“How long have you been like this?”
The boy shrugged. “I’m not sure. Where are we? We started in Columbia, though I don’t know how long ago that was.”
“Columbia? You’ve been like this for over two hours?” George looked up from where he was cutting through another set of ropes. The boy shrugged again.
“Probably longer. They took a break at some point, to eat something.”
“Let me guess, you didn’t get anything.” Andi didn’t have to ask, not really. Yet he did, because the brutality of what these young people had experienced was just too cruel to be simply accepted.
The boy laughed, an ugly, disillusioned sound not fitting for a face so young. Then again, his eyes, as well as those of the girls, showed an age and a wariness of the world Andi would expect in people a lot older than himself. “If they give us too much food, we might get fat and too strong to be handled. No, food has to be earned through good behavior and excellent services.” He spat on the floor. At least his spirit seemed unbroken. Or perhaps it was just courage born of despair. Andi couldn’t tell, and he hoped these young people would get a decent second chance in life. They more than deserved it.
“What’s your name?” He looked at all the victims, the boy last.
“I’m Greg Smith. They tried their best to make us forget our names, but I held on to it.” Stubborn pride shone through his words.
Andi nodded. “Very well done. Don’t let them take any more from you than they already have.”
“I’m Rose Everton, and this is my sister, Mia. We haven’t been with those men for long,” one of the girls said. Tears started streaming down her face. “They just took us when we walked home from school.” She was shaking. Andi saw George leaning toward the girl, reaching out in a slow, controlled movement as not to spook her.
“Shh, it’s fine, Rose. You’re free now. The nightmare is over.” Rose allowed George to stroke her arm while her apparently younger sister—Andi felt his blood boiling when he estimated her age to be around fourteen—snuggled into her side. He turned toward the third girl, who seemed to be the same age as Greg.
“I’m Kathy Sacks. I didn’t forget either.” Her voice wobbled, but she didn’t cry. Andi smiled at her.
“Very good, Kathy. I’m proud of you.”
The sound of sirens coming closer had Andi taking a look outside. “The ambulance is here. How do you feel about leaving this van? Or would you rather stay in here to get looked after? It’s entirely your choice. Whatever makes you feel safest.”
Greg shot to his feet so fast, he almost stumbled over. George had cut his ropes last, and Greg kicked them aside when he went for the door. Kathy followed immediately, while Rose and Mia stayed with George.
Andi exchanged a look with his partner. “I’ll go with Greg and Kathy.”
“I’ll stay with Rose and Mia. Send the paramedics in, please.”
“Of course.”
Andi followed Greg and Kathy outside, where Adam Forard was already gently directing them toward the first of the two ambulances parked behind the blue van. On their way they passed the last of the four men SWAT had taken into custody. He was on his knees, hands zip-tied behind his back, with a SWAT member guarding him. Greg moved so fast, none of them had time to react. He kicked the guy in the balls with all his might, causing the criminal to topple over with an anguished scream. Adam hurried to pull Greg away from the man, though not before Greg got the chance for a second kick, which the boy dished out with a broad smile on his lips. Kathy watched with gleeful satisfaction written all over her face.
“Serves you right,” Andi spat when he passed the groaning man. The SWAT man winked.
After a thorough check, the paramedics declared all four victims outwardly more or less hale, apart from the bruises and being underfed. There was a short discussion with Adam, and then Andi and George agreed to have Rose, Mia, Kathy, and Greg taken to the hospital for a round of intense testing and to monitor them for the night. Once the ambulances had taken off with one SWAT member as guard in each of them, Andi and George went back to the vans. CSI had arrived by then, scrutinizing the vehicles closely. Andi knew from a few fleas who had recently taken residence on Mia that the children had been in contact with a man who didn’t smell appealing because of anemia before they were sent to Charleston. Since the four drivers all were quite healthy apart from the drugs in their system, which were the same as Taylor Vance and Ronald Wallace had used, Andi could safely assume this man was somebody else, hopefully not just a customer but a part of the organization.
Until they could follow any leads, though, they had a group of human traffickers to interrogate. Andi and George left the CSI team to their work, said goodbye to Adam, who was getting ready to drive back to the precinct as well, and went to George’s car. Once they were inside, George started the engine.
“That went well.” It was a neutral comment.
Andi nodded, leaning his head on the passenger seat. He was bone-tired, and their night wasn’t even close to an end.
“Yeah, it did. I was afraid the spot Vance gave us would be a bust. That they somehow got wind of him being arrested and changed it. So glad it turned out golden.”
George threw him a quick glance before he concentrated on the street again. “You didn’t know if he was telling the truth?”
Andi groaned inwardly. He couldn’t hold it against George that he tried to get more information. And he was trying to be polite about it, so Andi decided to work with him.
“No, I didn’t. I’m not a lie detector per se. Only when it comes to certain facts.”
“Like if somebody is a user.”
“Yep.”
