Chapter 4
Purge
I don’t knowhow long I’ve been sitting at this computer, hacking like crazy. I'm gaining zero ground on the Director’s computer. I haven’t slept or eaten since Iskra was taken away, a couple of days ago.
I’m exhausted, but I need the privacy of my own computer to do more digging. I check to be sure I have the flash drive, then double-check to be sure everything is shut down and erased before leaving the computer room.
When I get back to the apartment, Frost is there, pacing the living room. “Hey,” I greet, and he looks up at me.
“Brother...”
Shock fills me at the look of utter devastation in his eyes. His pain is so visceral, I can see it. My God—Iskra did the impossible. She gave Frost emotions.
I head back to my room, booting up my computer and inserting the flash drive.
I'm working on so many things—finding Iskra, hacking the Director's computer, digging for what I can find on Harris, and digging for dirt on our fathers so I can take them the fuck down.I need something big enough to hold over their heads so they’ll let Iskra go.
I've created a program that lets me access the Dark Web as well as blow past any firewalls or basic—and even complicated—security a site may have. It enables me to browse through police and FBI records, military records, and more.
I'm deep in the Dark Web right now. There's bile in my mouth as I look at these... bids on young women and children. Human fucking trafficking. This shit is so utterly enraging and fucked up. Interesting that the information I’m chasing on my father led me here. Is this a Bratva thing, or a “family” thing? Either way, my father—as well as Frost’s and Ghost’s—are involved.
I'm not as shocked as I should be, but I already know how sick our fathers are.
Purge Age 11
The guys and I are rushing through my house on our way to the media room. We're looking forward to watching the latest horror movie on the big screen and eating our body weight in popcorn and candy. The house is supposed to be empty, so I pause, shushing the guys when I hear a voice from my father’s office.
“Yes, the shipment is here, and intact,” I hear him say. He must be on the phone.
Curious, I motion for the guys to stay quiet, and spy on the phone call.
“It’s fresh, yes,” my father says. “Organic and tender.” The hell is he talking about? “It’s untouched, yes. Fresh off the boat.”
Um... no clue what he’s telling the person on the other end of the line. We don’t deal with food service, so I’m stumped by what he’s talking about.
I look back at Synn, my eyebrow raised. He tosses his arms up, telling me he has no clue, either.
Whatever. I’m ready to see some slicing and dicing. We sneak past my father’s office and go straight for the media room.
Back then, we were too young to understand any of the lingo. We've suspected trafficking for a while now, after the shit we’ve seen.
Thinking back to that old phone conversation, I frown, wondering if it’s possible for him to have been discussing PEOPLE. Fuck. I hope it’s not....
Fuck it. “Frost?” I call from my room. “Can you come look at something for me?”
He saunters in, moving close to the screen. “What am I looking at? Are those... bids? On people?”
“I think so. My question is, is it just trafficking, or something more?”
“Let me see,” he says, pushing me aside to get to my keyboard. Frost isn’t a hacker, but he does know his way around a computer. He frowns, clicking away.
“What are you looking for?” I ask.
“There’s usually an area for comments... here it is. Oh fuck!”
I lean in, peering at the screen. It's those code words again. But one comment in particular stands out. It says:I’m hungry for fresh meat.
“Frost? Is this selling people for... food?” I ask with incredulity in my voice.
