Karachi was a coastal city, accessible by air and sea. It was an ethnically and socio-economically diverse area, capable of camouflaging rich and poor alike. According to information from SSgt Patel, who had access to the passenger manifests and air traffic control documentation, several high visibility persons of interest would be arriving in the next two days. Many were already in the city. Unfortunately, none of the names on the list were Vladek Rostrovich or Demitri Balk. Still, Matthew reasoned, he could be traveling under a different alias. One thing was certain though; Muhammad Rafiq would be in attendance.
He thought about Olivia Ruiz and everything she had been saying over the last several days. She had no idea how deep Rafiq’s involvement in the slave trade ran. Based on the pile of information on Matthew’s desk, he was beginning to suspect, Caleb, had no idea either. Rafiq had been in it for the money for a very long time. The evidence suggested he’d been a key player since 1984.
Matthew held up a picture of Vladek Rostrovich and Muhammad Rafiq taken in Pakistan that same year. Rafiq wore his military uniform and pointed to a table full of Russian weapons, his arm slung over Vladek’s shoulder.
Matthew’s best guess was that Muhammad Rafiq had acted as Vladek Rostrovich’s arms broker during his missions in other parts of the world, most notably: Africa, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Perhaps guns had begun the connection, but it hadn’t ended there.
Another photograph from 1987 showed Rafiq and Vladek at a Pakistani military dinner. Vladek sat at the officers table with Rafiq, also in attendance was Bapoto Sekibo. He was notorious for razing entire villages, killing men, women, and children in the pursuit of natural resources and valuable territories for corporate projects coming in from other countries. Some of the corporations even had roots in the U.S. In fact, all three men had been photographed at one time or another with U.S. Senators or CEO’s of major companies.
Matthew wasn’t surprised sex, guns, and money were interconnected. Even Vladek’s African diamond mines didn’t come as a shock. No, the most shocking piece of information was an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989 sitting on the pile. He couldn’t resist picking it up and staring at the picture paper-clipped to the file.
“Pretty f**ked up, huh?” Agent Williams whispered from across the desk.
The sick feeling in Matthew’s stomach flared and he rubbed his stomach. As he stared at the photo, he wondered what, if anything, he should do with the information. “Yeah. It is.”
“You okay? When’s the last time you ate?” Williams asked.
“Hours ago, and just a salad. Been on a steady stream of coffee since then,” Matthew said and offered a watery smile. It was nice working with someone, even if Agent Williams was a little too young and bright eyed for his tastes. She still got excited about the job and didn’t hide it very well. Matthew didn’t really get excited anymore, solving cases was an obsession, locking the bad guys up, satisfying – but he’d stopped being excited a long time ago. No matter how many cases were resolved, or how many villains were brought to justice, there were always new cases and new bad guys. It was a vicious circle.
“That stuff’ll kill you,” Agent Williams said through a smile. “I still have half a turkey sandwich in the fridge if you want it?”
“No, that’s okay. I’m not hungry,” he said.
“You keep staring at that picture?” she hedged.
Matthew couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia. She was mourning the loss of a man she didn’t really know and for the first time, Matthew was beginning to understand why she fought for him so strongly. “The witness says he died helping her escape. I’m wondering if it should just stay there. I mean, I wish I didn’t know this. I can’t imagine how the mother would feel.”
“I try not to think about that stuff. Not really our priority, you know?” Williams said. “It’s going to be a bitch getting a team into Pakistan. I’m trying to just focus on one thing at a time. Some kidnapped kid who turned out to be a serious prick isn’t really on my radar.”
Matthew looked up at Williams, “How old are you, Williams?”
She stiffened, “Twenty-four,” she answered. “Why? Are you going to give me shit about my age?”
He held up the photograph. “James Cole was a few months shy of his sixth birthday when he was taken. Just try to imagine your life the past eighteen years and how different it was compared to the hell this little boy had to live through.”
