Whoa, too intense for me, time to go check on my family and get the hell out of dodge. Geez, you could cut the tension in that room with a knife. As usual, when things got sticky, and my family was anywhere around, I always made sure they were safe no matter what safety measures were in place.I saw my nieces and nephews running around outside, and the men and women Mancini had there to watch over them. Though there was no way for anyone to approach the island without being seen and the water was a good ways away from the house, there was no guarantee that one of the million kids they had running around here wouldn't head that way.I went in search of my sister and found her in a roomful of women. The whole place went quietly still as soon as I walked in, and I wished I'd have looked in before stepping in there. I swallowed hard and tried to backtrack, but it was too late. There were about four or five pregnant women in there, and maybe that's why the air was so rife with hormones.
It wasn't hard to find the pattern after a while. Though Mancini hadn't given us anything more than the bare bones, what little he did give us was enough to build on. This wasn't going anything like I'd expected. Instead of having me do any of the legwork technically speaking, Track took point on that and sent me the patterns as they unfolded on his end."Are you getting the picture yet?" I nodded my head as I read over everything he'd laid out and sent back to me. "Lawyers, judges, social workers, cops.""Do you notice the one thing they all have in common?""Yeah, they all work out of the same district court."I could feel the blood humming in my veins the way it does when I'm on the hunt, though I knew we had a long way to go. Usually, with my cases, I know the perpetrator and go after him or her after weeks sometimes months of the guys collecting data. Since I'm going after the person who pretty much is doing my job, it's like working backward.I got the feeling halfway t
Just as I started to put it away, there was a shadow in the doorway. I looked up to see Mancini standing there. I didn't even hear him approach. "How did it go, kid?" I'm pretty sure he's not that much older than I am, but okay. He does have me beat with experience alone."It went fine. I guess I can see why you put us together.""He eliminates a lot of the guesswork, doesn't he?" He walked into the room, and I looked at him, really looked at him. He looked tired like he'd gone a few rounds up there, which I can only imagine he did. Things had been getting really sticky when I left. I wanted to ask about all that but knew Gideon would tell me later."Did you just come to see where I'm at?" I got the feeling he had something to say that had nothing to do with this, and I started to get that itch between my shoulder blades. Then the way he just looked at me as if trying to find the right words only exacerbated that feeling."No, I wanted to talk to you about your dad." That quick
As soon as Mancini left the room, I looked for a quiet corner to get two minutes downtime. No one has mentioned anything about the stuff we'd learned here today; I guess the boys were still processing the fact that their lives have been changed in a second. I sat with my eyes closed, and my mind going to blank. I'm not thinking about the sh*t Mancini dropped in my lap, not right now, too much to take in at once.The others were still looking into the new case Mancini had mentioned as a distraction, but I'm sure they all pretty much know what the hell is going on there. From the little bit, Mancini had all you have to do is follow the breadcrumbs, which is what I guess he has those two kids doing. As to what the hell was going on there, that too is very obvious. Someone was avenging some sh*t that these nasty f*cks had done to either them or a loved one in the past.I'll just wait for the kids to find out who where and when to get involved. If this person, whoever it is, is just kil
I made myself comfortable while he took his shower, sitting in a chair in the corner of the dark room where I'd turned off the lights. I saw his silhouette when he came out of the shower and reached for the light on the wall. Before he could hit the switch, I threw my blade and pinned his hand there.His howl of pain was cut off when he saw me stand and walk towards him. Coward, I could already smell the sh*t he'd expelled from his bowels in fear. No doubt he was thinking of his partners in crime and how they'd died just here recently. Why hadn't he protected himself better? Was it because he's a highly decorated cop? Is that why he thought he was invincible?I got up close to him as he was trying to remove the stiletto from his wrist, which wasn't easy since I'd made sure to hit bone. The pain has to be excruciating. He started to whimper at my approach. "Who are you? What do you want?" He tried moving out of the way when I got within a few feet of him, but there was nowhere to go
I still have a hard time accepting that I deserve the life he's given me, as grateful as I am. When you've eaten out of dumpsters for a couple of years, it's hard to assimilate that with the fact that you're now wearing a Rolex watch that the man who adopted you as his brother bought you for your eighteenth birthday.Or the fact that the greasy grimy kid who hid from child predators on the street because he'd learned the signs to look out for way too early in his young life was trusted with little babies who were born into a life of excess luxury. My life has been just too confusing from the time I was taken in by them, and it only seems to get better. Best of all, apart from having my sister back in my life and the new family she and Gideon have given me, is this new venture Mancini has drawn me into.It's like giving a starving man a buffet of all his favorite foods. Saving kids from these trafficking assholes is my lifeblood. With what Mancini had shared so far, it looks like he
I walked around the abandoned warehouse, making sure there were no other denizens for the night. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I removed the clothes I'd worn, which didn't show the blood they were drenched in because of their dark color. I bundled them in a corner and drenched them with lighter fluid before dropping a match on them.Next, I got the wipes from my survivor pack and cleaned up as best as I could. I could've showered at the victim's place since there was so much blood this time, but it didn't sit right with me. Turns out, it was a good call because no sooner had I left his place and was scaling the fence out back when I heard a car pull into his driveway. Someone had gotten a very nasty surprise.I threw the bloody wipes onto the blaze and grabbed some more, making sure to get it all off of me before redressing in another black on black outfit. I unfolded the old second-hand sleeping bag and the moth-eaten blanket, which is all I could afford and laid down.Ou
I listened with half an ear to the men as they talked about their new 'squad' at least that's what Lyon had decided to call it since as he says organization sounds too much like law enforcement and he hates any f*ck that has to do with that f*ckery. His vocabulary is even more colorful than Gideon's, and my brother has got a fine grasp on gutter speak. Mostly I was organizing my moves once we land in my head. I'd already mapped out what needed to be done from the specs Mancini had given me earlier, so it was just a matter of getting there and letting my senses do the rest. There was a certain kind of excitement in the air. One that stems from working with a new crew for the first time and also because this was all new to me, and I have no idea how this person is going to react once found.Usually, when I go on a search and rescue, the kids on the other end are only too glad to see someone who isn't there to hurt them and can't wait to go back home. This person, this stranger, is b