Then

Team thirty-one.

"Jace, I need you on the ground floor right now!" Gareth called into the comm in an unfamiliar hysterical tone. Gareth was never hysterical, so many other things, but not hysterical.

"Thirty-one. You heard him. Meet me at the basement entrance."

He got instant confirmations and went up the stairs to meet them. There was nothing much his team could do down there after they had freed everybody, so he left behind the many sweepers who cleared rooms of anything useful, including medical files and stuff that might be important later on.

Phoenix shook his head at Jace when he raised an eyebrow at Sabine, who still clung to Phoenix's arm. That sense of safety and need to have something tangible to hang on to, Jace understood all too well, so he said nothing and gave Phoenix a nod. They put their masks back on, just in case. There was no need to antagonize Gareth into a fit for breaking the rules.

"Boss," Jace said and formed a row with his team when they entered the hall that looked like a bomb had gone off there.

Everything was trashed. There were bullet holes in the walls, windows were broken, and there was blood on the nice marbled floor, but the bodies had been removed since Jace and his team had run from there to get to their basement assignment. The bloody trails leading from the hall to the front door told where the bodies had gone.

"As you might have heard, we caught that fucker. But he managed to hurt a young woman before we got him," Gareth growled angrily and hammered his hand into the banister of the stairs in the hall. He stood fully tensed and stared at the floor like he would find some redemption for his failure there.

"Is she going to be ok?" If Jace asked as a member of Gareth's gang or as his best friend, he did not know. He just wanted Gareth to stop feeling guilty. They had performed miracles that day. If only one injured was the count at the end of everything, it would be a smashing success. It might sound callous, but in the grand scheme of things, one out of the number of innocents they had found was divine intervention.

"We think so. They have taken her away to get medical aid."

"So why aren't you just a bit happier?" Jace dared to ask, probably as the only one who could get away with criticizing Gareth's foul mood.

"Jace, you might not like this, but I called you here for a reason." Gareth made a gesture at a hallway and motioned for them to follow, but stopped when he noticed Sabine hanging on to Phoenix, he locked eyes with Phoenix and made an unnoticeable shake of his head, his eyes clearly said that she should not see what they were about to.

"Sabine, please stay here with our men. I promise they'll protect you. We have to go with our boss for a moment, ok?" Phoenix gently tried to untangle Sabine's arms from his.

Tentatively, Sabine looked at all the men dressed in black, like Phoenix and the rest of Jace's team that she had met in the basement. Her nervous smile and the way she lifted her head bravely were enough for Phoenix to know that she would not go anywhere he did not, but she was not entirely sure how that would be received.

"G-man?"

"Fine. The house is secure. But she stays back and fucking listens to what I say if we need to keep her safe. Deal?" Gareth gruffly agreed and speared Sabine with a hard glare to make sure she knew he did not oppose to her coming, but he would protect her from harm, and she was to listen.

"Yes, Sir."

Gareth's eyes softened, and he came closer to not yell a conversation from where he stood. "Don't 'Sir' me. I'm not worthy of that title. A simple 'yes' will suffice, and please do as I say. It'll be for your own good, ok?"

"Thank you. It's been a long time since I've had the freedom to choose who I respect and why." Sabine gave Gareth a small smile, like she was not sure how to even smile anymore. "I'll do as you ask, Sir."

Gareth gave her a nod and did not comment on what she had said. Though he did not feel like he deserved anything from her, it was, as she had said, her choice who she showed respect.

"Come along, people. Jace, you're with me."

They all followed in silence, and Jace tried to catch a glimpse of Phoenix while they rushed to get to their destination with Gareth. He too looked concerned, but there was nothing they could do then and there, and Jace had to settle for a wink of encouragement and the comfort of knowing that Phoenix was there.

Gareth led them to the large kitchen and pointed at a door to the side. It would probably lead from the kitchen to what Jace assumed was a food storage facility or whatever those places were called in larger households. A pantry, maybe? The way Gareth acted, as if he knew it would be something for Jace to handle, was not reassuring. Usually, Gareth just handled shit himself.

Jace had spent all the time since the fight to calm himself. He had fought back memories and fears in order for him to function as a leader. To clear his mind and stay focused to help the women and kids they had found, to free and comfort the others that had been held in that basement. Most of the time he had felt like a pussy for even thinking of himself and his situation because he had been free, and had been able to walk away, he had just been too scared to stand up for himself. His situation with Levi was nothing compared to what those people had gone through.

When he reached for the door handle, his heart pumped rapidly again, and his calm vanished as if it had never been there. Beyond the door was something Gareth knew would affect him, and yet he had no trouble making him go in first.

That was unnerving at best.

The door creaked open, and Jace walked into a smaller hallway where a door was open to the outside. He easily saw a fenced-in dog pen where many sedated dogs laid around. It was safe to assume those were part of the canine patrols, and keeping them close to the house was smart enough. He figured the grid teams had taken the dogs there to rest until they came out of their sedation.

It did not seem like Gareth wanted him to admire the view, so he walked from the hallway into the next room that looked like an ordinary wet room for storing dog food and toys, and it had a few shower stalls to clean the animals. On the wall near the door hung raincoats on hooks, with rubber boots standing in rows beneath them.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

There was only one door visible. The door had an open wall panel in front of it, so it had to be one of those secret rooms they had uncovered, and Gareth had found something in there that he needed Jace for. So, what could he do but walk to it and open it? Jace walked down the stairs on the other side, followed closely by Phoenix and Sabine, Rami and Gareth, and then the rest of their two combined teams. Jace did not bother to look at the room they entered when they came down the stairs. He went straight for a dirty window in the wall where he could see a bright light on the other side.