Williams stared long and hard at the photograph before she turned away to mess with the files on her own side of the desk. “It’s sad, Reed. I know it’s sad, but there’s nothing we can do for that kid. And the man he turned out to be? He’s better off dead,” Williams said.
“I’m not trying to defend him. Trust me; I’ve spent the last week doing exactly the opposite. It’s just…she has a way of making me think about things. She basically talked her way out of being sold at the auction.” Matthew smiled. Olivia was certainly unlike any person he’d met in his thirteen years on the job. He would never forget her, or Caleb, and the boy he’d been. He would never forget this case and for whatever reason, he felt the need to take a moment and preserve the memory of it correctly.
“Pretty smart girl. Except for the falling in love with her captor part,” Williams said. “Although, if you’re going to fall for any kidnapper, good gawd, he should be as handsome as this son of a bitch.” Williams lifted Caleb’s surveillance photo from a few years back and waggled her eyebrows.
Matthew laughed. “You’re sick. You know that, right?”
Williams shrugged. “I don’t get out much.”
“Why’s that?”
“Eh, the job, I guess. I don’t really get off on dating other agents and normal guys can’t deal.” She shrugged again.
“Do you think we should let his mother know we found him?” Matthew asked.
“It’s been twenty years, Reed. She’s probably thought he was dead for a long time. I don’t think telling her we found her son and he just so happens to be a human trafficking son of a bitch who died in a botched escape attempt isn’t exactly consoling,” Williams said, wryly. She and Matthew sat in silence for a few moments, before Williams added, “She’s better off believing her little boy died innocent, you know?”
Williams had a point. “Yeah. I just wish…I wish I’d been in the bureau back then, maybe I could have found him before it was too late.” He thought about Olivia and her grief. It was sad, knowing she was the only one who would miss Caleb. She was the only who would mourn him.
“Wait!” Williams said suddenly, and startled Matthew.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s not really relevant, but…” She handed one of her files over to Matthew. “Vladek went to college in the U.S. He went to the University of Oregon,” she whispered.
“So?”
“So, check the date,” she added grimly.
“He didn’t finish. He was there ‘80 to ‘82.” Realization was slowly dawning on Matthew, and he felt bile crawling up into the back of his throat. “James Cole was born in 1983. In Oregon.”
“You don’t think?”
“Olivia Ruiz mentioned Rafiq wanted revenge against Vladek, something to do with his mother and sister. Apparently, Vladek killed them, or so Rafiq says. I’m starting to think everything out of the guy’s mouth is bullshit.”
“Do you want me to pull James’ birth certificate?”
“Yeah, do that. Did you already call the Deputy Director to let him know we think the auction is taking place at the military cantonment in Karachi?”
“I told him an hour ago, figured he could get started on organizing the op. That, SSgt Patel, doesn’t seem like the cooperative type. Holy f**k, Reed…do you honestly think Vladek, would sell his own f**king son?!”
Matthew wanted to start punching things, “No. I think he was collateral damage.” It was all starting to come together. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly forming in Matthew’s mind. There were still huge pieces missing, but Matthew thought he could make out the picture just the same.
“Well, we already know where the auction is. Everything else is just gravy at this point. Let me finish pulling these records and then I say we pack it in for the night. If we get the green light, we could have Rafiq in custody in the next seventy-two hours. We can get our answers straight from the source,” Williams said.
Matthew could hear the anger and determination in Williams’ voice. He admired her fire, but he’d been around long enough to know fire could get you burned. “I doubt we’ll even get a crack at him, Williams. Be prepared.”
“What do you mean? We have a mountain of f**king evidence and a witness,” Williams spouted.
“What we have, is a high ranking military official from a foreign government, accused of crimes in a completely different country. I want this guy. I want him bad, but I’ve been here before, Williams. Sometimes…they get away.”
“Then why are you here, Reed? Why have you been working this case so damn hard?”