Thomas Lord: Cloaked, Ch. 6

Emil had almost gotten a ticket getting them to a hospital.  He had seen them come out of the docks with the young girl and had heard about all the disappearances. He figured they had found her wandering there. Both men appeared extremely gentle with her and when they had said they wanted to go to the hospital, he had lost no time.  He had a daughter about the girl's age and if she had been missing he would have moved heaven and earth to find her. The two men had spent the drive trying to console her and when he pulled into the emergency bay, he helped them out. When the older one tried to pay him he said."This ride is on me. You take care of the little girl." Emil walked over to the child and said "You'll be okay now. God is with you." he patted her cheek and smiled at the men and drove away.

Todd had gotten cleaned up as best he could while the doctor was checking out Lily. He tossed his jacket in the trash since it reeked the most of alcohol and rejoined his nephew outside her room. "Any word?"

C.J. shook his head, "They brought in another doctor, a woman, it seems Lily was frantic when the male doctor entered the room. I'm worried she's going to be scarred emotionally for the rest of her life. She saw me outside that warehouse and let me take her, but she was so subdued as we walked away. Then when we stopped to wait for you, she began to cry and she wouldn't tell me what the problem was. I told her how you helped to free her and that you were the uncle I had told her about when she was younger, the one who had saved me. She looked at me and got the strangest look on her face. I must admit I was shocked when she ran to you, a stranger."

Just then, a nurse emerged and came over to them. Todd heard her approach and looked in her vicinity. "Mr. Roberts, your daughter is asking for you. She also asked if her great uncle was out here." Todd raised his hand and she said. "Oh, well good, she would like to see you too. You gentlemen may go in but keep it brief, she's pretty traumatized and the doctor would like to keep her overnight. The doctor will tell you more."

C.J. looked at Todd and offered his elbow to his uncle so they could go in together. Once in the room, Todd heard several people leave, someone in white came over and introduced herself as the doctor in charge of Lily's case. C.J. headed over to the bed where Todd heard Lily cry "Daddy" and then just sobs.

Todd reached out to touch the doctor and asked."Excuse me, but I have to know. Was she violated?"

The doctor hesitated for just a minute obviously looking for permission from C.J.   Holding Lily, C.J. nodded, he too wanted to know. The doctor shook her head no for C.J.'s benefit, unaware that the man who had his arm on hers couldn't see.

She hadn't answered so Todd asked again. "Please! I'm a relative."

For a moment, the Doctor was puzzled until she spotted Todd's cane. "I'm sorry."

At her first words, Todd thought she meant the worst. "Oh God!" he released the doctor, turning pale.

The doctor said quickly, "No, you misunderstood. I meant I was sorry I didn't know you were blind. She wasn't violated, but she has been mistreated and there are signs she's been drugged. We want to keep her here so we can ascertain what kind of drugs were administered and try to flush her system clean of them."

Todd raised a trembling hand to his forehead, he had envisioned Marty all over again.

Because he was still so pale, The doctor said. "Perhaps you should sit down. I didn't mean to shock you. She's really doing remarkably well except for her fear of men. I'm glad to see she seems alright with her father and she doesn't seem scared of you either. That's a good thing." while the doctor was saying all that she had grabbed a chair and pushed Todd down into it.

The next thing he knew she was taking his pulse. Todd jerked his hand away. "I'm alright, I'm just concerned about her."

That doctor frowned and said. "You're more than a little concerned, your heart rate is extremely high."

"Uncle Todd, maybe you should let her check you out after what happened last night." C.J. didn't like Todd's color any more than the doctor.

"Drop it C.J, it's nothing, it will come back down. I'll just sit here, and I promise to just relax if you'll both drop it. " Todd knew if he let her examine him further, he was going to end up in a bed alongside Lily and he couldn't afford to do that. He had to see this out to the finish and he couldn't do that lying in a hospital.

C.J. realized his uncle wasn't going to let them examine him so he didn't force the issue. "It's okay, Doctor, I'll see that he sits there and takes it easy," the doctor nodded and left.  C.J. remarked. "This evening's romp didn't help matters. If you had all those other guys helping, why didn't you just let them handle things, and you could have just organized the diversion."

Todd began laughing.

"What did I say that was so funny? Are you sure you're alright?" C.J. was concerned, his uncle didn't laugh very much and he wondered if his uncle had had more to drink than he thought.

"They say laughter is good for what ails you, C.J.  What you don't know is, all those other guys were me." Todd chuckled.

"No, I distinctly heard four different voices out there."

"No, you distinctly heard me and three of my alters. I'll explain later." Lily had calmed down and was just holding on to her dad. He got up and made his way to the bed. "Hi Lily, I'm your dad's uncle."

"You're Ali, and you saved me like you saved my dad. I knew you would come, Dad told me how you showed up when he was about to go over a cliff and you saved him. I remembered he said you were magic and I kept praying that my Dad's genie would come to save me, you did, Do you think you could save my brother too?"

"Lily honey, Chase is home with grandpa, my Uncle Todd helped him the other day, and thanks to Chase we were able to locate you. I don't want you to worry about Chase, you just need to rest, he'll be so excited to hear you're safe," said C.J.

"Can you and Ali stay?" asked Lily

Her young voice was near to tears and C.J. pulled her close. "Honey, I'm not leaving you and I'm sure Ali will stick around for a little while, but he's going to have to leave before morning, he's got something he's got to do tomorrow."

"Ali please stay."

"I'll stay for a short time Lily, but you should get some sleep.  I need to go help the rest of those girls, you understand don't you?"

"Oh good, I know you'll help them, you're a hero, just like my dad said. Thank you for helping me," she rolled over and closed her eyes, one hand tucked in her father's, as she went to sleep.

"She's right you know, you're still a hero. I know you're not finished with this yet but promise me you'll notify the authorities and get back up before you attempt to save Kym and the girls. I want Chase to know you, besides you still owe me a full-blown explanation of how you managed to pull off that diversion." C.J. reached out and gripped Todd's arm. "Thank you!"

Todd sat with C.J. and Lily for a while longer. He got C.J. to talk to him and found out how his nephew had ended up on a Georgia Orchard. Todd wasn't surprised to hear C.J. had fled the stuffy Buchanan life in London, nor was Todd surprised to hear that C.J. hadn't talked with his own mother Tina since leaving England. It seemed his screwball sister had met up with her ex, Cane and the two of them had gotten involved with more hair brain schemes and had dumped Sarah and C.J. on Cord and gone off on their own adventures. C.J. had felt cornered because his grandfather Clint had wanted him to get into the publishing business and when he rebelled, they had a falling out. Shortly before his eighteenth birthday, C.J. had caught the first plane out of London and had ended up in Georgia. He had been working his way slowly toward Florida when he had stopped outside Peachtree, Georgia, and met Lily's mom. He had gone to work for her dad, Joshua, and been there ever since. When his wife had died suddenly in a car crash, he had chosen to stay and help Joshua with the farm. Todd was proud of C.J., he had done something with his life and hadn't relied on his family's fortune to do it.

During the early hours after midnight, Todd had taken his leave of C.J. and Lily, promising to see them when everything was over. C.J. wanted to leave Lily with her grandfather and brother and help, but Todd talked him into staying with his family, pointing out the Lily needed him more. The last thing he did was give his new great-niece a kiss whispering to her a promise that 'Ali' would save the rest of the girls.

When he arrived at his hotel he shed his shirt and took a quick shower, he didn't have time to sleep, too much needed to be taken care of before that ship docked. Todd walked to the corner and found a payphone still in operation and made an anonymous call to the police telling them the whereabouts of the Warehouse with the missing children and alerting them to the trafficking ring operating from their dock. He also informed them a Ship was arriving late that afternoon that would be picking up its cargo from that warehouse and a second warehouse, the second one holding the missing girls. When asked to give his name he replied, "Listen, you don't need my name, what you need is a team on that dock this evening when they get ready to board those children. I've found the warehouses and I've given you the name of the Ship, now do your jobs and save those kids."

Todd hung up knowing they probably had started a trace on the phone at the mention of the missing children. He was pretty sure they didn't get it but even if they did it wouldn't do them any good since it was a public phone, even so, he wiped the phone down and went back to his room to call John. ...

John looked at the clock as his phone went off. Who the hell was calling at three in the morning? Whoever it was, better have a good reason for calling so early. "Damn it, this better be good."

"Grumpy as ever I see. Sorry for the earliness of the hour but I need your help," said Todd.

John sat up abruptly, "Where are you, Toddman?"

"That's unimportant right now. I didn't call to talk about me, I need you to help some children, are you willing to listen?"

John ran his fingers through his hair, as always Manning was being his usual puzzling self, what had he managed to get involved in this time. "Okay talk, what is this about children?"

"John, I have info about an International  Human Trafficking ring operating off the east coast. I happened to stumble onto it where I'm at, but it's bigger than right here, I've already discovered a similar ring operating off the docks of Wilmington, North Carolina and I need you for that. My information tells me that a ship is scheduled to stop at the Wilmington Port in North Carolina where it will be picking up a shipment. The thing is that shipment consists of over one hundred children, I'll stake my life on it. Don't ask me how I know it, just check it out. I'm sure you'll discover what I already know, children in North Carolina have been turning up missing. My guess is they're being kept somewhere on that dock. I'm unsure as to the exact whereabouts of the warehouse holding the children but I figured with your contacts in the FBI you might be able to get some eyes and ears on that dock before the ship arrives."

"How do you know it's a trafficking ring, Samuel? That's pretty intense stuff, have you got proof." John asked, from the tone of Samuel's voice he knew the story was probably true, but Samuel had to have something tangible.

"I have proof, two children have already been rescued, another child was almost beaten to death, my inside source tells me the rest of them are scheduled to be sent out of the country tonight. I'm doing everything I can to stop what's happening here, but I want to see the rest stopped also. You should tell your contacts the ship, that is making the pick up here, is the Daimler Odyssey,  Find out where, besides here and Wilmington, the other ports of call are. I'm pretty sure you'll discover the rest of the ring. John, they're taking small children and young teenage girls, they have to be stopped."

"Samuel, you're sure the Odyssey is the ship picking up the children."

"I'm positive. There's more. The company is mixed up with the Yakuza. If I'm correct, both are trafficking in human flesh and sending these kids, who knows where, around the world. I'm stopping this bunch from leaving and I hope you'll help me put a kink in their organization elsewhere. There isn't much time, I'm sure about the warehouses here and I was able to get word to the authorities here, I only hope they're not too late. Will you help?"

"Yeah Samuel, I'm on it. I'll get my contacts the info and but it sounds like you've got yourself mixed up in something extremely dangerous. You don't need that right now. The whole Hesser, Kipling trial is on hold because the feds want to talk to you, and Interpol is still trying to round up Hesser's partners. Some of them are seriously pissed at you, man. You should know you've been targeted by them. A second attempt was made on Manning just a couple of days ago. They failed, but they'll keep trying. Interpol and the FBI are slowly tracking them down and this botched attempt helped get one of them. I don't know how you got involved in this latest thing, but you better keep a low profile, the last thing you need is another mob after you." John couldn't believe what he had just heard, a slavery ring and the Yakuza. How did the guy manage to do it? He seemed to jump from one frying pan to another. "I mean it Toddman, be careful, the Yakuza will finish the job Hesser started if they find out you've upset their apple cart. Why don't you tell me where you are and I'll come to help? For all I know, someone might be monitoring my calls.  They could be tracing your call as we speak."

