Liam really did a number on Tyler. The walls of the apartment were splattered with blood and I wasn’t sure that the man going to survive the beating he had just endured. All I could do now was call an ambulance and hope I hadn’t just stood by while Liam murdered a man. I was just getting off the phone with emergency services when Liam emerged from the bathroom. His face was wiped clean of blood, but his shirt was covered in bright red stains and his knuckles would need medical attention. We would need to find him some new clothes before we did much else.
The vacant deadly look that entered Liam’s eyes when Tyler told them Grace’s captors were probably hurting her hadn’t left and when I met his gaze a shiver of fear ran down my spine. If we didn’t find a better lead on Grace’s location soon, I was worried that Liam would go on a killing spree. I shook that thought from my mind and walked out of Tyler Wilson’s apartment. Outside I hailed a cab and directed the driver to take us to the Williamsburg Hotel. I used my Tiffany Peirce credentials to buy a hotel suite and instructed the concierge to bring three sets of clothes for both Liam and me up to our room as soon as possible.
When we got to our five-star room Liam turned on me and asked, “What are we doing here?”
“Our next step is to work with the FBI team to find out everything we can about this warehouse on Lincoln. I thought you might want to take a shower and change your clothes before walking into the FBI headquarters.” Liam looked down at his blood-stained shirt before heading into the bathroom. I glanced at my watch and saw it was just after noon. We should eat something to keep up our strength. I picked up the phone and ordered some room service.
As I waited for the food and clothes I considered what we had. We knew that Grace and three other girls had been taken by the Los Zetas Cartel and if the bartender was right, the girls were going to be sold right here in the city. That most likely meant that they were also being kept in the city. Other than that, we didn’t have much. We didn’t have any leads on where the girls were currently being held and only had a thin lead on where they might be in four days’ time. A lot could happen to Grace in four days. Waiting until Friday was not a good option.
A plan started to form in my mind on how we could find Grace and the other girls as early as tonight. But it was going to cost me more than I was willing to admit. I opened my laptop and pulled up a photo of Grace Harris. In the photo, her and a friend were proudly displaying sweatshirts with the Columbia logo on them. Grace was a normal girl who knew nothing of the ugly filth of the criminal underworld that she had been taken to. I had grown up in that filth. It couldn’t touch me the same way that it would mark a girl like Grace.
With my promise to Liam ringing in my head I wrote down a list of things we would need to pull my plan off. Staying in a hotel like this cost an arm and a leg but the service was unbelievable. I had faith that the concierge would be able to quietly obtain everything on my list within a couple of hours. In the meantime, I would work to find another way to find Grace that didn’t involve me facing some of the worst memories from my childhood.
Liam finished his shower and emerged in just a towel as I was signing for the clothes. They were of the best quality and put what both of us had been wearing that morning to shame. I gave the concierge a huge tip and asked him to find and leave the items on my list within the room. He didn’t even blink at the request and told me that the food would be up shortly. As Liam looked through the clothes, I grabbed a set for myself and went to the bathroom to grab a quick shower.
When I came back into the room Liam was sitting at the table and eating one of the hamburgers. I joined him, and we ate in silence for a while until Liam asked me, “Are you really going to get that Abigail girl into St. Francis Academy?”
I kept my attention focused on my food as I answered. “Yes. I contacted the headmaster when I was waiting for you outside of Joey’s apartment. All it took was a donation to secure her a spot.”
“You got the girl in before going to talk to the bartender?”
“It’s not the girl’s fault her dad is a deadbeat drug user that is involved with a cartel. And that suicide shit wasn’t fabricated. I wasn’t going to just leave a girl to a life where she felt the only way out was to kill herself when I could easily help.” I looked up to see Liam was assessing my actions. But I was done explaining myself to him about this. No one should be punished for who their parents are.
We finished eating and I texted the burner phone that I gave Joey letting him know we were on our way into the FBI headquarters. On the taxi ride, I saw Liam examine his injured knuckles. I wondered if he regretted what he had done to Tyler Wilson. And then I met his cold eyes and knew that he didn’t regret anything.
