ConfinedLove Page 5

  “Why are there no women there?”

  “The fifth was once used as a prison center. The worst element of society was shipped there and held away from the rest of society. Enforcers guarded it for years until a new technology was created,” Radek answered.

  Kain took over the story. “The technology was robotic in nature. Allowing the prison to be run from a shuttle that circled above. Doors were locked and unlocked by remote. All prisoners were implanted with anodes in the backs of their necks. Once inserted below the skin, the anodes grafted to the top of the spine, becoming part of them. This enabled control. Any issues or problems and an electric current could be sent through the anode.”

  “So what went wrong?” Obviously something had or we wouldn’t be heading there.

  “The shuttle operators began to give certain prisoners the ability to control certain processes from the ground.” Xanthus heaved a sigh. “And one of them managed to bring it all down.”

  “They had misplaced his file. Didn’t realize what he had been sent there for. He was a model prisoner and was rewarded for it.” Kain shook his head with disgust. “Someone dropped the ball. He was a bio-scientist who managed to figure out how to counter the spine grafts. Once those were destroyed they took over.”

  “And the fifth quadrant became a haven for the criminal minded.” Radek seethed with anger beside me.

  “What about the shuttle that was patrolling? Wasn’t this reported to them?”

  “Not soon enough,” Xanthus responded. “By the time the command post realized what was happening, they had overrun the place. Weapons had been stored there from when we had Enforcers on site. They found them, took them and used them very expertly against us.”

  “And a war zone was created.” Kain sighed as he spoke.

  More pictures flashed up. These showed exactly what the women were used for. Half naked, chained to the beds. Some were obviously drugged out of their minds. It made me sick, the lunch I’d been eating pushed aside. Sex was no longer on my mind. Bruised skin. Blood and semen. These women didn’t enjoy the sex they were forced to participate in. It disgusted me.

  “How many?”

  “What?” Xanthus glanced over at me. I interrupted something he’d been saying but I hadn’t been listening anyway.

  “How many women are believed to be there? Held like this?”

  “We don’t know for sure,” Kain answered. “We discover new places all the time. Close one down and another pops up.”

  “Drugs are the other main trade. Don’t eat or drink anything we come across there. If it’s not on this shuttle, we don’t consume it. No exceptions. Ever. In the field it can be difficult to determine friend from foe. Remember that.” Radek delivered this warning with a squeeze of my arm.

  “Trust no one who isn’t a part of this team.” Xanthus’ gaze was intense.

  “Understood.” I nodded.

  This was far more than I’d heard rumored. A former prison zone. No one at home knew about this or even hinted of it. I had my ear to the ground and I would have heard about it. Barring that, Emma or Mandy would have. And I was headed right into the center of it. “So what are we doing there?”

  “We’ll be heading into zone 4.”

  A map came up and Xanthus pointed to the zone as he shared where we were going.

  “We’ll start with a perimeter check and work our way in. We have several hot spots we’ll be checking on.”

  Kain did a zoom-in on zone 4.

  “Those are located here, here and here.” Radek pointed them out. “These are known slave houses. We shut ’em down and they open right back up in a few weeks.”

  “We are recon. We do a visual scan and map it. That’s it,” Xanthus emphasized. “If we find something, Kain will tag the spot and relay it to command. They will send a bigger force in and do a shut-down and rescue.”

  “They’re better equipped to deal with the female hostages,” Kain said, stalling the question on my lips. “They’ve been through major trauma. Some for longer than you’d believe.”

  I held back my shudder. I’d never known the darker side of sex. Everything I’d experienced had been consensual and welcomed. Those pictures. Those women. They would haunt me for a long time.

  “It’s a rough place, Soph. Shit can go bad in a split second. And down there, we’ve got only each other. Enforcers die. They disappear and are assumed dead.”

  “I signed on for this, just like the rest of you.” I felt the need to remind them of that little fact.

  “Doesn’t matter. We all knew exactly what we were signing up for. You were kept in the dark about a lot of things.” Kain didn’t sound happy about that fact. To be honest neither was I.

  Had Lt. Certze known about all this? I had my doubts. He’d sent Emma into this. I was as good as another daughter to him. I couldn’t believe that he would willingly send us into such a place. Then again, we’d both wanted this. Begged for it. So there was no backing down now.

  “Good thing I have three of the best Alpha Enforcers at my side.”

  Xanthus nodded.

  “We’ll keep each other safe, Soph.” Radek made the promise but I knew it went for Kain and Xanthus as well.

  “I’m not worried about us.” I glanced back to the map and the marked hot spots. “I’m worried about those women and what they endure. I couldn’t walk away now, not knowing what happened there. “What happens to them?” I voiced the question quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

  “They’re sent to different places, depending on their conditions. Those on drugs are sent to detox first. Some are so sexually abused that they are broken.” Xanthus tapped his head. “Here. They get sent to special hospitals where they are watched over and protected, even from themselves.”

  “Some have families. They get contacted. Sometimes just seeing a loved one can trigger healing,” Kain added softly.

  “What became of the scientist?”

