All Her Broken Pieces

Chapter 16

"Whatever you say."

Needing a subject change I glance around as well, searching for the faces from the file Owen had sent over. "See anyone yet?" I ask as I attempt to look over his shoulder. It's not working.

"Anatoly and Boris Molokov are by the pool tables, but I don't see Vitaly Ivanov yet," he tells me quietly, mouth barely moving with the words.

"He's the one we want, right? The one they're paying to set up the trafficking ring here?" He's a despicable human being from what I'd read: drugs, money laundering, murder, grand theft auto, armed robbery and now sex trafficking are a few of his more major infractions. Vitaly Ivanov has an impressive criminal record and now the Molokov's are looking to bring him in, precisely what we can't have happen.

"Yes, that fucker is the reason they come here, his business partner owns the bar so all his big meetings come here. It's actually perfect for things like this because the police don't like to come down this side of town," his annoyance with all this is clear, so is the begrudging respect that these men were actually smart enough to meet in a place like this.

I bounce slightly on my toes as North and I feign conversation, looking over each other's shoulders while subtly searching, waiting for the show to start when movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention.

"North I see him," I tell him urgently, watching as Vitaly walks in the back door of the bar with a crying girl. I see him shove her into a back room and lock the door before strutting over to the Molokov brothers and chatting merrily. "There was a girl with him, I think she might be part of their next business endeavor," I tell him, choosing my words carefully, painfully aware of all the ears around.

His shoulders go rigid before he answers. "Fucking bastards, we can't do anything about it now, we're here for recon," I can feel myself already shaking my head, formulating a plan, I guess he had reason to tell me not to do something stupid because that's exactly what's going to happen.

"We can't just leave her there, North, she might not be alive by the time we go through the proper channels with this," I'm pleading with him, because I know if I press just the right button, he'll help me rules be damned.

I can see him caving already when he blows out a harsh sigh. "And we won't, but first we need to get the information we came for, or else there will be more than just her to worry about." My shoulders drop in relief and he smirks at me. "Fancy a game of pool?"

I grin at his question, "I'm decent," I say before I'm up and moving towards the billiards side of the bar, purposefully picking the empty table two over from the Russians, close enough to overhear their talk due to our Academy training,but not close enough to make them watch what they say.

"сколько девушек вы нашли (how many girls have you found so far?" Anatoly's question filters over the noise of the bar and I focus entirely on their conversation as North racks the balls.

"Мне исполнилось пятнадцать, в этом городе полно одиноких девушек, просто созревших для сбора, они практически просят, чтобы они побрели вокруг без присмотра. На самом деле, сегодня я нашел один здесь, и привел ее с (I got fifteen, this city is full of lonely girls just ripe for the picking, they are practically asking to be taken the way the wander about unattended. In fact, I found one in the way here tonight and brought her with)," Vitaly laughs, and it takes everything in me not to arrest him where he stands. I see North clench his fists tightly, knuckles white around the pool stick as he breaks, he may not understand every word, but he got the gist of what was just said.