Page 3 of Liberating Mallory

“Dayummm, lookie what we have here partner.” A man laughed as he got out of the passenger side of a beat-up old Toyota Corolla.

“You alright ma’am? A pretty thing like you shouldn’t be out here all alone.” The second man asked as he got out of the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“No worries, boys. I’m alright and there is nothing wrong. Heading home now.” Mallory said, feeling uneasy about the two men. Ignoring them walking towards her, she got into her truck and drove off. Thanking the good Lord, she didn’t have to back out of the spot.

3

Opie laughed as Marcus MacLeod rolled his eyes at the scene playing out before them. Both men watched from their seats on the beach as one of their teammates flirted, badly, with a chick in a bikini that was too small for the woman’s body. Both men burst into heavy laughter when the guy was shot down with the “I’m gay” let down.

“He’ll never learn!” Marcus choked out in between laughter.

“That pick-up line is older than my grandfather!” Opie commented, shaking his head as he laughed along with Marcus.

Opie reached for his phone as the other members of their team started ragging their teammate about his bad pick-up lines. “Russell”

“Is Mallory there?” A woman’s voice asked softly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am? She’s out of town visiting her family. May I ask who this is?” Opie asked in confusion, looking over at Marcus.

“Oh, this is her mother. I thought she went home after our argument last night.” The woman sighed into the phone sadly. “She stormed out, she’s not answering her phone. She’s been gone since yesterday evening. We haven’t seen or heard from her since then.”

“You said she’s been gone since last night?” Opie asked, standing up abruptly, causing his team to stand and focus on him.

“Yes. So, …” The woman on the phone got quiet.

“Ma’am?” Opie asked, causing his team to step closer.

“Hello?” A male voice came on the line, sounding like he was walking with the phone in hand.

“Yes sir, this is Russell…”

“Sorry, son, this is Charles Hart, Mallory’s dad. Her mother handed me the phone. I know she didn’t go home to California. I need your help to contact her commanding officer. Mallory is missing. A sheriff’s deputy…” Charles Hart started but stopped to take a deep breath. “A sheriff’s deputy found my daughter’s truck on the side of the road an hour ago. Mallory hasn’t been located yet.”

Opie saw Marcus grab his phone at the same time his team leader, Jepson, grabbed his phone. “Sir, my team leader is with me. He’s making the call now for you. I’ll call you back once I have my flight infor…”

“Now son, there’s no reason…”

“Sir, with all due respect, Mallory is my girlfriend, the woman I love, the woman I plan on asking your permission to marry, if she’ll have me. My future is missing and I’m not about to sit on my ass here in sunny California. Mallory needs me and I’m coming out there, with or without your permission. Sir!”

When the man on the other end remained quiet for several minutes, Opie was afraid he overstepped his bounds with Mallory’s father.

“Call with your flight information. Her uncle and I will be at the airport to pick you up.”

Opie hung up his phone and looked over at his team. “Mallory is M.I.A. Her phone and personal things are still at her parent’s house. Her dad says her truck was found on the side of the road. Mallory wasn’t there. That’s all they have told me.”

“You’re cleared to go to Colorado. We have you covered here.” Jepson told Opie, nodding at him. “If you need us, let us know. Mallory is family.”

“Lindsey and the rest of Alpha Squad are meeting you at the airport in an hour. They borrowed a private plane from someone they know…” Marcus advised Opie, putting his phone away.

“Dude! Lindsey and Laura are like heavy preggo…” Opie started to say before Marcus put his hand up to stop him.

“And still working. They know what they can and can’t do. I trust them. They also didn’t let me finish letting them know what was going on. Mallory is family to them as well. Get home so you can grab your go bag and meet them at the airport.”

Exactly one hour later, Opie stood in front of the seven women that made up Riverton County Sheriff’s Department, Human Trafficking Task Force, Alpha Squad. Opie looked at each woman individually. While the women were different in the looks department, they were the same in other ways. They were all wearing black bdu style pants with black combat boots, black t-shirts that had their last names over the left breast side with an embroidered badge on their right breast side. Each female had their hair up in either a ponytail or a messy bun with their dark sunglasses covering their eyes. Each woman carried a black duffel bag in one hand and their matching black tactical vests, fully loaded in their other hand.

Laura ‘Red’ Pratt and Lindsey ‘Ice’ Raso watched Opie approach, no expressions on their faces. Opie walked right up to them, glaring at them carrying their duffels. “Don’t make me call your C.O. and tell him that despite finding Mallory alive and well, your ass was already in a body bag before we even left the state of California.” Pratt remarked, an eyebrow quirked on a dare.

Shaking his head, Opie shouldered his bag then grabbed both Laura and Lindsey’s bags out of their hands. “Sorry, I’m more afraid of your husbands than I am of you two right now, Waddles One and Two.”

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