It was normal for me to come down to the station and help out my dad on a few tough cases he had. Sometimes, I would help the other officers. I was such a familiar face around here, the security guard and I were friends.

When I walked in, I greeted everyone and they reciprocated the pleasantries. One of the officers who was probably working the same case as my dad, hugged me when he saw and let me know how glad he was that I was there. He was letting me know how much the case has him driving up a wall.

How bad is it?

"Dad." I called his attention while he talked with the other officers. He turned around and gestured for me to come closer.

"Gentlemen, you remember my daughter. She's helped us many times before," he reminded them and they nodded politely.

"Let's go, your brothers are interrogating him right now." He led me to the interrogation room. We stood behind the glass watching Oliver and Logan. Oliver sat in front of the man who looked rather business-like while Logan stood, leaning against the wall.

I watched silently while they questioned him. Something seemed off about the man. He was hiding something and was trying his hardest to keep it hidden.

"Why does he seem to be in a rush?" I asked dad, keeping my eyes trained on the man, who kept checking the time on his Rolex watch.

"He says he has an important meeting in Syria." Something about when he mentioned Syria seemed familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"What exactly are we looking for Dad?" I queried.

"See, every month exactly a dozen girls go missing. At first we thought it was some online group thing or something. But after a few weeks they never came back." He briefed me on the case he was working on.

"Do they have anything in common?" He shook his head.

"Just their ages, between 18-25," It was then it clicked what they were dealing with.

"Human trafficking." It was more of a statement than a question. Yeah, this was definitely bad.

"Precisely and we think businessmen are behind it, except we don't know who. The why though; probably because their businesses are running low or their greed for money and power." Suddenly I remembered why Syria seemed so familiar to me. When Mr. Harris and Ramirez came to the company that's where they said they wanted to expand in.

"Where did he say his meeting was?" I asked, my mind running a million miles per hour trying to connect the dots.

"Syria, why?" He examined my face with furrowed eyebrows, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

I snapped my fingers when I figured it out. "Because he's basically telling you where the whole operation is, without telling you. They move around but still."

"Why would they do that?" I gave him a duh look.

"Because they're businessmen. Who would question them if they said they have an 'important meeting' somewhere?" I stated using air quotations. His mouth formed an 'o' shape in realization.

"Alright, I'll tell them so they can try and get a reaction out of him. Thanks sweetie," He kissed my cheek and I smiled brightly like a child about to be rewarded with candy.

"Dad, if you arrest him, be on alert that their location will change because the others will hear about it," I warned him and he groaned.

"In other words, back to square one." I nodded in confirmation and he pinched his nose bridge.

"Be careful, Astrid." I could see the fear in his eyes. I fell in the age category of the other women, so he had every right to be worried. I am honestly scared too, regarding Mr. Ramirez's threat. Speaking of.

"I'll be fine, Dad. Which reminds me, arrest Mr. Paul Harris and Andrea Ramirez. They're behind it too, trust me," I informed him and he nodded.

"Got it. Wait, how do you know them?" He called, stopping me in my tracks.

"I got a new job." He looked at me shocked and confused. "I'll tell you about it later. Say hi to Oliver and Logan for me." I waved goodbye and went back to work.

"Blaire." I stopped at her receptionist's desk the second I walked in the building.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

"Do you remember Ramirez and Harris that came the other day for my first meeting here?" I asked, hoping she remembers them.

"Yeah, why?" She drew out in uncertainty.

"Did they bother you in any way or talk to you?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I don't understand."

"Did they, Blaire?" I asked impatiently yet worried.

"Uh, Ramirez was observing me for a rather long time, in a creepy kind of way. He looked over at Harris who shook his head in disgust or something. Then they just asked me to announce them to Gio," I sighed in relief.

That probably means to them, Blaire wasn't good enough. You would think her blonde hair, striking blue eyes and her age would capture them but it didn't. Thank God.

"Why is this so important?" she asked, confused.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Tell Mr. Pierce I'm back please."

She nodded while staring at me in an unsure manner. I stepped into the elevator and went to my cubicle. The minute I sat down, Mr. Pierce called me to his office through the intercom.

"Sir," I called, stepping in.

"Did everything go well with whatever your father needed help with?" he asked. I was shocked by his question because I didn't understand the relevance behind the question.

"I was of help, yes" I answered and he looked up and nodded his head to the stack of papers in front of him.

"Complete these," he ordered without a please. I noticed that was something about him. He never said 'please' or thank you'.

"You can finish it here but before you start, get a cup of coffee for us both." He said without looking up at me, completing his work. I didn't question why he wanted me to do the work here when I could do it in my cubicle because the man seemed to hate when people asked him too many questions.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me and went to get the cups of coffee. Placing it in front of him and putting mine to the side, I looked at the stack and sighed.

This is going to be a long day.

I stopped and let out a tired sigh while cracking my knuckles. My gaze landed on the clock which read half past seven. I glanced at Mr. Pierce who looked tired himself. Does this man not know when to take a break?

I went to go back to the few documents left when I heard a soft groan. I peeked up at him and realized that this might be it. He might actually go home and finish tomorrow.

"Astrid, go home. You can finish tomorrow," he instructed me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I could say the same for you, Sir." He tensed when I called him Sir. I deliberately did it to keep it professional between us. No matter how hot he looked with his loosened tie, his shirt folded to his elbows and his hair messy due to the amount of times he ran his fingers through it. I just wanted to spread out in front of him on his desk with my- Stop Astrid.

"It's late and we're both tired, Mr. Pierce. I say we go home and get some rest," I emphasized because I knew he would go home and try to finish the work, forgetting about sleep.

While he stared at me, I saw something flicker in his eyes but before I could decipher it, it was gone. He sighed and nodded lazily.

"Go get your stuff, I'll have Liam drop you home also." I opened my mouth to object but he gave me a blank look which shut me up. I stood to my feet, gathering the documents together, carrying them to my cubicle for tomorrow. I picked up my bag and left the building.

Liam stepped out of the car and smiled when he saw me. He looked behind my shoulder and greeted, "Stressful day Astrid?"

He opened the door for me and I chuckled, "You have no idea."

3/3/21

Au revoir.....

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