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“Oh thank goodness, Angel, I knew someone would come for me. Tell these brutes that they’ve made some kind of mistake.” It pissed me off how easily he could fake it to my very face even after being caught.
“My husband doesn’t make mistakes.” The urge to stab him through the eye twitched at my fingers. The knives were right there, sitting pretty on a table less than three foot from me along with other little devices I had requested.
“Husband? I didn’t think your mother was going to go through with her plan. Listen, I tried to—”
Tired of hearing his pathetic words, I quickly grabbed a small knife off the table and held it up to the underside of his chin. “The only words I want to hear coming out of your mouth next is the reason why you decide to work with that bitch. Anything else, and you’ll start losing fingers by the bone. So, talk.” Of all the people to betray my father, Dr. Hosti was the last on my mind because of his relationship with my father.
Letting out a shaky voice, he tried to lean away from the blade as he spoke, “I had no choice. Your mother—”
“Stepmother.” I corrected him with a scowl as I continued to press the blade against him.
His Adam's apple slowly moved with his nervous gulp. “Stepmother.” He looked at me with fearful and apologetic eyes when he corrected himself.
Taking in a nervous and shaky breath, he continued, “She forced my compliance, she was going to take my wife and daughter and put them in the auction if I didn’t do what she wanted. I didn’t want to do what I did to your father, I really didn’t, but I can’t let something likethathappen to my wife, and especially my daughter.” He shook in his seat, his terrified eyes bouncing between me and the knife.
“Auction? What auction? And you could have came to me, told my father about that witch’s plans.” This was the first time I heard of this auction, and I could only hope his answer wouldn’t be what I thought.
“I wanted to, but she had them stashed somewhere, and I couldn’t risk it. Please, you have to understand. I can’t risk their lives like that, you have to understand, please. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I knew I damned their lives.” He rambled, thrashing a bit in his seat against his bindings.
“Does she still have them? And you still haven’t told me about this auction.” Even if what he did was wrong, I couldn’t fully hold it against him if he was backed into a corner like that.
“Please, I’ll tell you what you want to know, just put the knife down, please.” He begged, still looking at me with those shaky eyes of his as I glared at him.
Gritting my teeth, I dug the tip of the knife into his jaw, just slightly. “And how do I know you won’t lie just to escape somewhat unscathed? You’re a little too cooperative right now, and I don’t like that.” People would do anything to save their own skin, and right now I wouldn’t be surprised if he started to spew lies to try and work on my good side.
“I have no point in lying to you now. My family is safe, I’ll tell you what you want to know, just promise me you’ll let me go after this, please. Please, I just want to disappear with my family after all this time, please.” He whimpered while trying to jerk his head away from me.
“Start talking. I want it all, from the beginning.” I don’t move the knife, keeping it planted at his jaw to remind him of the threat before him.
Dr. Hosti was quick to move his lips, “Your stepmother needed your father out of the way when he found out about her involvement with human trafficking. He was about to cut her out of everything, so she approached me and demanded that I put him out of commission until she figured out a permanent plan. I refused at first, but then she kidnapped my wife and daughter and threatened to put them into her auction. She’s kept them hostage this whole time, I only managed to get them to safety recently, which is why I was running when I was picked up.”
I didn’t detect any lies from him. What he said was highly plausible, and the part about my father would have been true because he had a rule about no forced prostitution or anything with human trafficking. It was one of the biggest rules he had, and if he found anyone breaking that rule then he would break all their bones and leave them for dead. I also knew my stepmother took up human trafficking as a main way to get her gains, and it only grew once my father was in his coma.
“What is this auction you speak of? I’ve never heard of it.” Was this the missing piece that’s been hiding from me? I knew she trafficked people, had brothels that stood as fronts for the abhorrent business, but an auction?
“It’s something she keeps under tight wraps and out of the triad books at all cost. She keeps the people she deems high quality or those of high profile that she kidnaps, and twice a month she holds this auction event to sell them off to the highest bidders. She auctions off other things like stolen artwork and such, but the people are what brings the sick fucks to the event. They go there to buy what’s considered the best of the goods, and to witness other unsavory events that happen down there like the cat fights or the live torture. Words can’t even begin to describe the monstrosity that happens down there.” Well, unless he got his rocks off of telling elaborate lies and stories, it was the truth. At this point, I was inclined towards the latter because that was one fucked up story to lie and weave.
“Where does this auction happen? How does one get in?” This was it. If I could get the information needed then I could take her down. If she went through all that effort to keep everything from the triad then it would be crippling once I yanked it from under her.
“The Catacombs, and it’s invitation only besides her, the guards she employs, and her suppliers.” The look of defeat in his eyes as his body became more laxed was telling enough that he spilled the truth.
“My father decommissioned The Catacombs long ago and cut off access to it.” The place was practically destroyed if I remember correctly. I recalled sitting in the car with my father, watching the place go up in flames from a safe distance.
Shakily, the doctor replied, “She restored it in secret. That’s where she holds everyone and everything for the auction.” Hearing this pissed me off.
How the hell had she been doing all of it right under our noses?! Maybe I underestimated her by far if she managed to restore an underground facility and run a successful black market auction out of it. And here I thought taking her down would be as simple as ABC.
Well fuck me.
“What do you know about the participants? The guests? What about her suppliers?” Seems like Dr. Hosti was the only source for information I had right now, so might as well milk him for all he’s got.
“Politicians, business mongols, other mafia leaders. Too many to name, but if they’re a big player with a background then chances are that they participate. As for her suppliers, there are very few, only three that I know of: Lilian Wu, Ramon Cortez, and recently Ivan Petrov. Those three constantly supply her with means for her auction for a cut of the profits and some business on triad territory.” The names came as no surprise to me, but the fact there were so many people working with my stepmother only aggravated me more.
Gritting my teeth, I twirled the knife in my hand after standing up straight. Then, with a deep exhale, I stabbed it through his hand out of anger, making him fill the air with his pained scream. Sighing deeply, I pulled the knife out and held it back under his chin after leaning back down so my face was leveled with his.
“If I find out any of the information you gave me is bad, then I’m coming back to break a bone for each bad piece.” Just because he spilled what I needed didn’t mean he was free to go, yet.
“You can’t keep me here! What about my family!?” He started to panic and thrash around in his seat again, causing the knife to dig further into him.
