by Robin Mahle
A moment later, the door to the warehouse opened and the first to appear was James Corbett. His arm was linked with one of the girls as he propped her up, the effects of the drugs still weighing heavily on her.
Kovac followed with another young woman.
Kate looked at the faces of these girls. They had to have been in their late teens or early twenties. Seeing the marks on their faces and incoherent movements made her pulse rise even more. “We’ve got to go get them now.”
“Wait.” The firm command from Nick was issued. “Who the hell is that?”
The unknown vehicle continued to approach and was nearing the other two cars.
“Anyone else have eyes on this vehicle?” Nick lowered the radio, waiting for a response.
“We see it. Don’t know who it is. I thought all the players were already here,” the agent in the second car answered.
The mysterious car stopped just feet away from the van that Corbett and Kovac were now moving towards. They appeared unfazed, as though this arrival was completely expected.
A stocky, muscular man stepped out of the car, tossing his cigarette to the ground. He moved towards Corbett, who now shoved the girl inside the van. The two began exchanging words.
“What the hell are they saying?” Nick’s eyes searched the area as if that alone would allow him to listen in on the conversation. “Goddammit. What the hell’s happening? Who the hell is that?” He engaged the radio. “Can anyone ID this son of a bitch?”
Mercer stepped outside the building, but he was not transporting any of the girls. It seemed that was left to his subordinates. He moved towards the unknown subject. A moment later, Corbett retreated back inside to get the final asset to the van.
“They’re coming back out,” Dwight said. “How many they got in there?”
“Don’t know, but we’ll know pretty damn quick if they close the van doors,” Nick replied. “Everyone in position.” Nick pressed on the radio once again.
“We’re going in?” Jameson asked.
“There’s too many, we need to be on the ground for assistance,” Nick replied.
Kovac stood at the back of the van, while Corbett started to move towards the men.
“This is it. Move!” Nick pushed open his door and leapt out of the SUV. “Stay here!” he shouted to Kate.
Dwight flung his door open and then dashed to the side of the building behind Nick.
She couldn’t just stay there while everyone else was risking their lives. If Nick believed she would stay put, then he truly didn’t know her at all. Maybe it was the sense of safety the Kevlar vest strapped to her offered, but the adrenaline that coursed through her veins begged her to leap out and help those girls and her team. She rushed out moments behind Dwight and headed towards them.
The first team was situated in the front and was also now in position. The final team was stationed on the east side of the building and all waited for the go.
“Move, move, move!” Nick drew his weapon and ran to the end of the building. He turned to see Kate trailing behind. “Damn it! Get back in the car!” But it was too late; their presence had become known. “FBI. Don’t move!”
The men pulled their weapons and ran for cover behind the opened car doors. The rest of the team quickly appeared, flanking Scarborough, Jameson, and now Kate.
This wasn’t a drill, these were not paid actors, and the threat to their lives was very real. Kate’s gun was drawn. She did not shake, she did not waver. Her aim was dead onto Corbett and she would pull the trigger and take him down if she had to.
The agents scattered to various locations that offered cover while bullets sliced through the air. Some striking the van, some bouncing off the lampposts, clanging in their ears. Others sounded as they slammed into the water off the edge of the pier, leaving behind mini bursts of spray in their wake.
“Kate, find cover,” Nick shouted as he continued evading bullets.
Another agent appeared from the right and fired on Mercer, but missed.
The unknown man pulled open the back door of his car and yanked out a small girl.
“Nicola!” Kate shouted.
“Get back!” Nick lurched in front of her.
The man pointed his gun at the girl.
“Hold your fire. Hold your fire.” Nick raised a hand and the bullets stopped.
“Let us go, or she dies,” the man said.
Corbett and Kovac were near his vehicle now, still shielded behind the opened driver door.
From the shadows just beyond the parked cars, Dwight appeared. He’d traversed the perimeter and made his way behind the suspects. Nick spotted him out of the corner of his eye.
Kate saw him too, but her focus was sharp and she’d stepped out from behind Nick’s protective cover and was ready to take down James Corbett if something happened to Nicola.
“Let the girl go,” Nick said. “Then we’ll talk about those girls you’ve got inside that van.”
“Yes, I’m sure you just want to talk, Mr. F-B-I,” Mercer’s voice sounded from behind the vehicle.
“I suggest you accept my proposal. This won’t end well for any of you,” Nick replied.
“Then it won’t end well for the girl,” Mercer said.
Nick shifted his gaze just slightly to the right, hardly discernable, except the man who held Nicola noticed. The subtle change in his expression meant Nick knew he saw it too. A slow blink of his eyes was all Jameson needed. Take the shot.
The man’s eyes widened, understanding that a signal had just been given, and he began to turn, but the shrill sound of gunfire pierced his ear and the bullet pierced his head. Nicola screamed as the man dropped to the ground, and she stumbled back.
This was her chance. Kate ran towards Nicola to keep her from being snatched up by the other men. She had only milliseconds before the bullets flew again. The girl called out for her and Kate ran as fast as she could. Shouts in the distance were coming from the other agents and she heard Nick telling her to stop. Dwight wasn’t far away, but it seemed he had his own problem right now.
