Alexandria merged onto the dark, desolate highway away from Pier 17. The silence in the car was heavy, broken only by Victoria's faint, broken whimpers from the back seat.

"Where are we going?" Alexandria asked, her voice flat, still reeling from the devastating confrontation with Victoria.

"We need to find a hotel," Ethan said. "You must be aware that Celestial Garden is actively looking for you. And trust me, my apartment is also under their surveillance. They are relentless bastards."

Alexandria glanced quickly at him. "You know Celestial Garden?" she asked, her curiosity momentarily piercing her guilt.

"Know them?" Ethan scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "Yes. The sons of bitches tried to attack me. That's part of the reason I went to prison. But I will screw them over, sooner or later. That is a guarantee."

"That suits me just fine," Alexandria said, a sliver of resolve returning. "Let's find a hotel then. We need privacy to clean Victoria up and plan our next move. They have Emily and Samantha."

Ethan nodded. "A cheap, quiet motel far from the city center is ideal. No cameras, no questions."

Alexandria drove slowly, keeping off the main highways, until she found a rundown, neon-lit motel far from any major thoroughfare. It was exactly the kind of place that prioritized discretion over comfort.

She pulled into the lot. "This will have to do," Alexandria said.

They requested two adjoining rooms, but when Ethan started to carry Victoria toward the second room, Victoria began to shake uncontrollably.

"No," Victoria whispered, gripping his shirt sleeve with surprising strength. "Please, don't leave me alone. Don't leave me with anyone."

"She'll stay with us," Ethan said simply, looking at Alexandria.

Alexandria nodded, too drained to argue. "One room then. Just a single."

The clerk, a weary man with bloodshot eyes, slid the key across the counter, staring at Ethan, then at the tarp-covered figure in his arms, and finally at the exhausted Alexandria.

"Lucky bastard," the clerk muttered, handing over the key.

Ethan ignored him. They went up to the cramped, stale-smelling room. Ethan set Victoria gently on the far bed, then went straight to the small bathroom.

He needed to wash off the blood, the sweat, and the grime of the pier, hoping the cold water would clear the tactical clutter in his mind.

Ethan had just finished showering and was toweling off when his secure phone buzzed insistently.

It was Jason, his Head of Security.

Ethan answered immediately. "Jason. Everything is complete," Ethan said, cutting straight to business. "The money is secure, and no complications arose there."

"Sir, I'm not calling about the funds," Jason said, his voice unusually strained. "I have urgent news. Falcon 12 was monitoring Axhel Rhodes' known safehouse—the location Congressman Thompson provided us with."

Jason took a breath. "We have been watching the location, and less than two minutes ago, a van arrived. Two females were carried out, hooded, covered with rough bags, and securely tied. They were taken inside."

Jason paused, trying to maintain protocol. "Sir, if we act now, we can notify local authorities and have the compound raided on human trafficking charges, minimizing our own exposure."

Ethan sighed, his focus still on the missing Dean's daughter. "That's not the priority right now, Jason. I'm worried about locating two specific people: a woman and a young girl. The targets from my current mission—"

"Wait one moment, Boss," Jason interrupted, sounding suddenly energized. He switched lines, speaking rapidly. "Falcon 12, did you confirm the ages or size? Was it a woman and a child?"

Jason returned to the secure line. "He said yes, Boss. Precisely a woman and a young girl. He managed to grab a photo for evidence."

The phone flashed. Ethan immediately opened the photo: a grainy, dark picture showing the two figures being dragged inside. He couldn't make out any faces or distinguishing features.

He walked over to Alexandria, who was sitting numbly on the edge of the bed, watching Victoria. Ethan handed her the phone.

"Alexandria, look at the clothing on the smaller one," Ethan commanded.

Alexandria took the phone, squinting through her tears at the small figure in the image. Her hands began to tremble violently. She looked at the blurry, hooded figure and then focused on a distinct, frayed cuff peeking out from under the heavy sack.

The phone slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor as Alexandria let out a heart-shattering wail. She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's her!" Alexandria screamed. "It's Emily! That's her sweater! The blue one I bought her a few days ago! She loves it so much she never takes it off!"

than immediately knelt, pulling Alexandria into a tight, comforting embrace, his hand firmly on her head. He let her cry into his shoulder for a moment, absorbing some of her desperation.

Even Victoria, lying weak and covered on the bed, reacted. Seeing her friend's anguish over her daughter, Victoria temporarily suppressed her own deep trauma. She sat up slightly, wincing from the pain in her ruined body.

"Alexandria," Victoria whispered weakly, reaching out a trembling hand. "She's safe. She's there. We'll get her back. Please, stop crying." The knowledge that Emily had also been seized, and that Alexandria's original tragedy was compounded, was enough to momentarily break through Victoria's self-pity and pain.

Ethan ignored the emotional exchange for a second and brought the phone back to his ear, his focus now razor-sharp.

"Jason, are you there?" Ethan's voice was a low, lethal growl. "That's them. Those are the people we are looking for. Mobilize everyone. I need an urgent security ring established. Nothing goes in, and nothing comes out."

"I'm on it, Boss, but you need to understand the risk," Jason warned, his voice grave. "We can't get too close. That location is right in the center of Celestial Garden's domain. If we move a combat team within half a mile, we will be exposed in seconds. We can only establish a loose, outer observation ring."

"Do it, Jason. Now," Ethan commanded, his eyes burning with resolve. "I don't care about exposure; I care about the girl. Keep a clean line of sight and report every single movement to me."

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