Catch Me If You Can (The Mancini Way) (11 page)

So you see, it's hard for me coming from that place to find myself drawn to someone who one of those agencies were now hailing as their brightest and best. The one saving grace is that I'm her first real job; maybe they haven't had time to corrupt her as yet or at least that’s what I’m hoping for because if she was going to be in my life for longer than two months as Adrien had so eloquently pointed out she was going to have to be a hell of a lot better than anything their corrupt asses could produce.

I'd already done recon on the harbor where the ship was docking in a couple hours barring emergency. The freighter they had chosen was usually used to haul machine parts for industrial factories; some of these tankers usually have hidden compartments below deck that even the Coast Guard weren’t aware of unless they'd had some prior warning. Criminals had become more and more adept in this age of technology; it wasn't as easy as it once had been to catch them at their craft, so the craftier they got the more innovative guys like me had to become. It was a vicious cycle that never seemed to end, each time we made progress the criminal element came up with other ways to do what they did so it was a struggle always to keep on top of things.

My job tonight is to rescue the hostages and remove them to the secret location that has already been set up and waiting for them. The men and women who had paid to have them stolen and brought here will never lay eyes on them.  It was a job best done under cover of darkness when the harbor was asleep and the necessary parties had been paid to look the other way. On the off chance that such a payoff proved impossible or when difficult we usually just resorted to causing diversions elsewhere to keep the guards well away while we borrowed time to do what we had to. For tonight's little episode we'd bought some time from one of our contacts on the inside. The coast would be clear long enough for us to do what needed to be done and be gone in the wind.

 I'd garnered such a reputation as a criminal that the people who came looking for my services trusted me to choose whichever venue I thought best to get their particular job done. If all went well hopefully by tomorrow all the men involved will either be dead or finding themselves afoul of the law for something that had nothing to do with tonight's operation. The children my crew and I were about to rescue will be returned to their homes in due time if they were proven to be favorable conditions, if that wasn't the case then other arrangements would be made for them. It’s the way we always did things when kids were involved one of my stipulations to be exact.

Everything was in place and ready to go, every detail had been finalized; we'd tried as usual to prepare for every contingency but I never rested easy until an Op was completely over. Whenever I headed an Op I tried my best to bring everyone out alive, my record has been stellar so far and that's why I'm the one most tapped for this kind of job within the organization.

As the clock wound down I put aside everything else but the job; I'd chosen my team from beginning to end; most of the crew on the cargo ship was part of my team but some were unknowns. Criminals aren't the most trusting bunch of assholes after all and although they'd commissioned me to handle the whole job except for the kidnapping of the girls, they still wanted to have some of their own men on hand overseeing everything. My men and women who took the voyage over with them would’ve spent their time wisely if they were doing their jobs gathering info, wiretapping their communications, and safeguarding against any unwelcome circumstances that might arise. The most dangerous part of the operation will take place in the next hour or so, that's when we attempt to rescue the hostages and detain the traffickers without loss of life to the victims while keeping the criminals from contacting anyone with an alert, you never know what other outside forces might be involved when dealing with men of this caliber and it was always best to cover all the bases and be prepared for every contingency.

Now here's the tricky part, since the men who’d hired me and in fact had orchestrated the kidnappings at the behest of the sick fuck wealthy men and women were known dignitaries it's not so simple to just dust them and be done with it. Some embassy is bound to notice that their ambassador is missing. We could always bring them up on charges but the old diplomatic immunity thing might allow them to slip through loop holes somehow, and there was no point in giving them over to their own government for justice because this shit reached to the top and there was never really anyone who could be trusted.

For this particular operation because of the delicate matter involved, young girls who had been stolen from their families; we'd come up with something a little more elaborate for all its simplicity. Getting rid of the filth on the ship was no big deal they were just low rung lackeys. As for the men who'd hired me I'd insisted they take ownership of the merchandise at a prearranged location; too bad they were never going to make it there.

I received the signal from my men aboard the ship that they were approaching the harbor. Jace was already in place on a boat a few slips away from where the ship was supposed to dock. The Coast Guard as earlier prearranged was out of sight and the harbor clear of even light traffic. I stood on the pier a lone figure dressed all in black a very B movie cliché to be sure. As they pulled in and went about the business of dropping anchor I communicated with the Captain who would soon become the first casualty of the night. I saw the spray of blood across his chest before his body dropped. Good job Jace.

There was suddenly a lot of movement on deck, which is what we wanted I went into motion while chaos ensued on board. I knew where the cargo hold was and that's where I was headed, my only interest in getting those girls out of there. The rest of my team was in charge of keeping the enemy occupied. They had no idea where the attack came from, as there had been no official call to surrender, and no known threat onboard.  I had no doubt my team was doing what we did best as I made my way efficiently towards my goal.

I felt no sense of loss for the men who were even now no doubt losing their lives our purpose was not to populate the world's prisons with the parasites that preyed on the weak so they could deplete the resources and sap the energies of law-abiding citizens. No our aim is to eliminate them once and for all; no deals, no backhanded slaps on the wrists. It was not an easy thing to make those decisions, in the beginning I struggled, it amounted to me ending lives after all; but after seeing what I've seen for so long I could do no other. These beasts would not stop otherwise it was a sad fact of nature that some men were vicious conscienceless predators who excelled in preying on the weak and the defenseless.

“Jace I'm in." I spoke into the High-tech sports watch that came equipped with everything from camera to a mike.

"You're covered bro Drake and Shawna have you flanked, and the others are moving in on their targets as we speak."

