“Let me guess, there’s no record of what those jobs are, nor where?” Rob remarked sadly, thinking of how desperate and gullible the people must be.
“Not quite. Two of the men are friends and decided not to walk out, suspicious of how they had been treated and therefore what awaited them. Apparently, they tried dissuading the others, were mostly unsuccessful with the men, but did manage to influence some of the women.”
Cezar paused for a drink of coffee. “Go on,” Laura urged. “I have an uncomfortable feeling about what is coming!”
Swallowing his coffee, Cezar continued, “Well, they had all been sworn to secrecy. The suggestion was they had landed a superb job while the others had not. Therefore, they shouldn’t discuss such matters to avoid ill content.”
“Nice!” grumbled Nat, acutely aware how people smugglers didn’t want people talking at risk of revealing shocking truths. “So what was promised?”
“Work in a plant manufacturing specialist chemicals.”
“You’re kidding! You are thinking about this place, aren’t you?” Laura exclaimed.
“Yes, I am.”
Before he could continue, Nat asked “Doing what, though?”
“This is where it gets interesting, and disturbing. Living on-site, they were to have nothing to do with the production, as you’d expect because that requires training and qualifications. Instead, the women were informed they would be providing support activities while the men would be moving the materials about and helping with the loading and unloading of delivery vehicles.”
“What were they promised in terms of pay?” Laura queried.
Cezar grimaced. “A pittance on a daily bass, but a generous bonus upon completion. The men were promised extra as well – the company of women as compensation for not being permitted to go out socialising.”
“Great!” fumed Laura. “In other words, the women’s support activities were, among other things, code for sex! People smugglers are worse than vile!”
“Why on earth were they allowed to leave the care centre?!” Rob exclaimed indignantly. “Anyone can see right through those stories!”
“Sadly, this only came out after they had left. Initially, no one wanted to speak to us until the two friends decided to trust us.”
Nat scowled and rubbed his fingers across his forehead. “Something doesn’t stack-up. Why are these people being brought over to work in a facility that clearly has been operating for quite some time already?”
An uncomfortable silence descended on the group during which Rob looked around at everyone’s faces. “I guess they are to replace others who arrived earlier and have presumably run away, died, or been killed,” he suggested.
“I think we can forget the first option,” Nat remarked grimly.
“Cezar, you need to let your colleagues know and ensure that they wear chemical suits when they go in.”
Cezar nodded and tapped away on his computer. A few moments later a nearby printer wirelessly spat out the report he had been reading from. He picked the papers up and walked out, “Back soon.”
* * *
“Let me introduce you to General Muntean and Lieutenant Farcas,” Cezar said when he returned some twenty minutes later with two men dressed in dark fatigues. “The General will be leading this evening’s raid.”
Hands were shaken warmly amidst smiles all round. The General was of average height, looked to be in his forties, had broad shoulders and large muscular chest. By contrast, Lieutenant Farcas towered above everyone and had to bow his head as he entered the room. Both men’s faces were heavily tanned and held serious expressions.
“Cezar has briefed us on your most recent findings,” the General said. “Thank you. Any intel that we can use to keep us safe is appreciated.” He paused before nodding at the table of scattered papers where they had been sitting. “I see you’ve been reviewing our plans for the raid.”
“That’s correct, Sir,” Nat replied.
“And do you have any thoughts about our plans?” the General asked, knowing Nat’s background.
“Overall, they look very good and would not be too dissimilar to something I would consider,” Nat started, tactfully. “One thing concerns me, however. Not specifically about your plans, but more about which buildings are operational and their position relative to each other. Also, the lack of visible access points around those buildings.”
Both men frowned. “What do you mean?” the Lieutenant enquired while the General was nodding thoughtfully. “That’s surely reflective of the age and design of the buildings?”
“Well, I’m not sure,” Nat commented as the General started reviewing photographs of the outside of each building that were lying on the table. “If our intelligence is correct, one of the people behind this, Emilio Arroz, has had a number of his or close allies’ operations disrupted in recent years. I therefore suspect he will have taken precautions, even if he doesn’t expect to be found.”
“So you are saying we need to be ready for greater resistance than from normal criminal groups?” the General asked.
“Yes, I do. Look, the photos show, in my opinion, that doorways have been blocked-up in all of the operational buildings. Whereas,” Nat continued by pushing some other photographs forward, “the doorways in the non-operational buildings remain.”
Both men nodded. As they looked carefully at the photos, Nat pointed out places where the brickwork was very slightly different where doorways had been blocked-up. “I do see what you mean,” the General said, “but not sure what to make of it?”
“That’s what also concerns me,” Nat conceded.
“So do you think we should be going through some of the sections they’ve blocked-up?” the Lieutenant asked.
“Yes, I do. But not with too much resource, just in case they’ve made it very hard to penetrate.”
“What about a section of normal wall?” Rob suggested.
“That’s an idea, but we won’t know what’s on the other side. If by doing so we release some of the chemicals, we would be endangering not only our men, but the surrounding neighbourhood,” the General observed. “This operation is fraught with difficulty because of the proximity to housing.”
“If they are taking these precautions over their perimeter, we need to be ready for a toughened entrance,” the Lieutenant said thoughtfully. “Sir, I think we should call-up some more armoured vehicles.”
The General nodded thoughtfully, his expression clear that he did not like the prospect. As he stood over the table, pondering the papers, plans and photos in front of him, he kept his head bowed, but raised his eyes to look around at everyone.
“Armoured vehicles could work, but are slow,” Nat commented. “The people inside the facility would be warned of our activity long before arrival, giving time to prepare in case of a raid.”