"John, I'm fine, help the kids in Wilmington. Don't worry about me, I'm not going to do anything stupid." Todd hung up figuring he had talked enough and John was right, Hesser's partners were fully capable of monitoring John's cell. He really didn't need another ratchet in the works. Todd walked over to the desk and opened his laptop. He sat down and began his story for the Herald.

21st Century, Slavery Still Exists

In the past week, this reporter found actual proof that slavery in the south is far from abolished. Parents around the countryside began experiencing loss as children started disappearing. No one was able to find a cause or a connection, this was an ongoing travesty around the country as children were taken daily. In a country as rich and blessed as this one, we as a nation have lost track of an essential ingredient that made this country. Families. Family values have eroded over the years, children have become an afterthought as parents struggle to work two jobs just to keep food on the table and shelters over their heads, but all the activity to supply the outside comforts have separated the parents from the very ones they're doing it all for. Kids have been left with babysitters and siblings and even strangers when all they wanted was to be with their parents. Now outsiders have come to our shores and decided to mine one of our most valuable resources, Our Children.

Just days ago a young girl was found severely beaten on our docks, the sad thing about this is it didn't even make a small blurb on the news. It was just too insignificant to notice and that is just what these outsiders expected. They showed no alarm but continued their everyday plans completely assured that no one would bother to look into the matter. Who was that young girl and why hadn't anyone come forward looking for her? It saddens this reporter to think that the poor girl was beaten probably because she tried to escape and it was all for naught, or so she thought.

It wasn't for naught, because of her bravery, that anonymous little girl brought the plight of over one hundred and forty children to my attention.  It was only a matter of time before I was able to put two and two together. These outsiders are everywhere and they have been snatching and grabbing children from all over our countryside. The cry of parents is just now being heard. These men will be caught and punished and the ones behind them will learn that our children are not for their pleasure and profit. Stand up for your children. Step forward and prosecute these men as they are found and brought to justice. Today is the day we take back our country and reinvest in the values our forefathers fought so hard to win. These children are our legacy. They deserve a country that will stand up for them and fight for them. Join me in this stand and let these outsiders know our shores will no longer be used for Slavery of any type.

Todd looked at the article and realized it had been a long time since he had fought for something that was really dear to his heart. He had come very near to losing two members of his family and he hadn't even realized they were out there. He remembered telling Blair a long time ago he would make his own family, Blair and the baby, and it didn't matter if the rest of his family wouldn't acknowledge them, but he had been lying to her and to himself. All of his family mattered to him, that was what Vicki had been trying to tell him all along. He would find Blair and go home as soon as this was over. He needed his family around him, they would keep him sane.

Taking one last look at the piece he kicked himself, he had written an editorial which wasn't bad, but he wasn't the editor. He'd have to rewrite it this time without all the speculation and speech giving. It needed to be grittier and full of the actual facts surrounding the takedown of the key players and the rescue of the children.

She walked into the kitchen, the noon news was on as she got a cup of coffee and she vaguely heard something about a blaze down on the docks the night before. Any other time she might be interested just for the novelty of the announcement, but her thoughts were about Todd and where he might be in Savannah. Why did he have to be so stubborn? If she didn't love him so much she'd strangle him the moment she found him. He had no right to worry her so much.

Blair pulled out her cell and reviewed her text messages. She had several from Addie and Starr and one from Vicki. She rarely got messages from Vicki and it merely said: "Call me." Blair quickly dialed Vicki, there was possibly more news on Todd.

"Vicki, I just got your message, tell me you've heard from him."

"No Blair, I haven't, but I did receive a strange email from an editor in Savannah. Blair, I think he's working for a paper down there. The Herald....The managing editor of "The Herald", one Amos Caulfield, responded to an email I sent out about Samuel. In a rather cryptic message, he informed me that Samuel was fine but that he was involved in a story concerning small children and the editor seemed to feel it was very important that he be allowed to complete the story. You and I know how important children are to him. Whatever this story is, Todd won't quit until it's resolved. Since I know you're looking for him, I figured you might be able to get something out of the editor. Still, just a heads up, don't be surprised if Caulfield stonewalls you."

"Thanks, Vicki, I agree if there are children involved Todd will be there. Thanks for the heads up, I'll see what I can get out of Mr. Caulfield. I'm tired of sitting here waiting for another of Todd's calls. I tracked him down before, I'll track him down now." Blair called the newsroom at The Herald and was finally put through to the Editor.

"Caulfield here, what can I do for you?"

"Mr. Caulfield, My name is Blair and my sister-in-law gave me some information today that I was hoping you might clarify. It seems you might have some knowledge of the whereabouts of my husband. I've been trying to find him and I was hoping you might be able to provide a clue where he could be."

"Ms. Blair, I didn't catch your last name. Is there a reason you think I might know your husband? "

"Yes, according to his sister, he's apparently working for you. His name would be Toddman, Samuel Toddman." Blair listened, but there was an extra long pause before Caulfield's next remark.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, I don't have anyone by the name of Toddman working for me." Amos sat there wondering if Thomas' wife would push the issue. He didn't like keeping her in the dark, but Thomas had already informed him of the strike against the slavery ring set for this evening. Thomas' whole story was riding the successful capture of all involved and Amos' police connection said they were gearing up for an assault against the two warehouses that would occur simultaneously with the Feds assault on the ship. It was a dangerous undertaking especially since so many children were basically being held hostage. If word leaked out about the assault, the children would be used as human shields.

Blair realized that Mr. Caulfield was deliberately keeping her in the dark. She needed to find out if there were any stories out there about children that would have attracted Todd. "Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Caulfield, obviously my Sister-in-law must have misread your message. If you should by chance be contacted by my husband, I would greatly appreciate a call, I'm staying at my cousin's, here in Savannah, I left my number at your front desk."

Caulfield hadn't been much help although she did believe Todd was working for him. What was it Vicki had said, he was working on a story involving children. Cassie came into the kitchen and Blair asked her."Cassie, have you heard any stories being bandied about concerning children.'

"Now that you mention it, Blair, there is one that's been filling the airwaves lately. It seems some children have been coming up missing around the Dock area, Police have been warning parents to keep the kids off the docks. Nothing concrete has turned up that I know of or my editor would have been all over me to look into it."

"Cassie do you know the managing editor of The Herald, Amos Caulfield."

"Yes, he's a pretty tough old bird and has been known for sniffing out the good stories in his days as a news reporter. Why do you ask?"

"I asked because according to Vicki, Todd is working for him on some story involving children. I think Todd stumbled onto a story on the docks and whatever it is, Caulfield is keeping a tight lid on it. I think I'm going to go do some investigating of my own, down at the docks. If I'm right, I just might find my husband."

"Blair, I don't know, the docks are hardly the place for someone like you to be walking around. The men down there are pretty rough, maybe you should just wait until Todd is ready to find you."

"I can't Cassie, I have this feeling he's going to need me and I'm going to be there for him come hell or high water."

Blair took a look at the clothes she had brought with her and knew she had a problem. The outfits were either too good girl wholesome or the exact opposite, sex kitten. Blair liked to be sexy but down on the docks, the workers might think she was some kind of high-dollar hooker. Of course, she might be able to get more information with honey, so it looked like she was going to the docks as a sex kitten. "Todd you better be there, I'll only take so much groping for you."

Cassie stood there in shock when Blair came downstairs. "Blair you can't be serious. You're not going to the docks dressed like that. Those men will be all over you. Surely you could have found something ordinary and less attention-getting to wear. I don't think Todd would approve of this at all."

"I've made up my mind Cassie. Men will talk to me and I need information. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Besides, it's the middle of the day. What could go wrong?" She turned and headed for the taxi waiting for her.

Cassie shook her head and prayed her cousin knew what she was getting into.

Emil had gotten the call to pick up a customer in one of the nicer areas of town so he thought he might end up with a pretty good tipper. The people around the docks rarely tipped. He was remembering his last fare last night the two men and the young girl. He had insisted on covering the fare since it was obvious the young girl was traumatized and the two men were very concerned about her. He had known something was wrong when they had carried her out of the dock area. What he hadn't realized until he arrived home, was that somehow the older man had managed to leave a tip in his pocket. The man had put a hundred dollar bill in his pocket and he hadn't felt his touch at all. It was all the more surprising because the man who had given him the money was blind.

God was good. That money with his other tips for the day was the final amount he needed to get his own medallion and own his taxi. Now good fortune was again smiling as he got a call for a pick up in a good neighborhood. He pulled in front of the impressive home and watched as a beautiful woman descended the stairs. He quickly got out and opened the door for her and she gave him a beautiful smile. Once inside he inquired where she wanted to go.

"Yes, could you please take me to the docks." said Blair.

Emil stepped on the brakes and he turned around to face her. "What would a good woman like yourself want to do down at the docks? That is a most unsavory place and soon the workers will be getting off.   If they see a woman like you there, they might become very offensive. Please, dear lady, give me someplace else to take you."

Blair smiled again and decided to explain. She looked at his ID and called him by name."Emil, I really need to go down to the docks. You see I'm searching for someone and I have reason to believe he might be at the docks."

"Oh, good lady don't tell me you too, are missing a child. It is a dangerous place for children these days. Just last night I picked up a fare. Two men and a young girl they had found on the docks. The poor girl was so terrified, but the men were most solicitous toward her. I, myself, have a daughter about her age, and it hurt my heart thinking what might have happened to that young girl. I took them to the hospital. I wouldn't let them pay but the older blind one managed to tip me anyway. It is because of his generosity that today I own this taxi."

Blair wondered about his passengers the previous night. Todd was blind if he wasn't wearing the implant. Could Todd have been on the docks last night? If it was Todd why wasn't he using the implant, why would he attempt to maneuver the docks at night blind. She leaned forward and asked. "I know this sounds strange, but could you describe the two men."

Emil looked at her curiously but proceeded to describe them. "The younger man was fair-haired and a medium build. He was very nice looking and seemed very close to the young girl they were helping. The other gentleman was slightly taller than me, he had some gray in his short brownish hair. He had two scars intersecting on his cheek and also had a small beard. He was the blind one."

"Emil, I've changed my mind could you take me to the hospital where you took them last night. The blind gentleman you just described could be the one I'm looking for. It's possible he might still be at the hospital." Blair sat back and prayed he would be there. If Todd was the man Emil had just described she wouldn't have to go to the docks. She clasped her purse tightly, hoping her reunion with Todd was just around the corner.

Emil pulled up to the entrance of the hospital and opened the door for his passenger. He had been happy that she had chosen to go to the hospital instead of the docks. He wouldn't have felt right leaving her at the docks.

Blair exited the taxi and gave Emil his money and then a tip. She decided to have him stick around in case Todd wasn't inside. She could still head for the docks if this stop proved to be a waste of time. Blair walked through the doors not sure how she was going to find out if Todd was even there. She had no name to go by just the descriptions given to her by Emil. Walking up to the counter in the emergency department she inquired. "Excuse me, I know you're very busy, but I was wondering if you could tell me if two men and a young girl came in here last night. The young girl was the one in need of care. I don't have her name but I was hoping someone might remember if she was admitted or anything." She was informed that most of the staff from the night before, had left for the day, and if she didn't have a name they couldn't look her up in the system. Blair turned away disappointed. She was about to leave when a young male nurse behind the desk caught her attention and beckoned her back to the desk.

