His Watchful Eye

Chapter 26- The Plot

     Her heart pounded like a drum in her chest as Beckner drove them to FBI Headquarters at Quantico. As the images from the flash drive filled her brain, she choked back a sob in her throat. "Colin, you don't honestly think Traeger is behind all this do you?" As she struggled to grasp the implications of Alex's investigative work, she couldn't fathom someone in her boss' position could deviate so far from the path of everything right. "How could he-?" A strangled sob cut her words short.

Colin's hand captured her own, and he offered her a quick, compassionate glance before returning his focus to the road they traveled. "He has to be involved in this somehow, but I couldn't say to what capacity. Once we turn this over to T.J., he may be able to help us learn more."

Whipping into a parking space, the car came to a screeching halt. While he put the car in park, Georgia ripped off her seat belt and swung the door open. Together they sprinted through the glass doors and hurried as quickly as decorum would allow down the winding halls to T.J.'s office.

The small room was crowded with computer screens all turned on and filled with pictures, maps, and coded information. Though the lights were dim, the artificial light from all the electronics shone on the swivel chair at the center of the room and revealed T.J. sitting in his natural habitat.

"Teej, we need your help." Not bothering to waste time with a greeting, Beckner cut right to the reason for their visit.

"Hey, Mis Amigos! Welcome to the Bat Cave!" The jovial smile lighting the computer genius' features quickly melted as he noted the concern on both Colin and Georgia's faces. "What's going on, Compadres? Did you find something out about Henry's whereabouts?" As he mentioned her son, his voice lowered, and Georgia was relieved he was using discretion regarding their extracurricular activity.

"Yes, but it gets worse." Colin's whisper matched T.J.'s low tone.

"Do you mind telling me how that is even possible?" The computer tech's eyes filled with concern.

"Check out this flash drive." Georgia handed him the device, and he plugged it into an open port.

As the pictures saved to the drive filled his main screen, T.J.'s hand flew over his mouth to stifle a sharp intake of breath. "This is way worse than I thought. Traeger is involved? Definitely did not see that coming."

"Neither did we, but there he is. Alex, Georgia's husband, took these photos and saved them for her." Colin explained. "We don't know how exactly he is involved, but judging by the pictures, I think he might somehow be managing a child trafficking ring."

"It would explain a lot," Georgia added.

"How so?" T.J. shot her a questioning look.

"The last two houses we investigated were obviously vacated quickly. Beckner and I suspected there might be an inside person acting as an informant, but we never in a million years would have guessed it could be David Traeger."

"Now that these pictures show he has ties to an illicit trafficking ring, it is safe to assume Traeger works with the lowlifes we've hunted down and tipped them off when we got too close." Colin shook his head still reeling from the sudden dump of information.

"This is heavy stuff, friends. What do you think we should do with this information?" T.J. swallowed hard and turned to face them.

"We need to confirm it for starters." Colin let out a ragged breath. "Then we might need to include Macklin and Laribee; this may turn into something bigger than the three of us can handle alone."

"How do you suggest we confirm everything?" T.J. ran his fingers through his neatly trimmed beard leaving it a bit disheveled.

The trio sat quietly for a few moments, each one deep in thought. Suddenly, an idea struck Georgia right between the eyes.

"Do you have any more of the tracking devices we used for our undercover operation?"

"They weren't exactly buy one get one free, but I may know a computer tech in the CIA who owes me a solid." A mischievous smile curled the young man's lips, and he wiggled his eyebrows confidently.

"I think we should attach a tracker to his car. Then we can trace his movements and take note of any suspicious activity. He might lead us straight to Henry." Hope gained buoyancy in the storm of emotion flooding Georgia's conscious mind.

"That idea is a winner, George." T.J.'s fingers flew over the keyboard as he quickly typed an email to his friend in the CIA.

The group was startled to hear someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Hannon's head whipped up from the computer screen, and her breath hitched in her throat as she caught sight of Traeger standing in the doorway. Her blood boiled at the thought of his holding Henry all these weeks, and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed not to haul off and punch him right there in the corridor.

"Beckner, Hannon, leave T.J. alone. Our meeting will be starting in ten minutes, so you had best be on your way." With those curt words, he turned and walked in the direction of the conference room.

"Yes, sir," Colin replied through clenched teeth.

"You go. I'll let you know if my friend comes through for us." T.J. gave them a nod toward the door.

"Thanks, pal. You're the best." Beckner gathered a few things and they headed out the door to the meeting.

It would take some pretty good acting to keep from dropping a hint to Traeger they knew what he was about. Breathing a silent prayer, Hannon begged God to help her handle the situation at hand and keep her son safe until she was able to find him.

I wanted to give you all two chapters today, since I am going on vacation, and may not be able to get anything ready until next week.  Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed 4th of July!

@junewamboi I hope this double posting makes up for the cliffhanger you suffered through last week :)