Sharkbait Down Under Ch. 21-30

"I'll be tied up for days, maybe arrested," I said.

"We'll send lawyers, guns, and money," Adrienne said. "We'll get our girls back, Linda. You did everything you could today." She hung up, already yelling for someone to get the car ready.

I started pulling memory cards from the cameras I'd collected, transferring files to the laptop, then deleting everything before putting the cards back. Once I had the video files sending to Adrienne, I used the computer to call the police. It didn't take much acting ability to sound emotional and distraught. I then called the American Consulate in Cancun. They said they would send someone to the scene; I could tell it wasn't their first time dealing with tourist kidnappings. "If they wore hoods, they are after a ransom," the FBI liaison said. "There is a local gang that does this, and it sounds like their work."

"I hear sirens; I have to go," I said. I closed down my laptop and tossed it in the back seat. When the police approached, I stood by the turnoff and waved them down. Crying, I repeated my story, pointing down the trail to where the owner's body lay on the jungle floor.

One of the officers moved my car out of the way as more cars and a detective arrived. He had me show them where I hid during the kidnapping, as one of his men jumped in and retrieved the rest of my gear. "The scuba guide is down there?"

I nodded. "It's almost a hundred feet down."

"We've got divers," he said. I went through my story, telling him everything I overheard. I'd hired the police through a local agency, and I gave the detective the details. "We were diving, so we heard nothing until we got out," I said.

I sat with the FBI liaison as the police continued to process the scene. "Will we get them back?" I asked.

"Your friend has money, so we'll keep a watch on her accounts," she said. "The Australian Consulate is sending an agent to stay with Vicki's mother, while agents out of our Seattle and Minneapolis offices are staying with the other families. If they call, we'll assist, and I hope to hell that they call with a ransom demand."

"And if they don't?"

"Then this wasn't about money, and that's the worst-case scenario. Your friends are famous, and owning them would give bragging rights among some of the world's richest assholes. If they enter the global slave trade, they could disappear in some Mideast estate, never seen again."

"That happens?" I was shocked.

"More than you might think. Sheiks and oligarchs like owning blonde American girls, and dozens disappear every year from Mexico. The local kidnapping ring targets both rich Americans for ransom and beautiful but alone Americans for the slave trade."

"How do they get out?"

"Private aircraft, shipping containers, even diplomatic luggage. When you have money and power, you can own anyone or anything."

It made my heart ache to think of those girls, drugged and transported overseas to end up as sex slaves. If their new owners were human, they had no idea what they were getting into with those six girls. If they didn't keep them silvered, they would wait for the opportunity to shift and kill them all.

A dive team arrived, and I briefed them on what I knew of the cenote. An hour later, men were pulling Juan's body out of the water. The divers recovered the knives and my underwater camera; I'd thrown Fiona's pistol deep into the jungle on the other side of the road. I thanked the men as I broke the camera down and stowed it in the open case with my gear.

It was five hours after they disappeared before I was allowed to leave. The police put a hold on my passport and told me to remain at the hotel until the investigation was complete.

I followed the consular agent back to Cancun, worried the whole time about my friends. Security was tight, and I had to pass two checkpoints to get back to the tourist area. There were television stations set up outside our hotel when I arrived. A bellhop ran over to me, and he loaded all of my equipment cases and bags onto a carrier while I grabbed my laptop.

One of the reporters recognized me, and they all ran towards me to get a statement. Word of the kidnapping had gotten out. Letting out a sigh, I turned around near the front doors and waited for the cameras to turn on. "Someone took my friends away," I said as tears streamed down my face. "Please. Don't hurt them; they are good people. I want them back," I said.

"Has there been a ransom demand?"

"I don't know; you'll have to talk to the police."

"How did you escape?"

"They didn't see me. That's all I'm at liberty to say." With that, I turned and walked towards the front desk. Hotel security kept the reporters out as I headed for the elevators.

The hotel concierge approached me as I walked. "Miss Cartwright? May I be of any assistance?"

I pulled my broken phone out of my purse. "I need a new phone," I said as I handed it over with a stack of pesos. "If you could arrange that and get the SIMM card transferred, I would appreciate it."

