Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3) by Matt Lincoln (great book club books .txt) 📗

“It’s alright,” I nodded.

“I’m Officer Smith,” he introduced himself. “Was there something you needed at the police station?”

“Yes, actually,” I nodded. “I’m Agent Patel with MBLIS. I scheduled a meeting this morning.”

“Oh, of course,” Smith blinked in surprise. “You’re early. I’m sorry, I was just about to run to get some coffee in case the meeting ran long. We were expecting you.”

“I like being prepared,” I smiled. “Better to show up early than late. In any case, since I’m here, would you mind if we went ahead and began?”

“Of course,” Smith smiled. “If you’ll follow me, then.”

He led me into the police office. The interior was just as grand as the exterior. The ceilings were high, and the large windows cast the entire building in a warm, sunny glow.

“We have a conference room set up right through here,” Smith said as he led me into a side room. Four officers were seated around a large round table.

“Hey, where's the coffee?” one of the officers asked sullenly as we entered the room.

“We’ll get some later,” Smith brushed him off. “This is Agent Patel. She’s the federal agent we’ll be working with today.”

“Nice to meet you all,” I greeted them politely.

“Agent Patel, these are officers Fletcher, Johnson, Macmillan, and Crowe,” Smith introduced each officer in turn. “The five of us will be assisting you on the raid today.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I responded. “The more hands we have, the better. There’s also a strong possibility that there will be child victims present. We should ensure that some officers are focused on locating and securing the children once we enter. We’ll have to be extremely careful once we’re inside. No one fires unless you’re absolutely certain you have a shot, and that there is no chance of striking one of the victims. This is why it will be so important for the officers in charge of securing the children to do so quickly. The sooner they’re safe, the sooner we can act freely.”

The officers listened with rapt attention as I laid out my plan. Once in a while, someone would chime in with a suggestion, but for the most part, everyone was content with allowing me to take charge. After about an hour of discussion, we felt confident in what we’d come up with.

“Alright,” I nodded. “Let’s go.”

The building was located on First Street, on a boardwalk overlooking the ocean. It was impossible to miss since it was a bright red, two-story building. The front of the store was decorated to resemble a clothing boutique, which blended in nicely with the surrounding stores along the boardwalk. However, a large sign in the front window indicated that the store was currently closed for renovations. A passing tourist wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but of course, we knew that there was no store, and it was all just a facade.

Smith and I were wearing tactical gear. We’d be going in first in order to ascertain how many suspects were inside and to draw the men’s attention. Next, Fletcher and Macmillan would enter through the back and locate the children. Once they had them secured, Johnson and Crowe would come in to provide backup. Smith and I would only need to hold them off until the children were found. It wasn’t a perfect plan, and there was a lot of room for error, but we felt confident that we could pull it off.

“Are you ready?” Smith asked me as he parked the car in front of the building.

“I’m ready,” I responded before climbing out of the car. We headed up to the front door while Fletcher and Macmillan stationed themselves around the back.

“On three,” Smith said as he positioned himself to kick the door in. I unholstered my gun and held it at the ready “One, two, three!”

He knocked the door in with a well-aimed kick, and we rushed inside.

“Put your hands in the air!” I yelled as we stormed into the building. The layout was open, the same way a store would be. Instead of clothes, however, the room was full of rows of tables. Dozens of children sat at the tables clutching sewing needles and pencils. Along the wall were washing machines and dishwasher units, and I could see children lugging bundles of clothes and fumbling with buttons.

Around the room, I quickly counted four men. There was a small room in the back that I couldn’t quite see into, so I couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t someone in there as well.

Every eye in the room turned to me as I yelled. One of the men pulled a gun from behind his back and brought it up to eye level. I fired a shot at him before he could pull the trigger. I cursed inwardly. I’d been the one to say we needed to hold off on shooting for as long as we could. Nevertheless, I couldn’t let him shoot.

He fell to the ground, and several of the children screamed. One of the other men moved as if to draw a weapon.

“Don’t even think about it,” I growled. He glared at me as though considering his options, but then he slowly put his arms up.

“Hello?” a tinny voice called through my radio. I lifted it to my ear without lowering my weapon.

“Patel here,” I responded. “What’s your status?”

“We’re upstairs,” Fletcher replied. “It’s clear up here. We also found the kids, but they’re all babies.”

“The older children are down here,” I responded. “Johnson and Crowe, move in now.”

Just a second later, the other two officers entered the building with their guns raised. I could see the faces of the men fall further as they realized they didn’t have a chance of escape.

“Get down on the ground,” Smith ordered. “Slowly. Face down, with your hands behind your head.”

The men glared at him but obeyed.

“Is there anyone else back there?” I asked, pointing my gun toward the backroom.

The men exchanged a look but didn’t respond.

I waited until all the