Sin (Sinclair O'Malley Book 1)

by J. M. LeDuc

  Sin knew this to be true but hearing it still hurt.

  “They would rather have the money we give them than their own childrens. When money is paid, they are merchandise,” he sneered. “If you kill me, what do you think will happen? Do you think this all go away?” he said. “Another one just like me is going to come along and do the same thing.”

  Sin ignored his last comment. “Tell me about the girl in the other room.”

  “Ahh,” he smiled. “She is special. She is to be a gift to El Presidente.”

  Sin shoved her gun forward, pressing the end of the barrel to Veloz’s forehead. “Who the fuck is El Presidente?”

  Veloz laughed. “If I told you, I would die a much worse death than you could ever imagine.”

  “What is the girl’s name?”

  “It will be whatever is chosen for her. For now it is Tia.”

  Sin kept a stone-cold demeanor, not letting on the name meant something to her. That was why Alejandra couldn’t find her daughter, she never left Nicaragua.

  Sin shook the thoughts from her mind. “I’ll ask you one more time, who is El Presidente?”

  Veloz spewed a frothy laugh. “You are very good at your job,” he said, “it’s too bad we couldn’t have worked together.”

  Sin held her pistol toward Veloz’s other leg. “I’m pretty sure I won’t miss from here. Care to change your answer?”

  Sin could see that Veloz’s color was completely ashen and looked cold and clammy. “I don’t know. All I know is that he is part of your own government and he calls the shots along with Black Widow.”

  “Stop with the bullshit and give me names.” She pressed the muzzle of the gun against his forehead.

  Veloz gurgled a blood frothed laugh. “Names? You know how game is played. If I knew names, I would be dead a long time ago.”

  Sin became flush with anger.

  She knew the mole had to be high up in the chain of command, but she didn’t know he was part of the human trafficking ring.

  Her expression must have given her away.

  “What’s the matter, Angel? They are no different than you or me,” he nodded toward the woman crawling on the carpet, “or the whore over there. We all want something and will do anything to get it.”

  His words got Sin’s attention. “Care to explain?” she said.

  Veloz, feeling superior for the first time in this exchange, sat a bit straighter. “The whore will do anything for her next high.” Sin followed his eyes. “Look at her, she will crawl naked across the floor just to try to get to the cocaine on the table. Pff,” he mumbled, “for the needle, she will spread her legs or open her mouth for anybody.”

  Sin watched the woman as she reached the table and stuck her face in a bowl of coke, snorting with her remaining strength. Lifting her head, she looked like a kid eating a powdered donut.

  “Me,” Veloz said totally unfazed, “I do what I do for power.”

  “You mean money,” Sin said.

  “You insult me, Angel. I have more money than I can ever spend. Power is my—how you say in English—my aphrodisiac. Drugs, girls, guns,” he paused, an evil expression flushed his complexion, “they are all the same to me—merchandise. I go where the power is.”

  “That’s why you’re switching to guns?”

  “That, and these sick bastards,” he said. “Even I don’t like what they do with the girls.”

  His words brought Sin back to the reason she was here. “What are they doing with the girls?” She remembered the studio in the back of the church, the blood found on the stage and prayed her premonition was wrong. “Are they filming the torture of these girls?”

  Veloz coughed up and spit blood. “You are even better than I ever imagined. It’s a shame you won’t be alive to stop them.”

  Sin leaned forward and stuck the barrel of the revolver in Veloz’s chest.

  He struggled to inhale. “These peoples is the worst,” he wheezed, “they love two things.”

  Sin put more of her weight on his chest. “What things?”

  “Money and torture,” Veloz gurgled.

  “You never told me what I want—what makes me tick,” Sin snarled.

  “You want what you cannot have—justice.” The word squeaked as it made its way out of his throat.

  Sin reached behind her and slid the Balisong from her pocket. With a flick of her wrist, she opened it, all the time watching Veloz’s eyes. She dropped her gun, and held the blade against his neck. “One last time,” she sneered, “who is running this operation?”

  Veloz glared at her through blood red eyes. “I don’t know!”

  “Then you’re no good to me.” She bent closer and placed her lips close to Veloz’s ear. “I always get what I want,” she whispered. Leaning back, Sin looked in Veloz’s eyes. “This is for Manuel.”

  Sin grabbed a pillow and placed it over Veloz’s face. Before he could even react, she slid the Balisong across his throat killing him instantly. The pillow prevented her from getting hit with the arterial spray.

  Sin checked on the coke-whore.

  Dead of an overdose.

  Sin went into the bathroom and scrubbed Veloz’s blood from her hands.

  CHAPTER 31

  Sin checked the time—it was five a.m.

  She assessed her situation and sent a text to Charlie.

  The boat should be here soon, she thought. I need to move fast.

  Sin checked on the guard. He still lay unconscious on the couch.

  She untied Tia and said, “I need you to be a big girl for me a little while longer, can you do that?”

  Tia nodded, squirming as she stood.

  “Do you need to go to the bathroom,” Sin asked.

  “Si, Angel.”

  Sin let her go into the bathroom, made sure the door was shut, and went back and put a bullet in the head of the bodyguard.

