Kimberly sat down on the bed near the nervous little girl and gently held her hand, looking into her young face. Katya surveyed her thoughtfully for a minute, trying to analyse her situation. She was understandably frightened being confronted by so many strangers.
"It's ok Katya, she's my friend." Devin said soothingly, causing her to look at him in a way that suggested that Devin was about the only person she could trust. Given her experience of America up until now, she probably had a point. Given the state of her clothing and the multiple scratches and bruises visible on her body she had clearly been mistreated quite badly. She looked quite weak and frail, likely the result of malnutrition and dehydration, explaining her healthy appetite. Devin tapped Kimberly on the shoulder. "This is Kimberly." He told her.
"Kim...ber…ly?" She forced out in broken English. While her English wasn't especially bad, it was obvious that it wasn't her first language, and the poor girl's nerves probably weren't helping matters. Kimberly nodded to confirm her name.
"What happened to you?" Kimberly asked slowly. "How did you get here?"
"I am coming from Poland. My mother buy us trip." She began to explain nervously. "We hear that things much better in America. Jobs back home not pay much money. My mother sell house and everything we own for trip to America."
"What happened to you?" Kimberly asked. Katya looked nervously at Devin for reassurance; he placed a hand across her shoulders, gently stroking them.
"Bad men lie to us." Katya told them, a few tears beginning to form in her eyes as she spoke. "They tell us that they take us to America and we get jobs and school, but when we arrive they tell us that we still owe them much money. They tell us we need to work to pay money. They tell us we go to factories to work to pay our debt." Her tears began to run down her face as she explained her predicament. "They take our passports away. I know they lie to us, so one day when I get chance I run."
"You didn't manage to get away." Kimberly surmised, observing the young girl. She nodded to confirm that Kimberly was right about that.
"Bad men catch me and bring me back." She explained. "They..." She made a fist and pounded the bed to signify the concept she couldn't find the word for. Observing her obvious injuries, Kimberly realised what she was indicating.
"They beat you?" Kimberly breathed, unable to hide her horror. Katya nodded to confirm this part of the story.
"They put this on me to keep me inside and tell me there nowhere to run anyway." Katya continued, staring at the floor as she held up her wrist, presenting the chain to Kimberly. "They tell me people find me and bring me back or send me home if I run again. They tell me I will be punished worse if I run again."
"What happened to your mother?" Kimberly asked the young girl. Looking at the expression on her face she could already tell what the answer was going to be.
"My mother was in truck that leave many days before bad men find me." Katya explained in a pathetic, defeated wail as she completely lost the ability to hold in her tears any longer. "I not see my mother since I run."
Devin held her as she began crying, pulling her in to a warm hug. "We have to do something guys."
"This is unbelievable." Cassidy gasped, unable to fathom the story she'd just heard. "They're being brought into the country as slaves?"
"That's what it looks like." Kimberly answered. "We can't let this go on! I can't believe anyone could to this, she's just a kid!"
"To think all I thought was going on was tax fraud." Cassidy said softly, looking over again to where her husband was comforting the terrified young girl. "God only knows what they had planned for her."
"I think it's best we shut them down before we have to find out." Kimberly replied. "Jason should be back soon. We'll discuss what we're doing then."
Jason had to try hard to concentrate on the road as he made his way back to the Canadian haulage yard. It still made his blood boil to think that he had to deliver the immigrants to the haulage yard in Colorado. He had no idea what lay in store for the unfortunate people, but releasing them would have put the investigation, and potentially themselves and the remaining slaves in danger. What upset him more than anything was seeing the defeated looks on their faces when he opened the container. They were not restrained in any way, and could have taken the opportunity to escape if they wanted to, but they were obviously well warned what would happen if they did. The look in their eyes told him that the spirit had been beaten out of them as they just sat helplessly in the open container. It was tragic that leaving them there was probably for the best, as much as it pained him, the slaves would have to remain in captivity a little longer.
He consoled himself with the fact that he'd managed to save the girl. He was horrified to see them transporting one so young, and she had clearly been badly mistreated. She was so skinny and pale that he couldn't help but be concerned for her safety; he was convinced she probably wouldn't survive much longer in that container anyway. He just couldn't leave her in that truck, he'd never have been able to forgive himself.
