Chapter 7

J ustine sat up straighter, her eyes flowing over the data on her screen. She clicked on the video conference link, waiting until Moe and Sarina joined to blink.

"We haven't found anything else yet, Justine," Sarina said, her tone apologetic.

"I think I have, I just need another set of eyes to make sure I'm seeing what I'm actually seeing," she told them, sending them a link to the data map she'd constructed.

"Wait…" Moe said making her breath in deeply as he brought up an internet relay map over her info. "This is where the video chat's signal came through. It's as far as I could get with it because they're using some sort of spoofer that's mimicking IP addresses, but it isn't hiding the relay stations that they're coming through. All of them are right…"

"In the epicenter of where the UL-23 newest hits come from," Justine stated, not quite believing that they'd actually tracked them. Something about it just felt off.

"What's wrong?" Sarina asked as she continued to stare at the screen.

"It just doesn't fit with the rest of the UL-23 pattern," she told them. "It's too…concentrated, specific. Everywhere else that UL-23 showed up, it was five or six hits in major cities at a time, up and down the eastern coast. This…this is showing almost twenty hits in the last two years, but it's all centered around Harding. Reaching further and further out almost like…no," she said as it hit her, and she pulled up the old case that'd gone cold nearly three years ago.

"Holy shit, Justine," Moe said his eyes widening and a moment later Melissa, Luke, Brad, and Dean's faces joined the conference.

"What on earth was your Red Level urgent, Moe?" Dean asked first.

"We're not looking for a single perp using UL-23," Moe said sending brows upward amongst the group.

"How do you know that?" Brad asked at the same time Melissa added, "How did you figure it out?"

"I didn't, Justine did…" Moe said confusing them further.

"The hits of UL-23 out here started two years ago, at the same time, they were also being found on the east coast. Two completely different MO's," Justine said as Moe showed them the info. "The ones out east were the same random, untraceable chaos that made it impossible to get a handle on them—those are the ones that Sarina's been tracking and compiling data on. What if we were seeing those hits because a group of perps was using the same photo amongst themselves?"

"That would fit the differing ages that received them. Similar to them sharing files like the scum they are, they could share the image to try and lure whoever they wanted, making it impossible to get a read on it because it could be a hundred different people using it at the same time," Dean said, and she nodded. "How does that help us now to find this girl?"

"Something just wasn't sitting right. The messages, the links between the ones out here the last two years was far too controlled to be more than one person or team. When I ran the data map, this is what I found," she told them, letting Moe display her initial findings.

"Which matches up with where the video call came through," he added overlaying it.

"Okay, so we're thinking this perp is somewhere in Harding?" Luke guessed.

"Yes, but there's more," Justine told them. "To end up potentially abducting twenty girls in two years and not get caught, not hit anyone's radar? They're experienced, which brought the messages back to mind. Something in them hit a chord from the beginning and that's when I realized I'd seen this before, we all have," she added as Moe hit the keyboard and displayed the casework.

"No…are you sure?" Melissa asked and she nodded.

"It's him. I'm sure of it which means we need to move fast. If he gets wind of the FBI being anywhere near this, he will up and disappear again," she warned. "We almost had him back in Virginia and just as we were narrowing in on him, he disappeared. All of his ruses disappeared, but it'd make sense that he knew at least one of the perps using UL-23's photo and borrowed it knowing we wouldn't be able to track him nearly as well using it and moved his entire operation out here."

"Slow down, Justine," Luke said lifting his chin her way. "You were compromised and almost killed once, what's to say this isn't another attempt by pulling out one of our old cases that went cold right when we were getting close?"

"By abducting the daughter of the family that mine's feuding with after doing the same with twenty some others?" she said with a snort. "No, this guy isn't connected to them. If he, or they although I've always leaned towards a single perp being behind this, had any clue I was FBI, they'd have been long gone before taking anyone else. As far as Dynamite's group, there's no way they know my real name. Everything I did in D.C. was under my aliases to ensure nothing came back on my family. There's no way they know I'm from here. The whole reason I came out here was because it was the only place I was sure I'd be safe. If they learnt I didn't die in the fire, that I'd actually slipped out the back to go under upon learning that my entire alias was compromised and not just the one I was using with Dynamite's group, this is the one place where they wouldn't be looking for me."

"Okay, what's your gut say we should do, Justine?" Melissa questioned giving Luke a look to stop when he opened his mouth once more.

