Base- Somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

10:45 pm UTC -10:00

He breathed a sigh of relief and moved a hand through his hair and across his face. "Good, good, good," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. He bit the end of his glasses and looked at his computer. "Now, does that mean you are going to go into the van?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

The young man, Luis, let out a breathless chuckle. "Yes," he said, and the man had a feeling he nodded in confirmation. "I will go ahead and get in your van." He paused and cleared his throat, and the male had a feeling that Luis was thinking of something else. "Do I need to stay on the phone while I do so so that you can make sure that I am doing what I need to do?" he asked, and the man had a feeling that Luis raised his eyebrow in question.

"Oh, no, no, no," the male said, with a small chuckle in his voice as he shook his head. "They will need the phone back. There are a few others... that they need to pick up and will need the phone so that I can get in touch with them when it is time."

Luis paused when the male said that, and the male bit back a small curse and cringed, closing his eyes and pursing his lips in annoyance.

Luis didn't say a word, and the male had a feeling that Luis was waiting for him to explain further.

He sighed and placed his glasses on his table before he moved a hand through his hair and across his face while he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, I am not allowed to say a lot, Mr. Gomez. I did not mean to say what I said, but of course, I did, so I do sincerely apologize for that and hope that you can forgive me."

Luis sighed and cleared his throat. "But you can promise me that my family will be safe, right?" he asked, changing the subject, much to the older male's relief. "Can you see if you can't get my mom some help so that she can stop the stuff that she is doing?"

Guilt and sadness filled the older male's heart, but he hesitated and nodded in confirmation, even though he knew that Luis couldn't see it. "I will try my best," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Do you want to leave your family a message so that they know that you will be safe and that someone will come to collect them?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone call, and the male couldn't help but hesitate and check to see if they were still connected with each other.

Oh thank Gods, the male thought, breathing a small sigh of relief while his whole body grew relaxed. That would have been bad if he hung up before we finished this...

He bit back a small snort and shook his head. Even though I would have been able to call him back, and he would hopefully answer.

Finally, Luis bit back a small sigh. "Ok," he said, and the male had a feeling that Luis nodded in confirmation. "I want to leave a note from my brothers and sisters before I go with them." He paused and cleared his throat. "If that is ok..."

The male chuckled softly, and he nodded slowly. "That is ok, Mr. Gomez," he said softly. "Hand the phone to one of the men with you, and go ahead and do what you need to do. Make sure to pack a bag before you leave as well. Ok?"

Luis bit back a small sigh of relief, and the male had a feeling his shoulders sagged with relief. "Ok, gracias, (thank you)," he said, his voice not hiding the relief that he felt. "Thank you, Sir." He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Here is one of the people that are in the van. I'm going to go ahead and get the stuff done before I leave with them. Thank you again, Sir."

"Anytime," the male said, biting back a small chuckle while he slowly nodded. "Anytime."

There was something shuffling on the other end of the line as Luis handed the phone to one of the "guides" that were sent to collect him before there was a grunt in question, and he had a feeling that Luis left to tell his family what was happening.

"See if you can't get someone to help out their family," he said. "Put them in one of the safe houses. That is the only way that Mr. Gomez will be coming with us without a fight."

There was another grunt on the other end of the phone, and the male knew that was their way of asking a question without speaking and getting in trouble with those they worked for.

What about the main bosses?

The male sighed and moved a hand through his hair and across his face before he shook his head and pursed his lips in annoyance. "I will talk to them," he said. "If they don't like it, then I will take the blame, but this is the only way that Mr. Gomez will come with us."

There was another grunt, and he had a feeling that was their confirmation and they would do what he said and make sure that Mr. Gomez's family would stay safe and be put in one of the safe houses.

"Thank you," the male said, breathing a small sigh of relief. "I will be in touch. Send me a message when Mr. Gomez is on his way to the van and then to the airport. Ok?"

There was a confirmation grunt before the person on the other line of the phone hung up, and the male breathed a tired sigh of relief while he moved a hand through his hair and across his face.

"Oh, Gods," he said and leaned back in his seat while he put his glasses back on his face. "I'm getting too old to be a babysitter," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I hope that they will be able to help this boy and his family. He doesn't need whatever had happened to him to happen."

And with that, he turned to his computer and went to see if the next person was ready to be collected because they were running out of time, and even he knew that...

Five down, and three to go...

Hopefully, the others would be easier to collect and wouldn't make any other "demands" that he didn't know if he would be able to keep...