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“Yeah, I just wish I knew more about the inside,” he said.
“Don’t we all?”
That got everyone to let out an uneasy chuckle. We all wished we knew more.
“Abby, you mentioned having some ideas on how to proceed?” Adam asked.
He gave me a tender look, which pierced me through the heart. I knew what he really wanted from me, and it was more than my ideas on how to safely breach the compound. He wanted my heart, and I couldn’t let him have it. After we brought down this trafficking ring, I was going to have to leave and make a clean break. It would break me, but he’d move on.
I nodded. “We can’t just go guns blazing because we want to. We have evidence that someone is being held captive, and some substantial evidence to document that the local office could be in on this. Bob will bring in agents from my office, people who can be trusted. The agents and I will raid the compound. You guys can remain behind to assist with the victims. I’m assuming there will be a lot of them.”
Jasmine didn’t look happy about the proposal.
“I get it, not everyone trusts the bureau, but my office will make sure that this is done right. There’s no hesitation, no need for more evidence to prove there is trafficking. We’ve got it. At the very least there is clearly a woman being held captive in that house, and that’s enough for the agency. However, if the traffickers try to move the victims before my team arrives, then I propose that under the cover of night we do the exact opposite of what Bob did in Vegas. If I was there, and not undercover at the time, I would have never let that fly. I don’t know what Bob was thinking with that stunt. Stealth is the mission. We put silencers on our weapons and we need vests. We wait until we have evidence they are moving the victims before we step in. At the same time, one person clears out the gun shed, and Christine and Jasmine stay with the yacht. If all of this does go down, we are going to need someone to drive it and someone to take the speed boat if they need to,” I said.
Neither of the other women looked happy to be left on the boats, but they didn’t fight me on it. It wasn’t because they were women; that would be so hypocritical it would be sickening. Neither of them were trained with guns and close-quarters combat like I or the guys were. I’d spent years training, and they’d spent months.
“Only if we have to act, we breach the houses in teams of two. All at the same time, much like we did the offices of the resorts. We don’t want to give the others time to communicate and prepare if we go in one house at a time. By the time we clear one house, the other two could have already fled, and then we’re shit out of luck because we won’t find them again. They’ll be careful after that,” I added.
“Don’t you think teams of two are too small?” Jasmine asked.
“No, if you get too many of us crammed into one house, we are at risk of friendly fire. We’ll clear the houses one room at a time, just like they were trained to,” I said.
“She is right. We don’t want to be tripping over each other. With teams of two, with one person can clear the shed, leaving one of us as a spare to act as backup if needed. Once the shed is clear, there will be two backups,” Jones said.
“I say that we leave a note in the garden to see if we can get any assistance from the women inside. Maybe they can unlock a door to make it easier for the FBI to get in, or us if we end up having to intervene,” Christine said.
She had a valid suggestion. It would also help them keep calm if they knew help was coming, but it was a risky move. What if the traffickers found the note instead?
“Let’s see how it goes. We can leave a note hidden in the garden, but if they don’t come out tomorrow to tend to it, Bob won’t care. We aren’t waiting around any longer. We don’t want to chance them trying to leave and making anything else more complicated,” I said.
“Fair enough,” Christine responded. She was pleased that I was willing to give her idea a shot. I wondered if she was used to having the guys shoot down her ideas.
“All right, let’s come up with a message to put in the note. When nighttime rolls around, we’ll tuck it into the garden,” Guy said.
He pulled out a piece of paper from a notebook.
We ended up writing the words,“Rescue coming soon. Leave a door or window unlocked if you can. Don’t tell the assholes.”
“So after we plant the note, we wait until Bob’s team arrives. If the Reapers try to move the women, we will breach the compound with or without the FBI,” Yates said.
“Yes. I’m going to text Bob so he can mobilize a team.”
I sent Bob a text and waited for him to respond. “In the meantime, let’s see what we can find out about the other Ricketts brother. Surprisingly, we haven’t seen Ricketts yet, or anything else that puts him here on the island.” I also needed to do more investigating of the local FBI office. I had circumstantial evidence, but I really needed something concrete that linked them to the compound. I needed something damning.
“You’re right, it is strange that we haven’t spotted him at all. Guys like him would be flaunting his money in the richer parts of the island. I haven’t heard his name come up in conversation with any of the locals. Are we sure he’s even here at this point?” Guy asked.
“He’s got real estate all over the world. How easy would it be for him to just charter a private plane and hop to another country?” Adam asked.
“I’d say pretty fucking easy. The problem I keep circling back to is that this guy has too much money. What would be his motive for human trafficking anyway? He’s not someone trying to climb a metaphorical ladder like Robbie was. The asshole is a real-estate tycoon. He makes more in real estate than he would in trafficking, right?” Jones asked.
“What if all of the property investing is a front? What if he invests the trafficking money into real estate so that no one questions where the money is coming from? You just assume someone with his wealth makes it all from the properties. What if that isn’t the case?” Yates said.
“What good does it do him to continue when we know for a fact he is making money off this real-estate venture? We have the tax records to prove it,” Guy said.
“What’s his lifestyle like? Who does he send money to? Does he owe anyone? All of those could be incentives. Take a look at his brother. Maybe he plays a role in the why aspect,” Yates suggested.
“Whatever his deal is, he’s getting into one of the cars and leaving,” Garcia said through the radio.