  “We haven’t been able to ascertain if he’s still alive,” Radek confirmed.

  “Why haven’t we been able to take control?” I didn’t understand the fact that we hadn’t just gone in and taken it all back.

  “I don’t know.” Xanthus shrugged.

  “There are things we still don’t know. We are given the intel we need to carry out our mission and nothing more.”

  “How many units are in the fifth?”

  “There are twenty-two zones, one unit per zone,” Kain answered.

  “Do you know what zone my friend and her triad unit are in?”

  “Zone 13. They sent them in to a smaller zone. Less chance of her being discovered. With her hair up, I understand her height can make her appear as tall as a male Enforcer from a distance. It was one of the safer zones for testing this program. We usually patrol zone 1. With you coming onboard, we’ve moved to 4. You can see it’s smaller. Just a few hot spots to contend with. It will be a great place for you to get your feet wet.”

  “I don’t have her height.” I was only five feet four inches as opposed to Emma’s six-foot height. And although I could wear boots with hidden lifts to make me appear taller, I wouldn’t be as effective if I were walking on stilts or trying to run in them.

  “We won’t be able to hide the fact that you are female.” Xanthus sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “We’ll just have to stay on our toes.”

  This was real. The fun and excitement of becoming an Enforcer was dwarfed by the reality of where I was going. My worry was not if I was capable of doing the job but what amount of danger I would bring with me just by being a woman.

  “You’re doing it again.”

  “What?” I asked Xanthus.

  He did that tap on his forehead again. “Overthinking it.”

  I blew out a deep breath. “We need to go over the drills again. I want to make sure we’re prepared for anything. For everything. So much could go wrong if anyone sees me.”

  “Soph, you know the drills. You can fight. You know the formation w
e’ll take on our recon.” Radek shook his head at me as he spoke.

  “Everyone gets a little case of nerves before their first time as active.” Kain’s words had me glancing back and forth between him and Radek. They had heard my conversation with Xanthus earlier. They knew that I hadn’t earned my tiger until I’d signed on for this unit.

  “We don’t keep secrets,” Xanthus murmured. “Secrets get people killed out here.”

  “Besides,” Radek added, “it doesn’t make a difference to us. At least your first taste will be with us. We’ll make sure it’s a good one.”

  “You guys are amazing. So much more than I expected.”

  “What were you thinking? That we’d be egotistical assholes only looking to get laid while on duty?” Xanthus’ eyebrow rose high as my face flamed red at just how close to the truth that comment hit.

  “Think we’d judge you because you agreed to this?” Kain asked the question softly. I could do nothing but nod. “You’re right. We did. We judged you to be brave. Who else would take on something they were uncertain of?”

  “I’ve always dreamed of being an active-duty Enforcer,” I admitted. “From the time I was little. There’s never been anything I’ve wanted more.”

  “We understand that better than anyone.” Xanthus spoke softly. “This has always been our dream as well.”

  “Though now that dream is better, sweeter,” Kain added.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re in it,” Radek answered.

  Was it possible that I wouldn’t fall in love with these three men? I didn’t think so. The more I discovered of their personalities, the more I admired them, the more I fell for them.

  “What’s next on the agenda?” I asked, thinking back to our conversation the night before. The morning was about training. We’d done that. The afternoon was for briefing. Check that off the list. Now what was the last thing on the list?

  “Stripping you naked and exploring every inch of you.” Kain all but purred the words to me.

  Yeah, that was exactly what they’d promised last night.

  “I’ve always loved exploring.”

  Xanthus laughed. “Then let’s get started.”

  Radek stood beside me and held out his hand. I took it and let him help me up from the chair I’d been sitting in for what felt like hours. Let the exploration begin!

  Chapter Six

  Kain shook me awake.

  “We got a call. First mission is now. Xanthus is speaking with command. Radek is locating any places we may need to find or get to in an emergency.”

  I nodded and jumped up, reaching for my uniform. I could feel the spike of adrenaline. This was it. No more waiting and wondering. Now was the time for doing.

  I joined my guys in minutes. Xanthus was doing a weapons check on what we would be taking with us. Radek was poring over his maps. Kain was checking his pack. I didn’t recognize all the gadgets he pulled out but I knew he’d use them to hack into anything we might encounter that was computerized or electronic.

  I had facts flowing through my mind. Everything Xanthus had briefed me on was there, just waiting for me to need it.

  “Weapons are a go,” Xanthus stated. “Suit up and let’s go over the mission.” He spread a paper map out on the table.

  “We’ll be landing here.” He tapped a spot on the map. “Activity is suspected in this area. They want to know for sure. They’ve got a team on standby waiting for our findings.”

  We all nodded. This was it. No more training or preparing. I was finally going to see some action. My adrenaline was high, my heart practically racing with it.

  Time seemed to race by and the next thing I knew we were there. It was my first real look at the fifth. No pictures, just my eyes soaking it all in. I’d spent my entire life in space. Here it was so colorful that no picture could ever truly do it justice. The area we’d landed in was remote but I knew from photos that there were numerous buildings close by. It was our job to investigate them.

