by George Nagle
“Thank you, Joe. The children will be looked after, and Noi will answer for his role.”
Joe gave an audible grunt and James left. Within two minutes, Joe was dead.
The team had brought a number of extra vehicles with them to the fortress. After securing Noi and his driver, they’d left the vehicles with the black SUV as part of an emergency evacuation.
James got the kids loaded up and sent everyone off to the home he had arranged for the kids. Just before the vehicles left, he caught Xavier’s eye and waved. The boy smiled and waved back, still wearing James’s coat.
Only the major and Ben still stood at the black SUV. They were holding Noi and his driver. The kids did not see this, nor did they see Joe’s body removed from the van and placed on the ground.
Ben and the major dragged the two men out of the SUV and released their mouth gags. They were still tied with their hands behind their backs and were on their knees when James walked up with a pistol in his hands.
“If you tell me the truth, I won’t kill you. Lie to me, even slightly about anything, and you die. Understand?” His voice was flat and emotionless.
Both men nodded.
“Did you know they were trading children for cash?” James asked this question first. Obviously they did, but this admission of guilt was a great way to break them down and get additional truthful answers.
“Please, sir, Mr. Mathers, please. I have family and …” Noi began.
James placed the gun to his head and chambered a bullet. Noi began to cry.
“Before I pull the trigger, how about you?” He addressed the driver.
“Yes, I was just his driver, though,” he said with an accent that sounded like he was from South Africa.
James addressed Noi again. “One last time. Did you know?”
“Yes, yes I know, yes, but I have no choice.” He began to cry harder.
Multiple questions later, it turned out that Noi did have a choice. He collected a ten percent commission, plus the car sale, for each of the transactions. Noi was initially reluctant to give up key codes and passwords, but after being promised that no physical harm would befall his family, he complied.
“You had a choice. Greed or the innocence of children—you made your choice,” James said in a condemning tone.
“Please, sir, I had to provide for myself and my family,” cried Noi.
James lowered the gun he had kept pointed at Noi during the questioning. He grabbed Noi’s carrier bag and noticed it had a yin and yang symbol burned into the leather. He snorted in disgust.
Joe had been right, in a sense, about the “pouches.” Noi used his carrier bag to exchange only parts of his records with the Tans. The Tans, in turn, did the same. This meant that neither side had a complete record of any transaction at any one time. This meant neither side could operate truly independently of the other, and if one side somehow got busted, it allowed a reasonably talented lawyer a way to get them off.
During the questioning, the part that really got Ben worked up was finding out about the “training videos” or “visit videos” potential masters could log into at their leisure. This explained why certain cameras were in place, and why the servers housed the video files. Noi explained most of this, but when he messed up the servers, the driver jumped in.
“No, you idiot. Those servers had a 2048-bit encryption and cycled the IP address to proxies. They said to tell the truth, and I am not dying because you can’t explain a simple set up. You ordered all the parts, so you should know!”
James gazed impassively at the man. So much for being just the driver.
When they were done answering questions, Ben walked over with two shovels and commanded, “Dig.”
The driver and Noi weren’t used to physical labor, and the ground was rather hard due to the temperature. Ben, the major, and James took turns supervising the digging of Joe’s grave, James taking the final shift.
As Noi and the driver finished, James reached into the SUV to retrieve the wrapper of the Kit-Kat bar he’d eaten earlier. He placed a hair sample from Joe in the wrapper and put it in his pocket. He then ordered the two men to gently place Joe in the grave and cover him.
When the body was decently buried, Noi and the driver both slid to the ground near Joe’s grave, breathing heavily.
James, in full view of his captives, released the magazine from his pistol, removed the chambered bullet, and placed it back in the clip. He gave the pistol and magazine to Ben, who had a steely look in his eyes.
“Thank you for answering my questions,” James told Noi and his driver. “As I promised, no harm will come to your families.” He started to walk toward the SUV.
Ben had not moved.
“You, you are too kind sir, thank you, sir,” said Noi shakily. He and the driver went to stand up but were very weak.
James stopped and gave the two men a stare that clearly indicated they weren’t coming with him.
Noi stammered, “You take us back with you then, sir?”
The major was on the driver’s side of the SUV as James turned and said, “I’m afraid that’s out of my hands. I promise your families will meet no physical harm.”
“But you said you would not kill us as long as we told the truth!” said the driver.
Noi looked on, scared.
“That is true, I did.” James opened the back door on the passenger side. “I am leaving. I am not killing anyone.”
James climbed in. As he shut the door, he heard the sound of the clip he had just handed Ben being emptied.
Ben joined them a moment later, and they were off.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Arriving at Noi’s office, James found the men had been truthful. Thanks to the pass codes they’d revealed, he found a lot of funds in several currencies, as well as bearer’s bonds. James logged into the system and quickly found the information he needed.
