The next day at the LA FBI field office with Jade
"do you have any proof that they won't funnel money to the former modelling agency" asks Special Agent Claire Boyd
"you're only ruining their credibility by keeping them homeless Claire and you know it, they've agreed to be monitored if it means things can be returned to them, I've talked to a financial firm and they're just waiting for your approval to put financial monitoring in place, trust me none of the models that weren't trafficked knew until the forced closure of the agency by the FBI, when they'd found out about the criminal activity they'd contacted a lawyer to sue the agency for fraudulent practices, your actions of taking control of their property ended all that" says Jade
"you're not lying to me are you" asks Claire
"they're afraid of cops on all levels because of what you're department did, they only agreed to the monitoring because the homeless there trust me, you should know better than to think I'm lying, my dad and I didn't often see eye to eye but he taught me how the FBI works, why would I lie, the sooner you return their property and money to them the quicker you might be able to use them as witnesses against the agency, trust needs to be earned Claire, you need to start by giving their stuff back" says Jade
"I can't personally authorize that, I'm not the one that authorized the seizures to begin with, there were a few sketchy models I was looking to seize property and freeze their bank account but not wholesale seizures, that came from higher up, I'll go get them now so you can talk to them" says Claire as she goes to get the LA field office boss
5 minutes later as Joel Nicky arrives
"so you ready to negotiate Joel or do I have to take this all the way up" says Jade
"that depends on what the models are willing to sacrifice in return" says Joel
"they're all victims Joel, none of them knew, there was even a pending lawsuit accusing the agency of fraudulent practices brought by them when they found out, your seizures made them all homeless, homeless people are NEVER seen as reliable witnesses, they've agreed to financial monitoring as well as a firm daily spending limit, capped at two hundred and fifty dollars so long as their bills still get paid" says Jade
"that's a reasonable deal though I'd like to add a condition that they not be allowed near the county jail" says Joel
"that's not exactly reasonable for four of them, their houses are in that area" says Jade
"sorry I should have said can't shop in the area, if that means they have to pay someone to get their groceries I'm ok if that's above the two hundred and fifty dollars daily limit, I'll also get a judge to let you be in charge of the monitoring, I'll give you a list of things forbidden to be purchased and list of etransfer emails to blacklist" says Joel
"wait why me" asks Jade shocked
"your father didn't train no fool Jadelyn, sure maybe I made a mistake seizing everything but I know when trust is key to a case, they trust you, they wouldn't trust me if I set all the limits, now go take care of Victoria, had this case not crossed several state lines we'd have left the case to David unfortunately it crossed ten state lines, the farthest girl trafficked is from Maine, now that they know where she is her family is moving out here to stay" says Joel
"yeah quite a few of the trafficked models have shown up in hospitals since you got the modelling agency shut down, the traffickers are acting out now that they've lost their income from the models, so either you send out agents to protect them or you have a judge change their names until after the trial" says Jade
"I would send agents to protect them but I have no idea where they are" says Joel
"the majority of them will be in homeless villages between Long Beach and Anaheim, those are the protective homeless villages and they're generally safe, the ones that ended up in hospitals are from the villages between LA and thousand oaks, there's three of them" says Jade
"ok but they don't trust cops, how will knowing where they are help" asks Claire
"you and Joel need to visit them at the hospital and explain that you guys messed up, that you went too far and Joel, don't throw Claire under the bus, take responsibility for your mistakes and let Claire take responsibility for hers, owning up to your mistakes will go a long way to prove that you are willing to actually help them get through this process instead of hurting them" says Jade
"what if they think we're only doing it to help our legal case" asks Joel
"explain that I'm the intermediate between them and you and that while the limitations were set up mutually between me and the FBI that you'll only receive information required by the nature of the case and nothing more unless ordered so by a judge who is informed about the situation, having me be the in between you and them will help gain trust because they'll realize you're not locking them out of the freedoms granted to them by the constitution and all laws that give or restrict freedoms" says Jade
"fair enough so where is Macy, she's the girl who's parents are coming from Maine" says Joel
"Malibu main hospital but she does not want to see her parents right away, not until she's released by the hospital, the hospital says it could be four or five days before she's stable enough to be released, her mental health is a major factor, between what you did and what the traffickers did to her she's not entirely stable mentally, at best she'll need to be monitored, either by her non model girlfriend or by a doctor in a mental health care facility, anything you can do to help her get more stable I suggest you do it" says Jade
