Redemption (The Restoration Series Book 1) (3 page)

Chapter 2

PRESENT DAY

(Sydney, Australia- Corinth Relief)

DAVIS

My chair squeaked as I leaned back and reached up, using my fingertips to scratch my stubble. Yesterday we received notice that two American girls were taken from the South Bay Resort. I pulled the file from the top of my desk, where I had tossed it after my long night. I slipped it open again, revealing the two images from the resort database. Anger boiled inside of me as I looked at the picture of Nova. My fingers fisted against the folder edges roughly as I remembered our first meeting a few days ago. She was with her friend, enjoying the sun, when I missed a catch of the disc that Charlie had tossed over my head. It landed at her feet. I remember feeling different when I looked at her. Something I hadn’t felt in a very long time, not since Amanda.

 I should have been more careful. I should have known to keep my eye on them with the growing rate of missing women in the area. If I had only insisted that they both join us for dinner - and now it was too late. Regret washed
through me and I slammed the folder closed, taking deep breaths to calm myself before I could manage to stand in front of my team.

 The staff was meeting in a few minutes to discuss the details of their rescue. I was coming up on my fifth year working with Corinth, and I would be leading the team for this mission. A few years ago, I was called to join the rescue team here in Sydney. I had gone on several missions to expose various trafficking rings and bring girls to safety. Corinth provided safe houses
to the rescued girls, along with counseling, therapy, and vocational training for those who need it. We always attempt to return the girls to their families as soon as possible, after we feel they have gone through the appropriate recovery term in our homes.

 This case was a special one. The American families had already been notified of the status of their daughters. They were headed our way and expected to arrive later today. I pushed the palm of my hand to my eyes, attempting to wake myself. If I was going to make it through this logistics meeting, I’d need some coffee.

 I stood from the chair and slid out from behind my scratched-up metal desk, bumping the corner
with my leg as I passed. My office was small, entirely too small for my oversized frame. Thoughts of the girl’s parents and their homes in Texas filled my mind, which in turned caused my heart to ache at the thought of my own family. Being from Texas, this case was hitting a little close to home.
Knowing I had met the beautiful Nova was making this even worse.

 I stepped through the office doorway and into the main room, which was filled with my team. The large mahogany table sat in the center of our universe, surrounded by a few whiteboards for planning. We were lucky enough to have supporters all over the world that funded our projects. We currently had 17 offices worldwide that provided rescue teams, safe houses, health teams, and professional educators. After a long and vigorous evaluation, I had been placed on the Sydney team of the Corinth Organization. 

 I started out as an intern, mostly thumbing through documents and legal research to help with placing the girls we rescued. After my time here, I now led the rescue team. I was the ideal candidate for the job because I could go undercover fairly easily. I knew how things worked around here, and I had connections through most of the city.

 I pulled out a chair at the head of the table and took a seat, waiting for the rest of the team to gather at the central table and make themselves ready.

 “Good morning,” I spoke roughly, pulling the folder in front of me. Greetings were exchanged without fanfare, and then we jumped into the task at hand.

 “So this is what we have. I spent the night at South Bay, canvassing the beach. I was able to get access to their room and asked their neighbors some questions. Looks like our girls have been missing for nearly two days. That’s 48 hours, guys. You know our
window on minimizing the search to local places is shutting. We only have another day or so before they could be shipped out of the ports.”

 “Any leads?” Monica asked. She sat next to me, graying hair pulled away from her face, scribbling notes
across a yellow legal pad.

 I stood to post both large photos of the girls on the white board next to the table.

 “Nothing significant, yet.” I turned to the pictures, my eyes committing their faces to memory.

 “I’m Nova,” she said to me as she slid her delicate fingers into my rough palm. Her ice blue eyes and blonde hair stared back at me from the photo. I tapped the image with my knuckles. “She’ll be hard to get access to because she will be worth a lot of money in the system. We need to find her soon.”

 Turning to face the team once more, I handed out the data sheets before running through the information.

