CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Which one of you assholes tripped him?” laughed Kai.
“Oh, that was me,” smirked Striker. “He needed to be deflated in a few different areas.”
“He damn sure got hard when we walked in,” said Iggy. “That man is a predator all the way and I don’t think he cares if you’re man, woman, or child.”
“We care,” said Moose. “And we found a few things. Addresses for the warehouses, an abandoned winery, two storage units, an apartment in Paris, one in Marseilles, and a part-ownership in a freighter.”
“That’s not a good. He could be moving massive amounts of people or cargo that we don’t know about,” said Romeo.
“We stop what we know first,” said Grayson. “We know that there is something in that old winery. We hit that first. Find out if we can get a drone in the area to see if there’s any activity.”
“We have one,” said U-Jin. He turned his tablet for the others to see and nodded. “Looks like two trucks and one car. I’ve only seen one guard on the outside.”
“Great, then we have no way of knowing how many on the inside,” frowned Jethro.
“Of course we do,” said U-Jin staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. “We use a form of Lidar to help us penetrate through foliage, brick, wood, almost everything.”
“Right. I forgot you guys have all the cool Batman toys,” smirked Jethro.
“Batman?” frowned U-Jin. “We are much more sophisticated than Batman.” The other men just chuckled, giving Jethro a nudge. The screen U-Jin was holding showed six figures randomly around the room. But it was the cluster of people in the corner that they worried about.
“Those are kids. Most likely in a cage,” frowned Romeo.
“We take out the outside guard, search for any others on the exterior, then go in under stealth and take out the others,” said Grayson. “Moose, Conor, Hunter, and Jennifer. You get the kids into one of those trucks and get them out of there.”
“You’re letting her come with us?” frowned Moose. He stared at the big man, then looked at Jennifer.
“If I don’t, she’ll follow anyway and get herself into trouble. If we’re there, she’s less likely to be harmed.” Jennifer smiled at him, hugging his waist.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I do trust you, babe. But I’m telling you right now that if you do something reckless, something that endangers anyone else or yourself, you will be sent home and I will make sure to let everyone know that you are to be kept under lock and key.”
She wanted to laugh but seeing the seriousness of their expressions, she nodded.
“I understand. I won’t do anything reckless.”
“Why don’t I believe you,” smirked Grayson, taking a step toward her and brushing the hair from her face.
“I promise, Grayson. I have something to live for now. It’s going to be okay. I promise I’ll do whatever you ask.”
An hour later they arrived at the abandoned winery. Rows of once ripe, sweet vines, heavy with grapes were now just broken shrubs. They might be capable of revival but it would take someone with a lot of time and money.
The crumbling stone house in the distance looked like a haunted mansion ready for Halloween. The windows, long since devoid of glass were now just gaping dark holes in the structure.
U-Jin’s voice was soft and clear in the comms units.
“All clear on the exterior,” he said softly.
“Why is the outside guard still standing?” frowned Brunson.
“He’s not,” smirked Grayson. “He’s propped by the door. He’s dead.”
Gunner pushed the door to the cellar open, the loud creak making the mood all the more perfect. Six men turned, weapons at the ready.
“Jacques? Is that you?” called one man. “If you’re screwing with us I’ll fucking kill you!”
No one answered and the men stilled, staring into the cavernous opening.
“It’s just the wind,” said one of the men.
He turned to look at the sleeping children in the cage.
Kids weren’t his thing but the sweet little teacher that had attempted to save them definitely was.
Her clothing was gone, now only dressed in a man’s t-shirt, no undergarments.
She didn’t need them. They’d been taking their turns with her for days.
One of the men walked toward the door and saw their friend leaning against the outside wall.
“It’s fine. He’s out there. Probably just fucking lonely,” grinned the man. Suddenly his feet were in the air and he was face down against the stone steps. His nose cracked, breaking as it hit, then another sickening sound. His neck.
They all stared at him. The awkward angle of his neck against the steps seemed odd. He’d only tripped. His neck shouldn’t have snapped so easily.
“Wh-what the fuck is happening?” said one of the other men. He gripped the weapon in his hand, spinning as if to see something coming his way.
He turned again, staring at his friends, all standing upright, blood draining from their necks. Their hands were at their own throats, as if gripping the invisible offender, then falling with their bodies to the stone floor.
Panicked he began firing blindly, the children now wide awake and crying again. He held the trigger until there was no sound and stared at the cage.
“Shut up! Shut up now!” he screamed. The teacher pulled the children to her, holding them against her abused body.
“Who-who’s there?” he stammered. The lights went out and then back on. In front of him stood fourteen men and one familiar woman. “You.”
“Yes, me,” she said staring at him.
“Who are you? You’re just a nun!” he yelled waving the empty weapon at her.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not a nun at all.”
“Honey, go with Striker and Conor. Get the kids out of here and to safety. That woman needs a doctor.”
She nodded at her father, carefully guiding the kids from the room. Gunner gripped the man’s neck, forcing him to sit next to the old wine barrels. He noticed a mallet on the table and smiled.
“They used to use these to open the vats, put a spout in them,” he grinned. “I have a better use for them.” Gunner slammed the mallet down on the man’s hand, his bones cracking as he did. The scream was agonizing.
“Scream all you want pretty boy,” said Jethro. “Where is the man called Lacroix.”
“I-I don’t know! I swear I don’t know,” he cried cradling his hand against his chest. “Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone.”
“No, we know that game,” said Rowe. “You’ll run like a little bitch to Lacroix and then to Moreau.”
His eyes grew wide and he started to cry. It was a pathetic cry, especially for a man his age. He’d most likely worked for Moreau for at least a decade and yet here he was crying, begging for freedom.
“Where is Lacroix?” asked Grayson holding down his other hand.
“No! Please, no!” he begged. “I don’t know. Boss told him to leave the woman alone. To focus on the shipments. He’s obsessed with getting her.”
“Why?” growled Moose.
“He-he took photos of her for our clients. Someone really big wants her. She’s going to make a lot of money for him, after he takes her a few times.”
Moose punched the man so hard, his chair flew backwards, his ears ringing with the loss of hearing.
“Ohhh, not a good thing to say to the big man,” frowned Hunter. “One minute. Where is Lacroix?”
“Could you use this?” asked U-Jin. Hunter stared at the device in his hand and frowned.
“Where the fuck did you get that?” he asked.
“It was near the cage. I suspect he used it on the children and their teacher.”
“You used an electric cattle prod on kids?” frowned Hunter. “Forget what I offered. You’re a dead man.”
“No! No, wait! Lacroix, he went to see the boss. He wants men in order to be able to find the woman. He’s got the ship waiting to take her away.”
“See, that wasn’t so hard was it,” smiled Moose. The man smiled with relief at the big man across from him. He never noticed the other man pointing a weapon at his temple.
“Shut the door,” said Grayson as they left the cellar. “It should smell nice and ripe by the time they find them. Until then, we go back and stakeout Moreau’s house.”
“I will take the ship,” said U-Jin.
“You can’t do it alone, brother,” said Hunter. U-Jin stared at him and gave a short nod. Hunter turned to Brunson and Sonny. “You and you. Come with us.”
“Oh man,” smiled Sonny. “I’m getting the feeling that this will be a masterclass in special operations.”