Houston Ch. 02: The Intervention

"Probably from whatever it was she put in your coffee," Regis said. "I suspect you had the same experience after every discussion about the team, am I right?"

"Yes," Houston said quietly. Regis nodded his head.

"There's more," he added, bringing up another video. This one was shot in Linda's office. As the video started, Linda had picked up her office phone and placed a call. They heard a man answering at the other end.

"George, Linda here," she said in the video. "I just spoke to Houston Smith."

"Yeah, and?" they heard him ask. "Is she in?"

"I'm working on her," Linda said. "I think she'll go for it. I've sent her some links to stories that I think will give her something to really think about."

"You mean, get her horny as hell, right?" he asked. She chuckled.

"Yeah, that too," she said.

"Her husband is going to be gone for a couple weeks, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "Which gives me plenty of time to turn her. By the time he gets back, she'll be ready to fuck a whole battalion right in front of him."

"Heh," he said. "I'd love to see that. After I've tapped that ass of hers first, that is."

"So, how do you want to play this?" she asked.

"You let me worry about Mr. Smith," he said. "You concentrate on getting her ready for the partners. I'll have Greg break him in when he gets back. If Smith gives us any shit, I'll send some enforcers to take care of him."

"Just be careful," Linda said. "Houston is gullible as hell but she loves her husband. If you do anything to hurt him, we'll lose her."

"If that's the case, we'll just fast-track our plan," he said. "I've already got buyers in the Middle East who would love to have a piece of her." John and Houston looked at each other, shocked.

"Well, don't jump the gun," Linda said. "Give me the two weeks to get her warmed up. Once Greg and the partners are done with her, you can do what you want."

"Don't screw this up, Linda," he said. "Remember who the real target is here."

"I've got it under control, George," she said. "Keep your dogs on their leashes, okay? Two weeks."

"You got two weeks," he said before ending the call. Regis stopped the video.

"Who's George?" John asked Houston.

"George Black," she said. "He's the top partner in the firm." John looked at Regis, his eyes burning with anger.

"And you knew about this?" he asked.

"Hold your horses, John," Regis said. "You know how this works. You were overseas on assignment. I couldn't have you distracted on a job. You know that. Besides, I figured you could handle Greg, and you did. If it got out of hand, I knew you'd send up the signal. You're a trained agent, not a seal that claps on command. It's your job to improvise, adapt, overcome." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"There's more videos, by the way, if you're interested in seeing them. Most of them are conversations between Houston, Linda and Greg, basically saying what Houston has already recounted. Others show Houston speaking with other women on the team. Each one also shows Houston being given a dose of something. They were setting you up for a fall, John, all the while dosing Houston in hopes of having her turn on you. And they damn near succeeded." He looked at Houston before continuing.

"I don't think you were the target, however," he told her. "You were the bait. I believe John and the Sector were the main targets. You heard what George said about Middle Eastern buyers?"

"Yes," John said.

"We believe the partners at Omega are involved in a sex trafficking ring with overseas connections," Regis said. "You were just their latest victim."

"Oh my God," she said. Regis put the pictures of five women on the monitor.

"These five women have gone missing within the last two years," he said. "All of them have one thing in common. They worked for Omega. Did you know any of them?"

"Yes, I knew a couple of them," Houston said. "They told me they were being transferred to another department and I never saw them again."

"Neither did their husbands," Regis said. "They continued to receive checks from the company, while being told their wives were away on assignment. After hearing nothing from their spouses, they eventually filed missing persons complaints. Nothing more was heard about the women. We believe they were eventually sold into slavery. Just as you would've been, Houston."

"Any chance of getting them back?" Houston asked. Regis shook his head.

"I doubt it," he said. "Personally, I'd be surprised if they're still alive."

"So what do we do now?" John asked. "Obviously, Houston can't go back to the company."

"No, she can't," Regis said. "Besides, I think the company is coming to her."

"What do you mean?" John asked. Regis clicked on his computer and brought up streaming video of John and Houston's living room. Four large men in dark suits and sunglasses were in the room, along with Linda.

"What the hell?" John asked, shocked. "How did they get past our security system?"

"Good question," Regis said, looking at Houston.

