Between HeVan and Hell (28 page)

“Detective Perez, this is good work.
To preserve chain of custody, I’d like you to turn over those boxes
of evidence to the Captain now. Captain, don’t let all this hard
work go to waste. I suggest you mark and stash those boxes in three
separate property rooms under different names that only you know. I
suspect that before this day is done, we’ll have ourselves a nice
mountain of evidence. Let’s make sure every item is carefully
catalogued and properly handled. It was very nice to meet you
gentlemen,” she said, as she rose from the chair.

“The City will sleep a little easier
tonight and the jails will be full,” she said as she left. “Just
the way I like it.”

Captain Udaka, with Jett’s help,
carried the three boxes down to his car and put them in the trunk.
Then he and the State’s Attorney left the building through the
garage. Ms. Herrera was seated in the back and the windows were
tinted; he kept the visors down and pulled his brim low. He didn’t
get out of the office much and hoped that if there were any
watchers, he wouldn’t be recognized. He didn’t feel any eyes on him
as they left.

Captain Udaka planned his operation
carefully, pulling his operatives in individually and giving them
their orders. He covered his actions as quarterly performance
reviews, some of which he actually completed in between meetings.
He made a few phone calls to other district senior officers, as
this operation would be crossing multiple districts. He gained
immediate cooperation by telling them that they would get the
credit for closing down the criminal activities within their own
district boundaries.

Luckily, he’d made a point of being on
good terms with all the Captains of the other districts throughout
his career. He asked them to stand by their fax machines for the
warrants. He didn’t tell them who their men would be arresting
until just before he faxed them over. He could feel the excitement
building and that energy was telegraphing itself to the men.
Hopefully, they would be able to keep a lid on it until they sprang
the trap.

He had his team arresting the Kadyrovs
as he sent the faxes. If there were leaks, he didn’t want to lose
the big fish. If a few little ones escaped, they’d scoop them up
later. A part of him wanted to be there as the cuffs were slapped
on, but he knew he was more valuable here at the office, overseeing
the operation. He especially liked faxing over the warrant to have
Sheila Carson arrested. He wasn’t surprised when he got the phone
call on that one. His counterpart in that district was so angry
that he vowed to cuff her himself.

Grace was there; she took great
pleasure in cuffing Anton Kadyrov. What really pleased her was when
he resisted and she was able to put him down in the middle of his
precious casino in front of all his patrons. She made sure to
Mirandize him in front of multiple witnesses. It had taken nearly
five full minutes to read off the list of charges. She had her
badge around her neck on a chain and a gun at her hip. The look on
his face when he saw her was priceless. She instantly pushed the
button on the jamming device Jett had given her and then dropped it
in her pocket. Then she led the officers into the office and showed
them where to find the second set of books and other pieces of
evidence from the recorded information.

His grandfather was at the club having
a late meeting with Anton and they were arrested together. The look
of hate in his eyes sent a chill through her. Good thing they’d be
in prison for the rest of their natural lives.

After leaving the casino, Grace called
Captain Udaka and met him at Mr. Kadyrov’s mansion. There were
already officers there who had secured the premises; now they would
pick up the remainder of the evidence. The Captain had made the
decision to bring in the FBI, as the surveillance record from the
Friday meeting had revealed links to terrorist groups and arms
smuggling. There was also information about a load of human
trafficking victims who would be arriving in the City tonight at a
warehouse; she wanted to pull the file and make sure she knew the
warehouse address. They were already planning the raid.

She didn’t get home until nearly
ten-thirty. She had helped log in almost every piece of evidence.
She’d gotten finger cramps from having to type up a fistful of
reports but there was a certain satisfaction in that. The highlight
of the evening was when she got a chance to participate in an
interview with the Kadyrovs. She took great pleasure in letting
them know that Olga Kadyrov, aka Sheila Carson, was no longer with
the State’s Attorney’s Office and was currently in her own cell
awaiting interrogation on her own charges.

Their lawyer argued that they didn’t
have enough Probable Cause to support the warrants they’d issued.
After all, he said, the only open investigation was the battery
against Mrs. Levin.

Grace then reminded him of the charge
of ordering a murder, which was back on the table. She then played
them the tape of Anton ordering Ron to kill Jett. She went on and
played the tape of Mr. Kadyrov running the month-end
meeting.

Smiling at Anton, she said, “Everyone
at that meeting is now under arrest, as well as many other
individuals in your organization. I’m sure when we review your
Grandfather’s excellently kept records and files; they will give us
what we need to issue additional warrants.”

He attempted to lunge across the table
at her, but the officer behind him prevented the action by slamming
him back in the chair.

Grace got up and left the room. “Thank
you for giving me this opportunity, Captain. I needed to ‘face the
devil,’ as it were.”

“You earned it, Grace. It’s late
tonight, but tomorrow after end of shift, we’re having a
get-together at O’Hurley’s Pub,” answered Captain Udaka.

“I’ll be there. I hope it’s okay if I
bring the guys.”

“Of course, they’re welcome. Jett
especially earned a whiskey on my tab,” said the Captain. “Now, go
home; that’s an order.”

