Chapter 2 #2
“In the meantime, we would safely extract two of the women being held in a warehouse, waiting for transport.
We would place Sylvie and Annika among the others.
Jaxson could create an illusion, making them appear as two Hispanic girls from the village.
When we meet Casey at the airstrip, they would witness him incapacitating the victims and treating them no better than cattle.
“A few of us would stay with the victims while the others secured the airport. We would apprehend Casey and his crew, then take the victims and rehome them into several of the communities I had been building relationships with. It was clear that some of their families and officials wouldn’t be able to protect them until Horatio was no longer a threat. ”
“There’s no other way for us to show Annika and Sylvie the type of man Casey is? Can’t we just pick them up and have them witness his true side without traumatizing them?” I inquired. “And isn’t it illegal to smuggle people into the country that way?”
Ethan looked confused for a moment before Vance spoke up.
“I can create paperwork for the victims, for temporary work or school visas. There’s a reason Horatio wants them.
These young people are bright, they come from good family lines, and their gift levels are high.
We’ll be giving them opportunities they could never have if they remain in their country.
Once the threat is gone, and if they want to return home, their sponsors here in the states will pay for their way back. ”
“Sounds like you’ve been working on this for a while,” Pops said skeptically. “You have a solid plan with American sponsors.”
Ethan nodded. “Some of us started laying down the footwork as soon as I found out why we were sent to abduct Harry. I knew I couldn’t stay and help people who have such convoluted beliefs.
I don’t want to become the next ‘master’ race.
My dad isn’t gifted, and by Horatio’s viewpoint, my mother should never have had children with him because it could have ‘tainted’ her bloodline.
“And Bridgette has been so brainwashed by his propaganda that the one and only time she met my dad, she was completely rude to him. She even made backhanded comments to my mom about how ‘weak’ my younger sister is because of her choice to have children with my dad.”
“I tried to give her excuses and believe in the picture she presented when I first met her. She didn’t seem to care if I saw her true side. For the baby’s sake, I tried.
“When I gave in to her every whim, she was biddable. Then she became another person entirely when she discovered Arianna was pregnant as well. She increased her efforts to harm Ari. When that didn’t work, she tried to get Horatio to strong-arm me.
When that failed, she had someone hack into Ari’s phone.
She would change her appointments, forcing me to choose between her and my other baby’s doctor’s visits.
“I tried to divide my time between her and Ari, and without fail, she would have an emergency requiring my attention or presence. She enlisted Alison and a few others in her endeavors, and after two months of these shenanigans, I finally caught on. When I confronted her about it, she became ugly again. I can’t play her games.
I can’t have her using my possible daughter against me.
I can’t allow those people to raise my children. ”
Noah took a sip of his coffee before prodding. “Speaking of Bridgette, where does she think you’re at? Isn’t she going to get suspicious? What about the baby she’s carrying? Are you just going to abandon it?”
Ethan sighed and rubbed his face. “She thinks I’m on another business trip. I have people covering for me. She shouldn’t get suspicious until after we procure some of the people on the list, and by then, I don’t care if she knows.”
“At this point, the truth is, I didn’t even know if the baby girl she carried was mine.
Over time, all the lies she had told me were beginning to reveal themselves.
When I met Bridgette, she said she had a long-time boyfriend in high school, and they even dated after he went to college.
She claimed she had only been with two guys her whole life.
Honestly, I didn’t care about her body count, but why lie about it?
“When her friend Tamara got pregnant, she immediately told me how she wanted to be a young mother too. I told her I wanted to wait. I had just met Arianna, and the dynamics were all off. I didn’t want to bring any children into our family, plus I wanted to wait a few more years.
“I became suspicious when I found her tampering with my condoms after I insisted on using them along with her birth control. Then I refused to sleep with her until I got a new box. She had a meltdown, I mean a full-blown tantrum, calling Daddy to talk to me about it. Horatio cornered me and tried to read me the riot act.”
