Page 23 of Wed
Matt cleared his throat. "I managed to get into the presale of the current auction. There are ten kids up for sale. The youngest is five."
"Jesus," Ben cursed.
Bryon sighed. He knew his team. If they could save a child, they would attempt it, even at their own risk. "Do we have a location?"
"Working with the Denver team on getting that, but they've covered their tracks well. At first glance, the website is out of Spain, but we know by the information posted that delivery of merchandise or pick up of merchandise is in Las Vegas which tells me they are local. My concern is that this is the second auction in just a couple of weeks. How many children are they moving through their organization a month? We're only seeing those auctioned, but Lenora verified some will be kept for child porn and probably prostitution." Matt's fist tightened. "The auction happens Wednesday. That gives us four and a half days if we're going to do anything."
"Again, we usually take weeks building up a sting like this. We can't do it in less than a week. It's just not safe." Bryon glanced around the room, hoping that someone would back him up on this. They had to see how dangerous it was. He hadn't brought everyone to Vegas to have them all get arrested or killed.
"Let us see what happens over the next day or so. We'll go in tonight and get Andy, then sit down and figure out the logistics of everything else. We won't do anything if it puts any of us at a bigger risk than we're used to. We might not be able to take on Diaz's group, but we can take on Jason Wagstaff and others like him here who are purchasing the children." Xander had a notebook on his lap and was writing things down.
"We aren't staying in Vegas long-term. We don't have the time to put into collecting evidence and gathering information on their homes and security. I've always prided our team on making sure we are only going after the guilty. We make sure the men and women we go after are repeat pedophiles. While I want these men stopped just as much as you do, we are not going after them. I can't allow it." Bryon was frustrated.
"Since when do you allow anything? Last time I checked we're a team. We put everything to a vote." Xander stared across the room at Bryon. "Suddenly you're in charge?"
He'd always been in charge, but Xander was right, he always did give them a vote. But on this, he just couldn't back down. If they were home with resources, they might pull it off, but not here in Sin City where there were cameras everywhere. Taking on a Cartel like the Diaz group was not something they could do overnight. It would take months of planning, and even then, it was a huge risk. "I'm thinking about the team here, not trying to be the boss. I'm pointing out that we don't take risks like this. We don't take on a criminal organization that even the military and government can't take down. Besides, what are we going to do? Go in and castrate them? We don't have the medication we need. We don't have the intel we need. We don't have the evidence we need."
Carter stood. "Let's take a step back. You both have valid points and I want these men taken down just as badly as you do. We have to be rational about everything. We are going in tonight to all but kidnap a child from a licensed state foster home. That's risk enough for now. Settle down, keep digging, and we'll decide where we go from here. Taking on Diaz is insane. He's too big. We aren't prepared for someone like him. If we can save a few kids, great, but to think we can march into Diaz's local compound and take everyone down is crazy. I'm itching to go in just as much as you guys are, but trust me, it would take months to be ready. We spend a month planning a sting on the grandfather abusing his grandkids. If you think we can plan something like this in days, you haven't been paying attention to what we do before we hand you guys the case." Carter turned to Xander. "You guys are the best at what you do, but that's only because of the planning and time we take to make sure we're the best. We have the tools we need to go in ready and on hand. We don't have anything here but desire. Let's get Andy safe, then see where we stand. They have police in their pockets. We have to watch our backs on every step of this."
Byron sighed. "Guys, we've worked together too long to let emotions get in our way. We work so well because we work well together. We are a team. We can't forget that. We protect each other. That's all I'm trying to do right now. Let's plan out tonight because that's the one thing we know we're going to do. Then we can talk about the rest after. Hopefully, by then, we have more information available to us. Our goal right now is to get Andy out of the foster home and safe with Lenora, then find them somewhere safe to go."
"And if there isn't anywhere safe?" Trenton asked.
"Then we let Parson and his friend figure out the best course of action. I know we don't want to toss them back into the system, but there are laws. We can't just take kids and place them somewhere. It isn't that easy. Even if we find family or friends, CPS will have to be involved. At least we'll be able to leave knowing people who care about the kids are watching over them and they aren't just being shuffled around the system to be abused." Bryon nodded. "Okay, let's forget about the rest and focus on tonight. I don't want a large team going inside. We don't need the attention. Xander and Kacey, you two will be going in. I want Noam, Archer, and Ben in the neighborhood as backup, but not inside the house. They'll be your transportation out of the area. Matt, Trenton, and I will be listening to the scanner and police calls and monitoring traffic cameras in the area. I've got burner phones for all of you to use. Carter, I'll need you to keep an eye on the house and security here. There shouldn't be any problems, but I want to be sure we aren't followed once Xander, and Kacey are headed back with the boy." Bryon looked at Kacey. "Will you be able to calm the boy enough to get him to go with you?"