"wait if she has a girlfriend why is she not living in her girlfriends home" asks Joel
"it's a one bedroom apartment, it barely has enough space for her girlfriend that's why, put three of these offices together and that's the size of her entire apartment, besides if Macy lived there with her the super would expect Macy to pay rent and since she's not financially capable of that right now it would get her girlfriend evicted and then they'd both be homeless" says Jade
"oh God that's a mega tiny apartment" says Claire having lived in some tiny apartments herself
"you're telling me, she only got it because rent was a bargain, Macy was the food buyer in their relationship, she's lucky she's tiny, I went to visit her this morning to apologize on your behalf and I barely fit in her hallway" says Jade
"wait they're still together even though Macy was trafficked from Maine" asks Claire
"the situation doesn't affect how they feel Claire, if anything they only met BECAUSE of Macy being trafficked here for the modelling agency, they'd have never met otherwise and they Adore one another, oh that reminds me, Cat's working on a deal to present to the mayor to take over all properties formerly owned by the old modelling agency, is that going to be a problem for you guys" says Jade
"nah we've already got all the information we needed from the buildings, we took everything besides the clothes, I don't know if that affects its value or not" says Claire
"she'd also be looking to hire all the models, including the trafficked ones assuming you can keep them safe, even if it means going after the traffickers first" says Jade
"we were hoping someone would come along but we never imagined Cat Valentine would take the mantle, isn't her board of directors mostly men" says Claire
"yes it's mostly men but nearly half of them are gay, the rest have either bisexual, gay or trans kids or anything rainbow gender or sexuality, she happens to rank top three CEO in all of Europe, she'd be number one in America if this deal works out" says Jade
"well get going, we have hospital patients to apologize to" says Joel
2 hours later at Jade's house as Jade walks in with dinner
"oh hey Jade, it's short notice but Naomi's staying the night if that's ok" says Tori
"this house isn't as big as you think Tori, maybe let me know next time, I only brought enough food for us" says Jade putting the food on the counter
"I'm sorry but it was urgent, trust me I don't like this either, the bad gang from the neighborhood beside the village attacked the us, three girls died, the mayor put most of us in hotels until its sorted out by dad's coworkers, luckily I was at in and out burger when it happened, dad came and got me and dropped me off here, any luck with the feds" says Naomi
"oh my God I'm going to kill them" says Jade getting very angry
"whoa calm down Jade, unfortunately for the time being Naomi is our guest, no need to revert to the old Jade, that's the last thing your career needs, also you didn't answer Naomi's question about how things went with the feds" says Tori as Jade calms down
"it went great, they admitted mistakes were made in the process, apparently they wanted a frozen list of transactions and physical evidence to present at trial and the big LA FBI boss forgot about it after that exact neighbourhood gang started really causing problems, I'm going to be the dedicated intermediary between all the models involved, even the trafficked ones and the feds, they agreed to the financial monitoring proposal on the condition that people stay away from the county jail as that's where all the former modelling agency's employees, obviously excluding models are being held, which is why they did what they did, they were attempting to create a divide, stopping anyone from bailing the executives out pre trial but it was supposed to be reversed after all evidence was collected and financial transfer blocks started at the banks, which happened the same day, it wasn't supposed to last this long" says Jade
"did they give you a timeline, I'm really missing my house, my phone and laptop I could do without, I had beachfront property and I loved it" says Naomi
"no exact timeline given but I was promised it shouldn't take long, a week at most" says Jade
"any news on Cat opening up a headquarters here" asks Naomi satisfied with the information provided so far
"wait she's what, you better not be scheming behind my back Jade, you know I have feelings for her but I don't want her to see me like this, I'm completely defenseless, my vision is a tad better I can see things an inch from my face, the rest is extremely dark" says Tori
"she got the green light by the board of directors to open a headquarters here, at which point she'll be moving here assuming the mayor agrees with her price, I asked the feds if it would be a problem and they said no, they've already gotten all the evidence they need so her taking over the leases of the former agencies buildings won't be a problem for them legally, it all depends on the mayors approval of the price she's willing to pay" says Jade
"whatever you do don't let her see me like this, I know it's stupid but if I can't see her with my own eyes then I don't want her seeing me" says Tori
"the only reason she even considered the offer to meet with the mayor was because she'd get to see you, besides her motto is 'if you can't work with me at your worst, how can I work with you at your best', it's actually helped a lot of people" says Jade
"it doesn't matter, I was stupid enough to get into that car despite Trina begging me not to yesterday, I was hard headed and I need time to adapt, I'm not even certain that I'll ever truly get my vision back" says Tori