"That we need to move fast and quietly. He's not like Dynamite's group, he's quiet while they make as much noise as possible to get what they want. He won't be able to resist getting something given to him on a silver platter though. Which means I need to know exactly where to go," she added looking to Moe for help on that front. "Cross reference Harding with anyone that's been there less than three years, or back for less than three years. Look for places that are remote. He's not going to keep a teenage girl in the middle of town."

"I'm going to guess we're not looking for someone with a legit business," Moe said mostly to himself as he typed onto the screen faster than they could read. "Definitely not going to be next to a factory with windows like that facing it…okay, this could be something. What about an old horse farm that was sold at auction, all of the horses sold off after purchase but with a surprisingly high electric bill for the second meter which only had the barn on it? Add in prior arrests for being a Peeping Tom, sexual assault, and toss in stalking of a minor…and you get one Harvey Grimes. Ohh…with a younger brother Wendell that who's been living with him the last year and a half after getting out of jail in for a six month sentence for aggravated assault and stalking of his last girlfriend."

"Send me the address," Justine said, shaking her head when the others began to tell her to slow down. "If we storm the place and we're wrong, the real perp is liable to hear and won't take kindly to us trying to stop him. I can go and scope things out, see if I can find Isabelle, confirm we're on the right track. If I go in and you don't hear from me, then clearly we are."

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Melissa asked and she drug in a deep breath as she nodded. "Justine…"

"I can't sit back and do nothing, Melissa. I'll be fine. I'll have an earwig in, so you'll be able to follow along. Right now, I need to change," she told them, getting their assurances that they'd be right behind her before ending the call.

They'd left D.C. shortly after eight-thirty her time, and likely wouldn't land until about two. That was still an hour and a half away. In that time, she would nearly be in Harding to check things out. Especially since the closest airport that would fit the jet was still over an hour and a half from her. If they changed to land closer to Harding, they'd likely still be at least an hour out. That was two and a half to three hours too long to wait for them. She'd have to take the agents from Seattle who'd made it down earlier and were helping to corral the Anderson family, letting her focus on tracking the perp's online activity.

She glanced at door, not wanting to have to go out there to even get her bag but she didn't have much of a choice. She shut down her computer, then slid out of the room, thankful that Hailey had gone back out to be with her mom hours ago. Tyler had brought her something to eat, which honestly just made her fall harder for him, but it was needed since she'd skipped breakfast to dive into things earlier. Now, with it being past noon, she needed to get a move on in order to scope things out.

Daytime made it easier to see where she was going, but it also made it easier for her to be spotted, which was why she had to change. Her best defense was to appear to be exactly what he wanted. That would make him more likely to simply attempt to take her rather than to harm her if discovered.

She saw heads turn her way, the anxiousness in the eyes belied even the irritation of who she was it seemed, and she paused just for a moment to tell them, "The rest of my team will be here in a couple of hours, we have a potential lead and I'll be going to look into it in a few minutes."

She didn't wait for questions. She slipped out the door and hurried to her car, grabbing up the pink bag from the trunk, despising the very sight of it.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, following her down the hallway as she moved back towards the twins' room, his eyes narrowing on the bag. "What is that?"

"The best way in," she answered him, well aware of the stares from the rest of the family coming down the hallway. "It's my specialty. I'm good at what I do, no matter what family I'm from, my job is to protect, and that's what I'll do if I find Isabelle."

"Justine…" he said, and she gave a slight shake of her head before moving into the room and on into the twin's bathroom to change out of her slacks and blouse and into the items from the bag. She paired the short skirt and crop top with the slightly heavier chunky boots, which allowed her to slip her drop gun into a little holster inside it. Not knowing what she was about to walk into meant being prepared. Hell, not even Dynamite's group had discovered the gun when they searched her, and she'd had to take the shoes off for them even.

The new haircut helped frame her face even better as she pulled the rest back into two braided pigtails, and she slicked on enough makeup to hide the tiredness on her face but not look overly done. The only jewelry she put on was a cuff bracelet that wouldn't make any noise and a pair of earrings that disguised her earwig. She looked like she was heading for a night out which worked well depending on how she came across Grimes.

