Ghosts by Matt Rogers (ap literature book list txt) 📕

and Slater no longer had their old government connections.

They no longer had the backing of a global superpower’s defence budget behind them.

They couldn’t pick up the phone and order whatever they wanted. For the near future, their arsenal was limited to what civilians could get their hands on. Thankfully, a small percentage of the population were batshit insane, so civilians could get their hands on some mighty impressive gear.

Slater floored the Rezvani Tank — a “tactical urban vehicle” with a starting price of $269,000 — out of the concealed corner of the garage. They’d express-shipped one of the beasts to their estate upon purchasing the house, simply because you could buy it at the drop of a hat off a website, no questions asked. It was the “Military Edition,” complete with ballistics armour, a 1,000 horsepower V8 engine, “RunFlat” tyres, Kevlar coating on the battery and the fuel tank, and sickeningly large ram bumpers.

Why a civilian would need one was lost on Slater, but if you needed to storm a compound east of Las Vegas owned by a bent judge and guarded by ex-Special Forces private security contractors … well, you were in luck.

He drove, and King had Violetta on loudspeaker.

She and Alexis had opted to remain at the estate and safeguard Melanie on the off chance that the remnants of Gates’ or Ray’s forces had tracked her from Wan’s.

King and Slater, as per usual, were on the frontlines.

Over the phone, Violetta said, ‘I got a follow-up call from Kerr. She’s on our side.’

‘She’s a snake,’ King said. ‘There’s no way she’s telling the truth.’

‘I know when she’s lying,’ Violetta said. ‘She couldn’t fake what I heard from her.’

‘She damn well could. That’s the whole point.’

‘Trust me, Jason.’

‘What did she tell you?’

‘That she’s stalled Icke. We’ve got thirty minutes before he starts in on Elsa and the others.’

‘The others?’

‘Elsa’s being kept alongside two other teenagers. From what I gathered, all three of them have been in the complex for months. Part of some deal to sell them overseas.’

‘Overseas?’

‘Icke’s expanding his operation,’ Violetta said. ‘He has considerable influence, and he’s decided to start using it to go international. Elsa’s part of the first deal, because of the trouble with her mother. She had too much heat on her for them to keep using her at Wan’s.’

King grimaced. ‘They’ve been prisoners this whole time?’

‘Kerr said they’re untouched,’ Violetta said. ‘We got lucky. Icke wanted to preserve them for the buyers, whoever they are.’

Slater went white-knuckled gripping the wheel.

Riding out the anger.

King said, ‘You’ve sent through the address?’

Violetta said, ‘It’s in your messages. How’s Will’s ankle?’

‘Fine,’ Slater said.

‘I’d say twenty percent,’ King said. ‘He’s not going to be able to walk for a week after tonight.’

Slater said, ‘I know what adrenaline does. I’ll be fine.’

‘And if it takes all night?’ Violetta said. ‘If you need to defend the complex from reinforcements?’

‘Then I’ll bunker down and shoot it out.’

‘And if you need to move in a hurry?’

‘Then I’ll cut my foot off so it stops bothering me,’ he said, only half-joking.

‘You don’t need to storm in there,’ she said. ‘You can take them by surprise.’

‘I seriously doubt that,’ King said. ‘After everything that’s unfolded over the last forty-eight hours, everyone’s going to be on their guard.’

Violetta said, ‘It’s tense, but there’s confusion. They’re not going to shoot anyone who shows up on sight.’

‘They might.’

She said, ‘Trust me.’

He thought about it.

Realised he agreed with her.

King said, ‘I do.’

‘If there’s a way to minimise casualties,’ she said, ‘I think it’s best that—’

‘Violetta.’

She stopped.

He said, ‘That’s not what this is.’

He’d made up his mind. He was allergic to this world. No one who knowingly guarded over teenage girls and boys destined for sex trafficking deserved even a moment’s mercy. He wouldn’t consider it. There was no need to make it more complicated than it already was — if King let them live, there’d be the matter of who to hand them to and still ensure unbiased prosecution and conviction. Were Ray and Kerr and Icke outliers, or was there more to it than the trifecta of corruption?

It haunted him when he thought too long about it — just how effectively a trio of evil people could manipulate the system.

A sheriff to arrest who they wanted, a DA to prosecute who they wanted, and a judge to sentence who they wanted.

Find. Charge. Convict.

A three step process as simple as clockwork.

Or to go the other way, as was the case with Armando Gates. A sheriff to ignore distraught witnesses and informants, a DA to ignore prosecutions, and a judge to ignore sentencing. If they wormed themselves into the right positions, they could spend most of their time pursuing the leads and cases that kept their secret business untouched.

Blind in the eyes of the law.

The ultimate betrayal of justice.

Violating everything the system was built on.

King said, ‘I won’t be merciful. I’m asking you not to hold it against me.’

‘Asking?’

‘I’m not going to tell you what to think,’ he said. ‘But this is the way it’s going to go.’

She sighed. ‘Okay. Get it done.’

Slater’s eyes stayed fixed on the road.

King said, ‘How’s Melanie?’

‘Not good,’ Violetta said. ‘She’s tucked up in bed. She almost had a breakdown after you left. She was objective with herself when she was letting it all out, but there’s consequences to being so harsh on yourself. She’s reeling from everything she let Gates do to her, now that she sees it in a different light. That’s the way it always goes. It has to get worse before it gets better.’

‘If you were right about the cocktails, she’ll be going through withdrawals.’

‘Not tonight,’ Violetta said. ‘Her eyes were blurry when I got to Wan’s. When I abducted her the adrenaline got rid of the high and replaced it with a different kind, but the stuff’s still in her system, even if it’s faint. If she gets withdrawals they’ll start tomorrow.’

‘She’ll get them,’ Slater said with the conviction of a man who had a rocky past relationship with drugs.