 “Here is the profile
on our girls. Target One: Nova Drake, 24, Texas born and raised. Just graduated college. Target Two: Evie Palmer, also 24. Born in Mexico, raised in Texas. Roommate of and graduated with Nova. Both girls arrived three days ago on Aussie Airlines. They arrived at the resort in a local cab. The front desk said they went for dinner on the first night, and never returned. I’m thinking this could be in correlation to the heavy calls we’ve received over the last few weeks
on missing persons.” I set my palms down on the table, looking
to my team for questions.

 “Should I pull a financial trace? Find out if they used any sort of traceable payments?” Nathan, our resident technology master, questioned.

 “Yes. I want to try to pinpoint the location of capture. If I’m right about this, I believe we may be working on a Black Dragon case. We all know how difficult this group has been to infiltrate. We need to be careful and accurate, no missteps. Monica, I want you to head over to the resort and meet the families when they arrive. We’ll reconvene in twelve hours.”

 I stepped away from the board and headed back to my office, slipping my phone from my pocket. I scrolled through my list of contacts and found his name. Jared. My contact with the Dragons. My fingers tapped
across the screen, typing a
quick coded message to him.

 DAVIS:
Catch a wave?

 I waited a few minutes for the correct response. His reply would tell me if he was in a place where he could speak. It took a few minutes, but my phone chirped to life as it sat on my desk.

 JARED:
It’s a little windy right now. Maybe later? 4PM?

 So he was surrounded by other people at the moment but would be free later.

 
DAVIS:
Sounds good. Meet you there.

 I slipped the phone back in my pocket and began going through the security footage from the resort, frame by frame. I didn’t look up at the clock until it was nearly four. I stood up, grabbing my keys, and headed out of the office and through the meeting space.

 “Contact meeting in a few!” I hollered across the room so my team would hear me. “I’ll be in touch.”

 I stepped out the door and headed down the steps into the small cafe below us. We rented the space, not only because of the price, but also because the location was discreet. I grabbed a bottle of water at the counter on my way out the door.

 The bench at the marina was empty when I arrived, so I slid onto the metal planks and leaned against the back, waiting for Jared to arrive. The shade of the tree above me kept the smoldering sun from burning my skin as I watched the boats make their way into the marina, sliding into their slips and anchoring their ropes. The few large yachts that were visible stayed out in the bay.

 “Nice boats.” Jared nodded and looked across the way. His head was shaved and he grew a dark scraggly beard across his chin. His shirt was ripped and splattered with mud.

 “Yeah.” I glanced at him and then turned my gaze back to the water.

 “So what’s the news?”

 “Two Americans. One blonde and one with brown hair. Picked up somewhere on the south side.”

 He nodded his head, dipping his chin down low to his chest.

 “Not sure if they are part of the lot, but Dragons have a load they are trying to ship out in a few days. I’ve heard rumors that they are attempting a sale before they ship the girls over. Word has it that there are some especially ripe pickings this time. That could mean a few things. Either they have your American
girls, or they are just trying to blow some smoke so they get a higher sale overseas.”

 I watched as he fingered his watch and looked out toward the boats.

 “I don’t know how much longer I can do this, Davis. I mean, I know it’s all for the greater good, but the things I have to watch….” He couldn’t finish his sentence, and I rested my palm on his shoulder in an effort to offer support.

 “I know it’s hard, but the only way we can get the information we need is if someone is inside. Do what you can to keep them safe. Let’s finish this job. If you still want out afterward, then fine. We’ll place you back at the office if that’s what you want.”

 He nodded in agreement and stood, turning his back to me and walking slowly away. He stopped halfway down the sidewalk and turned to look over his shoulder.

 “The first sale is in three days. We’re talking high bidders. Be ready. I’ll get you the location and the pass code for entry.” I watched him fall into the bustle of the sidewalk behind me and stride away, then slid my phone from its place in my jacket and dialed our director.

 “Davis! How are you?” Grant answered excitedly.

 “Pretty good, sir. How are you?”

