47. June 23rd

JUNE 23RD

TB

The club was eerilyquiet when they entered from the alley entrance. Instead of the bar being to their left upon entry, it was straight ahead and on their right. To their immediate left was the pool and the small stage. To their right was the door to the upstairs playrooms. Weapons drawn and NVGs in place, they entered the club and split into three groups. Steel, Loki, and Gilgamesh went to clear upstairs. Demon and Waters went to clear the main floor and bar. Nemo and TB went to the restrooms.

"Clear," Nemo called out from the women's toilets.

"Clear," TB returned from the men's.

When they stepped out into the main area, Demon and Waters were returning from clearing the bar and front entryway. Tables were overturned, broken glass was strewn everywhere, and personal items of all sorts were left behind from the power failure. Everyone still had their weapons drawn, and they were still on alert, but the weapons were now pointed at the floor rather than outward as coverage.

"Bar and front entry are clear," Waters informed them. "Tabitha's office looks undisturbed."

Please let that mean she's not involved.

TB knew that was false hope talking, but it didn't hurt to voice it inside his head. There was no way she could be uninvolved if activities of trafficking were happening on the property.

Nemo asked, "Where's the door to the basement, TB?"

"Go through the door where Steel and the guys went. It's directly to the left as you go over the threshold."

Quickly, quietly, and attentively, the four men crossed to the door and went through it. Steel, Loki, and Gilgamesh were just coming down the stairs from the private rooms.

"Everything's clear upstairs. No one's here."

TB nodded to the door on the left side of the hallway. "That goes to the storage and utilities. You'll be able to see where the dance floor is when you get down there. There are a series of box structures that hold lights in them that flash up into the club. She's got to be right under there somewhere."

Nemo took the flexi cam tubing and slid it gently under the door. After moving it gently as far left and right as he could, he looked to Waters.

"No one in sight," their team leader said. "There's a landing that's about three feet wide and two feet deep once the door opens. Metal stairs, eighteen of them, to the floor. Metal rails on both sides."

"Cool. A slide." The smirk on Nemo's face showed that despite the seriousness of the situation, he enjoyed the hunt.

"It's all yours, Nemo. You have point," Waters ordered.

The men's weapons went into position. Nemo flattened himself against the wall to the left of the closed door, Waters was flattened to the wall to its right, his hand on the door knob. Loki and Gilgamesh were standing at the ready, in the high and low positions to protect Nemo.

Waters began the countdown on his fingers. When his hand went to a fist, he flung the door open. Nemo threw himself through the entryway, launched himself to a sitting position on the stair rails, and slid down to the bottom of the steps, his gun pointed in front of him.

Loki and Gilgamesh stepped through and positioned themselves over each rail at the top of the flight, their guns aimed to the left and right of the landing. Demon was flat on the landing, covering Nemo's slide.

"Clear, bossman," Nemo said.

With stealth and precision, the men went down the stairs and fanned out in all directions. It didn't take more than a few seconds. The basement was wide open and there was nowhere to hide. There was also no sign of Flame's phone on the floor of the basement where the GPS locator said it currently was.

"It should be right here," TB stated the obvious.

"There has to be another level to the basement," Waters surmised. "Everybody look around."

It took only moments for the men to survey the walls and flooring, but there were no other doorways.

TB could feel his frustration bubbling to the surface. "She has to be here!"

"The entrance must be somewhere else," Steel gathered. "A doorway elsewhere in the club. And they were snatched from the restrooms. Something over that direction maybe?"

"Midas, do you copy?"

"I read you loud and clear, boss. I just hacked into the city mainframe, and I'm looking at building specs. There are no permits or plans on file to build onto the building."

"Fuck!" TB swore.

"Patience, my young padawan, you didn't let me finish. There is a permit for the business next door to finish the original basement on that building, which happens to go down an additional sixty feet below this one. AND… they used to own this business as well until it was sold to the current owners of The Library—who, at that time, filled in the connecting sections of the two buildings and covered all the subflooring so that the two no longer shared the space twenty feet below you."

"Awesome work, Midas," Waters called out. "But now we need a way over there. Do we have to enter from the other building?"

"Nope. Believe it or not, there's an unfinished space between the ladies' room and the building next door. There must be an easy way to pop the wall in there."

"The supply closet," TB monotoned. "There's a door by the toilets. I bet the entrance is somehow through there."

As one, the group hustled back up the stairs and out into the main area of the club, then headed straight into the ladies' room lounge. The supply closet was locked, so Nemo went to work with his lock picks. Within seconds the door was open, the overhead light was on… but all they were faced with were shelves.

"This is so bullshit," Nemo fussed. "One of these walls moves, pure and simple." He started pulling on the metal shelving, ripping it from its anchors on the wall, until finally there was a scraping noise, and he was able to pull an entire section of a wall loose to reveal a walkway between framed portions of the two buildings. Not only that, but it was on a gentle incline.

"Behold, gentlemen."

Loki grunted. "Talk about a valley of death."

"Yeah," Waters agreed. "Suddenly I'm back in Afghanistan in a boxed-in convoy. Easy to get mowed down in here."

"We go in twos," Loki offered. "Ten seconds apart with a stop at any corner to clear the way. That way we have room to back up if need be. Gilgamesh and I will offer to go first."

