Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
EREZ
Over the next two weeks, we take turns watching the feeds go down on a predictable schedule. We’ve made sure that we get at least two of our own cameras stationed facing the doors during the scheduled outages, so we always have eyes on the businesses.
What we’ve watched is… unsettling. A whole host of different men arrive at the animal shelter and leave with children they didn’t come with.
They’re returned to a different facility later.
The child is dropped off, and the man leaves empty-handed.
This usually takes place in the dead of night, but there are times when they walk in during daylight hours carrying a presumably “sleeping” child in their arms.
My stomach flips and rolls. The constant taste of bile coats my mouth as I watch this pattern over and over again.
Lanzo is the only one unbothered by what we’re seeing, so he’s been running facial recognition on the men taking the kids and returning them.
He’s also running the faces of the children through missing people cases from around the country when they’re visible, which isn’t often.
It didn’t take us long to note that the kids’ faces are almost always covered, angled down, or shifted in such a way that no one sees them.
One of the kids was returned to the shelter in a fucking dog kennel. I wouldn’t have necessarily thought what I witnessed was anything more than a pet being surrendered except that I saw little fingers poking out of the holes on the side.
“We have to do something about this,” I say.
Fade’s hand rests hot on my back. It burns through my shirt, leaving my skin feeling blistered.
My brain refuses to imagine Alice in this situation.
There has to be another reason Alice painted this.
She saw it happening. She witnessed it. She can’t have been treated this way. She was a fucking child!
Just as the thought flutters through my mind, desperate to take root as truth, a truck pulls up to the animal shelter.
A man roughly drags a little girl from inside, and I can practically hear her screaming as she struggles to get away.
He yanks her hair to force her forward, and for just a second, the man who handled Alice that way in the alley flashes in my mind.
“We have to stop it,” I reiterate. “Now.”
Beside me, Fade nods his agreement.
“I know this is hard to hear and we’re putting the kids through more, but we can’t yet. There’s a hole here. We’re missing businesses,” Zephyr says.
“What?”
“Some of these kids don’t leave from anywhere that we’re recording.
Some of the men who drop off kids aren’t picking them up from the shelter.
That means we’re missing at least one more location.
We need to get them all, or they’re just going to pick up and move again, forcing us to start over. More kids keep suffering.”
“What about the ones we already see?” I insist.
“What about the ones who are… taken out while the businesses are dealt with?” Fade asks. “What will happen to them?”
“Exactly,” Zeph answers. “We need to hold off.”
“Zeph—”
“I know,” he says quietly, cutting off my words.
“Trust me, I’m having a difficult time convincing myself that we can’t move yet, but the bottom line is we don’t have the full picture.
If we save these kids, what about the ones whose location we don’t know?
How many more are there that we haven’t found? ”
“This is a bigger operation than we can handle on our own,” Lanzo says.
He’d been sitting quietly in the corner of the room with his tablet.
When I turn my attention to him, I find he’s watching me.
“I suggest,” he begins carefully, emphasizing the second word, “that we bring in more people. There are five locations so far, and we need a simultaneous take-down, as well as people to follow the men who have rented children at the time of our attack.”
I’m not the only one who flinches at hearing “rented children” stated in his even tone. Even though my stomach gives a violent lurch, I know that’s not the point he wants me to focus on. He wants me to note that he’s making a suggestion, not taking this into his own hands.
Whoever made the observation that antisocial disorders adapt to expectations needs a raise. That’s exactly what Lanzo is doing right now. I’m sure he has a plan in mind, but he’s sitting there and waiting for my answer first.
“Can we not refer to the victims as rented children?” Fade asks, sounding queasy.
“Isn’t that what they are?” Lanzo asks, frowning.
“They’re victims,” Fade says. “Let’s just call them victims.”
Lanzo raises one shoulder. “Sure. Victims. If that makes you feel better.”
Fade scowls at him. It certainly doesn’t make him feel better that Lanzo agrees to different labels.
Lanzo’s observations were probably accurate.
I’m sure these kids are… borrowed by these disgusting men in exchange for money, so I understand why he chose the words he did.
Lanzo speaks the truth as he sees it without understanding the need for sensitivity.