"the fact that you already have some of it back says it's probable that you'll get your vision back, we go back tomorrow for a checkup" says Jade
"I noticed you stopped pushing her about Cat, Cat's paying you isn't she" asks Naomi
"ok yes Cat is paying me but only in where it relates to Tori's safety, she's not paying me to lie to Tori, Tori wants to stay hidden for now then she will, Cat never asked me to force Tori to meet with her when she gets here" says Jade
"ugh why is everyone paying someone to keep tabs on me, I'm not insane, I don't need help, other than right now while I recover obviously but I don't need a babysitter" says Tori
"they're worried about you Tori, it's a good thing" says Jade
"fair but they're making it look like I'm insane and I've started actually feeling like I AM insane because of it, the label cancelled the audition interview because of the rumors, it's bad enough I was treated poorly at graduation by my peers, now I have NO career path, that label was the LAST in LA willing to interview me" says Tori
"you could always become an independent artist" says Naomi as Jade shakes her head, knowing it's a trigger point for Tori
"and where would I get the money from, I'm borrowing money from Trina as it is, I lost my job last month because I was 'too busy' to come into work, I was SICK, anyway I'm heading to bed" says Tori finding her way up the stairs to the guest bedroom
"I messed up didn't I, I thought I was helping" asks Naomi
"happens to everyone when they first meet Tori, when I first met her she'd accidentally spilt coffee on my then boyfriends shirt and she was naive enough to think that rubbing it with her elbow would help get it out, though at the time she thought he was hot, anyway I walked in and blew it, I yelled at her and considered her my enemy for most of high school, truth is I've always been jealous of her, I've had dreams about her but she's taken" says Jade
"I'm single" says Naomi
"what are you suggesting exactly" asks Jade
"I think you're cute" says Naomi blushing a little
"your dad didn't send you here did he, you asked to be here, I'm almost certain" says Jade
"I asked for the neighborhood because it's half an hour away from my home, assuming it wasn't sold off, how was I supposed to know your house was the only safe place for me in this area after what happened" says Naomi
"your dad knows better than to just drop someone off at my place without telling me, just because I run a de-trafficking ring doesn't mean he can just drop people off" says Jade
"wait you run a de-trafficking ring, what does that mean exactly and do the feds know" asks Naomi
"the feds do know yes, on occasion they'll send a confirmed trafficked kid my way to send home after they've delta with the traffickers in question, it's not an easy thing to pull off, the earthquake really messed things up, anyway I'm not allowed to discuss this with you" says Jade
"why because Macy rented two rooms of my house from me" asks Naomi
"no because you're not part of it, the fewer people who know means I can get these trafficked people home easier" says Jade
"oh, ok I think I'm going to go to bed so I'm not a burden" says Naomi as she lays down on the couch and slowly goes to sleep
The next day as Jade gets a call from Cat
"so I'm flying in today, any chance you could pick me up at LAX, I don't have any other connections in LA anymore for I don't know who else to ask" says Cat
"Tori's getting an update on her health today, we're at the hospital, it was decided that I'm the one keeping her safe until she recovers, depending on how long it takes I might not have a chance to pick you up, besides Tori's doesn't want you to see her in the state she's in so there's an issue there, Mr. Vega had a day off today so he could pick you up if I can't" says Jade
"I'd really rather not have the police chief pick me up from the airport, personally I'd rather sail as I have a solar powered boat but the board wants this deal done asap" says Cat
"honestly I'd rather you not fly in" says Jade
"I don't have a choice, I'm already in the air, do I need to divert to another airport or something" says Cat
"the tarmac at LAX was damaged during the quake so most flights were cancelled, they're slowly getting planes up in the air so they can repair it but most landings strips are closed, Burbank might take you if you announce to air traffic control the reason for the flight, they've been taking LAX traffic to speed up LAX repairs but they're the closest available airport" says Jade
"long Beach is closer" says Cat
"it was damaged and isn't operating to international air traffic at this time, besides we're closer to Burbank anyway, they're repairing roads in central LA thanks to the quake so no cops are working in that area and it's a skeleton crew anyway, did you hear if Italy ever got those trafficked people back that I sent back to their families" says Jade
"ugh fine Burbank it is and yes, however there's an Italian government official with me that wants to speak with you about the irregularity of the arrival times" says Cat
"if he's there now put him on the phone, for safety reasons I can't meet him directly in person" says Jade as Cat hands the phone to Rosella Ricci
"hi Jade its Rosella Ricci, we at the return home department were wondering if you had a schedule for the next trips home for the victims" says Rosella