"I didn't give them the code, honest," Houston said defensively.

"Let's watch and see what they do," Regis said, turning to the video.

"They're not here," one of the big men said to Linda. Linda pulled out her phone and looked at it for a while, before pressing the screen. A few seconds later, Houston's phone rang. Regis nodded to her, indicating that she should answer it. She pulled it out and answered the phone.

"Houston, where are you?" they heard Linda say in the streaming video.

"Uh, John and I are out," she said.

"What happened to Greg last night?" Linda demanded.

"I don't know," Houston said. "I think he slipped on a bar of soap or something."

"That was one hell of a bar of soap," Linda said. "He's in a coma and they had to remove one of his testicles. He's got several broken bones, a hematoma and a possible concussion. What the hell happened last night? Did Greg get into a fight with John?"

"Well, John didn't go along with it the way you said he would," Houston said.

"This isn't going to end well," Linda said. "The senior partners aren't too happy right now. You need to come to the office right now."

"I can't do that," Houston said. "In fact, I'm thinking about giving my two-week notice."

"That's not going to happen," Linda said. "You made a commitment and the partners expect you to keep it."

"I made a commitment to my husband first," Houston said. "And that's much more important. You can take your job and shove it, Linda. I will not be your slut. I'm done. Goodbye." With that, she ended the call and looked at John, who smiled and nodded his head in appreciation. They turned back to the video. Linda stared at her phone for a few moments, her face turning red. She punched a few more icons on her phone before addressing the men.

"The last signal from her phone came from what looks like a salvage yard out on Route 87," she said. "Get out there and intercept them. Bring them back to me. Whatever you do, don't kill him. We need them both alive. Now, MOVE!" The four men nodded their heads and left the house. Linda looked around for a few moments before shaking her head and leaving. The video ended after Linda closed the door.

"Well, I'd say we have about an hour before they arrive," Regis said. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Operation Junkyard Dogs, one hour," he said before hanging up. Sure enough, two dark SUVs pulled into the salvage yard about an hour after the call. They pulled up behind John's car and stopped. Four men in dark suits got out and walked to John's car, where they were met by two men in overalls and baseball caps. Regis, John and Houston watched the encounter on video.

"What can we do you fellers for?" one of the men in overalls asked in a thick southern drawl, his smile revealing discolored teeth. His name badge read, "Bubba."

"We're looking for the man who owns this car," one of the suits said.

"Why? You lookin' to buy it off him or something?" Bubba asked.

"We need to talk to him," the suit said, trying to intimidate "Bubba" with his size. He opened his jacket to reveal a handgun in a shoulder holster. "Where is he?"

"Hey, T-Bone," Bubba said, glancing at the man with him. "Looky there. Ol' Hoss has hisself a gun." T-Bone chuckled and brought up a pump shotgun.

"That ain't no gun," T-Bone said. "That's a baby's toy. Now this here's a man's gun," he added, slamming a shell into the chamber. The suit held up his hands.

"We don't have any quarrel with you fellows," he said. "We just want some answers, that's all."

"Well, we're fresh outta answers, Hoss," T-Bone said. "But I do have a case of whoop-ass out back. I'd be more than happy to give y'all some for free if ya want."

"You realize there's four of us and just two of you, right?" another suit said.

"Not so fast, Hoss," another man said, coming up next to "T-Bone."

"Now, why don't you fellers just get back into them there SUVs and git yo' Yankee asses the fuck on outta Dodge, before you piss ol' T-Bone here off," Bubba said.

The suits looked around and saw several others in coveralls, all holding shotguns, and realized they were outnumbered and outgunned. The second suit put his hand on the first before speaking.

"Smith's not going anywhere without us knowing about it," he said. "We don't need to mix it up with a bunch of junkyard hillbillies." The first suit nodded his head.

"You're right," he said. "Okay, we don't want any trouble, so we'll be leaving now, okay?" he said, talking to "T-Bone" and "Bubba."

"Y'all do that," T-Bone said. "And don't come back now, hear?" The other men in coveralls laughed. The suits nodded their heads and got back in their vehicles while keeping a wary eye on the men in coveralls. They left the junkyard, one vehicle turning left on the main road and the other turning to the right.

