"What the fuck?" I glared in the direction the pen had come from and found Oxford glaring right back at me.
"Get the fuck out of your head and pay attention," my teammate snapped.
I looked around the room. Rhett and Matthew were smirking at me, but every one else was merely shaking their head.
"What did I miss?"
"Vegas," was Caden's response.
"What about it? The mission was a success. We rescued the women and children plus took several scumbags off the street. I consider that a job well done."
The target package we were given from DHS––Department of Homeland Security––was complete for once. We had gotten lucky that all the players were contained to one location and we were able to strategically hit it without too much of a hiccup. Sure, there was gunfire, but I would've been more concerned if there hadn't been. All of the women and children made it out alive even though the conditions they were in were deplorable.
"Maybe a little too perfect," Logan grumbled.
I pointed at my teammate. "See that, right there, is your problem. You always have to find the negative. Why can't you just be happy we had a successful mission?"
"Because it wasn't successful." Matthew crossed his arms and looked around at us sternly.
"Aw, fuck." I dropped my head to my chin. Damn the universe for mocking me. "What the hell did I miss while I was busy daydreaming about my wife?"
I glanced up just in time to see the smirks on my teammates’ faces. I had a feeling I knew what they were smiling about, but Graham confirmed it, "It's good to hear you talking like that, my friend."
I smiled in return. Referring to Molly as my wife was becoming second nature. The thought of calling her anything else made my stomach sour.
"One of the women who was rescued finally talked. Her English was a little broken, but they brought in a translator. She said there were more bodies than the ones we rescued."
"Are we sure they're alive? I know that sounds awful, but considering the condition we found them in, some might not have made it."
I hated thinking like that, but a person didn't go into my line of work with rose-colored glasses. There were always casualties in human trafficking. The people who smuggled humans didn't give a fuck what happened in transport and oftentimes moved more bodies than they needed with the knowledge that some wouldn't make it.
It was a cruel damn world we lived in.
"She was asked that, and she's adamant there has to be another location. She was separated from her sister and swears she's healthy enough that she would've survived."
I dropped my head at the mention of a sister. I couldn't imagine how the woman felt knowing she was rescued and not her family. That had to be hard on her.
"What is the DHS saying?"
"They are sticking to their guns that we intercepted the full shipment."
I couldn't stand the way the agency described humans like they were nothing more than cargo. I knew it helped them keep perspective, but damn, it pissed me off. These were flesh-and-blood people for fuck's sake.
"So now you're thinking there has to be another player or players. More than just the ones the DHS provided in the target package, and obviously another property that wasn't linked to the original target."
"That's what I'm saying. We all know the information we're given isn't always complete. I think this is one of those times."
Matthew wasn't saying anything new. The amount of times we were given only a piece of the information was more often than not. Alphabet agencies weren't known for sharing. They liked to keep things close to the vest, but damn, if they weren't quick to call us when they wanted something.
"So what's our plan?"
I knew Matthew and Black had to have some kind of plan. Neither of them were a fan of leaving things unfinished even if the DHS didn't order us to do anything.
"At the moment, we are in a holding pattern until the DHS gives us the go-ahead, or Caden discovers a tangible lead we can follow."
My team didn't like the sound of that. It was obvious based on the groans everyone gave. None of us wanted to sit on our hands while children were being trafficked in our own fucking country.
"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but we can't just go back to Vegas and spend an unlimited amount of time there."
