Inferno

Inferno Chapter 1

A/N: WARNING - If you are too young to read this or if this topic offends you, please skip this story and go on to another. This whole story was for G who was beginning to doubt if I could write like this. and those others who feared that I might. Enjoy it. You sure waited long enough. I tried hard to keep it as a love story so that the ending would be happy, and perhaps it was.

A/N 2: This story is definitely rated M for sexual content, strong language, and the hints of sexual sadism. 

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Friday evening || OSP Mission Headquarters

Nell Jones was the last to leave Ops. There had been no new cases that week. All the paperwork had been completed. Hetty had given everyone the afternoon off. Usually her partner, Eric Beale, was the final one to depart. He considered all the computers in the room his babies and fussed over putting them down to sleep just as a parent would their little child. But tonight Nell remained to see if she could get any results from two programs she was running.

Finally, she transferred the last of the computer programs to the weekend crew and shut down all the equipment up in Ops before she shut off the lights. The whoosh of the sliding doors sounded loud in her ears as she rounded the corner railing of the balcony and started down the stairs.

How quiet and empty this place is when everyone is gone, she thought to herself. As she reached the last step, a voice seemed to boom out of the semi-darkness, although Nell knew its owner would never shout.

"Miss Jones, a word before you leave?"

"Ahh, sure, Hetty," Nell answered as she changed her direction from the exit to Hetty's open walled office.

"Please sit down, my dear. I took the liberty of pouring you a cup of tea." Hetty waited until Nell sat in the proffered chair and sipped her tea.

"Chamomile. Something tells me, Hetty, that I am not going to like what you have to say if you are offering me chamomile tea, even before we start talking." Nell said apprehensively.

"No, my dear. I have something to ask you. I know that you eventually want to become a field agent. I have an undercover assignment that was handed to OSP. There are some unique aspects of the case that you alone fulfill. Because of the sensitive aspects of the case, I will not order you to accept this assignment. I will give you the details and let you think about your decision this weekend. You can tell me your preference on Monday morning."

Nell's sense of foreboding increased. She wondered if she should say anything, or just let Hetty continue telling her what the mission was all about. But Hetty just sat there and sipped her tea.

Knowing that the two of them could keep up the battle of silence all night, Nell finally asked, "Is it really that bad an operation? You know I have been cleared to carry and use my gun after I killed that man at Dovecote. I am just as willing to face physical danger as any of the other field agents."

"Nell, it's not the physical danger I worry about with this case. There will be some, but I am sure that you will be able to handle it. If you decide to accept this role, you will have to bare your sou to your undercover partner, maybe even to your whole team. I have grave fears of the mental anguish that might give you."

"Wh...what do you mean by that?" the younger woman asked. She set down her teacup for fear she would start shaking and spill the remaining contents.

"This assignment deals with human trafficking. We know that the Navy is working with the Philippine government to use Subic Bay as a support and servicing facility in the near East. That is not the only thing that is being worked on there. We have evidence that young women are being shipped out through Subic Bay International Airport to LAX, where they are processed and sold to people suffering from SSD, Sexual Sadism Disorder. The girls are hurt, and there are rumors that some of them have died. Navy personnel are involved at both ends. We need to shut it down."