She tossed the rest of her things back into the bag before putting her real clothes into her backpack, adding her laptop to it, before turning on her earwig to check that it was working before heading out. "Moe, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear. Same distress signal?" he asked, and she confirmed it even as her stomach churned at the thought of having to use it. Hopefully her team would be closer than when Dynamite's group came after her the first time. She'd gotten herself out without help, which was good considering the nearest team was fifteen minutes from her when that happened. She just wished she'd been closer to get to her asset on time.

"Same as always," she told him, before taking her bags to head out, certain there'd be more questions from the family, but she wasn't in a headspace to answer any of them. She pushed open the door, her feet nearly faltering seeing Tyler still in the hallway, filling it and the way his brow rose taking in her outfit beneath her jacket made her heart flutter.

"Just?" he said quietly as his brows knitted together. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"Camouflage," she answered with a shrug. "I need to go, now."

"No, not like this," he stated. "Whatever you're thinking…"

"This is my job, Tyler," she said staring hard at him. "I was handpicked for it. It's not my first foray into this madness. I'll be fine, but the sooner I leave, the sooner I can make sure that Isabelle is there and safe. So let me do my job."

"I don't like it," he argued although he took a step back from her to let her pass.

If Tyler's face was expressive, Caroline's was comical when she spotted her. If the situation weren't so serious, she'd laugh, but that would certainly not make things with the Andersons any better.

"Justine?" Grace said, her eyes widening in shock as she came back into the room. "What did I miss?"

"The agents from Seattle and I are heading out to follow a lead," Justine explained evenly. "It's best to come in under the radar with these things. We'll let you know as soon as we know anything."

"Please find my sister," Hailey said, her face drawn, and Justine gave her nod and gentle smile before slipping out of the house and over to the agents.

"Going clubbing?" one of them asked, his brow rising, a glint in his eyes that she despised.

"You have two seconds to get serious or you can stay here and babysit more," she warned, heading to her car. "I need you to follow me back to my hotel for me to drop off my car and then we're heading out. If you want to play asshole games, not take this seriously, not acknowledge that there is at least one seventeen-year-old girl that's likely been abducted by some sick wack job and potentially doing god only knows what to her, I'll have no problem reporting you to your bosses," she added when the smirk stayed on his face. "You have no clue what you're about to walk into, I do. So…what will it be?"

"Sorry ma'am," his partner said, giving the guy a nudge erasing the look from his face. "Which way to the hotel?"

"It's straight shot down the road once you take a left out of here. You won't miss it," she assured him using the time in her car to get her shit together. The last thing any of them needed was her heading in with the recent past in the front of her mind.

She passed along the address when she got into the agent's SUV, letting them drive while she looked over the satellite photos of the farm on her laptop. The more prepared she was the better for all of them.

They were a couple miles out when she had them stop, pulling off onto a side road that would conceal the vehicle. With her binoculars, she surveyed the area, finding a van that set off alarms all around her. The house seemed quiet as did the large barn just beyond it, but all of the windows in the barn were boarded up, telling her Grimes hadn't turned it into a second house, so to say, for his brother resulting in the massive electric bills associated with it. The padlock on the door was all she needed to know they were in the right place, but she pulled back quickly when someone headed out of the house to get into the van.

She turned the earwig back on, telling Moe, "We have activity. There's an old white cargo van that's pulling out now. Only one occupant that I can see in it."

"I'll let the rest of the team know. They're headed your way now, but it'll be a couple hours before they can get there still."

"Understood. I'm going to go get a closer look. Don't," she added when Moe hesitated to confirm he copied. "I'm dressed so if I'm spotted I can play it off easily. Just make sure to listen for any distress calls."

"Be careful, Justine. There's no telling exactly what these guys are capable of," Moe cautioned, and Justine fought to not laugh at the absurdity of the warning. Of the entire team, she was the one most aware of that. She was the only one that'd been in the midst of the vile, gotten close enough to touch the repugnant hands of the bastards they'd brought down.

Justine instructed the two to move the car further down the side road and wait for a signal or the rest of her team to arrive, whichever came first.

She made her way through the fields, cutting down the distance the road would require by nearly half and cursed seeing the electric fence that was up around the property. Every way she went it was there, and she couldn't guarantee that asking Moe to get them to cut the power would get her in. They could have it running off a generator which wouldn't go out with the rest of the power.

"We have a slight glitch," she said as she studied the road heading towards the house. "The only way in seems to be from the road. They have electric fences up everywhere else."

"Damn…I take it you don't have any gear to get around it," Moe guessed.