Kovac began to fire again in fierce retaliation and his aim was on Dwight. A bullet struck the agent and, although he wore a vest, the force still knocked him down.
Kate grabbed Nicola and ran for cover behind the large concrete base of a light post. Corbett was taking shots at anyone within his reach, but was failing. Kate was only a few yards away from him. She could take the shot. “Don’t move,” she told Nicola as she began to emerge from behind the protective cover.
“No, please don’t! You’ll get killed!” Nicola cried out.
Kate turned to the girl, placing a finger over her lips and shaking her head. She recalled the words of her instructor and took aim. Corbett was sideways and taking the shot from this angle would be tough. She began to apply even, steady pressure to the trigger. The kickback was what she had to watch out for. The round fired off, leaving a trail of smoke. She had time to blink and then Corbett fell.
“All right, all right!” Mercer shouted as he watched his man fall. He raised his hands above the car door in surrender.
Nicola jumped into Kate’s arms, her eyes filled with tears, cold from fear and trembling.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, you’re safe now.” While she felt confident that was true, the residual effects of the adrenaline and fear that pumped inside her brought about a dizzying sensation, as though she might fold.
Nick had his sights on Kovac, who appeared to concede in defeat. “Drop your weapon.”
The rest of the team converged and began to secure the area and one of the agents relieved Kovac of his gun, placing him under arrest.
Nick approached Mercer, whose hands were still raised. “You’re under arrest for sex-trafficking and kidnapping and that’s just for starters.” He pulled Mercer’s arms down behind his back and cuffed him. “Let’s go take a look at your cargo and see your handiwork.”
Jameson, still laboring to breathe from the bullet’s impact to his vest
, managed to hand off the injured Corbett to one of the other agents and approached Kate. “She all right?”
“Yes. Are you?” Kate reached out to steady him.
“I just need a minute.”
Kate could see in his eyes that Dwight had been disappointed she’d ignored Nick’s demand to stay in the car. How much hot water this might put her in would be up to Nick, most likely. As the Agent-in-Charge, she disobeyed his direct order. “She said that man killed Gregor, and shot her mother, but he took her away and she doesn’t know if her mother is still alive. We should get her to the hospital.”
Dwight looked towards Scarborough and Mercer standing in front of the van. “We’ve got an ambulance coming now for Corbett. I’m going to need to help processing the scene. Why don’t you take her and I’ll check in with you when we’re finished here? Have another agent take you both.”
He wasn’t going to reprimand her, at least for now. Or maybe he was leaving it up to Nick. She’d taken Corbett out of commission and that meant she’d protected the team. That had to stand for something.
Kate directed Nicola to one of the agents’ cars. “Come on; I’m going to take you to see your mom.” Kate had no idea if her mother was still alive or not. A quick call to Detective Garrett would confirm the mother’s location.
“It’s Agent Reid. I’ve got Nicola Bjuric. She’s safe.”
“I just got the radio call about what happened down there. Everyone all right?” Garrett asked.
“Our guys are fine. The man who took Nicola is dead. Corbett’s injured and we’ve got Kovac and Mercer in custody.”
“Son of a bitch. I don’t know how her mother’s doing, but her brother is dead. Head down to Miramond hospital. She’s there. I’ll meet you down there as soon as I can.”
Agent Scarborough pulled open the van doors and inside, three young women bordered on consciousness. “It’s okay, we’re here to help,” he said.
One of them looked to Mercer with uncertainty and fear.
“He’s not going to hurt you and neither is anyone else.”
» » »
Kate arrived at the hospital with Nicola and only the security guard at the check in desk was present. It hadn’t occurred to her the late hour, but on checking the time, she understood why he was the only one on duty.
“I’m Agent Reid. I need to see Gloria Bjuric. This is her daughter.” Kate showed her credentials that indicated she was a new agent in training, but this didn’t seem to concern the security guard. Perhaps it was the look on Nicola’s face that convinced him to let them through.
He punched in the name into his computer. “She’s out of surgery and is in room 234. Second floor and to the right of the elevators.”
Kate nodded. “Thank you.”
Nicola pushed open the door to her mother’s room and rushed to her side. “Mama.” She threw her arms around the frail, injured woman who had, in the span of just a few weeks, lost two of her three children and had survived a bullet to the shoulder.
Kate stepped out of the room and called Nick on her cell. “We’re here. Her mother’s out of surgery and seems to be doing all right. What’s happening over there? How is Agent Jameson doing?”
“He’s fine. Local PD is here helping, and we’re working on getting these girls to the hospital to get checked out.” He paused for a moment. “We’ve got Mercer. That’s the good news. We should be able to get a handle on this thing and shut it down. Are you okay?”
Kate knew he was referring to the fact that it had been her that fired on Corbett, injuring his arm. All that target practice and it turned out a real life target was much harder than paper. She wondered, though, if he would lecture her for disregarding his order. “I’m not sure yet. I can’t process everything right now.”
