30. Gideon

GIDEON

" W here did you get this kid?" I pawed through the stuff on my desk taking quick glances of things as they unfolded. Just that was enough to get my heart pumping, jackpot indeed.

"I took it before I did the runner." I looked over at the kid still not sure about anything; this shit had too many tentacles and too many unknowns. I won't just go along with shit because it looked good, not where she was concerned.

"I'm guessing your dad knows you took this stuff or did you make copies?"

"Nope originals all the way; so can you use this stuff to put those freaks away because I'm tired of hiding out?" The kid puffed his chest up trying to play the big bad man but behind the eyes was all scared little boy.

That more than anything sold me on his story, that and the fact that she'd said he'd ran away. His frame was that of a man and not a sixteen-year old boy but now that I see him clearly he looked a little gaunt, like he hadn't been taken care of in a long time.

"Where do you live now Jason?"

"Who's asking?" I gave him my ‘don't fuck with me' glare and was happy to see it still packed a punch when he swallowed noticeably and fidgeted.

"Answer." He looked around the room somewhat embarrassed but then was saved from having to answer. "Company heading in boss." Gage gave me the heads up but I'd already detected the movements from the little device in my pocket.

"I heard her." That's all I would say, no one needed to know I had eyes and ears on her at all times, not even my trusted men. She came through the door eyes searching; the heartfelt whisper tore at me.

"Jason." That's all she said before she flew across the room and was picked up by the overgrown youth. I took an involuntary step forward but checked myself; there was nothing to worry about here.

She was mine, all mine and there was no reason for jealousy to rear its ugly head. But I must admit the sight of another man or boy with their hands on her made me very uneasy.

My movements were calculated and seemingly natural when I moved to where they stood and pulled her back against me possessively. When she rested her hands over mine that were now resting on her stomach my world was set back to rights. I didn't miss the disrespectful snickers from my men but I'll deal with them later.

"Jace where've you been I've been so worried." She reached out to take his hand as he looked at her like she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Sorry Ash I had no choice believe me, I tried to get you out but my dad found out what I was up to so I had to hide." He looked like he wanted to cry; just a fucking kid and he'd tried to fight the evil on his own. He couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen at the time, damn.

"Where did you go?" He shrugged his shoulders at her and looked away sheepishly.

"Jason where did you go?" She's a persistent little thing he didn't stand a chance. I squeezed her trying to send a private message to ease up but she just squeezed my hand and kept at it until she got what she wanted.

"I moved around a lot at first but when I thought things calmed down enough I came back to Blue Haven." That's all he would say but I was getting the picture; the kid had been living on the streets. I'm guessing like me he knew my wife's heart and didn't want to divulge that information because he knew she would feel guilt over it since he'd been on the run because he'd tried to help her. I made up my mind then and there; it wasn't hard.

He was just another victim of these assholes and he'd basically given up his life trying to help her. Just a fucking kid, I didn't want to think what would've happened to him if his old man had gotten ahold of him.

Or if the senator had ever known that he had the evidence he had. My guess is that Starks was planning a double cross or he was just covering his ass in case of contingencies. Either way.

"It doesn't matter baby because now he'll be staying with us." The smile she gave me made me wish I could fight all her demons at once, fuck. How could one human being own another so completely without any effort at all? I stole a quick kiss before being addressed by Maurice.

"Intel coming in boss you want it now or when we're alone?"

"What is it?" He smiled wide and I knew. I walked off leaving the two of them whispering while she checked him over like a mother hen.

"First four houses cleared, working on the last now and transporting in about two hours after that; don't want to sit on it too long." Damn that was quick, it seems the men hadn't waited much longer after they'd landed to get to work.

It helped that the men already in place had pretty much set shit up, but the ex-mercenaries I'd sent in knew their shit so I shouldn't be surprised. I'd chosen them specifically for their prowess in this area after all.

"Safe house set up and ready boss?"

"Yep everything's in place Gage."Gage took over the briefing from there. "We have the contact info for the parents ready and now with this new info from the kid looks like our job was just made easier."

Yeah everything was coming together nicely, it's about fucking time something was going right for the good guys. This was only the beginning though, there was still a fuck load of shit to do.

"I guess the bastard gets to live after all then." I hadn't really been sure of what I was going to do but Gage was right. With the photos and diary Jason had given us it wouldn't be too hard to prove to the American public that the senator and his cohorts were guilty as sin.

"Can we authenticate the pics, make sure they can't cry foul?"

"Stefan just did that while you three were having your little family reunion." The fucker had the nerve to smirk at me.

"Cute." While we'd been chatting Ashley and Jason had been playing catch up. One of the guys came in with food, which was a good idea since the kid looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

I put Blossom in a chair and whispered in her ear. I'd guessed correctly that Jason was full of pride and wouldn't touch a morsel but I knew if she enticed him to he would. He started digging in as she picked at a croissant on her plate peppering the poor guy with questions. He seemed more interested in pissing me off though as his next words proved.

"I can't stay here, thanks for the offer but I'm no charity case."

"Don't be stupid kid; this isn't about charity, you did me a service and now I'm repaying you. Besides, I'm sure it would make my wife very happy if you stayed here with us and that's my only concern. Look at it as a favor to her if you'd like."

That's all I was going to say on the matter, I'd told him the truth Blossom wouldn't be happy now unless she knew where her friend was after finding him again after all this time. And even if she hasn't yet figured out that he's been living on the streets I have and I just couldn't let that shit go on.

He was as much a victim of these twisted fucks as her and the others. If she wanted him here then here's where the fuck he was going to stay. I'm pretty sure if he'd had a safe place to go in the first place he wouldn't have been on the streets.

