Meet At Joe's

17 Out of the Frying Pan

POV: Julie

They still had me bound and gagged in the main room of the cabin. There was another woman similarly bound and I recognized her as one of the regulars at Joe's. It was Ginger the woman on the police force's undercover human trafficking squad. I assumed she had gotten herself captured on purpose to find out more about these creeps' organization. If she was here, there was a good chance this place was under surveillance. That made me feel a little bit better about my situation.

That evening, one of the crew had left to go for supplies and when he returned there was a bit of a brouhaha. I couldn't make any sense of it. It seemed like they were fighting over adding a new guy to the crew.

If I was confused before, imagine my bewilderment when the new guy came through door, and it was Uncle Roger! My eyes got wide, and I almost jumped out of the chair they had me bound to.

Roger gave me a side glance and shook his head no. That told me that I shouldn't let on I knew him. Roger clearly had a plan. I just didn't know if that made me more concerned or less concerned. Roger had a history of complicating situations.

"Do you know this girl?" The head guy had seen Roger look at me.

"I do sort of and I'm guessing you guys don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Bro, every dude in the Alexandroff mob has seen a picture of this girl. She is some lost member of their family that they have been trying to find for years."

"So, there might be some sort of reward for her?" The boss's eyes lit up as he contemplated a quick and easy payday.

"A reward or possibly a bullet if they find out you took her against her will." Roger let that possibility soak in. "You might want to let me return her to them and you can keep your hands clean." So, this was Roger's plan to rescue me.

"And you'd keep the reward?" the boss suggested. "I don't think so. George, do you think you could contact the Alexandroffs and tell them we may have the girl they are looking for? Arrange a meeting here if you can. I don't want to meet with them on unfamiliar turf."

"Sure boss," George said sounding very unsure as he swallowed the bite of brownie he'd been chewing. Oddly, the brownie made him less nervous.

Great I thought. Uncle Roger had managed to rescue me from the frying pan by sending me straight into the fire.