Victoria and Ivan entered and sat beside Kassie and Doc.
When everyone settled in their seats, Leo started the meeting. “We rescued twenty-one kids and nine women tonight. Jameson went dark about an hour ago. He’s searching for a woman named Caroline, who helped us locate Rebecca. We’ve contacted Matthew, and he’s assured us they will have the new cabins ready for the women. Kassie will send social workers, rape crisis counselors, and Annabelle to address their medical needs. The children will stay in two large cabins with supervision at all times. We’re working with the FBI to identify them and searching missing children’s reports to match them. Ragu, you’ll fly down with Annabelle and assist her.”
Leo’s man nodded. “Will they feel comfortable with me there?”
“Support Annabelle the best you can. In a couple of days, we’ll rotate another nurse practitioner, and Dr. Greene, the OBGYN, has graciously offered us her services for a few weeks,” Leo informed the group. “With Rebecca in the wind, we didn’t expect to rescue this many on our first time around. We’re understaffed, and the Texas team needs our assistance. We’ll provide coverage for their men as required. We’ll split up between two flights. Kassie and Doc will escort anyone else who must stay due to their condition.”
“When will the first group be released?” Julio asked, noticing a monitor with Matthew on the other side.
“We’re releasing them in the morning. Kassie and Claire handled the arrangements and coordinated with Matthew and Rachel. The counselors and a couple of aides will leave tonight. Tomorrow we’ll decide who can go, depending on how their vitals improve overnight. We’re dealing with dehydration and malnutrition. Both of those can be addressed in Texas. The other severe issues, we’ll keep here,” Doc supplied.
No one needed to spell out the worst conditions. Every one of them saw it written on the women’s faces, guessing the other issues.
Leo cleared his throat. “What about Rebecca?”
Kassie’s mouth firmed. Doc’s gaze shifted to Julio.
“She’ll go with the first group,” Julio informed them.
His announcement made the team shift uncomfortably in their chairs. Taco and Shadow gave him a sympathetic nod, pissing him off. What gave them the right to feel sorry for him? He didn’t go through anything.
“Do you have a problem?” Julio seethed, staring at the two men.
Taco reared his head back as if surprised by his aggression. Shadow crossed his arms, scowling at him.
“We have no issues,” Shadow responded. “Keep in mind, Rebecca’s condition affects us, too. She sacrificed herself to save my wife and son. There’s nothing I won’t do for her.”
Taco sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I hate Rebecca must recover from all this, but you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it won’t hit you, too. Avie’s ex-husband shot Tess, and she’s still recovering from her injuries. It about killed me.”
“Rebecca will get the care she needs and will come out on the other side,” Julio insisted through gritted teeth.
Patch huffed out a laugh. “You’re fooling yourself, man. We’re talking about you. I know you want to kill every one of those bastards. We’re happy to help you dispatch them to hell. But you have a bigger job to handle first. As badly as you want to go after them, Rebecca comes first.”
Julio scowled at the group, not understanding them. “Of course,” he replied stiffly.
Knight leaned forward, interlacing his fingers. “You’re gonna want to go dark. We’ve faced this. Don’t let it corrupt you, brother. There will be a time for a reckoning later. Take care of our friend. We owe her for Avie and Deni. When the time comes, we won’t hesitate to help you.”
Leo cleared his throat, glancing at Kassie and Doc. “Stormy, did you have something to add?”
“Yes. I’ve sent additional supplies to Texas, along with toys, books, stuffed animals, and assorted clothing in all sizes. I’ve coordinated with Kassie’s supply clerk here and when Annabelle leaves tonight, she’ll have everything to get them started.”
“Good job, Stormy,” Leo complimented his newest team member to Team Hawk. “Does anyone else have something to add?”
Sparky spoke up, “Bear and I mapped out all the locations Rebecca gave us. From what we can tell, we’re not dealing withone ring but two. The pattern seemed scattered at first. Yet they intersect in Denver, Colorado. Plus, it seems weird they sold every woman but Rebecca. She mentioned the original women, who were sold and who died. Then she named new women and along the way, the group of children showed up. Which brings us to the next question: Rebecca mentioned a young girl named Megan. It’s the only time she mentions kids until Denver. Where did she come from? Why did they keep her?”
“How did you determine it as two rings?” Leo asked as Bear pulled up the map and projected it on the whiteboard.
“All the places marked with a red X indicate Rebecca’s whereabouts starting in the Southeast. They work their way south and end up in Colorado. The blue X’s indicate where she mentions the children, except Megan,” Bear explained. “Rebecca said they ended up in Florida, but we rescued them in Georgia. They’re working their way up the East Coast again.”
“Think about it,” Sparky said. “It takes them almost a year to make their route. They’ll need to pick up more merchandise, redistribute them, and fill specific orders. Rebecca said they haven’t held an auction for kids until you rescued them. They can’t pluck a bunch of kids from one area. It needs to feel random. They can’t connect them as easily if they’re coming from all over.”
“I don’t get it. Jameson has worked underground since before Rebecca’s kidnapping. Why didn’t he know it?”
“Because they keep them ignorant of one another. If one ring gets caught, the other can still operate. It’s like cutting off the head of a snake and two more grow back. It’s why it took you forever to locate Rebecca. She’s moved within both groups. They didn’t want her sold. It’s as if they made different plans for her, or someone placed a special order, resembling her. Megan’s the only part of the puzzle I can’t figure out,” Sparky admitted.
Julio’s hands curled into fists, listening to Sparky’s assessment. It took everything he had not to stand up and shout at her to shut up. Rebecca and Megan didn’t represent a product or merchandise. They’re human beings, for Pete’s sake.
Leo turned his attention to Julio. “It explains what we know about the delivery locations in Seattle. Sparky’s on to something. Jameson’s working in the blind about the other ring. They might’ve moved Caroline to the second ring if they thought she compromised them in any way.”
