I shoot Jay a look, but he ignores me. I’m scarier than Tony the Tiger, and he knows it.
“Why do you say that?”
“Just some comments on forums that I’ve come across on a few deep websites,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling those rumors are true.”
We’ll see.
“Regardless, they would have knowledge on the comings and goings of the skin trade,” I surmise.
Jay meets my heavy stare, a mutual agreement passing between us silently.
If Addie is traded or auctioned off, they might be able to track it, which means that I need to have a chat with the Basilisk Brotherhood.
“Give me a second, and I’ll get in contact with them,” I say, straightening and motioning for Jay to move aside. He grumbles something about this being his computer, but I don’t pay him any mind.
Jay’s great at what he does—amazing, even.
But I’m better.
I sit down and open up several programs. The first one is a software with facial recognition. It provides a hit on every single camera their face has appeared on. I’m almost impressed when very few pop up.
Ryker’s face is the most popular—the same large, angry-looking man that brought in the little girl to the doctor. Unlike the grainy footage from the hospital, this camera catches a clear image of him.
He’s interesting-looking, with sharp features, long hair that seems to always be tied up, pale gray-green eyes, light stubble, and a nose piercing. Type of face women would fall to their knees for.
The other three certainly aren’t hurting for pussy either, though they’re all incredibly different from each other. Definitely not real brothers, though I'm sure they act like it.
“You’ll get along with them great,” Jay says over my shoulder. “You all are in a business where being obscure is key, yet each one of you stands out like lollipops among moldy bread. Very lickable lollipops, too.”
Yeah, whatever. I didn’t ask to be beautiful.
I ignore him and narrow down my search to the most recent location they were spotted last. Portland, Oregon. Massive city and a great place to hide.
Also, a prime location for human trafficking. Prostitution runs rampant there—one of the most blatant and in-your-face forms of trafficking there is. The police spend more time arresting the girls for their crimes rather than trying to save them.
‘Merica.
In the video, it appears as if they’re doing some type of exchange. Could be drugs, but something like cocaine or heroin is child’s play when you’re dealing with human organs. Call it intuition, but none of them give off the vibe of a drug addict.
I sift through different programs until I finally get a hit on a residential house’s Nest camera from two weeks ago. The red Camaro pulls into the driveway, and the four men pour out of the car.
An older woman steps out of the front door and waves her hand animatedly. The Nest picks up audio, so when her voice comes through, it’s clear that whoever owns this house is either family or like family.
She’s loud and boisterous as she greets them, and the men gravitate towards her like little boys would their grandma.
“I’ll never get over how grown-up you boys are!” she exclaims, first hugging Ryker, and then the other three.
“’Sup, Mama T,” Daire says, grinning at her. He slings an arm around the woman and ruffles her short silver hair with the other hand. Swatting at him, she berates him lovingly as they disappear into the house, their voices quickly fading.
Clicking off the program, I open up a browser and search the quickest route back to Portland. Seems I’m going to be spending a lot of time there.
“You’re going to her house?’
I turn my head, spotting Jay from the corner of my eye, a disapproving look on his face.
“Where else would I go?”
“You’re going to piss them off.”
“I’m not going to hurt her,” I scowl.
“Do you think that will matter to them? Your presence will be threatening enough.”
I swivel my chair completely around, cocking my brow as I lean back and cross my arms.
“Do I look fucking scared?”
He tips his head back and sighs dramatically. “We know you’re a bad bitch, Zade. That’s not the point.” I reach out and punch his thigh in response to being called a bad bitch, earning me a groaned ow.
“No, the point is that this is my quickest option. I will give them a very good reason to come to me, and I will ensure we come to a mutually beneficial agreement. I don’t have time to learn the ins and outs of transporting humans. It’s complicated as fuck, and my primary focus the past several years has been locating the rings once the girls have already been moved. Addie can be traded any day if she hasn’t been already, so I need to cover my bases. While I try to find where she’s being held, I need someone that understands the business to keep an eye out for if or when she’s transported.”