Page 20 of Liberating Mallory

Looking into the bathroom, she saw there was no mirror. The shadow on the wall shows that one had been in there, but it looks like it had been taken out, possibly recently. These assholes weren’t taking any chances with her. What they didn’t know, even without shards from a broken mirror, she could still find a weapon in even the most mundane of things. Fuck MacGyver, just become a US fucking Marine and you learn that shit.

The cot was void of any sheets or blankets. They didn’t give a shit if she froze or caught anything from the mattress. Although she should be grateful that she was chained to the bed legs, which were bolted to the ground. The marks there looked to be new, like before she was put into the room new. The room was literally bare, besides the cot and the bathroom.

She did have a small window, at least it wasn’t too small she couldn’t climb out of. The windowpanes were nailed into the sides so she couldn’t even lift it if she wanted to. They were determined to keep her in this room, at their mercy. Fuck that shit, she was getting out of here, come hell or high water, once she knew where the fuck she was.

Looking out the window, she saw nothing but trees and more trees. So that didn’t really help her with telling her where she was. Her gut told her she was still in Colorado, but she wasn’t a hundred precent sure, so she would have to bide her time before she attempted to escape. Make those losers think she was weak and nobody important.

Kevin knew she was in the Marines, but he wasn’t aware of what she did exactly. Everyone believed she was in administration or supply, any non-combat role with the Marines. She knew if her parents or uncle knew what she really did in the Marines, they would worry worse than they already did with her being stationed San Diego and constantly be calling to check in with her.

Mallory knew she had issues in the aftermath of her ordeal with the Greenly’s, which pushed her to join the Marines. She refused to be a victim again. She just assumed it was her decision to go forth with the joining the military, following in her father and uncle’s path. She went through counseling after the ordeal, but she didn’t really take it seriously. It wasn’t until she’d been stationed in San Diego and started hanging around with Opie and the group he hung out with that she finally had a name, PTSD aka post-traumatic stress disorder. The counselor she had seen here in Colorado never even gave her that name, just said it was an ordeal and if she talked about it, it would help her overcome her issues.

While she wasn’t a danger to herself or those around her, her PTSD forced her to overcompensate her training. She forced herself to be the best at what she was. Always made sure she had the proper information, she was able to defend herself, knew how to handle her vehicle if something went wrong, and last, the most important thing for her, how to survive in the wilderness with next to nothing.

Her team helped her with what she wanted to learn and didn’t treat her like a damsel in distress. They pushed her, treated her like one of the guys and never made her feel like she was hindering them in their tasks. It was during a conversation with Alpha Squad, the all-female team that went after human traffickers, that she realized what her problem was. They made her confront her fears and did it in a way that didn’t destroy her. They didn’t talk down to her, belittle her experience or lay fault at her feet because she was out alone taking photos in the woods.

They took her to the range, took her with them to the safe houses they created for the survivors of human trafficking that they had rescued, even introduced her to some of the survivors she still kept in touch with to this day. She recognized herself in some of the victims. Oh, she hadn’t been raped or drugged like they had, she just had the constant threat of it. The team had even introduced her to a counselor that the team even used themselves and still speak with, one that was sanctioned and paid for by the government for US military, but she specialized in human trafficking counseling as well as PTSD counseling.

They treated her like a human. That went a long way in her mind. They treated her as an equal, which said something to her and her teammates. Opie respected these women after what they had done for him. Clearing him of the murder of his mother and older brother. The team also found his older sister who had been missing for years, after having been sold into human trafficking. They kept in touch with Opie and with the family in general to check in on his sister, Cassie. Alpha Squad genuinely cared.

Her thoughts on Alpha Squad and the things they taught her, she automatically thought of Opie. What was he doing right now? Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Would he know anything was wrong right now? If he did, was he searching for her? Did he bring the team in?

Mallory’s mind raced with the ‘what if’s’ and the ‘should haves’. She was entitled to a little pity part at the moment, but once she got over that, she was getting her ass out of the stink she was in and getting back to civilization. She knew before she did anything, she needed to get some answers so she could give it to the police when she saw them. Mallory kept looking around for anything to use. Whoever had her was good. But she was determined to be better.

Mallory jumped when she heard a noise coming from the other room just before the raised voices sounded. Laying back on the bed, she turned her body to face the wall so that if they came into the room, they couldn’t see that she was awake just yet. Her heart sank when she heard Kevin’s voice amongst the raised voices. She knew he had a hard time with her decision to join the Marines, ending their relationship because he felt she needed to stay home and let him take care of her. Something she’d always had a problem with.

