Trapped in the Mayan Tattoo (23 page)

            “Sure.”

            “I’ve been calling
around to get a good deal on a computer. I can get a rebuilt model that has
everything we need but I didn’t want to leave you to go get it. And you still
have some fever. Feel like eating?”

            “What have you got?”

            “Crackers and mustard. You
used to eat that when you were sick. Fruit cocktail. Some soda. OK?”

            “Maybe. I’ll try,” Tina
said.

            “Later we’ll try some
chicken soup or whatever you feel like you can keep down.”

            Tina sat at the table,
took a saltine and grabbed the mustard. Then she made a happy face on her plate
like she used to. She added more mustard for hair. Finally she took a bite
while her father watched.

            “I think I’ll be OK
without you if you need to leave,” she said.

Tina was anxious
to get the computer. Months of anger had to be released, anger she never wanted
her father to see.

She nibbled at the
cracker and waited for her father’s answer.

            “Not until we know for
sure. Your fever is low-grade and just comes and goes. That fever should break,
according to Teresa. I’m not so sure it’s going to. I’m afraid you’re pretty
sick! How’s the cracker?”

            “OK. One cracker is all
I can do. I don’t want to go back to Teresa today. I just want to sleep. But
I’ll drink as much as I can before I go to bed again. Mind if I turn the TV
on?” Tina asked.

            “That’s fine. I called
in at work. They’re pretty understanding. And there are organizations that
can’t wait to help out, like this here furniture. Who’d a thunk? This is nice!”

“Yeah.”

“Mrs. Hightower
must have gotten the ball rolling. As soon as you’re better, we’ll get onto
some of the other services they offer to help us move into our new roles.
Funny, but I think this will be alright.”

            “Did she call?”

            “She did! Understood
that you were sick and sleeping. Sounded motherly,” he said, and then turned
away. “The missing touch you needed, I guess.”

            “It’s OK, Daddy! We
both miss Mommy. If Mrs. Hightower calls again, please wake me up.”

            “Easier said than done,
but I’ll try. Sure you don’t want another cracker?”

            “I’m sure. Let’s see if
this one stays down. I’ll try to drink more though.”

            Tina took her soft
drink into the living room and turned on the television. She sat on the couch
and fluffed a pillow to put behind her. Then her father came over with the quilt
for her and he sat in the recliner. If the furniture was used, it was gently
used and had a good fresh smell.

With remote in
hand, Tina settled on a cartoon show she used to like.

            Before she got into the
cartoon, her father said, “There was a bombing in D.C. earlier this morning.”

            “Really?” Tina asked,
not very interested.

            “Yeah. Some people seem
to think it was that group from Mexico.”

            Tina felt uneasy with
this. They were awful people. There must be a lot of them, she thought.

            “You’re talking about
the people who bought me?” Tina began coughing, feeling suddenly nervous. Maybe
she could help her father get the picture.

            “They bought you?”

            In between spurts of
coughing, Tina said, in a voice that became louder, higher pitched, “Yes,
daddy. I didn’t go there because I wanted to. I was forced. Get it? Just like I
didn’t get these bruises because I really wanted them. Or this tattoo or the
awful way they treated me. Please try to understand! I did not try to leave
you. I was kidnapped, raped, beaten, sold, photographed and treated terribly by
men I didn’t know, and I couldn’t get away. I was a slave—
a sex slave!
Someday
soon I’m going to tell the FBI all of it. Those people can’t stop me! And
they’ll never find me again!
Never!
”

RESCUE
AND RESTORE

From its inception through 2012, federal,
state and local law enforcement agencies together with the U.S. Attorney’s
Office worked successfully to rescue more than 2,100 children. Investigations
have successfully led to the conviction of over 1,000 pimps, madams, and their
associates who exploited children through prostitution. These convictions have
resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple life sentences and the
seizure of real property, vehicles, and monetary assets.

