IRINA OPENED THE STEEL DOOR. And with her own flashlight, she decided to inspect the room where the Brazilian newcomer was. The room was messy, but not too much—she observed. The woman had made a scene after she learned the truth. It's part of it, Irina pondered. She needed to know the truth as soon as possible. But the girl freaked out and left her room a mess.
Shining the flashlight toward the bed, she saw Janine asleep. The holy water worked. She went to the bedside table and took the plastic bottle. She went back to the door, locking it behind her. And turned the key to keep the woman trapped inside.
Arriving at the closet inside her office, she opened a small cabinet that contained Janine's numerical identification. She took the girl's confiscated cell phone, already knowing how to unlock the device. Connecting to the Wi-Fi, Irina could see a large number of notifications coming through WhatsApp. Someone was already worried about the young woman.
...****************...
"SPAIN?" ALEX PLAYED WITH the pen between his fingers while talking to Pedro Henrique in his office. The young man updated him on the progress of the case.
"Barcelona. To be more precise." Pedro stared into space, thoughtful. "Spain is one of the countries with a high concentration of slave labor. It's a lead to follow."
"A lead that could lead us to take a shot in the dark" pondered Alex. "But it's all we have."
"We can take a chance."
"Going to Spain?"
"Yeah. Maybe another clue will turn up."
"We can start by going to Guarulhos Airport" Alex adjusted himself in his chair. "Let's first find out if she traveled alone or accompanied… Or who was following her from the moment of boarding…"
"A lot to consider."
"Exactly. You're going, right?"
"Of course" Pedro Henrique shrugged. "I have some Security contacts over there."
"Get a list of passengers who boarded that flight."
"That one won't be difficult" Pedro Henrique tapped the tip of his pen on the table once, as if highlighting something. "I got the exact flight Janine boarded."
"How?"
"Janine sent a screenshot of the plane ticket to the girl I talked to…" Pedro Henrique snapped his fingers to remember the name "Eliza, her name. Then she checked her cell phone to confirm that the girl went to Barcelona."
"Good girl."
"It was quite a find. Saved me more work."
"And then?"
"Then…" The young man organized his train of thought. "I'm going to take a chance in the dark."
"You're going to Barcelona."
"I have to go" Pedro paused. "I need to know if anyone saw the girl disembark and where she went. If she took a taxi or was in someone's company…"
"I have some contacts at that airport to facilitate your arrival. Going straight to the runway, in this case."
"If you get anything, you can signal me" Pedro Henrique got up. "I'm going to Guarulhos."
...****************...
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH" The young man had clearly loved the TV he had just bought. Hugo checked the amount he received through Pix. "Everything okay there?"
"Everything okay, yes."
"This TV looks like it just came out of the store, it's so well preserved. Brand new, brand new…" the young man praised. "You used it very little, right?"
"Unfortunately, I use the TV very little, because of work…" Hugo shrugged.
"I imagine. So, I'm out of here. Thanks!"
"You're welcome…" he waved. The young man went on his way.
Arriving back at the apartment, he saw a video call waiting to be answered.
"Joyce…" Hugo picked up his cell phone, reading his sister's name. He slid his finger across the screen, saying: "Hi, sis!"
"Hi, my dear" Joyce blew a kiss from the other side of the screen. "Everything ready for the trip?"
"It's a mess around here, I'm getting rid of everything… Look at this" Hugo showed his sister, doing a 360-degree turn.
"I'm shocked at how empty it is in there."
"That's right, girl."
"Are you going to hand over the house and come straight here?"
"Exactly. I already left some of my things at Chiara's house, she's a friend of mine. Travel stuff."
"Oh, okay. And the new apartment?"
"I already sent some things over there…" Hugo scratched his neck. "Girl, when I think about the mess here and there… I get lazy right away."
"I imagine. And I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, you know…"
"I bet you wouldn't, girl."
"But anyway, have you said goodbye to any flings?"
"You're a clown" Hugo laughed. "There are no flings."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Honey…" Joyce rested her head in her hand. "I'm shocked."
"So it goes."
"And that plague there whose name I won't mention… Did he really disappear?"
"Girl, I had the displeasure of running into that creature on the same beach" Hugo recounted casually. "It was just the other day…"
"What a scoundrel" Joyce moved around. She seemed to have stood up. And she said: "Well, I'll be expecting you here at the weekend, okay?"
"Okay, my love, I'm practically packed."