"I just remembered something, if you'll wait I'll see if the doctor is on." he made a call and then smiled. "You're in luck, Doctor Matthews is here and she very likely saw this girl you asked about. She said she had a minute before starting her rounds this evening. Here she comes. Dr. Matthews this is the woman I called about." he gestured to Blair and went back to work at his desk.

Blair turned to face the young Doctor. "Doctor Matthews, My name is Blair Toddman and I promise I won't take up too much of your time. I was inquiring about a young girl who arrived here last night in the company of two gentlemen. Can you tell me if you saw that girl by any chance? Please, I'm not asking you to tell me anything about her condition, in fact, I'm really here to find out more about one of her escorts. You see I'm looking for my husband and I have reason to believe he might have been one the men who brought the young girl in. Do you remember them?"

"Yes Mrs. Toddman, I do remember the group. I admitted the girl last night. The older blind gentleman and his nephew were quite concerned for the girl. Why do you think one of the gentlemen could be your husband?'

"You see Doctor, my husband's been missing for the last couple of weeks and I'm greatly concerned for his health. I've managed to track him here to Savannah and the description of the blind gentleman has me hoping it might be him. My husband stands about six feet tall has graying at his temples and two scars on his face. He was recently blinded but he also has a severely weakened heart. I have to find him and I'm hoping if you admitted this girl he might still be here in this hospital with her." Blair paused for a moment as it registered that the Doctor said the blind man and his nephew. Todd's nephews were Joey, Kevin, and C.J., and as far as she knew, Joey and Kevin were still in London. Could the nephew be C.J.?  "You said he was with his nephew, is there any chance the young girl's last name is Roberts."

The doctor had listened as Mrs. Toddman described her husband and knew she was describing the man from the previous night, she frowned when she heard the part about his weakened heart. She knew last night, that the man had a problem but he had refused help. It was clear by Mrs. Toddman's concern that she should never have allowed him to leave. The woman had just identified the girl's last name without even seeing her, she quite obviously was a member of the family. "Yes, Mrs. Toddman, the young girl's last name is Roberts, so it sound's like the blind gentleman and your husband are one and the same, but I can't tell you if he's here. She's the first patient I was going to see, perhaps you'd like to join me and we'll find out about your husband."

Blair couldn't believe it.  Todd might be here. She smiled and followed the doctor to the room. The doctor entered the room and from out in the hall Blair observed three people standing around the bed, an older gentleman, a young boy, and someone very familiar. The third person could be none other than C.J. But it didn't look like Todd was in the room. Blair's heart sank. The Doctor went up to C.J. and said a few words and C.J. came towards her.

"My God, Blair you're the last person I expected to find here. Uncle Todd isn't here. I'm sorry, I can tell from your face, you were hoping to find him."

"Oh C.J. you have no idea how much I was hoping to find him. Please tell me, is he okay? I just know he's overextending himself on this story, tell me what's really going on."

"Blair it's unbelievable but Uncle Todd is smack dab in the middle of exposing a human trafficking ring. I had no idea, he was the man who saved my son, then I found out he was working to save my daughter too. You should have seen him yesterday Blair, he was terrific, he made it possible for me to get my daughter away from those monsters, and now he's gone back to the docks to see that the monsters get caught. He promised my daughter he would save the rest of the girls that were trapped with her."

"C.J., why would he go back there? Surely he doesn't think he can save them alone? "

"I think he wants to see the police and Feds take them down, but if I know Uncle Todd he's gone there to ensure that Kym makes it out of there unscathed."

"Who the hell is Kym?" Blair started to seethe. What poor damsel in distress had Todd decided to help this time?

"Kym is the young woman who's been trapped most of her life in the ring and she's the one who helped us get Lily. Todd won't let her go down with the rest because she's as much their victim as the girls she's been watching."

Damn the man, it's Marty all over again. She had let him take off for Ireland and had said she would wait for him to come to her in London. He expected her to do it all over again, but this time he was in for a rude awakening. The last eight months had proven one thing to her, even if he didn't realize it; it was that they were stronger together then apart and whether he wanted her there or not, she was going to have his back." C.J., you take care of that daughter of yours, I'm going to go find my husband and make him realize once and for all he's not alone anymore."

****

Blair left before C.J. could stop her and all he could do was pray she didn't get in over her head down at the docks. He wished he had a way to let his Uncle know Blair was headed his way.    Knowing his Uncle, Todd wouldn't be too happy to see Blair show up at the docks.

Emil had waited for her and Blair quickly got in the car. "Emil, I guess we're still headed for the docks. Don't worry about me, now that I know he's there for sure, nothing and no one will stop me from finding him.

Emil shook his head but he took the good lady to the docks. On the way there he noticed an increase in the number of police vehicles in the surrounding blocks as they neared the Docks something was going down. "Good Lady, I'm not so sure you should go wandering around on the docks, I have this bad feeling something is going to happen there tonight."

"Emil I'll be fine, If I see trouble, I'll go the other way. Don't you worry about me." Blair got out, giving Emil his money. She smiled at him and said. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time. It will be alright." Blair headed down toward the docks, she had managed to get one last bit of information from C.J., and that was the location of the warehouse Kym was in. Todd was going to be somewhere in that vicinity and she would find him.

John stepped out of the taxi at the Savannah docks, he knew this had to be where Todd could be found. Three hours after Todd's call, John had been in serious talks with the police of Wilmington and the FBI. They had been very interested in finding out who his source was and John had stonewalled them. Todd had really stepped into it. A major plan was formulated to coordinate both strikes simultaneously, the one in Wilmington and the one in Savannah. That was all John had needed to hear. He had called in a favor from Bo and gotten a ride on the Buchanan Jet. Once down he had taken a taxi to the police station and introduced himself to the local FBI liaison. After a little more discussion, he headed for the docks. John was pretty sure Todd was going to be in the area of one of the warehouses. He had sounded like he needed to rescue someone. More than likely Todd was going after his inside source.

John had seen the police activity, they were waiting to move in as soon as the docks cleared with the normal industry activity. The Daimler Odyssey was docking in an hour. Most of the warehouses would have closed for business by then. John took a leisurely stroll down the docks checking out the warehouses making note of the one with the No Trespassing signs and the obvious guards. That was the one the police had been informed held the small children, the second one held some forty girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Taking a moment to stand there and view the ocean, he observed a big ship on the horizon, more than probably the ship they were waiting for.

The dockworkers were getting off their shifts when he spotted her. He recognized that figure and the walk, unfortunately, every man on the dock had noticed her too. It wasn't long before she began getting wolf whistles and bawdy innuendos. How the hell had she gotten to that dock?  He hadn't known she had left Llanview. Damn it, now he had two civilians to worry about. He watched as the crowd of men around her grew, the woman just didn't know when to stop vamping.

Blair realized a little too late, that she was fully surrounded by dockworkers. "Hey, fellas, give a girl a little room."

"Lady, you sure as hell ain't a girl, now come on sweetie, what are you really doing down here? Admit it, you came for a good time, well lady, take your pick we'll all be glad to help you. Foxy lady like you should have a proper escort. Me and my pals will take care of you. We'll show you a real good time, right fellas." the guy speaking looked around and his fellow workers all agreed and laughed.

"Really fellas I appreciate the offer but I do have a reason to be here and it's not what you think." She smiled but realized by the looks on the faces around her that the men had only one thing on their minds. They began closing in around her, the next thing she knew she was grabbed roughly by the leader who began to fondle her, his buddies egging him on.  Blair tried to keep calm, as she pushed him away, but all she ended up doing was push herself into another man's arms. That guy took his feel. laughed and passed her to the man next to him. They were all laughing as she struggled to break free. Blair began to panic, she had to get free. she was shoved into another pair of hands, but this pair merely held her and steadied her. The men had stopped laughing and Blair looked up into the stern blue eyes of her friend and ex, John McBain.

John had moved toward the men as they gathered around Blair. He pulled his shield and began showing it as he made his way through the men. They had slowly parted until he was in the inner circle. He arrived just in time to have Blair passed into his arms. He showed his badge to the inner circle and said. "I think the Lady's has enough. You should probably call it a night, fellas." He held on to Blair and the men could tell he wasn't really giving them an option. So they scattered and left. When they had all disappeared he looked at Blair, shook his head and said, "Woman, you're more trouble than you're worth. What the hell are you doing here?"

Blair straightened her clothes and responded. "What do you think I'm doing, I'm looking for Todd. How the hell did you get here?"

"You should be grateful I'm here. Just what did you hope to accomplish coming to the docks dressed like that? I mean really Blair, these guys see someone like you walking the docks dressed like that, what else are they supposed to think?"

Blair grimaced, she had made a mistake. "Oh you're right but I figured I might be able to get some information from them. I was hoping someone would tell me if they had seen Todd."

"Blair, seeing you dressed to kill, the last thing on their minds was another man."

"Alright it was a mistake, but what are you doing here?"

"The same thing as you, I'm looking for Todd. You shouldn't be here, something major is taking place in the next half hour. Go back to wherever you're staying and wait for my call, I'll find Todd."

"Oh no you don't, I'm not leaving. Todd's down here because he needs to rescue another lost soul. The last time he did that he almost died. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Blair, you'll only get in the way and then I'll have to rescue both of you. Go home now!" Blair stuck her tongue out at him and turned toward the street exit. He watched until she was out of sight and then continued his walk down toward the warehouse he was sure Todd would be.

Blair stood at the corner of the building, just out of his sight. She counted to twenty and turned back toward the dock. As she peered around the corner, Blair saw John head toward the warehouse she had started at. She knew she had picked the right warehouse she just must have been too early. Blair decided to wait for a few minutes, letting the dockworkers exit, before she headed back down. The sun was lowering and she noticed a ship coming into the dock. Looking at it she spotted the name on the side. She stumbled as she realized what it said. Talk about coincidences. She stared at it, her heart pounding. It just seemed so strange to see the name emblazoned on a ship, The Daimler Odyssey, how weird was that.

Thomas Lord: Cloaked, Ch. 5

Cassie watched as her cousin paced angrily up and down the room. She had heard an earful since Blair's arrival and was stunned by the revelations. Blair's new husband Samuel was really Todd. The Todd Manning of the last eight years was really someone by the name of Jake Boudreau. Both men had been experimented on by Carlo Hesser and the operation to remove Todd's implant had resulted in blindness for Todd. It was all a lot to take in.

Blair had notified her when Samuel had gone missing, and she knew Blair was terrified for her husband. After hearing about Todd's blindness and a near-death experience, she understood why Blair was so concerned. What she didn't understand was why Todd left in the first place. Blair wasn't talking about the reasons behind Todd's disappearance, but Cassie had a good idea that Blair knew the reason. When Blair had shown up that afternoon she had announced that Todd was somewhere in Savannah and it had taken everything under the sun for Cassie to make sense of Blair's first outburst.

"Blair, would you please sit down. When did you find out Todd was here in Savannah?" asked Cassie.

Blair stopped and looked at her cousin. "My God, I've been going crazy and out of the blue, he called me. I wasted no time getting a flight here, but now I realize he didn't tell me where to find him."

