The next morning when Butcher got to their office, Freda and Reggie were already there busy working. “You two are in early today,” said Butcher, “what is wrong?” “Nothing wrong,” said Reggie starting to sweat a bit, “just getting caught up on something I did not get done yesterday. There, I am all finished now.” “Good,” said Butcher, “now go out and buy some new bugs, and not some discount types again.

I want something that is reliable, something that will work when we need it to work! Then go visit that old wife of yours and get the new bug planted, without her seeing it!” “No problem there,” he said, “she always offers me tea, so she will be out of the room long enough to put in the new bug without her knowing.”

But, prior to this happening… “Annelie, can you hack into Butcher’s computer so we can listen in on their conversations?” asked Kat. “Sure, that should not be too hard,” she said, “just might take a while.” “Maybe not,” said Kat smiling, “here is the information you need to get in. I got it from Bethany who got it from Reggie.

Oddly, one day he stopped to shower at her flat so he would not be dirty when he got to the ‘office’. Apparently Butcher likes him to be clean and dressed well at all times. Good for their image in case some of their associates show up for a visit. Anyway, she looked through his wallet and found this information so she copied it down, figuring it might come in handy.

She feels sorry for Karalyn, knowing what she will be going through right now.” “This is great,” said Annelie, “only take a few minutes now.” Soon they were listening to Butcher, Freda and Lucky talking. She had it relayed to Rock and Aari too so they could listen in as well. “You did a nice job cleaning up the place Lucky,” said Freda. “Thanks Freda,” he said smiling, “coming from you that really means a lot.”

“And as for you big brother,” she said, “you need to hold back that temper of yours. What if one of our associates dropped in right then, it sure would not look good.” “Yeah, you got a point Freda,” he said, “I will try harder from now on. Good thing you are around, without you I would be a total mess.” Just then Banker, another of Butcher’s men, came into the room.

“Well, get anything out of him?” asked Butcher. “That guy is useless,” he said, “the only information he gives is stuff we already know. But one thing is certain, he knows nothing about a PI named Darla.” “You sure that stuff you use is good?” asked Butcher, “maybe he is just pretending.” “Nope, no one could pretend that well,” he replied, “my own stuff is better than anything else out there. No way he could resist it.”

“Well, since Darla is new here, he might not know her,” said Freda, “nothing unusual about that.” “He also did not know anything about the other guys, the 2men Investigations Team,” he continued, “not even their names.” “It is possible those are not their real names,” said Lucky, “I did some checking and a PI often uses a name other than their own, sort of for protection.”

“That certainly makes sense,” said Freda, “can he see pictures when he is under your drug?” “Hmm, not too likely,” said Banker, “but it is worth a try. I have to let him rest now though, if I give him more right now it will likely kill him.” “Why are you sighing like that, Lucky?” asked Freda. “Just looking at pics of that Karalyn gal,” he said, “she sure is a beauty.” “Yeah, she is,” said Butcher, “we never should have sold her to Scorpion.”

Meanwhile… “Annelie…” “I am on it Rock,” she said, and in just a few minutes she had an amazing amount of information on this Scorpion and his organization called, ‘Flying Vipers’. “That girl is going through a lot of misery right now,” said Annelie quietly, “we need to get her out of there fast, Rock.” “Yep, I agree,” he said, I will be there soon.

I will leave Aari, Kristina, Aubrey, Tiffany and Storm here to watch Margaret and make sure she does not get in any trouble with Butcher.” After a couple of hours they were back home, then onto a jet headed for Germany. Most of the team went along, plus Team 5 from Baldwin security and Team 4 from Mandar security. That is 20 extra people to help out.

They will need to move in fast and hard to beat Scorpion and his men. However, they do not want to destroy Scorpion, just get him angry so he will come after Butcher and hopefully a fight will develop between them. “I will sure be glad when we are rid of Butcher,” said Reggie, “it is getting too hot around here since those PI’s got involved.”

“Not to worry,” said Freda reassuringly, “we just need a little more of his money. That will cause his organization to collapse and when I am giving him his massage one day, down will come my knife. Just a little longer dear Reggie…”

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.