Page 3 of Special Agent Anastacia

Satisfied that she had done her good deed for the day, Ana hurried to the arrival area.

Chapter Two

Thankful not to be late, yet at all surprised that the connecting plane from Warsaw, Poland had a slight delay, she decided to go for a coffee. Walking around to pass the time, she made note of the colorful panels, walls of windows, and tunnel-like terminals that made busy LAX an international gateway.

Her mother, Diana, had drilled her with so many instructions of how to behave when she saw her young cousin, that for the first time in years, Anastacia felt her nerves tighten. As Hanna’s arrival drew near, Ana’s stomach clenched and she told herself for the hundredth time, she should just be herself.

Right, the straight-faced, hard-assed cop she’d spent so many years creating the persona for. That oughta make the girl feel right at home.Fuck!!

Her mom had begged her. “Relax, honey. It’s taken us so long to finally get poor Hanna here, we need to make her feel at home. Treat her like a long-lost friend or sister.”

Except Ana had no idea what that would feel like, since she was an only child. Plus, her friends were the men and women she worked with. And they were all like her – hardened from the job, quick to take offense, and full of sarcastic humor to hide real emotions. Hell, she hadn’t felt this nervous since her early training days in Quantico.

It didn’t help that she’d recently been involved in one of the worst cases in her career. Over the last three months while covertly investigating a human trafficking ring, she’d seen things that had sickened her to her very soul. People selling others, weaker, younger, sad humanity that had no way to protect themselves.

Having to sit back while gathering enough evidence to put the syndicate of bastards away for a long time had almost killed her. Seeing those young people’s lives destroyed and not being able to rescue them right away had been one of the hardest jobs she’d ever been asked to perform.

She knew what the victims were forced to do to survive, and it kept her awake at night. While the agents gathered more data, proof of the whole organization’s involvement, each day started another nightmare of doubts and indecision.

Finally, seeing her struggles, her boss had sat her down and read her the riot act. “No vigilante shit this time, Marchenko. I’m warning you. This gets played by the book. You hear me?” His blue ice cubes glared into her so deep, she had to force herself not to cringe. “We want to send every one of those creeps away for life. And to do that, we need the goods on them… all of it. You rock the boat even a little, and they’ll slink back into their slimy world, shutting down everything before we can get the top rung of the operation.”

“Yeah, yeah. Trust me, it’s what I keep on saying every time I see another shipment of girls and boys arriving from overseas.It’s killing me. But what keeps me going is your word that I’ll be in on the takedown.”

“Hold it together, agent, and that’s a promise.”

And two days ago, he’d kept that promise. They’d scuttled the whole rotten business, releasing over a hundred kids either back to their homes or into the social system, and jailing or killing the rest of the scum involved in the case.

It had been one of the most satisfying days of her five years with the FBI.

Suddenly, a strident beep-beep noise warning her to move brought her introspection to a close, making her remember why she wandered alone at the arrivals gate. Her mother had recently gotten Covid and though the symptoms were pretty much over, she didn’t feel right exposing an airport filled with people to her germs.

That’s where Anastacia came in. Forced to take a break from her taxing job to let her recent flesh wound heal, she’d been coerced to stay with her mom.

Remembering their last phone call with her mom pleading, “I can’t go through it all by myself, honey. You have to help me. We have to save Hanna. You know I promised my sister. For sure, she’ll need both of us. Please stay here at home while you’re off work.”

Helping her mom through miles of red tape and bullshit to finally get her cousin Hanna to America, her mom was over the moon that they had success at last. Now that Hanna was orphaned, Diana felt she could give the girl a new life away from bad memories and painful times. And she looked to Ana for support.

“I need you, Ana. I’m not strong enough to handle a traumatized teen all by myself. Even with your father’s support back when you were young, you know I found being a mom a demanding job.”

Since the unexpected death of Anastacia’s own father three years before, Ana knew having someone to nurture would bring her mother back from the brink of an imminent breakdown. She’d been heartbroken over the sudden death of her husband and hiding away had been her way of accepting her new station in life. Only the situation with her sister’s daughter, the emails, facetimes, and finally the accepted invitation had kept her getting out of bed each day.

Over the last few months, while Hanna recovered from the devastating butchery of her own family and close neighbors, they’d all gone through hellish situations with bureaucracy and stupid red tape that had stood in the way of her coming to the US.

Throughout that time, Hanna, still dealing with her parents’ murders and being a witness to their bloodied bodies, barely held it together. She’d admitted that visions of the killer who’d cold-bloodedly taken their lives still traumatized her. And normal activities like eating and sleeping were difficult.

That part of her nightmare, Anastacia could relate to. Or so her mother reminded her. “You’ve seen your share of killing, especially over this latest case, honey.” She pointed at the bandage on Anastacia’s shoulder. “You’ll probably understand Hanna’s trauma better than any of us.”

Most likely true.Ana shrugged… then winced.

Her mother’s determination to stay in touch with her sister had kept them involved in the ongoing horrific situation in Mariupol. When she’d found out what had happened to her family, Diana wouldn’t rest until they were able to dig through the official records, to find that Hanna had survived… and then offer her a home.

And Anastacia was here to meet the youngster, make her feel welcome, and drive her to the house where her mother waited with open arms.

Jesus!

Rubbing her hands down the sides of her suit jacket and matching navy slacks, wiping away the traces of her earlier scuffle, she scanned the group of passengers now arriving. Feeling slightly foolish wearing her business clothes, the type she wore everyday to work, she shook off the strangeness and decided maybe her mother had been right. Her normal suited appearance might be off-putting considering everyone else in the airport looked to be informally dressed for the sweltering weather outside. Hopefully, Hanna wouldn’t notice her clothes, being too busy getting acquainted with the person wearing them.

Wait.There she was.The young girl in torn jeans and a navy, short-sleeved blouse. Her dishevelled appearance and frizzy blonde hair – results from the long trip – gave Ana a start. They could be sisters.

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