When Hope Calls: A Human Trafficking Story

3:06PM

Then, something astonishing happened – Mya called again.

She had never made a call in such quick succession, so everybody was caught off guard. Drinks were spilled, and people were quickly summoned from their bathroom breaks. The office went from complete standstill to battlefield command tent in fifteen seconds flat. Chariya was careful to observe each team member, making sure they did not burn out from the rollercoaster events of the past few hours.

Morris picked up the phone gingerly, not sure what to expect from such an unexpected call. "Hello?" No response...but then they could make out ambient car sounds; the occasional bump in the road, the creaking of the chassis, faint radio music. The office team immediately held their breath, realizing that Mya had called them not to talk, but to give them more information from her captors. Morris clapped his hand over his mouth, put the phone on speaker, then took a few deep breaths. Chariya put a comforting hand on his shoulder, fully aware of his immense stress; every action, every word meant too much in this perilous rescue mission. Jeremy leaned in to press the Mute button on the phone, but the indicator light did nothing – they would have to be absolutely silent from now on, not knowing whether Mya had muted the phone on her end.

Knowing that the police search was underway, the team leaned in, anticipating the rapturous sound of sirens. Morris was dying to explain their breakthrough to Mya, to include her in their pent-up expectation, but the cost of the captors discovering her cellphone was far too high.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard, and in rushed Aat, excitement plastered on his fact. "Guys, guys, my friend at the night –" Before he could finish his sentence, Jeremy had cleared the distance between his desk and the door and charged headlong into the poor young man, bowling him over like a fleshy cannonball. The others had not even had time to register their surprise. A stupefied Aat groaned in pain on the floor, as Jeremy clamped his hand over young man's mouth. Everyone could only stare in complete shock; first at Aat's untimely appearance, then at Jeremy's reaction. But a split second later, everybody's attention was back on the phone: Did the captors hear him? Did he blow the call?

All they could hear was silence. Deafening silence.

No car sounds, no radio, no creaking, no talking...no Mya.

The line was dead.