Page 27 of Scar Tissue

“It’s Nathan, what do you have?” This seems to pique Claire’s interest as she mutes the television and looks at me. There’s noreason to keep her out of this—I promised her involvement—so I put it on speaker and nod at her to come over to the island where she sits down.

“We got intel that one of Clark’s contacts flipped. Apparently, their niece was targeted despite their family being promised protection. Seems like Clark is no longer interested in keeping his colleagues happy. I imagine we might see more conflict amongst the trafficking ring itself over the coming weeks if that’s the case.”

Claire responds before I have a chance to. “It’s a money grab. He has some powerful players that he works closely with. My guess is that he knows he would get more bang for his buck if he went after any of the girls or boys from their families either through sale or holding them for ransom. I remember him talking about something along those lines in his office one day. Said something like, ‘Why have them pay their cut for protection when he can make them desperate enough to pay whatever he demands.’ It’s his way of figuring out who is loyal enough to him to make that sacrifice or to have them turn on each other and take each other out so he doesn’t have to do the hard work. He’ll do just about anything for more money in his pocket and those that work closely with him, will do whatever they can to protect their families despite taking part in destroying others…”

Dyer clears his throat as if in annoyance, despite the usefulness of the information. “Hello, Claire. Nice of you to join us and thank you for providing us with your knowledge.”

Before he has a chance to continue, she asks, “Who is the contact?”

“That isn’t important,” Dyer responds immediately.

“My ass. If you aren’t going to answer that, then what have you promised them for their cooperation?” she says, the bitterness rolling off her tongue as though it’s been there all along. But she has a point. I can’t find much they could promise anyone for their cooperation. Not for being pedophiles and participating in whatever other depraved bullshit they get off on.

“Reduced charges. We aren’t stupid. We know anyone involved in this won’t get full immunity. He’s still going to get charges. But witness protection for the family at the most, which will work in our favor if he gives us what we want. We have that hanging over his head, so we’re fairly positive he will continue to cooperate fully.” Dyer sighs from the other end of the line, clearly not going to give us further information into who the contact is. At least not with Claire sitting right here.

She scoffs. “You truly believe someone like that deserves reduced charges?”

“No, I don’t. But if it helps us to take down the bigger fish, it has to be worth it.” He’s right, as shitty as it is.

“Fine,” she grumbles, clearly displeased, and I can only imagine how that makes her feel. If I was ever put in her position, I’d likely feel the same way.

“So what does this mean for us?” I ask. “What’s the move?”

There is a pause on the other end of the line. “News is, he’s planning on throwing a gala with the ruse being a charity for at-risk youth. His goal is to gain access to more schools, shelters, and juvenile programs where these youth are known to frequent. His recruiters and facilitators of the charity are planning to target and isolate specific children through false promises—job training, education, housing, therapy, etc. But the reality of it is that they’re going to groom those who are in more desperate situations.”

A chill runs up my spine as Claire looks on with a blank expression. “When?”

“It’s a week from now. We were hoping to get someone inside the event to gather more intel, ideally a volunteer for the gala itself. If we can figure out the what, where, and when, we can intercept before anybody is harmed.” But who would go in?

I voice my thoughts as such. “Do you have an idea for said volunteer? I’d go, but I’m not sure if anyone would recognize me, in disguise or not. Especially considering the fact that he helped to cover up the car accidentIwas the driver in.”

“And I’d definitely be noticed,” Claire adds. “Have you talked to Fletcher about any of this?”

I bark out a sharp laugh. “No, and I’m not going to. Everything that happened with Dylan is still fresh. If you want to wave a red flag in front of the bull though, be my guest.” He never even returned my call when I initially reached out before all of this started.

Claire picks at her fingernails. “Don’t you have anyone else you can send in?”

Dyer sighs on the other end of the line. “We do, but we don’t have anyone who is as in-tune with the dynamics of this group as any of you are. Let alone, as familiar with the area as you, Nathan…”

A name forms in my mind before I can stop it. Thea. She’d be perfect—she’s sharp, quick on her feet, and would likely go unnoticed in the circles that matter. But fuck, I can’t honestly ask her to do this. She’s already dealing with too much. It’s selfish to even consider.

Claire must see the conflict on my face because she tilts her head, studying me. “What?”

“Nothing,” I answer too quickly.

Her eyes narrow on me. “Bullshit. You thought of something. Or someone.” Cracking my neck, a rough exhale escapes my nose. “Thea. She’d be good at it.”

“But?”

“How can I ask her to do this? She’s been through enough—is still going through enough. The last thing I want is to drag her into this,” I admit.

Dyer finally chips in. “Does she have an idea of what’s going on?”

I need to approach this carefully; there are certain details that even I can’t discuss with her given my line of work. But she deserved to know…Deciding evading a direct answer is best, I say, “Not everything.”

“If you think she’s capable, then it’s worth it. Think about the bigger picture.” But I can hear what he isn’t saying. Sacrifice the onefor the good of the many. “Give her the choice of course, and if she decides to help, fill her in on the rest of the details.”

Naturally, I hate how he has a point. But how the fuck do I even broach this conversation?Hey, we were talking about how to take down Clark and I decided to throw your name into the bowl to help us do it. Hope that’s okay.“I’ll talk to her, but I’m not promising anything.”