Tone of Deceit

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 16 (Ten Grand)

The frenzy Robbie had creates seemed to be impactful, as the teachers appeared to be distancing themselves from the students as a result of what transpired. Jade couldn't help but to be amused, no longer was she seeing teacher and student sitting together at lunch tables or standing side by side in the hallways.

They had to be careful now, because the other schools were putting pressure on them. The police had to investigate those teachers even more now; but thankfully, the Vegas were not in charge of the department that would be investigating the teachers.

"I wonder what'll happen if there are found to be teachers who aren't actually qualified to work here." Jade stretched her arms out and breathed in, trying to wake herself up from the short nap she'd just taken.

Cat sat beside her, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The girl's head bobbed for a moment and her eyes flickered outwards. "I mean some have already been found. Mr. Slain, Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Donald….Those teachers are going to have to either get certified within the coming months or be removed." She cocked her head to the right. "And at least one teacher has already been found with a record."

She blinked. "A what?"

"Yep! Wilma Grant, the ceramics teacher. She has a criminal record for a sexual assault charge." Jade uttered a curse under her breath. This was almost too much. At least, Eikner would be distracted trying to control all this, but it was unexpected. "Eikner was forced to fire her. Now he's trying to rehire, and word is, no one's applying."

"I feel like that's because they know they'd be working for a cult."

Down the hallway Tori was moving in quick succession. Her hands were balled up and she had lines stretched across her forehead and around her mouth. For a moment, Jade thought they were in trouble. "I don't know what you were thinking," Tori said once she reached them, "But whoever is responsible could've just thrown the whole damn operation."

Robbie raised his hand. "It was me." Tori's gaze snapped over to him and she shrugged her hands outwards with an incredulous sigh. "I wanted to offer some sort of distraction for Principal Eikner. Something that he'd be, you know, having to deal with."

Tori put her hands to her hips and slowly shook her head. "I mean, it'll definitely keep him occupied." She raised a hand to her forehead. "It's certainly giving people an option to leave this fucking school. I just wish you hadn't been so damn reckless. You could be right, this could help us; but at the same time, it could backfire horribly."

"Felt like someone had to take action somewhere."

"We understand that, but sometimes the best course of action is not to be brazen or reckless." Tori folded her hands over her face and closed her eyes. "Remember that removing these monsters from the streets is only half the battle. We also want to find the missing kids, and the best way to do that is for them to lead us to them. If we begin pressuring the suspects, they may begin to make rash decisions as well."

"I'm not so sure." Beck crossed his arms and Tori turned her attention to him. "I feel like, if the Knights are involved, those missing kids are gone somewhere." He pointed his finger towards the ground, thrusting his hand downward. "We need to investigate the Knights as well."

"I think so too," Jade replied, "Once the kids exchange hands, they're no longer the problem of the kidnappers." Tori hummed softly and her head leaned backwards. "The kidnappers are part of the ring, but I think they're only a small part."

"We got real lucky with McKee," Cat replied, "Real lucky with Eric and Selena." The redhead took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "But we saved them before they could lead us to anything."

Tori raised an eyebrow at the girl. "So what then do you propose?" Cat raised a finger towards her chin and looked at the others with a slight shrug. Jade could almost see the gears turning in her friend's head, and it was fearsome. She knew when Cat began to scheme, and sometimes scheming was just too much.

"I have a thought, but I'm not sure if anyone would like it. We can't just let someone random get taken, but the only way we can really try and find the missing victims is to have someone lead us to them."

"You're suggesting we let somebody get kidnapped and follow them?"

"Yeah." Cat squinted and dropped her hand. "But then, I'm not sure. We have people inside here; but what if that's not enough? What if Hollywood Arts is only the surface level?"

"If it's deeper than it looks….you could be right." Chances were likely most of the suspects were too far gone, especially if the true issue were as deep as Jade feared.

One of the worst things that could be possible would be human trafficking; if that was what this was, then those missing kids were good as gone. "I wonder if there'd be a ledger of some kind?" Jade scraped her fingernail along her cheek and squinted at the ground. "If the victims are part of human trafficking, there may be a way…what do we do first? Where the hell do we go from here?"

Tori looked out at the students walking the halls, several with expressions of worry while others seemed nonchalant as though living another typical day. "Remove the immediate threat first. If Hollywood Arts serves a ground for abduction, shut it down." Tori snapped her fingers and looked to Robbie. "That's where I agree with what you did. Removing the source of income is always the best bet, especially when that poses a dire threat."

"Investigate Nurse Kotter," Andre suggested, "If Eric and Selena were drugged with tranquilizers found in her office that needs to be checked out." He shrugged. "There's no reason a school nurse needs tranquilizers."