I once thought living in Lanzo’s mind would be fascinating, but as I get older, I don’t think I’d enjoy going through life with no empathy.
“Lan is right,” Zephyr says after a minute. “From what I’ve noted with Aven’s help, there are, on average, a dozen kids out at any given time. If we include only the people in this room, we don’t have enough to be at each of the five known facilities.”
“We still haven’t seen how they’re moving kids from the drop-offs back to the animal shelter,” Lanzo notes.
“The animal shelter makes sense. It’s not quiet, and they tend to have an odor, no matter how clean they’re kept. It’s an optimal place for… this,” Fade says.
“I’m guessing the laundromats are a preferred business for this same reason—the abundance of soap and dry cleaning chemicals combined with the constant noise of washing and drying machines,” Zephyr says.
“Back to the operation conversation,” Lanzo says. “We need to expand the base.”
“I’m not agreeing to the fucking twins,” Zephyr says.
Lanzo looks at him for a second before meeting my eyes. “I don’t want them involved either, but it’s about having the right tools for the situation.”
“I have a feeling this is going to get me a lot of weird looks from you lot, but why aren’t we calling the cops?” Fade asks. “You have video evidence now.”
“Illegally placed video surveillance,” Lanzo says.
“But Zeph is a PI.”
“Still illegal,” Zephyr says. “I’d have had to get permits or have the law involved with reasonable evidence, and our dead sister’s art and journals aren’t going to cut it. Not unless she physically wrote down what happened to her, which she didn’t. All we have are the memories that haunted her.”
Fade sighs.
I shift in my chair to face him. “You don’t have to do this with me,” I tell him. “I know it’s… ugly and not what you signed up for.”
His shoulders relax, and he takes my hand. “I’m all about supporting you, especially when it’s so important, Erez. I’m not going anywhere. No matter how horrifying this gets.”
My head falls for a minute. I need to hide the relief that no doubt shows brightly on my face. I’d have understood if he wanted to get out of this. It doesn’t concern him, and it’s far more terrible than we ever imagined it could be.
“You’re such a good best friend,” Zephyr says, and I hear the smirk in his voice.
“The best,” I agree, then meet Fade’s eyes again. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re choosing to stay, but I will understand if you need to walk away at any time.”
Fade shakes his head, slightly amused but also resigned? Is that what I’m seeing? Resignation?
“Gently,” Lanzo says, as if he needs to make sure we understand the intent behind his following words, “can I bring us back on track?”
Zephyr huffs and rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, Lan. Sorry. Yes, you’re right. I’m guessing you have a plan that you’d like to share?” I say.
“I do,” Lanzo says. “We need to begin following the men who take the—” His eyes flick to Fade.
“—victims. I don’t mean we as in the four of us, but there must be a road crew or something.
We don’t know how the kids come into their possession, and we don’t know when or how they’re transported back to the shelter.
We also don’t know how many kids there are.
If we can find the vehicle or method of transportation, we can probably follow it back to any other businesses as well. ”
“This sounds like it could take a while,” I say.
“A short while,” Zephyr says. “Lanzo’s plan will help us expedite some of the information we need to gather by having feet on the ground. I’ll talk to Paisley.” He pauses. “I think maybe we need to get Grey involved too.”
“Why?” Fade asks. He looks a little spooked, and I have to cover my mouth to hide my laughter.
“Are you afraid of Grey?” Zephyr asks with a wide grin.
He snorts. “Yes. How are you not?”
Zeph and I laugh this time.
With a shrug, I answer, “We grew up with Grey. She’s less intimidating when you remember her being potty trained.”
Fade snorts.
“I’m going to tell her that,” Aven’s disembodied voice says into the room.
Zephyr sighs. “Fucking snoop,” he mutters.
The lights in the room flicker, making me pretty sure Aven is laughing at us.
“What other plans do you have?” I ask Lanzo.
“I anticipate we’re going to need to take into account the number of victims and have a place for them to go.
What will we do with them once we have them in our custody?
What will we do with the roster of men who…
” He trails off, eyes once more flicking to Fade.
“Is ‘borrow’ an appropriate term to use?”