Waters considered. "Agreed. Nemo and Steel will follow. Demon, TB, and I will bring up the rear."

"On my mark. Go." Loki and Gilgamesh took off at a brisk pace until they hit the turn. Once they reached it, one took the high, the other took the low, and they made a swift turn around the wall. "Looks like it's a continuation of switchbacks," Loki said over the earbuds.

"Sending Nemo and Steel down."

"Copy."

Waters waved the two men down to provide cover fire as the two men made the turn in the switchbacks. After a few moments, Nemo gave Waters the "approach" signal, and the three remaining men came down to them. From that point on, they proceeded to move down the ramps like a snake undulating along its course until they reached the bottom, emptying out into a cavernous warehouse.

"Who would have thought there'd be this much room down here?" Gilgamesh whispered.

Loki grunted. "This must be one of the new satellite locations." His sarcasm was clear. Everything in the warehouse was new. The air was permeated with the smell of fresh concrete and construction. Lighting was sparse yet, but in the distance they could see a series of coffin-sized boxes lined up to be loaded onto a mechanized conveyor headed up to the surface.

"You've seen this before?" Waters asked.

Loki nodded. "Looks like several others we've run across. Welcome to the future of sex trafficking, my new friends. Think of it like a distribution center. Central order hub takes the clients' orders. Those are distributed out to satellite locations who fill the orders, then ship the product."

TB was vibrating with a need to find Flame. "Can we discuss the details later? If we don't move quickly, Flame, Medusa, and those other girls are going to disappear, and we'll never find them."

Loki and Gilgamesh shared a look, then turned their eyes back to the action in the distance. "Your girl will likely be the last box. You take care of the girls you can get to. Loki and I will handle the two goons."

As the men did a weapons check, TB growled, "Gendry is mine."

Nemo responded, "Focus on Flame, TB. I'll make sure the asshole is secured and ready for playtime back at Tribe."

TB had never seen such a serious expression on the playboy's face nor heard such a murderous tone in his voice. TB gave him a nod, and they went back to work.

On Waters' signal, they quickly fanned out to reach the action in front of them. Because they were quiet, they got closer than they should have. However, because there was next to nothing in the facility, they didn't get close enough before they were noticed.

Tabitha stood with Gendry behind a bank of computers and monitors. He wore an expensive gray suit, a lighter gray button-down shirt, and a thin burgundy tie. In his late thirties, he had a distinctly European air about him. Hawk-like features, naturally tan skin, and shoulder-length curly hair brushed straight back from his face. He was clearly talking to someone on the other side of his computer screen, which was why they were able to sneak in as close as they did. Between the noise of the conveyors, the focus of his two goons on ensuring the boxes were neatly loaded, and his focus on the conversation that was happening, the men made it to within twenty-five feet before weapons were needed.

When they were finally noticed, it was by one of the goons supervising the box loading. In a flash, his weapon was drawn from inside his suit coat, but it was too late. TB, his teammates, and Medusa's men were already in shooting mode. Goon number one went down in a heap before he could take aim.

Goon number two whirled around at the sound of bullets. He barely had a chance to register what he was seeing before he went down to the ground in a heap.

Loki and Gilgamesh sprinted toward the conveyors, slamming the emergency off switch.

Gendry had pulled a gun from inside his jacket, as well, and managed to squeeze off a couple of shots. TB felt a burning sensation along his bicep, but he kept moving forward to the last box that was at the foot of the conveyor. Behind him, his teammates were securing Gendry and Tabitha.

Loki and Gilgamesh had reversed the conveyor and were systematically unloading the boxes, readying them to be opened to free the girls inside.

"Flame, can you hear me?"

"TB?"

"Can you squeeze yourself into the left corner of the box? I need to shoot off the lock. Close your eyes, princess. Turn your head to the side."

Hoping that she'd followed his directions, he aimed his gun at the lock, and took his shot. As soon as the door splintered, he was ripping it open. Inside, Flame was shuddering in the corner, tears streaming down her face. Instantly he was half inside with her, gathering her close. Squeezing her tight, he took a giant inhale of her scent, the sweet smell of roses clinging to her skin and hair. "Are you hurt?"

"No," came her muffled voice from where her face was buried in his chest. "I knew you'd come for me, but I was still afraid?—"

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm gonna get you out of here."

He knew he needed to get her out of the shackles overhead, but he was afraid to let go of her. Afraid she'd disappear if he did.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He ignored them. Just kept squeezing Flame to him, taking in her scent and reassuring himself she was alive and unhurt.

"TB, I pulled the key for the shackles off of Gendry. We've got him and Tabitha secure. The other girls are all unlocked and ready to leave. Free your woman and let's go."

TB turned his head to see Waters standing behind him, holding out a key. "I can't let go of her. You do it."

Waters gave him a smile, then reached over the couple to unlock the cuffs. Once they opened, Flame's arms clutched TB's neck in desperation. "I've got you, princess. I've got you."

Finally some part of his brain switched back on. TB wasted no time sweeping Flame off of her feet, hugging her tight to his chest, and moving toward the ramps and to the exit with purpose. He was not letting her spend one more minute in this space.