His heart stopped beating at the sight, and he turned to Gareth and paled behind the mask. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I wish," Gareth growled with clenched fists as he tried his hardest to not punch into the nearest wall. "We can't find a door. It seems this is just an observation room, but how we get in there is a mystery."

That was why Gareth had asked him to come there. He wanted fresh eyes to figure out how to get into the room. It had never been more important for him to figure anything out. That room they needed access to. If they did not, many would die.

"Check for any kind of hidden passages like in the other basement," Jace demanded, while already feeling the wall closest to him, and people scattered to check the other walls. His team had figured out how to access the panels and trick locks to reveal hidden levers and sliding doors. Maybe they stood a better chance than Gareth's team.

Frustrated and angry groans sounded around the room as each man had to give up on finding a trigger mechanism for a door.

"I don't think you'll find a way here. They usually come from the stables when the buyers pick them," Sabine whispered to Phoenix, but it was loud enough for Jace and Gareth to hear. "They just come here to view them."

At that moment, Gareth damned his insistence on having Oleksander put on the next truck to leave. But the man had deserved a break. A hot shower, fresh clothes, a solid meal, and rest. He had already done enough for his first day of employment.

But damnit, if it did not piss him off, he had sent him away.

Excited that maybe Sabine knew something, both Gareth and Jace came over to Phoenix and Sabine to see what she knew. Some information would be better than none. They would listen.

"From the stables?" Gareth gently inquired and kept a respectful distance because Sabine tightened her grip on Phoenix's arm, though she did not back away. She was not afraid of him, Gareth noticed. He had done well when they had met in the hall, even if he had snarled like an ogre.

"When I was first brought here, they trained me as a pony out in the stables until they realized I was pregnant. I saw them bring several through there. Back and forth, but I can't say where the entrance is specifically."

Nodding at the information, Jace took over. Gareth had asked him, and he needed to get into that room, and fast. "Would you be ok with going back and showing us what you can remember? Only if you're up for it."

"Of course, but I don't have any shoes," Sabine said like she only then realized the state she was in, wearing an ugly, thin dress that stretched over her extended pregnant stomach, but otherwise was too large for her. She wore no underwear or shoes. That had not been allowed, not that either had been necessary anyway.

Carefully, Phoenix bent down and lifted her up where Gareth took off his gloves, and though they were certainly not made for that purpose, he put them on her feet to keep her warm. They went back up the stairs and Gareth wrapped one of the dog blankets around her in Phoenix's arms. That gesture earned him a tiny, grateful smile, that he wished he could have returned if he had not worn the mask still.

They trekked over the lawn in silence. Inside the now emptied stable, Sabine closed her eyes when they walked through the front part of the stables where the pigs and hucows had been. Where she would have ended up after she had given birth if not for the men surrounding her. Her gratitude to them was unending, not only for saving her and her unborn child but for getting her in contact with Joe and promising they would help get her home.

Phoenix held her tightly while he concentrated on not exploding like the thoroughly offended Dominant he was. Who in the holy fuck used BDSM fetishes like that? Anything consensual between adults, sure, he would stay out of unless it was physically or mentally dangerous, even with consent. But fetishes were for mutual pleasure and fun, not for damaging and exploiting unwilling participants. What he was witnessing in that stable and the unwanted mental imagery had his insides in an uproar. He certainly understood why Vasili had sounded like he had needed to gouge his eyes out.

The rows of metal boxes with the now ruined restraints. The pens where the waste, hay, and old food still stunk up the place. Inhuman conditions spoke of inhuman suffering, which led his thoughts to Jace and how it had to affect him. He had to be ready to catch Jace when he fell. It would hit at some point, and he needed to stay alert and prepared.

He had never doubted his decision to join Gareth, though Phoenix had believed it to be a business opportunity, one that he would have found quite satisfying if that alone. But after his introductory lessons into everything, he had known he was where he belonged. Where he could do good in one way or another.

Right there, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did well by making sure places like the estate would be taken down forever. That he was part of making fewer people suffer, and it felt fucking good.

"I was in stall seven on the left," Sabine explained and pointed down the horse stable part when they had entered. Shivers of the memories went through her, and she clung to Phoenix like the pillar of safety he represented.

Phoenix carried her there and stepped inside, though he felt her tense in his arms, and he would have spared her that recap of her ordeal, but she had expressed a desire to help others by going through some discomfort herself. It was understandable she did not want to be in there again.

Hell, he did not want to be in there.

"They always came from down there." Sabine pointed once again, and they moved to the end of the stable that was out of view from her stall and began inspecting the stalls there.

They found nothing interesting except for three that had not had their doors smashed open. Presumably, because they had kept nobody trapped in there. The one farthest down was cleaner than the rest and held a lot of riding paraphernalia. The same went for the equipment rooms. Whips, harnesses, bitgags, and other horse items. There were a lot of sexual gadgets and torture instruments too. It was mind-boggling that they had used those things on humans.

"There's nothing here." Jace hammered his fist into the stall he had inspected with Yarro and Dante. They too looked devastated and allowed Jace to let out his frustrations. It was very rare for Jace to show his temper, but right there, they would have wondered if he had not. They understood how much the mission meant to Jace, especially after the Prague one that had given them a glimpse of a whole new Jace.

Gareth was equally frustrated; he felt his way through every nook and cranny in the last of the stalls with the same result as the rest of his men, who had then checked the other stalls, though logic said they would not find what they were looking for there either.

He clicked his wrist activation and reined in his temper as much as possible. "Has the truck left yet?"