"I'll pick you up at the airport."
"That way I can take advantage and tell you all the news on the way."
"I'll love to hear all about it" Joyce looked to the side, waving. She looked at the screen again. "Bro, I'm going. We'll talk later. Kisses."
"You too, baby" Hugo blew a kiss. Call ended. He felt his heart grow warmer with that trivial conversation.
...****************...
"I NEED MORE GIRLS" Hank stared at Irina and Ruy, who were sitting in his office across from him.
"Where and when?" Ruy asked dryly.
Irina stared at Ruy as if to ask him to be careful.
"Brazil. Soon." Hank returned the tone, shooting the young man a look.
"But we already got two Brazilians recently" Irina pondered.
"Do you have any better suggestions than mine?"
The mocking tone made the girl back down a little.
"Well" she shrugged. "How about some more Japanese girls? They work hard…"
Hank just shook his head from side to side with a slight expression of contempt, as if dismissing the idea.
"Okay" Irina continued. "We're going back to Brazil then, right? Huh?"
"Honestly…" Hank picked up a pen and started fiddling with it on the table. And he continued: "What's the problem, Irina?"
"What if we're being watched? We have to be very careful…"
"Do you know something I don't?"
"No. I don't know anything."
"So what's the problem?"
"There's no problem…" Irina stood up, pacing around the office. Her tone was a little more incisive. "We just need to change the scene in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are attracting too much attention…"
"And you think so?" Ruy observed his colleague now, turning slightly in her direction. "Because I, for one, am not the least bit worried…"
"Because you order a disappearing act, right, Ruy? That's why you're not worried. And you end up missing something."
"And did I miss something, Irina?" Ruy crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "Did I?"
Hank was now watching his two subordinates arguing among themselves, forgetting his presence. He actually found it quite entertaining.
"No, you didn't. But you run the risk of missing something if you keep choosing the Rio-Sao Paulo axis, you idiot. You have to vary it."
"Are we having a problem, Irina? I repeat the boss's question: Do you know something? Answer"yes"or"no.""
Irina let out a breath.
"No."
"So don't freak out, damn it" Ruy concluded.
Hank was pondering. Irina, for a moment, remembered Hank's presence and sat back down.
"Irina is right" he began. "To solve this problem it will be very simple: go to the Northeast. End of story."
Irina nodded in agreement with the idea.
"When are we going?"
"Next week, maybe…" Hank pondered. "I'll let you know."
"Okay, then" she shrugged. She made a move to get up.
"One more question" Hank stopped her.
"What now?"
"Did you check on the new girl?"
"I did…" She stood up. "It took a little work, but tomorrow she'll start working."
"I blessed the girl's water…" Ruy said in a mocking tone. "She must be in seventh heaven."
"Nightmare, right…" Irina laughed, leaving the room.
...****************...
PEDRO HENRIQUE ENTERED Guarulhos Airport, already heading for his destination: the Monitoring and Security sector. He went to the International Departures area. First, he went to Security—which inspected luggage and passengers. He found the first agent, showing his badge. The young man nodded.
"Can I help you with anything, sir?"
"I need to speak to someone in charge of the Monitoring and Security area" Pedro Henrique replaced the badge on his chest.
...****************...
IT WASN'T DIFFICULT to be escorted to the place, Pedro Henrique evaluated. Now, he was analyzing the footage saved by the security cameras. First, at the airport entrance—he saw a figure resembling Janine heading for the international flight area; second, to security and immigration—nothing suspicious, the same figure had passed through smoothly; now, in the departure lounge—she boarded the flight to Barcelona, with a connection in Lisbon. The name of the city could be clearly seen.
"Can you confirm which airline this flight is from?"
The monitoring guy passed on the information. Pedro Henrique nodded.
"I want a passenger list for this flight. Who can I get it from?"
"I can get it for you in minutes" the young man said.
"And I want a copy of that footage, too."
"Don't worry" the young man picked up the phone, dialed an extension, and started talking to someone from the airline in question. He nodded and hung up the phone: "In ten minutes, maximum, that list will be here."
"Okay. I'll wait here, if you don't mind."
"Make yourself comfortable" the young man offered the chair next to him.
"Thank you" Pedro sat down.
"Is it a missing person case, sir?" The young man asked, quickly adding: "If you don't mind answering, of course."
"Yes, it is" Pedro looked at a spot between the monitoring screen and the control desk. "I suspect it's more than just a missing person…"
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