The Squad

He sent me everything as soon as he got it, and together we started to put a picture together. The only reason we caught a break is because, in the beginning, the assholes weren’t as careful as they had been in later years. Because no one was watching and the world hadn’t been as up in arms about child sex trafficking as they are now, it was like a free for all.

“You think our perp is part of this first batch?”

“Taking age into consideration, he or she should be in the first five years or so. Most of the kids were taken at the age of five, no older than eight or nine. So let’s say our perp was taken between those ages, then he or she would be between twenty and twenty-five by now give or take.”

“They might not be in that batch, but we’ve gotta start somewhere.”

“Damn!” I rubbed my gut, where a twisted knot of pain started.

“What?” Track looked at me interestedly.

“I just thought of what happens to them when they age out when they’re no longer suitable for the taste of these twisted fucks.”

“Oh, that’s easy. They sell them on the streets or to brothels all over the world.”

“Oh, so you know about that.”

“You can’t do this with Mancini for any length of time and not know these things. It took me a while to get used to seeing this shit. I just barely started sleeping through the night again. But bringing one home makes it all worth it.”

“I hear you.”

“I’m sending you something now; you might want to share with Mancini and the gang. I gotta go, we’ll pick this back up tomorrow my girl is getting antsy.” There was a tone in his voice when he mentioned her, something that made me feel just a little bit wistful.

I’d made up my mind a long time ago, because of the blood on my hands, that love and family just isn’t for me. I knew not long after I took out my old man. Not only that, I still have no idea what he was, what I’d seen him become. It could’ve been a trick of my imagination that one time, but I’m not taking any chances, just in case...

Just as I started to put it away, there was a shadow in the doorway. I looked up to see Mancini standing there. I didn’t even hear him approach. “How did it go, kid?” I’m pretty sure he’s not that much older than I am, but okay. He does have me beat with experience alone.

“It went fine. I guess I can see why you put us together.”

“He eliminates a lot of the guesswork, doesn’t he?” He walked into the room, and I looked at him, really looked at him. He looked tired like he’d gone a few rounds up there, which I can only imagine he did. Things had been getting really sticky when I left. I wanted to ask about all that but knew Gideon would tell me later.

“Did you just come to see where I’m at?” I got the feeling he had something to say that had nothing to do with this, and I started to get that itch between my shoulder blades. Then the way he just looked at me as if trying to find the right words only exacerbated that feeling.

“No, I wanted to talk to you about your dad.” That quick, my back went up. What the fuck does this guy know about him? He held up his hand as if reading my mind.

“Don’t panic, you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t one of us no matter who your brother is. In case you missed it up there, you’re all my responsibility, at least for the next year.” He smirked at that.

“I take my responsibility very seriously and have no intentions of losing any of you for any reason. There’s just some stuff I need to tell you, that’s all.”

“I know what you know of your dad, or what you think you know, but there’s more to it than what it seems. You’re not like him; you don’t need to fear that…”

“How did you…?”

“How did I know that you’re afraid of that, of becoming just like him? Your life patterns. You can tell a lot about a person by the things they do. You get lost in this kind of work because you think it’s all you have to offer. You’re afraid of getting too close to anyone, of forming attachments of the romantic kind because you’re not sure if you have some of what he was inside of you.”

“And what was he?” It’s the first time I’d asked anyone that question. Gideon had brought it up once a long time ago, but I’d freaked so bad he’d never mentioned it again. Ash doesn’t know about it, though her dad had had concrete evidence of it. Gideon has the footage hidden somewhere, and just the thought of it makes my skin crawl.