Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode 8: The Sting #8

Fox was surprised at how quickly things came together. Three days later, they were hosting another big meeting in Lannister's conference room. Shannon Otterdance and her Shoshone Collective were not there. They had already voted on the brothel on their side of the station. Shannon herself had abstained, but for the other elders, it had been an easy decision: more money for the collective and more employment opportunities for those who wished it.

Representative Haughland was there, along with Sarah, Leela, Jack, and Lannister. Haughland opened almost as soon as Fox had arrived. "Lannister tells me you have an idea to run a sting operation."

"Yes, exactly," Fox said. "I understand your objections to . . . well, the whole thing. But the way I see it, we can get some good out of it yet. We can possibly catch some bad guys." He quickly explained his plan.

"The State Department and the FBI have been appraised of this plan," Jack said to Haughland. "They are aware of your objections as well. They are on board if we wish to proceed. In fact, the FBI has done similar things in places like Vegas."

"Prostitution is legal in Vegas?" Haughland asked.

"No," Jack explained. "Nevada does not have a state law concerning it, which allows the counties to decide. It's legal in a few outlying counties but not in Vegas proper. However, the FBI has not been above using the misperception that it is legal in Las Vegas to catch people. Nor do they consider that entrapment. This plan should meet the same criteria."

"That's what I thought," Fox said.

"And the Consortium?" Lannister asked. "What is their opinion on this?"

"Their legal department doesn't consider this entrapment either. It's not the act of prostitution that's illegal, nor is that what we would be arresting men for. So, letting the men believe this is a legal operation isn't really lying to them. We are specifically looking for men who coerce women into it against their will. That is very much illegal in their system. In fact, they've given us quite a bit of leeway, more than I thought."

"What sort of leeway?" Haughland asked.

"Live surveillance. Typically live surveillance is restricted to cases where we have probable cause." Fox nodded toward Sarah. "With some of the facts and statistics that you provided me, I was able to convince them that just about every case of a female prostituting herself with the help of a male 'manager' met the criteria for probable cause. We will be able to watch people almost from the moment they declare their intention to apply for a license until we make a decision. And pretty much anything they say or do in that time should be admissible."

"Sounds good," Lancaster said.

"It gets better," Fox added. "I've done some asking around the department, and I already have the beginnings of the team. We've already found a healer who has a background in counseling and a counselor who has a background in legal. The counselor assures me that as long as she doesn't ask any leading questions, anything the girls say about their pimps should be admissible in court, even if the women themselves don't want to testify. Same goes for anything we see on surveillance."

"On the surface, that's always the biggest hurdle to prosecuting any of these cases," Jack pointed out. "Forcing the women to go on the stand and publicly testify against their abusers is a hard sell."

Sarah was nodding her head vigorously. "I understand the legal principle and tradition of letting the accused confront their accuser in court, at least in other cases. But when it comes to battered women, it's ridiculous. It's one of the main reasons we have such trouble getting women out of those situations."

"Sarah," Fox said, "I was hoping you might stay and be part of the team. You too, Leela. Sarah, I think your experience with trafficking will really help us connect with the women and convince them to get out. Leela, you'll provide the perfect cover and make it look more legitimate. Besides, who knows? Maybe we're all wrong. Maybe the women who come up here to apply will be doing so of their own volition and will fit that psychological profile of yours."

Haughland gave a snort, as though she didn't think that was very likely. Honestly, Fox didn't either. But he was at least willing to be open-minded to the possibility.

Both women quickly agreed, and Fox took them directly from the meeting up to the security offices to meet with his team and begin planning their sting in earnest. Whatever politics and morality surrounded the issue, Fox was thrilled to be doing what he saw as real police work.