Pulling into the haulage yard, he stopped the truck a little way from the office. Getting out the cab, he saw Ouvellier approaching him with a couple of security guards. Jason grabbed a tire iron from the cab and slipped it into the back of his jeans, preparing to defend himself in case the American yard had somehow noticed their delivery was one slave short. He knew it was a risk to release Katya, but he had no choice. She was in desperate need of help, and he
reasoned that if the local law enforcement was corrupt, it would take more compelling evidence than a couple of photos to secure a police raid of the premises.
Ouvellier reached into his inside pocket, and Jason prepared to strike, but instead of a gun, he pulled out another brown envelope. He handed it to Jason.
"That's another job well done." He complimented Jason. He had to try hard to resist driving a fist into the man's face; much less the urge to say something he knew he's regret, but he knew that revealing himself too early would not do the slaves any good. Shoving the envelope into his pocket, Jason turned to leave wordlessly, reasoning that if he said nothing he wouldn't get himself into any trouble.
"Would you like another run today?" Ouvellier asked, halting Jason in his tracks. "I've got another job waiting to go to the airport."
Jason turned slowly back to Ouvellier, trying hard to think of a reason to refuse the job. "I would love to, but I'm looking at a house today." He lied, backing away slowly. "My wife hates living out of a suitcase, and the Tavern isn't exactly huge."
"I suppose you're right." He sighed. "Oh well, I guess one of the others can handle it."
"Thanks for the offer though," Jason answered as he walked away, "maybe another time."
Jason made his way back to the tavern, finding the assembled group in the guest room. Kimberly rushed to his side, greeting him with a warm hug.
"Jason, I'm so relieved you're safe." Kimberly screeched as she held him tightly.
"Air…is becoming…an issue!" Jason replied jokingly. Kimberly released him and hit him hard in the chest.
"I was worried sick about you." She told him angrily. "How could you risk everything like that? What would have happened if they had noticed Katya was missing?"
Jason looked over to where the young girl lay curled up in Devin's bed, catching what appeared to be catching the first restful sleep she's had in weeks. He gestured over to her. "I couldn't have left her Kim." He told her. "It was hard enough not to just let all of them go, but I knew we had to get the whole operation at one time."
"The authorities would have figured it out." She reiterated. "If we'd gotten those people to the cops…"
"Then likely Ouvellier would just tell them that we were the ones smuggling people into the country." Jason interrupted her. "Meanwhile all the others would just have disappeared off the map."
"He's right Kimberly." Devin interjected, gently covering Katya with a blanket as she slept. "I didn't understand it at the time, but he's right, if we told the authorities before we were
ready to move in on the whole operation at once the only ones that would have suffered would have been the slaves."
"We need to get something concrete on them." Cassidy told them. "We need to make sure we get to a good cop with hard evidence."
"First things first." Jason began. "Devin, tomorrow, take Katya to a clinic and get her checked out properly."
"I will." Devin answered, adjusting his position in his chair a little to get more comfortable. Katya stirred a little, only to pull the covers more tightly around herself and drift back off to sleep.
"Cassidy, we need to check out the Colorado end of the operation more thoroughly." He continued. "Go down to the haulage yard there and keep an eye on it. They have to be shipping those slaves somewhere."
"I'll do it." She responded, beginning to look out her equipment.
"Just observe, don't move in or contact the authorities unless you have something cast-iron." Jason reminded her. "As much as possible we need to make any move on the properties simultaneous. If any of the properties gets hit before the others, there's a chance they'll contact the others."
"Trust me, going all GI Jane on a bunch of criminals is not on my to-do list." Cassidy interjected. "I'll be there later tonight." With that, she gently kissed Devin and turned to leave. She stopped for a second and considered Katya for a short time. "Lend her some of my clothes." She told him. "She shouldn't be too much smaller than me."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate that." Devin replied. "Thanks Cass."
"I'll go with Cassidy." Kimberly stated, collecting her coat. "Jason, keep an eye on things up here."
With that, Kimberly and Cassidy left the room, heading down to Cassidy's rental car. Jason turned his attention once more to Katya.
"Take care of her." Jason reminded him. "I'll be right next door."
"I will." Devin responded as Jason left the room. Seeing her lying peacefully on the couch, he gathered his coat and settled down to sleep on the easy chair across the room.
Kimberly had quickly decided against letting Cassidy drive the rental car after only a few minutes driving. She now understood why Devin had been on driving duty for their assignment. Pulling up to the customs station, Kimberly handed over her passport.