"I'll talk to Lenora before we go and get some information from her that should help calm him. Something only the two of them would know. If he understands that we're bringing him to Lenora, we should be okay. I'm more worried about waking the other boys in the bedroom and dealing with them." Kacey glanced at Xander. "You have any ideas how to do this when we don't even know which bed Andy will be in?"
Xander shrugged. "I don't see a way that we can get in there without waking them."
"From what we saw when we were watching the home, Andy is the youngest. The other two boys look to be around twelve or thirteen. Look for the smallest child when you go in," Noam told them. "If the others wake up, you're going to have to do some fast talking and hope they don't scream."
"This is crazy." Trenton sighed. "It's too risky."
Bryon blew out a long breath. "I've tried to figure out how to do it any other way, but I don't see how we can. We need the darkness. There are cameras all over this city. We're already putting ourselves at risk. Doing it in the daylight is suicide. If you say right away that you're there because of Lenora, it should keep things calm."
"You going to be able to break us out of jail after this clusterfuck blows up in our face?" Xander asked.
"You know I have your backs, but you're not going to get arrested. I'm sending you and Kacey because you're the most experienced. If things go wrong, Noam, Archer, and Ben will be in the area to help you get away. Go in, grab the kid, get out, and get to where one of the cars is waiting for you. They'll alert you if they see any trouble or police in the area. We're going in blind and without communication links. Everything is going to have to be visual or by phone. Make sure your volume is off but pay attention for your phone to vibrate. I have maps of the area. I want Noam, Archer, and Ben parked where they can see everything that's going on in front of the house. If we go in at two or three in the morning, there should be little to no traffic in the neighborhood. You have security cameras on two houses that may pick up activity at the foster home. I've marked them on the map. Normally, Carter or Trenton would have the cameras all disabled before we go in, but that's not possible here. It would take too much time and planning." Bryon prayed they could pull this off. He wasn't used to no planning or preparation. This whole thing was a nightmare, but he couldn't leave without Andy. He'd promised to get Lenora's brother, and they would. He had to trust his team and all the training they had. This wasn't their first rodeo.
"I may be able to hack into a few of them, but I'm still working on that. It depends on the system. If it's Ring, I can probably get into the program. Anything and we'll play it by ear. I'll know more by go time," Carter told them. "Denver is also going to be watching and listening. They've hacked into the 911 call center. If a call comes in, we'll know about it."
Xander glanced at Kacey. "We can do this. We've faced worse. Hopefully, the foster parents are hard sleepers. Our biggest worry is the kids screaming for help. We go in, grab the kid, and get out as fast as we can."
Kacey nodded. "I'm not worried."
Bryon was glad his men were confident, but he was worried. He didn't like doing this without planning and intel. He would never forgive himself if something went wrong. "Then let's look at maps, then I'll show you the guns we can use, and you can pick your weapon. Hopefully, you won't need them, but just in case, I want you armed."
As Matt laid out the maps they'd printed off and the team started to discuss their plans, he thought about how tonight was supposed to be his wedding night. If all hell hadn't broken loose, he'd be getting ready for his wedding right now. Instead, he was praying everyone stayed alive so they could attend his wedding another night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Xander nodded to Kacey as they approached the backyard of the foster home. So far, the neighborhood appeared quiet, and thankfully, they hadn't come across any dogs to bark and wake people up. Sneaking through yards had been easy so they could come in through the back and not risk being seen on the cameras out front. He paused as they jumped the short fence around the foster home's yard. "Window's open." He pointed to the room where Lenora had told them the boys slept.
That would make things easier for them. They wouldn't have to break in. They moved a bit closer to the window, both of them watching closely that there weren't lights on in any of the surrounding houses. It would only take one neighbor up for the bathroom or a drink to see them sneaking around and call the police. They'd faced that before with Dyson, and none of them ever wanted to have to deal with that again.
Kacey held up a hand to pause Xander, then touched his ear and mouthed, "listen."
Xander did, standing as still as a statue as he listened for whatever it was Kacey heard. The fact Kacey didn't look panicked helped him stay calm. It took a moment to hear it. There were voices coming from inside the house. He couldn't make out what they were saying since they were just above a whisper, but he could hear them.