Joey met us in the lobby and I was satisfied to see that his left eye was turning a deep purple from my hit earlier that morning. We were led through building security and I had to hand over my two firearms and four knives. Both men looked at me with eyebrows raised but neither commented on the small arsenal I was carrying. I briefed Joey on the Lincoln warehouse and he led us to an office that contained two desks that were set up facing each other. One of the desks chairs was empty while the other held an older man with salt and pepper hair and a large nose. The man looked both Liam and me over as we entered the room and his eyes lingered on Liam’s ruined hands.
“Payton, Liam, this is my partner special agent Tom Jones. Tom this is my friend Payton Taylor and her associate, Liam Harris.” I bristled at Joey’s use of the term friend but decided not to fight the issue. How did one define our relationship anyway?
“Harris,” Tom drawled in a southern accent, “As in Grace Harris, the most recent missing girl?”
“Yes. They are here to help us with the investigation into her kidnapping,” Joey told his partner.
“And how would they be of assistance?” Tom asked with a heavy dose of skepticism.
“They work in private security. Payton was able to identify the bartender as the one that slipped Grace the roofie. They just paid a visit to said bartender and he gave them a warehouse on Lincoln street that the auction is supposed to take place.”
“Hmm. Interesting. Might I ask if said bartender is still breathing?” Tom asked while flicking another glance at Liam’s hands. It was clear that he thought we had beat the information out of Tyler. I didn’t have time to correct him.
“He was when we left him. Now, what can you tell me about that warehouse district, Special Agent Jones?” I asked dropping my bag next to Tom’s chair. If we were going to split up to run down any leads, I wanted to make sure I didn’t end up with Joey.
“Well let’s see what we have in our system.” Tom stood and grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and placed it by his own in a clear invitation for me to sit. He then signed into the FBI’s database and searched the indicated area. The neighborhood was riddled with crime and after looking a little deeper into some of the offenders I found many connections to the Los Zetas Cartel.
After we confirmed that this was indeed a strong lead, Joey put together a team of agents to go check out the warehouse in case the girls were being kept there. Liam went with them while I elected to stay behind and investigate known cartel members. Maybe I would find something that would lead us to another possible location that the girls were being kept. I set up my computer next to Tom’s and after getting frustrated with his slow pace asked if I could just use his computer with the FBI database. He consented but watched my every move over my shoulder.
I used Tom’s computer to access information that the FBI had collected while I used a terminal on my laptop to search the dark web. Ninety minutes later I had compiled an impressive amount of data on dozens of people that had associations with the Los Zetas Cartel. I identified two different locations that the cartel worked out of and sent the addresses along to Liam. When I paused to rub my eyes, Tom took the opportunity to comment on my work.
“You sure know what you’re doing with the computers there. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone work that quickly between two different screens before.” I didn’t know how to respond, so I remained silent and grabbed the glass of water that Tom had brought me. “Have you ever considered coming and working for the FBI Ms. Taylor?”
The question made me choke on the water I had been attempting to drink and Tom rose to pat me on the back. I dodged his touch and grabbed a tissue to wipe my face. He didn’t seem that surprised by my reaction though and when I had recovered, he pressed me with another question.
“Joe said you two were old friends. How do you two know each other?” I turned and searched the older man’s face. I suspected he was fishing for an answer that he already knew. However, I didn’t see any reason to lie to the man and I wanted to see where he would take this.
“We met when he was working a case.” He nodded his head and rubbed his chin.
“You know Joe once told me about a girl that he met while working a case,” he drawled in his thick accent. “Told me about how much he regretted how everything turned out. How he would give almost anything for another chance with that girl.” Regretted? Joey regretted what happened? Well so did I. But regret can’t change the past.
“I bet that girl has regrets too, Special Agent Jones. And I also bet those regrets include ever having met Joe McDonald.” With that, I turned back to the computer screens and ended the conversation. Tom seemed to accept that and padded the back of my chair before leaving the room.