  Sin led her down the stairs, reversing her steps. All the security had been eliminated, so it was an easy trip. They made their way out the same way Sin came in and hid in a tiki bar down by the pier.

  Sin got up the courage to ask her if anyone had hurt her. Tia told her that she had been very scared, but that no one hurt her. She then leaned against Sin and wrapped her frail arms around her.

  Relieved, Sin kissed the top of Tia’s hair, closed her eyes, and rested.

  Just before sunrise, she heard the faint sound of a boat motor and the sound of a truck approaching.

  Sin crouched low and listened. She heard the truck’s engine shut off and two men order the girls out of the back. She could hear whimpering, but no one screamed.

  The sound of the boat engine became much louder as it neared. When it sounded like it was idling, Sin figured it must have reached the dock. The sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the dock told her that her feelings were correct.

  Sin gestured to Tia to stay put and not to scream.

  Tia’s eyes grew wide and she started to tremble.

  Sin leaned forward and gave her a slight peck on her cheek. “Everything will be fine, I promise,” she whispered.

  With a gentle hand, she pushed Tia beneath the bar where she would be the safest.

  Sin could hear the men talking, wondering where Veloz was. She heard multiple pairs of footsteps on the wooden dock and then a different sound when the girls were corralled on the boat. She peered over the bar and saw five men standing in a group, one was on a radio trying to reach Veloz. The others stood around watching.

  This is no time for finesse, Sin thought. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and lurched out from behind the bar, firing as fast as she could pull the trigger.

  Five pulls on the trigger, five men down.

  Just as she saw another man on the boat, from the corner of her eye, she saw a long shadow come at her from behind. Before sh
e could react, she felt the blunt force of a hard object strike the side of her head.

  That was the last thing she remembered until she came to in the hold of the boat. Her head was pounding and her wrists and ankles were bound with zip ties.

  CHAPTER 32

  Charlie stood in his hangar looking at the people sitting around him. His eyes first went to Thomas, Sin’s father. He looked tired and weak. Next to him was Carmelita, for the first time in Charlie’s recollection, she looked less than well-put together. On Thomas’ other side stood Troy.

  “I’m sure everyone is wondering why you’re here.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Charlie, I agreed to this meeting because you said it had to do with my daughter. What’s going on? Miller and the State Police have been to my house, questioning me about Sin’s involvement in a break in at church. They said she is wanted for breaking and entering and attempted murder. I haven’t been able to reach her.” Thomas sounded frantic.

  “Well, that seems like a good jumping in point,” Charlie said, “so let’s address that issue first.” He straightened his posture as if he was about to be reprimanded by a higher up. “First of all, she didn’t try to kill anyone. She subdued a few, but—”

  “Are you saying, she did break into Heap’s church?”

  “She was just doing her job, Thomas.”

  Sin’s father tried to stand, but the sudden movement appeared to make him dizzy and he dropped back into the chair.

  Charlie handed him a bottle of water. “Give me a few minutes and I will try to make sense out of all of this.”

  Carmelita helped Thomas steady his jittery grasp and bring the drink to his lips.

  “I’ve known Thomas and Carmelita for most of my life, but as for Troy, let’s say your past was a bit notorious, so I needed to ease my suspicious mind. I did a little checking on you before I called this meeting,” Charlie continued. “I now feel confident that I can trust all of you with the information I’m about to impart.

  “Sinclair O’Malley is not a Sergeant nor is she in the military. She is a FBI agent and is here on a mission.” He paused to gage everyone’s expressions and proceeded. “Thomas, I know that Sinclair told you some of what’s going on down here, so excuse me if I get repetitious. It’s important that we are all on the same level before we proceed with what Agent O’Malley expects of us.”

  Thomas nodded.

  “Troy, as you are well aware, there have been a series of bodies that have washed up around the Keys and gulf coast—bodies of young girls. What you might not know is that each of the bodies found has exhibited signs of bondage. Each has ligature marks—marks on their wrists and ankles where they have been bound. They also show signs of torture—varying degrees of man-made burn marks as well as broken bones and sexual sadism.”

  “What does all this have to do with Sin’s whereabouts?” Thomas interjected.

  “Sin was sent down here to investigate their deaths and the deaths of some other agents.”

  “Why would anyone do this to innocent children?” Carmelita said.

  “Are you with the bureau?” Troy asked. “And how do you know more than the state police?”

  Charlie addressed Carmelita. “There are sick people in this world, and to make it worse, we believe they did this for money.”

  “Who are your suspects?” Troy asked.

  Looking at Troy, he said, “To answer your first question, I was part of the bureau. In fact, I was one of the people who recruited Sinclair for the job. We took her straight out of Quantico before she even finished basic training. As far as how I know what I know, let’s just say I have my sources—reliable sources.”

  He poured himself a cup of coffee. “We’re getting off track here. We need to discuss Sinclair’s whereabouts and why she gathered us all together.”

  “About time,” Thomas emphasized.

  “She is in Central America gathering intel at the moment. I received a text from her early this morning stating that she will be returning by plane. She said that if she doesn’t contact me by tomorrow morning, we are to watch the first reef. If any boats anchor on it, we need to move in.”

