Taken by E.M. Leya

CHAPTER TWELVE

The office building was a simple one-story building set in the middle of town. Next door was a small coffee shop, and to the other side, a tire center. There was nothing suspicious about it, but he hadn't really expected there to be. He'd driven by this place thousands of times and never thought much about it. Today, he was looking at everything. It wasn't as if he expected black-op snipers on the roof to welcome him, but he was sure they would not let this woman, Katie, put herself at risk without having some security around.

Coming in, he was the enemy and he understood that. They could easily kill him once they got all the information out of him. They had every right to. He'd let their friend suffer and didn't act right away. Hell, he'd let a lot of people suffer, and many die because he stood by thinking he was doing his job. Some job. He'd never felt right about this. It wasn't like his last undercover job where he'd watched drug deals go down and kept silent. This was way worse. He should have stopped it as soon as he'd learned just how bad it was.

Sweat dripped down his spine even though the air conditioner was on in the car. He was nervous. It was five minutes to six, and he was sure they were aware he was in the parking lot. No point in putting it off. His fate was sealed. This would either go well and they'd rescue Trenton and the others or this would be the last thing he ever did, and hopefully, they'd still rescue everyone.

He was going in unarmed. He didn't want to come across as a danger to anyone. He wanted to help. Anything he could do to ease the tension, he would, so they could focus on what was important.

Leaving the car, he slowly walked inside, carrying a small, wrapped gift. He'd actually taken time to think about what a psychologist might like. He ended up getting her a simple paperweight with an angel on it. He wanted this to appear as real as possible, and that meant him going out shopping for a gift.

The main door was unlocked and he opened it to step into the lobby. He looked around, finding the main reception desk empty. But that wasn't a shock. It was a weekend. Even if she was taking clients on a Saturday, the receptionist would be taking the weekend off.

The sound of a door opening had him turning. He found an older woman standing in the doorway, looking him over. "Aunt Katie." He forced a smile to his face. "Happy Birthday." He took a couple of steps toward her and offered her the gift.

"Come into the office." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She turned, without taking the gift.

His pulse raced. Once he was in that office, his fate was sealed. He took a deep breath and followed her in.

The moment he was through the door, strong arms grabbed him. The gift went flying as he was flung hard against the wall, and a strong arm was up against his throat.

"Pat him down," a gruff voice commanded.

Hands traveled over him, searching for a weapon. His wallet was pulled from his back pocket and tossed onto the desk. Ben tried to focus, but the muscular arm was blocking most of his view. He saw tattoos and what looked like a thick beard, but nothing else. He knew better than to fight. This was their show. He'd do whatever they said.

"Do you know where Trenton is?" Another male voice asked from his side.

He tried to turn his head but couldn't. "Yes, I'm here to tell you everything." His words came out raspy due to the pressure on his throat.

"Ease up, Xan. Let's hear him out. He's clean. No weapons or anything."

"What's your name?" Katie's soft voice surprised him.

As the pressure eased on his neck, Ben saw she held his wallet and was looking at his driver's license. "On there, I'm Ben Radcliff. In the real world, I'm Detective Benton Sills." He rubbed his neck.

"A fucking cop." The large, tattooed guy shook his head. "Just great."

"I was a fucking cop too at one point, remember that." The other guy moved into Ben's line of sight.

"Noam…" Ben gasped in shock.

"Hey, Ben. Not quite how I thought we'd meet up again." Noam waved his hand. "Take it easy, Xander. I know this guy. We've worked together in the past." Noam nodded to a long couch. "Take a seat. We have a lot of questions."

"I have a lot of answers." He took a seat, still on full alert, but calmer having someone he knew around. "You retired."

"In a sense. I work with a contracted team made up of mostly off-duty cops who pose as kids to catch online pedophiles. It's sanctioned through the department." Noam stared at Ben, taking in every inch of him. "What they got you doing now?"

He had no reason to lie or even think about what he was going to say. If he was going to do this and try and save everyone, he had to tell them everything. "Trafficking ring. A big one. Was supposed to be in and out, but it's lasted several months now with no sign it's ending. That's why I'm here."

"Trenton is there?" The tattooed guy asked.

"Yeah, brought in a few weeks ago. He's weak and been abused, but okay otherwise. He knows I'm here. Told me how to contact you guys when I asked."