"Rosie I don't control the timeline for the entire country, only the western coast, we have no choice but to stagger them for the victims safety, though they generally arrive around the same time, weather here might have affected the reunion flights in other areas, however this morning I did receive information about for lack of a better term 'shipment' of Italian trafficking victims being transferred from hurricane ravaged states to the LA area so I'll know by tomorrow night if Im cleared to get them on flights" says Jade
"I don't understand, the anti trafficking organization is one you yourself created, how can you not have any control over the flights" asks Rosella
"well you can't just ship a bunch of teens around the world legally so there's federal government cooperation between the organization and the airlines and unlike the human traffickers I don't make a profit off sending these teens back home, so far for the past two years I'm out over four million dollars, my plays are literally funding these reunion flights" says Jade
"do you at least have a projected timeline, the president wants to know so he can inform the families of their teens returns" says Rosella
"not off the top of my head, the department of world family reunited in Sacramento will have a clear idea of what's going on, I only get information that I need, it's safer that way" says Jade
"ok I guess I'm visiting Governor Mulroney then, I don't have an address for that department specifically" says Rosella
"few people do which is the point, it's the control center for all flights for the anti trafficking group, if word got out about where it located then the traffickers would raid it and find the location of their 'property' and kill to get them back, anonymity is important, I can give you the department phone number but they'll ask about twenty verification questions before giving you anything and they won't identify themselves" says Jade
"the president and prime ministers daughters were taken last month, he says someone in LA says they've seen them but won't say anything" says Rosella
"there aren't many Italian victims left in the greater LA area, wait a minute, I know someone that might know, can I call you back or I can tell Cat the information I get when you land" says Jade
"yeah I can wait if you find something, they don't sleep long since they left, it's nearly paralyzed the entire government, security services are protecting all government employees families and its extremely costly" says Rosella as she hangs up
10 minutes later in the hospital in Tori's room
"how's she doing Doc" asks Naomi as Jade enters behind her
"her vision is returning slowly however the fact that is returning is a good sign, though it could take a week or two to have functional vision again" says Doctor Greg Moore
"ok let us know when she's ready to go, Naomi I need to talk to you in private" says Jade
"why do I feel like this isn't you wanting to ask me out where Tori can't find out" asks Naomi
"time and place Naomi, there's a time and place for that, that's not important right now, hey doc any chance you can spare a room for twenty minutes, I'm willing to pay any price" says Jade
"unfortunately there aren't many free rooms, we're over capacity thanks to aftershocks of the quake however if it's that kind of discussion then my office is available free of charge, I'm working constant rounds anyway, at least until Tori arrived and will continue after she's released, which will be in half an hour, now go" says Doctor Moore
10 minutes later in Doctor Moore's office
"you wanted to get involved fine, I have a very important question to ask, do you know where Italy's president and Prime ministers daughters are, he received a report that someone knows they're in LA, there aren't many Italian trafficking victims left in this area but they seemed certain the reports were true, they were taken a month ago" says Jade as Naomi thinks it over
"that depends on who's looking for them" says Naomi
"so you HAVE seen them, the entire Italian government is in shambles, they've all hired security for them and their families, its costing the Italian government millions of dollars a week, the president and prime minister sent Rosella Ricci, the agent in Italy charged with managing the return of all trafficked teens" says Jade
"the thing is Bianca and Alessia are in love, their mothers forbade a relationship because it would be a political scandal for their fathers, they managed to negotiate to be allowed to stay together after saying they won't fight them if they were allowed to stay together, for being human trafficking victims they're actually given quite a bit of freedom, they've been avoiding the patrols designed to find them on purpose" says Naomi
"their families miss them" says Jade
"not their mothers I can guarantee you that, I met them I was little, their mothers are absolute extreme control freaks, if one eyelash was askew they were grounded, their mothers hated them, preferred their older and younger siblings" says Naomi
"I have to at least give Rosella proof of life" says Jade
"ugh fine but you can't allow Rosie to take them back by force, here's where they live" says Naomi writing down an address In Long Beach
"that address is too far away for you to have seen them recently Naomi" says Jade feeling like she's being lied to
"trust me they'll be there, the trafficker said he'd release them from his servitude for a hundred grand but he doesn't want them back in Rome unless its on Alessia and Bianca's terms" says Naomi
"that doesn't sound very human traffiky like, that sounds more like a family member telling you the ransom amount" says Jade
"trust me he's a trafficker, though mostly because he owes the local boss money, his heart really isn't in it which is why his approach is different, previously he would kidnap people for money locally in Italy but when he lost big on the slots he was forced to become a trafficker, he owes a hundred grand, honestly he's as trapped here as most trafficking victims" says Naomi