"It's rolling down the driveway now, G-man. Don't worry, we're ready to load the next when it comes..."

"Stop it. I need Oleksander! Have him come to the stables ASAP."

It felt like an eternity while they all stood like dummies and waited for the men to stop the truck and get Oleksander.

Thundering footsteps came from the front part of the stables. "I'm here. What's up?" Oleksander panted and leaned against the doorway into the horse stables while holding his chest from having run all the way there. Sweat poured down his face, and he had a sort of wild look in his eyes. They had equipped him with a Kevlar again, but still nothing else but his jeans and shoes. And a comm they had issued him too, from the looks of the activation clicker around his wrist.

"Catch your breath, man. Did you run all the way?" Gareth came over to help Oleksander stand and breathe. He looked at his watch and sighed. That man needed to learn that Gareth wanted his men to react promptly, but he did not want them to kill themselves while doing it. "You ran here from the truck in the driveway in less than five minutes? Are you Sir Roger Bannister's long-lost child?"

Choking out a laugh, Oleksander straightened his back to await instructions on why Gareth needed him. He was in top physical shape despite the daily beatings and lack of nourishing food. The hard labor had worked better than any gym. That did not mean that running there had not been taxing and would have been easier if he had not been tired from fighting, and in general, exhausted from the life he had led for a long time. The pain and abuse had been real. None of it had mattered to him. The people there had made sure he had his freedom back, he had a new job, apparently, and maybe made a friend in the man standing in front of him.

"We can't find the entrance. Sabine says it might be here somewhere?"

"To the...?" Oleksander pointed at the ground like he knew Gareth asked about the basement, and then lit up with a smile and ran to the end of the stables. He bypassed the stalls, they had meticulously examined for doors and clicked on the bare boards on the back wall until he could slide them to the side.

"Seriously, what's with the secret doors and shit?" Jace grumbled. "It's not like he expected anybody to storm this place or for people to escape. Half this crap is not even on the building blueprints."

"He kept all his most valuable assets hidden by the secret doors. If one of his buyers or men should rat him out and the police came to this place to search it, the obvious slaves would be freed, and he would get arrested," Oleksander explained in a hushed, angry tone. "His friend, this other French douchebag, would be able to come and collect the merchandise afterward to continue the operation."

"Other French..." Gareth felt sick to his stomach. If there was another operation, they had to infiltrate to take down, then he was looking at a lot of manpower to put another mission into action. One had been quite enough, but there would always be more. He had just hoped that it would not be of the same scale in size and twisted sickness.

"I don't know who he is. I've only seen him once in passing, and I was rather busy not choking on my lungs as they were bashing my ribs in at the time, but I saw him standing there, smiling evilly at what they did to me. Sadly, I don't speak French, so I do not know what he said to them, but the beatings got worse afterward."

Oleksander had his back to everybody and was glad they could not see the pain he relived by telling them that. Surviving was one thing, but the memories of what he had gone through to survive still sat fresh in his mind. And those memories hurt. Oleksander knew they could see how he tensed, and they could definitely hear it in his voice. Not that he was ashamed, he would never be. It was just not something he needed to think about when he would rather feel the warmth and contentment of dreaming of a free future.

"A mean motherfucker," he continued in an attempt to distract himself from his memories and give useful information. "Two people died that evening when servicing him. One was on purpose, from what I was told by the only man who survived that night of brutality."

"Do you know his name?" Jace asked and looked to Phoenix for support. If Oleksander did not know French, he might easily mix up a French man and one from Luxembourg. If the evil fucker was Levi...

"They called him Dieu."

Gareth and Phoenix snorted at the same time.

"What?" Oleksander asked and spun around to see them.

"Dieu means 'God'," Phoenix explained and kept an eye on Jace's reactions, but the name itself did not seem to ring any bells with Jace. "Can you describe him, just basics? Hair, eyes, body type?"

While Oleksander described the man, Phoenix saw how Jace relaxed and blew out a relieved breath. On one hand, he understood the relief, but on the other, he almost wished it was Levi because then they only had one fucker to catch and could focus their investigations on that. For Jace, though, he was happy. Jace would undoubtedly have blamed himself for not seeking help from Gareth to stop the guy back then.

Small victories.

"We can talk about that creep another day. Right now, we have stuff to do." Oleksander shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts of that guy and the past. He pointed at the now-open door in the wall that revealed a set of stairs.

"Phoenix, stay back with Sabine. We don't know what we'll meet down there." Gareth already barked out orders.

Phoenix looked down at Sabine with pleading eyes and glanced at Jace to see his reaction. He was tense again and stood rigid, awaiting Gareth's orders. He had to be there for Jace.

"No, I'll wait here, but he goes," Sabine said calmly and wiggled to get free from Phoenix's arms. "You need every man you have when you get down there."

Strangely enough, Gareth ignored that he had just been told off and continued issuing orders.

"Are you ok to join? I don't mind if you stay here and relax," Gareth informed Oleksander and drew his gun to be ready.

"They know me. I think it's best if I come."

Jace's team drew their newly loaded weapons and ventured down the stairs, followed by Gareth and Jace, ready for one more fight. Same procedure as when they had entered the other basement. Rami crouched and soon fired a full magazine, followed quickly by Malachai, Yarro, and Dante discharging their weapons too.

Luckily, that time it was an easy fight. They got the guards down there within minutes without it ever becoming a hand-to-hand thing. The men there had nowhere to run since Jace's team blocked the only exit. The guards had heard them coming. That much had been obvious, but they had not seemed interested in protecting their area. If Jace had to chance it, he believed they had just sat down there to wait it out, and would probably have sneaked away unnoticed when Gareth's men had left at some point. They would have abandoned what they guarded to die a slow and agonizing death in that inaccessible room, unless that French douchebag came for them.

