His Watchful Eye

Chapter 27- Wheels in Motion

          Sitting next to Hannon in the morning meeting felt like the longest hour of his life. Colin still fought to understand what motive Traeger could have to hurt Georgia and take a child away from his mother. How could he masquerade as a hero of abducted children while simultaneously involving himself in what appeared to be a massive child trafficking ring? Obviously, things were not at all as they seemed, but try as he might, he could not uncover a good enough reason for him to specifically target Georgia in this way. What could he honestly hope to gain from all of this? What brought about this personal vendetta?

"Are we boring you, Beckner?"

Suddenly jolted from his reverie at the sound of Traeger calling his name, he struggled to focus. "Not at all, sir. I'm just tired."

"Well, you had better wake up, because we will be headed out on assignment in an hour. Have Hannon or Laribee fill you in on anything you missed from the meeting. Macklin, come with me." Turning on his heel, Traeger strode out of the conference room with Andrew following close behind.

"What did I miss?" He fixed his eyes on Georgia and Laribee.

"What all did you hear?" Carter asked.

"You might want to just tell me everything, because I wasn't paying attention." He hung his head as a feeling of embarrassment spread over him.

"You can use my tablet for the pictures." Mulaney quickly took the empty seat beside him and scooted the swivel chair close. Uncomfortable with her close proximity, he inched a respectable distance away from her. Clearly, she still hadn't completely given up on him much to his annoyance.

"You may have to help me out too," Georgia said as she bit her lower lip. "I was preoccupied, and probably missed a lot of what was said. I guess I just don't make it quite as obvious as Beckner when I'm off in La-La Land." The teasing smile she sent his way warmed his heart despite the circumstances.

"No problem. There is a new website used to exploit children, and business has really been booming over the last week or so. After T.J. searched proxy servers and traced all the hubs it is routed and rerouted through, he found the site is commandeered by a small clandestine group in D.C. We are going to the address the boy genius gave us and hopefully squash the company good and proper. They haven't been tied to abductions; their market caters to people who would rather buy illicit photos than purchase an actual child at auction." Switching on his iPad, he brought up a picture showing a large, warehouse building. "This is the location we are heading to. Don't bother with a go-bag. It shouldn't take long to finish the job. We will meet Traeger and Macklin outside and go from there."

"Hopefully they haven't had a chance to clear out by the time we get there." The words left Colin's mouth before he could think about what he was implying. Shooting a quick look in Georgia's direction, he saw her eyes grow wide as she emphatically shook her head. Slowly he closed his eyes wishing he could go back in time and keep the thought to himself.

"What makes you say that?" Laribee's eyebrows lowered over his dark eyes.

"No reason...I guess. Honestly, it has happened twice now...you know...the men we were closing in on were tipped off somehow. I just don't want it to happen again." He knew the more he talked the deeper the hole he was digging grew, so he clamped his mouth shut biting his tongue in the process. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

"I get it, but I don't see how it could happen again. I'm sure it was just a coincidence the other two times." Though his words sounded confident, Beckner detected a hint of doubt in Carter's voice.

"Right...let's get going." Mulaney stood to her feet and waited for her other teammates to do the same.

As they walked together down the hall and out to the waiting vehicles, Colin's phone vibrated in his pocket. Quickly retrieving it, he saw T.J. was calling in and motioned for Georgia to hang back with him as he answered.

"Hey, Teej...what's the word?"

"Good news, Bro. My good buddy, Max, hooked me up with one of the tracking devices. While you are out hunting down the bad guys, I'll stick it under Traeger's car. With any luck, we will be able to bust him good in a few days."

"You're the greatest!"

"Tell me something I don't already know." T.J. laughed as he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Hannon's face was occupied by a questioning expression.

He leaned close to her ear not wanting the others to hear what he told her. "T.J. got his hands on a tracker, and he'll plant it while we are on assignment today."

She looked into his eyes, and he saw the relief he was feeling reflecting back at him. "I'm so glad. For some reason, I feel like we are so close to finding Henry I can almost taste it. You know...I will never be able to thank you enough for helping me. You're the best friend I've ever had."

"There's no need to thank me. I will always be here for you, Georgia. Besides, the time might come when I need a favor..."

"And when you do, let me know...I'll be in your debt until then."

Fighting back the urge to hold her close, he began walking to the waiting SUV.

"Looks like you two got pretty close after your undercover assignment." Mulaney's grating voice was like a pebble in Colin's shoe.

"Let it go, Mulaney." His clipped words were enough to silence her, and she narrowed her eyes at him as she took the front, passenger's seat next to Laribee.

I'm back from vacation, and thought I'd get an update posted!  Hope everyone is doing well :)