Chapter Twenty

Jensen

I go with Trick over to the crate that a team has opened, while the others all carry on trying to open the crate that we had chosen. I'm not sure which is worse, opening the crate to see if there is something in there or knowing that there is something in there and that there is a possibility that the condition of whoever is in there is going to haunt us for a long time.

As we get closer, the smell hits me, and I think I should have stayed with the others.

“She didn’t survive,” the guy says unnecessarily as we look into the box and see the corpse of a woman.

“She’s been dead for a while,” I say, my voice tight. “She must have managed to get her hands unbound at some point, look.”

Trick and the guy lean forward to study the area that I am pointing at, and then Trick asks, with horror in his eyes, “Those are nail marks.”

“Looks like it,” I reply, “she tried to claw herself out.”

“That is an absolutely horrific way to die,” the agent comments.

“Yeah.” I agree, “Let’s open some more of these crates, it’s too late for her but we may be able to save some of the others.”

For the next hour, that is what we do: we search through as many crates as possible, which becomes much easier when Mr R’s backup arrives. We still end up sending for more EMTs and two coroners vans, and the sight is absolutely horrific.

The warehouse is a hive of activity; people are everywhere, opening crates, helping survivors, and operating forklifts to get the crates down from the higher shelves. It is a small mercy that not every crate has a person, dead or alive in it. There are more crates without them in than there are with, which is a relief since there are hundreds of crates in here.

The ones that don’t hold the horrific sight of a person inside have the things that you would expect to be found in this situation, things like drugs and some guns too. However, there were a lot of ordinary things in it as well. It was a real mix, and somehow, finding a crate filled with baby clothes next to a crate containing a dead person made everything so much worse; the contrast between the innocence of the baby clothes and the painful death of a prison in such close proximity.

“Let’s go and find Ever and the others; we need to get Emmerson home and figure out what to do with Joe,” Trick says.

It doesn’t take us very long to find Ever, Pete, and Luc because they are still sitting in the same place with Joe, who has fallen asleep tucked under Ever’s arm.

“I got a message from Mr R. He wants Emmerson back at headquarters,” Trick says.

“What about Joe?” Ever asks with a frown of concern.

“He said to bring him. He is the only child that we have found so far, and he has got someone in mind that can watch over him until we figure out if he has got people looking for him or not.” Trick replies.

Ever nods, “Okay, let’s go and get Emmerson then. I am ready to get out of here, and I’m especially ready to get Joe out of here; he has seen enough of this place.”

“Agreed,” I say, and then look around, not spotting the others, “I’ll just send out a message in the group chat and get everyone to meet us by Emmerson.”

“Good idea,” Trick agrees. Looking at Ever, he asks, “Do you want me to take him?”

She nods but looks worried, “Yes, please, I think my whole side has gone numb. I didn’t want to wake him since he is sleeping so peacefully, and I doubt that happens very often. Try not to wake him?”

Trick nods and smiles at Ever, “I will try my best; it’s probably a good idea that you are in his line of sight just in case he does wake up; we don’t want him freaking out.”

“Good idea,” she agrees.

They very carefully move Joe away from Ever and he only stirs for a moment as Trick manages to lift him as seamlessly as possible, Ever makes sure that she stays in his line of sight should he wake up. Her eyes never leave him, and I have to admit that I am worried about her. The way that she was talking about when she’s been imprisoned, and the fact that it was a child is really going to affect her, and I know that I'm not the only one who is going to be keeping an eye on her and making sure that she is okay.

What should have been just quickly coming to grab Emmerson and then heading back to headquarters, has now turned into a massive operation and a disturbing one at that. I have to say though, I am really fucking glad that Emmerson took off, if she hadn’t we may not have checked this place out for a long time since Pete said it wasn’t at the top of our priorities list when it came to Hunt. Who knows whether Hunt would have come back for the boy or left him to die here? Neither of those options is a good one.

So that is at least the silver lining that we can take away from this. We have uncovered a massive operation here, not just with the people, who we have to identify and hopefully get back to loved ones, but also because of the guns and drugs which were stored here as well. It’s not a massive amount as far as Hunt is concerned, but it is enough to put a dent into his operation for a little while, at least.

When we finally make our way to where Emmerson is, I am actually kind of relieved to see that she is still here and hasn’t taken off again. All of the guys are with her as well, and I actually think we are all going to need some serious TLC after this. All of them have a haunted look in their eyes, and I am sure it matches the one in mine.

“Are we heading out?” Rage asks, sounding as tired as we all feel.

Trick nods, “Yeah, Mr R wants us to take Emmerson and Joe back to Headquarters.”

“Joe?” Emmerson asks, a weird look on her face.

