Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Torpedo Ink had one newly patched member, Fatei “Rock” Molchalin. Fatei had been with them almost from the beginning. He’d gone to the same school in Russia that Gavriil had attended. He didn’t have the obvious muscle many of the Torpedo Ink members had, but he was strong and could always be counted on. They’d begun calling him Rock because he was the one they had learned over time they could count on. He was a quiet, intelligent man, and had proved his loyalty over and over.
“Unfortunately, he’s right,” Code said. Code was their main source of information. He could handle computers the way race car drivers drove on a speedway. When Code had been brought into the basement of the school where the other children were, he had been thin and frail, his eyes weak. Czar had recognized the genius, tenacity and loyalty in him. Code was a survivor and extremely valuable to Torpedo Ink. He was anything but thin and frail now. He had developed the physical strength to match his enormous intelligence. It didn’t take much for him to get on the scent of a trail and track down whatever the club needed. But the hierarchy of the trafficking ring had eluded them. They were able, at times, to stop auctions and free the women and teens used for prostitution against their will, but those successes seemed few and far between.
“If we can’t utilize this information and get to Alan Billows before he sends out the next batch of sex slaves he could be training, they’ll be lost. We won’t be able to get any of them back,” Code added.
“But we don’t know if this girl—woman—is involved,” Alena “Torch” Koval objected. “Shouldn’t we get more information on her before we destroy her self-esteem? We’ve learned the hard way that we should be more careful of how we handle human beings.”
That was Alena. She tried to be tough, but she was soft on the inside. She’d given Maestro the premature silver streaks in his hair. Alena, like all of Torpedo Ink, had been trained to be an assassin. She was good at her job but lacked the toughness the rest of them had. She had compassion and empathy. Unfortunately, that could get her killed.
Alena was a beautiful woman, in Maestro’s opinion, both inside and out. With her curvy body, platinum hair and icy blue eyes, she was striking. Coupled with her fast thinking and compassionate heart, she was extraordinary. Maestro thought of her as a younger sibling, a sister he protected even though she didn’t believe she needed it. Younger birth sister of two Torpedo Ink members, Dmitry “Storm” Koval and Isaak “Ice” Koval, she owned the Crow 287 restaurant. Alena’s ability to cook was undisputed.
Maestro tried to be fair. “I believe we need to act on the information we have. It took us too long to get it, and if we miss this opportunity, we may not get another one.” If he was being honest with himself, he wanted to spend time with Zelie. He also wanted to do the right thing if Billows was holding prisoners.
“I watched her pay for two different orders for a couple of women who clearly needed it and couldn’t afford it. She didn’t make a big deal of it and did it anonymously. She often treats the older women who refer to themselves as the merry widows,” he conceded.
“I looked into her financials,” Code said. “She doesn’t have much, but she’s still generous to others. We’ve had eyes on her for three weeks, and she consistently helps the homeless, seniors, new mothers, and single dads. Most of her money goes to pay for her school, and living in San Francisco is expensive, even in a small studio apartment like hers.”
Maestro found that last bit of information regarding single fathers irritating, which made no sense. “On a different day, I saw her help an older lady when the woman was confused, and two teenagers were laughing at her. Zelie gave them a look that said ‘back off’ and took care of the woman, making certain she had her purse, glasses and food.”
Alena sighed as she drummed her fingers on the end table beside the comfortable chair she occupied. “She doesn’t sound like the kind of woman who would be involved in a human trafficking ring.” She tilted her head to look up at the president of their club. “You tell us all the time that we need to find a way to fit into society. That we should keep learning to be better people. Taking this poor girl’s life apart and destroying all trust, to get information she may not even have, doesn’t sound like we’re progressing to me.”
“Alena.” Maestro spoke as gently as possible. “I know you’ve experienced betrayal time and again. It hurts, but it can also make you strong. I’m not going in with a bulldozer. We know she has information that could be vital to us. She’s central to getting inside the underground rooms situated below the nightclubs. She has keys to those rooms.”