"Do you have anything to declare?" He asked.
"No." Kimberly answered.
"Hope you come back soon." He said without even looking at her, turning back to the guard station and heading inside. She could almost swear she saw one of the officers drinking a can of beer.
"I really felt the sincerity." Cassidy said sarcastically.
"I don't suppose 'have a nice day' is much better." Kimberly suggested thoughtfully. "Anyway, it's a couple of hours drive to the haulage yard. We better get moving."
With that, they pulled away from the border crossing, heading down to find out the fate of the unfortunate slaves.
The following morning, Katya woke up, slightly bemused by her surroundings. Turning to see Devin still sleeping in the corner, she smiled as she remembered how her saviours had released her the previous morning. Stretching herself awake, she moved over to where Devin slept nervously, gently shaking him in an attempt to wake him, but Devin was a sound sleeper. She shook him again, a little more forcefully, but he only stirred a little and tried to swat her away.
Thinking about it, she considered her options before deciding on her new plan. She took her hand and prodded him hard in the ribs. "Devin!" She called out.
"Wha?" He called loudly as he snapped into consciousness. His sudden movement caused Katya to shriek in fright and jump back onto the bed, surveying him cautiously.
"I'm sorry!" She called out, pulling the blanket in front of her. "I not mean you harm, I could not wake you."
Devin's confused expression relaxed a little as he realised he had inadvertently frightened the poor girl. Seeing her shivering slightly, he crossed the room slowly, gently taking the blanket from her. "I'm sorry if I scared you." He said gently. "You just surprised me."
Katya smiled at him a little as she brushed some hair from her face, it was then that Devin noticed the chain still wrapped around her wrist. He moved to take her hand, but she pulled away. He held up some lock picks to show her.
"I can take that off." He told her. "You can trust me, remember?"
Katya thought about it for a second, before giving him her hand. Working the lock for a second, the latch sprung open, allowing Devin to unravel the makeshift restraint and throw it into the trash can.
"How you open without key?" She asked.
"I know how to pick locks." He explained. "I used to swipe my sister's bike all the time."
"What mean 'swipe'?" She asked.
Devin chuckled a little, he should have realised she wouldn't understand his joke. "I used to steal it." He explained.
"If she your sister, why steal?" She asked. "Why not just ask?"
Devin thought about that for a second. He realised she wouldn't understand even if he did explain. "You know, you have a point," he replied, "that would have been easier."
He crossed over to the chest of drawers and opened the top drawer, pulling a pink sweater and a pair of jeans from the drawer. He placed them on the bed in front of Katya.
"Cassidy said you could borrow some clothes." Devin told her. "I'm going to order us some breakfast. You can have a shower and get changed." He was about to leave, as another thought came to him. He turned, noticing that Katya was looking at the clothes with an unspoken gratitude. He caught her attention with a small cough.
"Cassidy keeps her underwear in the bottom drawer." He explained. "I'll let you pick something out."
"What is underwear?" She asked. Devin blushed a little as he tried to figure out how he'd get out of this situation with his dignity intact.
"These are called clothes." He explained, holding up Cassidy's clothes. Katya nodded to indicate she understood. "Underwear is what you put on before you put on your clothes."
Katya giggled as she understood what he was trying to tell her. "Thank you Devin, you very kind."
"I'll be back in twenty minutes." He told her. "Enjoy your shower."
As Devin left the room, Katya couldn't help smiling. She hadn't had much reason to feel happy since she'd left her homeland, but Devin made her feel safe. She wasn't afraid around him anymore. With that thought, she made her way into the shower, it felt strange that such a simple, mundane thing would mean so much to her, but the greatest gift she'd received in ages was nothing more than a hot shower and a loan of some second-hand clothes.
Jason surveyed the yard from his room with a set of binoculars, and a camera with a telescopic lens for any sign of new activity. He continued to document the coming and going of the trucks, but still nothing beyond what they already knew. That was until he saw a police car arriving on site. This was such a small town he knew there was only likely to be one person in it, Ouvellier's nephew Francoise. Jason began snapping a few photographs as they greeted each other before making their way inside the site office. Obviously if he was receiving a payment, then it was happening inside. He tried to get a view through the window, but just couldn't get a good enough view to take a worthwhile picture.
Francoise appeared back outside the office a short time later carrying a brown envelope. Jason took a couple of photos as he watched the man place the envelope in his right jacket
pocket. He knew that the payment had been made; he now only needed to hear the results of the girl's surveillance.
