Niall (Vigilance 2)

“Yes, sir.” He sounded so sincere. Would he ever speak to me like that when we weren’t acting?

Only in my fantasies.

What Niall would really be doing in our room was making sure the listening device I was wearing was on and recording what Arlington and the others told me. I hoped they wouldn’t dance around the subject. We needed them to come right out and say they were kidnapping, grooming, and selling teens and young adults.

I followed Arlington, Compton, and Orly to a richly decorated meeting room with a dark wood table and eight burgundy leather chairs.

“Brandy?” Arlington offered.

I accepted as did the others.

“Will Walsh be joining us?” I asked.

“Possibly.”

“He’s probably in bed with his little twink.” Orly said.

Compton scoffed. “No matter. He’s hardly the brains of the operation.”

“His contribution is purely financial.” Orly’s sneer was still firmly in place. “We don’t bother him with business details.”

“Are there other partners who couldn’t be here?”

They all looked at each other, obviously reluctant to answer. Finally, Arlington responded. “We have another partner, though he insists on remaining anonymous for now.”

“Oooh. Some intrigue.” It had to be Swain. Hopefully someone would name him later. “Is it someone I know?”

“Someone everyone knows,” Arlington said.

Compton scowled at him. “There’s no reason to reveal anything about him.”

“If it’s someone famous, I can see why he would need to use extra discretion, but I don’t work with people I don’t know. I’m going to need to meet him before making a firm commitment.”

“If this week goes well, we can consider that,” Arlington said.

“I hope so because I don’t want to waste my time. I have a lot of rebuilding to do, so if I’m going to take part in this, I need to make a decision quickly, and I need to know all the players.”

Orly snarled. “We’re inviting you in on this. You don’t get to dictate terms.”

“If I don’t know all the facts, I’m not agreeing to anything.”

Compton sighed. “I’ll speak with our other partner. Possibly at the end of the week he’ll be ready to talk to you.”

“Not if this attitude continues,” Orly said.

Arlington gave him a sharp look, and I snarled. “You’re asking for a hell of a lot here, and you’re not making me feel very wanted.”

“We’re doing you a favor,” Compton said.

Arlington raised his hands. “Let’s all settle down.”

Compton drew himself up and put his smile back in place. “I’m going to go over the basics, so listen carefully.”

I returned his smile, mine no more sincere. “I always do.”

“Before we get started, you need to understand we take loyalty and discretion very seriously. Repeat any of this to anyone, and you won’t be around to do your rebuilding.”

“I didn’t come here to be threatened. I came here to potentially do business.”

“You don’t seem to comprehend the delicacy of this operation.”

“Tell me more about it, and I might. Is it true you’re training”—I paused giving Compton a pointed look—“companions for men to purchase?”

“That is one of our operations.”

“Where do these assets come from?”

“We make sure no one is looking for them.”

“So the streets?”

“Mostly. Also immigrants with no papers or other people who can’t be tracked.”

“And you’ve found a steady supply?”

“We sometimes need to offer incentives to get people in.”

“Incentives?”

“Promises of work, a place to live, food. Surely a man in your line of work knows there’s an endless supply of desperate people.”

“I do, but is this still a lucrative business when you have to house, feed, and train your merchandise? Not to mention the cost of transportation,”

“We only provide minimal necessities for them.”

Rage filled me as I imagined the horrid living conditions they likely forced these men and women into.

“And much of the training is done for free,” Orly said. “It’s a bonus for our other employees.”

Bile rose in my throat as I imagined the trafficking victims being given over to men employed as muscle.

“You aren’t aiming for a refined product?”

“We provide a variety of options to our customers,” Compton said. “Those who require more advanced training pay more.”

“I see.”

“Trust me.” Arlington clapped me on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t be part of this of it weren’t profitable.”

“Yet you need my money?”

“We want to expand, which we do by bringing in more investors. Surely you understand that.” Orly’s tone said he was disgusted by my ignorance.

“I pay people to take care of those details for me.”

“Basic business isn’t—”

“Enough.” That was the first time I’d heard Arlington raise his voice. “What other questions do you have?”

“Lots, but let’s start with the level of contribution you expect and the benefits I will receive.”

They went over the financial information. I’d been expecting large numbers, but the contribution they wanted as well as the expected proceeds made me think the operation was even larger than we’d guessed.

“Are all the assets housed in Boston?”

Arlington shook his head. “We have a few other locations.”