The shootout was more a suicide mission than a defense.

Cain got hit in the leg and Kolja from Gareth's team took one to the shoulder just beside the Kevlar, much to his loudly swearing annoyance.

"Find some keys, now!" Jace yelled from the door he was sure led to a passageway back to under the house.

The entire estate was a fucking fortress and more sneaky than old castles with moving bookcases and shit, like in the movies. It pissed Jace off that Perreault had built all that and gotten away with it for so long. It pissed him off even more that Gareth had not mentioned what he intended to do with him. That man should die a hundred times over for everything he had done.

Though they did not expect any resistance when entering the long hallway, they still had their weapons drawn, but that time Jace took point. He was going into that room as the first one, and he was ready to shoot his way through any opposing force to get there.

If Jace had been blown away when he opened the door to the nursery, he was half dead from shock when he took in the massive room on the other side of the door. It was a...

Kennel.

Well, the kennel from the seventh circle of hell.

The room was probably the size of the wing of the house they were under. It had bare concrete floors that looked like the ones in the other basement. Along all four walls were iron cages stacked side by side and on top of each other in three tiers. The ones closest to him held human cats or kittens. Jace had no idea what to think. They were dressed like fucking cats! Tails, ears, and collars. They wore leather mittens to look like cat paws, effectively taking away the use of their hands. Some looked like cutesy kittens with pink and lacey stuff, others like actual cats, wearing cat nose gags with whiskers.

But it did not stop there. From where he stood, he could see bunnies, squirrels, and dogs. That was why Gareth had wanted him to be part of their rescue, and why he himself had been eager to get there.

To see if the dog boy was among them.

But it was not just a kennel for keeping the pets, it was a showroom too. In the center of the room were what he could only describe as circus arena-like circles. Three in all. The one closest to the window they had looked through from the house had hoops and small hurdles for the pets to perform for the buyers so they could see their new pets in action. The next circle was more sexually oriented with another fucking gynecologist chair, a breeding stand, and other equipment for sexual use, whereas the last one was strictly for torture.

Those insane people had made everybody in the room watch each other get trained, used, and shown off for sales. The mental terror in them had to be sky-high. Never knowing if it was their turn, and always knowing it would be at some point, and everybody would see them go through hell.

Jace did not know if he should thank Gareth for the opportunity to look for the dog boy or ask Vasili to get back in line for that lobotomy because Jace wanted one first.

"I'll release the dogs," Jace choked out with fear and a tinge of hope. Maybe that shitshow would have a happy ending after all.

With a pat on his shoulder, Gareth handed him cutting tools for the padlocks on the cages and sent him off with Rami, Phoenix, and Malachai. He ordered the people they had brought down there to divide and help everybody.

"Everybody," Oleksander called out at the top of his lungs to get the attention of the frightened people who sat there and tried to hide at the back of their cages to not get picked for whatever the new people in there had in mind.

Fear hung in the air, whimpers and other small noises of distress rose from the cages, and it was clear they had not registered that the masked men were there to help them, not harm them.

"They're with me. You know me. I've been here plenty of times," Oleksander emphasized when he stood in the middle of the performance circle and turned for all to see him. "They'll help you free, they'll make sure you're tended to, and will get you safely back home. Please trust them."

Clattering as everybody pawed at their cages and made noises to get attention to be the first freed replaced the whimpers. Cries of relief and happiness. Lots of tears and angry outbursts followed.

Gareth did not even want to know how it had been for these people to watch each other get trained and then sold off. The constant worry in them about when they would have to go from one shitty situation to an even worse one. He clicked his comm, finally able to relax because they had gotten in, and Oleksander had helped them gain some trust.

"I need everything we have left. Food, drinks, clothes, whatever, really. And more cutting tools. Bring it to the stables and get more trucks here. I don't give a shit if you have to steal some. Just get me more." When he was done, he went to the nearest cage and put his hands through the bars for the kitten girl in there to place her mitten in his hand for comfort until they could get her free. She kept kissing his hands and looked from him to the other men in the room who freed people, but she did not say a word.

Gareth did not know what to do, he had given his tools to Jace and had to wait for the men to arrive with more equipment. He discreetly looked for Jace, hoping that the dog boy would be there so Jace could ease his guilt.

Frantically, Jace looked into every cage with dogs in them. Those green eyes he would never forget, and his mind kept reminding him of the hope in them. He wanted to find him and make that hope come true, release that kid from the hell Jace had forced him to continue in.

Jace needed to apologize and be forgiven. Even if he did not deserve it, he had to find that kid and make sure he got a chance at life.

"He's not here," he whispered in defeat to himself.

"Maybe not, but these people are, and they need you, Jace. We can talk about this later. Right now, you need to help free the ones you have the power to help." Phoenix put his hand on Jace's shoulder and gave it a squeeze that Jace leaned into with a thankful sigh. "They need you, and we'll find the other one. This mission has given us plenty of people we can interview for information. Maybe they know of other buyers or handlers. Maybe they can nudge us in the right direction to find your boy."

Phoenix was right. It had not been for nothing, even if they had not found the dog boy. That would have been a one-in-a-million chance anyway, but he had allowed himself to hope since he had seen the cages through the window. He owed the people there to stay on track and do right by them. There would be plenty of time to worry about Levi and the dog boy later on.

"Thank you, Phoenix."

"Anytime..."

