When Hope Calls: A Human Trafficking Story

2:50PM

This time, the office quintet allowed themselves only a second of surprise, after which they immediately burst into action, each to their own task. The atmosphere was electric.

Aat revealed that one of his friends worked at Spicy Nightclub, and dashed out of the office to call him. Jeremy lunged for his laptop, marking down areas with a high density of temples, looking for especially large temples. Meanwhile, Chariya and Margaret searched for the two streets mentioned by the kidnappers. They also referred to the previous areas that were marked down, to see which ones were within driving distance of the newest street names. Morris ran outside to find Aat, to ask him for the location of the nightclub. Miraculously, they had two tentative locations within ten minutes. This was the breakthrough they had needed to mobilize the police, and so Margaret wasted no time in making a call to the nearest station.

She provided a brief summary of Mya's plight, then a description of the van, the nightclub, and the street names; indolently, they agreed to send out patrol cars. Margaret let out a shout of exultation and pumped her fists in the air, which brought a smile to everyone's lips. A number of NGOs joined the effort with their own cars after further calls by the team. Jeremy and Morris couldn't help but grin at Margaret's rapid speech on every phone call, surprised that anyone could make out what she was saying (or rapping, as Jeremy called it). His working theory was that nobody ever understood 100% of what Margaret said, but nobody dared ask for clarification.

Gone was the air of helplessness, and the stench of hopelessness; the office pulsated with fresh energy. They had information, they had search teams, they had hope. Yes, the odds were not in their favor. But the fact that there was a chance – even if it was only 1% – changed everything. For the first time in the past six hours, Morris, Jeremy, and Margaret could breathe again. The newcomers, who had only seen the forlorn trio under stress, marveled at the miraculous change that had washed over them.

After all was said and done, they settled down to wait, hoping that the police would be able to find the van, and Mya.