Cassidy was watching over the yard in southern Colorado, trying to figure out if anything was likely to happen. She was finding herself crippled by boredom as she waited on something happening. Three blue-marked containers had arrived since they'd been watching early the previous evening, but so far none of the containers had been moved, collected or even opened. Kimberly had gone in search of some coffee to keep their spirits up, returning a short time later with two take-away cups and a small, white paper bag.
"They didn't have cappuccino." Kimberly informed her regretfully. "Unfortunately the choice of coffee was limited to white, or black."
"Man I hate surveillance!" Cassidy grumbled, accepting the coffee. "Please tell me they had fresh pastries."
"Define 'fresh'." Kimberly commented, handing Cassidy the bag. She took one look at the contents before scrunching up the bag and launching it into the back seat.
"Something's happening." Kimberly stated, noting an empty truck arriving at the yard. They watched as the containers were lifted onto it by forklifts. Kimberly started up the engine as they watched it pulling away.
"We're on." Kimberly stated pouring her coffee out the window and tossing the cup into the rear foot well. "It's a shame about the coffee."
"Trust me, you're not missing much." Cassidy told her after one mouthful, flashing an expression of disgust and pouring her coffee out the window, also throwing her cup into the back.
Devin took Katya into a small clinic, finding a kindly old man sitting at the reception desk.
"What can I do for you?" He asked.
"Can we see a doctor?" Devin asked.
"Well I'm the only doctor here." He replied with a small smile. "So I suppose you can."
"You're the doctor?" Devin asked. "But you're on the reception desk."
"It's a small town my boy." He explained. "I don't make the same money as some of those big fancy city practices; I haven't been able to afford a receptionist in years." He pulled a little closer to speak more quietly. "Since the freight yard shut down I've not really had enough patients to need a receptionist anyway. I'm Dr. Oswald."
"Could you take a look at my friend here?" Devin asked.
"Certainly I can." He replied. "Come this way dear, and tell me your name."
"Katya." She told him.
"That's a nice name." He remarked. "You're not from around here are you?"
"Uh doc, could we avoid some of the questions?" Devin inquired, handing him a couple of hundred dollars for the examination. "She's kind of…"
"If I don't ask questions you won't have to lie." Dr. Oswald responded with a knowing nod. "Just don't take me for a fool."
"We'd just prefer it if people didn't know you'd seen her." Devin explained.
"That's all part of doctor-patient confidentiality." He explained. "Now my dear, let's have a look at you."
Kimberly and Cassidy pulled up outside a large factory in the middle of nowhere. They weren't even certain they were still in Colorado, but they were certain they were somewhere near the state line. After watching the truck pull in through the gate, they made their way around the building to find a suitable parking place nearby, settling on the parking lot outside a local bowling alley. Cassidy looked around for somewhere nearby they could get a look inside the yard.
"I think we might have to go a little covert this time." Kimberly commented, looking at the high walls the whole way around the building. "Somehow I'm going to have to get over the wall."
"What are our options?" Cassidy asked her.
"How much do you value the security deposit on your rental car?" Kimberly asked.
"It's on the company credit card anyway." She answered. "Where do you want in?"
"Somewhere around the back's probably best." Kimberly told her. "Give me a camera."
Dr. Oswald came out of the office with Katya, who looked to be more than happy as he had given her some candy from the barrel he normally reserved for his younger patients.
"Is everything alright?" Devin asked.
"She is under sixteen, so I would be able to tell her legal guardian." Dr. Oswald said, giving Devin a knowing glance over the top of his glasses. Devin took the hint.
"I'm her legal guardian." He lied.
"She's a bit bruised up, but there's no internal injuries or fractures as far as I can see," he began, "she's a little anaemic, but nothing that requires treatment, just a decent meal every now and again."
"Is there anything I should be worried about?" Devin asked. He pulled closer to make sure Katya couldn't hear. "We're both adults, is there ANYTHING I should be worried about."
Dr. Oswald shook his head to alleviate Devin's worst fear. "She could have been a lot worse; she obviously hasn't been taking care of herself."
"I'll make sure she does." Devin told him. "Thanks doctor. Listen, do you...?"
Dr. Oswald held up his file for Katya, before shoving it into a paper shredder. "I trust you. She really is a remarkable young lady."
"I'll make sure she stays safe." Devin told him.
