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“Okay, I’m in my personal vehicle now. My suspicions about the local office are right?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. We located the compound that the Ricketts brothers are using to run their trafficking ring. We’ve laid eyes on one woman so far, but I have a feeling that all three houses on the property are full. I saw two agents getting out of an agency-registered SUV,” I explained.
“Damn, that’s pretty ballsy. They must be confident that no one has any idea what’s going on.”
“It’s ballsy as hell. They were in uniform and everything. They didn’t bring anyone with them or appear to leave with anything more than they came with. This makes me question their motive for involvement and how deep this goes.”
He let out a frustrated sigh of his own. “That’s a question I wish I could help you answer. I think you are going to have to treat it as if it’s the whole field office, until we can prove otherwise. Just because an agent isn’t involved doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be sympathetic to his colleagues getting in trouble. Did you get any video?”
“Bob, you know I did,” I told him with a smirk.
“I know, I know, you’re one of my best. That would have been second nature to you. Have you opened an official investigation?” he asked.
“I’ve created the report, but I haven’t forwarded it yet. I’m torn between calling it complete and looking for more evidence. I was waiting for your directions on how to proceed,” I answered.
“What more evidence do you need? Once Brent Ricketts and his cronies are arrested, we can launch a full investigation into the ring and bring your findings about the office to the higher-ups,” he said.
“The problem is none of us have laid eyes on Brent Ricketts. We’ve only heard about his brother. I’m not even sure if Brent is on the island,” I said. I nervously fiddled with my fingernail, because the next admission was the most troubling to me. “I’m worried that the other agents might try to step in and stop us from raiding the compound. I want enough evidence so that they can’t possibly try to pin me with interfering in a made-up investigation. You know that they will do whatever they have to to get out of this. Even make a fake investigation and backdate it. They’ll spin the story to say that the video proves they were investigating a fake complaint called in. It’s all so infuriating, because I know exactly how they will try to fight this. The more evidence, the harder it will be for them.”
“We’ve always posed that risk, Abby. That’s what happens when you take on corrupt law enforcement. It doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. You just have to be ready to stand your ground.” His voice was so sincere and so passionate, I knew I had to try. “You have Jasmine and Jones’ crew there as witnesses. When it comes to the formal investigation, they will have some credibility with the department. Look at what they did in Vegas. Look at their impressive record of service to their country. You won’t simply be ignored. What you’ve done is impressive too.” His words helped ease my worries. He was right; they had to take this seriously. There were enough witnesses, and the bureau was already aware of Brent Ricketts from Robbie’s investigation. If there were ties found between Ricketts and agents, then that should be enough.
He continued on. “I took a look at the cases investigated and closed by the local office. They haven’t done anything of value in over three years. There’s a small drug bust here and there, and they occasionally catch someone trying to illegally smuggle goods, but that’s it. Nothing high profile, nothing related to missing persons or violent crimes on the island. That’s all shit that’s going to get looked at in the internal investigation.”
“How far will it go?” I’d never seen anything like this happen within the bureau before.
“It will go deep. They will conduct a probe into everyone’s finances, including yours. They will do extensive interviews with you, the agents at the field office, and my assets. They’ll tear that office apart, sift through all the records, all their cases and investigations, and it will happen quickly. One day everything is normal, and the next the investigator arrives with his crew, confiscates phones, electronic devices, and computers. They’ll shut down the office, and the officers will be instructed to go home and wait and not to contact each other. There will be agents watching them, and the full hammer of justice will come down on them when it’s discovered they were aiding and abetting a human trafficking ring.”
“So I can expect the same treatment?” I asked.
“No, not at first. You’ll submit the report, and they’ll let you know what actions they are going to take. Like I said, they’ll review your finances to make sure you aren’t being bribed into doing this, they’ll interview you, and they’ll give you instructions to follow. You probably won’t be allowed to contact me or my assets.”
The idea of that hurt, but it would be for the best anyways. I was going to need to make a clean break from the group after the investigation was over. The longer I stayed and called them my friends, the harder it would be to turn my back on them and walk away.
“Be ready, because you are going to get mixed reactions from your peers. You’ll have colleagues telling you how brave you were, and others will call you a snitch,” he warned. He sounded just as pissed about the accusation as I felt.
“That’s nothing new. I get the same reactions from civilians,” I countered.
“Then you’ll be prepared. You’re sure the local agents don’t suspect anything is amiss?” Bob questioned.
“Not that I know of, but I’m not perfect. The fact that we can only confirm one Ricketts brother is here makes timing and arrests kind of tricky,” I added. “I’m worried about tipping off the rich asshole and then us never finding him. Yet I know we need to step in and rescue anyone held captive in those houses.” It felt good to voice all my concerns to someone who would understand them, someone with a law enforcement background. My mentor.
“We’ll worry about him later. We both know we need to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of the captives. Our arrest of this ring will also come under scrutiny during the investigation of the other office, so it needs to be as by the book as we can get. We will have to tie these two crimes together and explain that you didn’t involve the local agency because you suspected they were aiding and abetting, and that’s why you submitted a report to me. I’ll authorize the assistance of the agents from our office out of precaution and go from there. I’ll send them out on the next flight. But let me be clear, if you see the traffickers trying to transport the women tonight, step in, even if we haven’t arrived yet. The guys could be on record as assisting you with the arrests as private citizens, and they’d be protected because it was with your permission. Putting the health and safety of the victims first will be the right call in the higher-ups’ eyes. As for Brent Ricketts, there will be plenty of fish to fry when you make arrests. They may be willing to share what they know and cut deals. The man won’t be able to hide forever. We’ll freeze his accounts and he’ll eventually have to crawl out from the rock he’s hiding under.”
“You’re right, and the sooner we conduct the arrests, the less chance we have of the field office figuring out what we are up to,” I added.
“Exactly, we don’t need them to forge any documents to cover their asses. If only two officers showed up, and they didn’t take anything with them, they weren’t there investigating. They were likely negotiating something,” Bob commented.
“Exactly, they were there for two minutes tops,” I added.
“When are you going back to the compound to watch?”
“Tonight,” I answered.
“Okay. Do me a favor. When you hang up with me, finalize the report. Send me all the supporting evidence you have. I’ll be on the next flight out with more agents.”
“Okay, I will.” I let out a deep breath.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
