by John Charles
Best Regards,
Rare Beauty Auction Services
Aaron read the email several times. Most people would simply think it was for the rich and famous who needed to own a rare bottle of wine. It looks like the spam mail I get all the time.
The good faith deposit was transmitted that same day from a bank in Kuwait City. Trackers were placed on the money that identified the bank to which the money was sent.
MI5 and Aaron diligently worked the email. Aaron traced it through several of the same servers used in prior emails. This time, however, he found something different. He was able to identify the sender's actual internet address. "Did you find it too?" he asked the MI5 contact.
The MI5 guru had not been as perceptive as Aaron was. "No I didn't until you clued me in on that last server. Have you checked out the IP address?"
"Yes, it's located in Great Britain, but I can't get anything more specific than that. I don't know why I am going to ask this, but can you?"
The other man laughed at Aaron's sarcastic humor and said he would work on it. "Good job Aaron. Shaun will be pleased to hear what you found. I'll call you with any details I can dig up," he said and closed the call.
Chapter 19
Aaron rearranged the files on his desk, checked the email account, paced the IT lab, drank coffee, and felt as if he could or should be doing it all again. He wanted the email to arrive. No, he needed the email to arrive.
"You've done everything you could have done, Aaron. If you don't get a hold of yourself, you'll be no good when it does arrive," said Hank leaning against the doorframe. "Shaun has repeatedly told me you have what it takes to be a top notch operative, so will you please stop pacing? You'll wear a path into the floor."
Aaron looked at his boss and mentor, "How do you not let it get to you? This is someone's life; someone we know and are supposed to be protecting. You look like you just came from a casual lunch with a friend. Doesn't this shit get to you at all?" asked Aaron as he stood in front of Hank.
"Yeah, it gets to me, but I've got a few more years of experience than you. Right now, you are wasting energy; energy you may need in a few minutes." Hank stood off the doorframe, walked to his protégé, and wrapped him in his arms. It was the fatherly type of hug he would give to one of his kids when they were nervous before a school final or football game.
Aaron melted into Hanks arms. He knew he was nervous, but didn't realize how much it affected his entire body. "What if I can't find him? How can I live with that for the rest of my life?"
Hank pulled back and looked into Aaron's eyes. He saw the fear in Aaron he felt on more than one mission throughout his career. "I learned that if the mission failed, there would be hell to pay. That hell came from my boss, the agency and from here," he said poking his chest. "Yes it hurt, yes it gave me nightmares, and yes it sucked, but I did the best I knew how on every mission. That gave me the inner strength to continue to do it again and again." He held Aaron at arm's length and said, "You have done more than anyone would have expected of you. Shaun says this ring has eluded them for years and without your dedication, they would not be as close as they are right now." He continued to hold Aaron as if holding him transferred strength to him. "Stick with it, Aaron. Know in your heart that it will turn out right."
The computer on Aaron's desk pinged letting him know an email had arrived. He stared at the screen. He had been expecting this email, yet his body and mind both froze upon seeing that it had arrived. He was startled out of his fear driven trance by the ringing of his desk phone.
"Aaron here," he said as he answered the phone. "Yes, I see it, too. Hank is here with me so I'm putting you on speaker." Hank and Aaron listened to several people at MI5 as they reviewed the procedure that had been established for this very moment. They jumped into action as soon as the call completed.
Robert and Gabi had been on alert status for days, so the guard collecting them for a fast ride to the Andrews facility was more relief than fear. In less than thirty minutes from the time the email arrived, a full contingent of Andrews and MI5 support people joined Robert, Gabi, and Hank in the conference room.
Aaron called his counterpart at MI5 and said he was ready. The signal given, Aaron clicked on the email. It read:
Thank you for your interest in this rare collection of fine wines. As mentioned in our last communication, you are receiving this notice to allow you to preview the collection via video link. The video will begin promptly at three thirty GMT and will last for approximately twenty minutes. Clicking on the link prior to three twenty five will return an error message.
During the preview, you will have sufficient opportunity to see the collection from every possible angle so please rest assured your time would be worth the wait.
Please click on the link as directed at three twenty five GMT.
With warm regards,
Rare Beauty Auctions
Almost on cue, everyone in the room looked at watches or mobiles to see the present time. The MI5 network specialist said, "That gives us less than two hours. Aaron can you run your detection program while we wait? I'll do the same from our lab."
Aaron turned to Hank and said, "Leave the email open and don't let anyone touch the computer," as he ran from the conference room with Declan at his heels.
Robert and Gabi were visibly shaking with both anxiety and fear. Two hours would be a long time to wait to see the fate of their son. Natalie, as planned, asked Gabi to join her. They left the Andrews facility for a walk. "There's not much I can say right now. Nor will I give you the platitudes of reassurance that most others would," she said as they walked along the commercial street. Cars, trucks and vans passed them as they made their way around the block.
Aaron ran his detection program from the IT lab. He was more confident in his program now than at any prior time having tweaked it during the lull between emails and contacts with Tom or Grant. He was confident his was as good as or even better than the one his counterpart was using.
