by Robin Mahle
Moreno continued, “Late last week, Metro Police issued a search warrant for this man, James Henry Corbett.” An image of the man appeared on the screen. “The forty-five-year-old former high school counselor is believed to be the ringleader or, at the very least, high up on the command chain, for this group and is suspected of kidnapping these young women. An IP address from one of the websites we discovered originated from a home that was listed under Corbett’s name. However, we’ve been unable to locate him. His last known address, according to the school district who had previously employed him, was vacated some time ago. We contacted the FBI on the discovery that this case appears to be a widespread operation covering many different locations both within and possibly outside the United States. I’ve had some communications with our brothers in Richmond regarding the discovery of similar drop houses. However, they have also come up empty-handed. The Metro Police and Richmond PD are now asking for the FBI’s help in finding those involved in this ring as well as ensuring the women, whose numbers we are as of yet unsure, are recovered safely.”
An agent in the second row raised his hand. “What leads you to believe this is sex trafficking? Have you had any reported missing persons cases that could be tied to this?”
“The websites were our first indication. The predatory nature of them alone suggests trafficking. And, the drop houses were located in densely populated immigrant communities, mostly of eastern European decent, much like the women you see presented on this website. We believe most of these young women probably have no legal identification, no jobs. These types of victims can disappear without anyone noticing. Their families are often fearful of reporting them missing because they too are probably illegal.”
Kate examined the images of the women on the screen. They were exotic and very young. If these girls were being plucked off the streets, no one saying a word, how were they supposed to find them?
“Thank you, detective. We’ll begin coordinating with your teams and have our people get started on shutting these websites down. You all know what to do, so let’s get going,” Nick said.
Two days into the investigation, and Kate had been tasked with reviewing the files of women who had gone missing in the D.C. area that fit the criteria. There were very few that came up as possible immigrants. Only three so far were of the particular lineage they sought and of those who had been reported, two were from families who appeared to be in the country illegally. She wasn’t surprised they’d disregarded their own consequences for coming forward. No parent would put themselves above his or her own child.
On second thought… Kate turned away from the computer screen and rubbed her eyes. She considered for a moment that there were decisions her parents made that she still could not forgive. Decisions that shaped who she was today.
Returning to her work, Kate pushed back the memories of the past. How easy it was to recall them. They were still so close to the surface.
A welcomed distraction from her present thoughts came by way of a text from her friend and classmate, Will. “Want me to bring some dinner? We can study together.”
Time had slipped from her periphery and although hunger was making its presence known, she hesitated to reply. Food sounded like a great idea, but she wasn’t sure if she should tell him about working this case with Nick. The extra help she was getting to win points with the instructors wasn’t fair to the others. Just for once, Kate wanted to be recognized for her own hard work, not for riding on the coattails of Nick Scarborough, although she was doing little to prevent the stigma from taking hold.
“Come on. Whadya say?” He sent another message.
“Sure. Sounds good.”
“Great. I’ll bring something up from the cafeteria. I’ll be over in 30.”
Kate closed the case file and walked into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Jocelyn had already gone down for dinner and she’d declined her request to come along, something that would surely raise an eyebrow on her return, seeing Will in their room.
Not long after she tried to make her appearance somewhat more palatable, a knock sounded on her door. Kate peered through the peephole. She opened her door to the vast halls and the smiling face of Will Caison holding out an entire pie. “Come on in. They let you take a whole pizza?”
Will set the pie down on her desk, then headed straight for the small refrigerator next to the closet. “You got any beer?”
She tugged on her oversized shirt and laughed. “Here on campus? No. Besides, are you here to study, or have a party?”
“Why not both?” He looked inside the refrigerator at the insufficient contents. “Jeez, you don’t have anything in here.” He closed it again. “Where’s Munoz?”
“She went down for dinner already,” Kate replied. Will was the type of guy to always call people by their last names and so Kate’s roommate became Munoz and she was Reid, although she noticed lately that he’d begun referring to her as Kate more often than not.
“Anyway,” she began, retrieving a couple of paper plates for the pizza. “Thanks for picking up the food. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.”
“We all gotta eat and I thought we could bounce some questions off each other in preparation for the assessment on Friday.”
Kate set the plates on the desk and grabbed her laptop. Will had already opened the sodas he’d found inside the fridge and served up the pizza.
“Thanks. Okay.” She fired up her laptop and logged into the FBI server. “So, let’s take a look at the case studies first. That’ll probably be the main focus.”
As she typed away on her laptop, she noticed Will staring at her and cocked her head. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just. Well, I thought you might say something.”
“Say something? About what?”
“About the case you’re working on with Agent Scarborough and Metro Police.”
Kate folded her arms in her lap and gave Will her full attention. “How did you know about that?”