He searched for himself and Tim first just to see how much was out there. A lot, it turned out, and he was impressed, once again, with the detail Melissa had supplied to give them outstanding back stories. Apparently he and Tim had both graduated from Harvard near the top of their classes with political science degrees.
He knew that part, but what he didn’t know was that Tim had been captain of the rowing team and president of his fraternity, while James had been on the basketball team.
James allowed himself a small chuckle at the irony. He would never have attended a school like Harvard.
He eventually accessed about $86 million in funds, once he was able to get into the database for the Tan family. He then made provisions so that the kids and young adults they’d rescued would be cared for once they became adults. In the meantime, they were in the hands of an organization that, with the very generous funding he gave them of $50 million, promised to see to their education, health, and happiness.
There were fifty-eight individuals in total, their ages ranging from just under two years old to over eighteen. The “adult” children agreed to stay and help the younger ones with the transition for a few months. James didn’t tell them they would have half-a-million dollars waiting for them when they left, but he did tell them that when they were ready to leave, money would be provided to help them get started.
After he had left Noi’s office, James quickly toured the facility where he’d placed the kids and met a few of the caretakers. After, he sat down with the director and told her about the funding and how it could be dispersed. She assured him she would take care of everything, and that the money would go a long way. Her young assistant had been in the room with them and not spoken, but gave James a slightly weird feeling.
Letting out a great yawn, James said, “I am sure you and your group will do everything in your power to give these kids the life they deserve. No one else has, and chances are no one knows they are alive. They deserve a fresh start to be whatever they want. Please help them do that.”
The kids and young adults were having trouble adjusting, but James
was sure things would calm down soon and they would be very happy once they realized what they’d been freed from.
As James pulled away, he could see a lot of faces pressed to the windows. He waved, but only a few kids waved back. As he took the corner, someone came running out to the sidewalk, but James didn’t look in time to see who it was.
He felt proud for getting the children out and establishing a life for them. He felt a sense of accomplishment for rising to the challenge and conquering it. This was what he loved to do.
The rest of the funds went, tax-free of course, to the guys involved. When James sat them down as a group and told them what he was transferring to each of them, their mouths hit the floor. It was almost comical how they all responded the same, like close family members would.
“Holy shit,” said Rocker, breaking the silence.
James laughed and said, “Figured gabby here would be first to speak.”
Everyone laughed.
“James, we can’t take this. We didn’t do this for money,” said Paul.
The others nodded and murmured their agreement.
“The funds are coming from the Tan family,” James said simply.
“The funds should be going to the kids,” said Jason “to make sure they’re all right.”
“The children each have an account set up with $500,000 in it. They receive the funds when they move out into the world on their own. The funds awarded to each of you are for your services for allowing them to be free, while offering your own lives in the attempt. I only wish I could honor all servicemen and women like this,” James explained.
Ben stood up, and all eyes turned to him. “What about the others?”
“We’ve set aside money for the …” James began. He thought Ben meant the F-14 pilots.
“No, the other kids,” Ben said in a low voice.
Keegan spoke. “Dude, we got them all out. Remember? That’s why James and you went back in.”
But James knew what Ben meant, and before Haiden could agree with his cousin, James spoke.
“That’s something I want to talk to you guys about. We have the records going back a good length of time. A high level of intel was gathered that the Tans kept as leverage. I’m not sure how long we have before others discover the Tan family is out of business, so we’ll have to act quickly.”
“How we going to run all those operations? We can’t be taking out a bunch of fortresses,” said Paul doubtfully.
“I doubt they’re all in fortresses, dip shit,” said Kevin.
“Right. Yeah, well I’m in,” Paul said without a second thought.
Ben still had questions. “How are we going to fund this, and what about money for those other kids?”
James turned to the others. “What do you think, guys?”
Jason cleared his throat. “Their masters have money, and that money goes to the kids. We can fund anything up front and get reimbursed from each individual takedown. I’m in.”
The discussion went on for over an hour. Everyone agreed this needed to be done tactfully and that bringing down too many of these “businesses” too fast would draw unwanted attention. This was the part James struggled to persuade them to adopt. James was to keep the records, and whenever they had a mission somewhere, the major would contact James for names and offer any additional assistance he could.
Ben had just one remaining issue. “How are we going to get all of them? This sounds rather piecemeal. I want them all.” There was a cold fire in his eyes.
“I’ll make every effort to make sure each and every one of the people in those files suffers and the kids reap the rewards. I know it isn’t ideal, and that some kids are suffering now,” James admitted. “If I had a way to spring them all at the snap of my fingers, I’d do it, but we have to do what we can without jeopardizing our ability to help others.”
Ben didn’t look satisfied. James didn’t blame him. But Ben still said, “I’m in.”
James made eye contact with him and vowed, “Before my last day on this Earth, I’ll make sure those bastards fall. You have my word.”
