruze’s fingers tripped over the keyboard and he said, “Not from here. I wonder if Drex’s team can track it down. They have some really sophisticated ways of doing things.”
Raiden scoffed. “Translation—they’re better at hacking into systems than we are.”
“Excellent. We might find out more than we ever expected,” I said, my excitement ramping up.
“Hey, Little Guy, don’t let your hopes soar yet. I don’t want you to be too disappointed if this doesn’t work out. Remember, we need to set up that software to assist parents in getting their children back.”
“Right, but we can also assist law enforcement in shutting some of these criminals down while we’re at it. And don’t worry about me. I’m fine. My hopes are where they need to be—cautiously optimistic.”
Cruze closed his laptop and stood. “I’m off to bed,” he said, stretching.
“I’m headed home,” Raiden held up a hand and waved. “I’ll see you two in the morning. I guess we can just meet at Drex’s.”
“Fine with me,” Cruze answered.
“See you tomorrow and thanks you two,” I said.
“You’re going to be front and center, Little Guy. Don’t thank us. We’re putting you to work.”
Holding up my hands, I said, “Hey, I’m good with that, as long as there’s time for my NA meetings.”
“We won’t interfere with those,” Cruze said as he walked up the steps.
Shortly after dawn broke, I was awake and getting in the shower. Being in rehab reset my clock and now I was an early riser. After dressing, I ran downstairs to make coffee. That’s where Cruze found me.
“No one’s going to steal the pot, dude.”
“Huh?”
“You’re hovered over the thing like you’re expecting it to run off. By the way, it has a pause thing on it so you don’t have to wait until it’s done brewing.”
“Damn. Wish you’d have told me sooner.” I’d been drooling as I watched the liquid drip into the pot.
“I wasn’t down here sooner.”
I held up my finger. “Right.”
“And since when did you become such a coffee addict.”
“Keyword—addict.” I waggled my brows.
“Oh, Little Guy, sorry.”
A chuckle rushed out of me. “I’m just messing with you. I started drinking it when I was living with Isla. Then in rehab, it was always around, so it kind of intensified.”
“I’m hooked on it too. It’s the taste. I could drink decaf and be fine.”
“Same. I love the flavor.”
“You ready?”
I hung back and stared. “What? No breakfast?”
“Wolfe always has muffins, donuts, and all kinds of breakfast food there. You don’t need to eat here.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Obviously, you don’t give a shit about your health.”
“Yeah, I do, but on rare occasions I allow myself to indulge. We can go shopping for healthy stuff after work.”
“Deal.”
The ride to Wolfe’s wasn’t long. It wasn’t even seven thirty. When we drove into the parking garage, Cruze pulled out his ID. There was a security guard there who asked for mine too. Then we were waved through. After parking, we rode the elevator up to the executive floor.
“Wow, pretty fancy.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait.”
An admin greeted us and told us everyone was assembling in the conference room. I followed Cruze, and he introduced me to Drex, his wife, Gemini, and a guy named Huff. Raiden was stuffing a donut into his mouth and only waved.
“Nice, bro. Mom would be proud of your manners.” That brought a round of chuckles.
After Raiden swallowed his mouthful, he said, “Try one. These are not your regular donuts. They are amazing. You won’t be able to stop at one, hence all the boxes on the table.”
Gemini added, “I’m afraid he’s right. We don’t buy them every day or else we’d be buying new wardrobes every other month.”
“You talked me into it. Only after I get a cup of coffee.”
Cruze pointed to where the coffee was. Then I bit into one of the donuts and it melted in my mouth.
“Holy shit. These are amazing.”
“Told ya.”
Everyone was chit-chatting when Drex said, “Where’s Gemini?”
“I think she went to the coms room.”
Then Drex said, “Hey, Acer, why don’t you go get her so we can begin. She can give you a quick tour of it beforehand.”
“Sounds good. Where is it?”
“Straight ahead at those double glass doors. They’ll open automatically when you get there.”
I headed in that direction and when I entered the room, all I saw were computers and huge screens everywhere. A woman’s back was toward me so I said, “Hey Gemini, they sent me here to get you and so you could give me a tour of this room first.”
Then she spun around in her seat and said, “It’s not Gemini, Acer.”
My knees buckled and I hit the floor. Isla was sitting there, directly in front of me.
Chapter Forty-Five
ACER
The air left my lungs as I went down. Her name was on my tongue, but with no oxygen to propel it off, I couldn’t speak it. Then her hands touched my back, my shoulders, and I wondered if this was some cruel dream. I flashed back to those drug-infused days, but my reality was here and I’d overcome that and left it behind.
“Acer, are you okay?”
Turning my head to glance over my shoulder, concerned eyes stared back at me. Finally, finally, air seeped into my tightened chest as it slowly expanded.
“Yes. Yes, I am now.” I raised myself so I was on my knees and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Yeah, about that. I work here now. I resigned as an agent after Art was killed.”
“Art? Killed?” How had I missed that and why hadn’t my brothers shared that with me?
“Yeah. It had to do with the O’Brien case.”
“Oh, Isla, I’m so sorry. Is that why you never answered my letter?”
“No! I didn’t answer you because you pretty much sent me away.”
“Not that one. I wrote you again backtracking everything. That first one was written when I had no hope. But after things got better, I wrote you a second letter.”
“I never got it. That must’ve been during the time after Art was murdered and I left. I’ve been here since. Drex came and pulled Art’s family and me out of Atlanta for safety reasons. I didn’t know there was a second letter.”
A grin larger than any I’d ever had, spread across my face. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re here and so am I.” Then I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around her waist. I pushed to my feet and sai
d, “I’m sorry, but I have to kiss you.” I didn’t wait for her to answer. My lips crashed onto hers in a bruising kiss. She didn’t resist, which I was thankful for. When she kissed me back, I almost shouted with joy. But that would’ve interrupted the kiss and I wouldn’t have done that for anything.
Next thing I knew, we were on the floor, making out like kids. That was until we both heard the doors slide open and a smartass said, “Are you two going to do this all morning, because if so, there is a corporate apartment available.” We looked up to see Drex, Gemini, Raiden, Cruze, and Huff standing there. Then they all clapped.
I whispered into Isla’s ear, “I’m all for the apartment thing if you are.”
“I am so in. Let’s go.”
I helped her to her feet. “See you guys later.”
Gemini called out behind us, “There’re fresh donuts in there for you.”
I raised my hand and gave her an A-Okay as we left.
When the apartment door closed behind us we both blurted out, “I have so much…”
Then we both laughed. I said, “You first.”
“I was going to say, I have so much to tell you. But can we please get naked first?”
“Wait. We haven’t seen each other in what? Six months? And all you want to do is get naked?”
“Well, yeah.” A wicked gleam was in her eyes.
“I knew you were the perfect woman for me, but I have to tell you some things first. Is that okay?”
At her agreement, I continued. “When I first saw you after my release, I was pretty messed up and it took a while for me to even talk about. Now I want to tell you what actually happened to me.”
“Acer, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, Isla, I do. If not for you, then me. You have a right to hear my story.”
“But I don’t need to.”
“Here’s the thing. I need for you to. I used to think I’d never be worthy of anyone ever again. I’ve moved past that, but you have to understand what I went through.”
“Okay.”
Then I told her everything, from beginning to end. Tears ran, and I expected them, because knowing Isla as I did, her heart would break for what I’d experienced.