Nate
All the parking lots near Paine College were unusually full, which meant a large crowd had arrived to participate in Enrique’s flesh auction. We all had to park our vehicles farther away where we found some vacant spots, then slipped quietly through the dark night toward the campus.
The idea of some sick bastard purchasing Alissa like a commodity and turning her into his sex slave made my stomach rebel. It was all I could do to keep the bile from rising up my throat.
People were gathered in small groups out in the campus yard, talking excitedly, some smoking cigarettes, a few had women at their sides, and I noticed one man hanging onto a young girl by a rope that was attached to a collar around her neck.
Sick.
Had we missed the auction? Where was Alissa?
Tony slipped away, silently disappearing to do his thing.
The darkness of the grounds made it possible for us to mingle with the other men without sticking out like we would in broad daylight. Still, we were cautious, approaching one at a time, positioning ourselves amongst the crowd in locations where we could see each other and observe what was going on. It would be a little obvious if we all arrived in a huddle.
Luke and Ryan approached a group of men with their women who were laughing and talking underneath a grove of nearby trees. Luke went in first and Ryan slipped in later, casually joining the conversation. The crowd was a mixed group of different races—African American, Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian. Many of the gangs were present here tonight, though I didn’t see Romeo in the crowd. I spied different gang insignias, colored bandannas, and jackets worn by gang members. Apparently, they’d all agreed to get along long enough to attend Enrique’s flesh auction. I was amazed at the lack of concern shown by anyone. No one was bothered about doing something so illegal, so blatantly in the open. It was as if they were all attending a frat party. Was the military patrol unaware of what Vasquez did here on this campus? Or was the patrol outnumbered so they stayed away for their own safety?
I casually strode up a couple of kids who wore the Rapsters bandannas.
“What’s up?”
They both eyed me, though there was no suspicion in their eyes, just curiosity. The taller one responded, “Sup, man?”
“You buy a girl?”
These guys were just kids, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen. The taller kid shook his head. “Fuck, no. Too expensive. Girls are going for ten or fifteen g’s, man. And some of the hotter ones are going for even more than that. Blondes and redheads cost the most. Outta my budget, ya know?”
I pretended to be sympathetic. “Yeah. I hear ya, bro. I’m hoping to buy a blonde. You know if they got any leggy blondes?”
“Not sure, man. There’s still a few girls left inside, I think.”
I nodded. “Thanks. See ya around.” I moved off, then paused to lean against a tree trunk to watch my dreg brothers using their supernatural powers to get more information.
I spied Ryan sidling up to a pretty brunette, working his swag and slowly exuding his pheromone to make her talk. She giggled and leaned into him, her hand on his chest. She had no idea that she was powerless to fight off the pheromone, and that she would soon reveal everything she knew.
Several feet away Luke seemed to be talking intensely with a young man in his early twenties. Luke’s mind-controlling ability would make the man speak the truth.
Noah and Logan were off to my right with another group of people, chatting them up. A guy was handing Noah his phone, showing him something. Knowing Noah, he’d probably hacked into all the nearby cellphones and was secretly searching them for information about Alissa. Logan was talking with a couple of Asian men who I imagined were from the Black Dragons gang. They were speaking another language. Chinese? Japanese? Linguistics was Logan’s specialty. His ability to communicate with anyone was an asset that would come in handy tonight.
Since my talent was healing, not gathering information, I decided to stay by the tree. And watch. And wait.
Five minutes passed. Ten.
“Anyone got anything?” I asked into the mic.
“The people I talked to haven’t seen her,” Logan replied.
“Same here,” Luke responded. “No one’s seen her.”
“Some of these guys showed me pictures of the girls to be auctioned,” Noah said into the mic. “Several were blonde.”
I pulled my gaze back to Ryan. The brunette was now plastered against him, her arms around his neck, her lips locked on his. Trying not to be irritated, I reminded myself that though it might look like Ryan was fucking around, seducing women was how he extracted information from them.
“Ryan,” I hissed into the mic. “You got anything?”
He lifted his head, then gently pushed the girl away from him, his gaze locking on mine across the yard. “Yeah. Relax, man. I was doing an extraction. Carrie said she saw several blondes. So Alissa could be here.”
My gut told me Alissa was here. Somewhere. But where? She might already be gone. Someone might have bought her and left.
“Found her,” came Tony’s voice in my mic. “Back room behind the theater. Be ready, everyone. I’m bringing her out.”
“Roger that,” I responded, relief sweeping through me.
Ryan straightened away from the brunette, his gaze locking with Luke’s. Noah and Logan each moved away from the people they were talking to. One by one, they slipped quietly away. I followed after them, my senses alert. Cautious.
This could get ugly real fast.
We had to be prepared for anything.