"I like your train of thought." Tori grinned, her smile growing wider. "Ryder was sent to her office when he disappeared as well, so chances are if she has something that helps make the abductions easier…"

"Then taking her out of the picture makes it harder."

"The kids can't fight back she drugs them; but give them the ability to fight back. I'll tell Trina they need to get in Nurse Kotter's office immediately."

Chances were likely the police were already on that trail considering Selena and Eric already told them about the tranquilizers; but it was nice to feel like they'd been helpful in providing something of note.

"But you should keep in mind, Kotter is already out of a job essentially." Jade felt her heart skip at the words, but she looked to Tori with shock. "The minute Selena and Eric testified that a teacher used tranquilizers found in Kotter's office, she was subject to all sorts of liability problems. She's never working as a nurse in this state again."

"Holy shit, I didn't even think about that." She hadn't noticed that Kotter wasn't present, but then she really hadn't thought about it.

Tori paused to glance at her phone. Jade watched the girl's expression grow perplexed, and then astonished. "We need to get to the department." Tori's eyes grew large and she raised a hand over her mouth. "It's Ryder, they found him." The girl raised her head up and lowered the phone. "Alive."

She gasped and the rest of the group turned their heads, each as shocked as the next. This was breathtaking news indeed, one of the missing persons had turned up. Even if it was Tori's asshole ex boyfriend, the fact that there was a survivor among the group of lost kids was tremendous.

They wasted no time getting to the station where David and Trina awaited. Along with them was Ryder, sitting on a bench with a cup in his hands. The smell of coffee was strong, and steam rose from the cup and surrounded the teen's quivering hands.

A yellow blanket was wrapped around his body, concealing his physical appearance aside from his still broad shoulders. His dark hair had grown longer, with his stringy bangs hanging before his eyes. His skin was pale and his face was covered in blisters and scrapes.

Recognition and relief flooded his eyes when he saw the group enter, though his chapped lips did not budge. "His parents are on the way," David announced heartily. "One of the lucky ones, if you call it luck…"

"How was he found?" Tori asked. David chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Found? He found us." Jade's jaw fell open and she glanced to Ryder, still trembling and finding it difficult to take even a single sip of the coffee. "We're giving him some time before he talks to us, we want him to know he's safe."

"Of course."

They hung out for around thirty minutes before Ryder was calm enough to be in the questioning room with David and Trina. The group stood on the other side of the window allowing them to be able to hear without being in the room. They wanted to know Ryder's story, and felt that it would be more than beneficial.

The boy's eyes never left the mug now sitting on a coaster, his words came out weak and with shaky breath. "I escaped. I don't know how. They think I'm dead."

"Who thinks you're dead?" David asked.

"T-The cartel." Ryder's parents sat beside him, with his mom wrapping her arms tight around his body. "I was forced to be a part of this cartel, on the border between California and Mexico." He clenched his eyes shut and started to whimper. His mother squeezed him tighter, her tears sliding down her face. "I was a drug mule, forced to smuggle drugs for them."

"How did you get away?"

"I was spotted by border security." Ryder's eyes opened partially and his teeth chattered. "I was shot at, I tripped, I fell into a hole. If you fall out there, the cartel assumes you're dead." His hands tightened and his breathing grew rapid. "I don't know how long I was there for, but it was dark when I left." His body rocked back and forth. "I don't know how I had the strength. I-I don't. I just ran until I passed out."

Trina pushed a fresh bottle of water towards Ryder and he took it graciously. He raised it to his parched lips and drank as though it were the first time he'd ever tasted it.

After a few quiet moments, it was Trina who spoke up again. "You mentioned earlier that someone found you? Do you know who?"

"Someone traveling, I think. Vacationers maybe." He scratched his head and took a deep breath. "They found me in the middle of the road, gave me something to drink, then drove me to the nearest town." Fresh tears filled his raw eyelids and he slowly shook his head. "A man and a woman, both tall, I can't remember their names. I want to remember their names."

"I'm sure it will come to you, Ryder."

"I-I have to thank them. If not for them, I…" He gasped, clutching his chest firmly.

"It's okay." Trina gave him a gentle, reassuring smile and he slowly nodded. "Take your time, okay? How did you manage to make it here?"

"The couple, they gave me money for a bus ride. I told them I used to live in Los Angeles. The bus driver dropped me off here when I told him I needed to get to the police."

"Thank god he made it out," Jade whispered. She could feel a heavy sensation in her heart and when she looked to the others, the sight of tears on their faces caused her to release her own tears that she'd been struggling to hold back.