"Of course, Ma'am. I will bring it to your room personally." I nodded and headed to my room, followed by the bellhop and his cart.

Looking around my room, I could see the evidence of a police search that must have taken place during my interrogation. I took a quick shower and pulled on fresh clothes before setting up my computer for a video call. Adrienne was in the air. "Anything yet?"

"I can't say anything except that I have good people on this. I'll be at the hotel in three hours, and we'll set up a command center. Leo's coming, along with Nicholas and a bunch of others."

"All right. I'll see you soon." Whatever she knew, she couldn't tell me around others. I heard a knock on the door, and the concierge handed me my new phone and my change. I gave him a large tip as I fired it up; I had many messages when it finished downloading. The police still had everyone else's phones, not that it would do them much good. I couldn't even get into their rooms, as the police had secured them as potential crime scenes.

I quickly texted everyone to tell them I had my phone again and was back at the hotel with nothing else to do. Sitting down with my laptop, I started editing everything I had of the kidnapping, starting with the GoPro video I'd taken while chasing after them. I sent the encrypted video file to Adrienne, Alpha Leo, and Alpha Steven.

I ordered room service and continued to search for clues, stopping only when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find Adrienne and four other men. She pulled me into her arms, hugging me as I broke down. "Grab your computer and come with us," she said. "It's time to find our girls."

Ch. 28

Vicki's POV

We communicated over the link as we drove to our fate, planning out when we would make our move. "We can't do it now. You'll dislocate your shoulders if you shift in these zip ties, and there's no way to get through the cage or out the back door." The cage had no openings, and where the handle for the doors would be, there was a steel plate welded over it.

"I could shift a nail, cut through these zip ties, and when they open the door, we could take them out," Amy suggested.

"No. There are six men with rifles, and they expect we might try to run. No, we have to wait for a better opportunity."

"What about these necklaces? They transmit, right?"

I thought back to what Linda had told us. "They record and transmit, and they are still on," I replied. "If they search for something transmitting on this frequency, they might find us."

"Lay down until your head is behind me, and I'll pull it off," Amy said. I was closest to the driver, so I went onto my side as Amy turned slightly towards the back. She worked until she could touch my neck, then Amy rotated the loose-fitting necklace until she could pop the clasp.

"Put it in my mouth," I told her. She moved until I had it in my teeth, then I struggled to sit upright again with no hands. Noelani got a foot under me, and that was just enough to make it to a sitting position. The guards weren't paying attention, so I leaned my head against the cage and let the necklace fall. It hit my hip, landing in the corner. I butt-scooted around until I had my back to the corner; using my fingers, I pushed the necklace through the opening until it was under the driver's seat.

"How long do those transmit," Fiona asked.

"Four to twenty-four hours, depending on how much you talk," I replied. "If there is no noise, they go into sleep mode. Better than nothing, though."

"Are you all right, Carla?" Noelani looked over at me, then linked, "We should talk every five minutes or so just to get them to transit, or they won't find us."

"I'm fine," Carla said. It was the female version of 'fine,' which meant anything BUT that. I could tell she was mad at herself; she was in charge of my protection, it happened on her watch, and she felt terrible about it.

"It's my fault," I told them all. "Cross-training my security as camera operators took away from their mission and left us vulnerable. I should have known better."

Carla shook her head, no. "No, Alpha, it's not your fault. We had security, I hired them, and they took off. I'm going to hunt those men down and kill them for what they've done."

"No, you won't, and that's an order," I said. "Those men may be crooked, but they are still cops, and we're in their country. For all we know, the Cartel could be behind this. Those bastards don't hesitate to wipe out whole families in front of you if you don't play ball."

We'd been driving for about twenty minutes when we slowed down, turning off the paved road. We spent the next twenty minutes getting knocked around as the van navigated a crappy dirt road through the jungle. "Get ready, and play scared and cooperative. We don't need heroes. We need them to relax because six women aren't a threat to them."