            By the time the taxi
dropped them off at the airport, it was early in the afternoon. Louise thought
she was starving but Abbi wouldn’t allow time to stop for food.

            “Not yet. Let’s get
boarding passes and make sure we can get there today,” Abbi said.

            “That’s going to cost a
fortune!” Louise said.

            “We’re good for it.
Some of this money is probably from seizures the FBI has done in cases like
this.”

            “I’d like to think
that!” Louise said. “That’s what my father does!”

Abbi glanced at
her with a look that said differently.

“Well, more or
less.”

            When Abbi went to see
about tickets, she found out they could either catch a commuter flight almost immediately
or they could wait until 10 p.m.  Abbi chose the earlier flight. She texted Mrs.
Hightower to let her know. She also texted about Red Shoelaces II.

            After checking their
bags and passing security, they had to hurry to their terminal, getting to the
plane just in time.

            Louise, apparently
aware that she had failed one test, suddenly tugged at her left ear. Boarding
with them, looking forgettably plain, was Red Shoelaces II.

            “You passed,” Abbi
said.

            “You’re OK with this?”
Louise asked, obviously trying hard to look normal.

            “For now.”

            The phone rang. Abbi
answered and just listened.

            “Got it!” she said,
finally. “We’re on the plane now, ready for lift-off. See you there!”

            “Mrs. Hightower?”
Louise asked.

            “Gate Keeper with some
additional instructions,” Abbi said with a smile.

            Louise coughed and
looked around the small plane, a nervous cough, the kind that won’t go away
until you relax.

            “I never liked to fly,”
she said.

            “Things could be a lot
worse.”

Abbi was taking
some of her mother’s papers out of her carry-on to study while they flew. “You
ought to read this stuff,” she said.

            The flight to Dulles
International went smoothly. Abbi barely had time to study.

            While they were
landing, she saw Louise gripping the seat.

            “It’s OK!” Abbi said.
“Good flight!”

            “Good for you! You had
your nose in that report all through the flight while I had Red Shoelaces II
watching every little move I made!”

            “I thought you were
just sitting there rigid and all white-knuckled. I didn’t know you moved.”

            “You know what I mean! I
don’t understand how clouds can bump the plane.”

            “Neither do I, but thanks
for watching out! You know your way around, Miss Soufflé. The Dulles Metro Rail
will take us into D.C. If we take it to the Red Line, will we be close to The
House of the Americas?”

            “Pretty close. That
will work,” Louise said. “We’ll have a little walking to do.”

            “Right now we’re going
to baggage claim and arrange to get our baggage put in storage for pick up
later. Make sure you have all your badges, passes, and stuff you’ll need before
we get on the metro rail.”

            The girls quickly
grabbed airport food--a double bacon cheeseburger and fries for Louise, and
some Japanese food for Abbi--and sat down to enjoy their meal before leaving
the airport.

            “There’s a lot you
haven’t told me,” Louise said.

            “Really? How’s it
feel?” Abbi asked.

            “What if I need to
know?”

            “Information will be
doled out on…”

Louise
interrupted, “I KNOW! ‘…on an as-needed basis’. I’m so tired of hearing that!”

            Louise growled as she
sprinkled salt on her fries.

If Red Shoelaces II
tried, he couldn’t be more conspicuous. He must have thought he was Mr.
Invisible. He stopped to grab some fries and a soft drink and then positioned
himself in full view of the girls, sitting just tangent to them so that they
would be in his constant peripheral vision. He was close enough that he could
probably hear them. Louise didn’t seem to notice as she lit into the loaded
cheeseburger.

Finally, the meal
finished and the trash gathered, Louise tugged at her ear again as Red Shoelaces
II fell into place to follow them to Dulles Metro Rail. Louise looked scared.

            “Thanks,” Abbi said.

            “How can you smile?”
Louise asked.

            “Look ahead!”

            Abbi was excited to be
getting on this newly designed rail for the first time. Sleek and shiny, it
promised to be a fun and fast ride.