I made my way to the hold; intelligence had alerted me to the fact that there was always a man down there with the captives. I have to first neutralize him and then get the ten young no doubt scared girls up and out. Since there was only one way out there was no way for me to take him by surprise so I had to move in and strike in one swift motion.

Daniel one of our special tech gurus had found a way to plant eyes inside without being detected so I was able to watch the guard on my watch screen with just the turn of the stem. Good, he seemed a little nervous by the rushing feet above and since their communications had been jammed by now there was no answer to his repeated calls. Looks like he was about to make my job easier by leaving the hold; he made his way towards the ladder obviously headed topside to see what all the commotion was about. At least I didn't have to knife him in front of the innocent eyes of the children being held there.

I waited for my target behind and slightly off to the side of the trap door he would soon emerge from so I could attack before being sighted. He'd barely cleared the door before I was jerking him up and back forcefully, snapping his neck between my hands effortlessly. I eased his body down behind some crates in the off chance that one of his cohorts escaped the melee and came to assist. Their orders were to annihilate the captives if there was a rescue attempt, something I was not about to let happen.

"The hold is clear Jace am I clear to go?"

"Pick up is in place it's a go; the team has neutralized the others, they're on their way to you now."

That was easy but then again that's the way it usually is when you have a very well coordinated team of dedicated people working together.

I eased the trapdoor up and made my way down.

"I come in peace." I said the words in their native tongue so they wont be afraid; it had only been a few weeks since their ordeals begun but already I could see the wear and tear on their young faces. Fear of the unknown would do that to anyone and in a child it was magnified.

I pulled out the official looking badge that I had hidden beneath my shirt; it's really just a seal with the organization's crest but to the naked eye it appears official. Their sighs of relief and exclamations proved positive that it worked. I didn't even bother shushing their excitement as I'd been assured that their captors had been dealt with effectively. Starting with the littlest one I led them up the ladder and passed them off to Natasha, another one of my team who spoke mandarin. I'd sent in a few females on this run for obvious reasons, it hadn't been too hard to convince my hirers that with female presence the Op would go smoother and since I'm always given leave to form my own team when working for someone and this is something that's known in the dark world I play in, they didn't question me too closely.

"Jace we're headed topside any movement?" There was a pause before he answered giving the all clear.

"You're clear bro fifteen minutes to spare."

"We're moving."

The girls will be moved to a secure location where they will be checked over by a physician, fed and spoiled a little before we reached out to their families but first they needed to be debriefed to gain any and all pertinent information they may have about their abductions. If all was clear and their families hadn't played a part in their disappearances then we'd make provisions to return them. We'd then start the process of investigating their respective families just because someone got on the television and cried over the disappearance of their child or loved one didn't necessarily mean that they were innocent of any wrongdoing in said disappearance. We took that shit seriously as none of us especially myself wanted to be responsible for returning a child to dangerous or deplorable conditions.

Yet another team member was tasked with captaining the now unmanned vessel to a before decided upon location where the bodies will be dropped off. The vessel itself will be stripped and renamed for its next voyage as it had been on all the others it had made in the past. I hopped into the back of the van with Tasha and the girls while Drake drove; I wasn't surprised to find them laughing at some little tidbit Tasha had shared with them. I kept my silence as I sat and watched reading their body language looking for any signs of distress. I made it a point that my job didn't just end with the rescue I kept up with my victims and they all had ways of keeping in touch with me. Funnily enough they all chose to, these girls would be no different.

The other team I had in play to end things on this Op should be making contact by the time we reached the safe house. I wanted to make sure the girls were completely safe before we did anything else. There's no doubt that if these men lived they will do anything to keep their part in this crime secret which included murder; it was also a known fact within the organization that most of them had ties to if not in fact were members of organized crime. These factions are some of the most vicious in the world and would not think twice about snuffing out the lives of young innocents, they're the reason men like me exists, we’re the complete opposite of them and their destructive forces in the world.

It was hours before we got the girls settled; I was pissed all over again to find that the youngest was barely ten fucking years old I mean what the fuck?

Team B had called in two hours ago with the news that the town car carrying the three delegates had met an unfortunate hiccup; the shit was already all over the news media. If all had gone as planned there will be no backdraft, it would appear as a freak accident started from a faulty engine. The fact that all three men were together shouldn't raise too many eyebrows as they were from the same nation but even if it did there was nothing leading back to the organization. The final roundup will include the buyers who were expecting delivery of their merchandise within the next few days. The eight men and two women who were willing to shell out millions for the acquisition of human flesh were about to have their lives very disrupted. Where crimes not associated with the girls did not exist air- tight ones had been fabricated; they were all sown up nice and tight for a nice long stretch behind bars. That's if the justice system did its job.

I fell into bed feeling relieved; another job well done I'd already spoken to Wilson who as the sitting director of the Guardians like to be kept abreast of all recue missions. As head of the organization his job is to see to any loose ends, make the necessary contacts with the families and keep the government agencies in the dark. A tall order all around but he's been doing it for longer than I've been alive and he excels at it.

It wasn't long before she was once again plaguing me, now with the filth of the day behind me I could turn to more pleasant things. I replayed everything from the moment I first saw her standing in my place trying so hard but yet looking so out of place. I caught myself smiling there in the dark as I remembered her face when I’d shocked her with my boldness and the way she’d barely restrained herself from throwing her wine in my face. I didn't question it when I found myself jumping out of bed and getting dressed once more; I was about to do something I've never done before in my life but I believe strongly in going with my gut and that's what I'm doing now. Let's hope the agent doesn't pump my ass full of lead for my efforts.