Chapter 37

Janus

Mahdi and I wait for the others to arrive at the airfield.

I’d managed to send a text to Eagle on the drive here from our loft. I’d warned him when Dani and I arrived in Istanbul that we’d be needing his assistance, so he was ready to fly and pick up the rest of the Brotherhood when I give him the go ahead.

I can feel my heart beating in my mouth. My mind is racing, going over everything that could be happening to Dani right now.

I know that, normally, trafficking rings aren’t particularly violent to their captives, unless they really have to be, because undamaged merchandise fetches a far higher price. But since Tartarus is involved, I know they’d be willing to beat some women and children for simple amusement.

I know that Dani isn’t the kind of woman to go down quietly either. She’ll be kicking and screaming, and that’s why I love her. But I don’t think that Tartarus will find the same amount of charm in her defiance.

Mahdi puts his hand on my forearm as we sit in a private lounge at the airfield, watching the brilliant blue sky just outside the window for any sign of Eagle.

“Dani will be okay, Janus.”

“She fucking better be, Mahdi.”

I sigh and run my hands through my hair. I know it’s not too late—not yet. But I can’t help but feel as though every second that ticks past is a second too late.

“We’ve got a good plan. Do you have the right papers and identification?”

“For the Sheikh and his aide?”

“I’ve still got the ID’s from the last time we did this act.”

“That’s good. Older documents look more realistic”

Mahdi nods slightly and smiles at me reassuringly. I’m glad he can stay so calm at a time like this since it’s taking everything I have not to jump back into my car and rescue Dani right now all by myself.

But I force myself to sit tight. There’s something strangely calming about watching the clouds pass in the sky and listening to Mahdi humming along to the Pirates of Penzance. It takes me back to when I was younger.

Not a moment too soon, I see Eagle land on the tarmac. Gryphon, Phoenix, Manticore, and Leviathan climb out of the cabin. With Mahdi behind me, I jog out of the private, waiting lounge to the runway.

“Jackal,” Griffin strides across the runway towards me.

Out of everyone, he knows what I’m going through the most; it seems like only yesterday we were setting out on a similar mission to rescue Kali.

“How’re you holding up?”

“I’ll be better when Dani’s back in my arms.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.”

I turn to the Manticore, who’s been surveying the runway as though he’s looking for vantage points or escape routes. Ever the spook, I suppose.

“Did you bring anything with you?”

He shrugs one shoulder and pats the large duffel bag he’s carrying with one hand. The metallic rattling that comes from within is unsurprising, but reassuring. I should have realized that Manticore would never have brought a full wardrobe when he could have brought a full arsenal in his place.

I look at Leviathan, and he smiles at me, trying to be reassuring. But I know that smile—we all know that smile—it’s the smile that bares bad news.

“Hit me with it, Leviathan.”

“So, Danielle’s being sold off tonight at a private auction on the outskirts of Istanbul.”

“At least she’s still in the city,” Kalista chimes in.

“I tried my hardest, but I was only able to get invitations for two people,” Leviathan continues, looking around the five of us as though trying to figure out who would get to infiltrate.

But I had anticipated something like this, and I knew who I’d want to take with me this time.

“That’s okay Leviathan, Mahdi and I will take the invitations. We’ve already got a cover story and the right papers all worked out.”

“What’s the plan for the rest of us, Jackal?” Griffin asks as we begin to walk away from the plane and towards my car that’s patiently waiting on the asphalt.

“I want you, guys, to sneak in behind the scenes, to try and get the names and faces of the men behind this. Try and gather as much evidence as you can. There’s no point getting Danielle back from these bastards if they’re just going to continue stealing women like her.”

“Is there anything else we ought to know, Jackal?” Kali asks with a fierce determination that I didn’t know she had.

Manticore tosses his bag into the trunk alongside the rest of the Brotherhood’s. I turn to him and the rest of the boys as they climb into the backseat.

“Yeah, I guess you should know that our old friends, Tartarus, are involved. They run security for the traffickers.”