Automatically, Jace filled in the missing 'Baby boy' in his mind and laughed at himself inwardly at that. He just knew that if they had been in a situation where it had been possible, Phoenix would have added that sweet nickname to his sentence. Jace smiled and got to work on the nearest cage.

Gareth.

It took them a long time to free everybody and get them out of the kennel. Many had to be carried because they had had their arms and legs tied up for a long time, and they had no way of walking on their own. Vasili said it had been the same with many from the stables. The good thing was they would, in time, regain their ability to walk with physiotherapy and living under human conditions again. It would not be easy, but they were alive and free. That was the important part.

Oleksander took them through the house from basement to attic. A room-by-room sweep to make sure that every secret door and subsequent hidden room got opened and the people from them rescued. It did not go unnoticed how Gareth grumbled with self-blaming curses the few times Oleksander revealed rooms they had not discovered. In the end, they cleared the entire house and Oleksander promised them he knew of no other places they could have missed.

"You should get on the next truck, mate," Gareth pointed out as he lit a cigarette. They stood on the front lawn to cool off after all the hard work they had done, and a break had been in order.

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to stay. I won't rest until I'm sure that fucker is dead."

Gareth nodded and instinctively looked to where Phoenix stood with Sabine, who had helped as best she could with all the men and women from the kennel. She had to be at least six or seven months pregnant, but she had still done it without complaints.

"I suppose you'll want to stay too?" Gareth asked as gently as possible, though it came across hard. He was too worked up to be nice. What they had all experienced in that place could only end properly when Perreault was no more. And that time had almost come. He knew what he had to do, and though killing was not something he liked to do, he felt ok with doing it when it was a sadistic asshole like Perreault.

"Yes, Sir. But I'm not ready to face him unless he's in more restraints than we were."

Gareth could not stop himself from chuckling lightly. "Don't worry, he's been enjoying our hospitality since we caught him. And we might have left him to deal with a bit of pain too."

Sabine straightened her back and let go of Phoenix. "Then I'd very much like to see the monster again. I want him to know that I'm free. My baby and I are going back to my husband. I hope you make sure he pays for what he's done."

"Hear, hear," Rami said with a grim laugh.

"Then let's finish this. I, for one, would like to get the fuck out of this place." Gareth chuckled. "And I need a whiskey!"

There was an eerie, pressure-filled atmosphere in what had been the auction room when they entered. Gareth's team went in first, then Vasili and his team, followed by Jace and his, and then many more grid and wall teams. It was not only to show their overwhelming power of numbers and to intimidate; it was also because people wanted to see the monsters who had lived happily while harming innocent people.

It was their proof of the good in what they had done.

The guards and handlers had waited for hours already. Handcuffed and on their aching knees like they had made so many others do. It was a simple payback tactic that Gareth had no scruples about letting his men enforce. The buyers, too, were handcuffed but placed on the floor or in chairs, sitting. That was not really for their benefit, but more to spare Roarke, Tyson, and Amman, who did not deserve to suffer with the rest of them. Some trainers sat on their knees with the guards and handlers, whereas the more difficult ones lay hogtied.

All of them, including Gareth's undercover men, were gagged. Well, except for one...

Front and center sat Perreault, also on his knees, with his arms cruelly twisted behind his back and bound in several places. A rope led from his arms to his tied ankles, but they had bandaged his bullet wound to avoid him bleeding out. Without painkillers and a comfortable position to rest in, he had hopefully felt enough discomfort to know he was in for some well-deserved justice.

Last, Gareth nonchalantly strode into the room.

"I hope I've not kept you waiting," Gareth opened the 'conversation' with a mocking tone and surveyed the large number of restrained men and a few women buyers. "I had a few things to take care of, but I have time for you now."

"Who the fuck are you?" Perreault stared evilly at Gareth and tried to straighten a bit.

Since none of them would leave the place alive, Gareth simply pulled off his mask. All his men followed his example. "I'm sorry, I forgot the introductions. I'm Gareth Adjenkov Tempest."

"Am I supposed to know who you are?" Perreault asked incredulously. He practically rolled his eyes at Gareth, though not quite.

Gareth shrugged with indifference even Phoenix would be proud of. "I don't really care if you know who I am."

"Then what the fuck are you doing in my house?"

Gareth rubbed his chin at the misplaced bravado from Perreault. Even when defeated, the man saw nothing wrong with what he had done. In a way, he was a bit impressed with the delusional state Perreault was in. No man could be that devoid of understanding, and feel that entitled because they had money and power, could they?

"I thought that was obvious?" Gareth smiled that cold business smile he used when he was just about to close a deal. "I'm here to shut you down for good." He snorted. "And it seems like I'm doing a pretty good job at it."

"I'm a Count. I'm rich, and I can pay you anything you want."

"Well, I'm a Marquis, and I don't need money. I make quite a lot myself."

Perreault fell silent. They could practically see how the wheels turned in his head to come up with something that would save his sorry ass.

"What do you want?"

"I want this over with. To be honest, I'm tired. My men are tired, and this place gives me the creeps."

Though Gareth wanted Perreault and his men to suffer. Fuck that, he wanted them in agonizing pain for decades for what they had done. He really did not want to bother with them. They were the monsters who took pleasure in taking people's freedom, of stripping them of their worth, and treating them like shit. That was not Gareth. He did not want to sink to that level, and he had no need to. He had no problem being judge and executioner, though those people had brought justice upon themselves, and he was just the tool to carry out the public sentence.

"I'm not one for long speeches and holy self-righteousness. I'm just a fair man who'll balance the scale with your demise." He turned to where Phoenix stood with Sabine and held out his hand for her, motioning with his fingers for her to come to him.