With one last lurch, the van pulled to a stop, and I heard the men get out of the other van. The two in front turned around, holding their weapons at ready as the others approached. The man riding shotgun leered at us. "Resist, and you will get hurt. We can have a lot of fun with you and still get paid." I heard the door latch. "One at a time."

The gunmen put blindfolds over our eyes before taking us out of the van; all I saw before that was trees out the front and back. I was the last one out; I tried to scent as much as I could. I sorted through the scents of the six men as best I could.

I felt the dirt change to concrete under me, and the smells got far stronger. It was hard to pick up their unique scents over the stench of cheap aftershave, tequila, sweat, and sex. I felt a knife go between my wrists and cut the zip tie away. "Take off your clothes," the man said. I didn't argue; I reached around and unzipped my wetsuit in the back. Peeling it down and off, I continued by taking off my bikini. "Very nice," the man said as his hand groped my left breast. I started to move away from him, which earned me a smack on my cheek. I bit back the urge to fight back as I tasted blood in my mouth. "It's too bad you're worth so much money because I bet you can fuck like a porn star. That's why I love this job; you can only sell a person you kidnap once, but you can sell a pussy like that a dozen times a night for years."

I took a deep breath, memorizing his scent. My wolf would enjoy the taste of his blood on my teeth. "We're all right, Vicki. They've got us chained up in here." I relaxed again as he went back to pinching my nipple.

"At least we get to keep the others for a while. Your buyer is paying a lot of money to be the first to take you." He took my arm and led me inside, sitting me down on the cold and damp floor. I felt a collar going around my neck; it was steel, not silver. They had no idea what they were dealing with, and that gave me hope.

I took inventory of the scents. "Where is Fiona?"

"I'm the oldest and probably worth the least, so I think I'm their entertainment for the night. They took me inside the house and tied me over the couch," she replied. "Alpha Vicki, it has been my honor to serve you. If I get a chance to escape, I'm taking it."

"Be careful, Fiona."

"I'm closing the link. I don't want to distract you." I felt her shut it off, so we wouldn't sense her pain. It didn't matter; with our hearing, we could hear her screams as they gang-raped and beat her. She never stopped struggling against them or stopped cursing them in three different languages, not until they knocked her out. A few minutes later, three men brought her into our room and put the collar around her swollen neck.

One of the men looked at Carly. "We'll be having your ass for breakfast. Have a good night, ladies." They pulled the steel door closed, locking it from the outside with a padlock, and walked back to the house. The fuckers were laughing the whole time.

It had been dark for hours; I tried to sleep, but the mosquitos and tropical heat made that hard. It didn't help that we were bare ass to concrete, either. I sat up when I heard several vehicles approaching. The men in the house came outside, and the leader sent two of his men to guard us. The rest he told to hide behind the trees and cover him while he concluded their business.

The two vehicles that pulled in sounded big and expensive, not the cheap SUVs our kidnappers had. These were the money people, I was sure. I moved over to the metal door, putting my ear against it to hear better. Doors opened, and the leader greeted the new arrivals. "Lawrence, do you have the money?"

"Of course, Carlos. Let's see the women first." I heard them walking our way and moved away from the door. The wind shifted, and his scent blew in through the louvers at the bottom of the door. I pushed back a snarl of rage; the betrayal cut deep. They would all die, slowly and painfully, at my hand.

"Don't react," I told the others. The padlock opened, and a flashlight shined in my eyes. I didn't look away; instead, I stared at the buyer with every bit of hatred and loathing I could muster.

He looked at us, then walked back out the door. "How much for all of them?"

"We were supposed to get half a million for Vicki, and the rest of them were the rest of the payment. They will do well at auction, at least the younger ones will."

"I didn't ask about your business plan, Carlos. I asked for a price."

"Three hundred thousand for Amy, two hundred fifty each for the twins, and another hundred each for the older ones. One point five million."

"One point two million, cash, here and now."

Carlos didn't say anything for a few seconds, and it grated at me to hear our fates negotiated like this. "Done. Bring me the money, and your men can load them up."

They walked away, and the first gunshot scared the hell out of me. I heard the men scream as they got cut down, cursing in Spanish before the newcomers put them out of their misery. When the shooting stopped, Lawrence came to the doorway. "Leave the clothes and the necklaces behind so the cops can find this place. Collar these bitches and put them in the transport cages."