"Well that's easy enough, give his picture to the police."

"I can't Cassie. I just can't. I have this feeling he's into something very dangerous. Something so dangerous it made him call me. I think that's why he didn't tell me exactly where he was, he's hoping to get whatever he's involved in completed before I find him. The problem is I feel like I've got to find him now or I might lose him permanently. He's trying to protect me, that's one of the reasons he left in the first place."

"Who's he trying to protect you from?"

"Himself. The big idiot. Help me, Cassie, help me figure out what he could be doing here. You used to be a reporter. Are there any big stories unfolding in Savannah?"

" Oh, I don't know Blair there are all sorts of stories happening in Savannah. Do you think Todd might be looking into a story? But why would he do that? He's a big-time publisher he'd never be able to get close to a story. Most newspapers editors know who Todd Manning is."

"Cassie you're forgetting, everyone believes Jake is Todd Manning. The feds have deliberately kept Jake's and Todd's pictures out of the papers because there is a concern that Hesser's partners have ordered a hit on them.  But you know Todd, if he doesn't want to be found he's very good at hiding. I believe Todd is trying to find redemption again. He convinced himself that his darkness was returning and so he left me. He didn't want that part of him hurting me. Cassie did I ever tell you that Todd's alters are real."

Cassie had just been reaching for the paper when Blair made her last comment. She sat down abruptly. "Blair surely you're not falling for that, I can't believe he would pull that con again."

"That's just it Cassie, it was never a con. Everything that happened years ago was the truth. The biggest truth was that Todd knew his Alters and had known about them for years. When Todd collapsed in that courtroom, and you and Kevin were convinced he was faking being catatonic, you were wrong. In the last 8 months since I found him, Todd has slipped into that state twice that I know of. Once was in a controlled situation with his therapist and a nurse at the Cherryvale Clinic. It was during a therapy session that went awry. Another was on Dorian's driveway after a bad encounter with his daughter Dani and his son Jack. The story Tom told on the stand was true. Only, Cassie so much more has been done to him since. Samuel is real and Todd's newest alter. Samuel showed up the night Mitch buried Todd with his father Victor."

"Oh My God! You don't mean Mitch literally buried Todd, do you?"

"That's exactly what Mitch did, he opened Victor's crypt and laid Todd bound and gagged next to his father's dead body, and then he closed the lid." Blair sat down her voice breaking as she recalled the session where Todd finally remembered the events of that night.

At first, Cassie thought Blair was delusional, in that she honestly believed more of Todd's lies. Yet the more she listened, the more she realized that Blair was telling her the truth. As Blair had talked, she had gotten lost in her memories and had zoned out on Cassie. It was as if Blair had watched Todd's burial. If Mitch did that to Todd, he had two choices go mad or withdraw. From the sound of it Todd escaped the only way he had available, he had withdrawn inside his head. When that happened years before, everyone met Tom. According to Blair, Samuel was born following the incident in 2003. Samuel had seemed so real when she had talked to him on the phone. Would she ever know? Blair said her husband was the original Todd, but Samuel was so different than Todd.  "Blair, Who did you marry? Samuel or Todd?"

Blair came out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry Cassie I forgot, at the time I got married, you and Dorian were the only two people who weren't brought up to speed for security reasons. Todd married me but legally he's Samuel Toddman because Samuel is the alter who had the ID and he's the one who brought Todd home."

"Blair, is there any chance Todd could be using an Alter to stay hidden?"

"I don't think he is. If he were allowing his Alters out, one of them would have contacted me before this. I'm not sure why, but I have this feeling that Todd has a very firm grip on his control right now. He's not letting any of them out. I think he's afraid to, at this time. Turn on the news maybe something will strike a chord."

They turned off the news no closer to figuring out what Todd was up to. Cassie stole a glance at Blair and saw her staring off into space again. "Blair you said he left because you think he was afraid of hurting you. What could have made him think that? The night he married you in that beautiful home, was one of the most romantic weddings I've seen. His vows to you were spoken from the heart and he meant every word. The man that married you was incapable of hurting you. If anything he would die before letting that happen."

"Exactly Cassie and what I was so afraid of before he called, was that he left with that purpose in mind. The morning he left me he looked so broken like something new had found a way to tear him apart. Something so ugly he was ashamed to look at me. After all these years, I should have known he would react the way he did. Todd's MO has always been to hate himself first and foremost. but I thought we had finally gotten past it with his therapy. Then when I managed to bring him back from the edge on the operating table, I thought he had exorcised his demons once and for all but I was mistaken. He had one more thing he had to do before he felt he was free so I gave him my blessing. It was like Ireland all over again. I sent him away happily thinking of his return and I lost him." Blair paused as she thought of his face that morning and then her heart skipped a beat as her phone suddenly went off in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at Cassie smiling. Opening the phone she answered. "Todd, I'm here. Tell me where you are and I'll come to get you."

"Not yet Blair, will you just talk to me. I need to hear your voice. I miss you."

He sounded so weary, but she knew he wouldn't give his location until he was ready. "I miss you too. Starr and Vicki want you to hurry up and come home. Little Hope has been asking about her Dragon, The other night she told me her dragon must be helping some more kids like he did in her story. I told her she was probably right but that the dragon would be home soon. Please don't make me a liar. Please, won't you give me a hint, something to help me find you quicker?"

He couldn't raise her hopes, there was so much that could go wrong with his plan, CJ and he had discussed all their options and then CJ had left to talk to his father-in-law. "It won't be much longer. When you talk to Starr tell her to tell Hope, that when the Dragon finishes his chore he'll be able to come home. I'm glad you're here. I love you, Blair."

"I love you, Todd." he hung up right after her words and Blair began crying and hugging the phone. Cassie moved to Blair and held her as she cried.

Todd closed the phone and rolled over trying to get some rest, but it was impossible. She was so near, she didn't know how near they were to each other. He had chosen his hotel because it was in the same general area where Cassie lived. Now that he thought about it, he realized he had subconsciously picked his hotel because he had wanted to be near Blair's family. Deep down, he had wanted to be found.

"Tom is everything alright with you guys? I'm sorry I've been ignoring all of you."

"Sure Todd, we're fine, well except that Pete still can't talk. Samuel's relieved you finally called Blair. He and Ms. Perkins still think you're being reckless. Todd? What that lady talked about, all those kids; will you be able to help them? I don't like the idea of little kids being taken from their families, it's not right."

"You're right Tom, it's not. When I heard about the missing children and young girls I thought they were talking about a handful. It stumps me how these men have managed to kidnap over a hundred and forty children without throwing up a red flag. If they've managed to do this now, how many other times have they been doing it? I need to find out more about the operation. The Daimler Corporation is huge. This operation could be one of many up the east coast. Tom, go get Pete."

Tom went in search of Pete and found him hanging close to Samuel and Ms. Perkins. "Hey Pete, Todd wants you."

Pete looked up in surprise. His eyes met Samuel's then he noted Samuel's frown. Samuel nodded and Pete found himself alone. He hadn't been able to talk since his night with Hesser, Todd had silenced him mid-laugh. If Todd wanted to talk, had he given him back his voice. Pete cleared his throat and realized he was free to once more speak. When Todd had effectively shut him up, Pete had discovered just how tenuous he was. It had taken him down a notch to realize Todd really did have power over all of them. Todd was no longer the boy needing to be saved. He had fought his battles and had won his right to be whole. Todd was keeping them around because he wanted them there, not because he needed them there. Therefore, it was safe to assume there was something Todd wanted from him that only he could provide. "I'm here Todd, what do you need."

"I need your advice. I just realized this operation taking place here could be going on at other ports. Any suggestions on how I can find out tonight if that's true."

"Yeah, you need to take a quick road trip. You've been working on the docks. What's the first thing most of you do when you finish for the day."

"We go and have a drink. How's that going to help me?"

"You got the date the Daimler ship is docking, don't you? The ship has other ports to stop in. Go to the nearest one, I'll bet you there's a bar close by and my guess is you'll find some unsavory characters you just might get some information from. If you want, I'll take over when we get to the bar."

Todd laid there for a minute then made up his mind. "Road trip it is." He suddenly felt energized again. Todd pulled out his laptop and brought up the info on Daimler's Ship, sure enough, the ship was also making a stop up the coast in North Carolina. If there was an operation there, the company's hired guns would be hitting the bars there in a couple of hours. He made a quick call and headed for a private airstrip. He would be there in under two hours, he merely had to get his information and be back in Savannah when it was time to meet CJ. "Pete, stick around, you might see some action."

The flight was quick and Todd caught a taxi to the dock. It was already getting active on the dock and some workers were beginning their usual jobs, others were just finishing. Todd spotted a particularly nasty bunch of men that seemed to be making their way off the dock. Sure enough, most of them appeared headed for a bar just down the road. Todd nonchalantly wandered through the workers on the dock until the group had passed by. Then he slowly swung around and acted like a worker just getting off work. He made his way down the street and headed for the bar. Catching a glimpse of himself in the window, Todd saw that he fit right in with the rest of the clientele entering the bar. His eyes were tired and his five o'clock shadow was making his goatee look scruffy. "Okay Pete, you're on. Go be your charming self"

Pete reached up after looking in the window and ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it off his face. "Man Todd, you're ragged looking," he shook his head and entered the bar heading straight for the counter.

"Double shot of whiskey, I need to drown my day," he sat down close enough to hear the conversation going on just down the bar from him. Looking at the three men while he waited for his drink, he noted they had the look of mercenaries, not dock workers.

"Man, I'll be glad when this gig is up. This inactivity is killing me," said the man closest to Pete.

"Yeah, babysitting stinks. but you can't deny we've got great perks. Those girls are something else. Can't say I mind the training duties." said the second man.

The guy farthest away from Pete took a drink and then remarked. "Yep, those goods are choice."

"You're telling me. I had one the other night that was begging me to stay. I almost felt sorry for her. She was all over me trying to please me." the guy in the middle nudged his pal and winked.

Pete's hand tightened around his glass and it shattered spilling what was left of the whiskey. "Sorry, give me another bartender," he had attracted the attention of the men and now waited to see if they would go back to their conversation.  In the mirror, he saw they were still looking his way so he raised his second glass to them. "Bad night. I think it's time I got another job, from what I overheard, you guys sound like you got it good, your Boss wouldn't be looking to hire, would he? Man, what I wouldn't give for some choice tail right now."

The taller of the three men came and stood next to him. "Sorry pal, but I can tell you right now you don't have what it takes to hire on with our bunch, so you might just want to forget what you heard. In fact, I suggest you finish your drink and leave."

"Hey, man take it easy, didn't mean to step where I wasn't wanted. Haven't been out of the pen that long, don't want to cause any trouble." Pete held up his hands in surrender and turned to finish his drink. He felt the leader's eyes on him but ignored him, he had made his point and found out what Todd had wanted to know. No sense getting into a fight, Pete exited his seat, bowed to the gentlemen, and headed out the way he came in. His anger was just below the surface, but he knew it wasn't the time or place for a show of bravado. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. That did it, Pete lost his cool, he hated to be touched. He slipped free of the hand and turned, bringing his foot up into the man's stomach before the other guy had a chance to react. "Oh man, sorry, you caught me off guard. I've got a thing about being touched." Pete said. "Honest, I don't want any trouble." Truthfully, Pete would have like nothing better than to see the guy knocked out cold and he was pretty sure the rest of the guys would have gone along with it, including Todd. Pete backed away his hands again up and in surrender mode to show his intentions.