  “The first reef?” Thomas said. “I’ve been fishing these waters since I was old enough to cast a line with my dad, and everyone knows to stay away from the first reef.”

  “Well, things have changed,” Charlie said. “Trust me, boats have been anchoring on the reef.”

  “Carmelita, Sin thinks the orphanage or someone associated with the orphanage might be involved.” He thought for a moment. “I know your friend, Rosa, works there; does she ever take the girls on field trips?”

  “Yes, sometimes,” she answered. “I have gone with them as a chaperone at times.”

  “Tell her you have been given a generous sum of money to take all the girls to the Miami Seaquarium tomorrow. I will arrange the transportation.”

  “If she asks questions,” Carmelita said, “what do I say?”

  “Just tell her it was an anonymous gift. Once they are on the bus, I will take care of the rest. I want the girls away from the orphanage for a few days.”

  “Si,” Carmelita said. “I will do my best.”

  Charlie turned his attention towards Troy. “You are the linchpin to this mission. You are the only one who can get close enough to Bubba and the boys to find out what they know. I’m not sure how, but I need you to get back in with the gang and report what you’ve found.”

  Everyone stared at the ground not knowing what to think.

  “Look,” Charlie said, “I know this is all a bit James Bondish to all of you, and I’m sorry that it’s clear as mud, but this is the best I can do. Sinclair trusts each of you, or I wouldn’t have asked you here. She has never once let me down, so I trust her judgment.”

  They all shook hands and were about to leave when Charlie squeezed Troy’s forearm. “I need you to hang back for a few minutes.”

  “What do you need,” Troy asked once everyone else left.

  “Come on,” Charlie said, “let’s take a little ride.”

  He and Troy stood in the library of the Johnson place.

  Troy was taken aback, first by the fact that Charlie owned the place, and second at the sophistication of Charlie’s setup and the intelligence that he had been able to discover.

  Troy scratched his head, staring at the pictures on the monitors. “So let me get this straight, Sin believes Heap is involved in this slave ring and might be filming the girls’ deaths?”

  Charlie nodded. “You seem doubtful. Tell me why?”

  “Look,” Troy answered, “I haven’t been back that long myself, but I have a hard time picturing Heap raping little girls, not to mention Bubba and the boys.” He pointed to the photos of the dead girls. “They might be immature assholes, but they’re not pedophiles.”

  “You’d be surprised what people are capable of,” Charlie said, “now let’s get down to business.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Charlie paced his hangar. The plane Sin should have been on landed, and there was no account of her. The airline had no record of her ever purchasing a ticket.

  He unfolded the note she had given him and dialed the number.

  “Who the hell is this?” The voice was curt and had a distinctive Australian accent.

  “A friend of Sinclair O’Malley,” Charlie said.

  “I doubt that. She has no friends.”

  “She has one and since she gave me this number, I assume she has at least two.”

  “I’ll give you another ten seconds to tell me who this is, or I’m hanging up.”

  “My name is Charlie, and—”

  “That’s all I needed.” The voice went from one of indignation to concern. “I’m Fletcher, second in command of Sin’s unit. She told me if she ever got into a jam, I might hear from you. What has the little s
pitfire gone and done now?”

  Hearing that it was someone from Sin’s unit worried Charlie. He thought they were with her. “She went after Veloz.”

  “Alone!”

  “She told me her unit was meeting her in Choluteca.”

  “I’m her point man. I never heard from her. Listen mate, let’s cut to the chase. How can I help?”

  “I need you in Key West by tomorrow morning. Is that possible?”

  “I owe that spitfire my life. The whole unit does. We will all be there. Tell me when and where to meet you.”

  CHAPTER 34

  The smell of diesel fuel was beginning to make Sin nauseous as she lay in the bottom of the fishing boat. Opening her eyes, her vision was blurry from the hit she took on the back of her head.

  She tried to roll over and felt a jackhammer go off in her head. “Damn,” she groaned. “My head hurts like hell.” Ignoring the pain, she rolled onto her back and saw six pairs of eyes staring back at her. Each pair attached to a scared little girl. “If I didn’t know better,” she mumbled, “I’d swear I woke up in the middle of a scene from Little Orphan Annie.”

  “How long have I been unconscious?” Sin asked in Spanish.

  No one answered, they just looked confused.

  Let me try that again, Sin thought. “How many times have you been fed on the boat?”

  “Four.”

  More than twenty-four hours. Sin squinted and tried to focus in on the girl who answered. “What is your name?”

  “Ximena.”

  “Ximena,” Sin said, “there was a young girl with me at the dock, did you see her?”

  “She ran to you when you were hit. The man who hit you grabbed her and carried her on the boat.”

  “Where is she?”

  All the girls started to mumble and Ximena shrugged.

  “Can you help me sit up?” Sin asked.

  Shaking off the cobwebs, she began to move her arms and legs as best she could to assess her injuries. The ties cut into her flesh, but nothing seemed broken. My face feels bruised. Sin dragged her tongue over her dry lips and tasted blood. “Did anyone hit me?” she asked Ximena.