"Cobra Four, I copy."
We waited for confirmation that Graham and Rhett were in position. An uneasy feeling slithered up my neck. I chalked it up to what Logan said before we rolled out. If there was a woman helping the traffickers, then I hoped she was here so we could take her out.
"Cobra Four. We're in position."
"We move in three."
Matthew counted down with his fingers, and the three of us busted through the door. We spread out throughout the largeempty building. There wasn't much to clear, considering we could see straight across to the front and side to side.
The building was only one story, so there wasn't anywhere up they could be hiding someone.
"Bad intel?" Rhett asked when the five of us circled in the middle of the open space.
"I don't think so. My source was positive they would be here for a few more days." Logan's lips turned down in aggravation.
"Wait, do you hear that?" I held up my hand and silenced my team. I could've sworn I heard banging. Like someone hitting something metal.
"It's probably just something outside banging around," Graham answered, but I waved him off.
Then it happened again. This time, there was no mistaking my team heard it because we all started to look around.
"Check for hidden walls or trapdoors. It's definitely coming from in here somewhere," Matthew ordered before moving to the right.
We all fanned out in different directions. Except now, when we did the sweep, we took more time. Running my hands along the walls and kicking around dirt, I heard the noise again, but it was farther away.
It was Logan who finally hollered, "I've got something over here." We moved toward him as he was pulling a large steel door up from under the linoleum.
"How the hell did you find that?" Graham stepped over to help.
"One of the pieces wasn't flush. When I kicked it, it moved. Then I realized they all shifted."
Sure enough, there was a pile of linoleum pushed away to make way for the door.
The first thing that hit us as soon as we had the door halfway open was the smell. Piss and feces. It wasn't the first time thatsmell had hit us. It was usually a good indicator we were in the right place.
"Bring that flashlight over here." Rhett brought it over so Logan could go down into the hole.
It wasn't a basement. More like a subfloor or crawl space. Standing straight up, the main floor was even with Logan's chest. My teammate squatted down and cursed.
"How bad, man?" Matthew asked.
"Bad," Logan whispered. "Call the local DHS field office and get someone out here now."
"You know they're going to ask for details, man. Tell me what we're dealing with."
"Dozens. Maybe fifty or more. Women and children. And from what I can tell, they've been down here for a couple of days."
Son of a bitch! This job never got easier, but shit like this pissed me off.
Matthew made the call, and it took hours before we were able to leave.
Watching the women and children who climbed out of the hole took a piece of my soul. From what Logan described, there were cages lined up throughout the space barely big enough for large dogs. Sometimes there were three women to a cage and multiple children packed in together. The filth they were forced to endure was horrible.
I hoped this never got easier to stomach. If so, that would be the time for me to give up the job.
It was well into the early morning before we got back to the house. We would meet in a few hours at the local field office to debrief before we could head back home.
All I could think about after what I saw was the fact that I wanted to get lost in my wife. I needed something good. I don'tknow what I did before Molly came into my life, but I was sure glad I had her now.
