A/N: A warning that the next couple of chapters have mentions of child prostitution, deviant sexual acts, torture, bestiality, and rape. No graphic detail but necessary to the story line. We are at the beginning of the working relationship. Where will that lead?

Chapter Twenty-One

Moving quietly through the door, she feels Duke right behind her. She can see two young women asleep on the couch in the main room and she motions for Duke to cover them. Heading to the back of the house, she's followed by two more HPD officers. Gently opening the door to the master bedroom, her stomach heaves at the sight. The leader in this house is lying sound asleep, his arm around a young girl of twelve or so, completely naked. Maggie wants to put a bullet in his brain but refrains from it, as they need everyone alive. Creeping up to the side of the bed, she nods to the officer behind her to go to the other side near the young girl. Once she's in place, Maggie puts the muzzle of her gun against the right temple of the scum in the bed and watches as the young officer reaches out for the girl. Pressing down hard on the gun, she leans over right above his ear, "Yeah, this is a gun against your head and if you move a muscle, I'll put a bullet through your head." She nods again to the officer and she gently wakes the girl, urging her out of the bed. The guy starts to move his arm further around her for his protection when Maggie puts all her weight on her left arm and hisses in his ear. "Didn't you hear me? Move again and I'll blow your brains out." She watches as the young officer pulls the young girl out from under his arm and wraps her in a blanket. Waiting until they are away from the bed, she watches them go out the door and looks back at him. "I wanna see both hands, out front. NOW!" He places both hands on the bed in front of him. Grabbing his right hand, not moving her gun, she twists it behind his back.

"I got ya." She hears from behind her. Holstering her gun, she shifts him up enough to grab his other arm, bring it behind him and cuff them together.

"Hey, I got no clothes on. You can't take me out like this!"

"I can do whatever I damn well please. I should just put you down right here, but that is too good for you. Let's see how you like being someone's slave." She drags him from the bed and stands him up. Glancing at him, she can't help but comment, "Well, at least you'll be a decent receiver." She smiles at the male officer standing next to her. "Find something to cover this piece of trash. I don't care what." She moves to the door, looking out into the main room. All seems quiet so she assumes Duke has the two female suspects under wraps. She turns back to the room and sees the officer pulling up a pair of board shorts on the suspect.

"Maggie, you need to see this." She hears from behind. Turning, she sees Duke standing in the hall, pointing to one of the smaller bedrooms. The look on his face tells her this is something she really does not want to see. Glancing back at the other officer, he nods and she follows Duke. On walking in the room, her stomach heaves and she has to turn away and vomit in the hallway. "Mark that, Duke. I'm sorry."

"No worries, Maggie. I would've too, if I'd eaten this morning." He smiles and nods back to the room. She turns back and walks in, the smell causing her to dry heave. Before her eyes, a young girl and boy are lying on the floor, a dirty blanket underneath them. Both are bloody and unconscious. The girl can't be more than sixteen and the boy eighteen. She can see they've been sexually tortured and brutally beaten and burned. Moving to the girl's side, she carefully feels for a pulse. Leaning over, she feels for the boy. "I got pulses for both. Faint, but they're there. Duke, where's EMS?"

"On their way in now." He moves aside. Two paramedics come in, both looking a little green in the face as they see the two young ones. "I know, but let's focus on the job and get these two in." Maggie steps back. She watches for a minute, making sure they are handled with care and then feels a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head, she sees Duke nod in the direction of the third bedroom. She follows him out, signaling another officer to watch and steps into the other small room. Huddled on the mattress, she sees four young children, three girls and one boy, all between the ages of eight and twelve. She approaches them, crouching down about two feet away. They huddle back as far away as then can, terrified looks on their faces.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm police. Here, take a look." She pulls the badge off her waist and holds it out. The all look at each other and the oldest girl tentatively reaches out and takes it from her. "It's all right." Maggie smiles, sitting back on her heels. "I'm here to take you out of here. You'll never have to see this place again. I promise." The older girl looks her in the eye. Maggie nods, "Never again." She smiles again, seeing the girl relax, just a bit. "How about if I just sit here with you for a bit? Is that all right?"

The older girl looks around and then nods, slightly. Maggie sits down, crossing her lets over one another and looks at them. They don't look to be too physically injured, the older girl being the one that was in the bed with the suspect she cuffed. The middle girl seems to be sitting uncomfortably and Maggie hopes it's not what she thinks, but she knows she's hoping for too much. Very slowly, she scoots closer to the mattress until her knee is touching it. None of them back away so she takes that as a good sign. "Can you tell me your names?" She asks, looking from one to the other.