“Oh, good,” Gryphon smiles a little. “And here I thought I’d have to feel guilty about knocking out some innocent security guard.”

The rest of the day passes quickly as we set about preparing for the auction.

Leviathan downloads the blueprints for the building. Mahdi and I had a brief shopping trip to try and find the right outfit for our cover story. Gryphon, Phoenix, and Manticore have figured out the perfect entry point and managed to procure a get-away car...We shouldn’t be invoking a high-speed chase through the streets of Istanbul. The plan is to sneak in and out unnoticed, rather than make a commotion. The limo that we’ve hired for the evening should be perfect, but Manticore feels better knowing that he’s got something with eight cylinders at the ready, just in case.

We step into the main room of the auction—what almost looks to be a large and lavish ballroom that’s flooded with golden light. It’s far nicer than I expected a human trafficking auction to be, but then I guess they can’t all take place in seedy warehouses in the dead of night.

The girls, themselves, are nowhere to be seen. Instead, large photographs printed on canvas have been placed around the room, showing off the “stock” that are about to be sold. It’s like a macabre art gallery, and the whole concept makes my skin crawl.

I see Dani almost immediately. Her dark eyes are staring out from the canvas, and she’s got a face like thunder. In the photo she looks unharmed, and she better still be in that condition when I find her.

I give Mahdi a slight nudge, and he nods when his dark eyes catch sight of her picture.

I want to run up to her photo and shake down the guard until he tells me where she’s being kept. But I know that if we spend all our time focusing on Dani’s picture, it’ll be suspicious, even if she is the most beautiful woman in the room.

“We’re in the building.”

Gryphon’s voice comes through my earbud. We’ve all got a link to each other, with Leviathan sitting outside like our eyes in the sky, watching the whole building through the security cameras.

“I’ve located where they’re keeping the hostages. They’re all in a room in the basement, towards the back of the building.”

Leviathan speaks in my ear, and I nod my head subtly. Mahdi and I make the rounds of the ballroom, looking at the pictures of the dead-eyed women in the photographs. We’re playing the part, pretending to be a simple Sheikh and his aide, but inside, I’m dying.

I scope out the room for the exits; there are the main doors where we came in, and then one for the kitchen staff.

A voice announces that the auction will be starting soon, and I look towards Mahdi, who nods at me solemnly.

Now is my chance.

I leave Mahdi behind as I make my way towards the kitchen staff doors. At worst, if I’m too late, I know Mahdi will outbid everyone in the room to make sure Dani gets home safe. But I’d rather he didn’t waste his money.

“I’m heading there now. How’s it going, gathering faces?”

“So far so good. The photos that Phoenix got have pinged on my facial recognition. We’ve got names and backgrounds for these assholes. We’ve got them.”

No one seems to notice me as I wander through the hallways and towards the basement. Without my jacket, I blend right in with the wait staff. But I know that once I get too close to Dani, they’ll start to get suspicious.

I turn to the corridor in the basement, and I can see where they’re keeping the hostages.

One door, two guards—that’s all that stands between Dani and me right now. They don’t seem to be armed with much more than taser guns—not that a taser doesn’t hurt, but I’d take one of those over a bullet.

Keeping my head down, I walk towards the pair. They speak to me in Turkish, and though I understand them, I don’t respond. They allow me to get right up towards them, and that’s when I strike.

With my strongest uppercut, I punch my fist into the first guard’s neck. He coughs and sputters, falling backwards as I follow it up with a swift second left hook.

I’m expecting the second guard to land a blow on me from behind any second now. But I hear a thump on the floor, and while holding the first guard’s collar, I turn around to see Gryphon. He’s beaming like an idiot and straightening his jacket as he stands over the body of the second guard.

“I know, I know,” he says with raised hands. “You had it covered.”

I shake my head, but smile and knock the guard in my hands unconscious.

We fish the keys from their pockets and open the door to the room, where all the women stand huddled in the corner under florescent lights.

Then, I hear her voice.

“Janus?”