Ever nods, watching her closely, and I'm guessing that she has noticed the strange look on Emmerson’s face, too, as she replies, “Yeah, he’s the first one we found.”

Before Emmerson can reply, someone drops something that sounds like metal on the floor somewhere nearby, and the sound startles Joe awake. He frantically looks around, and Trick quickly crouches down with him, so Joe doesn’t hurt himself if he flings himself out of Trick’s arms in a panic.

Suddenly, the boy freezes, his eyes locked on Emmerson, as he says in a voice that sounds so incredibly young, “Emmy?”

Emmerson’s eyes widen as she rushes forward, tears already streaming down her face as Trick quickly stands Joe on his feet; just in time for Emmerson to embrace him, they crumble to the floor, both of them sobbing and gripping onto each other tightly.

The rest of us stare at each other, entirely unsure about what is happening.

“You don’t think . . .” Peter starts to ask, looking at Ever.

She looks just as confused until her eyes widen suddenly, “There’s no way.”

“No way, what?” I ask impatiently.

“Joe told us that Hunt killed his mom and his sister and was training him for something,” Ever explains.

My eyes widen as they go back to the two hugging on the floor, “Fucking hell, no way.”

“What are the fucking chances of that happening?” Rafe asks incredulously.

“About a million to one,” Riot replies.

“He told Mom and me that he had killed Joe,” Emmerson suddenly says.

Looking down at her, since she is still on the floor, she is cuddling her little brother tightly as he buries his face in her shoulder and clings to her like his life depends on it.

“So, he is your brother then?” Ever asks.

Emmerson nods, “Yeah, he’s my little brother.”

“Why didn’t you mention him before?” Peter asks gently, something that I am curious about as well now that he is mentioned it.

Emmerson shrugs, “It didn’t come up; as far as I was concerned, he died years ago; Hunt killed him.”

“I actually get that,” I say, understanding where she is coming from even though I was curious a moment ago. “I don’t talk about my mom and sister, and I wouldn’t bring it up unless someone asked me directly about it.”

“Exactly,” Emmerson nods, agreeing with me.

“Alright, let’s get you both back to headquarters, Mr R is waiting for you and I’m sure that you’re both exhausted.” Trick says and then adds gently, “He can’t walk very well, he’s too weak, do you want me to carry him back to the truck?”

Emmerson shakes her head, “No, it’s okay. I’ve got him.”

We all watch, seriously impressed as she stands with Joe in her arms still, and determination fills her eyes.

Ever

I am honestly so impressed; Luc said that she had cracked ribs, at the very least, and yet she is determined to carry her brother.

“Just let me know if you want me to take over,” I say to her quietly, my side no longer numb.

She nods and smiles but replies, “Thank you. I’ve got him. I don’t think I will ever let go of him again.”

“I don’t blame you,” I reply. “He told me about you and your mom.”

Emmerson glances at me as the guys push through the door, and we follow into the cold and very, very early morning.

“He did?”

I nod, “Yeah, he mentioned he had lost you, and then after we got the chip out, and before he fell asleep, he was telling Luc, Pete, and me all about you and your mom; I can’t believe that we didn’t put two and two together.”

Emmerson smiles, glancing down at her brother, who is still clinging to her tightly, “Well, I don’t blame you. It is a situation that shouldn’t have been possible, and yet here he is, and alive. All of the regrets I had about coming out here have gone; I can't regret something that got me reunited with my little brother.”

“I get that, and I’d feel the same, but you’re not going to do it again, right?” I have to ask because this is a night that is going to play on my mind for a long, long time, and I have no desire to relive it ever again.

“I promise, I won’t do something like this again,” she says, her arms tighten around Joe, “I can’t do that to him, he’s already been through too much.”

“Thank fuck for that,” I reply.

We pause our conversation as we get in the cars, and we are relatively sure that we are all going to be going to headquarters together, at least. I hope we are. I don’t know about the guys, but I really don’t want to be separated from them right now.

Once we are seated and on the way, Emmerson turns to me, her eyes widen as panic begins to set in and she asks, “Mr R will let him stay with me, won’t he? He’s not going to send him away?”

I would worry that her panic is going to rub off on Joe and cause him unnecessary distress, but he is once again fast asleep, this time curled up against his sister and gripping onto the bottom of her shirt tightly.

I shake my head, “There is no way that he is going to make you guys split up, he will find a way to make sure that you both stay together. At the moment the safest place for the both of you is at headquarters, you are both an interest to Hunt and we don’t want him getting his hands on either of you.”

Atlas interrupts from the front seat, “No matter what happens, he will never split you two up.”