"I'm Kayla." The older girl says. She looks to the boy, "He's Tommy. She's Molly," she points to the youngest girl, "and that's Victoria." She points to the middle girl. Maggie looks at each one, giving them her best smile…the one that melts Steve's heart.

"My name is Maggie." She moves slowly up on the dirty mattress in the middle of their impromptu circle. "I'm with the special police here on the island. Do you believe me?" She glances around at all of them. They all nod and she relaxes. "Good. How old are each of you?" As they tell her, they relax as they realize she does not intend to harm them. She sits with them, asking questions about what they like and where they live, hoping to get as much information as possible. She glances at the door, seeing EMS go by with the other two kids and then gives her attention back to these kids.

Duke watches her, nodding at her at one point that they need to get the kids out so CSU can get in and process this room. She nods, signaling to give her a few more minutes.

Thirty-five minutes later, she's still in the room with the kids, not wanting to rush them. They are still skittish anytime someone else comes in the the room and she shoos them away, calming the kids back down.

"Duke, what's going on?" Duke turns to see Steve coming down the hall.

"You okay, Commander?" He notices the cut on the side of Steve's head, near his temple and the bruising starting on his jaw and cheek.

"M' fine, Duke, thanks. Why'd you call?"

He nods to the room, "She's been in there for almost forty-five minutes with the young kids from this house. We need to get them to the hospital for any evidence and allow CSU into that room to process. Any time someone tries to go in, the kids start crying and screaming and they have to back out. I don't know where to go from here."

Steve nods, looking in the door. He sees her sitting on the dirty mattress, arms around the two older girls, the younger one sitting close to her knees; the young boy still sitting a few inches away, not ready to be touched. The two older girls have tears running down their faces, relieved to have someone touching them with care and comfort and not in any inappropriate way. He moves slowly and quietly into the room, not wanting to startle them. "Maggie?" He says in a low, steady voice.

She raises her eyes to him, questioning his presence. The kids pull close to her, not wanting this large, intimidating man near them. "Oh, it's okay. He works with me. See? He's got a badge just like mine. He's here to help, too. He won't hurt you." She tries to calm them down.

Steve crouches down to not seem so menacing. "She's right. I don't wanna hurt you." He holds out his badge, just as Maggie had done earlier. Molly reaches out and runs her fingers over the badge. Looking Steve in the eye, she gives a small grin. He smiles back at her and nods. "That's right. I'm police, just like her and I just want to get you out of here, never to return."

They all look at Maggie, questioning her about what he just said. It was exactly what she'd told them. "Yes, never to return. We promise." She hugs the two girls close, smiling at the other two. They all look at Steve, relaxing a bit. "We won't let anyone else hurt you and promise to reunite you with your parents as soon as we can."

Steve nods and signals to Maggie he needs to talk to her. She shakes her head, unwilling to leave these kids alone. "Come on, Maggie. We need to get them to the hospital."

She knows it's what they need to do, but these kids have been through so much she doesn't want to traumatize them anymore. "Listen, I need to talk to Steve," she nods at him, "just for a few minutes. Duke is gonna stay with you. He's a policeman, too. You've seen him standing outside the door. He won't hurt you, okay?" She looks at all of them. Slowly, they nod, eyes wide looking at Duke. He smiles as he walks into the room. Steve stands, holding out his hand to her. She unwinds herself from the kids, taking his hand and moving out of the room. "What?" Annoyance fills her voice.

"Why're you angry? We need to get those kids to the hospital and finish working this house. Duke says you've been in there almost an hour. Evidence is degrading as we speak. You know this. Why are you still in there?"

"Because those kids have been through hell and I don't want to be just another adult brushing them aside. They've lost all trust in adults and I was working on getting some semblance of that back. The last thing they need is to be rushed off to some strangers to be poked and prodded. They need to be handled with kid gloves."

He moves her outside the house. "I understand that. I had the same thing, but we can't wait forever. We need to move things along."

She looks at him, disbelief on her face. "Oh, really? Did you have two kids who were tortured and beaten so severely they are barely alive. They were taken out of here before you showed up, Steve. I actually lost my breakfast when I saw them. They were bleeding from every orifice. And these kids were made to watch what was done to them. I can see it in their eyes." She turns as she hears her name.

"Agent Finneran? We have several dogs in a kennel behind the house. What should we do with them?" A young officer approaches them.

A/N2: I hope to have more soon. RL seems to be getting in the way and the muse for this story has gone on vacation. Please be patient. Soon, a new adventure will be unfolding for them.