“Really?” I ask, incredulous.
“Yes.”
“They’re willing to go after the source?”
Charlie grimaces, knowing exactly why I’m asking. I don’t know much about Wimberley, but everything I’ve gathered from Anders is that while he and his buddies are all about the vigilante life, the people who actually run the place have only one objective in mind: money and lots of it.
As if reading my mind, Anders steps in. “I wouldn’t exactly say that. But some of the companies using trafficked labor have incredibly profitable patents.”
“There it is,”I mutter under my breath. Bram nods along.
Ignoring me, Anders continues, “If we disrupt their workflow enough, Wimberley’s corporate infrastructure can go in and execute a hostile takeover. There’s a lot of money in it for your team if you can show that it’s effective.”
“What does that mean?” Javier asks, raising his brows skeptically.
“It means if you successfully take a company out at its knees, Wimberley will pay a fee to Wild Heart in the form of a donation, and then everyone involved with the operation gets a cut of the profits once Wimberley’s gone in and done their thing.”
Erik shifts uncomfortably, and Charlie runs his hands through his hair. “Wimberley’s business model is virulent capitalism backed by vigilante work. Get rich by any means necessary, but if you can do good…sure, why not.”
“That’s how we got the land,” Bram notes dryly.
It’s a good point. Wimberley’s focused on the cash, but they don’t mind when Erik uses their fancy jet and government connections to go to Mexico for Ant’s family.
Huh. I wonder…
I turn to Charlie. “If you’re getting these ‘donations’ from Wimberley, does that mean you won’t have to do the bounty work anymore?”
Charlie lets out a breath. “Maybe.”
Anders speaks up. “They want to do a test run, and we’ve got the perfect proving grounds right here in Texas. There are dozens of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border, and children have gone missing from them for years now. It hasn’t gotten the news coverage it should have because most residents of colonias are undocumented, and the children that have gone missing are usually labeled ‘anchor babies,’ merely a ploy to stay in the US, and therefore…less valuable in people’s eyes.”
“A million dollars says the same people who use the term ‘anchor babies’ also call themselves ‘pro-life,’” Erik grumbles.
“Agreed. In this case, Wimberley’s intelligence connects the missing children to a massive semiconductor plant in the valley. Their technology allows for the tiniest microchips on the planet, and Wimberley is interested.”
“Wait…children at a semiconductor plant?” Ant asks. “What the fuck would a kid know about that kind of technology?”
“Small bodies, small fingers,” Erik says by way of explanation. “Adults develop back and eye issues working with technology and need more space in their area to function. Kids can go longer, and there’s less turnover.”
“What happens when they grow older and get too big?” Ant asks.
“They’re resold to the traffickers, who then resell them for domestic labor or sex work, depending.”
“What does Wimberley want to do with the kids?”
Anders answers, “The powers that be don’t really care. That’s for us to decide. I’m assuming we’ll want to do reunification and then do what we can to help with basics in these colonias.”
“Basics?” Ant asks.
“Colonias are underdeveloped settlements,” I explain. “Many houses don’t have running water or steady access to electricity.”
“In the United States?” he asks, the sadness in his eyes breaking my heart.
“Yep.”
Charlie lets out a big breath. “Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Whenever we’ve worked with Wimberley before, it’s been an even exchange and kept between Erik, me, and their operations team. With this, we’re now on the radar of the money people. Not gonna lie. It feels like we’re making a deal with the devil. Financially, we don’t need it—the bounty work brings in plenty of money. With Wimberley’s help, though, we can actually make a dent in trafficking.”
Anders nods. “It’s true. And if this works, we’ll share it with whoever’s serious about solving the problem.”
