Chapter Seventeen

As soon as Jessie left, I checked in with my partner to ensure the operation was a go. For obvious reasons, I couldn’t speak openly around her. There was still so much I couldn’t tell her until it was all over. As it happened, my partner’s translator glitched, so we were forced to speak Terran Universal.

“The thunderstorm shouldn’t affect the plan,” he said. “Hitting late tonight, it will pass by morning. But it’s going to be loud and bright. Expect quite a light show. You’ve never experienced weather like that on Nomoru.”

“I can handle a little storm—as long as the ship lands.”

“It’s already here. Arrived a couple of hours ago. Imana moved up the landing due to the storm. She keeps tabs on the weather, too.”

“No loading until tomorrow though, right?”

“They won’t load until the storm passes, but then it won’t be safe to be on the street. They got a head start before the storm hit. That halfway house where you found Jessie? It’s full of women. The ship is a behemoth. I could tell from the flattening of the grass it takes up half the field. The 300 passengers on the Star Cross were nothing compared to this. I’ll bet it holds 1,000 if they pack them in. This is such a large-scale abduction, it’s no wonder Imana wanted to be present to supervise.”

“Large numbers of humans. Imana herself present. We couldn’t ask for better,” I said. Catching her red-handed would finally give us the proof we needed to put her away.

“Everything under control on your end?”

“I’ve got Jessie contained.” A flood of tender emotion and heat surged through me. “She keeps pressing for answers. I’ve given her enough information to win her compliance, but not so much that she’ll figure things out. She still doesn’t suspect.”

“Good. When it goes down, it’s going to get crazy, and I may be out of contact for a while, but I’ll update you as soon as I can. You’ve worked the trafficking on New Terra for a long time. You were the lead. You should be there for the big moment, but I’ll do you proud.”

I regretted that I would miss seeing the look on Imana’s face when she got taken into custody. Other than that, I wouldn’t change anything. The time with Jessie had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I’m confident you have everything under control, Garrison,” I said.