"He told you about us?" The big guy narrowed his eyes.

"He told me to research Dyson and I'd know who his team was. He caught on right off that I was a cop. When I learned the department planned on continuing the undercover sting even longer, I told him I'd contact you guys to put an end to it."

"So you know what I do?" The bearded guy asked in a dangerous tone.

"I do and it's nothing more than the bastards deserve." Ben met his gaze and held it. "The shit I've seen makes me sick. I thought we were taking them down within a few weeks, but now it's been months and they told me yesterday they are continuing the sting for a few more weeks at least. Then Trenton tells me that Chief Jones is involved and was one of the men who has raped him this week."

"Fuck," Noam growled.

"I can't do it anymore. Either we come up with a way to save them all or I go in and kill them all so they don't suffer anymore. I can't keep watching this go on." Ben fisted his hands in his lap.

"Boys, if I may…" Katie moved closer then took a seat in one of the oversized chairs. "How about we start at the beginning so we don't miss anything?" She nodded to Noam and Xander to sit. When they did, she continued. "Where is Trenton being held?"

"One of the large mansions up near the observatory. It looks like any big home, but the rooms are all used for…" He sighed. "The basement has large chain-link cages. Women, men, and kids. Young kids too. We're talking toddlers. I can give you the full layout, let you know where all the security cameras are that I know about. I'll tell you everything I know."

"Who runs it?" Noam asked.

"A guy named Isaac Rodriguez. He's Mexican and has ties to cartels just over the border, but he also trades with Canada, and I hear there is a man from Spain coming in soon to make a large purchase." Ben noticed the two other men exchange glances.

"Address of the place?" Bearded guy asked.

"Open the gift I brought. I wanted to make sure you got everything even if you killed me first thing. The address is there with names and maps I drew. There's also a list of rich and elite customers who frequent the rooms upstairs. Including several governors and senators." Ben watched as Katie got up and picked the gift off the floor. "If you have someone that's good with maps, I can give you more info. I'm afraid my drawings are a bit elementary, and I don't know if my devices are tapped so I don't dare search for stuff online," Ben told them.

"We'll handle it as long as we know the address, but I might have you sit down with someone for the inside layout," The tattooed guy said.

"What is your name or what can I call you?" Ben asked him.

"My name is Xander."

Ben nodded.

"How bad of shape are the hostages in?" Noam asked.

"Physically, it's what you would expect, bruises, tearing, malnourished. They drug them with a mixture of heroin and something else to keep them calm. It knocks them out for a few hours usually, but eventually, they start to crave it. Some of the guards use it more than others, but everyone there has been drugged a few times." Ben glanced at Katie. "Mentally, they're all pretty fucked up. Most have given up hope and just do as they're told, but there's no light in their eyes. The kids are the worst, at least to me. Trenton's held up better than most. He keeps quiet, does what they tell him, so he doesn't get beat or drugged as often as some. Most of his injuries come from when he's called upstairs for the night."

"How do they decide who goes upstairs?" Katie asked.

"There's a binder of photographs. The clients pick who they want and what they want them for. Some like to buy two women together for the night, others like bondage, others like darker things." He looked at the men, unable to say more in front of Katie.

"You mean snuff fantasies?" She asked.

He swallowed hard and nodded. "Only one or two clients are into that, one being a senator. Still, I worry every time they take someone upstairs, it's for one of them."

Katie wrote something down. "Ben, I've heard it all. I've counseled these men for years and also helped many victims. I appreciate you trying to respect me and all, but we need to know everything."

"Sorry, Ma'am." He sighed. "It's hard enough for me to come to terms with what I've seen, let alone tell others about it, but you're right, you need to know everything."

She smiled. "And when this is done, you're more than welcome to come sit with me and I'll help you talk through all you've seen. Free of charge."

"Thanks." Ben couldn't imagine sharing half of the things he'd seen with her, but he respected the hell out of her for offering.

"Back to Trenton, did he say anything else? Give you any messages for us?" Xander asked.

"Only one if I needed to use it. I guess he knew they'd send you and he told me to tell you he said to back off. He knew you'd be out for blood and figured you'd take it out on me."

Noam and Katie laughed, but Xander looked stunned. "I just had to make sure that you weren't armed, nothing more."