To his delight, he was able to find that this email came from the same location as the prior one. The sender was located in Great Britain, which made perfect sense to him. I knew it. They didn't have time to drag Ethan out of country. But where are they now?
His desk phone rang as his program was completing. "Yes I came up with the same information," he said to the caller. "It's up to your team to force the internet provider to give us the address of this guy." As he said those words, his mind did a back flip. "Hey. I just thought of something. What if this guy is tapping into a trunk. The provider might not be able to discern his location."
They talked for a few minutes as his counterpart's team member made contact with the internet provider in that area. "We gave them the IP address and the information we have. At first, they were protective of their client, but we convinced them with the threat of criminal action and publicity. They did an about face and are working to find out the location. Leave the email open."
Aaron closed the call, rechecked his findings, and then went to the lunchroom for another cup of coffee. Declan followed him, poured one for himself, and watched Aaron pour three packets of sugar into his cup. He knew better than to comment.
No words were spoken as everyone waited. Three twenty five was an eternity away.
Chapter 20
Nerves on edge, no one spoke as the time approached 3:28 that afternoon. Aaron had the MI5 network guru on the speakerphone and waited for the go-ahead. Once the order was given, he clicked on the link for the video feed.
The video showed a room with a small platform on what appeared to be a stage. Behind the platform were four boys and two girls - all naked and all either drugged or so scared they didn't move. They were oiled and hairless, with the exception of the short-cropped hair on their heads. Hands were behind their backs, but they couldn't see if there were cuffs or not.
Oh my God. There are six of them, said Robert as he looked at the screen. The horror of the event had sent shivers down his spine.
Shaun told his network guy to get busy since they only had minutes to locate the feed. The internet provider having been briefed was working with MI5 to help locate the origin of the feed. Aaron ran from the conference room as soon as he clicked the video link. He needed to work his detection program from his IT lab. He watched the video with one eye as his algorithm worked its magic. It was now three thirty five and he wondered why the kidnappers kept everyone waiting. Take your time. Let my program find you.
Ethan was not among the six on display. "Where is he? Where is Ethan," whispered a nervous Gabi as she grabbed Robert's arm in a vice grip hold. Robert held her hand and looked at the screen in silence.
Suddenly a voice could be heard from off camera saying, "You know the drill. Do as you were trained."
The first boy walked to the platform, stepped up and stood with his hands raised to the back of his head. He looked directly into the camera. Though silent, his eyes said everything that was needed to be said. On command, he slowly turned so the viewer could see his entire body. On close look, you could see he was trembling as he turned. Each step was deliberate as if he feared failure.
When he completed his turn and stood facing the camera, the off camera voice said, "We will start bidding at five hundred thousand for this fine beauty."
Shaun looked to the others in the room and said, "Do any of you recognize that voice. It's different from Simon's voice." In unison, everyone shook their heads or said they did not. He turned to the speakerphone and asked the team at headquarters if they had started the voice recognition program. The response was yes they had as soon as he started speaking.
After the first boy walked back to his position behind the platform, a girl took his place and repeated his exact motions. "This is well planned and rehearsed," said Akerheart. "They have it down."
Declan had walked from the conference room to Aaron's lab wondering if he had any success. "You watching this?"
"Can't help but watch it, though I'm more interested in this," he said pointing to his computer monitor. On the screen, the elaborate algorithm, was displaying maps, routes, server identifications and more information than Declan could understand. His fingers were screaming across the keyboard of another computer as the first worked. "I will find them," he said with firm conviction. "They can't continue to get away with this any longer."
Declan watched Aaron work as the boys and girls completed their turns on the podium.
When the last girl walked back to her designated location, the off camera voice said, "And now for our special treat. This boy is so beautiful we've decided to start the bidding at an even one million pounds. He is worth far more than that, so be prepared to find the competition for his body to be extremely fierce."
Ethan walked to the podium from the side of the stage. His body was oiled and shone as if he were a gladiator being presented to the emperor. His eyes were bloodshot, but the rest of his body was smooth and appeared to be blemish free. He stood on the podium but his movements were different from the others that had preceded him. He held the hands-behind-head pose, for several minutes, moved his hands out to form the letter T, and then struck a bodybuilder's pose to show off his spectacular muscularity.
Gabi was openly crying as Robert held her close to his side. "Please find him," she whispered repeatedly, "Find all of them."
At that exact moment Declan ran into the conference room shouting, "Aaron has them. He has a location."
Shaun too calmly spoke to the speakerphone, "Do you concur?"
"Yes, his algorithm found them in a warehouse district east of London, but we cannot isolate them to a particular building, just the district."
Shaun was up and moving before the answer was completed. As he exited the room, he heard, "We have all our people en route and have notified the locals to have Swat teams at the ready."
The video continued to show the boys, girls and Ethan, who had remained on the podium with his hands firmly planted behind his head. Watching were Hank, Robert and Gabi. The others already in their vans en route to the warehouse district.
