Akira's hunch that the missing women are in a sex trade is becoming more evident, as well as Warbeck's theory that these women are also forced into slave labor. And whoever is doing this…must have big bucks.
Akira's computation showed that the money involved in human trafficking costs more than millions of dollars—it involves billions of dollars, as well as millions of lives.
In the past week, Akira discovered that most of the women and children were either kidnapped, coerced to work or even sold by their own relatives. Among the children victims, 90 percent are sold by their parents for the minimum amount of 2,000 dollars. Whatever happened to these children now remains a mystery.
Among the teens and women age group, most of them are fooled by what seems like legal establishments, such as a modeling agency or a massage parlor. Because of desperation, poverty, or mere curiosity, these women are fooled by people to work into these "legal establishments" and then coerced into sex labor or slave labor. The number of missing women is increasing, but what angers Akira is that nobody seemed to care after she was appointed as the detective who will solve this case.
Oh sure, when the number of women were rising and when an American couple lost their child in the Philippines, the world made such a roar upon this human trafficking issue. It was a hot topic among the nations of the world, and different organizations had promised to help. They even went into a pointless debate as on who will take over the investigation. But now that that issue is solved and that Akira was already hired to do it…the world suddenly became silent, as if Akira alone can save these women from missing.
Akira knew that even if the victims came from all over the world, there is probably just one man pulling the strings. It would've been easy if the crime is just centralized in the United States, but human trafficking is an organized crime, with groups of people operating at different levels.
Akira looked at the reports that littered her table. What was infuriating was that she couldn't establish a timeline. The victims disappeared at random times, there was no constant date. The only thing constant was the gender of the victims and the countries. Akira looked again at her summarized case report.
The countries which have the most number of missing girls are: Philippines, Czech Republic, Russia (the western side), Latvia, Norway, India…in summary, most come from East Asia and the Pacific followed by Latin America, Europe and Eurasia. The problem is, where are these women being sent to?
They could be all over the world.
Akira flipped to the next page. This contained the common places and people that Akira found in the victims' reports. There are different names of businesses (which are legal when she had Warbeck check them) but they are common in nature: modeling agency, massage parlors and shopping departments.
Akira paused. Okay, these establishments attract women, especially those who need work so these modeling agencies and massage parlors etc are the perfect undercover for these syndicates. Now the question is, why do they go there?
Akira looked at the information on these establishments again. Like before, they are scattered all over the globe. She narrowed her focus to one modeling agency (she did this for no particular reason): Page Parkes Modelling Agency, which had branches in London, Denmark, New York, Prague and—
Akira paused. Prague? That's in Czech. She quickly opened one folder containing the files of the missing women.
Show me someone from Prague…she pleaded silently. After 20 or so papers, she finally found three: Adela Jakub, Anna Vojteck and Nadia Martin. She quickly scanned their information sheets. Her heart skipped a beat.
Nadia and Adela both applied for Page Parkes! But Anna, what happened to Anna?
Akira read Anna's information sheet quickly.
"Anna Vojteck, single mother. Has a daughter named Ivanka Vojteck. Ivanka now resides in Prague with grandmother Karolina. Anna Vojteck was missing since Friday, October 17."
That makes it a month, Akira thought. She read on.
"Last seen with boyfriend Frederik Frantisek in Perla Hotel in Prague. Frederik now working in a call center."
Akira immediately called Warbeck using her cell phone. After two rings, Warbeck answered.
"Hello, Aisha?"
"Yes. Warbeck, I need you to investigate on Page Parkes Modeling Agency. It has branches in Prague, New York, London anywhere, but I need you to find its mother company."
"Page Parkes Modeling Agency. Wait a minute…"
Akira heard the faint sound of a laptop's keyboard.
"Got it. Page Parkes."
Akira was surprised. "That fast? It's on the FBI's database?"
Warbeck gave a chuckle. "Nah. Internet. Haha. Anyway. Page Parkes is legal."
"Are you sure you spelled it right? It's P-a-r—"
"Aisha, I know. It's Parks with an e. Parkes. I can hear the accent from you, so I know."
Akira felt a slight sinking feeling in her chest. "Are you sure it's legal?" When Warbeck said yes, Akira sighed. "Okay, whatever. Just send me the information on Page Parkes mother company. I need the lists of officers and its latest recruits also. And speaking of latest recruits, find out how old they are and where they came from okay?"
"Okay, Aisha. Got it."
"Oh, and one more. Patch me through the Czech intelligence agency. Now. Please."
Warbeck's tone was disbelieving. "The Czech Republic's intelligence agency? Why?"
Akira was getting impatient. "I have a lead, okay? So just patch me through."
"Umm, they speak Russian there. How are you going to talk to them?"
"Warbeck, just patch me through!"
"Okay, okay, sorry! Which one?"
Akira looked around. She didn't want to use her cell phones because these are confidential gadgets. Akira looked at her smaller laptop, the black one.
"Hook me through the notebook. Line 2. Got it?"
"Yeah. It'll take five minutes. So you still have the little black devil with you?"
Akira smiled a little. "If you mean the black laptop, yes, I still have it. Anyway, five minutes you say? Alright, I'll put up my face. Call me when I'm through."