Sabine looked up at Phoenix, who gave her a gentle nod. Gareth had something in mind, something he was sure would bring no harm to Sabine, but maybe give her a chance to claim herself back. He would be right there to protect her from anything until he could safely hand her over to a safe house. The look Sabine gave him was enough. She understood somehow and let go of his arm to walk to Gareth, where Phoenix just followed behind her.

"This is your chance. Point out any in this room who's laid a finger on you. Sexually or otherwise. Except for Perreault, we already know what he's done."

"Don't you dare, you filthy cunt!" Perreault yelled and glared hatefully at Sabine, who jumped in fear and hid behind Phoenix.

Rami did not even hesitate. He kicked the man in the gut, swiftly followed by Phoenix delivering one of his anvil left hooks to Perreault's face.

"Got anything else to say?" Rami rumbled with a threatening voice at Perreault, who swayed from the assault. Rami surveyed the rows upon rows of handcuffed men on their knees with guns pointed at them from every angle. Nobody tried to do anything, and Perreault wisely kept his mouth shut.

"All yours, Sabine. Continue," he said and stood straight without an ounce of remorse about what he had done.

Gareth swelled with pride at that. Rami was a quiet man most of the time, though when they were alone, he enjoyed their talks, and he was excellent at his work, but it was rare he said anything in work situations. He just listened and followed orders. Gareth had never doubted Rami's heart and compassion. He would always step in to protect the innocent, and the woman who clung to Phoenix was one.

Slowly, Sabine lifted her hand and pointed at trainers and handlers. Some of them had the audacity to shake their heads in protest, hoping it might help them.

Gareth just snapped his fingers. "Vasili, would your team please take the ones Sabine pointed at outside, cut off their offending hands, and execute them?"

It was said as casually as if Gareth had ordered a ham sandwich and not asked for people to be killed. Vasili motioned his men forward, and they grabbed the men two and two, with the help of some grid team members, and hauled them out of the room, some kicking and screaming into their gags.

To no avail.

"Oleksander, please..." Gareth motioned Oleksander forward next.

"Is there anything you'd like to say before you point out those who've wronged you?"

With a blank expression, Oleksander went from his place among Gareth's men to crouch in front of Perreault. He sat there, studying him coldly in complete silence until it became too much for Perreault.

"What do you want, fuck meat?"

Rami was already on his way forward when Oleksander held up his hand to stop him and nodded at Rami with a grateful smile for the instinctive reaction on his behalf.

"An apology," Oleksander said with indifference.

"For what? I never did anything to you except show you what you're good for."

Oleksander chuckled. "Oh... I see."

"You're nothing but some low Russian scum. All you're good for is being fucked and knocked around." Perreault spat some blood from the split lip Phoenix had given him and continued his unfortunate word vomit, because he had noticed that nobody did anything to stop him. "You're weak and pathetic. I've seen you crawl before my feet and whimper in pain. You belong on your knees to serve your superiors."

Oleksander stood up with his body tense from the insulting words. He was not happy that his new employer and colleagues had heard that, but he had nothing to be ashamed of and stayed calm. "I don't deny that. I was in pain, but I was never weak and never pathetic. I took everything you and your men brought on me, and I'm still standing. And I've done it nonstop for nearly six months. You've barely been on your knees for a few hours and you're already cracking under the pressure."

"Fuck you."

"Since I have the choice this time, I'd say that's a hard no." He turned to Gareth and allowed himself to look at a few of the men who stood by Gareth's side. He saw nothing but respect and support from them, and that warmed him. They did not judge him for what he had done to survive. From what he gathered, they applauded him. "I don't think I'll get that apology."

Gareth shrugged. "I think you're right. Why don't you point out the ones who've hurt you?"

Without hesitation or remorse, Oleksander pointed at every handler, guard, and trainer left in the room except for one trainer. He proceeded to point at a buyer and explained that he had beaten him senseless after a 'test run' at an earlier auction. He paused for a moment and just stared evilly at the last trainer.

"What about him?" Gareth asked when Oleksander just kept staring.

"He liked to keep me in his bedroom at night to sleep, tied on my knees with a noose around my neck. If I fell asleep, I'd never wake up, so I didn't sleep those nights, and he still forced me to work and take beatings the day after, though I was drop-dead tired."

Gareth glared at the man with disgust. At least, both he and Oleksander got the pleasure of seeing him visibly pale. He, too, knew that he was in for something unbelievably painful. Gareth clicked his comm and spoke with icy hatred, "I need volunteers who still have some juice left in them to take care of a minor physical job."

He had barely finished the request when Jace and what was left of his team stepped forward along with every man left in the room, confirmations came from several team leaders over the comm, and even Cracker and his team who were still at the gate entrance called in to accept any assignment.

It thoroughly impressed Gareth that so many were ready to do something. He himself was almost too tired to lift a gun, though he would still do it when it came to that, but he had not expected Jace's team to have more left in them, they had given their all several times already. He pointed at a lot from the grid teams to haul out the people Oleksander had pointed at and told them to take whomever they needed from the outside teams to help them beat the living shit out of those fuckers and then execute them.

Gareth turned to Jace. "Are you sure?"

"Boss..."

"Fine." Gareth held up his hand to stop Jace from coming up with any arguments on his and his team's behalf. If they wanted the job, they had it. "Take that one and give him a beating so hard his mother would not recognize him after. Then find a tree and let him sit there on his knees with a noose around his neck until he can't handle it anymore."

It was rare that Jace was one to like senseless violence, but that job he would take, no questions asked. He had tried something similar with Levi, and for Oleksander to have lived that for unending nights fueled his anger and indignation.

