Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode 8: The Sting #13

By week's end, Fox was growing tired of their operation. It wasn't the pressure from the public, and they were still having good results. That, he thought over a cup of coffee, was exactly the problem.

It was good that they were putting away the bad guys. That they were using the Consortium legal system and surveillance system to do what the legal system on the surface struggled to do: convict these men. It made him feel useful, effective.

But the extent of the problem on the surface was another thing. It was like the station had dropped a hose into the lowest cesspit of humanity and was sucking them up. It was difficult, heart-hardening work to watch them parade through his station, through his security offices, no matter where they ended up.

They could bring a thousand people through this sting and still only scratch the surface of the problem. That was what made him so sad. For all the good they were doing, there seemed to be an endless supply of vicious men willing to sell women's bodies and desperate women willing to let them do it.

His reverie was interrupted by Kellii. "Chief," he said. "We have a situation, and I think this one is up to you to decide." That sparked Fox's curiosity. Kellii, though his second-in-command, had far more experience in Consortium security and often took the lead.

***

The girl was tall, thin, and blond with wide blue eyes. A skimpy top barely covered her ample breasts, and her face was painted with thick eyeliner and bright lipstick. She was a Barbie doll redressed to suit a pubescent boy's fantasy.

But there was something more about her too. Her eyes held a world-weary strength that caught Fox's attention almost immediately.

"Her name is Oksana, and she's from the Ukraine," Sarah said as Fox watched the girl interact with one of their legal workers. "Brought to America three years ago. Offered a new life as a model." Sarah shook her head.

Fox snorted and then growled. "Sure, I bet."

"Once they got her into America, they promptly took her passport, beat her to within an inch of her life, and once she recovered, set her to work."

"We've heard the story a half dozen times this week, haven't we?" Fox commented. To Kellii, he said, "If this is about jurisdiction, I say screw it. I don't care if they're citizens of Ukraine, or wherever. Let their government file complaints with the Consortium. I'll take responsibility if Jack says anything."

"It's not that," Kellii said.

"She wants to go back," Sarah said.

Fox just looked at her. "But . . . she's admitted she was forced."

"Her sister," Sarah interrupted. "And maybe a dozen other girls. Her sister arrived, taken in by the same men and the lies they forced Oksana to write in letters back home. Maybe a couple months ago. She says they have her sister on the surface."

"She's worried what will become of her sister if we take her, arrest these men?"

Sarah nodded.

"She's offered to bring the others up," Kellii said, "if we let both of them go."

The girl glanced in their direction, and her eyes met Fox's. His chest ached. "She can't be more than twenty."

"Nineteen. Her sister's sixteen. The same age she was when she was brought in."

"How long do I have to decide?"

"The men grow impatient," Kellii said.

Fox sighed. He approached the girl. She must have sensed he was in charge, that he had the power. "Nika," she said in a thick accent. "I can no leave Nika. It's my fault she's there at all. And there are others. Many men. I can bring them. Bring them all."

"If the men suspect . . ." Fox began.

"I can handle them," she said, her nostrils flaring, her blue eyes cold, calculating. "But I can't leave Nika. Never."

What would Fox do for his family? Grandma, Emma . . ., heck, even Ray. He'd risk his life. But death paled to the physical and psychological torture Oksana was risking. He met her gaze and then slowly nodded.