Chapter One

It was chilly Monday morning and headquarters was filled with a lot of officers, hailing from different Intelligence and Crime Divisions, a sign that this would be a hectic day for all the officers and agents. Lance, the best Agent at NBCI, a short form of the famous National Bureau of Crime Investigation strode across the lobby, receiving greetings from colleagues and admirers as he headed to his office, feeling a sense of pride.

He was not only good at his work but also undeniably good at stealing the hearts of beautiful ladies; he was heartthrob of the entire NBCI as far as the women were concerned. He even managed to steal the heart of the Chief-Agent’s daughter, Katrina Boyaze; tall, slender, beautiful and light-skinned,obviously the most attractive woman at the Subdivision but not for Lance. Katrina was definitely not Lance’s type of woman because of her cheeky and pompous attitude, stemming from social status. She was shrewd in her ways, usually taking shortcuts to promotions and Lance resented her for that because he rather believed in hard work and commitment. This was why Lance was also the most trusted agent in the City of Flora. Walking into his office, Lance took a seat in his armchair and soon his assistants, James Martinez and Vivian Sundae came to deliver the day’s agenda.

“Sir, there has been a new lead on Dario Pavel. He is hiding in North Sultan. But the place is dangerous. The Police Force has not been able to launch a successful raid without casualties. The damned criminals are good at protecting their territory” James vividly explained.

“James….” Lance paused after hollering James’ name. There was an unusual coldness in his voice that made James nervous.

“Yes, sir” James answered hesitantly, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“Are you suggesting that we bail out just like every other chicken headed Police officer out there?” Lance posed a question, fixing his penetrating stare on James.

“No, Sir” James replied nervously.

“Good answer.” Lance said as he stood up to the height of James. “….because I won’t tolerant laziness on my team”

“I understand, Sir” James responded in a dejected tone.

“I know you do, James” Lance chuckled as he slumped back in his chair and turned to Vivian. “….Vivian?”

“Yes, sir….” Vivian replied in haste, taking a deep breath after that to compose herself.

“What do you have for me?” Lance asked her softly.

“The meeting with the other team leaders is ongoing at the moment.” Vivian stammered, fumbling for the rights words to say.

“Didn’t I tell you that first news should come first? I told you to act smart and be alert but my advice went in from one ear and out through another” Lance scolded her.

“I’m sorry, Sir” Vivian stuttered.

“Will your apology save me from scorn?” Lance sneered.

“What should we do, Sir?” Vivian replied in a shaky voice.

“We obviously have to go to the meeting…common sense, Vivian.” Lance snorted.

“Absolutely...” Vivian replied as she hastily grabbed Lance’s files.

“James, give me a detailed report on Dario’s case when I return” Lance charged as he and Vivian walked out of the office.

The meeting had not started yet when Lance and Vivian arrived, entering the board room majestically as heads turned to them with grimace expressions. Lance occupied an empty seat, unfazed about the lowering stares he was receiving from his colleagues. Katrina tried her best to get Lance to notice her but her efforts were futile. Lance completely ignored her hearty smiles, making her furious.

“You’re late, Cortez.” She scoffed. “…woke up late after making love to the girl next door?”

“Not that it is any of your business Agent Boyaze.” Lance retorted with a crooked smile.

“Why are you late then?” Katrina hissed. “Obviously, Vivian here didn’t do her job…”

“…leave Vivian out of this. She's not at fault. You just stay out of my business.” Lance countered Katrina, leaving her with a gaping expression.

“Whoa, Lance!” John, another subdivision leader intervened. “Boyaze only asked for an explanation. You kept us waiting.”

“It clearly didn’t sound that way, John. It feels like I'm being questioned by my wife.” Lance remarked.

“Come on…You should know how Katrina speaks by now.” John reasoned with him.

“If it is any consolation, accept my apologies.”  Lance said and despite giving an insincere apology, everyone accepted it but Katrina was not done. Being aware of Lance’s intention to protect his nerdy assistant made her so jealous that she could not help but glower at Vivian with evil intentions causing the latter to lose her balance, almost falling if Lance had not caught her in time.

“Are you alright, Vivian?” Lance softly asked her and Vivian nodded thankfully as she gained composure. “Be careful…”

“Yes…” Vivian replied; stealing a nervous glance at Katrina’s devouring eyes.

“…eyes off Vivian, Katrina,” Lance cautioned, knowing that Vivian’s clumsy near fall was caused by Katrina.

“It’s her fault that you're late.” Katrina commented harshly.

 “Don’t pick on my PA” Lance told her.

“Your team members are not performing... You need to lay them off!” Katrina added to her many words.

“Says who?” Lance asked, chortling with amusement.

“You're laughing.” Katrina snorted.

“Vivian is my PA, Boyaze. Let me handle my people and you handle yours” Lance concluded and kept quiet.

“Lance is right about that, Katrina. He is well capable of handling his business. It is important that we get over this meeting at the moment.” John intervened once again. Katrina was the least pleased with this decision but she obliged. “Some silence at last. Now the Chief can come in”

Without warning, a bald headed man walked into the room and took the center seat, facing all his subordinates. With a crooked grin on his face, he took a glance at Lance, all the way to his daughter, Katrina.

