'We need a plan.' Alex stated the obvious just to fill in the silence.
'Like what?' Amber fidgeted in her seat. Hex looked around at the other members of Alpha Force. His gaze fell on Li and he frowned. Then slowly, a smile spread across his face. The others stared at him, confused.
'I've got it!' he declared triumphantly. He turned to Li. 'It's all up to you.'
Li stood at the train station exit, taping her tiny foot. She went over the conversation with Hex in her again.
'You need to go up to the man and ask him if he needs any help transporting the babies,' Hex told her. Li looked shocked.
'Won't he clam up?' she asked him anxiously. 'Or kill me?' In answer, Hex shook his head, then jerked a thumb at the open palmtop. Quickly, Li scanned the webpage, noting that it had a police academy logo in the top left hand corner. Hex the hacker does it again, she thought.
'I don't get it.' Hex sighed and explained.
'Police have used this method to catch other traffickers, so it should work.'
Li snapped back to reality as the unmistakable sound of a train came closer. She positioned herself beside the exit, then waited impatiently while a stream of people poured out of the station.
The man was the last person out. Based on the description Alex had given her (a short man, Chinese, black hair, pale skin, brown eyes, with a limp and a scar on his left cheek) Li was 99 sure that this was the same guy that had bought the baby off the couple. She stepped in front of him and cleared her throat
'Excuse me sir,' she began. 'Could I talk to you for a moment?' The man frowned, then nodded. Hurdle number one cleared, but there were a few more obstacles in her way and the track was very slippery. She took a deep breath.
'I was wondering if you had any vacancies for work.' The man frowned again. Li lowered her voice and moved closer towards him. 'Transporting the babies.' The man's eyes flashed and he took a step back.
'What babies?' His tone was threatening, but Li wasn't about to give up. Swallowing her fear, she licked her lips and tried to persuade him that she was friend not foe.
'My friend helps you. She told me about it because I don't have any work and I'm out of money and behind in my rent...' Li trailed off, aware that she was blabbering. A tense silence hung in the air and then, for the first time, the man smiled. He looked no less threatening. If anything, he looked even more dangerous.
'Of course. But you breathe a word and...' He drew a finger across his throat. The meaning was all too clear and Li nodded. 'Your friend should not have told you.' Li shrugged, then tentatively asked when the next lot of babies would be transported.
'Four hours. Be here in three and a half.' He disappeared around a corner. Calming her furiously beating heart, Li grinned in triumph and hurried back to the waiting car.
Alpha Force were back in the hotel, sitting in Li and Amber's room.
'Right,' Hex said. 'Who wants to go in the train with Li?' Paulo immediately volunteered. Alex also said he would go in the train, leaving Amber and Hex to track them in the car. While Amber, Alex and Li went over each of the different groups roles in the plan, Paulo pulled Hex aside. His brown (?) eyes betrayed the worry he was feeling.
'Li will be ok, yes?' he said quietly. Hex nodded.
'Of course. We'll be tracking all of you- you will have your tracers on- and you and Alex can keep an eye on her.' He smiled at Paulo, knowing how he felt. 'She'll be fine. I promise.' Paulo nodded, then looked at Li and sighed.
'I hope so.'