There at the door stood the wolf in sheep's clothing, Sandra Leemick. "Alright, I want this half of the room to clean the attic, while this side pluck the weeds in the garden," Leemick designated, scoping the room for any funny business. "Thank God. There's too many ants in the garden," T.K. thought, relieved of getting the less stressful job. "Well, what are you waiting for, Christmas?" Hop to it, maggots!" Leemick barked.
"So you're really running tomorrow night? No funny business, brah?" T.K. asked one of the older kids. Wayne nodded his head, "I might as well because nothing for me here, and it's a dead end for anyone stupid enough to stay."
T.K. clicked with Wayne because their similar reasons of being parentless. "So what are you going to do once your free?" T.K. asked sweeping the attic floor. Wayne shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, travel out of this state, travel across the country, you know, generic reasons." Wayne looked towards his left and his right, like his was making sure that no one was snooping.
When it seemed that the coast was clear, he waved T.K. over to him, drawing him closer. "You know, I have a feeling that Leemick is not what she seems," Wayne whispered into T.K.'s ear. "Yeah, like she doesn't work us to the bone, or treated us like were hostile aliens, or even rarely feed us and even when she does, the food is comparable to likes of prison," T.K. deadpanned.
"Of course that! But really, yesterday, while I was sweeping the foyer, she was talking to a guy in her office," Wayne informed. "Yeah, she talks to a lot of guys. She probably gets around a lot," T.K. theorized, dumping the dust pan's contents into the trash.
"Not like that, young buck. After they were talking, they went outside and grabbed lil' Jodie. They came inside and grabbed his things. In midst of this, Jodie was kicking and screaming, so the guy knocked him out with a simple head butt. After that, the guy gave her a large sum of money and he left. T.K., I think were part of a child labor ring," Wayne recalled.
"That's absolutely insane! There hadn't been anything like this since ever!" T.K. stated. "Shhhh! Keep your voice down! T.K., I know what I saw, and if you don't believe me, you're welcome to come with me to her office to find something," Wayne dared.
T.K. took a second to process everything. Could taking a peek around the office could really give them "evidence" needed to expose Leemick for what she is? Oh well, you only live once. "Let's do this! But when should we do this, Wayne?" T.K. inquried. "Tonight. She always leave for the night to drink and play poker with her ring members," Wayne replied.
Later on, true to Wayne's word, Leemick left for a night of partying and drinking on the town. The duo stood outside of Leemick's office, pondering their next move. "How are going to get in?" T.K. asked. Wayne reached for the doorknob and twisted it. To their surprise, it opened. "Huh, guess she ain't the one for covering her tracks," Wayne noted, walking into the office. T.K. followed him, "You ain't lying."
The office was small, like it could only contain three people. It only had a desk, two chairs, a shelf behind the desks, and a window. "Not much to look. Ok, start with the desk," Wayne ordered. They proceeded behind the desk and opened the smallest drawer. It only contain the bills and the sort, so no luck there. They look down to the two bigger and lower drawers. The right drawer was locked, so they started on the left. The drawer had all of the children's profiles in one huge folder, so nothing would helpful there. But the drawer had a secret stash of money. The boys took ten dollars each because of obvious reasons. "She really needs to find a better hiding spot," T.K. thought.
They turned their heads to the locked drawer. "Ok, how the hell we're going to open this," Wayne spoke. T.K. closed his eyes and think of something. Wayne got up and began to walk towards the door, "Screw this! I'm getting a hammer." "Wayne, wait! I have an idea," T.K. stated, pulling out a bobby pin. "A bobby pin? T.K., now's not the time to be hairdressing," Wayne deadpanned. "I'm not hairdressin', brah. I'm doing what my beautician showed me a few weeks ago," T.K. corrected, jiggling the pin inside of the lock. Wayne look dumbfounded, "To pick a lock?" "Weird, huh? She doesn't look like the sort to do this, nor she ain't the sharpest," T.K. explained, concentrating on the lock.
CLICK!
The lock came off with ease as Wayne dropped his jaw. "Wow, remind me to visit her," Wayne droned. T.K. chuckled, "Alright, brah. Let's see what ole 'Mick been hiding!" He opened the drawer and all was there left was a large green notebook. There was nothing on it except for the word, "PLANS." "Hm, odd? Wonder what she need this for?" T.K. asked Wayne. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good. Come on, put the lock back and let's head upstairs." Wayne ordered.
That's where the boys found more info about the alleged "child labor ring." There was info about the kids, prices were given for the stronger kids, and weaker kids were deemed ineligible and left for dead. "This is terrible. It's like we're property to her and nothing else," T.K. explained, angered from the unspeakable horror.
"No, this is hope. We finally have what we need to put Leemick behind bars for good. We just need to hide this from her," Wayne instructed. T.K. nodded, "Agreed. Look, there's articles about the same thing, but in other cities." "Yeah. Obviously, this isn't her first ballpark, and this another reason to run away," Wayne informed.
Just then, they hear the door slammed. "Leemick's back!" Wayne called. "Quick, hide it under the floorboards," T.K. ordered, lifting the board up. "Good idea," Wayne complimented. The boys got the job done and was in bed in seconds.
