The photo studio opened at 10am, so we made our plans and off we went. Rock and his team remained close by, but out of sight, if we needed them we would send out an alarm. ”You need to stay in the van this time Amber,” I said, “that is an order this time. If this is a trap, I do not want you getting killed. Right now you and I are on the top of the list to kill. 

Georgia likely hates us by now, and, we need you here for your sister, because she is going to need you, so be ready for her.” ”Okay Steve,” she said, “I understand this time.” We could see the lights go on and someone unlocked the door. Off we went, quickly, with the men going in first. 

Aari had insisted that I stay back too, they knew what to do and if it was a trap, they would not care about anyone but me. Kat, Dawn and Kera stayed in the van with Amber, Kerstina (our doctor) and myself. We should have brought Galyna along on this case, she would certainly be helpful with any women we might find in this place. Snow stayed with us too, but Rusty, Tiger and Ginger went inside. 

Aari, Mac, Miles, John, Matt and Bouncer went in first. The girls went around back to prevent anyone from escaping. Catalina put her explosives around the door and waited for the signal. The man in the front had his back to the guys until Bouncer reached over the counter and pulled him across to their side. ”Where do you keep the women you use?” asked Aari. 

“I, I do not know what you mean,” he managed to answer. ”Wrong answer,” said Aari. Meow!=Secret door here! Bouncer went to look and smashed his way through the mirrors. Catalina got the signal and there was a loud explosion and in they went spotting two men about to go down a door in the floor which lead to the sewer system below. 

They pulled guns but the girls beat them to it. Two other men were shot by Aari’s team and Mac took care of the man in the storefront. Bouncer opened all the doors in the lower room, finding women in three different side rooms. The girls took care of them and brought them out. One thing we did not see when we parked was the storm sewer opening next to the van. 

The grate was opened and a package slipped under the van. But when I saw the girls coming out I quickly swung the van around to their side of the street to pick up the women they brought out. Just as our van moved there was a large explosion. There was a large hole in the street, two other vehicles were destroyed plus a store was seriously damaged. 

It was a kind of trap for us, but we can do that too. Catalina had more explosives that would start a nice fire as well. Soon that building was engulfed in flames with sirens heading our way. But we were gone from there in plenty of time and ended up in an old warehouse where we had other vans waiting for us in different colors, but still registered to us. 

Baldwin Corp. people took our old vans away quickly. One of those women was Amber’s sister. She was tired, thin from not being allowed to eat properly, and when they saw each other they hugged and cried. Adoncia has undoubtedly been through a lot and will need time to adjust and heal. Back at the hotel Amber and Adoncia spent time alone in our room with Kat and Kera guarding the door. 

Snow was in the room with the girls too. After a while I went in to see how they were doing. ”Adoncia, this is my boyfriend Steve,” said Amber, “he and his friends have been helping me find you and find out that our parents were murdered. I do not know what I would have done without Steve.” She smiled and we put our arms around each other. I talked with Adoncia for a little while and was about to leave, but she wanted me to stay longer since I was Amber’s boyfriend. 

Meanwhile, “Well, they got that lady’s sister,” said Robert, “and they destroyed out studio, plus they got away. Our trap did not work!” ”So what?” said Georgia, “Now they will likely leave and things will get back to normal.” ”But we also lost 2 other women,” he reminded her. ”We can get more,” she said, calming him down, “and if they do stay, we will destroy them, and I mean all of them.” 

Back to us. One of the women will not talk, mostly she just sits and stares. Adoncia said she was picked up about 6 months ago, she is married and has a baby. But she could not remember her name, they were given numbers and if they used their names, well, nasty things happened to them. 

I told Sky to get her fingerprints and send them to Annelie right away, we need to track down her husband. Annelie was at work a few minutes later looking for the woman’s husband. Adoncia was a bit confused by all of this, so I explained we were a group of private investigators, and Amber was one of our team. 

“And Steve is the leader,” she said smiling. ”Hey, that is so cool,” said Adoncia. Amber was about to say something else, so I messed up her hair. After which a lot of laughter could be heard. Sky and Dawn came with coffee. ”I think Steve is being tickled,” said Kat. ”Obviously,” giggled Sky. 

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.