“I heard rumblings from some of our classmates. I guess someone overheard Scarborough talking with Hawes.”
SSA Hawes was the operations instructor and Kate hadn’t realized anyone else had been privy to the conversation. Nick probably hadn’t either.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Will asked.
“Because you all already think I’m only here because of Agent Scarborough. I guess I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.” Kate raised the can of soda to her lips.
“Hey, don’t lump me into your generalizations. I don’t believe you’re here solely based on your relationship with Scarborough. I think it’s you who’s feeling guilty about it. Look, if he wanted me to help on a case, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops. And don’t tell me there aren’t other cadets here that don’t have connections because I sure as hell guarantee you, there are.”
“Okay, I get it.” Kate was feeling both offended by his tone and embarrassed by her own assumptions. She’d been so wrapped up in what everyone else was thinking about her and had discounted her own abilities. “I’ll be honest with you, Agent Scarborough is trying to keep me from getting kicked out of the program. Assisting him on this case is part of that.”
“Kicked out? Why?” Will was a man who cared little of what others thought about him, as was evidenced by his reply and the ingestion of nearly the entire slice of pizza in one bite.
“Because I’m having trouble with the field exercises. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, this extra work is intended to help pull me out of the hole I dug for myself.”
“So they’re not going to require you to pass the ops training?”
“No, I’ll still have to pass, but Agent Scarborough is going to be spending some time with me on that too and try to work out what the problem is. So that combined with the additional workload is supposed to win me points. I don’t know, Scarborough thinks I need to talk to someone about—before. That maybe my reaction times aren’t what they should be because of what’s
happened in the past. I’m not entirely sure he’s wrong.”
“I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t know.” Will’s expression softened. “I gotta tell you, though, I’ve been around plenty of soldiers who have PTSD. It does have varying degrees of severity, and I’m not convinced that’s what’s happening with you. But, what do I know?”
She considered his question. He didn’t know. He only knew what was printed in the papers or what was shown on TV, not what she actually went through. Kate didn’t hold it against him, though. “It’s okay. I don’t know what it is, to be honest. All I know is that I want to work in the BAU and if Agent Scarborough can pull some strings, I shouldn’t feel bad about that, should I?”
“Sounds like you already made up your mind about it.” Will grabbed another slice. “Let’s just get back to studying. Forget I said anything.”
Jocelyn returned from the cafeteria and, when she opened the door, the two were startled by the noise.
“Hey, you’re back,” Kate said.
“Am I interrupting something?” Jocelyn stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “What’s up, Caison?”
“Just studying. You want to join us?” Will pushed aside some of his things to make room.
“Actually, that’d be great. If you’re sure I’m not interrupting.” She looked at Kate for confirmation.
Kate had grown to like Jocelyn. She was easy-going, helpful, and always managed to see the positive side of just about any situation, which, considering her background, was a pretty impressive quality. So rather than become embarrassed by what her roommate was clearly trying to imply, she simply shrugged it off. “Sit down.” Kate patted the seat of the chair next to her.
Studying until the wee hours was nothing new for trainees, and it was only when Kate caught a glimpse of black skies from the window of the dorm room that she realized the hour had become late. “Anybody know what time it is?” Rather than wait for an answer, Kate grabbed her phone. “It’s almost midnight. I don’t know about you two, but I’ve got to get some sleep.”
Jocelyn raised her arms and expelled a pent-up yawn. “Yeah, it’s time to quit for the night.” She stood up and closed her notebook. “Good night, Caison.”
Will seemed to pick up on the fact that this was her way of telling him to leave. “Right, okay. Yeah, I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He shoved his laptop into his bag. “Thanks for studying with me.” He was looking at Kate, although Jocelyn answered.
“No problem.”
“Thanks for the food and the help. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kate walked to the door and held it open.
A quick nod and he was gone.
“You know he’s got a thing for you, right?” Jocelyn said, pulling her hair back into a bun.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” She paused for a moment. “Wouldn’t matter anyway. That’s not something I’m interested in.”
“I know, but he might not.” Jocelyn slid under the light covers of her twin bed. “You might want to nip that in the bud.”
Kate crawled into her own bed, grunting a reply. “Good night.”
4
In an unassuming house nestled in the suburbs of Baltimore, James Corbett waited for word from the higher-ups, specifically, the man who he had come to know only as the Arranger. No names. That was part of the deal. He understood the nature of the business and didn’t question it. Not when the money was pouring in freely.
Still, he knew that the FBI was looking for him and had already been to his previous home. They’d tracked him down by his internet service provider. It was then he switched to a proxy server that disguised his IP address, but it had been too late. They knew about the websites and had already shut them down. Not that it mattered much. It was merely a hiccup and several more websites were already in their place. But he was keeping a low profile nonetheless. What he hadn’t wanted was for his boss to consider him too much of a risk.