"T-Bone" looked at "Bubba" after the vehicles left and shook his head.

"Git yo' Yankee asses the fuck on outta Dodge?" he asked, all traces of a Southern accent gone. "Where the fuck did you come up with that?" "Bubba" shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounded good at the time," he said, his accent mysteriously gone. "T-Bone" laughed and pulled out his walkie talkie.

"Suits gone," he said. "One turned north, the other turned south."

"Copy that," said the voice they knew belonged to Alpha One.

Regis turned from the video and pressed a button on his phone.

"Eagle One, this is Alpha One," he said. "You see those two SUVs?"

"We do," a man's voice said over the speaker. "One is parked just north of the yard entrance, the other south of it."

"Keep an eye on them," Regis said. "Let me know the second they move."

"Will do," the man said. Regis ended the call and looked at Houston and John.

"We'll let them stew there for a while," he said. "You know they're they're waiting for you to leave."

"I know," John said. "So what do we do now, besides wait?" Regis looked at Houston.

"What we do now is have Houston fill in all the missing pieces," he said. She looked at him a bit surprised.

"What missing pieces?" she asked.

"Believe me," Regis said. "You may be a bit gullible, but you're not stupid. I know for a fact that you have a higher-than-average IQ. I also know there's a treasure trove of information locked away in that brain of yours. I think it's time we had a look."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We'll be using a form of hypnotherapy to help you recall parts of your memory," Regis said. "The firm has spent the better part of two months conditioning you. Basically, they've been programming you. The drugs they've given you over the last two weeks were just part of that. We need to undo the damage they've done. I have no doubt that once that's accomplished, you'll remember far more than you realize."

"This won't hurt her, will it?" John asked. Regis shook his head.

"Not at all," he said. "We've come a long way in the last few years. We haven't had to lobotomize anyone in a very long time," he added with a wry smile. John knew this was Regis' sick sense of humor, but the statement shocked Houston, who looked to John for protection. Regis chuckled. "I'm only joking," he told her. "You'll be just fine. I also want to see if we can figure out what they've been drugging you with." He picked up his phone, spoke a few words quietly, then hung up.

"What now?" John asked.

"In a few moments, a couple of nice men will come and take Houston to see our psych specialist," Regis said. "You can join her if you wish."

"I do," John said.

"You'll stay with me?" Houston asked her husband.

"Of course," he said, holding her hand. After a few moments, two men in white smocks arrived with a wheelchair. After Houston got in the chair, they headed out.

...

"They've been in there an awful long time," the lead "enforcer" told Linda as he watched the gate to the salvage yard. There had been no traffic for hours and the four men were getting antsy.

"Alright," she said. "We know where they're at. Come on back to base. We'll catch them later." The call ended, the two SUVs headed back the way they came. Linda put her phone away and looked at George.

"I take it they failed to recover the Smiths?" he asked. Linda nodded her head.

"Yes," she said. "So, any word on Greg?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"It's not looking good," he told her. "They say his injuries are worse than they originally thought and he may not make it through the night."

"So, what's your plan now?" she asked him. "Do we abduct them and bring them here?"

"No," George said. "We take them to the beach house."

"How do we get them there?" she asked.

"I'll leave that up to you," George said. "Houston said she wants to turn in her two-week notice. Maybe you should let her. Assure her there'll be no problem. She's gullible enough to believe you. I suspect her husband will want to come with her. Let him. Have the enforcers ready to nab both of them. I need to know how much he knows about our operation."

"Why is that so important?" she asked. "I thought he was just a software guy for an insurance company." He shook his head.

"There's more to it than that," he said. "I just don't know how much."

"So, you plan to use Houston as bait, is that it?" she asked.

"He'll spill his guts," George said. "Once he understands how much is at stake, he'll do or say anything to save his wife."

"I hope you're right," she said. George smiled.

"I am, trust me. Just get everything at the house ready," he said. "You tried to make him a willing cuckold. Now we'll make him an unwilling one. And when we're done, we'll hand her over to her new masters and he'll have committed suicide. With a little help, of course." She smiled at the prospect and left the office. What neither one of them knew was that video of their discussion had just been uploaded to Alpha's servers.

...

To be continued...