Chapter 51--Here's another chapter of this fanfiction story. I hope you like it and thanks for reading and commenting!
Antonio watched C.J. walk away down the beach, knowing that with his admission, he had set the process in motion for her to start running again. Still, she needed to know the truth because the trafficker who bought her from Andre probably would be looking for her soon if he weren't already and she needed to watch her back.
While working as a guard for Andre, Antonio had seen and heard much that had been ugly. At the end of each work shift, he spent time unwinding from what he had witnessed and even participated in, by working out, taking long showers. Anything to clean away the grime and not just that on the outside that came from the hard physical labor he engaged in while traveling every corner of the globe looking for his sister.
He walked down the beach where he knew C.J. had headed looking once again, for escape. This time, he knew what to say to her. He soon found her sitting on a rock looking out at the ocean where its waves broke on shore just yards away. She looked at him, and he sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry that I told you that," he said, quietly.
She turned to face him.
"Why did you?"
He looked out at the ocean, where birds flew around several boats moored close to shore.
"Because you need to know that there's more than one man hunting you."
She considered that for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, now that I know," she said, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do since I don't even know who this other man is, what he looks like, or even if he's already found me."
Antonio took off his sun glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She watched him, noting a small jagged scar beneath one of his eyes.
"You don't remember anything, while you were held captive about this other man?"
She thought hard then shook her head.
"Nothing at all," she said, "I didn't see many people when I was there that I remember and Andre kept most of the other men away except Piser."
Antonio frowned.
"I know Antonio was furious when you tried to escape that first time," he said, "But I don't think that's why he would have sold you."
"There are gaps in my memory," she said, "I was just talking about them to Houston last night. Times when I don't remember what happened."
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Antonio said, "No one remembers everything that happens to them."
"But these aren't memory lapses," she said, "There's just nothing there. Once I remember changing to get ready for…him and the next thing, it was morning and Elena…she was bringing me breakfast."
Antonio looked away.
"Then you might have been drugged," he said, "Andre has done that in the past."
"But why?"
"Andre knew you weren't there of your free will," Antonio said, "He clearly didn't want you to cause trouble."
"Well if I did during that time, I have no memory of it," she said, "But I do remember the first thing that came to my mind when I woke up was that I was going to get out of that place even if they killed me in the process."
Matt and Novelli helped Zeke and Brady haul in another net of fish, still wiggling inside by the dozens. The previous day's rain obviously hadn't hurt the fishing judging by the catch. They scooped them out in bunches and put them in the buckets to be taken to the refrigerated lockers below deck.
Novelli stood up and rubbed his back.
"I'm definitely not as young as I used to be," he said, "I grew up at my granddaddy's knee fishing with him but nothing quite like this."
"Some days, I don't think I'll ever wash the smell of fish off of me," Matt said, "But it's both hard work and relaxing at the same time."
Novelli agreed.
"It allows you to stop thinking for a while," he said, "The day after I retired from the LAPD, I couldn't get my mind to stop thinking about the job."
"Retirement suits you," Matt said, "You do look a lot better than the last time I saw you."
Novelli nodded, grimly.
"I like it, especially since I've got a couple businesses up and running," he said, "and my wife's started to have kids again. First twins and now another on the way."
Matt grinned.
"I heard that shriek on the phone the other night and thought it was something like that."
"Well, you'll understand when you're a father yourself, how very special the world becomes when you have to think of the next generation. Your next generation. Everything changes."
Matt grew silent.
"I'll have to take your word for it for now."
Vince slapped his back.
"Don't let this experience with Elizabeth get you down," he said, "Someday you'll meet someone and have a family of your own."
"Yeah well, first we've got work to do here," Matt said, "and I think we need to start laying out that trap for Duval pretty soon."
Vince untangled some of the net.
"I know that you think that this puts C.J. in a very risky position…"
"It does, Vince," Matt said, "But I haven't been able to think of any alternative."
"So do you have anything in mind with how you're going to draw his attention?"
Matt grew thoughtful.
"Maybe…"
Chris sat in her office, with her work piled in front of her which she couldn't even look at. She and Dan had discussed what she planned to say to Agent Denton but even though her fiancé had helped prepare her for her interview, she remained nervous.
Scott poked his head in the door.
"Has the illustrious Agent Denton dropped by yet?"