So as he waited for the call, he knew he would have to offer the Arranger some assurances to pass along to those in charge. Corbett and his team had gotten sloppy and amends would have to be made.
The call was coming in. “Yeah,” Corbett said. “Understood. I’ll be there.”
And that was it. He was to meet someone at a predetermined location and pick up the next set of assets. That was what they were called—assets. The women they found. Usually prostitutes; sometimes young women working at a local dive bar or strip club. They were scoped out, ensuring little to no family and no documentation. That was key. Without documentation, it was nearly impossible to track them down.
“It’s happening tonight. I need you there by eight p.m.” Corbett barked the order over his cell phone.
“I got it. I’ll be there.” Stan Kovac was Corbett’s second in command. He handled the transportation and distribution of the assets.
Corbett ended the call and returned to his laptop. The SD card from his camera slid into the drive and he began uploading the pictures of some of the latest acquisitions. They were beautiful and young. Most hardly spoke a word of English, which was fine by him. He took his time with each of them, photographing every inch of their firm bodies. As he opened the files, he stared at the images. His own private porn site and he’d had the privilege of breaking them in already. It was the best way to instill fear and let them know who was in charge. Heat began to rise in his groin as he looked at their ruby red lips and soft skin. He continued to leer at them while he serviced his growing need for release.
Kate was the last to arrive to class this morning. She quietly lowered her laptop bag to the floor and slid into her chair next to Will.
“Pushing it a little, aren’t you?” he asked.
“It was a late night.” She retrieved her tablet and placed it on her desk.
“That’s what happens when you’re pulling double duty.”
“Looks like we can get started now,” the instructor said as he surveyed the room. He turned to the interactive screen and began to write the words “Forensic Evidence.”
This was what she’d been waiting for. Kate had some knowledge on this subject after having worked in evidence collection for more than a year and the graduate program at UCSD, although that had been cut short.
As the instructor began, Kate noticed a marked shift in Will’s body language. He was sitting further away and his books rested so far at the edge of table, they just might fall off. His legs jutted out the side, almost into the aisle. His wasn’t a particularly tall man, only slightly above average, but that still meant he surpassed Kate and her five-foot-six-inch frame. She wondered if Jocelyn had been right. It had been some time since she’d seen that look in a man’s eyes, but Will had it the other night while they were studying. It hadn’t been her intention to give him the impression she was ready to start some kind of relationship. Not to mention the fact that they were colleagues, trainees, and that would only make matters more complicated.
Kate was not here to meet a man. She was not here to do anything other than become an agent.
“We’re going to review the following information for tomorrow’s assessment,” the instructor began. “First, you’ll need to understand how ViCAP works and what its uses are, as well as CODIS and, finally, you’ll be given the parameters of an actual case file and will need to understand the use of these programs, including NGI, and how these databases impact the agent’s ability to see to a successful prosecution.”
This was something she could wrap her arms around with ease. She’d had the experience and knowledge of such programs and it filled her with a renewed confidence. Maybe she had earned her spot here after all.
It was this confidence that made the time pass with record speed. She’d breezed through the subjects and was ready for more when the instructor started to wrap up the session.
“That’s it for today. You’re all free to go.” He shut down the video and began to pack up his files.
“I’ll see you later.” Will moved quickly to leave.
�
�Reid, can I have a word with you?” the instructor asked.
Kate grabbed her bag and walked to the front of the classroom. Most of the other recruits had already left. “Yes, sir?”
“I’m sure you are aware that I spoke with Agent Scarborough.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s a chance that if you are able to be of value in the case he and Metro Police are working on, and we can arrange for extracurricular training with regards to the tactical teams, we might find an agreeable resolution. We both agree that there are extenuating circumstances here and it would be a shame for you not to see a satisfactory completion of the training as a result. That being said, you will need to make up for every hour that you miss and bear in mind that it should be kept to an absolute minimum in any event.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ve already been working closely with Agent Scarborough on the issue and have discussed how we might approach the problem. I appreciate your assistance and I’ll be the first one to tell you that I intend to pass that segment of the training.” Kate paused for a moment. “Is there anything else, sir?”
“No. You may leave.”
The paper target was moving toward her as her instructor approached. Kate removed her safety glasses and pulled the headphones from her head.
“Nicely done, Reid.” He pulled the target down to examine it and then turned to Kate. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Six shots, three in the center, two in the head, and one just outside the X.
“Thank you, sir.” The partial grin on her face was hard to conceal, but she tried anyway.
The firearm was returned to her holster and, as the day’s temperature reached its peak, she was ready to find some relief and head back to the main part of campus.
Will jogged to catch up with her. “Hey, you have lunch yet?”
“No. You want to go grab something?” Maybe he’d reconsidered his earlier brush off.