Akira hung up and faced her laptop. She then activated her "internet identity" which is a black background with a bleeding rose with thorns. Because of security and privacy reasons, she keeps her identity secret, so no one ever sees her true face. A lot of people have, but do not really know who she is. When she talks to huge numbers such as this, she uses her "internet identity" (the picture of a rose), such that investigators that she had talked to using this picture had called her "The Rose" and was then shortened to R. Weird letter for a woman, but given the choice, she would've retained her own letter: A.
Akira then put on a headset: earphones with a matching microphone and connected it to her laptop. Her microphone is a high-tech gadget that sort of muffles her oice when she speaks through it, such that the receiving end would hear her voice but with distortion. That makes it harder for them to track her down. The webcam was a one-way webcam, which means that she can see them, but they can't see her. As she prepared, she caught sight of Ryuzaki looking. She gave a small smile but said nothing and continued to work. After that, she waited for Warbeck's call.
It came a few seconds later.
"Am I on now?" asked Akira.
"Nope, sorry not yet," said Warcbeck. "We have a difficulty here in the headquarters connecting you to Czech because it seems that they have a typhoon there or something."
"A typhoon?"
"We're not really sure, but something's interfering with the broadcast." He sighed. "Anyways, we're working on the Page Parkes thing, it'll come probably tomorrow. Oh, and to help you, it's 2 in the afternoon in Prague."
"Thanks, Warbeck."
As Akira waited, she looked around the room. Ryuzaki was watching her, and so she gave him a smile.
"I'm going to talk to the Czech Republic's intelligence agency," she explained. "This will be quite noisy, so uh, I'm asking forgiveness as early as now." She smiled sheepishly. "So, how are you doing on your investigation?"
"I might be going back to the headquarters within this week. There is a five percent probability that Kira is there." was his reply.
Akira's smile faded slightly. "Oh. So, you'll be staying there? How long?"
"I can't readily say for sure."
Akira nodded. "Well then. Good luck, Ryuzaki-kun."
Ryuzaki looked like he was about to say something when one of Akira's phones started ringing.
"Warbeck?"
"Aisha, you're on."
Akira gave Ryuzaki one fleeting glance before facing her laptop.
"Good afternoon, Sir."
"Good afternoon, Růže. To what do we owe this presence?"
"Good luck, Ryuzaki-kun…"
L sat back on his chair, pondering on these words. This is the first time she addressed him using his name and –kun. He watched her as she conversed with the foreign chief.
They called her Růže. What does that mean?
L opened his laptop and typed in the foreign word. An English translation popped up. It meant 'rose'.
That's probably one of her fake identities. L glanced at the long-haired girl. But even if it's fake…it's quite suitable. I wonder…why rose?
L looked at her once more. Her face was clouded with concentration, trying to understand the heavily accented words of the foreign chief investigator. He heard Kyoko say, "Sir, all I ask from your department is to tail Frederik Frantisek…"
Secretly, L wondered how Kyoko would solve her case. Hers involve international scenes and people, unlike his that concern only Japan. As of now, frustrating it might sound, he still can't find physical evidences that Light is indeed Kira.
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
She sighed. L watched as she took off her headphones and threw them carelessly on the table. She looked exhausted, as she slumped there on her chair, with eyes closed. L stood up and went to his snack bar. Moments later, he was beside Kyoko.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Oh, it's you. I just thought..," she said to L who was standing beside her. She sat up properly. "What's up?" she asked.
He didn't answer; instead, he gave her a stick of assorted sweets from behind him. Kyoko smiled at his gesture.
"Thank you," she said, taking the stick from him. She watched as he sat on the floor, facing her. She looked at the stick and the brightly colored marshmallows and goodies on it. She didn't take a bite.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Kyoko shook her head. "Oh nothing. I mean, nothing about this one," she raised the stick a little. "It's just that…" she sighed. "I feel like, I'm going nowhere, you know. With the case."
L watched her, not knowing what to say. He has been into dead ends before, but he always finds a way to get back on the right trail and follow a lead. So what's he supposed to tell her?
But Kyoko seemed to have her own answers.
"Maybe," she said, looking at him. "If I take a bite off this one," a smile appeared on her face, "everything will be much better. What do you think?" And before L could reply, Kyoko took a huge bite off the donut he pierced through the stick. It was jam-filled.
"It didn't do much but, it lifted my feelings up a notch," she said with a smile.
L noticed something she didn't. There was a bit of jam on the corner of her lips. Instinctively, he reached up and wiped it off with his finger.
Her cheek felt soft against his skin, and her warmth seemed to send odd shivers through him. His eyes met her onyx ones…Slowly, he withdrew his hand.
It was the first time L felt that in years. The touch of another human being.
Author's notes:
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Death Note. I am also sorry that i forgot to include in my former disclaimers that i do not own the movie "Human Trafficking" that i used as a basis for Akira's investigation. All I own here is Akira and the plot.
Thanks to everyone who reads and appreciates my story, to those who put it on alert and subscribed to it, especially to those who give me such encouraging reviews! i really love hearing from all of you. The reviews motivate me and inspires me to be a better writer. Thanks a lot to everyone!
Constructive criticism is welcome and of course, any suggestions would always be appreciated. Thank you!