Charlie glided alongside the railroad tracks, her canvas shoes kicking up rocks strewn about on each side of the rails as she ran from building to building. It was only about three and a half miles to cover, and with her speed, she could have covered all of it in under six minutes if not for stopping at each building to investigate.
Honing all of her senses, she focused on each structure in turn. So far all she'd picked up, aside from the ones that were actively open, was animal or dirty human smells from vagrants and homeless people sheltered in some of the structures. Her ears heard mostly animal sounds, or if it was human, it wasn't anything she found concerning.
Due to taking the time she felt each stop needed, it was close to an hour when she reached the last part of the distance she'd told Angel she would cover. Careful of her surroundings, Charlie tried a new trick she'd been working on, and made just her arm visible. She did this to check her watch that Angel had gifted her during one of their many shopping trips. She saw it was a little past six o'clock and Angel would be with Amanda right now. A tiny pang of jealousy pricked at her again, and she shut it down hard. She wasn't going to let that type of emotion rule her.
But she missed Angel and wished he was here with her now. Charlotte knew he trusted her and had been extremely complimentary of how she'd improved in her hunting and tracking over the months spent together. Now, here she was in the field—solo—and in full control of her choices. It felt good, despite the loneliness.
Refocusing her thoughts, Charlie followed the tracks as they made a ninety-degree left turn heading away from the river and picked up her speed to reach the next turn that came around to a large warehouse, which was in full swing, with a packed parking lot. I can check this one off. As she slowed her pace to catch her breath, her sharp hearing picked up the sound of an old engine approaching from up ahead. Narrowing her eyes, she watched as a black van turned onto a side street just up the road next to a cement company. A thrill raced up Charlie's spine, remembering a time when Angel commented about the types of vehicles often used in kidnappings—including his own van, ironically—and her senses perked up. Refocusing her power and going full invisible, Charlie broke into a sprint.
Reaching the turn, she slipped a little on the gravel as she turned sharply, caught herself with a curse, and raced to catch up to the van. As the van splashed through dirty water puddles and past a few abandoned shipping containers against a boarded-up factory, it reached the end and turned left, out of sight of any prying eyes from the main road. Charlie stopped at the corner of the warehouse and, despite being invisible, chose to keep a bit of distance for the moment. She watched the van stop and switch to reverse as it backed up towards a set of metal stairs leading to a rusty brown door.
Charlie concentrated on listening and almost immediately heard the sniffles and cries of girls, and her demon eyes pulsed a vibrant shade of crimson. She turned her head, realizing her eyes could be seen if she didn't pull back her power creep, and closed them for extra assurance. She took a moment to calm herself, then turned back as the doors to both sides of the van opened. Four large men, dressed in dark clothing and carrying semi-automatic guns, spilled out of the van. She watched in anger as they ripped open the rear doors and cruelly dragged four girls out into the open. Charlie guessed they were between seven and fourteen, and she felt her teeth turn sharp, grinding against each other. Instinct said to attack now and save them, but she knew there could be more inside. If she didn't follow Angel's request, she could risk all their lives. Instead, she let herself feel a sense of relief. She'd found them, and that was the first step; now she needed to call Angel. She watched the children being pushed through the brown door, and she burned the images of those assholes into her mind.
Stepping back from the corner of the structure, she quietly jogged about fifty yards back and checked her watch again. Six-thirty. Since Angel had not yet set her up with a phone, her only option was the earpiece. If she radioed in now, Amanda would be with Angel and might hear her. What would Angel want her to do? What did she want to do? She knew the second answer, but that was out of the question for the moment. Stress was starting to cause her physical pain. Looking towards where the girls were being held, she made a silent promise to them. I'll be back for all of you. I promise!
Now, she had to find Angel so that the moment Amanda left, she could tell him what she discovered. Before she could move, she heard the van start up. She watched it come down the pathway with only one human in the van, driving. She figured they didn't want it near the building; should any helicopters used in the searches spot it next to the warehouse. Angel had already told her that this operation was something different from anything she'd experienced, and these men were definitely professionals. That thought only heightened her fear for the girls, and, releasing her full demon form once again, Charlie took off at full speed back towards home.