“Yes, Sir!” she said with a salute and
a smile.

The rest of the week followed the same
pattern as Monday. More charges were filed and more arrests were
made. Grace put in long hours. She personally interviewed most of
the women who had arrived Monday night. Most of them were alone and
without families; they had been smuggled in from Chechnya. Jalen
was acting as her main interpreter during those interviews and she
got the impression that he asked them a number of questions that
she hadn’t asked.

“Jalen, I get the feeling you asked
those girls more than I asked you to,” said Grace.

“I am worried about them returning to
their own country. They are children and don’t have families to
care for them. They would be welcome on HeVan, Grace, and well
cared for,” he replied.

“You explained that I’m Nephilim,
Jalen. Those girls are not. I don’t think they’d be happy with more
than one husband,” she said.

“We have a race of people on HeVan,
Grace, who are ancient. They are not originally from our planet.
Their own planet was destroyed when their sun went Super Nova. They
wandered the Galaxy for thousands of years, looking for a new home.
They were welcomed on HeVan, as they also have a matriarchal
society.

“They don’t own land, as that is
against their custom and always has been. They are called the
Zingara and have always been a nomadic tribe. In the last ten
thousand years, their numbers have also fallen, though not as
severely as ours. They have two men to every woman and still have
only one female and one male in a marriage. It is their
way.

“Do you remember Gilda?” at her nod,
he continued. “She has decided to move herself to HeVan and start a
new life there. It turns out her lineage is gone from HeVan. Her
Granddaughter and Grand-Niece are the hope of that lineage being
re-established. She has inherited lands touching upon your
sister’s.

“Currently, that land is watched over
by a large tribe of Zingara. Their Queen is well respected by
Arjun, but the current Princess Regent would like to take their
women and eject the men from HeVan. In essence, we have been hiding
them. Since Addie has already promised to see to their welfare, I
thought, if any of these young ladies were interested, they could
go to the Zingara,” Jalen said.

“And what if they were so freaked out
about being taken on a spaceship that they wished to come home?
Isn’t your ship currently full of horny men?” Grace
asked.

“They would not be touched unless they
expressly wished it. Before they even arrived, all the men on the
ship would be taught their language; they would be safe. You have
grown up with safety; they have not. I feel I must give them this
option.”

“I’ll find out how much time it’s
going to take to get them processed and sent home. You gave them
your phone number? It’s possible that when they return home, they
will be harassed and interrogated, as it’s a Muslim country; it
depends on the laws there. Also, they don’t have any money. You
can’t take them from this country because it would bring too much
attention to them. What were you planning to do?” she
asked.

“We have the ability to tell when we
are being lied to, as you know. When I spoke to the girls, I could
tell which ones were genuinely interested in making a better life
and those who felt they could manipulate me. Luckily, there were
only two that I would not trust,” he said.

“I think I know which two you’re
speaking of. They were the only ones that checked you out. The
others were still too traumatized. When Anton had whatever
confederate he uses at the other end to kidnap these girls, it
looks like he got a couple of pros.”

“Pros?”

“Long term Prostitutes. Women who’ve
probably been in the business so long they’ve become hardened to
it. They most likely started being sold to men when they were
children or young girls. They’re completely desensitized and I
don’t think they’re capable of having a normal relationship with a
man, at least not without a great deal of therapy and healing. It
may be that those two women need HeVan the most. My only worry is
that they might cause a lot of trouble before they were healed. For
them, sex is no longer about the exchange of pleasure, it’s about
power. It’s about controlling men through their urges. And you have
a world full of men just waiting to be led into trouble,” she
added.

“I will give each woman a few gems...”
he stopped when he saw her shaking her head.

“First, they’ll be searched. Second,
the strong will prey on the weak and some of them might even be
hurt. You can’t save everyone, Jalen.”

She hated to see that defeated look on
his face and racked her brain for a solution. “I have an idea,”
continued Grace. “Becky has contacts within the CIA. We’ll get her
to arrange a safe house for them. You can fund the safe house. If
they remain interested in leaving everything familiar to go to an
unknown country, you can make arrangements to move them, okay?”
asked Grace.

“Brilliant! Would you call Becky for
me and explain what we need?”

“Yes, I’ll do that after I find out
when they’re supposed to be deported. I didn’t mention it before
but there is a very slim—and I do mean a very slim—possibility that
they’ll be given asylum here in this country. Don’t get your hopes
up on that one. And if they are, then it would be very difficult to
recruit them, as they’d be watched very closely.

“And another thing, have any of you
had a serious conversation with Addie about what it will mean to
bring several thousand new women to HeVan from Earth? It will have
a profound effect on your culture. You can use the United States as
an example. This Country is made up primarily of people that came
from other countries and settled here. Most brought their cultures
and religions with them. Are you prepared to have that happen on
HeVan?

“I would expect that there will be
factions that believe having your Queen back will be enough to
restore your world without the added complication emigrants
bring.”

Thinking over all she had said as well
as remembering the personalities of many of those in power back
home, Jalen realized she had made several valid points. He would
have to bring this up with Arjun during their next phone
call.