"Nope, we're definitely not geared out so warn the others if they're bringing backup to be prepared. I'm going to head up the road and take my chances. If they see me, I'll just have to play it off," she stated, dragging in several calming breaths in order to do this.

She was nearly to the driveway when her backup informed her the van was returning, and she swore under her breath. That was the last thing she needed. There was nowhere for her to hide. There were only open fields around them and while she might be short, she'd still be easily seen in her pink top, even crouching down. There was no way around it, but to hope that either a—they picked her up and took her directly where she needed to go, or b—they drove right past her.

The likelihood of b happening was nil with this type of predator. They couldn't resist something—or someone in this case—landing in their lap.

She focused on her breathing, blanking her face when the van slowed down as it came up behind her. She was on the opposite side of the two-lane blacktop road which meant when he stopped, the driver side was closest to her, and she turned her head as the brakes of the van squalled as it stopped.

"Hey there, what's a pretty girl like you doing walking on deserted road?" the man asked, and she said quietly to let the others know it wasn't Harvey but Wendell before she answered him.

"Hi…just trying to get to town. My ride wimped out on going up to the city for a killer party we were invited to, leaving me stranded out here because I forgot my phone at home," she said rolling her eyes as she shook her head, adding a little giggle on top of it and his face broke out into a full smile.

"Well, I live right up the road here. My cell broke on my job, but we still have a landline. You can try to call someone rather than walk ten miles to town. If you're hoping to get to the city you'll have to catch the last train up, which leaves in about an hour," he offered and she hesitated a moment, looking over him and the van, pulling a bigger smile from him that sickened her. "Cautious are ya? I get it. People think because I drive a van I'm some broke chump but I'm a plumber. The van's necessary to haul supplies to jobs."

"I was always told good girls don't get into vehicles with strangers…but I never claimed to be good," Justine said with a little shrug that made his brow lift a bit higher. "You're only young once right? Why not make all the dumb mistakes you can before you've got to grow up? If you're sure you don't mind me using your phone…"

"Not at all, hop in…I'm Gus, Gus Jones," he added when she settled into the passenger seat holding her breath at the stench inside the vehicle.

"Minnie…I know, my mother was obsessed with Disney," she said when his brow lifted. "I mean there were plenty of decent movies out seventeen years ago that she could have taken a name from but instead she went with the name of the mouse because I came out with really dark hair that was plastered to my head."

"Not so dark anymore, is it? I like it though, it's cute, like you," he schmoozed before putting the van in gear taking her the drive and on behind the house. The second he put it in park the backdoor of the house flew open and an older and even more disgusting Harvey Grimes stormed towards them, come up to her window.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he raged towards Wendell, his eyes not leaving her for a single moment.

"Calm down, big brother. Minnie here just needs to use the phone to call a ride. I found her out walking along the road heading to town. Her friend bailed on giving her a ride to a party," Wendell added, a smirk on his lips that sent a chill through her.

"Not very smart to get into a stranger's car but don't worry, we'll give you the party of your life," Harvey stated, jerking the door open, his hand slamming over her mouth before she could begin to scream then drug her out of the van. She fought against his hold, playing the role with intensity but not putting all of her strength behind it.

"Looks like we'll get to see how little of a good girl you are tomorrow night," Wendell cackled as he came around, grabbing her legs and the two carried her towards the barn.

"We've got plans for tonight already that we can't change. Although I'd be tempted to for a taste of you now," Harvey added as his hand groped her breast flooding her with revulsion.

They both reached for keys letting her get halfway loose before they quickly subdued her again as they laughed at her attempt to get away. Neither of them realized she'd managed to pick Wendell's set of keys to the padlock during the struggle. She slid the key into the pocket hidden inside the skirt as they moved her to what was once a horse stall that was now fitted out with bars. They pushed her inside it, sliding a lock into place and she slid back against the wall as they laughed at her frightened expression and pleading to let her go.

"We'll be back for you, mouse," Wendell stated, giving her that same smirk from earlier before the two left the barn.

"I'm in," she said quietly, getting a slightly garbled confirmation from Moe that he copied. "Coms are spotty, but for now, hold and let me see if I can find Isabelle."

"Copy, I'll work…amplify…signal," Moe said, and she hoped if it came down to it, they'd hear her distress call. She was not looking forward to whatever these creeps might try to do next.