“Cortez and Boyaze…..trouble in paradise?” He asked amid a smirk, making everyone chuckle. Lance also forced a smile as he gazed at his boss and mentor while Katrina pretentiously peered through the files on the table.

“The trouble is gone. We are good to go.” John replied on their behalf.

“We have news that a hundred and fifty womenfrom Saba have been trafficked. We have to nab Dario immediately” the Chief spoke in a grave voice

“Lance is the one working on the case, Chief.” John answered immediately.

“Why must he do it alone? You’re also an agent.  There are no major cases in your Unit. You should help him out” The chief said.

“There won’t be any need. Dario is in Sultan but we can’t go to him. We must use bait to catch him instead.” Lance responded.

“What kind of bait?” the chief asked.

“….a woman. Only then will we be able to nab him.” Lance replied confidently.

“Why haven’t you implemented this plan yet? We have secret Agents in Saba.” John chipped in.

“Don’t worry…. Everything is under control.  Pavel is in our hands already.”

“This meeting is over since the major issue has been tackled. The rest of you should continue working on your assignments. Boyaze, I need a report on the Ministerial corruption case ASAP.” the Chief replied as he stood up to leave.

“Dad! I mean, Chief.” Katrina blurted out.

“What's the matter, Boyaze?” The Chief asked his daughter.

“What about my promotion?” Katrina inquired.

“Let’s talk about that when I see progress in your case.” The Chief replied and walked away immediately, leaving the others to laugh at Katrina. Even Vivian was smirking while covering her mouth to avoid trouble.

“The Chief may be your father but he doesn’t support Nepotism like you.” Lance said, twittering.

“What is that they always say? Hard work pays off, my dear Katrina Boyaze.” John added with a crooked smile.

“You're a nuisance to me.” Katrina hissed.

“Speaking of work; I have a criminal to nab. Perhaps, I can ask for a raise too.” Lance said, teasing Katrina before he asked Vivian to follow him.

“I'm leaving too.” John said to a vexed Katrina before leaving.

***

Three weeks down the line; on a windy day. The moonlight shined brightly and a truck could be seen moving in haste on the dark lonely road of el Paradiso. The driver of this truck turned on the second corner of the main road, driving into the wilderness, infested by wild animals and deadly vipers. The wolves howled; marking their territory but the driver was the least afraid of these wild dogs. He was used to them because this animal infested area was his home as well. The truck came to a halt in front of a gigantic gate with a wall fence that was secured by electrical wires. The driver beeped the horn of his truck and soon someone opened the gate for him from inside.

“We're home safely, Japheth!” The driver said in a chortling intonation.

“You can never grow out of this good feeling, O’Neil!” Japheth cheerfully said, making the driver bellow with laughter as he drove into the vast yard of this fenced premise. Soon a throng of buff men rushed to the truck and gathered around it, ululating and whistling merrily as they welcomed Japheth and O’Neil. Japheth alighted and dashed to the back of the truck, dispensing the crowded men with harsh screeches that filled the cold air.  He walked over to the large container at the back of the truck and opened it, allowing the men to offload the huge boxes of beverages and snacks he and O’Neil had bought as a cover up.

“Take out all the boxes first.” He said while he and O’Neil went to smoke cigarettes in a corner.

“I cannot wait to see how beautiful the girls are!” one of the men chirped excitedly.

“Me neither. I heard that these ones were carefully selected.” another one replied with a cackle, revealing his yellow stained teeth.

“Japheth is good at his job, you see.” Yet another said.

“Move away, doofuses!” they heard a grumbling voice behind them as soon as all the boxes were taken out. Five men jumped into the truck and went to the far end of the container, removing a backdrop which concealed the other cargo they were carrying. The five men smirked, high-fiving each other when their eyes beheld their precious cargo of women stripped and tied together like a bundle of firewood. They requested for whips to be brought to them and with sinister smirks on their faces, they unleashed their rage on the poor innocent women whose wails filled the air, meeting the cries of the wolves as the whips landed on their bare skin, tearing through their flesh mercilessly. Meanwhile, the men outside the truck ululated and whistled with joy at the sight of anguish and pain in the eyes of the vulnerable women.

“Move, move bitches!” The men shouted in deep angry voices but all the women could do was wail as the whips cut through their skins, causing painful bruises on their flesh while their blood spattered on the floor of the container.

“Stop...!” A deep enraged voice filled the air, gripping everyone with fear and total silence was the effect. There in front of them was Dario Pavel, masculine and tall; born with good looks, long hair and an adorable set of dimples. The man was a physical specimen but he possessed a deadly and merciless nature. Turning to him, they all moved out of his way with eyes bulged in fear of being killed instantly or tortured to death. Pavel jumped into the truck, pinning one of the men against the wall of the truck with a knife lingering beneath his throat. Stupefied, everyone was waiting to see how this man’s life would come to an abrupt end.