"Which I expected. Also why I didn't relay his message." Ben stared at Xander. "I know you guys are pissed, and you have every right to be. I should have done this months ago when I first started wondering why the sting wasn't ending and I was watching people being shipped out of the country. I don't have any excuse other than I trusted my superiors and I shouldn't have. I will still go in and do my job, act like I'm there for the sting, but I'll be there trying to find a way to rescue everyone and shut the whole operation down. My loyalties are not with the department, they are with whoever is going to put a stop to this."

"That would be us," Noam said confidently. "Katie, you writing things down?"

"I am, but we also have everything being recorded."

Ben wasn't surprised.

"Then let's talk numbers." Noam started asking questions about how many people were being held, how many guards worked each shift, how many people worked upstairs, and a million other things that Ben had almost all of the answers to.

It was nearly eight before Xander stopped them. "We need to let Ben go in case he's been followed. Two hours visiting an aunt is a bit much." He stood. "Are you worried about your safety?"

"Not at the moment. Once this all goes down, I might be on someone's hit list, but more likely the departments instead of the traffickers."

"Traffickers will be dead," Xander promised.

"That works for me." He gave them his phone number, reminding them his phone was probably tapped and to use Katie if they had to get him any messages. "If we are coming in, I'll have Katie simply message you, It's a perfect fit. If you get that, know that we'll be coming in hard just after midnight and you need to prepare Trenton for us."

"I'm not there at night, but I can be if you want another set of hands when you go in," Ben offered.

"Thanks, but I'm glad you won't be there. It's one less friendly we need to watch for. This will be different than our other stings. We're going in hard and leaving them dead. We aren't going to waste time. It's too big of an operation. I wish we had a way to let Trenton know when we're coming, but he'll be ready no matter when we show." Noam frowned. "Unfortunately, planning something this big might take a few days, so when you do talk to him again, tell him to hold on and stay strong, we are coming for him. We're going to need to talk to you a bit more too, but I need to meet with our team and decide on a plan before we get to the rest of the details."

"I'm with Trenton from seven to three tomorrow, then free to meet up or talk," Ben told them.

Xander handed Ben a cell phone. "It's secure and has a number to reach the team. Keep it someplace secure and check it when you get off work. We are going to move fast on this. We may need to meet with you tomorrow night."

"That's fine. You tell me when and where. Just be alert I don't know if Isaac has me followed, especially if the chief has let him in on the fact we're working undercover. Honestly, I'm a bit shocked I'm still alive."

"Which is another reason we need to get this done quickly. Every detective in there is in danger." Noam shook his head. "I never liked Peters, but I didn't expect this."

"Yeah, it caught me off guard too. I swear I'll find a way to bring him down once I make sure the trafficking ring is stopped."

"We'll help. We have resources most don't, and we know what to look for. If he has skeletons in his closet, we'll find them," Xander promised.

"If this list is correct, the team will have enough work to last the next few years." Katie held up the paper that was wrapped inside the gift.

"Yeah, it's a list of well-knowns. I'd like to see them all burn in Hell." Ben meant every word. "Any other messages for Trenton?"

"Just tell him we love him and we're on our way. We'd come tonight if it wasn't so dangerous. Tell him Faith is planning on cooking his favorite meatballs. That should give him something to look forward to." Xander grinned. "Just let him know Faith is waiting for him. She made it and so can he. We'll be there as soon as we can. He knows how we work."

"I'll pass it along, and thank you. I was worried I'd have to figure this out alone."

"Never leave a man behind isn't just for the military." Xander gripped Ben's shoulder. "Thanks for coming to us. You might have saved his life."

"I hope so. I worry every night he won't be there when I get there the next morning." Ben turned to Katie. "Thank you. You're more than an aunt to these guys."

"They're my family." She nodded to the door. "Be safe out there. We'll hang around here long enough to make sure the coast is clear. Call me if you need anything. Tell Trenton I love him."

"I will." He had to get out of there before his guilt killed him. Trenton had so many people worried about him, and so did every other person being held with him. How many people's lives were affected because he'd been too scared of losing his job to speak out sooner and do something? He was done. As far as he was concerned, he no longer wore a badge. He'd wait until this was over to officially leave, but his loyalty was no longer to his department, it was to the victims he should have stood up for sooner.