The man straightened up and glared at Pete but made no move to attack him. "Relax, I accept your apology. I'm kinda touchy that way myself, my mistake. You've got pretty fast reflexes for an older man, guys don't usually get under my guard like that."

"Well us older guys have to get our kicks some way." Pete smiled grimly keeping a close eye on the guy and wondered where his pals had gotten off to.

The man chuckled at Pete's choice of words and reached down to pick up Pete's jacket. "I guess so. I came to bring you your jacket. You left it. I didn't realize I was approaching a seasoned fighter, or I would have spoken first. You're not bad mister, but like I said inside, this company is out of your league." he handed over the jacket and returned inside.

Pete took his jacket and opened the inside pocket, he was relieved to see they hadn't found his ID. It had been a mistake on his part to leave the jacket, but he couldn't afford to let his identity be known until Todd exposed the slavery ring. Pete stopped and said. "I think they answered our question. Anything else you want to look into while we're here?"

"We're done Pete, I'll take it from here, " said Todd. The flight back was quick and Todd headed back to his hotel to get ready to meet CJ. His thoughts were all over the place. This was so much bigger than he had figured and he had to get in touch with John. John and Bo both had the connections to make something happen. He tried to rein in his thoughts because he was going to need all his concentration to pull off Lily's rescue for right now. The plan was to retrieve Lily without anyone realizing she was missing. Kym said that since the selection process was complete, there would be no interruptions from the trainers, and the only one to know that they were one girl short would be her. Tom was going to provide the distraction so CJ could connect with Kym and get Lily. On his way to the dock, Todd made a call to Amos leaving him a message that the story was bigger than first imagined and that The City Fathers might have some explaining to do.

Amos was walking to his desk when his voice mail went off. He listened, then picked up his phone and told his print room to gear up for a special issue. He had to hand it to Tom, the man was uncanny when it came to picking the stories with the most bite. Amos just wished he knew who Tom Lord really was. He turned on his computer and noticed an email from Victoria Lord, Publisher of the Banner in Llanview Pa. Why would she be writing him? Talk about coincidence, how weird was it that he should get an email from a Lord when he was thinking about a Lord? Could they possibly be related? The subject of the email was Samuel Toddman, a renowned artist and relative to Victoria Lord. He read the story with interest and called down to archives to pull up the story about Hesser and Kipling that had made national news not that long ago. There was an attachment to the email and Amos opened it and dropped his coffee in his lap in astonishment. He grabbed some extra papers to mop up the mess on his desk and lap and stared at the image of Thomas Lord on his screen. The attachment said Samuel Toddman and it was marked to be open b the recipient only. Amos closed the attachment as the copywriter brought him the article.

Amos leaned back in his chair and read the article, he was intrigued by the story and the talk about experimentation. He opened the file again and stared at Samuel, how could the artist and his reporter be one and the same. Likenesses between relatives were always a possibility but why would both men be sporting the same scars. Amos read more about Samuel's disappearance and then he got to the part about Samuel's recent blindness. There was the proof he needed. He had seen first hand that Thomas was blind, then the last part of the sentence caught Amos's eye. Shit, Lord had a heart problem. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the dock story. Amos knew he should pull him off the story immediately, but he also knew from the other night, that it wouldn't do any good.

This was just great, Thomas Lord was on the verge of breaking a human trafficking ring wide open and he had a ticking bomb in his chest. Not to mention, he quite possibly had a target on his back besides. Amos mulled over what his options were regarding Thomas Lord. He could let Victoria Lord know of Toddman's whereabouts, also John McBain, or he could let Thomas complete his story. Thomas had told him he needed this story for some deep purpose. Amos understood that kind of drive. Lord wouldn't forgive him for his interference and he might very well do something even more dangerous to accomplish his goal. Amos made the decision to let Lord finish his run. There were children involved and that meant more to Lord than his life.

He felt he had to do one more thing before he closed the attachment. hitting reply he wrote:
I'm writing this to let you know that he's alright. You should know he's in the middle of a story that concerns a number of small children. He wouldn't forgive either of us if I pulled him off the story now. Bear with him. I believe he'll contact you soon. PS. I know he wouldn't mind if you contacted his wife she appears to mean a great deal to him.

After hitting send. Amos closed the email and went back to work getting ready for Thomas Lord's story.

C.J. was already waiting when Todd arrived, after a few minutes to get the plans straight, they separated to put it in play. Todd left C.J. and took off his ring, he opened his cane and began his walk toward the warehouse. The sun was getting low in the sky and the warehouses were casting huge shadows over the docks. The shadows were playing havoc with what little sight Todd had, making it almost impossible to distinguish the moving blobs from the stationary crates. Todd had decided earlier to walk the whole dock in an effort to see if he could locate the warehouse housing the children. As he walked, the hustle and bustle going on around him began to die down. The workers were finishing for the night and there were fewer people milling around. He found himself walking in a nearly deserted area and thought it was a little strange. Todd paused and wondered if he was nearing the warehouse he was looking for. Kym had said it was closely guarded, the lack of workers in this area indicated he was probably getting close. He continued his stroll only now he decided to walk closer to the actual warehouses.

He was listening now more than using his limited sight and off to his right, he heard a cough and began smelling cigarette smoke. He had never been one for cigarettes, but he needed an excuse to get close so he wandered closer to the smoker and inquired. "Excuse me but you wouldn't by any chance have a spare would you."

The guard had been startled and now looked at the man standing in front of him. His boss would have his head if he didn't get rid of the guy. "I don't know where you came from Mister, but you shouldn't be here. Get Lost!"

"I guess that means no, sorry I bothered you. I'm a little turned around now.  Could you tell me how to get to Warehouse 22?" Todd picked a warehouse number at random down the same direction as the building housing the girls, he was hoping the man wouldn't try and direct him away from the area he was headed.

"Sheesh fella, I'm not a road map. Look you need to get out of here, take a right and go about four warehouses, I think you'll be close to 22.

"Let's see...take a right, hmm... Is that my right or your right?" Todd couldn't help having a little fun at the man's expense, it was obvious the man hadn't realized he was talking to a blind man.

"Lou, what's going on over there? Do you need help?" a voice to Todd's left called out. The count had just gone up to two guards.

The guy named Lou growled, "Are you trying to be funny Mister. Just go that way and you'll get to your damn warehouse."

"And which way would that way happen to be?" asked Todd  He was getting a kick out of rattling this guy.

"Why you ..." Lou grabbed Todd by his shirt and spun him around shoving him away abruptly.

Todd was unable to stop his momentum and stumbled to his knees. His cane had clattered to the ground beside him as he had attempted to stop his fall. He reached out trying to figure out where the cane had landed and heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Lou, who is this guy?  I asked you if you needed help?"

"Relax Ed, he's just some wise guy. Listen, Mister, get out of here now if you know what's good for you."

Todd worked at keeping Pete under control. The minute he had been shoved, Pete had tried to get loose. He was still searching for his cane when Lou's remark registered. Pete was in a rage and it took everything in him to keep his cool. His hand finally found his cane and using it he regained his feet. He brushed himself off and said. "Look I don't want any trouble. I asked for a cigarette for god's sake and some directions, can't you give a man a break?"

Lou had no sooner said his ultimatum when he realized the guy was still on the ground and then he saw why. He hadn't realized the wise guy was blind. Now his wiseacre remarks made sense. Lou looked at Ed and back at the guy regaining his feet. Ed moved to the man.

"Mister, sorry if my friend Lou got a little rough.  We have orders to keep strangers away from here and you're trespassing so to speak. We're going to let it slide because you couldn't see the signs, but you need to go now."

Todd took a deep breath, letting the anger go, he had gotten his answer. Most warehouses didn't post no-trespassing signs. This must be the warehouse Kym was talking about. "I still need directions to Warehouse 22."

Ed turned Todd toward Kym's warehouse and said "Go straight ahead and turn to your right about 200 paces then keep going straight. You'll be getting close and someone can direct you then." He gave Todd a mild push. "Now get out of here."

Todd started walking in the direction he was aimed at and said "Thanks...NOT!"

Ed had to chuckle at the nerve of the guy. The guards watched as he found his way out of the area.

Todd was quietly chuckling to himself too. Thanks to "Ed's" directions he knew they had sent him the way he had started because he could still hear the ocean off to his left but they had also given him a basis to start counting his steps and he would know exactly how far away the children's warehouse was from the girls'.

The sun had dropped below the horizon by the time Todd reached the warehouse where Kym and the girls resided, There hadn't been time to plan a full-on raid with the police after their talk with Kym which is why they were only going to attempt to get Lily out at this time. A small guerrilla-style hit and grab would work pretty well and keep Kym and the rest of the girls safe until they could coordinate with the police and feds. They wanted to be sure and capture the whole crew including the bosses that might be there for the send-off.

He sat back and waited for the sky to darken the rest of the way. He had brought along a flask this night in order to appear inebriated as he stumbled around outside the warehouse, he needed to provide enough of a distraction to bring all the guards out toward him among the crates and away from the door. He had spent the last few hours making a maze he could navigate through among the crates and with Pete's, Samuel's, and Rodd's help he was pretty sure he could lead them a merry chase.

It was Showtime. Todd reached into his pocket got the flask and took a generous swig. For added effect, he poured some in his hand and splashed it on his face and jacket. Now he smelled like he had been drinking for a while. He maneuvered himself well into his maze and pulled out the other two items in his arsenal. His father 's lighter and firecrackers.  Then he began.

"Hey Pete, you ole buddy come on just give me another swig, You shouldn't hog the whole thing let your pal Tom have some." Todd giggled loudly and let Pete have a turn.

Pete jumped in with both feet. "Naw you'll drink it all, you just sit over there, I got something that will liven things up." Pete took a couple of firecrackers out of the pack and using the lighter lit them and threw them in the general direction of the warehouse. They heard them go off and heard the guards start swearing.

Todd got a little louder and "Hey no fair, you don't get to have all the fun. Let Rodd have a chance."

"Si I a want a chance but givea me the drink it will helpa my courage," Rodd took a swig " Woo thatsa strong.  Okay, I'ma ready, givea me the stuff." Rodd was finding it hard to focus, but he flicked the lighter and lit more firecrackers.

When he didn't toss them immediately Pete took over and flung them toward the guards. "You fool leave those to me. You and Tom are too drunk. Hey Samuel, how about you?  Want some fun?"

The last firecrackers had started the guards moving in the directions of the crates Pete felt his way a little deeper in and then Samuel took over for a little bit. "Really you guys, just how much have you had. Rodd, Tom you should know better. Give me that." Samuel took a gulp and felt it burn down his throat.  He could hear the guards starting to make their way into the crates looking for the group of men they thought were inside. Todd's plan entailed getting them deep into the crates and out of sight of the door so C.J. could meet with Kym uninterrupted.

Samuel waited, listening carefully as the men made their way into the crates.

"Mario, I can't even see where I'm going, just where are those nut jobs?" said Frank as he stumbled into a smaller crate bumping his shin.

"You're asking me?  Please, I can barely see you. Stop and listen for a minute." said Mario.