The men who came in carried cattle prods and silver collars, and we had no chance of fighting against them.

Our situation had just gone from bad to worse.

Ch. 29

Luna Adrienne's POV

I hadn't stopped working since Linda gave me that call.

I made three calls as soon as I got off the phone with her. I called Leo in Australia, letting him know his niece and her friends were in trouble. I called Alpha Steven in Oregon, letting him know three of his Betas and two of his Warriors were victims. Finally, I informed Alpha Ivan Volkov, Leo's younger brother, at his home in Stillwater. Vicki was his biological daughter, and he was very protective of her.

While I was talking, one of the Omegas had purchased plane tickets, while another packed my bag. Just twenty minutes after finding out, five of us were heading out. All told, I had over three dozen warriors, trackers, Betas, and Alphas from three Packs on their way to Mexico.

While driving to the airport, I made my next call. I didn't trust the man, but Vicki did, and his support was making the Australian Pack independent of the North American Council. After explaining this was an emergency, his secretary put me through to him. "Adrienne, what is going on?"

"It's bad news, Master Pontalba," I told him. "I was just contacted by Vicki's producer. A gang of kidnappers in Cancun has taken Vicki, Amy, Noelani, Makani, and their two bodyguards."

"Damn." He yelled for some people to come in. "Are they like us?"

"I don't think so; it sounded like locals," I said. Mermaids didn't have our sense of smell, but it was enough to sense a fellow supernatural if they were close.

"That's a start. How can I help?"

"We're sending people down there as quickly as we can, but I was hoping you have contacts in the area. I can't use the authorities, but I need someone who can respond faster than we can. We are six hours out."

"Master Hernando Vespucci is over Mexico City. I'm sure he has associates in Cancun."

I just bet he did. What better place for vampires to ply their trade than a beach resort area full of drunk tourists? It was a lot like how Cyprian stayed hidden in New Orleans. "I have trackers on them, but I don't know how long they will work before the kidnappers remove or disable them. Time is of the essence."

"Pass that information along to Master Vespucci directly. I will call him and have him contact you."

"Thank you, Master Cyprian." I needed that callback, so I waited for it instead of calling others, sending text messages to those friends outside the Packs. We were passing the refinery in Rosemount when my phone rang with an overseas number. "Hello, this is Adrienne Volkov," I said.

"Mrs. Volkov, my name is Hernando. A mutual friend asked if I could be of assistance to you."

"Please! Bandits in Cancun captured my niece and her friends," I said. I gave him the information I had, including the website and codes to follow the trackers. "They still show active, but who knows for how long." I'd been watching on my laptop, and they were still together and still driving away from Cancun.

"Why not give this information to the local police?"

"The local police may be in on it. Four officers were 'protecting' the girls. If it's not straight ransom, my first suspect is my own Council. I can't drag humans into that mess."

"I see." He issued a few orders with the phone covered. "I will send my people to help. Is this the best way to reach you?"

"It is." I gave him my flight number and arrival time and that I was traveling with four others. "Thank you, Mr. Vespucci. We will be in your debt for this."

"Yes, you will be. I'll be in touch."

Masters Emily and Cyprian were more friendly than Hernando, who was typical of the vampires I'd met. Leo called just before we arrived at the airport; he, Nicholas, and Joseph were in travel hell. They had to fly from Melbourne to Sydney, catch the long flight to Los Angeles, then make the connection to Cancun. It was going to be two days before they would arrive.

The good news is that there were regular flights to the Mexican beach resorts from Minneapolis in December; the bad news was that they were packed full of drunken vacationers. Although the flight time was just over four hours, with security at each end and the wait for the departure, it was almost eight hours total. My secretary snagged the last first-class seat for me, and I stowed my carry-on bag above it, putting my purse under the seat. The rest of my group were not as lucky; they were seated near the restrooms in the back. Alpha Steven and three of his men would arrive in another hour. Alpha Ivan and the rest of our teams would continue to show up over the next day or so.