  There was dirt under my feet, a mixture of browns and reds. Little patches of growth tried to shoot out every few feet but seemed to be choked by the dirt. The sky was a dark cloud above us. It was beautiful. The air was filled with odors I’d never inhaled before.

  “Take position,” Xanthus commanded quietly. “Let’s head out.”

  We moved as one. It was one thing to practice it, another to see it actually unfold in the field. I felt strong, confident. There was no lag to my steps, no doubt crowding my mind. I’d trained my entire life for this. I was ready. Physically and mentally.

  Xanthus signaled us to stop when we reached the first building. Hugging the wall, we waited while Kain took out one of his gadgets and ran a check on it. I knew it would be up to Kain to figure out if what they sought was here.

  He nodded and, at Xanthus’ signal, we moved toward the next building. It was slow going at this point. We had to be as silent as possible. If we did our job correctly, no one would know we’d ever been here.

  Kain held up his hand at the next building. There were people inside. Radek pulled up the layout of that particular building then nodded. It would suit the purposes of one in the sex trade. My stomach knotted at what might be taking place behind the doors.

  In and out. Gather information. I had to remind myself that was how I could save any women who might be held inside. Just do my job.

  Four other buildings fit the bill. Kain marked them on one of his devices. Each would require a closer look now that we’d finished our initial walkthrough. This was the tricky part. There was a box on the outside of each building. Fortunately, they’d remained the same since they were built long ago. Each box housed the electronic workings for that building, including all cameras inside.

  The original purpose had been to keep remote eyes on all prisoners. As long as the cameras themselves hadn’t been ripped out or smashed, we could access and view the interior. We even had the ability to turn them on from the outside box.

  It was Radek’s job to know where each of the boxes was located on the buildings. Xanthus would lead us there undetected and get the box open. At that point, Kain would take over and access everything we needed. It was my job to know who the players were. I had faces and names in my head—all the key players in the industry. If the right people were here, this was our target.

  The first building was a bust. No females on site and no familiar faces. The second and third proved more of the same. The fourth was our jackpot. As soon as the camera vids came up, we could see what was happening. Women being taken every way imaginable. If they were lucky, they were drugged. But even I could tell that some of them weren’t. It made my stomach roil and anger fired deep within me.

  Kain used a recorder to transfer the images from the box to a hand-held device he then passed to Xanthus. Xanthus connected it to the radio all commanders used. I knew he would use that to let the waiting team know which building was the target.

  We still had one building to check. Everything was going smoothly, until it wasn’t. Xanthus had been correct when he’d stated it could all go to shit fairly quickly. It did. One moment we were at the box with Kain doing his magic. The next thing we knew, a spark surged out from the box to Kain.

  He didn’t have time to even call out before he hit the dirt. A piece of wall flew open, revealing a door made to blend and be overlooked. It had succeeded. Four men poured out. None of us had time to check on Kain. I could only hope that he was just unconscious and not seriously injured. I refused to consider the other possibility.

  Xanthus took on two of them immediately. One jumped at Radek, taking him to the ground where they rolled. And I faced off with the fourth. Training took over. Instinct played a part as well. Taking a running leap, I jumped at the wall, using my feet to push off and turn, the momentum enabling me to kick hard enough to spin him.

  He hit the ground hard. I landed in a crouch beside him. Rising, I stomped hard on his wrist and felt no remorse as I heard the bone sna
p. His weapon was useless to him now. I kicked it away as he pulled his hand to his chest, cradling it. One more sharp kick to his temple and he was out.

  I glanced over. Radek had his guy on the ground beneath him. Didn’t look as though he needed my help. Xanthus on the other hand did. Both men were coming at him. One had a wicked-looking knife in his hand and happened to be to the side and behind Xanthus. Didn’t look fair to me.

  Jumping in I took the one behind him with a roundhouse kick that had him reeling back and away. I followed up with a front kick that took his knee out with a loud popping sound. I aimed for the places that would do the most damage. I didn’t play around when I fought.

  I heard a snap and turned in time to see Xanthus break the neck of his adversary.

  “No witnesses,” Xanthus grunted.

  No witnesses. Not only would I have to take this one out, I’d have to go back to the other and make sure he wasn’t going to wake up. Ever.

  We’d already made enough noise. We’d be lucky if there weren’t more getting ready to pour out and attack. I quickly cut off the moans of the one holding his knee by slamming my boot heel into his throat. It was easy enough at that point to use his knife. One quick thrust to his heart and it was all over.

  I stood and turned to see that Xanthus had already handled the first one I’d tangled with. Radek had Kain over his shoulder.

  “We need to move.”

  “Kain?” I asked, unable to hold my fear inside a moment longer.

  “It’s happened before. They rewire so a jolt goes out to the hacker, knocking him out. A signal beeps inside, alerting them of our presence. Kain is usually good at spotting a rewire. They must be getting better.”

  I nodded at Radek. “So he’ll be okay?”

  “A little rest and he’ll be fine. Nothing more than a bruised ego,” Xanthus assured me. “Now let’s move.”