Page 39 of Gabe

“So, you think they want to… what, find expecting mothers to kidnap instead of kids? Why? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but why wait months for a kid to be born when you can steal one that’s already born?”

When I looked up from the phone back at Gabe, I found him studying the sky with deep stress lines etched on his face. Taking off his glasses and storing them in his pocket, he rubbed tiredly at his eyes.

“Because stealing one kid gets you one kid. However, if you kidnap a pregnant woman that you already know is fertile, then you could have access to a lot more kids in the future.”

“You mean, like…”

My brain came to a shuddering stop as a single image filled my mind. I could see it so clearly, some young faceless woman imprisoned in a cell and forced to pop out kid after kid as sacrifices to the sick desires of her captors.

Bile rose in the back of my throat.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

Darting into an alley between two buildings, I braced my hands against the wall as I dry heaved. I didn’t actually throw up, thankfully, but it was a close call.

When I was finally able to breathe properly, I realized Gabe was rubbing my back.

“I’m all right.”

He passed me a water bottle. Where he’d gotten it, I had no idea, but I was too thirsty to care.

Maybe I’d been out of it longer than I thought for him to have time to buy it and come back.

I chugged half the bottle in one go, then slowly sipped on the other half as I waited for Gabe to say something. He never commented on my reaction, just silently watched the street and the people coming and going from the charity booth.

“You have a pensive look on your face,” I eventually said once I’d finished the bottle and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. “What’re you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I’d really like to see the list of everyone who works for this so-called charity. And a list of the women who have applied for their services, while we’re at it. See that van over there?” He nodded to a van parked in another alley on the other side of the street. “While we’ve been standing here, I’ve seen some people working the charity booth drop things off in there. Including the sheets where they write people’s names down.”

Thinking back to the fake name I gave Ozias, I realized he had written everything down with a pen and paper. I’d been too focused on other things to notice, but once I thought about it, I realized how odd that was. In the modern digital age, a pen and paper were usually a backup option, not the primary plan for keeping important information.

“Digital paper trails are harder to get rid of than literal ones,” I suggested. “Maybe this is their way of ensuring that they can easily get rid of evidence if necessary.”

“My thoughts exactly. If we could get into that van, we might be able to get our hands on some of those lists.”

I studied the street. It was too crowded to break into the van without being seen.

A smile spread over my face, and I looked up at Gabe.

“Hey, Gabe. Can you create a distraction?”

CHAPTER 15

Frankie

I stood in an alley behind the office for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and peered around the corner at the van. No one was around it at the moment, but it sat right at the mouth of the alley. There was no way for me to get closer without being seen.

Instead, I stood waiting, and ducked back around the corner every time it looked like someone might be coming near the van.

About five minutes later, a car alarm started wailing. This wasn’t unusual in a big city, but then another went off, and then another. Soon, at least a dozen cars that had been parked along the side of the road were all screaming in unison. I couldn’t see the cars, but I could see the people on the street all stopping to stare in the same direction.

Specifically, everyone was looking in the opposite direction of the van.

This was my chance.

As quickly as I could, I crept closer to the van, and pulled out the pieces of wire I’d acquired earlier. Just like I had with the pharmacy when I needed to get medicine for Gabe, my fingers easily remembered how to maneuver the wire in the lock. The latch on the vehicle was even easier than the door to the pharmacy, and with only a few seconds of effort the back of the van was open for me.

Those car alarms weren’t going to last long, so I didn’t waste time and immediately started searching through the van. It was full of supplies, but most of it was innocuous. Stacks of printed flyers, all bearing the Senator’s face. A tent to put over the booth, presumably to keep it dry if the weather turned and it decided to rain. There was even a box of streamers and balloons that someone must have decided at the last minute was too juvenile and was excluded from the charity booth’s decorations.

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