"so you've talked to him, that's dangerous" says Jade
"he's not a dangerous man, the ring doesn't care what he does with Bianca and Alessia so long as they're stuck in Long Beach, Macy wasn't even allowed to go to the beach, Macy was only allowed at modelling gigs, her girlfriends apartment and my house, the norm is restrictive, he gives Bianca and Alessia a fair bit of freedom, trust me, pay his debt and he'll flip" says Naomi
"I won't risk it without talking to him first, I don't just give money away, besides giving money to a criminal would make ME look like a criminal unless I knew for a fact that he really will flip" says Jade
"ugh I can set up a meeting, I don't like traffickers either but at least they're not sex trafficking teens, besides he's the only one I can stand" says Naomi
"we can consider dating After Tori gets better, Cat won't like it looking like I've stopped caring about the task she's given me" says Jade as Naomi tilts her head in confusion
"wait you're actually considering going on a date with me, I thought it wasn't allowed" says Naomi still in shock
"it was never not at the front of my mind Naomi, however people at risk always come first, I put people's lives ahead of my own happiness, at least since meeting Macy after graduation from Hollywood arts, I was quite selfish before that, not anymore, however you have proved yourself a good contact, besides you get your house back tomorrow and six months mortgage free, all models who own houses in the LA area, including as far away as Oxnard and Laguna Beach will get six months free mortgage as a way for the government to take ownership of the mistake, there were procedural failures everywhere thanks to this being a relatively rare issue that LA has never dealt with on this scale before and they had to coordinate with all states where victims were from to notify families where their children are, in the mess everyone involved assumed that the property and bank accounts would be returned once evidence had been collected and analyzed, unfortunately everyone assumed that someone else would pull that trigger resulting in nobody pulling that trigger" says Jade
"wait so they went through my house, that's a violation of my privacy" says Naomi
"the warrant they executed was only for home common areas, if they opened a door to a bedroom they immediately closed it, a judge overseeing the case got to decide if anything was suspicious enough to issue a warrant to search private areas, your room was spared but Macy gave permission to have her room searched for evidence as she knew there would be some there" says Jade
"Macy is very smart, smarter than people give her credit for, however you should know that there are ten international victims and they should be returned to their home countries" says Naomi
"eight will be returned once the trial is over, in the meantime they'll be given hotel rooms with internet access so they can contact their families, however two said their relationship with their families was quite bad and wished to not be returned, something about their sexuality not being accepted, they're being given citizenship as long as they promise to pay taxes, if they fail or skirt taxes they will be sent back, anyway Tori's probably ready to be discharged now and she's probably hungry, you should probably stay in my room tonight and I'll sleep on the couch" says Jade
"I'd rather sleep in the bed with you" says Naomi as they head back to Tori's hospital room
"hey Doc is Tori cleared to go yet" asks Jade
"yes but be warned as her vision returns, her depth perception will be completely off for about a week" says Doctor Moore
"she wears glasses and contacts Doc, depth perception is the least of her problems" says Naomi as Tori gets wheeled out of the hospital room to met them
"I heard that" says Tori
"hey sis would you be angry if I dated Jade" asks Naomi
"God no, you deserve to be happy just like everyone else" says Tori as Naomi wheels her towards the exit
"the problem is the walls aren't exactly sound proofed properly and I get the feeling Naomi isn't the take it slow type" says Jade
"I put sound deadening ear plugs in every night anyway, LA is just too noisy these days, if anything happens I probably won't hear anything anyway so go ham" says Tori
"you hungry sis" asks Naomi
"I am actually and in craving sushi" says Tori
"ooh I don't know if I like that, does the place you're thinking of have other options" says Naomi
"I'll get you something after she eats babe, with the meds Tori's on she needs to eat" says Jade immediately switching Into girlfriend language with Naomi
"….. Ok that was a bit much Jade, calm that language down, I'm not comfortable with PDA, even verbally, in private is one thing but in public is a big no for me, I don't like people staring at me" says Naomi
"but you're a model, I thought you'd be ok with people staring at you" says Tori surprised Naomi is so insecure
"when I'm working its because of the things I'm wearing, outside of work I prefer privacy, there's a reason few people know where I live" says Naomi
"that's actually a good point, sorry Naomi, I'm not used to the other part of a relationship being insecure, I'm usually the one who is insecure" says Jade
"eh with time maybe I'll be okay with that but my relationships have never really been a consistent feature in my life, people date me then find out I'm autistic and break up with me, the shortest relationship I've had was three hours" says Naomi as they exit the hospital