Samuel smiled, the plan was working beautifully, he knew where Frank and Mario were approximately but he had heard several more feet so he moved away from Frank and Mario and headed closer to the other two cursing the crates from the other direction. "Pete, let me see those for a minute."

Samuel took his time feeling the length of the wicks on a couple of firecrackers and carefully lighting them, he tossed them into the crates where he had heard the swearing.

Rodd began to giggle and Pete then roared with laughter as they heard the other two guards scramble away from the firecrackers shouting, and then there was the sound of someone falling into the water.

Frank and Mario listened to the shouts and Mario said, "Dave, Luke, are you guys okay?"

"Frank, Mario, Luke just fell in the water, have you found those guys yet?" said Dave

"It's dark as hell in here. I'm not even sure where we are. I can't even see my face, let alone find those guys right now. Wait I think I hear them but I'm not sure how to get to them. They sound pretty close, Frank and I will keep going. You help Luke."

Todd turned and took the last item from his pocket, a matchbook. He set it down on top of a crate directly on the remainder of the firecrackers pulled one match free and close the book of matches. Then he tucked the single match at right angles into the matchbook. The whole time he was working on it, he talked. "Hey come on yous guys I want my turn. Lemme have them," he could hear Frank and Mario getting closer. They would be entering the middle any minute. He lit the match and exited down the path that would lead him out of the maze immediately. As he exited the maze he made out three blobs under the lights near the warehouse door. The plan had worked perfectly.  Two of the blobs separated from the third and disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly behind him, the firecrackers roared into life and he heard shouts coming from the middle of the maze. He turned and made out light coming from the center.  It appeared a small fire had ensued. That was going to keep the men busy for a few as they put it out. He started to leave and felt a hand on his arm.  It was Kym's.

"You continue to amaze me, Tom." She reached up and pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. "Thank you."

Todd was bemused. Kym had put herself in harm's way for Lily and yet she was thanking him.

She pushed him away and said "You better get lost. That blaze is going to bring more help. And go take a shower you smell like a distillery."

Tom smiled "I had to appear drunk if they caught me. Thank you for helping C.J.  Prepare yourself and don't take any chances. All hell is going to break loose around here when the ship docks." He left her and got lost in the darkness.

Kym turned toward the maze and began yelling. "Mario, Frank where are you guys? I heard gunfire. What's going on out here? Dave, Luke, somebody answer me."

Todd had only gotten past the first warehouse when he heard footsteps coming up to him. He suddenly found himself being hugged by a young girl who was crying profusely. "Hey there, it's alright," he awkwardly put a hand around her shoulders. His eyes filled with tears as he held her, feeling her shaking body. "C.J. we need to get her out of here, she needs to be looked at by a doctor."

C.J. had been so relieved to see Todd walking down the dock. He had been telling Lily about her great uncle when they had spotted him. Lily had taken off at a run and had almost knocked his uncle down. "You're right. Thank God, you're okay too. That was a brilliant plan but tell me where did you get those other guys who helped you."

"I'll fill you in when we get Lily some help. Let's go." Todd began walking with Lily still clinging to him and finally, he lifted her up into his arms and allowed C.J. to lead him to the street where they flagged down a taxi and headed for the hospital.

Thomas Lord: Cloaked, Ch. 4

Since they were alone in the taxi, Todd had an inkling Kim was studying him and wondered what was going on in her mind. "The name's Tom by the way, are you sure you're alright, it sounded like the guy got a piece of you," he carefully reached up to her face and tentatively felt around her mouth and felt the abrasion.

Her hand came up and stopped his. "It's nothing."

"Kym, it's 'not' nothing.  That guy hurt you. What kind of company do you work for that would let those guys manhandle a woman?"

"Tom, you don't understand, and you need to stay out of it? Promise me you won't attempt to get into it with Frank. I'm grateful you're concerned for me, but I can handle it. Right now, I've got to complete my chore and get back. Believe me, there's a lot riding on this." Kym tried to move a little farther away from Tom, his hand had been so gentle and it had been ages since a man had touched her that way. In reality, all she wanted to do was climb in his lap and see what his lips were like, but she knew it was her conditioning that was making her feel that way. She shivered because it had been so ingrained in her to please men, and Tom was the first man in a long time she wanted to touch.

Todd felt her move away and could tell something was bothering her.  He reached for her hand and felt her quivering. "Kym, what is it?" What's the matter? " Suddenly he felt her lips on his and could hear her whimpering. He was surprised, but there was something both sexual and desperate about her kiss. Not wanting to hurt her, he carefully pulled his lips free and held her off. She was crying and still trying to get nearer. "Kym, don't do this. You don't really want this. You don't even know me."

She curled up next to him mortified that she hadn't pleased him. Gregor was right, she was too old. Even a blind man didn't want her. "He told me I was too old and he was right. I'm worthless now."

Todd's heart went out to her, The girl had been conditioned to respond to men, further verifying his concerns that they had a trafficking ring on the dock. "Kym, you are not worthless. I'm not offended.  In fact, I'm flattered, but I'm currently very much in love with someone else. Who told you, you were worthless? Just what kind of company do you keep? Whoever said that to you was cruel. No one is worthless." Her words had hit very close to home as he thought about all those times Peter had made him feel the same way.

With his kind words Kym snuggled closer and once again tried to get him to respond, she couldn't stop herself and her hands started running up and down his legs. "Tom, let me make you feel better, someone has hurt you. I can hear it in your voice. Believe me, I know many ways to make you happy." Even as she said it, she straddled him once again capturing his lips.

Todd was totally taken aback. She was just a slip of a thing and couldn't have weighed much more than a feather. Her hips began gyrating on his lap, God, he was only a man and could feel himself beginning to respond, but then as she was kissing him, another face filled his mind, one with sparkling green eyes and a touch that stirred his soul. He stopped responding and stayed perfectly still, knowing the exact moment when she realized he wasn't interested.

Kym sat up no longer hurt, instead, she had a moment of clarity. "You really are in love with someone else. I thought you were being polite when you told me that, but you weren't, you were being honest. She's a lucky woman."

"No Kym, I'm a lucky man."

"Tom, what were you doing on the dock tonight?  You're not what you seem."

"What do you mean by that, Kym?"

"You looked like someone down on their luck who had a handicap and was just taking a stroll by the ocean. It was my belief that if I just left you there, you would have gotten hurt. I believed you when you said you would take care of me and thought you might be trying to get a little tail while you were at it. But you really just wanted to help, didn't you? I don't know many men who would help just for the sake of helping. You're one unusual man Tom."

Todd had gotten a little alarmed when she had first started questioning him. He had been afraid that somehow he had given away his true purpose for being on the dock, but it turned out he had just surprised her. Everything that Kym had done from the moment they got into taxi convinced him that her boss was as much a pervert as his father.

"Kym I don't know what you're involved in but if you need help getting out of it, you can tell me.  I have connections and friends who can aid you, or I'll aid you myself, anyway I can, if the authorities scare you." Just then, the taxi arrived at their destination and Kym began to get out of the car.

"This is as far as you go, Tom, I won't let you get yourself killed for me and I'm grateful you can't see where we are. I know you want to help, but it's too late for me. Please stay away from the docks Tom." She quickly handed the taxi driver some money and walked away.

The sounds and smells of the area filled the taxi and he had to know where they were. Todd reached quickly into his shirt and pulled the pouch free, dropping the ring into his hand. He caught a glimpse of a small brunette walking into a restaurant and realized they were in the Asian quarter of Savannah. Several unsavory characters stood outside the restaurant. Todd took off the ring after getting some landmarks and spotting a street name.

Then he instructed the taxi driver to take him to his hotel. He rested his head against the back seat of the car and thought about the strange ride. He recalled the desperation in Kym's first kiss and his grip tightened on his cane. Who could be so low to take young girls and turn them into sex slaves? Kym talked like she had been one for a long time and now had been put on the shelf because of her age. He would love to get his hands on her so-called Boss. His stomach turned as he thought of Chase's sister being trapped with these people. Somehow he had to find a way to get Kym's help. The taxi pulled up to his hotel and he climbed out and remembered he no longer needed to be blind. After the taxi pulled away, he put his ring back on and folded his cane, he needed a drink and so he headed for the bar. Downing his first drink quickly he ordered another and found himself thinking of Blair. He wished now he had told her exactly where he was. He really needed her input, but it would have to wait. He sensed her and knew she had landed in Savannah. It was only a matter of time before she figured out how to locate him. Did he dare speed up the process and call Cassie? Even as he reached for his phone something told him to stop. Blair didn't need to get mixed up in this. He could find that warehouse and the kids, get the authorities involved, and write the story before Blair got sucked into it. Of course, if she found him before he was finished, she'd kill him probably. He chuckled just thinking about her when she got mad. Yep, She was definitely going to be pissed when she found him.

****

He watched the whole thing play out in front of him. He had almost stepped in when the girl Kym had cried out after being hit. It had been a bad situation, but there had been way too many men to take on at the time. He hated men like Frank; those who treated women like Kym was treated. Ever since talking to his son he had been down at the various docks trying to find someone with a connection to his daughter. The incident with Kym was sending up red flags all over the place. He had started to go to the girl after she had walked away from the men, but before he got there, she bumped into the blind man. CJ wondered if this was the man who had helped Chase. His son had described him and said he couldn't see but that he had been real nice. Looking at him, the blind man seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite figure out why. CJ listened as Kym took the man up on his offer for some protection, strangely enough even CJ sensed the man might be good in a fight. There was something about the way he held himself that said, blind or not, he wasn't easily intimidated. They didn't see him standing in the shadows of the crates on the Dock, but as the Girl and the man walked past him, CJ got a better look at the man's face.

Years dropped away in that instant and CJ recalled the one man whose face he'd never forget. The man passing in front of him looked exactly like his best friend Ali. He was older and he had gotten another scar on his face, but CJ was almost positive his uncle rescued Chase. He had been little when his uncle had been presumed dead in Ireland and then his Mom had taken them away from Llanview. It was years later that he found out his uncle had disappeared again.  By then, CJ was on his own and had eventually made his way to Georgia. His uncle Todd had saved him when he was around Chase's age and now it looked like 'Ali' might also have saved his son. Suddenly motivated to find out if he was right, CJ began following, but just missed them, as Kym and the man disappeared into a taxi.

CJ spent the next couple of hours watching the activity around the warehouse. He hadn't spotted any children but about an hour and a half, after she had left with his uncle, Kym returned, this time carrying several bags. She was escorted by several Asian gentlemen and they entered the warehouse together. It was obvious the men were important, the thugs were scrambling to help them. What had Kym brought back and why were the men with her? CJ waited, but the men did not leave. Whatever they were doing inside was going to remain a mystery and he was no closer to finding out if the children or the girls were in that warehouse. As he prepared to leave the vicinity he heard something behind him.

Todd had changed his mind and headed back out to the docks about an hour after leaving Kym. He had been taking his time wandering the docks back toward the warehouse when he had heard the high heels walking behind him. He moved slowly to one side and heard her walk right past him. She didn't call attention to him, in fact, she ignored him and said something in a foreign language to her escorts. He sensed them hesitating as if they paused to make sure he was blind before they continued to follow her. He had then heard the other footsteps off to the side of him and had decided to see who else was watching. Whoever it was had been staying relatively quiet. Todd closed his eyes and just listened and then zeroed in on the area the person was watching from. It was somewhere around 2 o'clock to his right. Todd carefully moved to his right and using his cane quietly moved around the crates till he was pretty sure he was behind the watcher. The moon chose a perfect time to come out from behind the clouds and Todd had enough light to just make out a shadow in front of him. He raised his cane and moved till his cane was nestled in the man's back.