Chapter 21
"Put this on," said Akerheart as he handed Aaron a bulletproof vest. Aaron's eyes gave away his fears. "Chances are you will need it. Everything I've been told about these guys suggests they won't go down easily."
Holding the vest, Aaron thought, this is very different from the leather vest I wore to the clubs. It was heavy, hot, covered all of his upper body, and had pockets for guns and ammo clips. After putting the vest on, he saw that Akerheart, Robbins, and Declan were donning their own protection. A similar vest lay on the console near Natalie who would cover up as soon as they reached their destination.
Declan was in constant contact with his support team using his mobile and a secure walkie-talkie. "The internet provider just gave us a better location," he said. "Natalie, they want us to get off the A10 and park near Union Walk."
Aaron worked his laptop to bring up a map of the area. "There must be over a hundred buildings there," he said as he showed the map to Akerheart. "How will we find the right building before the auction begins?"
"Guys, we better find it quickly," yelled Natalie, as she navigated the rush hour traffic. "Hank just called. The video ended with the off camera voice saying the auction would take place at 8 tonight."
"Shit," said Aaron as he looked at the map. "I have an idea." He switched from map to overhead view allowing a better visual of the buildings within the area provided by the internet company. "I think most of these have been converted to lofts or flats. Can't imagine a kidnapping ring using one of them," looking at Akerheart for confirmation.
Declan took Aaron's computer and typed a command into the browser then handed it back to Aaron. On the screen was a similar overhead image, which appeared to be a video.
"How current is this?" asked Aaron as he looked at the screen.
"It's not a video; it's our real-time satellite view. Ever since the 9/11 attack on the US, we've been launching "weather satellites" to help keep tabs on the area around us."
Aaron looked at his counterpart with dismay. "So how do we use this to find our kidnappers?"
"Click that button at the top of the screen," said Declan pointing to a tab on Aaron's computer. As Aaron did, the screen went to a dark green color. The buildings were outlined in a darker green, almost black, and movement could be seen in some. "Infrared," said Declan as he watched Aaron move around the map. "Everything gives off a heat signature; people cars, buildings - everything. The infrared camera picks up that signature and shows it to you. Unfortunately, the buildings are still warm from the heat of the sun. When the sun goes down shortly, the infrared will work better allowing us to see the people inside the buildings."
Natalie pulled into the parking lot of a small shopping center. She donned her body armor while waiting for further instructions. Within minutes, several black vans and cars joined the Andrews team. Shaun approached their van as Natalie opened the window and Akerheart slid the side door open.
"This area is huge," said Aaron as he showed Shaun the map on his computer screen. "How do we find them?"
Shaun was joined by several specialists, trained in urban combat tactics. They wore similar body protection as the Andrews team. "Our guess is that they have sequestered their operation to a stand-alone building," said one of them as he shook Akerheart's hand.
"That's a long shot, isn't it Shaun?" asked Robins as he looked over Aarons shoulder. "This place is huge and there are quite a few stand-alone buildings."
"I agree," said Akerheart. "How do we check that many buildings in two hours?"
"We have ten teams here right now and four more en route. Swat teams are waiting north of the area. We don't want to spook them. We need to catch this ring in the act of auctioning off those boys and girls. Then we can send them away for a long time."
Akerheart, Robins, and Natalie looked at Aaron as he spoke, "Can this program give me more finite details? If I can see this level of activity on
the streets, how much detail can I see in the buildings?"
Shaun looked at Declan and said, "He's been vetted. You can show him everything he needs to know for this operation, but remember it's on a need to know basis." He looked directly into Aaron's eyes and said, "The other day you asked me if we were monitoring you. We did more than that. While you worked on this, we contacted the US government, your friends, family, fellow employees, and neighbors. We did a thorough background check on you. We know how much money you save, how much you spend and what you buy, the food you eat, the route you walk to and from Andrews, how you reacted when the guy flirted with you the other night at the pub, when you pee, and how often you jerk off."
Aaron was so shocked at what he just heard his blush felt as if he might be on fire. He gulped, tried to say something, but nothing came out. "Yes Aaron, that guy at the pub was one of ours. By the way, he said he'd like to meet you again if you really are interested," Shaun laughed at Aaron's embarrassment. "Simply put Aaron, you've been vetted and I must say you passed with flying colors."
This time his mouth worked a little. "I had no idea you would go to that much trouble. I'm just a geek trying to help out."
Natalie laughed so hard she started to choke. "Yeah, right Aaron, we get it. Hopefully you will too."
"Okay, let's get this search underway," said Shaun. "Our guys are setting up a command post over there." He pointed to a white delivery van that had parked near the end of the lot. "Aaron, I'm sure you'd appreciate some of the equipment we have in that. Go over and see if you can give them a hand."
Aaron was happy to comply with Shaun's suggestion. He took his laptop and mobile as he jogged to the truck. As he got close, he could see several antennas, and a small satellite dish near one end of the roof. Declan was a few steps behind.
Akerheart closed the side door; Natalie put the van in gear and drove to a spot closer to the building. "I want to keep away from the others in case we have to get out quickly."