Kevin had stalked her for a good while after she had left for basic. Even showing up at her basic training graduation in Parris Island, South Carolina with her parents and uncle, letting them think they were still together. He really started escalating when she told her parents and uncle, in front of him that they were no longer together and hadn’t been for a while. Because of that, she had requested to be stationed in Jacksonville, NC for the next couple of years. Kevin had showed up at the base several times, causing a scene until she had asked her commanding officer for permission to transfer to San Diego and be assigned to one of the Recon teams out there.

When Mallory transferred to San Diego, she didn’t tell her parents so that Kevin wouldn’t find out. She felt bad when her uncle was the one to find out about the transfer when they had run into each other one day while he was in town on vacation visiting some old military buddies of his. Mallory still remembered the conversation that went down that day. She hated it, but her uncle had understood why. Which is how her parents and now Kevin had found out.

Luckily for her, she hadn’t just gotten transferred to the Spec Ops team she was assigned to a couple of months before, so when Kevin showed up at the bar she was at with her team, they had her back, running Kevin off. Mallory was kicking herself for thinking Kevin had finally got the hint. She had to find a way to get out of here, no matter what.

She was due back in California day after tomorrow. Would Opie even realize she was missing? Would her parents have called him looking for her when she didn’t show back up after she and her mother had gotten into an argument over Kevin? So many what if’s, maybes, or mind wandering traps. She had to get her wits about her and figure out what to do. Making a plan, she closed her eyes as the noise got closer to her door.

13

“How would Barnes get connected to Hussein? They run in different circles.” Knight questioned, looking at the board Diesel set up trying to connect the dots.

Everyone had returned to the sheriff’s department after they had dealt with Rodney and needed to work on their theories of the whole situation. They had all gathered in the conference room that the sheriff had assigned to them.

“From what intel shows, once daddy Hussein got hung, all his contacts pretty much ran dry. No one wanted anything to do with the kid of a dead dictator, especially one that didn’t have his daddy’s money, that is.” Cortez said, looking at her notes.

“Hussein Jr didn’t inherit any of his father’s money. When Sr was captured, then hung for his crimes, everything went to his first wife who was considered the head wife. Remember, the other ‘wives’ were only speculation. There was no proof, other than the statements made, that he had married more than one woman.” Jordyn reminded everyone in the room.

“Long story short…” Pratt started before looking over at Carter who nodded after a few seconds. “Because of the stigma he got for being the illegitimate son of a dead dictator, he came to the US, who really made his life a living hell because of his last name, he went on and somehow got involved with the cartel. Which baffles me, since the cartel usually doesn’t do much work with outsiders, especially since they think everyone is a fed of some kind in their book, if they didn’t know you. Now he uses what contacts he’s got from daddy’s underground world with them. He’s made a pretty good living from what we’ve been able to find so far.”

“That explains Hussein, but not Barnes.” Abbot said, also looking at the board, siding with Knight.

“Though the cartel. Barnes’s son works with the cartel…well he did before we took him out. The son was at the warehouse we had raided. They were setting up for an auction to sell a few of the women. Bainfort Jr and Hussein were both part of the same cartel. Hussein wasn’t there, but baby Bainfort was.” Sgt. Brocard explained to Abbott, Knight, Brody, Carter and Jordyn.

“Didn’t the sheriff say that Bainfort is from here? Like born and raised from here? This town is what most constitutes as a small town. Not like anyone who looks like Hussein, or, someone from the Sinaloa Cartel can just waltz into town. These people would notice, especially who they are with from this town.” Diesel voiced out, scratching the back of her neck.

“She’s right. Small towns are hard to just pop-up in.” Pratt agreed. “We need to do a deeper dive on poppa Bainfort and Jr even though he’s gone. If they were born and raised here, it doesn’t explain how they got hooked up with Hussein or the cartel.”

“I’ll do that once we get back to the hotel.” Brody acknowledged. “Let’s get you and Raso off your feet. You sure you’re having Braxton Hicks?”

At that question, everyone glanced at Pratty who was rubbing her back and sides, swaying. Pratt had her eyes closed when she had made her last statement, so she wasn’t aware of everyone staring at her.

“Red?” Carter asked, moving closer to her.

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