"I find it interesting that a man would be sitting on the dock looking away from the ocean. If I was one of the men you're watching, you would be in a world of hurt right now my friend."

CJ held his breath for a moment and then said."Ali, Ali, Out."

Todd stood there stunned. Had he just heard right? He lowered his cane, wishing he had the implant on. Only two other people used that phrase around him, "What did you say?"

C.J. turned around and looked into the face of his uncle. He studied the face of the man before him. His uncle hadn't changed much, except he was blind. That was a little hard to take. Todd had always seemed bigger than life. C.J.'s curiosity was peaked, why was his uncle down walking the docks if he was blind? For that matter, he had left with Kym but had come back alone and Kym had come back to with two unsavory-looking gentlemen. Why had they separated? Todd knew about the gentlemen watching the entrance to the warehouse, that was obvious, Chase had said the blind man had promised to find Lily. Which meant Todd was looking for the children too.

"I should have introduced myself earlier when I saw you, but I admit to being surprised. The last time I saw you was at the wedding and then you disappeared. I only saw you one other time after that.  I heard you disappeared again.  Even after I got Chase's description, it never entered my mind that my uncle was the man who saved him. Besides, Chase called his savior, Tom."

At his mention of Chase, Todd recalled the boy's last name. It had gone completely over his head. "My God, C.J., is that you?" Fate had a funny way of showing itself whenever Todd was around. Most people would say it was an unusual coincidence that he should run into his nephew down on a dock in Georgia, but that was the way life usually played out for him, always one coincidence after another.

"Thank you for helping my son, but knowing you I'm not surprised. What I am concerned about is you. What the heck are you doing getting into this in your condition?"

Todd smiled at that statement. "My condition? You make it sound like I'm pregnant, C.J., I'm visually challenged and it won't stop me from helping the missing kids. I thought you knew me, do you seriously think I would walk away after talking to Chase?"

C.J. shook his head, he remembered how his friend 'Ali' had picked up his cousin Jessica and carried her, plus him, up the mountainside. "Ali" had never let him down, and if he'd made a promise to Chase, then he would move heaven and earth to make it happen. "No, you wouldn't. So that means you're working on something and Chase just happened to need your help the other night. You took a chance on helping him if you're working on some undercover story. From what I heard at the police station, my daughter and son weren't the only ones that have disappeared. So you've been investigating the disappearances. After what I've seen just this afternoon, I'm convinced that warehouse has something to do with the children but I haven't heard or seen any children so I'm puzzled."

"We need to be careful C.J., they've already moved from one warehouse. A girl was badly beaten the other day and if you were here earlier you saw how they treated Kym. I'm afraid we're dealing with human traffickers." C.J. started to brush past him, headed toward the Warehouse. Todd quickly grabbed him."Hold it, you can't go storming up there. I know you're worried about Lily, but we need to catch them all red-handed or they'll just relocate and start all over again." Todd held on tight as C.J. struggled to get free.

"Uncle Todd, she's my stepdaughter and I promised my wife I would take care of her. When they both went missing, I was beside myself and my father-in-law almost collapsed. Lily's mom was raped and you're telling me Lily might be facing a fate worse than that. I can't let that happen."

"C.J. stop fighting me, you're right, but we have to do this the right way." Todd's ears picked up a conversation headed their direction and he pushed C.J. down behind the crates and crouched next to him. "Quiet"

C.J. stopped fighting him and got still as they heard a foreign conversation drift in their direction. The men who had escorted Kym were leaving. They both seemed in pretty good moods and Todd felt his nephew stiffen under his hands. Todd knew C.J. was imagining the worse at that moment. After his encounter with Kym, Todd was also finding it hard not to think about what the men had been up too. He prayed they weren't already too late.

Inside the warehouse, Kym was gathering her girls and trying to get them settled for the night. Some of them were crying because of what they had been asked to do. When the escorts had entered the dormitory, several of the girls had gotten hysterical and they had been the ones the escorts picked for the night. Over the last couple of weeks, the escorts had come to put the girls through their training. At first, the girls been taught to fondle each other, they had been given small doses of drugs to loosen their inhibitions, and soon most of the girls had begun to like the sensations they were feeling. Soon they were being taught the ways to heighten their enjoyment. Since most of the girls were just entering puberty, it was a new experience and they reacted the way most girls do when their bodies begin going through the changes, they were excited. Then the training moved into a new area.

The second stage of the training was harder for Kym to watch because it entailed putting the girls through the pain. The psychology was to first make them comfortable with their bodies than they had to be taught that their bodies no longer belonged to them but whoever was in charge. Now the girls were instructed to fondle but if they expressed any pleasure they received a shock from a collar each had to wear. Several girls suffered immensely because they had already become addicted to pleasure. Soon most of the girls learned to control themselves for fear of the pain. Kym was in charge of picking out the next group of girls that would be sent out on the boat. The girls who were the most docile and had already resigned themselves to pleasing those sent to them were moved into the final training session.

The third part of the training involved Kym's escort. When the girls saw the men enter the room the electricity in the room could be felt. The escorts walked around the girls pausing now and then and instructing the girls in front of them to perform a particular stroke or movement. Then they began to get more intense with their instructions and soon some of the girls were crawling after them begging them to be allowed to please them. Kym's eyes had filled with tears for those girls, for they would be the next ones to go. The escorts had picked about eight of the girls and herded them into the back room behind the dormitory. Several minutes later Frank and some of the other men had walked into the back room.

A short time later Frank and his men sauntered out looking very pleased with themselves. Then the escorts had exited the room. They had walked up to Kym, leaving her with her instructions and departing. Kym had instructed the remainder of the girls to settle in for the night, and she went to prepare the eight for their departure. When she entered the room several of the girls were crying and surrounding one particular girl. When they saw Kym, they backed away and revealed the one young girl they had been hovering around. Kym was shocked, never before had one of the girls been treated so roughly. Usually, the escorts would keep an iron fist on the men so that they wouldn't damage the goods, but they had obviously decided to let one of the men show the girls that no matter what the master did to you, you had to take it. The only place on the girl that wasn't bruised or bleeding was her face. Kym and the girls carefully picked her up and took her into the shower area to clean her up. Kym was crying for her as much as the other girls were. The child hadn't uttered a sound, and when Kym began cleaning her wounds, the child actually got excited and turned on. No wonder the escorts had said they wanted all eight girls. The poor little thing was so fully indoctrinated that she still had wanted to please even though the man had hurt her. After putting the girl to bed, Kym made a decision.  She had seen Tom back on the dock when she had arrived with the escort. She had deliberately ignored him and in some way had been relieved that he had come back. She couldn't do this anymore. Tom had offered to help. Was it possible he might still be somewhere on the Dock?  There was only one way to find out. Checking once more on her charges, Kym turned out the lights and headed out of the warehouse to get some air.

She had only gone a few paces outside the warehouse door when she heard him.

"Hey, girlie where are you going?" Frank said.

"None of your business, Frank. Are you the one who mangled that girl tonight?" she asked knowing he wouldn't admit it if he did.

"That girl better not have said anything, I thought they were supposed to please us no matter what." Frank was on the defensive.

"She didn't say anything, but you just spilled everything. You're a bastard, Frank. What's the matter, you couldn't get it up so you took it out on her? The escorts might have been okay with you manhandling her but if you touch one more of my girls that way, I'll be sure and let him know how you're treating the merchandise, They're worth more than you mister." Kym held her ground as Frank had started toward her, but the moment she mentioned 'him', Frank backed off. She laughed and walked down toward the last place she had seen Tom on the dock. When she was out of sight of the warehouse, she slowed down and whispered. "Tom are you still around?"

Todd stepped out toward the sound of Kym's voice. He reached for her and pulled her down behind the crate, holding a hand over her mouth as she started to scream. Putting a hand to his lips, he prayed there was enough light for her to make out his gesture. She quieted down just in time, as they heard footsteps move past them. Todd removed his hand and they waited until the footsteps faded.

"You scared the living daylights out of me. Why did you come back?" asked Kym.

"Perhaps the real question should be, why did you come looking for me?" Todd got up and extended his hand helping her back up.

Kym could only stare. She still felt an overwhelming need to be with this man even though he had made it plain he loved someone else. Why was she so drawn to him? Was she so starved for affection these days, that the first man who had shown her sympathy became the man she couldn't live without? She turned away from him and moaned softly to herself trying to get her feelings under control. She had turned into the child she had pitied only minutes before. She realized she needed as much help as those children.

"Kym, what is it? Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Todd couldn't understand what had scared her so much that she was almost crying.

"Tom, I know you don't understand. There is something so deeply ingrained in me after all these years that I find it hard to fight. All I want to do is wrap myself around you, giving you every pleasure in my arsenal, I want you so badly it hurts." she hugged herself holding on desperately. If he touched her she was lost.

Todd started to reach for her but found his hand stopped by C.J. "Don't Tom, she can't take your comfort right now."

Kym stared around wildly, seeing the younger man standing next to Tom for the first time. She could feel her temperature rising and she took an involuntary step toward him. She needed release so bad, if she couldn't have Tom, his friend would do.

Before C.J. could stop her she had captured his lips and was eagerly raining kisses on him. It was a heady experience and the next thing he knew she was beginning to unbutton his shirt. C.J. quickly found some control and caught her hands. "Uncle, what do I do? She doesn't realize what she's doing." As proof of that Kym had gotten one of her hands free and had begun undoing C.J.'s belt.

Todd knew he had to do something. The last time he had knocked a woman out she had called him a rapist, this time, he did it to save Kym from herself.

C.J. caught her as she slumped in his arms. He held her and said. "Okay, I didn't see that coming. What do we do now? We can't stay here and we don't know how long she can be gone before they search for her."

"We need to move to the other side of the docks, well away from here. You're right about them looking for her if she's gone too long. We need her help. So she has to stay connected to them. With any luck, she'll wake back up soon and be more under control." Todd swung his cane around and began making his way back up the dock away from the warehouse. C.J. cradled Kym in his arms and followed his uncle.

They finally arrive at the opposite end of the dock. C.J. sat down amongst some crates and nestled Kym into his lap. Holding her gently he looked across at his uncle. "She couldn't be out of her late-twenties, but by their standards, she's washed up. What are they doing to my daughter? My, God, this girl's so mixed up she doesn't even know what love is. All she knows is what's been drummed into her for years. They're in there doing the same thing to Lily and the other young girls. We've got to find a way to get the girls to safety and get enough evidence to capture those in charge."

"I know, we have to be careful, though, the ship is due to arrive in just a couple more days. We can't afford anything else to spook them. I'm hoping Kym came out looking for me because she made the decision to accept my offer to help. We have to find the second warehouse too. " Todd stopped talking as he heard a moan come from Kym.

"Hey, it's alright. Are you okay?" asked C.J.