Her shoulders slump in relief, as the panic leaves and she settles back down next to her brother, it’s not long until she is fast asleep too and I'm really glad that they’ve both been able to get some rest. The quiet of the car is threatening to send me to sleep, and that is the last thing that I want to do right now.

Don’t get me wrong, I am fucking exhausted, but I know that I'm most likely going to have nightmares when I finally get some sleep, and that means I don’t want to sleep anywhere but in the safety of my own home and surrounded by my men.

Peter yawns next to me and then leans forward, “Can we get some coffee? I know we want to get to headquarters, but I need something to keep me awake, or I am not going to make it.”

I hear the undercurrent in his voice, and I squeeze his hand; I know my best friend, and I’m reasonably sure that he doesn’t want to go to sleep now for the same reason that I don’t want to go to sleep right now.

Trick nods as he glances back at us, “Yeah, I could probably do with some to help keep me up for the rest of the drive anyway.”

There is not that long left, and I am fairly certain that he is just said it for Pete’s benefit.

“I’ll message the other cars and let them know that we’re pulling in at the next coffee place,” Atlas says.

I frown, “How many cars are we in?”

Atlas chuckles, “Three, we borrowed one from another team, since they were hanging around for a while longer and we needed the extra space because we had two more people in our cars.”

I raise my eyebrows, “Oh, I completely missed that.”

“You were focused on Emmerson and Joe at the time.” Trick says, and then asks, “Have you let Rylie know that we’re on the way back like you said you would?”

I shake my head, “No, I completely forgot about that. I will do it now.”

“Let her know about Joe too,” Peter says from next to me.

I nod and send her a quick text, and her response makes me smile.

Rylie: Fuck. Alright, I'm ready for them. I will just have to add an extra blanket and more snacks and change the movie; what is a child-appropriate movie?

Me: I have no idea. You are awesome, have I told you that?

Rylie: Not today ; )

Thankfully, the coffee place isn’t that far away. For some reason, the fact that it is one I recognize is hugely comforting to me right now. Today has been a lot. So much has happened since I got up this morning. Well, I suppose it’s yesterday morning now? Trying to work that out is hurting my brain, so I move on quickly. I need sleep, and I'm sure everything will seem so much better after I have slept, but right now, I am running on empty, and it is making me feel a bit vulnerable.

None of us were prepared for what we found tonight, but I am really glad that we did find it and that we were able to stop any more of the people who were imprisoned in those boxes from dying.

I'm especially glad that we have found Joe and managed, against all odds, to unite him and Emmerson.

It is those things that I am going to focus on and hold in the forefront of my mind, not the bad, not the disturbing, and not the people that we were too late for. Mr R will make sure that their loved ones are aware and will also make sure that they are all given proper funerals. It is the least that we can do.

“We need to make sure that Mr R gets Emmerson and Joe counseling,” I suddenly announce as Trick hands coffees back to Pete and Me.

“Emmerson is already attending counseling,” Pete says, adding, “She seems to get on with it quite well, although I’m not sure if she’s been going recently.”

“Good, hopefully because if she goes, then maybe Joe will go as well.” I reply, taking a sip of my vanilla mocha and smiling happily, “Ah, I really needed that. How far away from headquarters are we?”

Atlas glances back at me, “Not far at all, maybe another thirty minutes or so. We could have waited until we got there to get coffee, but with the way things are spiraling at the moment, I think it is a good idea that we stopped now.”

I nod, “Yeah, although I really fucking hope that something else isn’t going to get thrown at us so soon, I need sleep before anything else happens.”

“Me too,” Trick mutters.

“I’m supposed to be going to the stake out the shipping yard today,” I mumble, as the thought suddenly occurs to me.

Trick shakes his head, “Not today; we all need to catch up on some sleep today. It wouldn’t be safe to ask you, Jensen, and Cash to go now; I will message Ezra and Quinn and let them know that we will leave first thing tomorrow morning.” He looks in the rearview mirror at me, “If you need more time, you can have it, and we can check it out next week instead, but we really need to check the place out when it is at its busiest, so on its peak days. So, we would need to go midweek.”

I nod, “Yeah, I get that. I will be honest with you if I need more rest, but honestly, I think a few hours of sleep and some food in me, and I will be good to go.”

“Okay, just make sure that you mention it if you feel tired or anything, I’m not sending you out if you’re sleep deprived even if it’s just surveillance.”

Peter chuckles from beside me, “Nothing is ever just surveillance.”

“No truer words have been spoken, my dear bestie,” I tell him with a smile.

He grins, “Uh oh, she’s getting to that stage of tired; she’s gone weirdly formal.”

“I have not,” I retort making the guys all burst out laughing.