But it can’t be helped this time. Not with something like this. I know for a fact that he knows more about this stuff than most, and time is of the essence. If what I suspect is true, then there may be children in danger as we speak. There’s no question that helping them trumps my need for vengeance, not that I’m giving it up or that I even could. But now, I need to traverse this minefield even more carefully.
I thought and rethought what I was going to say to him. Had this not crossed the line into my personal shit, there would be no need for subterfuge, but one wrong move…. No, it doesn’t matter. I’m not monster enough to have seen this shit and keep silent. There’s nothing stopping me from dealing with both situations, ergo the reason I’d reached out to Memnon in the first place.
I started typing, knowing that he was there waiting. Don’t ask me how I knew; it’s just a sense I have of the person he is. He’s always struck me as the type to go above and beyond, especially if he knew he was needed. “Hey brother, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Quick question, I’ve never handled this side of things, but you do. How do you go about setting up a sting for a trafficking ring?”
“What?” It’s weird, but his one-word answer gave me visions of him sitting up in his chair at full attention.
“You heard me.”
“You found one?”
“Yeah. I think I might’ve stumbled upon something.”
“Where?” Now comes the hard part. Does he even remember?
“Sicily!”
“Si… Is this connected to your thing?” Shit, he remembers.
“Sorta, yeah. So, how do I do this?”
“That depends on the size and scope of the operation. What have you got?”
“I think this one might be pretty big. From what little I’ve seen so far, there seems to be a lot of players involved, spanning the globe.”
“OK! Do you feel safe sending me what you got?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have contacted you otherwise. I’ll shoot it to you now.” I sent the file I’d compiled through to him and hoped I was doing the right thing. It’s true that I’ve done good work with the organization and had lots of fun doing it.
I usually stuck to hacking, and that was mostly people in high positions who weren’t living up to their public persona behind closed doors. The truth is, I never really changed course after I was inducted. I’d started hacking as a way to get to Ricci since we were thousands of miles apart. But once they reached out, I had no problem using my skills to help out, but I just never got as involved as some, like Memnon.
My interest never changed from then to now, and quite frankly, I kept my hand in because I get a high from bringing down men like Ricci. Men and women who shit all over the world with their bullshit while pretending to be angels. I want them all exposed and made to pay for their misdeeds. But I’ve never really dealt with trafficking cases beyond the surface level. Now it looks like I might become knee-deep in that hell.
I saw on the screen that he was typing less than ten minutes after I sent him the file, and from the looks of it, he had a lot to say. His words popped up on the screen. “Holy crap, do you know what this is?” If typed words had a tone, his right now would scream tempered excitement.
“I understand some of the lingo but not all. What is it?”
“The motherlode. I’ll try to break it down later, but I have to share this with my team. I’ll try to keep your name out of it because I’m sure you’re afraid of crossover, not to worry, brother, I won’t dox.”
“I never thought you would. So, I can safely leave this in your hands then?”
“Yeah, it may take a while, though. This is not your everyday scumbag trying to make a quick buck. This is the real deal. Catch you later; I’m going to work.”
We signed off from each other, and I sat back to think about his words. It would be perfect if it took a while; that would give me time to make my own moves. I imagine taking down a trafficking ring like the one he described would take time and planning, and while he was taking care of that side of things, I’ll be doing mine.
* * *
In the morning, since I didn’t have to take the twins to school, I asked them to pick up Gia so that I could make a run. I hadn’t taken into consideration that she’d need a ride to school in the mornings once she moved back home. It will be a while before she gets her license, after all, so it would fall to me to take her.