Chris shook her head.
"No not yet," she said, "And why do you care?"
Scott shrugged.
"I'm just curious," he said, "Nothing more. After all, I've spent enough time in his interrogation chair."
"I'm not really all that worried about the interview," she said, "After all, I'm not the one they're after."
"Chris, you can never be too sure of who a fed like Denton might be after," Scott said, "So you should be very careful of what you say to him."
Chris looked him in the eye.
"I'm always careful about what I say to anyone."
Scott tapped his fingers on the door.
"By the way, have you heard from our absentee CEO?"
"Oh, we both know that Matt doesn't do much with the company anymore," she said, "So what are you getting at?"
"I'm just wondering if you've heard from him," Scott asked.
That put Chris on guard.
"No…I haven't," she said, "He hasn't exactly been calling in and checking in. He hasn't even dropped by to pick up his mail."
Scott nodded his head.
"I see…you're not going to tell me are you?"
Chris looked at him, hiding her surprise at his assumptions.
"Well, no not exactly," she said, "After all, the boss did give you quite a shiner a while back."
"He just flew off the handle," Scott said, "These things often happen in a high-stress working environment."
Chris rolled her eyes.
"It has nothing to do with corporate pressure and everything to do with you betraying him."
Scott's face flushed in anger.
"There's no evidence that I have betrayed anyone let alone my best friend."
Chris folded her arms.
"Just listen to yourself," she said, "Matt punched you because of what happened to his best friend. He believes you're responsible and I know he's right."
"You don't know anything at all."
"I know that you're probably shaking in your boots right now because the feds are hanging around a lot more than they did several months ago."
"Oh yeah right, I'm scared of the feds."
"You would be if you were smart and we both know you're not," Chris said, "But I bet you've already tried to contact Mr. Duval by now to bail you out of your own mess. Well, I'll save him the trouble and tell you that the chances of him helping you out are about as good as a snowball's chance of surviving a day in the Mojave Desert."
Scott harrumphed.
"I would never contact Mr. Duval," he said, "He's in importing and we're in technology, so we wouldn't even pass through the same professional circles."
"Maybe you just better get back to work Scott," Chris said, "while you still have a job here because you won't when Matt returns."
"What…"
"In fact, you'll be lucky if you still have a life."
C.J. sat on the beach a while longer after Antonio had left her alone in her thoughts. She had struggled to remember what still eluded her but had given up. She might not ever be able to fill the gaps in her memories and maybe that would prove to be a blessing. After all, this wouldn't be her first experience with amnesia in her life.
She lay on the bed of the hotel room at a place in downtown Phoenix where she and Matt had spent the night before heading back to L.A. and leaving the nightmare of her adventures in Bannon County's penal system behind them. After they had left the state police headquarters the previous day, they had checked in to the hotel and ordered room service. She had little appetite but managed to eat some soup.
"I'm sorry," she said, pushing her bowl away, "I should be hungry but I'm not."
"It's okay," Matt said, "It's probably side effects from whatever drug they gave you. I think you'll feel better in the morning after a night's sleep."
"I feel better now that I'm out of there and you're here," she said, "I hope the other women are doing okay."
"I talked to my friend at the state police and he says they're all safe," Matt said.
C.J. paused.
"Did they find the others?"
Matt shook his head soberly.
"Not yet," he said, "They'll be out again in the desert tomorrow."
She tried to sleep in the strange motel bed but she couldn't stop thinking about the women lying buried out in the desert in unmarked graves because they had tried to escape from Sheriff Buntz and Piser's prostitution ring. How long had many of them been buried there, forgotten? At least, she knew now they would eventually be found and hopefully, identified so their families could be notified. If things had turned out different, if Matt hadn't seen her burned out vehicle at the garage at the side of the road…
She didn't even want to think about it, but as time passed, she couldn't stop the flow of images coming into her mind. She got out of bed, wrapped a robe around her and walked outside the motel room where she saw Matt standing and looking over a railing. He glanced up when he heard her door close.
"You wouldn't sleep either," she said, standing beside him looking out at the faint shades of pink and violet outlining the horizon over the reddened rocks.
"I did get a few hours," he said, "What about you?"
"I couldn't sleep," she said, "I kept thinking about the women in the desert."
