Page 9 of Never Without You
The next morning, the moment I walk into theoffice, I feel it. The air is thick with tension, and Skip iscoming straight at me like a fucking freight train.
“Conference room,” he barks out. “Now.”
I don’t even bother taking off my jacket. I’mon his heels, and we’re moving at a brisk clip. Rashad’s insidepacing with his head down and his phone pressed against his ear. Heglances up when he sees us and shakes his head at Skip.
“Fuck.” Skip’s hands ball into tightfists.
Within minutes the whole team is in the roomand no one is sitting. While Rashad lays his phone on theconference room table, Skip closes the door.
Rashad launches right in. “Last night twofemale BU students were roofied. One collapsed where she stood, theother was dragged out of the nightclub where they’d been partying.Thank fuck the club has a bouncer on the door in the alley. He sawwhat was going down, grabbed one of the guys who turned around andclocked him, and then ran down the alley. The bouncer, yelling thewhole time, went after the other two guys who had the girl by botharms. They were dragging her toward a car parked near the entranceto the alley. When the bouncer got close enough to wrap a handaround her arm, they dropped her, got in the car, and tookoff.”
Rashad shakes his head, pulls in a deepbreath, and looks around the room. Not one man has moved. Theirbodies, like mine, are on alert as they wait for bad to turnworse.
“Both girls are at Mass Gen. The one from thealley, Sky Halpern, age nineteen, has contusions on her arms andlegs, and she had to have a gash in her knee stitched up.”
“Fuck.”
“Goddamn it.”
“Muthafuckas.”
“She’s gonna be at the hospital for a coupleof days at least.” Rashad looks around the room and I can feel thewarning emanating off him. The briefing is about to go ballistic.“The one who collapsed in the club, Jessica Impertelli, agenineteen, had a heart attack and is in ICU.”
“Those fuckers double dosed,” I say at thesame time the rest of the team looks like they want to killsomeone, and fast.
“They double dosed,” Rashad confirms.
“Cameras?”
“They have to have vid.”
“The bouncer? He ID any of them?”
“These our guys?”
The questions come rapid fire and Rashadholds up one hand, palm out. “There’s video, and it’s beinganalyzed – too dark to see anything without enhancements. They knewwhere the cameras were and knocked out the exterior lighting, whichthe bouncer reported to his boss when he took up his post.”
Skip says, “The bouncer gave a pretty gooddescription of the guy who clocked him. When he’d grabbed him, theguy said something in a language the bouncer thinks is Russian.While he didn’t get a good look at the other two, he did rememberthe car’s make and model, and two numbers on the Massachusettslicense plate. We’re running all that now.”
“In about ten minutes,” all heads turn backto Rashad, “two members of the Boston PD who are on our jointterrorism task force will be joining us. We’re going to bring themup to speed on what we have on the LebedevskyBratva,andthe Russians at BU. From the likeness we’ve roughed out, it appearsthe bouncer described one of the guys from the BU dorm crew.”
If I could’ve taken the temperature of theroom at that moment, I’d bet we are near boiling.
“Read the police reports.” Rustling soundsthrough the room as the team takes their seats and pull out theiriPads. Fernando and Cam leave, probably to get their tablets.“They’re comprehensive but evolving. Sky was able to give apreliminary statement and she remembers more than is usual in thesetypes of cases.”
Rashad stops talking and everyone is focusedon him. “The Russian crew fucked up last night and tipped theirhand. Now we know why they’re here. Human trafficking is a big partof the LebedevskyBratva’s business. No doubt the guys whowere involved will disappear. We need to get eyes on the remainingcrew. My guess, they’ve already decamped from BU, but they’re notleaving. We’re going to find these fuckers. They’re not going totouch one more girl. You with me?”
Every head in the room nodded while every jawmuscle jumped in exceptionally determined faces.
Dutchford, Connecticut
Theresa
Go with the Feeling
My teeth hurt from the yummy sweetness of mycafe s?a dá.I took another sip while waiting for my friendSofia in a small, unadorned, but traditional Vietnamese restaurantin Boston’s Back Bay. One of my foodie friends recommended theplace, and she was never wrong about great restaurants.
Remember the shifting characterization Imentioned when this tale began? Sofia is it. Initially, she was apatient. Circumstances changed when, during one of our sessions,her ex-boyfriend busted into my office and tried to shoot her. Itook the bullet instead. After the shooting, she moved overseas fora few months. About a year ago, when she came back to Connecticut,we reconnected and became friends.
