Page 67 of Operation: Discovery

“What if you don’t?” Connor leaned against his desk and looked Brendon directly in the eyes. “You and I both know that every single guy here, with the exception of Eric, is trained for this kind of thing. We know how to get people out of attack situations. So, are you with us or not?”

The decision wasn’t that easy. “I’ll go, but don’t you dare slow down for me. Don’t you dare cover me. You go in there without a moment’s hesitation and do what needs to be done. I will cover myself. If nothing goes wrong and I’m there when we find her, that’s great. If not, all I care about is her safety. I don’t need glory.”

Connor came around the desk and gripped his shoulder tightly. “No, but be there just in case.”

Brendon first headed for his office to get his gun that he kept locked in his safe, then followed Connor. He wished he’d been better suited to the braces to have use of his hands. Maybe he would’ve tried them more if he’d lost his legs completely and had a prosthetic option, but doctors didn’t remove legs that they didn’t have to, and he didn’t want them to now.

Sam, Edwyn, and Teddy stood beside their trucks, waiting.

“What took you so long? We got the text five minutes ago.” Teddy glanced at his watch. “We’re burning daylight.”

“We aren’t burning anything,” Connor said. “Who wants to lead?”

“I will,” Brendon answered, knowing he might not get to lead them on the mission to find Dee, but he could lead them in prayer. “Father, we ask for your guidance and strength for the coming mission. We ask that you return our loved one safely to us and if there are others there to be saved, that you would lead us into rescuing them as well.

“Watch over us. Be a hedge of protection around us and let us be warriors for your cause. Amen.” He laid his hand on the pistol he rarely wore anymore and prayed that if he had to use it the aim would be true. He didn’t want to have to kill anyone, but he didn’t want to be just another victim, either.

They took three trucks with Sam and Edwyn in one, Teddy in another, and Brendon and Connor in the third. No one said as much, but he knew they were hoping that empty spot in Teddy’s truck would be filled with Dee on the way home.

Connor opened his phone and handed it to Brendon. “I think I know where this place is, but I honestly haven’t been out that way in over a decade. You’ll need to be my navigator since I’m in the lead and everyone is following.”

Brendon took the phone, only then realizing that they weren’t more than twenty minutes away. “If she’s here, she’s so close. It’s hard to believe that this could be happening right in our backyard.”

“Agreed.” Connor clenched his jaw, then glanced at Brendon. “Look, we need to say what no one wants to say. We need to because I need you prepared for the worst.”

“I know,” Brendon choked on the words. The fact was, Dee had been gone for most of the day. Evening was approaching very quickly and that would make what they’d planned to do even harder. Not only that, with the time between when she’d been taken and now, anything could’ve happened to her. “We might be retrieving a body.” He swallowed the bile that threatened to burn his throat.

“I’m glad you’ve thought ahead. I pray that she’s safe and sound, but we both know that traffickers don’t wait to ruin lives. They do what they want, when they want.”

He wasn’t even sure this was trafficking. There were some similarities, but other aspects were not. Why did they keep seeing the same few people? Why hadn’t they just shot Dee when she chased after Ramona, that nurse, like Nixon had said? The evidence felt off the mark.

“Do you think this is trafficking, or am I wrong in thinking this feels different?”

Connor took a moment to think. “I’m not sure. I mean, they don’t usually go out of their way to kidnap someone. There are enough people to prey on that they don’t have to. So, in that way, this is very odd and outside of normal.”

“Right. Even the blood drive was strange. Usually, in larger cities, there are handmade signs meant to trick people into coming to out-of-the-way places or calling numbers for help, but they don’t go through the trouble of making it reality.”

Connor nodded. “I see what you’re saying. But on the other hand, they were casing Moira’s neighborhood. The house is owned by a known trafficker. And they were going after kids.” He held up his fingers with each statement.

“All true.” He couldn’t put his finger on why he wasn’t sure, or if it even mattered. Once Nixon caught whoever was in charge, they’d go to jail and the investigators could sort it all out.

“Turn here.” Brendon pointed down an old, paved road that had seen little repair. The houses on either side of the road looked older, as if they’d been built in the thirties or forties and hadn’t been kept up. Some had siding falling off, paint so chipped the gray wood showed through, and some even had broken windows.

“This is quite the neighborhood.” Connor glanced around. “Funny, I don’t remember it being like this when I was a kid.”

“That’s because when you were a kid, they were new.” Brendon snorted as Connor backhanded him.

“I’m glad you can still joke, but I also know that it’s part of how you deal with stress, so I won’t push your chair over for that when we get there.” He turned into an ancient parking lot with weeds pushing up through cracks in the pavement.

“Look,” Brendon said, pointing to the front of the warehouse. “Those are the same two black cars I see every time something happens. I think we’re in the right place.”

“Hope so. We don’t have any other leads, and the clock is ticking.” He glanced around. “I don’t see Nixon yet, but I don’t want to wait.”

Brendon opened the door but knew he couldn’t get out until Connor got his chair from the back. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

Connor laughed as he grabbed his phone off the dash where Brendon had left it and started tapping on the screen. He came around the back of the truck and lifted Brendon’s chair out, leaving it just where it needed to be for the transfer.

“Nixon, where are you?” Connor said into his phone. He frowned and adjusted his hat. “Can’t?” Connor leaned on his hip, obviously unhappy. “I’ve got five of us and we’re ready to go in if you give the okay.” He mumbled an acceptance and ended the call. “Let’s move out.”

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