Ben didn’t know the things James had done before, or what skills he really had. He only knew what he’d seen, and that was James’s unflinching willingness to go back into hell to save a single child. That was enough to earn his buy-in.
The major promised to find a way to get money to the guys who were involved in the F-14s, but since they thought it was just an exercise, he had to be tactful about it. James wanted Calvin and Raymond to get some of the money, too, though that wasn’t what they were excited about.
They’d gotten some great information from the data they’d collected at the fortress. Both felt the money coming from that would make them richer than anyone could imagine, once they’d developed their ideas. They still took the cash, however, as it would help them independently fund their research and get them out from under the thumb of Dr. Watterson.
Now that it was obvious Raymond would make a full recovery, minus some small scars, the twins were back to their normal selves. James had talked with them about everything that had taken place. Though they were upset by the events, they promised to keep the mission to themselves. They also acknowledged that they would have been happier not knowing, and they were smart enough to know they didn’t want to know anymore. They wish it were some secret plan the team had gone after, as thinking about child trafficking was horrifying.
“I’m sorry mate; I should have listened and not had a go at getting that drive. I appreciate you coming back for me. Saved my life, you did, and I will never forget that. You’re a good man,” Raymond had said, hugging James.
Calvin had been very quiet. James knew Raymond’s near abandonment weighed heavily on him. As they were saying farewells, Calvin said privately to James, “I understand why you would have walked away from my brother. I understand that you didn’t go back specifically for him. The fact is, he’s alive because of you, and that is what I choose to remember. I don’t ever want him to know we almost left him.”
James started to say, “Thank …”
Calvin continued, “I feel sorry for you. You lack basic human emotions, but there’s still a chance you can learn that emotion can save you. Thank you for saving my brother, James. I will never forget what you’ve done for us.”
This was not what James had expected, and he was dumbfounded as he watched the twins walk away. He tried to process it, but he had other things to attend to. Besides, he wasn’t that devoid of emotion. He had some plans for himself and Carissa, plans that would indeed get him mostly out of this life. Helping bring down other abusers wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, and if he were honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he could ever stop doing this type of thing completely.
James kept very little of the funds for himself, just enough to cover expenses and $10,000 extra for his upcoming medical costs. He felt rather beat up and decided it would be smart to get checked out.
His CT scan came back clean, as did the x-rays. Despite this, James felt he had a slight concussion, but there wasn’t much to be done for it. The lack of broken bones didn’t mean much either. It certainly didn’t stop the pain James felt or the really interesting colors appearing all over his body, even in places that didn’t hurt. His back wasn’t exactly damaged, but he now had some minor alignment issues in his lumbar from the fall.
Such was life.
***
Later that night, following the end of Operation Joshua, James called Carissa. He wanted to fall asleep to the sound of her voice. He also wanted to talk with her, but his body was starting to shut down and he needed to recharge. Plus, the muscle relaxers he’d taken were having a sedative effect.
She didn’t object or take offense. She merely talked and he listened, drifting off as she described the error she’d found in someone’s account for some amount James would never remember.
He was running down black tunnels, searching for something. There were pipes, pipes he could jump down, but mushroom
s were covering them and children were laughing …
The dream changed. It was more blurred and somehow felt more real.
He was in pain and dragging himself down the hall to an open door. He could see outside to a very well-maintained courtyard behind a beautiful large wooden desk ...
At 10 a.m., the alarm went off. James felt like crap, but he needed to catch a plane back to the U.S. Two weeks would give him ample time to heal and let him get a few things situated so that he could smoothly transition his life.
Chapter Twenty-Four
As the plane touched down on the runway at Aberdeen’s airport in Dyce, James turned on his phone to text Carissa that he’d be home soon. She always liked to know when he landed, but especially when he was home.
It was late, and James had caught the last flight from Amsterdam. It had been a long trip with some unexpected delays. He’d hoped to be home a good eight hours earlier, but he was glad to be home all the same.
Funny, Aberdeen really does feel like home now, he reflected.
As the plane came to a halt, James noticed the familiar drizzle he’d come to associate with Scotland nights. He smiled a bit, remembering his first visit and meeting Carissa.
In the moments before the door to the plane opened, James continued reflecting on how much his life had changed, and hopefully, how much more it would change in fewer than forty hours, when he and Carissa would celebrate the one year anniversary of their first date at Paradise Stadium.
This was going to be the biggest day of his life, and it would end with a cleared conscious, an unencumbered path forward, and most importantly, with Carissa being his forever. Admittedly, she might be upset when he came clean, but he was certain she would forgive him.
Carissa’s reply text of “See you soon” accompanied by an emoticon with a smiling face made him smile. To him, it wasn’t just a happy smile, but, in fact, a smile of love. This was the same way his mother had ended her notes when he was growing up, and it never failed to remind him of her. Carissa didn’t know it, but it was very meaningful to him that the woman he loved had this small trait in common with his mother.