"Do you remember how you came to be a part of that Cartel?" Ryder gasped, saliva dripping from his teeth and lips.

"Barely. I was sold to them. I had a bag over my head that day." He raised his hands to his face, his body rocking with greater force. "It was that nurse, at my school." Trina leaned back slowly, her shoulders rose and fell slowly.

"The school nurse?"

"Yeah, at Hollywood Arts. Nurse Kotter. S-She drugged me, injected some sort of drug in me." Jade shut her eyes and her balled-up fists seemed to dig deeper into her palms. It was bittersweet that they had something to get the nurse on. "When I woke up, I was being sold off somewhere."

"Were you still with Nurse Kotter at the time?"

"No." His nostrils flared and he hugged his waist with his arms. "I kept asking where I was, I couldn't see anything. There was someone else with me, other people." Jade's heart sank as she bowed her head. "The person told me there was no use in struggling. We'd been handed to some gang in charge of selling us off to the highest bidder."

Jade heard Beck groan and turned to him, he looked at her and uttered the answer. "The Knights. I think he might've been given to them. They're into human trafficking." Her stomach turned at the news and she looked back through the glass.

"This gang, they like the attractive people. They like the wealthy people. Those people fetch more money when sold, they're more lucrative because of whatever imagined risk they think is associated." Contempt and bitterness laced Ryder's voice, his muscles grew tense. "The guy talking to me said I was grabbed off someone that worked for a front, taken likely because of either my appearance or wealth. The cartel…" He whimpered again. "You want to know how much I was worth?" He dryly chuckled. "Ten grand. That's how fucking much."

"I'm deeply sorry that you had to go through that. Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to catch these people."

Ryder broke down, dropping his head into his mother's shoulder. "I just want to go home," he cried, "I just want to go home…"

After the interview, the group gathered around until David and Trina could join them. Ryder was left with his parents in the room, so that they could be given some time alone together.

"We'll have some other questions for him another time," Trina said quietly, "But he's certainly going to be living some nightmares for a long time."

Tori nodded back at her. "I know he wasn't good to me, but that in there is something I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy. You know?"

"Yeah, I get that."

Tori wiped the tears from her face and cleared her throat. "Better get a car over to Kotter." The girl let out a dry chuckle. "Before she can, you know, pull a McKee on us."

Trina rolled her eyes. "God help us if that happens." Jade looked to the door and smiled sadly.

"Do you think he'll have any more information at all?"

"Once he calms down a little bit and starts to recover, he might be able to recall some other information. Right now, he tried his best to give us what he could; and he did give us a good deal of information."

"Yeah, we know apparently the kidnappers are giving kids over to a gang. Beck thinks it's the Black Knights." Trina slid her hands down to her waist and raised an eyebrow while turning towards Beck.

"You think it's them?"

"They're into human trafficking," he replied, "It's one of the things that made me run like hell from them."

"I see. If it is them, and they're using the school as a source, then I think we'd better get rid of their source. Unfortunately as it stands, we only have Nurse Kotter named."

"Not enough to call out the rest of the school?"

"No." Trina crossed her arms. "Because we can assume that Nurse Kotter has supplied the drugs and at least one other teacher knew about them enough to use them on her would-be victims. We haven't connected anyone else yet." Trina slid her hands down her thighs and exhaled sharply. "Police haven't found anything to indicate that she's keeping a record for those tranquilizers either. Hopefully if she can finger anyone, she will during questioning."

"Either way, it's a win, right? I mean, she's the one that provided the means. Right?"

"It's close. I'll give you that. Still have a long battle ahead of us, especially since the school appears only to be a front, a small part of a much larger ring…" Trina glanced at Beck, her brow furrowing. "Beck, when you were involved with the Black Knights, did you ever find out just how large they were?"

"They're actually relatively small," he replied with a nod. Trina curled a hand over her upper lip and narrowed her eyes. "Jesse Klein is their leader, he's got an underboss and maybe three lieutenants under him. They sell to larger gangs and clientele. I once watched them sell forged papers to a businessman."

"Interesting…I wonder why they do not use the income they receive to grow their own organization?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "They're pleasure seekers for the most part, that's what attracted me to them in the beginning. They still have your standard gang shit, but their numbers are small I think to avoid detection. You have all your larger gangs that are blatant and in-your-face, the Black Knights are not."

"That's the thing about small gangs," David replied with a smirk, "When they're small they can hide in the shadows; but once they catch someone's attention, they can be easily crushed like an insect." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Well. Now they've got my attention."

One of the missing kids made it out alive, lucky perhaps but I'm sure he'll have a rough life for sure. At least, the police have something more, this is likely a big break for the investigation. What are your thoughts on everything?