Page 8 of Tristano

I grimace at the insinuation. It’s one I’ve allowed her to believe. She thinks I’m some paranoid seventeen-year-old afraid of my own shadow. It’s why she’s so nice to me when usually these girls tend to get mad at you for trying to share their corner. Not Meredith. She’s taken me under her wing.

“They take girls within my age range. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen them all over the news.”

“News? That would mean having a television. Where do you get to watch television?”

I shrug. “The shelter sometimes has one on. So does the diner when I stop in there.”

She nods, accepting my lie.

“Don’t watch that shit. It’s all fabricated anyway.”

I’m about to ask another question when a car slowly rolls toward us.

“You want this one, honey?” she asks softly.

I shake my head. “You go ahead.”

I watch as she saunters over to the window. After a brief conversation, she crosses the front of the car as she waves at me.

I take note of the make and model as she drives off. I shake my head, hoping I don’t need to remember it.

As I turn to head back toward the bus station, I get the feeling someone is watching me. Being as inconspicuous as possible, I take in my surroundings, but nothing’s there.

Then, all of a sudden, I hear tires squeal. Looking over, I see a van screeching to a halt in front of me. Before I can blink, the doors are open, and a sharp pain hits my neck.

I try to take in the men before me, but my eyes grow dim, and before I can even scream, blackness overtakes me.

* * *

This might helpin your search.

That one sentence, along with data from Veles, California, has changed my entire picture. Before, we figured they were only hitting big cities because it was easier to hide the missing girls. The data from Alexei and the Bratva changes this entirely.

We aren’t looking for any run-of-the-mill kidnappers.

No, this is a cell of people targeting the outlying areas of cities with organized crime. Veles isn’t as big as Chicago or New York. In fact, I would place a bet that most people have never even heard of it. The population is a fraction of the size of the bigger cities. So why take women from there?

I think I’ve figured it out. The people who live in those areas are hesitant to contact the police. Due to the illegal activities commonly occurring in their neighborhoods, most people adopt a “look away and pretend you saw nothing” approach to life.

So even if we have witnesses who see these women getting abducted, they won’t say anything. Why? Because they are afraid of what might happen to them if they get involved. If it’s mob related, it could be them next. They take the “see nothing, say nothing” to heart.

It’s our own fucking fault. We have ingrained this into them so deeply that they aren’t even coming to us to report it. Which makes me wonder what type of men are taking them. If they looked out of place, then people would say something.

What if they are dressing like us? Acting like us?

They are using our own organizations as a cover.

“You are furiously typing now. Are you ever going to spill the beans? It’s been hours since you said you needed to double-check the information. Share your theory now.” Enzo demands.

I huff, taking off my glasses to rub my eyes. “Okay. Fine. I am still researching some other areas, but I believe that these people are using our organizations as a cover. They have to have extensive knowledge of who runs which area and their characteristics. Alexei sent me their new data now that they have weeded out their organ harvesting cell, and it’s become clear. They aren’t targeting big cities. They are targeting cities run by organized crime. Now, I have no proof yet, but I think they have studied us and learned how we do things like dress and act. I think that’s how they are getting access to these people. They never come directly into our territory, but they still dress and act like us so the people in those areas don’t question them. I mean, look at this. Girls keep going missing in Jersey City and Newark. That’s just across the bridge from us. It’s considered unclaimed territory, but the people who live there know who we are and what we do. They would never wonder why a man in a suit is forcing a woman into their car. They would assume she made some slight against the Mafia and is going to get whacked. Rather than help, they would look the other way so they don’t get involved. It’s a perfect plan, really. Most organizations would never notice.”

“Most organizations don’t have Greer. She’s what changed this up. If it wasn’t for her starting to look into these missing cases, they would never be caught,” Enzo admits.

“No, they still might not. Sure, now we know how they are getting them, but we still don’t know what they are for. I have been monitoring the organ-selling sites on the dark web, but none of our girls have been on there. If we can figure out why they are being taken, we can get these fuckers.” I throw a pen across the room, needing to let some anger out.

Enzo doesn’t even blink an eye. “You need to rest. It’s past midnight. Go home and sleep.”

“How can I sleep knowing there are women and children out there who need our help? What if my couple hours of sleep are the difference between them living or dying?” I cry out.

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