Max Langley was the epitome of white privilege, he was born into money. Old money, money his family had made decades ago and continued to do so even now and with no end in sight. Which made how Max was living now a bit surprising, but if one dug just a bit deeper they would see it.
The ugly secret Max had buried or at the very least had tried to bury. The problem was that secrets never stayed a secret for long.
It was a ticking time bomb.
You see Max was a scout, he was the one who found targets, his uncle had become his biggest asset. Having an uncle that was assistant principal at an elementary school was helpful. Toss in a serious gambling addiction, it was serendipitous.
Max put the screws to his uncle and was granted access to school files, making it ridiculously easy to fulfill the requests of his clients. Sure, he tried to whitewash it all, that he was providing a childless couple with a child. He ignored the fact that he was ripping a child from its family, and that not all of his clients had pure intentions, that they longed for a child to love.
Sure he had a few of those, but for the most part these children were being placed in the hands of monsters.
That part Max ignored, he couldn't think about that.
On the surface Max Langley was a great guy, who followed the law, and was an upstanding citizen. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but who was? A traffic violation here or there a drunk and disorderly charge, but that was the extent of his run ins with the law. At first glance he appeared to the perfect citizen, you'd never suspect he lived a double life.
He had a rule that he wouldn't fulfill another order so soon after a completed job. He hoped that would help him stay hidden, the last thing he needed was someone connecting the dots. If that happened he was fucked.
So he'd keep his head down, following the letter of the law to a T, and just wait it out. He'd wait for the buzz of his latest job to die down and then he would begin to consider taking on a new job but it wasn't definite.
Kevin had poured himself into this case, he needed answers and he wouldn't stop until he had them. He loved London, and it was killing him that he had no idea where she was or who she was with, it was terrifying.
He had crossed referenced a dozen different cases and he was terrified by what he had found, and pissed that it had gone unnoticed until this case.
He waited until everyone had settled at their desks, Hank had told them to take a step back, and when they could link Langley to the assistant principal at London's school to talk to him until that they had nothing. He had told them that 'correlation didn't mean causation' or some shit like that but Kevin knew it, he knew in his gut that something ugly was going on at that school.
Hank had told them he needed something solid before he'd allow them to bring in Langley and his uncle. They now had that..and so much more,
Kevin had hit the jackpot, he printed off the photos and stuck them to the whiteboard. He had already made copies of everything for each member of the team, except for Adam who had yet to return.
Their asses had barely hit their chairs when he started talking.
"Ok. I've found some scary shit." He was still trying to recover from it, his voice was shaky "Its terrifying..." he reiterated.
Hank stepped forward, "Kevin...turn it off. The emotion needs to stay out of it."
He took a deep breath, "I'm good, I'm okay." He cleared his throat and tapped the first photo on the board, "Matthew Dickerson, age eight." He moved on to the next picture. "Shawnay Thompson ten years old, Millie Anderson six years old, Allison Park, nine years old.." he skipped over the last few pictures, "All of these kids went to the same elementary school as London, all of them were abducted. Of those kids, one had been found, that was Matthew. He somehow managed to get away just a few hours after being taken from a playground. The bodies of three of those kids were found shortly after their abductions, all within less than ninety days." His voice trailed off, "the horrors those children went through...I can't even. The rest are still missing..though they're presumed dead. All of this has happened over the span of five years. How this managed to slip past the missing persons unit...I dunno."
Hank stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched Erin from the corner of his eye, he hated the toll this case was taken on all of them, but especially Erin. She had gone through something similar with her little brother Teddy, and it didn't end well. Teddy had been horrifically abused and he was still fighting those demons.
"Missing Persons dropped the ball, no doubt. We will deal with that once we've recovered London." His voice was low, and gravelly "What I'm about to say stays in this room..got it?"
He watched as they all nodded their heads.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "London..." his voice cracked a bit, "London..there's a good chance she's already gone. We need to be prepared for that..and we need to support Burgess. Our goal is to recover London, and the son of a bitch who grabbed her and anyone else involved in this case. We aren't bringing them in though, that would be too easy. We will find them..and they will never be seen again...understood? If you've got a problem with that...well, you know where the door is."
Adam had watched her sleep for hours now, Dr. Daniel Charles had dropped by after his shift at the hospital to talk with her and Adam was grateful that she accepted the sedative he had brought. She was in desperate need of sleep and the pills allowed her mind to shut off and she relaxed enough to actually fall asleep.
He could've gone without the impromptu to therapy session.
"So, Adam..how're you doing?" Dr.Charles asked after accepting the coffee from Adam, he knew this was hard for everyone in the unit, but it seemed to weigh heavily on Adam.
"Me?" Adam leaned against the counter, "I'm fine." He'd been asked that question at least a thousand times, "You know I wish everyone would stop asking that fucking question.." he snapped.
"Calm down, Adam." Dr.Charles lowered his voice, "I know this is hard for you...I know you and Kim have a past."
"Really? You're gonna psychoanalyze me now?" Adam dumped his drink in the sink, "forget it."
"Just making conversation, that's all." Dr.Charles back pedaled a bit, he knew if he pushed the issue, Adam would clam up.
Adam picked at the countertop, "You know...I just can't wrap my head around it.."
"What?" He asked, he knew something was bubbling under the calm demeanor Adam was trying to portray,
"Roman." Adam replied, "He knows his kid is missing and he's still sitting on the beach, drinking beers and chasing the next wave. If it was my kid..I'd move heaven and earth..."
Daniel cocked his head to the side, "Not everyone who has a child deserves them, Adam. I'm certain you've seen that first hand, just as I have."
"I have. I still don't get it...she's perfect. That little girl is beautiful, and she's just gone..." he mumbled, "how can he live with himself...the guilt alone is eating me up..."
"Guilt?" Daniel repeated, now he was getting somewhere. "You're feeling guilty?"
Adam regretted it as soon as it left his mouth, "Never mind. Just forget it."
"No, I don't think forgetting it is wise, Adam. Nor do you, although you won't admit it. I can see it in your eyes Adam, you feel immense guilt. I just don't understand why."
Adam rested his palms on the countertop before bending at the waist, "I walked away from them..." he kept his back to the doctor.
"Kim?"
Adam turned to face him, his arms folded in front of him, "Yes. I walked away so he could be a father to London, so that he and Kim could be a family...and he bailed."
Daniel touched his shoulder, "Adam, this isn't on you. It's not even on Sean.." he saw the flash of anger in Adam's eyes, "Not really..sure he should be here but it's not his fault either. Don't blame yourself Adam, don't get tied up in the blame game."
Adam ran his hand through his hair, "I want to help her...and I don't know how.."
"Love her, Adam. That's all you can do. Love her through this, be the person she can lean on." Daniel told him, "I need to get going but don't hesitate to call me, for anything at any time."
Adam nodded, "Thank you."
"Oh, my she's beautiful" Gloria stroked her cheek, "You've out done yourself Son."
He leaned on the doorframe, "Mama, I'm so happy to see you smiling again..that's all I ever wanted for you..."
"It's as if our sweet Kaitlyn has come down from the heavens..."
--NOTE--
Slowly but surely things are coming together..sorry for such a long delay but this chapter didn't play nicely. I'm happy with the finished product though.