“Are we heading to the workshop?” Sean asked.
“Yeah. We need to stop someplace secure, take a minute, clean up, and put together a game plan. I also need some privacy for a phone call,” Michael replied.
Jackie rustled in her seat. “I appreciate all this, I really do. But why aren’t we working with the police department?”
Michael’s expression hardened as he considered how to answer. “ABCs has corrupt officers on his payroll. Several in my department are under investigation for taking money, drugs, and other incentives. These officers inform him and turn their heads when needed to let his business operate.”
“It can’t be the whole department. I mean, at least some of the officers are still honest, right?” Jackie asked.
“Sure. But we are in the middle of an investigation and unsure as to the extent of his corruption. My instincts tell me he has enough people on his payroll to at least delay any action to save Elena. That delay would be long enough to disappear her.” Michael stopped there, he wasn’t going to say that it would be too late, not again.
Jackie’s expression became pained as she turned this over in her head. Then, with a look of realization, she asked, “You said ‘we’ are in the middle of an investigation.” She gave him a moment before continuing. “Are you working with Internal Affairs or something like that?”
Michael looked up and caught a sideways glance from Sean. He had slipped. He didn’t intend to reveal his involvement in an internal investigation, so he simply said, “Yeah, something like that.”
Sean sighed and shook his head. Jackie gave Michael a hard look. “We are about to risk our lives to save Elena from this monster. Everyone in this car deserves to know the truth. Now is not the time to hold anything back.”
Clay had been listening to the exchange in silence until that point. “I agree, and it goes without saying that you can trust us all to keep this just between us.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, including Martha. Sean spoke up, “Just tell ‘em, Michael. You’re about to risk it all anyway, aren’t you?”
“I am,” Michael replied as he turned and looked out through the cracked windows of his SUV.
“You really did a job on my Suburban, Clay.” Michael frowned as he took in the damage to all the windows.
“Take it up with Evan,” Clay barked.
“Maybe I will,” Michael shot back, unable to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Clay sat brooding in the back seat while Jackie reached out her hand and set it on Michael’s, giving it a light squeeze. “You can trust us. This is about Elena, nothing else. If we can save her, it should be worth anything that’s possible right now.”
He looked up at Sean, who felt his stare, and turned his head to nod in agreement.
“Okay.” After a deep sigh, Michael proceeded, “I’ve been frustrated for a long time. ABCs and his pawns have been getting away with just about anything, which made me suspicious. After some investigation on my own, it became clear that several officers were on the take. In fact, I had a hunch that Officer Hines was too, and his actions confirmed it this evening at the hospital.”
“The officer from this morning? The one who arrested the driver of the truck?” Jackie asked.
“Yes, the same. And by the way, they fast-tracked that guy’s bond hearing. Someone posted bail for him, probably ABCs. He was in and out of jail in a few hours.”
Everyone huffed out a breath in disgust as Michael continued, “It’s the same with anyone who comes in on any prostitution or drug-related charge. They are in and out. Almost none have done time.” Michael’s eyes took on a distant look as he followed his thoughts, long since honed into a crystal-clear understanding. “When drugs and prostitution and all that comes with it proliferate, it tears at the moral fabric of the places it infects, brings out the depravity of an otherwise good-natured community, makes it too easy for people to check out when things get tough instead of digging in and making the hard choices that lead to... I don’t know... Just about anything would be a better fate than what I’ve seen. The people I’ve pulled out of the mess ABCs has created are so badly broken... It stays with you.”
Murmurs of assent.
“It’s been frustrating,” Michael added.
“That’s an understatement,” Sean added.
“Yeah, so I took my own course of action. I’ve been looking for a way up and out of the department. One of the avenues I explored was the DEA.” Everyone sat in silence as Michael paused a minute to gather his thoughts. “Long story short, they approved my application. They brought me in on a probationary status pending the investigation into the department. I’ve been working with the DEA office in San Antonio to provide information that will hopefully lead to the arrests of not only the dirty cops but also their main suspect in Texas—The Alphabet King.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re moving up, but I don’t see how this can help Elena now,” Jackie said.
“I have someone I can call. Maybe get reinforcements we know we can trust. There are other resources that may be available. I won’t know until I talk to someone.” Michael took his phone out of his pocket and sent a text.
Jackie turned to look out the window as Sean slowed the Suburban. “That’s a lot of speculation. But given our situation, I can’t see any other options. I’d go in there after her myself if I had to.”
“Right and get yourself captured in the process.” Clay turned his head and winced in pain. “That guy made it clear he wanted to take you too.”
Jackie didn’t respond as Sean took a turn off the highway and then another quick turn into what looked like a massive industrial complex consisting of several nondescript buildings each a city block in size, spaced evenly inline. Every building had several bay doors. There was a tall fence surrounding the entire complex. Sean pulled up to a keypad and hesitated as he looked out the cracked window. Thinking the window might not hold, he opened the door, reached out, and entered a code. The gate rolled open and they pulled in.
Chapter Twelve
Detective Slade sat back in his chair in the privacy of his office on the second floor of the precinct. He had heard the conversation that just took place in the suburban, as well as all the events prior. In the melee, Michael had apparently forgotten about the flip phone in his pocket.
Slade had no one to consult on this. Grad school and marriage had forced him to leave his old life behind, and he had not yet made any real connections around the precinct. With a pregnant wife at home, he typically refused social invitations. To make matters worse, she had been battling excessive fatigue brought on by physiologic anemia. She could barely keep up with the day-to-day. He turned to look at her picture and wondered if he would be a good enough father. Melody was usually patient with his work hours, but lately had been more critical of the overtime because she needed his help. His eyes fell to his diplomas and the hard work he’d put in to obtain them. His college days seemed distant—another lifetime.
Slade tore his mind away from the past and turned back to his desk. His education hadn’t prepared him for this. He’d committed to helping an officer who had now gone rogue, which landed him in the gray area between right and wrong. When Streets asked him to communicate ‘off normal channels’, Slade suspected they might be forced to employ back-alley tactics—just not to this extent. Although he could not afford to lose his job, he could not leave a good cop hanging either—especially if he intended to stick out his neck to save a child from being trafficked. He thought of his unborn child, what he would to save her life in a situation like this. With that, all hesitation melted away.
Knowing now he had unwittingly signed on to be part of a corrupt precinct, Slade knew he had to do something to distinguish himself from the dirty cops.
Knowing that he and Officer Street were among the few that stood between a little girl and a life of misery, Slade knew he had to set aside his doubts and take action.
A plan came to mind, and his fingers went to work on the keyboard. The mouse moved smoothly on the soft pad as he brought up the software and files he would need. As he worked, he heard background noises from the phone, a soft crash, car doors opening and closing, tired sighs and footsteps... but few words.
𓂓
The bay door rolled back down and stopped with a soft metallic crash, the Suburban and its passengers safe inside the spacious workshop. Sean slid a bar in the frame to lock the door in place. Everyone piled out and gratefully took turns in the restroom built out in the back corner. With an office opposite the bathroom, the two small rooms along the back wall created a nook for a well-worn leather couch. A small wooden table and matching chairs were set up a few feet in front of it, along with a couple of side tables. Michael kept the space clean and open except for worktables, storage cabinets, and toolboxes lining the left side.
Everyone milled about the couch and table waiting for a turn in the bathroom. First out, Michael walked over and pulled a new dark gray t-shirt from a shelf. “Sean, can you help me get this off?” Sean came over and helped his big brother peel off the bloody shirt Jackie had cut up while treating his wounds, then they went over to a utility sink and used wet bundles of paper towels to wipe off dried blood. “Okay, help me get this on.”