Fade tries not to grimace at him again. “I don’t know. Just keep talking.”
Lanzo nods once. “How many will there be? Where will we store them? We will need to take possession of the buildings—do we do it legally or illegally? Let the operations run while we uncover the full reach of this guy? Speaking of the guy, how will we find the owner? Surely, he’s the one pulling the strings and allowing it to go on.
Then there’s the traffickers. We need to identify them, their hunting grounds, and deal with them. ”
“I can see why we can’t just go in right now,” Fade says, frowning. “I hadn’t thought of even a quarter of those things.”
“This isn’t my first day,” Lanzo says. “It’s yours.”
“You’re not a PI,” Fade says.
Lanzo stares at him, then his eyes are on mine, clearly looking for guidance as to what he’s allowed to say to Fade.
“Right now, I need you to pretend you have no questions,” I tell Fade, and he turns his full attention to me.
“I need you to proceed with the idea that everything we’re doing and will be doing is legal and we won’t turn any head in our direction.
I need you to trust that I won’t let you get into trouble. Okay?”
As he stares, I wonder what he’s thinking. His eyes search mine for a long time, and as the minutes stretch in silence, I’m very aware that more of Aven’s attention has been turned to the room, waiting for Fade’s answer. I’m pretty sure I can feel them hovering in the air like static electricity.
Fear grips my chest. Is he going to say no?
He can’t do that. I’d understand, of course, but the way my stomach clenches, I have a feeling it’s going to hurt if he does.
Which is stupid. What we’re unraveling is awful.
The more we know, the darker my nightmares become and the heavier my guilt settles on my shoulders.
I’ve grown used to Fade’s unwavering support in this. His constant presence. His comfort. It will likely feel like he punched me in the chest if he decides he doesn’t want any part of this anymore.
“Okay,” he says eventually.
“We’ll make sure you don’t see anything too traumatizing,” Zephyr says. “I can—”
“No,” Fade interrupts. “While I don’t know how I’m going to feel about feet on the ground when you’re ready to burn this whole thing down, I don’t want you to soften the information you share. I’m good.”
Zeph nods. “Cool. Lan, continue with your thoughts so we can make notes and determine who we need to involve in putting this team together.”
My brothers talk, and part of me appreciates that they’re getting along.
I’m sure it’s only going to last long enough for the duration of this project before Zephyr pushes Lanzo away again.
He’s putting his anger toward our brother aside while we put the puzzle of Alice’s early life together. I get that. I appreciate it.
But my attention is still on Fade. He looks between my brothers, listening silently, until he feels me watching him. The smile he offers isn’t of the same caliber that I usually receive. It’s genuine enough, I think, but I can feel his wariness.
“Are you sure?” I ask quietly so I don’t interrupt Lanzo and Zephyr’s conversation.
Fade cups the side of my head and rests his forehead against mine. I sigh. “I’m right here for whatever you need, Erez. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”
“That’s not really the part I’m asking about.”
“I know it’s not. I guess I’m not incredibly comfortable with what you’ve implied, but I’m not oblivious to the realities of the world, either.
I’ve seen how easy it is for the rich and male to get away with heinous shit.
Especially over the last two decades, this country has proven that it’s corrupt to its core.
With millions of pages of testimony, the wealthy still get off scot-free, while the victims continue to be questioned as if they’re the liars.
I get why you have no trust in the legal method. I don’t even disagree.”
“You’re uneasy about being involved,” I guess.
His finger rubs softly against my cheek. “In person at the scene, yes. I think I am.”
“You don’t have to be. There are always people staying behind and watching remotely,” I assure him.
“Always, huh?” he asks, and I hear a hint of teasing in his tone.
I think I just gave away that this isn’t anywhere near the first time that we’ve done something like this. Admittedly, I’m not usually more involved than listening to Zephyr recap when he needs an outlet to rant to, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen blood once or twice in my life.
“Trust me,” I urge. “I will always check in with your comfort and never put you in a position where you’re uncomfortable. I’ll never let you get in trouble with the law either. I promise.”
“I know, Erez. I trust you.”
His words make me smile, and another wave of relief washes over me.