"Oh, and Jace..." Gareth called after them when Jace, Malachai, and Yarro dragged the wildly fighting man from the room. "Since he can't experience the prolonged pain of all those nights on his knees like Oleksander, just shoot out his knees. That should give him a chance to know the feeling."

A tilt of his head was the only response Jace gave before he and his team left.

"Oleksander, I think you should go with Jace to make sure your tormentor meets his maker in a timely fashion."

When the room was cleared of all the handlers, trainers, and guards, only Perreault and the buyers were left. Gareth sent Sabine out front with a few men, and she left without arguing after he had promised her that Perreault would die soon. But he did not want her to witness it or for her unborn baby to feel the stress in her.

Gruffly, Gareth ordered Perreault pulled to the side and all the buyers lined up. Just for show, he looked at Tyson and said coldly, "You, I have a special bone to pick with, so you'll go last. You can watch your fellow creeps die while you stew until it's your turn." He went to them and switched them around to have Roarke, Amman, and Tyson at the end.

Gareth was done, he did not want any more time to pass and did not want it prolonged further. The creeps would die, and then it was Perreault's turn. He wanted to go back to his hotel and sleep for a decade at least. He pulled out his gun and simply shot them one by one while Perreault looked at it from the side.

The last buyer fell with a loud bang from his gun not long after. Smiling evilly, Gareth went to Roarke to help him up and turned to Perreault as he released Roarke from his restraints and his men helped Amman and Tyson.

"Allow me to introduce some of my men."

Perreault went into a string of French curses when Gareth patted his men on the shoulders and commended them on a job well done.

"Tyson, you good, man?"

"I could use an icepack. What the hell are your hands made of?"

"I think they're a pretty delightful combination of Russian death wrapped in British beauty." Gareth laughed heartily.

"You just keep that combination from my face in the future. I so deserve a vacation after this."

"Anything you want, my friend. How about we finish this shit and get out of here?"

Not long after, they dragged a raging Perreault with them outside at the back of the house. A few last shots sounded from the darkness in the garden, and his men slowly gathered near Gareth and Perreault, awaiting their last orders before they could leave that godforsaken place.

"Pile those bodies in a circle. I'm taking care of Perreault." Gareth turned to Vasili. "I need three stakes, rope, a grenade, gasoline, and some duct tape. And a knife."

The men got to work, and so did Gareth. He cut away all of Perreault's clothes. It was only fair with the men and women he had made live naked like animals. He should have a taste of that life, at least for the few moments he had left. He went inside the circle and hammered the stakes into the ground and motioned for his men to bring in Perreault, who was surprisingly quiet.

"Gloves!" Gareth held out his hand to the nearest man and received a pair of gloves instantly. When he had put them on, he tied each of Perreault's legs to the stakes and then from the stakes to the nearest body in the circle of bodies around them.

Gareth detached himself fully from himself. At that moment, he was the Dragon. The Russian machine of death that all his men knew, and the rest of the underground either feared or respected. He had not one ounce of humanity in him when he wrapped duct tape around Perreault's stomach and secured the grenade just under his rib cage. Perreault's right hand got duct taped to his dick and balls, and though Perreault spoke up at that, Gareth had no mercy. He simply continued to tie the left hand to the last stake in the ground and then to a body.

Gareth stood up and looked down at Perreault. "Any last words, or do you want me to explain how this is going to work?"

"Go to Hell!"

"I know I'm going to Hell, just not today. But you are, and I hope you burn in the fires there for all eternity for what you've done."

Coldly, Gareth sat down and sliced the knife across Perreault's chest and stomach a few times, ending with stabbing it into him. A howl of pain erupted from Perreault at that.

"That was for what you did to that girl. Using a woman as a shield. How low can you go?" Standing up, Gareth inspected everything one last time. "Drench the circle with gasoline!"

A few men poured it from the canisters they had found to fill from the cars parked in front of the house. All the bodies got covered in the smelly liquid, and people stepped back to see what Gareth had in mind.

"Ok. I'm not really one to kill people. I actually prefer not to, and keep it to an art of retaliation for people who hurt me or any under my command. In this case, I'll admit that you've not hurt me personally, but you've hurt my people, and you've definitely hurt a lot of innocent humans who'll never be able to exact any kind of revenge."

Gareth hated making speeches, hated justifying his actions like some movie bad guy telling of his reasons for wanting world domination and whining about his lot in life. That was not him, but if he had to sleep at night, having ordered people killed, he had to balance the scales by at least justifying his actions. If that made him the good guy or the bad guy, he would never know, and one day he too would be judged for what he had done in life. He just hoped that this one instance would count in his favor.

"You can at any point when the heat becomes too much free your hand by ripping your dick off, then you can either try to untie yourself or pull the pin on the grenade. That's entirely up to you. Honestly, I don't care what you do."

Even though Perreault yelled at Gareth, pleading for him to come back, cursing at him, and screaming for help, Gareth just walked away and ushered his men out of harm's way to stand at a safe distance in case Perreault pulled the pin on the grenade. He found his lighter, lit a cigarette, and slowly smoked it. When he was just about finished, he flicked the cigarette into the pile of bodies to ignite the gasoline and stepped back to where his men were.

The cigarette had not even touched the bodies when the fumes ignited in a heat blast that quickly went around the circle and eventually settled in the gasoline and bodies. Flames of magnificent contradicting beauty to their power of destruction rose in colors of red, orange, and yellow. In some places, it was white with a blueish tint to it. An almost unbearable brightness in the dark night. The colors danced with each other and purged the evil they surrounded.

