Vice

Seventeen

"There has been an explosion at an old factory on the south side of the city. This factory was used as a camp for human trafficking. Sandra Bolt is on the scene." The professional drawl of the newscaster filled the room.

The screen flashed to a woman holding an umbrella, standing in front of the two warehouses. The charred remains of the factory peaked up from the bottom of the camera's view. Thea wondered if they had refused to show all of it because of the amount of crisp bodies that were surely present among the ashes. Rain continued to pour relentlessly down onto the heads of police and firemen on the scene. All seemed oblivious to the ominous dark sky scattered with lighting.

"The warehouses you see behind me were used to hold five hundred men, women, and children; all supposed to be sold into the human slave market. At this point police are unsure of the cause of the explosion, which killed the members involved in running the human trafficking outpost. Two men were found shot dead in the warehouses with the victims. Officials have been working with the victims to understand what may have occurred here. So far the only conclusion is that one of the men who had been shot was the leader of the operations here. His name: Cadmar Beledirez. However it is believed that he was merely a small fish working for an even larger system."

It was only a matter of time until the police released the fact that the men had not died in the fire. Autopsies would surely reveal the bullets that ended their lives making it clear to Shane that the camp was taken out. Thea only hoped that it would take him a little longer to find out who had taken it out.

"Human trafficking has become a major problem nationwide-" the voice of the woman droned on into an incessant buzz that Thea's mind filtered out as she focused on the storm outside the window. It was farther off in the distance now and she could no longer see bolts of lightening but rather just the flash of white clouds interrupting the black of night.

Her thoughts trailed back to the scorpion tattoo and how she had let herself get distracted. It had caught her off guard, something that had happened before, and she swore to herself she'd never let it happen again- never be powerless over her past. But she had been. The images came without warning, even remembering them now her breath began to quicken. She couldn't let it happen again, especially not in front of the others.

A shoulder bumped into hers, shaking her from her thoughts. She turned to see Lottie's concerned expression.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you thought any of the victims could give a description of you."

Thea adverted her gaze from their inquisitive ones. The frail woman flashed before her eyes, the consummate loathing still in her demeanor. Then the image of her deflating as Cadmar hit her, and the hopelessness in the little boy's eyes. Thea's hands clenched into balls in her lap at the thought of the man.

She wasn't sure how much any of the captives remembered of her, they may have been too preoccupied watching Cadmar beat the woman

"It was dark."

Lottie looked as if she wanted to press the matter further but one look at Thea's expression made her decide against it. They finished watching the news segment in silence, then vacated the living room. Everyone was exhausted from the days events and were quick to head back to their own rooms.

****

The next few days Thea avoided all contact with the others. She stayed in her room, only coming out periodically for meals. No one else seemed to mind, they each took their own time to recuperate as well. It turned out that Ryder and Trevor had taken a beating while trying to plant the bombs, and both spent the first few days sleeping.