Chapter 2:

Detective Michael Lewis had been chasing the Chris’ cartel’s tail for a while now but his efforts yielded no results. 

 It was known as the biggest crime organisation where all sorts of crime took place and him and his team had been investigating it for the past 3 years. If they closed down its operations they could end other organisations which were directly linked to it. 

Luckily, a member of the cartel offered to provide information if he was granted immunity. It was a good opportunity for Michael to capture the criminal Mafia boss, Chris so he didn’t hesitate to grab the deal. 

"Good morning detective? Are you ready for the meeting before you throw yourself into the lion's den." The chief of the police unit asked as Michael entered her office and took a seat. 

She wanted update on how he was going to penetrate the Chris cartel.

"Yes ma'am." Michael replied to her with reverence. 

"Good, then let's go to the boardroom." 

The chief of police led Michael to the boardroom where ten officers who were also in charge of the investigations were waiting. 

Today Michael had good news on how to infiltrate the cartel and arrest its boss Chris.

"Everyone please settle down so we can get started." The Chief said.

Everyone gathered around the conference room table to hear the new information. Michael stared at the officers and began to speak.

"Apart from everything we already know about the Chris cartel, I got a new informant and he is on his way as I speak."

"Who?" One of the officers murmured in the back of the crowd.

"It's Victor Walker. I’m yet to establish the connection between him and Chris.” Michael said with furrowed brows. 

"Ok. You can interrogate him in private so he can open up with all the information you need." 

"Yes ma'am." He responded.

Michael then proceeded to tell them about the progress of the case. He was to go undercover and hand himself over to the Chris Cartel but for that to happen, they needed Victor to give them the location where the Cartel pick up their ‘merchandise’. 

After he was done briefing his colleagues, Michael took a seat and waited for the chief to disband the meeting. 

"The meeting is adjourned till we get some answers from this Victor Walker. I pray he tells us all the Intel we need to put a stop to this cartel." The chief said. 

Michael could hear one of the higher rank officers as they walked out of the conference room saying he had invested so much of his time in this mission. He hoped it paid off all else the case will be closed for good…

"I’m sure you heard that Michael. This is your last chance before we are shut down from the case. I put my trust in you." The chief told him with a serious look on her face. 

"I won't let you down ma'am." Michael affirmed with his fingers crossed.

Minutes later, Michael was in his office when an old man in his 60s knocked on his door and walked up to his desk. 

"Detective Michael Lewis?” He inquired. 

Michael raised his head and nodded. 

"Yes, that's me. Please take a sit.”

"My name is Victor Walker." The old man introduced himself. 

Michael looked Victor over. He was short and chubby with a bear belly. It was hard to pin him as part of the notorious gang that committed crimes. 

“Detective…”

"Oh yes Mr Walker I have been waiting for you all morning." Michael snapped out of his reverie and said. He let out a sigh of relief. For a brief moment, he thought the informant would bail on them. 

He quickly stood up and directed Victor to one of the private interrogating rooms. 

“Coffee?” He offered him just to be polite but Victor declined of which Michael breathed out in relief. He wasn’t keen on serving a criminal whom he was going to let free so that he could catch an even bigger fish. 

But it doesn’t mean that because Victor would help him bring down Chris then he was suddenly a good guy. He had done so many bad things. He didn’t deserve immunity.

"I don't have all the time in the world to be a detective. I will go straight to the point without wasting both our time." Michael said in a cold sharp tone. “I’m going to record your statement. Now start talking.” 

"Do as you like as a detective so long as you give me all the demands and protection I asked for as I leave this place." Victor said.

A flash of anger flitted through Michael’s eyes. The nerve of the beer bellied man! Who did he think he was to make demands when clearly he was the criminal here?

‘Calm down Michael. This is all so you can catch that bastard Chris.’

He told himself and remained composed. 

"Ok Victor, go ahead and tell me what you know." 

"Well, detective Lewis, the Chris cartel is not hard to infiltrate as you could easily give yourself up and be taken in as either a sex slave of become a solider there. They traffic only men to be mainly used to build their army which they have successfully done over the years. The weak are sold off as sex slaves to the rich Madames all over the world at a high price of course. You would be surprised to know how many women buy these men to satisfy there dirty desires." 

He said with a smirk on his face but his words just made the anger bubbling within Michael to increase. He swore to hunt down these horrible humans and lock them up. 

"Is that all Mr Walker?" Michael asked through gritted teeth. If he wasn’t an officer of the law, he would have pummeled this old man’s face until he sent him to meet his maker. How dare he speak of heinous crimes with a smile on his face?

"Yes, for now and I want to walk out of this place with protection. I will give you the details of how you can be picked up by the cartel and from there, you are on your own as a detective." Victor added.

Michael stood up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his uniform. 

"Are you willing to testify to all this in court?" He questioned but Victor sneered. 

"I don't want to be called a snitch.This business does not treat snitches so kindly.”

With a hard edge to his gaze, Michael scrutinized Victor to ensure he wasn’t lying. As a profiler, he was trained to think like a criminal so he would know if he lied.

When he was satisfied with his findings, he nodded his head and said. "Thank you Mr Walker for coming and as promised we are ready to fly you and your family out to a safe house that I also don't know." 

The two of them shook hands and Michael handed Victor over to two other detectives outside the interrogation room.

********

Later in the evening without wasting any time, Michael went to one of the clubs that was used to kidnap and drug men.

Dressed in blue jeans and a white golf tee with Timberlake shoes. 

"You look hot detective Michael." One of his colleagues said in his ear piece

"Well, I gotta look good to impress my kidnappers." Michael gave a silly smirk. He was a good looking man, some might even call him hot and sexy. 

"Look alive people and don't lose him in there." The chief said as Michael went into the club with 2 other detectives undercover.

The club was electric, everyone was feeding off of the smiles and fast dancing. Michael walked straight to the bar and ordered a beer from the bar man. 

It was loud and everyone on the dance floor was sweating and smelled of sex. However, Michael was not a club person and everything around him irritated the hell out of him but he had to endure it for work. 

Leaning his back on the counter, he took a swig of his beer and looked around for anyone who looked suspicious.

He finished the first beer and ordered the second one only to be greeted by a different bar man. 

‘I guess they changed shifts.’ He thought to himself as he looked away from him. 

The second beer tasted different from the first one and Michael immediately knew it was spiked with a drug. His head felt dizzy and the music started to move him like a puppet on strings, his brain was mashing so hard his brain was in a shut down mode. 

There was so much sweat on his body and most of it was not even his. Tomorrow there is going to be a hell to pay but tonight the alcohol kept flowing in like his on an IV drip.

He later blacked out….

At the same time, as they rounded up all the men they picked up that day, the Chris cartel made sure to blind fold them to their destination..

There were about 20 men bundled together in a dark room with their hands tied behind them. Michael of course was one of them. 

When he came to, he found himself in this place that smelled like someone had died in there. 

They were kept there for a whole day without water or food to see who breaks and for sure 15 men were crying like a baby to make a deal with the kidnappers. 

However, Michael and 4 other men kept quiet and waited for instructions.

The sound of a metal door opened and the 15 men were taken out of there.

"Come on you sissys. Let's go meet your maker." The thugs said as they cackled and shoved them out of the room while Michael and the others kept quiet and alert at all times. 

He tried to look around but it was too dark for him to see anything. 

‘Keep calm Michael. This is the first step to completing your mission.’ He told myself. For a man who knew nothing of his next fate, he was calm and collected. 

He knew they wouldn’t kill him. Victor assured him that much