Cassidy pulled as close to the wall as she could, preparing for Kimberly's entry. Kimberly ran up towards the car, leaping off the ground before spring boarding off the roof, barely catching the top of the wall with her fingertips. Cassidy watched nervously as Kimberly scrambled to the top of the wall, before moving the car around to the bowling alley again.
Kimberly positioned herself as close to the top of the wall as she could before looking around for cameras. Seeing none, she decided not to risk using the courtyard for entry and made her way around the exterior wall looking for alternatives. Seeing a couple of containers stacked outside the factory, she took a look, noting the fact they were sprayed green. Clearly they were awaiting collection. Taking advantage of this, Kimberly leapt from the wall to one of the containers, throwing herself onto her stomach to avoid being seen. Waiting a while and looking around, she convinced herself that she hadn't been noticed. Hauling herself up the drainpipe to the roof, she looked through the skylight.
Inside several people were working under armed guard. Looking through her camera, Kimberly noted that they appeared to be working on washing machines, constantly washing pairs of jeans. She took a few photos, but knew she had to get a closer look.
She looked around the frame of the window for magnetic connectors. She wordlessly thanked Billy for all he taught her, albeit subliminally, through the time she had spent hanging around with him in High School. Convincing herself that there was no danger, she jemmied the skylight open.
"Notoriety breeds arrogance, arrogance breeds complacency." Kimberly thought to herself. God she'd spent too much time around Billy back in the day! However, the point was valid. The only reason she could think of for not alarming the skylight was the fact the gang had so much influence in the area it obviously never occurred to them that someone would have the courage to break in. She made her way along the ceiling support struts looking for a way in. She noticed that while the guards wore military style fatigues, none of the workers appeared to wear uniforms. That was her way in! As long as she didn't attract attention to herself she could move around inside without incident.
Dropping carefully onto a stack of crates, Kimberly waited until no guards were watching before making her way onto the factory floor. She took a cart full of jeans, stashing a pair behind a nearby crate, before removing the rest to the laundry room. She heard a guard cocking a gun behind her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He screamed. Kimberly froze in terror. Had he seen her? Did he recognise her as not being one of the slaves? He crossed over to the cart, throwing a face mask onto it.
"We don't need slaves with a habit!" He snapped with authority. "Put on mask and get back to work!"
This confirmed one suspicion at least, as she put on the dust mask. This wasn't about counterfeit jeans. She made her way through to the washing area, finding several people working dozens of industrial-sized washing machines. The most curious thing, however, was that there appeared to be dozens of maintenance workers removing filters from machines on a regular basis.
Of course! How could she not realise! The jeans she had stashed and one of those filters would confirm it, but that was what they were doing! Drugs!
She remembered Billy once explaining the plot of a movie. Drugs were dissolved in water which was then soaked into textiles. Said textiles were then passed through customs, before being laundered under high temperatures and pressures to remove all moisture, including the moisture containing the drugs from the fabric. After that, it was a simple case of distillation. God, she'd listened to Billy too much back in the day. The point was she now knew what the whole operation was all about! The fact they used slaves to distil the drugs just made their costs lower. They didn't care about the hell they put them through, they just thought about the bottom line! They even wanted her to wear a mask to prevent her attaining a habit. Not out of consideration for a worker, but to prevent her from "burning profit".
Making sure she wasn't being watched, she took pictures of a couple of filters, and stashing one in her jacket before loading a machine and walking her trolley back to the loading area. She found the jeans she had stashed and looked for inspiration for a distraction. She noticed a worker cleaning up a stain with cleansing fluid and a brillo pad. She chuckled a little as the plan formed in her head. 'I really have been listening to Billy too much.'
Taking a brillo pad and soaking it in cleansing fluid, she put it in the pocket of a pair of jeans before throwing them into a tumble drier. She then waited by the pillar for her opportunity. After being switched on, it didn't take long for the distraction to take effect. As the guards suppressed the potential breakout and put out the fire from the explosion, they never even noticed Kimberly leaving through the skylight.
Cassidy waited for word of Kimberly's mission, but got more than that as she heard the explosion. She began to dial, though in her hurry she mis-dialled the others. By the third time, Kimberly had arrived back at the vehicle, launching a pair of contaminated jeans and a washing machine filter into the back seat.
"Get us back to Rocky Creek." Kimberly told her. "It's time we involved the authorities."