"C.J…"
"I know," it could have been worse than it was," she said, "But I could have been one of them if you hadn't found me. There's no way in hell I wouldn't have tried to escape from there."
He looked at her and stroked her shoulder.
"I think you would have gotten away," Matt said, "You would have found a way. You're like that."
"I was thinking about it at Piser's ranch even looking for escape routes but I didn't know what made me do that," C.J. said, "I do now, now that I can remember who I am and where I came from."
"Because underneath it all, you're still you," Matt said, "Apparently not even amnesia or losing your memory can strip that away."
"But it forced me to view the world in a different way," she said, "I saw a very scary side of it. How could I have missed that such a place existed where women could be exploited, terrorized and…"
"Murdered," Matt finished for her because she couldn't get the word out.
"And most of the time, the world doesn't care," she said, "It just moves on around such evil as if doesn't exist, not even there in its midst."
Matt looked at C.J. who appeared as if she were going to start crying. She didn't want to because if she did, she might not stop. Matt chose his next words carefully.
"Buntz and Piser are going to prison for a long time," Matt said, "They'll probably lock them up and throw away the key, the most recent women they victimized are free now and you and I are going back home."
She nodded.
"I love the sound of that word," she said, tears brimming in her eyes.
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and willed her body to stop shaking.
"So do I," he said, "and never more than in situations like this one."
She and Matt had gone back to L.A. and he even hosted a gala to welcome her back into the fold. And months later, she and the other women had testified about their experiences at the trial back in Arizona and both Buntz and Piser had been sentenced to long terms in state prison.
But as she learned later, Piser had received his 'get out of jail free' card and had gone to work with Andre Duval who had been the unseen mastermind behind the prostitution ring tucked inside a detention center hidden in a desert town in Arizona. And their paths would cross again several years later. The 'home' that she had returned to no longer existed for her, but Matt had stood by her through everything during the past few months. It had exacted a toll on him.
She knew that Antonio's news that he had given her had changed everything, that there might never be anywhere on earth that would ever be home again. She knew what she had to do once she helped Antonio get his sister back. She just hoped she had the fortitude and strength to do it.
Matt and Novelli walked on shore hauling some of the fish while Zeke and Brady tied up the boat. Bertha met them and joined them in bringing in the load of fish they had caught that day.
"Land sakes," she said, "You sure were busy today. There's some cold beer in the cooler on the porch."
Novelli and Matt began to walk towards the beer when Antonio gestured to Matt.
"I need to talk to you," he said, "It's very important."
Matt looked at Novelli.
"I'll join you in a minute," he said, "Save me one."
Matt and Antonio started walking towards the beach.
"So what's going on," Matt said, "It must really be something judging by the look on your face."
Antonio looked grave.
"What I'm going to tell you is strictly between the two of us."
Matt looked at him warily, then when he saw that Antonio wouldn't bend, nodded slowly.
"Okay, what is it?"
"I went to a federal prison in Florida to speak with Marquis Duval, Sr."
"Andre's father," Matt said, "Why?"
"To see if I could learn anything that might help me stop his son."
Matt frowned.
"That's hardly likely," he said, "But what did he tell you?"
"A lot actually, after all the man's in prison, what does he have to lose?"
"Not much," Matt admitted, "So did he admit to anything?"
Antonio nodded.
"He helped his son abduct C.J.," he said, "He was more than happy to do so to get back at you."
Matt looked down at the ground and then out at the ocean.
"I don't find that surprising," he said, "He's probably never gotten over the fact that I helped put him and his son away for the rest of their lives in separate prisons."
"He's given all his resources to Andre except money because all his accounts are frozen by various governments," Antonio continued, "Which still left Andre with a lot at his disposal like land…"
"And bombs," Matt said, thoughtfully, "He's certainly put them to use."
Antonio agreed.
"But there was something else he told me," he said.
Matt sighed.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is when the other shoe falls?"
Antonio remained quiet for a moment, his jaw working.
"He told me that his son sold C.J. to another trafficker," he said.
Matt closed his eyes momentarily.
"Did he say who?"
"No, but I think he's Eastern European or Russian," Antonio said, "Probably one of Andre's partners."
"And this guy's out there looking for C.J. too," Matt guessed.
"Probably, with or without Andre's help," Antonio said, "He wants his property that he feels Andre owes him."