 “Oh, stop calling me sir. You know better. I’m good. I just sat down with Lauren for lunch, need something important?”

 I ran my fingers through my hair, glancing over my shoulder to make sure I was alone.

 “There’s an important buy in three days. I need the funds available. This is big, sir. We might get the chance to take down the Dragons.” There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. I waited until Grant was able to answer me.

 “Okay. I stepped away. Are you sure it’s Dragon?” He pressed.

 “They have a lot to be shipped out soon. My contact told me the first sale is in three days.”

 “Fine. Tell me how much, I’ll have it wired to the clean account.”

 “I’ll let you know.” I stood and started walking toward the office.

 “Sure. Anything you need.” There was another small pause before Grant spoke again.

 “How are you doing, Davis?”

 My heart skipped a beat and a flash of blonde silky hair skittered across my memory. The memory of Amanda in my arms, swaying back and forth to slow melodic music.

 “I’m fine,” I stated firmly, fisting my hand in my pocket, grabbing the locket I had given her on the night of our engagement. I heard Grant’s sigh on the other end.

 “Maybe you should take some more time off, Davis. With everything that happened…”

 “I’m fine, sir. I’ll call you later.” I quickly ended the call, shoving the phone in my jeans pocket, and crossed the busy street, heading into the park. I miss you. I rubbed
my hand across my tightening chest, holding back the emotions from my flooding over my face. Every day.

 Amanda was my fiancée. We met working for Corinth. Nearly a year ago, she decided to take on a mission from the northern part of the country. I got the call late one night that she had been taken. I tried everything I
could to get to her, but before I arrived, the team found her body, beaten and lifeless.

 I stepped away from the job, then. Took half a year to really focus on healing and my relationship with God. I wasn’t angry anymore, but the absence of her was still overwhelming at times. She was my
everything, and her heart for rescuing these girls became mine. Together we saw many girls released and sent to safe houses in the area.

 I know she died in the name of doing something; not many people can say they did. She devoted her life to bringing redemption to these girls, and after letting myself mourn, I returned to complete her work. I knew I had to move on and live my life, and I finally felt like I might be able to do that a few days ago. Now the horror of what could be happening to Nova, the same things that happened to the love of my life, terrified me.

 A few hours later, I found myself walking into the cafe and up the dark wooden stairs to the office. I stood
at the entryway and glanced around the room, taking in the sight of my busy team and their hard work. Piles of documents had begun to fill the large meeting table and more information had been added to the whiteboard.

 Nicole walked up to me, handing me a styrofoam cup filled with steaming black coffee. “Here, sir. Take a seat, we have some information we need to give you to bring you up to speed.”

 I nodded, thanking her for the cup and bringing it to my lips, letting the heady scent fill my senses. I pulled out a rolling black chair from the table and took a seat across from the board. Nathan walked in with a pile of folders in his hand and set them down in front of me.

 “Here you go, sir.” He motioned to the stack. “These are financial records on both girls, time-line breakouts of their arrival to the moment of capture, and background checks on family.”

 I pulled the first folder
into my hands and began to flip through the paperwork.

 “As you can see,” Nicole continued, “Everything is pretty much in order until around five o’clock on the suspected day of capture. We’ve narrowed it down to the southeast area of town.”

 Nathan piped in. “There were no charges at any restaurant or shopping center in the area, which can only mean they were taken before they arrived
to their destination, but what we did find was a paid taxi fare to the south side. We traced the charge back to Taxi Blue, the taxi company that services most of the resorts.” He slipped me a piece of paper with a name on it. “This was the cab driver. We could start with him.”

 I nodded in agreement, tucking the paper into my shirt pocket, and looked up at Nathan.

 “Good work, Nate.” I glanced at Nicole. “You, too. This information is crucial. I guess we should start going through everything before we meet their families.”

 I tucked a few of the folders under my arm and moved to my office. Stepping around my desk, I slid into my cracked leather chair and dropped the documents in front of me. I flipped through the papers until I found the taxi company’s contact information, then picked up my phone and dialed.