"What's this safe house Gideon?" Shit, I was hoping she'd been too preoccupied to hear that little bypass, no such luck. "Nothing for you to worry about baby."

She pouted my way but kept still. I've noticed that she never contradicted me in front of others, no she saved that shit for when we were alone so I was sure I hadn't heard the end of it .

I needed to go over all the stuff Jason had brought with him but I didn't want to do it with her in the room. I had shuffled everything back into the envelope before she came into the room, I didn't want her hurting anymore than she already was over this shit.

With things moving though we needed to get on the ball, I didn't want her anywhere near it but I didn't want to send her away either, shit.

"Babe we're going to go into the inner office you and Jason stay out here and catch up okay." I kissed her once more before heading in the direction of the office not giving her a chance to answer. The office was just right through the door so I could still see and hear them.

My guys were right behind me. Gone were the easy smiles and laid back manner, in their place was disgust and anger.

"It must be said, these fuckers need to die." Maurice sneered at the evidence I pulled out once again.

The pictures laid out on the table were of the senator and the doctor. Some were in Ashley's bedroom when she was very young some were of the two men with other young children in pretty much the same positions. What was most incriminating though was the detailed diary of one Keith Starks.

This coupled with the recordings my security team had made of Starks and Sanders after I'd taken Ashley was more than enough evidence to put the men away. I took the photos of my wife and locked them away. I don't know what if anything I'd do with them in the future but I knew I didn't want her involved in whatever was going to befall these fuckers, it might be a pipe dream but it's what I wanted.

Some of the pictures weren't too incriminating taken on their own, but couple them with the fact that all of the featured kids were now missing and that was a strong indication of wrongdoing.

Not to mention the ones where the surgeon general had his hands in some very inappropriate places on these young girls' bodies while the senator was in attendance. Pretty hard to explain that shit away. I wonder how the fuck Starks had got his hands on this shit but at this point it really didn't matter.

My gut burned with anger as I thought of the story those pictures told. She was so fucking young and innocent. In some of the earlier ones she'd looked terrified. Shake it off Gideon get the job done, the sooner you do that the sooner you can get to work on healing her.

"So we've decided on the press first?" The question drew me back from my musings.

"Yes Maurice, I have my contact ready all we need to do is forward the info. This is even better than what we had before; we'll call it trial by the public. When the public gets hold of this there wouldn't be a court anywhere that wouldn't throw the book at these monsters.

"They're gonna want to interview the victims and all that shit, you know these fucks are fucked up in their own way too." Gage had a point but I'd already put some stipulations in place.

My contact at the station knew I was sitting on something hot that involved a high flying official but she didn't know who or what. She took my word on it because she knew I wasn't one to fuck around. I had to make sure that these kids who'd already been victimized weren't going to be treated like commodities for some news channel so I'd done all that I could to safeguard them.

"I already told Carla that if she handles this the way I want she'd get first dibs whenever the kids are ready to talk. Her bosses are gonna have to cough up some dough too, I'm gonna see that these kids get paid. I've already got Whistler on the ball to sue the senator and the doctor."

"Their families are gonna be pissed because I mean to see that these kids are compensated heavily for all that they've been through. Not that money can make up for this shit, but it will go a long way to getting them settled in society when they get older. Some of them are adults already and will be coming back to nothing, having to start over from scratch."

"And you can bet these fucks haven't been keeping up with educating their little play toys, fucking monsters. Plus with doctor bills and who knows what, we're talking millions."

"Take all their shit so they can't even afford a damn lawyer at the end of the day."

"I'll do my best Stefan. "

"I'm going on record as saying you can't do it boss, we end up having to take those fuckers before the feds get them you'll burn ‘em."

Gage didn't even break a smile as he made that very accurate assessment. It was true; I kept waffling back and forth on my decisions where their punishments were concerned. In the end it comes down to what's best for my girl, it's always gonna come down to that shit for me.

"I won't take that bet either boss, I mean it's gonna be hard enough for us if we come face to face with these fucks not to pull the trigger."

"If you want this to go down the American way you better let us handle it from here on out because there's no fucking way I see you letting them walk otherwise."

I looked at Maurice after Stefan's little speech to see if he had anything to add to the other two's statements. He simply shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "It is what it is boss."

"Good to know you guys have such faith in my ability to keep a cool head." I was saying that shit but I knew they were right on the money. There was no guarantee that I'd let these fuckers live if we ever came face to face. They'd fucking put hands on what's mine a man doesn't take that shit lightly.

"Lets put this shit away until we take care of the other thing first. Looks like we might have this thing cleaned up in a few days or less, good work guys thanks." They all brushed off my thanks but I'm sure they knew what this shit meant to me.

Within thirty minutes we got word that the first rescue mission had gone off without a hitch and the rescued were on a private jet with hand picked staff on their way here.

The safe house was one of my properties in the country. I had a doctor on hand to look over them and there was a trained staff on hand whom I'd had to let in on what was going on. These were people I'd dealt with for years so I didn't worry about shit going wrong, besides with dad overseeing everything I was guaranteed that things would go smoothly. I'd done all I could now it was time to end this shit .

"I think we'll bring the senator and the doctor in after we've seen the rescued children. We might as well have a little reunion before I throw them to the jackals." Yes I wanted to look them in the face and let them know who it was that had fucked them and why.

That was for her, I needed them to know that though the asshole had been willing to throw her away like garbage there was now someone in her life who valued her above all else.

"Please tell me we're gonna get to fuck them up before we hand them over." I didn't answer just smirked at Gage and the others.