"Does C.J. know?"
Antonio nodded.
"Yes I told her," he said, "And her instincts are telling her to take off where no one not even you can find her."
"She can't do that," Matt said, "She'll put herself in greater danger if she's alone."
"That's what I believe," Antonio said, "But she's adamant about not dragging you into this any longer, especially since she doesn't believe it will ever end."
Matt scratched his face.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I owe a big debt to her for my role in what's happened to her," Antonio said, "and I believe what's best for her is to bring this information to you although she told me not to do so."
"Thank you for doing that," Matt said, "but if I confront her with it, she'll take off."
"Then don't," Antonio said, "Keep it to yourself because if she doesn't think that you know, she'll stay until after we rescue Elena and take care of Andre. It's after that happens, that you'll need to worry."
Matt nodded.
"You need to find a way to convince her that somehow it's going to work out so this will be over."
"You're right," he said, "I'm just not sure how I'm going to do that but I'm going to have to come up with a plan."
"You will," Andre said, "just like I will get my sister back and we can all return home."
Rhonda peeked in on Jonathan, who was working at his desk. He heard the bag in her hand crinkle and looked up. She noticed that he actually wasn't upset to see her.
"What's in the bag," he said, putting down his folder.
"It's more of that Tex-Mex food," she said, walking in his office and taking it over, "Different dishes this time, just as tasty."
She put out some Styrofoam containers out and some plates and utensils.
"You got bottled water," she asked.
He nodded and opened his drawer to his desk, pulling out two bottles. He handed her one and she opened it up, practically inhaling it down.
"It's damn hot outside today," she said, "And the traffic…"
He smiled.
"Hey, it's Houston."
"You're right," she said, "So try some of this food before it gets cold."
"Well, I have about three dozen files to sort through by the end of the day but I think I'm hungry enough to eat all of that."
She sat down next to the desk and started serving food on the plates.
"If I hadn't shown up here, would you have eaten anything?"
He looked at her and then decided to be honest.
"Probably not, unless I picked up some dinner on the way back to the hotel."
She looked at him horrified.
"Didn't your mother tell you the importance of three square meals a day?"
He smiled despite himself.
"Actually she still does every chance she gets."
"Then she's a very smart woman," Rhonda said, "She already has a very smart son."
"I'll pass the reference along, the next time she tells me I work too hard and don't eat enough."
Rhonda sampled some of the food.
"This is delicious," she said.
After trying it, he agreed.
"I'll have to try that place out in person sometime."
She looked at him sideways.
"If you want company," she said, "I'll be more than happy to help you brave the waters of new cuisine."
He looked back at her, a bit surprised. She frowned.
"Then again, if you really want to…"
He shook his head.
"No, I'll be more than happy to take you some time," Jonathan said.
She smiled, pleased.
"I'll be more than happy to go," she said.
With that settled, they finished eating lunch in a comfortable silence.
At least until Brad knocked on the doorway and Jonathan put down his fork and told him to come in.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Brad said, looking around.
"We're at work," Jonathan said, "What is it?"
"A meeting with Chad and Agent Denton in about 15 minutes…"
C.J. entered the bungalow and walked to the kitchen, not noticing Matt at first sitting on the couch.
"How'd your day go," he asked.
She looked at him and forced a smile.
"Fine, I read for most of it," she said, "How was fishing?"
He put down his magazine.
"We caught a bundle," he said, "The storm might have attracted more of them closer to shore."
"That's great," she said, "I bet the guys were happy about that."
"Yeah they're celebrating by going to the village tonight," he said.
"Are you going," she said.
"Maybe," he said, "if you'll go with me."
She looked conflicted.
"I don't know…"
"Come on," Matt said, "There's a floating poker game going on and it'd be great if you could win us more money."
"For the fund to help Elena, right?"
Matt nodded.
"Sure," he said, "Every little bit helps and I know you'll bring in more than a little."
She smiled.
"Okay, I'll go with you," she said, "Just let me change."
As she went into the bedroom to do that, Matt went to the kitchen where he had left his jacket. He looked out the window thinking of the challenge ahead of him to stop his best friend from running away again to try to keep him safe from her own nightmare.
She sat on the bed, a few feet away thinking how, when the time required it, she would ever be able to let him go.