Noah snorted, clearly thinking the same as I was. She must have gotten her way, because now she was pregnant. “So, you gave in,” he stated.
Ethan huffed, his features twisting with complete disgust and anger.
“No, and yet, with the combination of both, she got pregnant. Shortly after she found out, I discovered Ari was pregnant too. It wasn’t planned, and I had failed with the contraceptive in that instance.
Yet, I was still overjoyed. Part of me already knew that Arianna and I’s relationship was night and day compared to my relationship with Bridgette.
“I truly thought it was dumb luck when I discovered Bridgette’s pregnancy, until you mentioned her previous promiscuous ways.
She got super defensive and angry when I asked if it had been a lie.
Later that day, after the good doc tested both of you on the strength of our babies, another flag went up.
I know two strong parents could produce a low-level child, not that I care what level they’re at, but something didn’t sit right with me.
“Then I overheard Alison confronting Bridgette. She was talking about some guy Bridge used to hang out with. I heard Alison ask if the baby could be his, and Bridgette immediately started crying; she didn’t deny it.
If one of the others hadn’t interrupted them, I think I would have found out the answer. ”
I blinked slowly. I couldn’t even feign surprise.
I knew Bridgette and how she operated in high school.
She loved attention, and if she was getting it, she would cling to the boy or man giving it to her.
It was no secret that she had cheated on every person she had ever been with.
I could see her getting knocked up by one in a desperate attempt to keep Ethan by her side.
“And if the baby is yours?” Holly, one of the leaders from another community, asked.
“Then I’ll try my damndest to get the child away from her,” Ethan said without hesitation. “She’s already proven how selfish she is, even without the baby. She won’t change her diet, even though the doctor told her she was harming the baby. And last week, I caught her drinking again.
“She still pretends she’s a normal high school student. Even though she wanted this baby, she still parties with her friends. At first, I encouraged her to go out, until she came home drunk.
“We had just found out she was pregnant, and she swore she would never do it again. A few weeks later, when I was supposed to be gone, I came home to find her with a few friends, smoking pot and drinking. She tried to convince me that her doctor said it wasn’t that detrimental.
I showed her all the research that disproved that theory.
She went off, and that’s when Horatio came into the room.
“For once, he laid into her. She seemed repentant, but a few weeks later, I had to go pick her and her friends up from a party. Again, she was drunk, but this time she tried to claim someone had spiked her punch. Little Lexi was around for that lie, and that’s when we discovered her gift.”
“Before we get the ball rolling, are you sure this is the path you want to take?” Pops asked.
Ethan nodded emphatically. “I’m done with them. I can’t look the other way, and I have to look out for my fiancé and my daughter,” he said, fondly rubbing Ari’s distended belly.
She smiled softly, and there was no denying the love between them.
I looked over at Rachel, and she nodded firmly. By her nod, we knew no lies had been told. I didn’t want to believe our luck, but I couldn’t deny the stirrings of excitement. With Ethan’s help, I truly believed we could permanently disable Horatio once we removed his closest allies.
η
Ella dramatically threw herself onto our bed and pouted. “Why can’t we come too?”
I sighed. “Ella, we talked about this. You’re not old enough.”
“Kade and Micah are going!” she exclaimed furiously.
We were all busy packing for our trip. Kade and Micah had become an integral part of our teams and were firmly established in a group with Ben, Herman, Tamara, Victoria, Rick, and Tyler. They worked so well together that we decided to allow them to accompany us.
Ella and Alex were growing increasingly upset that we wouldn’t let them come along.
Yes, they were helping with Harry and his living nightmares, but they wanted in on the bigger assignments.
Their tasks with Harry were always with adults and in a controlled environment.
We all agreed that, talented or not, we couldn’t allow them on the dangerous missions.
“El, we don’t need you yet. Plus, we’re older,” Kade said, coming into the room holding up two pairs of pants. “These are the only pants I could find, and one has a hole in it, while the other is too short in the legs.”