Cold Betrayal

34

While Ali slept, a text had come in from David. He said he’d been called away, but he had taken Patricia and Agnes back to their new temporary housing unit and gave Ali their address.

When Ali rang the bell at an upstairs apartment, the Patricia who answered the door was barely recognizable from the woman Ali had first seen; Agnes looked totally different, too. David Upton had done exactly as he’d been asked, and the Brought Back girls were transformed. The clothing he’d helped the two women purchase was inexpensive, off-the-rack-type fare, most likely from Target, but it worked. Dressed in jeans, sweaters, and lace-up boots, the two Brought Back girls looked like normal thirtysomething Americans rather than bewildered immigrants from a bygone era.

Somewhere along the way, both women had visited a salon, coming away with short bobs to replace the long cumbersome braids. The thing David hadn’t been able to fix were the neglected and missing teeth, which were still front and center.

“I’ve never worn pants before or boots, either,” Patricia said, looking down at her legs a little self-consciously. “Women in The Family aren’t allowed.”

Wearing pants and boots aren’t the only things you weren’t allowed to do, Ali thought. She said, “Are you ready to do this?”

Patricia nodded. “Do you think people will even recognize us?”

“They will,” Ali assured her. “They may also be more than a little envious. Come on.”

Patricia and Agnes do

What Ali found most surprising was the total lack of any media presence. She wondered how an operation of this size and complexity had been organized and thus far operated completely under the media’s radar. She guessed that Governor Dunham had held more than a few feet to the fire to make that happen.

Inside, the spacious lobby was packed. Cops in and out of uniform chatted amiably, making the room look like the site of a mini-law-enforcement convention. No doubt the officers’ emergency response team gear was stowed in the vehicles parked outside. Faced with the crowd, Agnes and Patricia hesitated in the doorway. Ali sca

“This way,” Ali said, urging the Brought Back girls forward and into the crowd. “I want to introduce you to my husband.”

Before she had a chance, however, Virginia Dunham’s voice came over a loudspeaker. “May I have your attention, please.”

Looking up, Ali saw that a lectern had been set up on the landing of the marble stairway that led to the building’s second story. Virginia Dunham, clad in boots, jeans, and a fringed leather jacket, took her place behind the microphone.

“For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Governor Dunham,” she continued, do

“We have credible evidence that offenders from a group called The Family have been ru

“By the way, the final destination on the flight plan is listed as Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela happens to be a country with which the United States has no extradition treaty. If either the victims or perpetrators make it that far, they’ll be completely beyond our reach. That’s why I’ve put this together in such a hurry—to make sure that doesn’t happen. An FBI team is being assembled to handle the airstrip aspect of the operation. The suspect aircraft will be allowed to land, but it won’t be taking off again.

“Throwing the plane’s scheduled arrival and departure times into the mix means that we must hold to our midnight timetable. No delays. It’s a four-hour drive from here to there. The FBI is overseeing the entire operation. Their command and control vehicle is on the way already and should be in position well before the rest of you arrive. Teams one, two, and three will depart ten minutes after the conclusion of this briefing. Other higher-numbered teams will launch off in groups of three at ten-minute intervals. We can’t afford to have a northbound traffic jam. Stick to the speed limits. Don’t attract undue attention. Maintain radio silence in case someone is monitoring police cha

Ali was struck by the new information that a plane was scheduled to arrive at The Family’s landing strip—a charter capable of long-distance flying. Her gut told her that was more than a coincidence. If The Family had scheduled a flight out for sometime tonight, wasn’t it likely that they knew something was up and suspected that a raid was coming?

While Governor Dunham continued to lay out team assignments, Ali broke away from B. and Dave and wandered through the crush of cops, searching in vain for Sheriff Alvarado.

“The FBI has called down satellite surveillance of the area,” Governor Dunham continued. “So far it appears that no one is behaving as though they’ve had any advance notice of our intended arrival. Each three-man team has been assigned a number that corresponds with the operations number assigned to each of the targeted residences. At the back of the room, just before the box-lunch table, you’ll find an additional table where team captains will collect their assignments, complete with addresses, GPS coordinates, and communications routings to the C and C vehicle. Most of you will be parking outside The Family’s property and hiking in to your target, so plan on using GPS technology. Teams with the greatest distances to cover on foot have been scheduled to depart first. Fortunately, preliminary surveys of the area show no sign of anti-intrusion devices. Is everyone clear on that?”

There were nods all around. When no one raised a hand to ask a question, she went on.

“As I said, every team should be in position and prepared to take action at the stroke of midnight. Launching all the raids simultaneously allows our targets the least opportunity for organized resistance, and that is something we want to avoid if at all possible. Authorization for carrying out this operation has been more flexible than it would have been otherwise due to the fact that we strongly suspect that another group of girls is in immediate danger of being transported out of the country.