Kym woke up dazed but no longer driven by her sexual urges. She looked up at the man holding her and carefully sat up. She vaguely remembered attempting to kiss him and then something knocked her out. Kym looked around and was relieved to see Tom sitting not too far away. She eased off of the second man's lap and sat down on her own crate. "I'm sorry, I lost control. I know this isn't the time for that. You offered to help Tom, is that offer still on the table?"

Todd nodded and he heard a sigh of relief issue from Kym's lips. "I can help Kym, but we need your help also. C.J.'s daughter is trapped in that warehouse.  Will you help get her and those girls free?" She didn't say anything and then he heard C.J.'s exclamation.

"Thank God!"

Todd had been holding his breath but at C.J.'s remark, he let it out. Kym must have nodded yes. "Okay, we're going to need some information, I know you need to get back but this is important. Kym, how many girls are in that warehouse? Will they all be going on that Ship which is due to arrive in a couple days?" he waited for her answer

Kym looked at both men and said. "I have forty girls there, but only eight will be in the shipment leaving in two days the rest aren't ready."

C.J.'s heart sank, eight girls were ready to be shipped, that could only mean those girls had already been so indoctrinated they were like Kym and, therefore, they probably had already been forced to do whatever they were asked. God, don't let Lily be among those eight. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I have to ask, this is my daughter, tell me if she's one of the eight," he handed the picture to Kym.

Kym studied the picture and looked across at C.J., she knew the little girl and she was one of the stubborn ones. As a result, she had been punished more but she had still managed to keep herself aloof from the training to the point Kym was afraid they might take her by force soon. She admired the girl. "No, She's not one of the eight, but you have a right to be concerned. My boss and his partners only allow so much time for training. If she continues to resist training, they'll force her into submission."

Todd's hand tightened on his cane when Kym said the words forced into submission. That could only mean rape, his heart started beating a little erratically and he reached out to get support from a nearby crate. His mind tumbled backward into a scene from his past, as he saw himself taking Marty by force. He heard her sobs and his laughter. He remembered her final look of resignation as she stared into space, tears running down her face when Powell had finished with her. Todd felt his legs give way as darkness overtook him.

C.J.had been looking at Kym and had experienced a moment of relief when Kym said Lily wasn't going to be shipped out just yet but as the rest of her words had filtered in he realized the bigger implication. Neither he nor Kym was ready for what occurred next. He saw his uncle collapse against a crate and immediately jumped to his side. He knew his uncle's history. Although he hadn't understood the story when he was just a little boy, he now fully grasped what his uncle had done in his youth. One thing he knew for sure was that his uncle had regretted his actions and had tried for a long time to make up for them. C.J. felt his uncle's pulse, it was strong but incredibly fast.

Kym had rushed to Tom's side the same moment C.J. had, she reached for his handkerchief and rushed over to the dock's edge, laying down on the pier. Reaching over the edge, she wet the cloth and then returned to Tom's side. Kneeling down she put the cloth on his forehead and sat back as the cool water brought him around. Even in the moonlight as he lay unconscious Kym felt something stirring inside her. He was very vulnerable at that moment and she worked hard to squelch the feelings beginning to churn in her again. Kym got up and put some distance between them, letting the younger man help him.

Kym's quick thinking worked wonders and Todd was beginning to come to. C.J. felt his pulse again and was relieved that the rate was slowing down. He helped his uncle up to a sitting position "Easy, you passed out and your heart was going a mile a minute, just relax."

Todd reached a shaky hand up to his forehead as the last vestiges of his memories about Marty faded away. Damn, things had been going so smoothly he had forgotten about his ticking time bomb of a heart. Trust it to give him a wake-up call. "I'm okay, just give me a minute. Kym, we need to know the layout of that warehouse. We also need the shift changes of all the guys guarding the place. Is there ever a moment when they relax their coverage of the entrance?"

Kym began describing the setup and CJ took out his phone and began emailing the information to his computer. After getting the information from Kym, Todd asked one more question. "Kym, do you know the whereabouts of the smaller children?"

Kym's head came up in surprise. Few people knew about the smaller children and yet Tom was aware of them. She was a little alarmed, she was not privy to the future of the smaller children, but she did know where they were being stashed. She knew with 100% certainty that all of the smaller children were slated to be put on the transport. If her bosses were to lose that shipment there would be hell to pay. She hesitated for a moment debating just how much on a limb she had just put herself. Then she decided she was already screwed. If Tom couldn't deliver and get them all safe she was a dead woman anyway. "The warehouse holding the smaller children is down about three warehouses but if you think this warehouse is guarded that one is literally a fortress.  I have to ask, how did you find out about the small ones?"

"C.J.'s son was part of the group until yesterday. I get the impression you haven't told us everything you know. Are you leaving out something to do with the children?"

Kym nodded one last time. "There are over a hundred small children and all are slated to be shipped out. There isn't a lot of time left if you intend to save everyone."

Todd's heart sank,  He had never imagined there were so many missing children. This was huge, he had to find the other warehouse and alert the authorities. "Okay that settles it, you need to return before they come looking for you. We're going to need your help tomorrow night. You need to find a way to distract the guards so we can get inside. I'm not leaving Lily in there any longer. One last question. Does your boss have a name?"

Kym stared at Tom wide-eyed, she was terrified, she was being asked to betray the one man she feared the most. " I can't tell you, please don't ask that of me."

Todd could tell from her voice she was scared about something so he backed off. "Very well, we'll leave that tidbit, for now, Kym. Thank you for helping, I made you a promise and I'll get you out of this. This is one enterprise that's going to encounter a snag and if possible, I'll manage to do some serious damage in the process."

Kym got up to leave, she turned and looked back at the two men she had just gotten involved in her life. They had all started down a very dangerous path and it could turn deadly if they weren't very, very careful. She stopped and walked back to Tom. Placing one hand on his chest and the other on his cheek she said, "Today you showed me respect and concern, I'm more grateful than you could possibly understand, so I need your promise that if it's a choice between saving me or the children, you'll choose the children. You've already saved me just remember that." She turned and walked back down the dock headed for her own destiny and secure in her heart that she had made the correct decision.

Todd reached up and touched his cheek, Kym's hand had been so cold. He wasn't going to let her sacrifice herself, he'd get them all out one way or another. He was so distracted by her final words that he was startled when CJ touched his shoulder.

"She's gone, for now, I think she'll be alright as long as they don't find out she was with us. I didn't like the way you collapsed. I think it's time we had a heart to heart. We should leave." CJ led the way and flagged a taxi and they returned to Todd's hotel. They entered and after purchasing a couple of beers, CJ and Todd settled in Todd's room to talk.

Todd walked over to his bed and stretched out, he had overdone it and he could feel his heart still protesting. When he had left Dragonheart, his mind had been so confused he hadn't dwelt on all the possible scenarios that might occur. This evening's incident brought all his problems back into focus.

"Okay Uncle Todd, spill. What the hell happened out there tonight." CJ had watched his uncle come in and drop on the bed and knew he was missing a large part of the story, now he wanted answers.

Todd turned his gaze toward CJ's voice and said: "It's a long story."

"Hey I've got all night, and we've still got to plan out tomorrow but only after I find out what you're hiding from me." CJ sat down and waited.

Todd smiled, CJ had always been precocious and stubborn, it looked like that hadn't changed. "I'm not sure where to start but just for old times sake, watch as I perform some magic." Todd sat up on the edge of his bed with his back to CJ and pulled the pouch out from under his shirt, removed the ring, and placed it on his finger waiting for the moment when his vision cleared. He replaced the pouch and grabbed his cane, folded it up, then he walked to the dresser and put the cane on top and turned to face his nephew. "God, you look a lot like your mother did when I first met her. Do you remember that day? You and Sarah had come to my room over Rodi's to tell me how glad you were that I was out of prison. I remember feeling such joy at seeing you guys and then I panicked because you were with me, a convict, in an apartment above a bar." he paused as he remembered how unconcerned the kids had been about their ride over to the bar, nothing could stop them when they made up their minds to do something.

CJ was still wrapping his head around Todd's first statement, "Whoa, let's go back just a bit. What do you mean, I look like my mother? How would you know?" he looked over at his uncle and Todd grinned. CJ realized Todd"s eyes were focused and alert. "You can see!"

"Magic." said Todd as he did a flourish with his hand.

"But that's not possible, Chase told me you were blind, and everything I saw today told me he was right. You couldn't see out there on the dock tonight, but now you can. What's going on?"

"It quite simple really. I can see right now because of a device that enables me to see. Earlier on the Docks, I wanted anyone I came in contact with to believe I was blind. I'm not a threat when I'm blind and I can get closer to the story if they continue to believe I'm not a threat. The device is experimental and I have no idea how long it will continue to work so I let myself be blind for a while so I don't forget the skills I learned when I was blinded." Even as he said it, Todd admitted the truth to himself. He looked forward to seeing every time he wore the ring, but he had no idea how long he had before the device stopped working. He knew that sooner or later the power source that ran the device could die and he would be permanently blind once more. Todd rubbed his eyes briefly trying not to think of that eventuality. He looked at CJ once more and said. "Now that that's been cleared up let me go back to your original question. What happened on the dock? Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, but my heart may have had something to do with my collapse. I worked on the docks earlier today trying to find out more information about this slave ring. I guess I overdid it between the job this morning and the stress hearing Lily might be in danger of rape. My heart isn't as good as it used to be and it decided to act up a little bit." Todd shrugged and walked to get his beer.

"Wait a minute, you have a bad heart? Are you nuts?"

"Not at the moment, No."

"Oh, then you just decided you wanted an interesting way to kill yourself then I guess. You're still not telling me the whole story. Why are you here calling yourself Tom? Why did you come here? Just how bad is your heart? What about Aunt Vicki and your wife Blair? Why are you hell-bent on stopping this ring without any help? You must have a death wish since you been doing this by yourself. Only someone bent on dying would attempt to take down a slavery ring by themselves."

Todd sat there unsure what to answer first. CJ's mention of Blair had come out of left field, and Todd was reeling a little bit. "Why did you bring up Blair?"

CJ shook his head, out of all the questions he had just asked, Uncle Todd was asking about Blair. "Well, you married her all those years ago and you're still wearing the ring, I figured she was probably still in the mix."

Todd looked down at his ring finger and realized CJ was remembering the gold balloon wedding. It was funny how things sometimes came full circle.  "Your Aunt Vicki knows me and although I'm sure she's worried, she'll give me the space I need right now. As for Blair, she's probably giving her cousin Cassie an earful right now and I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing her soon. My heart is bad, I've had a number of heart attacks and the doctor's keep saying the next one will do it. I've chosen not to believe it. Thomas Lord is my current name and I would prefer you to keep my real name quiet. I don't have a death wish CJ, but I need to stop this ring. I did something a few weeks ago that crippled me inside for a while. I left Blair and came here and found out about the disappearances. I have to redeem myself in my eyes before I can return to Blair. Years ago I hurt Marty, then with your help, I found a way to redeem myself. Saving you and Jess and Marty that night turned things around for me and then your faith in me did the rest. Heart or no heart, I've got to see this through. I promised Chase and I won't let him down."

As Todd downed the last of his beer, CJ mulled over what he had heard. He finished his beer and said. "Okay, I think you're nuts, but you're my best friend and I know my best friend never let me down years ago and I don't think he'll let me down now." He looked at his uncle and gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

Todd smiled and returned the wink. "Excellent. Then my best bud, it's time we figured out how to free Lily."