“It’ll take some time to get over the shock of it, but you did what you needed to do and you saved lives, including mine. We’ll talk later about why you didn’t stay in the car.”
“I’d better get back in there to make sure Nicola’s okay. I can’t imagine what her and her mother must be feeling right about now. You heading down here soon or should I meet you back at the station?”
“I’ll head back to the station with Mercer. We’ll book him into federal custody. Meet me there when you can.”
Kate placed her phone back into her pocket and stepped inside the hospital room once again.
Nicola turned to her. “Thank you, Agent Reid. You saved my life. My mother wants to thank you too.”
Kate moved towards the still trembling young girl. “I’m so sorry about your brothers, Nicola.”
The girl looked to her mother again. “She says we’re going to go back home. That there’s nothing left for us here. No future.”
The family had already lost so much, Kate understood why her mother felt this way. Hadn’t she left because everything had been taken from her?
» » »
It was four in the morning and any person in their right mind would have been exhausted, but Kate couldn’t stop replaying that moment in her mind when she pulled the trigger. The feel of the gun in her hands, the smell of the smoke as the bullet fired. The sight of him falling to the ground. She’d disabled him with a single shot. The only thing she regretted was not killing him.
“Hey,” Nick said.
She looked up from the chair in the lobby of the Richmond police station. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“The victims are being checked out now. Detective Garrett is with Kovac and Jameson is talking to Mercer. I’m going to have to get in there in a minute, but I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I missed curfew,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
“I think they’ll understand. Why don’t you go check into a hotel and get some rest? You must be exhausted.”
“No. I’m fine.”
“I’ll be finished here in about an hour and then we can drive back to Quantico. Can you hold out?”
“Yes. What’s going to happen to Mercer?”
“Hopefully, we’ll get enough information to shut this operation down. I’ve got a message in to Montrose in London.”
“Good. I hope we put that son of a bitch away for the rest of his life, and everyone else who’s involved in this.” The moment she pulled the trigger was the moment that Kate figured out who she really was. All the second-guessing, all the uncertainty of whether or not she had what it would take had all vanished. Kate knew exactly who she was now.
TWENTY-TWO
Fatigue finally caught up with her, and Kate had had enough time to shower before class by the time they’d reached base. But now, she listened as intently as she could, having promised Hawes there would be no more distractions, and she was fading fast.
“Kate? Kate, the lecture’s over,” Will said.
“Oh.” She looked to the front of the class and noticed the instructor packing up his things.
“Are you okay? I heard about what happened last night. I’m surprised you’re here.”
“I’m fine.”
“You say that a lot, don’t you?” Will led her from behind the row of desks. “Come on, why don’t I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Yeah, okay. I could probably use one of those.”
The three minutes to the coffee shop was walked in silence. She didn’t know what to say to Will or to anyone.
“Go and sit down. I’ll bring you a coffee.”
Kate did as he asked without specifying her preference for cream and sugar. That didn’t really matter right now.
“Here.” Will set the cup in front of her with a few packets of sweetener and cream. “I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I just got a little of everything.”
“Thanks, Will.” She sipped on the hot beverage only just now realizing she hadn’t eaten anything since about four o’clock yesterday afternoon.
“Well, you won’t have any trouble graduating now; not that I was really concerned to begin with, but I know you had your own doubts.”
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br /> “Why do you say that?” Kate replied.
“Really? You helped bring down a human trafficking ring. You don’t think you’ll get some recognition for that? Not to mention your last tactical test that you passed with flying colors. No, Kate. I don’t think you’ll have any problems finishing. And then you’ll be off working with Agent Scarborough in the D.C. office.”
In the grand scheme of things, her role was fairly insignificant and she could hardly take credit for bringing the operation down. At least, that’s how she saw it.
Kate looked at him for a moment and realized what this was about. Not that she’d been given an opportunity to work on an important investigation, but that it was with Nick and that she was going to be working with him. He still had feelings for her. “You’ll be working in Louisville, which is where you wanted to go. So I guess we’ll both get what we wanted.”
“I guess so.” Will turned toward the window and sipped again on his coffee.
“I can see you’re bothered by something. What is it?” She was going to have to get this out into the open once and for all. Too much had happened and the thought of pretending it didn’t exist seemed juvenile.
“What do you mean? I thought after last night, the least I could do would be to buy you a cup of coffee. Look, Kate, I’ve taken more lives than I care to remember. It’s not easy. I know that man you shot is still alive, but regardless, even shooting someone isn’t something you get used to. I just thought you might want to talk. I’m trying to be a friend here, that’s all.”
She felt ashamed for thinking he was displaying some sort of jealous tendencies. Of course he was being a friend. He’d been a friend to her since day one. And this was how she would repay him? Implying that he just couldn’t get over her? She looked away, embarrassed by her arrogance and began to absentmindedly stir her coffee. “I know you’re trying to help. And you’re right; it’s not something I think I would ever get used to. How do you do it, Will?”
“Do what? You mean live with it?”