            “Doesn’t this look
fun!?” Abbi asked.

            “I suppose, for someone
who like shiny fast things. For me, no, not so much.”

            Abbi felt that her
attempts at introducing Louise to a life of adventure were somehow lacking.
Louise was afraid of everything, especially being followed.

Their follower,
RSII, was ever-present. He had to be aware that Louise kept her eye on him.

Abbi mentally ran
through the script she had been provided. While she silently practiced her
lines, she trusted Louise to not let anything happen. When Louise fidgeted, Abbi
chuckled.

“You can relax a
little,” Abbi said.

“How can I relax? Why
doesn’t he speak to us?”

“He probably
thinks he’s not supposed to.”

            The newly designed Dulles
Metro rail kept its promise of being sleek and fast. Before Abbi was finished
enjoying the ride, it slowed quickly for the Red Line departure. Louise was
both tugging at her ear and drumming her fingers.

            “You’re looking like a
one-man band, Louise.”

            “Just letting you
know,” Louise said softly.

They exited and had
a short wait to board the Red Line. Finally seated on the subway, Abbi used the
commute time to reflect. Who all was involved in the operations Shoe Drop and
Missing Shoe? Obviously, her mother and father, and her best friend Louise. Big
Sam, Scott, Lowell--known secretly as Gate Keeper.  And Nanny Fanny with her
many secrets and almost fairy godmother appeal. And the amazing Miss Sobori. Who
else? Various agencies and law enforcement staff! Maybe hundreds of people. All
those people who were meeting at Cave Spring in the law complex. The list grew.
The combined missions were way bigger than Abbi first imagined. Add to that the
talk of organizing a sting operation. Mind-boggling!

She wanted her
mother back. That’s why she was here. Every moment counted for the actual drop
and the rescue. If a sting was possible, not just a rescue, then more children
would be rescued. That’s where the ambassador could be helpful, but would he
cooperate? It seemed he would rather close his eyes to maintain status quo,
with all its crime and child labor, than to upset the fragile economic system
in the Latin American countries.

It occurred to
Abbi that any small action could have a profound effect on an unknown number of
people, like when she refused to do the drop. How many people felt the ripple
of that decision? What if she hadn’t refused? She couldn’t, wouldn’t even try
to imagine.

Right now, she
needed to delve deep to remember all of her instructions. She needed to know
what to say, what to do, and how to get where she needed to be. The materials
she memorized should help but wouldn’t provide everything. Mrs. Hightower gave
plenty of specific travel instructions. What Gate Keeper said also helped but
still didn’t complete the picture. Dig deep, she thought with her eyes closed,
dig deep and try to pull it all together.

Abbi opened her
eyes.

“Thank you, thank
you, thank you, Louise! I’m so grateful that you’re with me!”

Louise said, “When
a friend’s in need, she deserves a good deed.”

Abbi smiled.

“But this guy really
gives me the creeps,” Louise said in a whisper.

Red Shoelaces was
just ten feet away.

This mission might
turn out to be good for both of them. It might help Abbi to get her mother back
and it might help Louise to lose some of her fear, to find a new love for adventure.

Abbi turned
around. Then she did something that appalled Louise. She took a deep breath and
just put the question out there.

“Hello, there!
Think we’ll find the missing shoe?” Abbi asked Red Shoelaces II.

Louise’s eyes grew
huge.

“Good to have you
on board, Miss Kowalski! We should reach our designated location soon.”

He was right on
script. YES!

“I think we’ve
talked before but I never really met you. Shoe Clerk, I presume?”

“Yes, my dear.
Tell Miss Soufflé I’m only here to guide the way.”

Louise sighed and
Abbi could see the instant relief on her face.

“Miss Soufflé,
meet Shoe Clerk. He’s the one I call my guardian agent.”

“Hi! You gave me a
scare,” Louise admitted with a scowl.

Abbi offered a
fist-bump. Louise managed a small laugh but she continued to glare at Abbi
instead of doing the bump.