Perreault's screams of fear changed to screams of agony. Howls and inhuman sounds that no person should ever have to hear. Yet, they all stood there in quiet acceptance and waited for a nightmare to come to an end. They would all have to live with having been part of it, and they would all have to deal with it in their own way. To find peace with themselves and whatever God they chose to believe in.

The screams rose to a crescendo of unbearable pain a moment before the grenade went off in a massive blast that sent burning bodies flying in every direction. Like embers of a fire being scattered, the burning masses littered the lawn and were a testament to Perreault's end. He had sacrificed his dick to pull the pin for a quicker death. One he had not deserved with the continuous and unending pain he had put others through. It was, however, what Gareth had expected from a man like Perreault, and it was the finalization of their mission.

They had stopped horrors from being performed. They might not have stopped the slave trades or the depravities, but it was a victory and a step in the right direction, and they would gladly do it again.

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and efforts tonight," Gareth said in a strong voice over the comm. "This could not have been accomplished without you all doing your part, big or small. Know that I'm proud that you choose to fight this fight with me, and accept my gratitude on behalf of everybody you saved."

A wave of acknowledging clicks flooded the comm.

Walking through the house from the still burning remnants at the back of the house, everybody kept quiet. Relief and pride with a successful mission settled in them as they quietly celebrated with their teammates by nodding at them. The last truck held in front, loaded with the few people left, including Sabine who had hugged Phoenix and Jace's entire team before she had let herself get helped into the truck to be taken to a safe house for some much-needed rest and medical exams to make sure she and the baby were alright.

"You should go with the truck," Gareth said to Oleksander. The man looked tired and needed to be checked by a doctor. Months of abuse topped off with some fierce fighting had to have taken its toll.

Oleksander stood indecisive and looked between the truck and at Gareth. He was not sure what to do. The trucks were for victims and injured. He was neither. He was one of the fighters and he would stay with them if they would allow it.

"He's with us," Jace called with a motion of his hand to get Oleksander to join him. "Nine can become ten, if you want? It's a bit of a walk, but we have a car and a hotel with nice beds and great showers. Room service is not too bad, either."

That was so typical of Jace. Gareth nodded in approval and smiled at the thankful smile Oleksander had on his face when he went to Jace. He would fit in nicely with those idiots. Maybe Jace's cheery attitude and open acceptance would show Oleksander the softer and more joyous side of being with them.

Cracker and his team waited for them at the entrance with team thirty-six. They had coordinated all the trucks and made sure nobody unauthorized had left or come in during the entire mission.

"So, what did we miss?"

Gareth rolled his eyes at Cracker. "The usual, creeps and entitlement."

"And that's why I love my job in the bushes." Cracker laughed, though he too looked tired. He was just as eager to get away as the rest of them.

"All cleared?" Gareth stood and waited to hear from the teams that left the same way they had gotten in, by going over the walls rather than walking all the way around the estate to get to their cars.

"I've gotten confirmations from everybody, boss," Cellmate informed. "Congratulations on a job well done."

Looking at the device in his hand, Gareth sighed deeply.

It was over.

But they were nowhere near done. They had to take care of all the victims. Had to provide them medical and psychological help. Get in contact with their families and help them back home, if they wanted that, or set them up with a new life somewhere. They had to interview every one of them for information on everything they had experienced and the people they had met in their time in captivity. Any information might help future missions.

There would be a lot of media coverage when it came out that people were returning home after months or years of being gone. That many missing people did not just come back out of thin air, and Gareth needed to keep his and his men's involvement a secret, though he was sure that any victim would gladly keep that secret for them.

He had to provide his men with support and make sure they had access to psychological help too. He had to give them time off to recuperate, and the injured had to be taken care of. And then there were debriefings from the teams. All the computers, laptops, and information they had taken from the estate had to be sifted through to mount the next strike where needed.

There were weeks and weeks of work ahead of them.

But they would do it.

"Jace?"

Jace frowned and came closer. "Ye, boss?"

"Would you do the honors?" Gareth held out the device to activate all the explosive charges they had planted around the house when they had swept it with Oleksander.

With a shaking hand, Jace accepted it and turned to his team, holding it out. "You've all earned it. If any of you wish to do it, please..."

"We were nine, but only one was the leader. The honor is yours," Rami casually stated and stepped back, soon followed by the rest, including Oleksander, who probably had more reason to want to blow up the place than anybody there.

"Oleksander?"

"I'm good. I'm free, in one piece, and I've seen that bastard go down. To be frank, I'll be fine with just watching the celebratory fireworks without lifting a finger."

Chuckling, Jace nodded, and, without further ado, he pressed the button.

Explosions went off in what seemed like an unending succession. The ground shook, rubble and debris flew through the air, and clouds of ash rose from the collapsing structure of bricks, metal, and wood. Flames licked up to reach the sky as if they asked for heavenly forgiveness.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!"

Hi dear Wattlings.

Thank you for reading.

They found the kennel and got those freed too, though no dog boy. Oleksander once again proved a great help and he was made part of Jace's team, he'll fit in with them, don't you think? And he gave them their next big target, the French douchebag, that'll be interesting, eh?

And Perreault finally met his end. Did Gareth do it right? Did he take it far enough without losing himself?

If you like it, then pop a vote and please leave comments. The comments are important for me to know how the story is progressing and the characters are developing. And I'd love to know what you think and interact with y'all.

Give me a follow too for updates on other work and put this book in your library. I'd appreciate that.

Love, Alix

Published: November 4th, 2021. ©Alix Davenport, Copenhagen