Liam and Joey returned a little after five PM full of frustration. They had done raids on all three locations, but they found no sign of the girls anywhere. Liam paced the small office and hostility came off him in waves. I figured he was thinking about men hurting his little sister while he did nothing to protect her. It was hard to watch the man in so much pain. I mentally squared my shoulders and prepared to go another round with Joey.
“Okay, Joey. We have tried it the long way. It’s time that we have a word with your undercover agent.”
“And I told you. I don’t know what you’re talking about. The FBI does not have an undercover agent in the Los Zetas Cartel.”
God damn it. He was touting the company line of ‘we don’t know anything about undercover agents’. Frustration welled up inside of me and I turned to my laptop. If he wasn’t willing to tell me who I was looking for, I would just find him myself.
Five minutes later I had a name. “Jose Silva,” I stated, and Joey’s hands froze over his own computer.
“How in God’s name did you find that name?” He yelled at me with anger and disbelief in his voice.
“Payroll,” I responded, and he looked confused. “There are five men that are being paid as field agents, but their names are not assigned to any task force. Jose Silva’s paychecks match up with the timeline of when you told us you started the investigation into the Los Zetas Cartel and he is Hispanic.”
Tom let out a loud long whistle. “Are you positive you don’t want to come work for us, sweetheart? Those are some pretty impressive deductive skills you have there.”
“This is not something to joke about,” Joey declared while his face turned a deep shade of red. “If anyone learns that Jose is FBI, he is as good as dead. I will not put his life in danger.”
“Is it his life you are worried about or your case against the cartel?” I asked in a soft hiss. When he didn’t answer I shook my head in disgust. “You haven’t changed one-bit Special Agent McDonald. Still putting the case before anything or anyone else.” I had to turn away from Joey. This argument hit just a little too close to home and I couldn’t look at him right now or I would blacken his other eye.
“Set a meet, Joe. If you don’t, she is just going to do it herself and we both know it.” Tom stated in a tired voice. I didn’t know what kind of relationship Tom had with Joey, but I did know that Tom had more years on the job and that meant that he was in charge. Joey would listen to Tom and we would get our meet with Jose.
“What do you think this undercover agent will be able to tell us?” Liam asked with clear desperation in his voice. I didn’t want to give him any false hope. I wanted to meet with Jose to ensure that we tried everything possible before we considered my alternative plan.
“Maybe he has heard about the trafficking and can point us in the right direction,” I told him gently.
“And if he hasn’t? What do we do then? What is the next step?”
I wasn’t ready to unveil my half-baked idea, so I went with a simple truth. “Then we will keep looking until we find her. We won’t give up Liam. We will find Grace.” Liam looked at me with desperate eyes and nodded.
I needed a break from the emotions swirling around the office, so I fled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. God, what if we couldn’t find Grace? It would break Liam. Maybe it was time to call the rest of the Whistler team in. I didn’t know how to locate kidnapped girls. Didn’t Oliver say that Ethan specialized in rescue operations? Why did I think that I could help Liam? I knew more about kidnapping girls than I did about saving them. I wasn’t the right person to pull this off and Grace was going to continue to suffer because of my failure.
My building panic was cut off when the door to the bathroom opened and Joey walked in. I grabbed some paper towels and hid my face while I composed myself. I didn’t want Joey to see me in a vulnerable state.
“The meeting is set. Up at a dinner in Harlem in one hour.” I nodded to let him know I understood but he didn’t leave the bathroom. “I think about it all the time,” Joey said in a soft voice. “How I didn’t leave with you when you asked. I think about how things could have turned out if I would have put you before my case.”
Then I might have never found out the truth and would still be living a lie. No, things were better this way. Joey taught me to never trust someone just because you love them.
I was tired and didn’t have the energy or the time to get into it with Joey right now. “We can’t change the past. But we can find those girls. Let’s just focus on that.”
“I can do that.” He promised in a low voice. That voice warmed my blood as I remembered other, different promises he once vowed to me.
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