Episode 9

THE ALARM CLOCK, WHICH SOUNDED more like a siren, went off. Janine opened her eyes, feeling drowsy as she looked up at the grayish-blue ceiling. She couldn't quite define the color. A message appeared on the monitor in her room:

...YOU HAVE 1 HOUR AND 30 MINUTES UNTIL WORK STARTS. IT IS MANDATORY TO ORGANIZE THE ROOM. BE READY....

More out of obligation than grogginess, Janine sat up in bed. She saw that something had arrived through a kind of "tube" when she noticed a green LED indicating to open it. She got up and went over to it. As soon as she opened it, she found: a complete uniform, a badge with a 4-digit sequence, a towel with a toothbrush and toothpaste. A beep on the TV caught her attention. It was a message:

...PLEASE CONFIRM YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE KIT....

On the screen, there were "Yes" and "No" options. Janine confirmed receipt. Another message appeared on the screen:

...YOU HAVE 1 HOUR AND 30 MINUTES TO BE READY AND LEAVE FOR BREAKFAST....

A countdown timer replaced the message. The time started to run. More out of necessity than a desire to obey the order, Janine grabbed the towel and went to the bathroom.

...****************...

ARRIVING AT THE DINING HALL, she couldn't bring herself to speak to anyone. Looking around, she came to the conclusion that it was a battalion of women in the same condition as her: gathered in a kind of complex, resembling a maximum-security prison; everyone here wore the same uniform and a numerical identification badge. Extremely bizarre. Robust, uniformed inspectors walked around with a taser to reprimand any misbehavior. Everyone there just kept quiet. They were in panic. Just like Janine, they were all victims of a scheme. Irina went up to the small platform and used a megaphone to speak.

"Good morning, girls…" Her tone was slightly mocking. "As you can see, we have a new batch to help with the brand's overproduction. And to celebrate this welcome, breakfast will be special: it will include waffles, in addition to bread with butter and coffee…"

"Bitch" Janine gritted her teeth.

"Shhh…" It was the woman next to Janine who had given the warning. And whispered: "If you had spoken louder, you would have ended up in solitary."

"Silence, girls!" shouted one of the inspectors. Irina had stopped her speech but pretended not to care. The inspector motioned for the woman to continue speaking.

"I warned her" the woman recomposed herself.

"…So, you have exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes to have breakfast" Irina finished. "Another shift, another day is about to begin. And let's produce, shall we?"

Silence.

"No need to answer me" she added. "I like silence and order. For now, you can go have breakfast so we don't waste time."

The crowd there dispersed in an orderly fashion, controlled by the inspectors. Janine was beginning to realize where she had arrived. What kind of modern slavery is this that keeps someone incarcerated?

Heading for the table, she thought about how worried her family was. Her eyes started to burn, letting a tear escape. The reality was sinking in.

...****************...

"PEDRO HENRIQUE…" Hank read the file he received by email. The background check he had requested arrived in less than twenty-four hours. He frowned, studying the data there. "So, you're the one who saw some smoke and thinks there's fire…"

The background check had everything: full name, address, phone number, occupation in the federal police. He was satisfied with the information he had in hand.

"…little does he know that the same fire can burn" Hank concluded, already knowing the reason the young man was going to Guarulhos airport: Janine had been reported missing in Brazil and he was following some leads.

Hank thought about the fact that Irina and Ruy hadn't bothered to leave a false trail so that he could buy time for Janine to stay off the radar. It had worked with the others. It won't be this time that it goes wrong just because of a mistake made by subordinates and a competent investigator. He needed to prevent the police from getting any closer. With the solution in mind, he dialed a number on the phone. The person on the other end of the line answered promptly. He said:

"It's time for you to pay the favor you owe me."

...****************...

"I HAVE ANOTHER LEAD" Pedro Henrique entered Alex's office, who was typing a report on the computer. There was half an hour to go before the day's shift started. As soon as he got the man's attention, he completed: "I need to go to Barcelona just to see the last time she was recorded by the security cameras at the airport there."

"And when are you planning to go?"

"As soon as I can" Pedro Henrique sat down in the chair facing Alex. "I'm going to hop over there and find out from the footage if she got into a taxi or a private vehicle."

"I was going to ask you if it would be easier to sort it all out here, but I imagined that remote collaboration might take a while" Alex said, fiddling with the pen in his hand.

"Exactly. It does take a while. Because they might think it's just any disappearance and not give it importance."

"And what's your gut telling you?"

"I could be wrong, but this whole thing about a job offer that's very tempting abroad…" Pedro frowned and completed: "Coupled with the fact that the girl hasn't been heard from in days… Something's wrong. Trafficking. Kidnapping… Anyway. There are several hypotheses."

"Only by going to Spain will you find out."

"That's it" Pedro nodded, repeating Alex's sentence with emphasis: "Only by going to Spain will we find out."

"Arrange this trip soon" Alex instructed. "It has to be a short one."

"It will be short" Pedro got up. "I still have a lot to do here. I'm off…"

...****************...

HUGO WAS SITTING in his armchair, making a video call to Tande - his friend who lives in Sao Paulo. The phone screen changed as soon as the young man answered:

"Dude!" Hugo smiled. "Long time no see, my God…"

"You can say that again, man" Tande, a blond boy with emerald green eyes, returned the smile. "So, how's the move going?"

"It was a mess, but things are getting better now…" Hugo ran his hand through his hair. "After my vacation, my return flight is straight there!"

"Really? That's great…"

"I'll be arriving and living in greater Sao Paulo."

"This transfer has been crazy for you, hasn't it? I mean, it is."

"Man… I don't even know how I'm managing to get rid of most of the stuff I won't be able to take. I'm going to need a professional organizer to sort out the apartment."

"If you want a recommendation…"

"Yes, please! And I wanted to ask you a huge favor."

"Ask away" Tande rested his hand on his chin. He was at his kitchen counter.

"Can you help me with the move while I'm away? I've already assigned two people to arrange the furniture there. The organizer will do the work in my room… Anyway." Hugo shrugged and concluded: "You won't have to do much. Just keep an eye on things."

"Of course, buddy! Just tell me how you want things arranged and I'll manage everything."

"Ahhh" Hugo clapped his hands together. "Man, thank you so much. You're going to help me out so much…"

"You know you can always count on me, right?"

"And thank you for that."

...****************...

HANK SAT THOUGHTFULLY in his office. He was assessing the possibilities of a threat arising along the way. Since the last time Interpol had come close to sniffing him out - in order to break up his business - he had learned that prevention is better than cure. He had leafed through the background check he had done on Pedro Henrique from cover to cover, and the guy was an expert in helping to bring down criminal organizations. His last successfully solved case was the drug trafficking one, which wasn't too long ago.

"Excuse me, boss…" Irina half-opened the door. "Coming in."

The man looked at her with a certain indifference. He was still deep in thought and ideas.

"In twelve hours the girls have doubled the previous day's production target. It was over twenty thousand pieces! Isn't that great?" Irina finished browsing through the small file. "Now it makes more sense to call other girls. I'll arrange the trip to Brazil right away!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Boss?" Irina frowned. "Did you hear what I said?"

"I did."

"Did something happen?"

"It did."

Irina didn't know what was more frightening about Hank: his dry tone of voice or his incisive tone when he was at the end of his tether.

"This Janine, is she just starting now?"

"Right now."

"The Brazilian Federal Police are trying to get on our tail" he said, fixing his gaze on Irina.

"Are they getting close?"

"No. But they could. If this isn't sorted out soon."

"And how will it be sorted out?" Slowly and carefully, Irina sat down in the chair facing her boss.