Chapter 2

Avril browsed through her acceptance letter again and her heart ached. Deciding to move on from the idea, she placed the letter in her memory box and shoved it under her bed. That was all the idea of going off to that college was now, a memory and an unfulfilled dream. She sighed and made her way downstairs, her parents were entertaining a couple of their friends and her presence was needed.

Avril was basically socially awkward and being around people was something she often cringed from. She never knew exactly how to react or behave. In a nutshell she felt uncomfortable.

"Hello." She announced her arrival, the rest of the greetings were lost to her...as most of the night. Avril schooled a pleasant look upon her features, nodded when she thought she needed to and spoke when summoned to. All the while hoping for the people to just leave.

"I heard you got accepted to that university." Mrs Chambers directed at Avril who, at the mention of her failed dream almost choked on the glass of wine she was drinking.

She immediately looked to her parents and then back to the woman.

"I did, but I think I will just stay in this country for school." She replied, smiling in a manner that misrepresented the way she felt.

"That's too bad." Mr. Chambers commented. "Our daughter also got accepted. It's a marvellous university." He directed the comment at her parents. "Your daughter is lucky to have gotten accepted, not a lot of people have the opportunity. Despite her decision to stay here, I am sure you are very proud of her."

"We are." Mr Stock replied, "We are also happy she is staying close to home."

"Oh," Mrs. Chambers butted in. "It does have an appeal to have one's children always with them, but the academic achievements of our children are more important than our needs. The university is one of the very best and based on what your daughter wants to pursue, it has the best programs for her."

Having heard enough, and feeling emptier by the second at the continuous mention of a school she had tried to forget, Avril rose instantly. "I am sorry, but I need to be excused." She planted a smile on her features, her eyes avoiding that of her parents.

She spun on her heels at the confirmation that she may go and made her way directly into her room.

Avril lay belly first on her bed, headphones plugged in while she brainstormed what plot twist she should have in her story. She was an avid reader and writing stories on the side was a way for her to be adventurous, to escape the dullness of her everyday life.

Avril groaned as she turned up the volume in her headphones. No amount of distractions was helping her. She hated having to just lie here and accept whatever fate her parents decided for her.

She buried her face into her pillows and let the music calm her. Finding herself halfway between consciousness and sleep, Avril jumped at the heated contact to her arm.

Her eyes widened and her heart rate began to subside as her parents came into view. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" She accused, rolling and snuggling further into her soft mattress. They laughed.

"Sorry for waking you but we need to talk." Her father interjected as she struggled to sit upright in her bed, all signs of fatigue gone.

"He was tracking the man for months until..."

"Until he was stupid enough to get himself killed?" Thomas interjected as he was being given the details of his new assignment.

"Well, that's one way of putting it." his contact within the organization responded.

"Did he find out where they are housing the girls?" Thomas questioned as he pulled on his jacket and straightened his tie.

"He did. But they aren't all housed in the same location, there are about twelve different places. They want you to storm the headquarters while other agents will take care of the other locations."

"Send me the coordinates and the contacts of the men you are prepping for the job. We all need to attack at the same time. I'll work out the kinks."

"Sending the information to you now. Derek Reacher is to be killed on site, as for his men, you are free to do what you choose." The line went dead.

Thomas dropped his phone onto the hotel bed. Derek Reacher...a man who controlled an infamous sex ring. It pleased Thomas to be a part of his demise, men like Reacher always rubbed him the wrong way.

He couldn't wait to kill the bastard but for now, his main priority was freeing the girls he had abducted.

"Going somewhere?"

Thomas looked towards the bathroom door where this latest conquest stood. Her body bare and teasing. "Back to work, I'm afraid." He responded lightly, feeling some satisfaction as her smile morphed into a frown.

He grabbed up his belongings and left. Immediately after he safely entered his car he made the necessary calls. The attack was scheduled for that night, and he had the perfect cover to get into the headquarters without being suspected.

Thomas pulled up in front of a warehouse, his eyes scanning. It wasn't as heavily guarded as he expected, just about eight heavily guarded men but he was certain there were more inside. He didn't carry any weapons, they would search him anyway and he needed to give the impression that he was just a casual buyer.

"Mr. Green." A stout man greeted him by his alias as he exited the car.

"Good evening, gentlemen." He responded casually as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers. They circled him and led him to the entrance of the warehouse. Thomas inwardly smirked. This is what passed for ample security? He had no qualms about his own ability to devastate this operation.

Some of the men patted him down. He rose an intimidating eyebrow at them. "Are we done with the trivialities men?"

One of the more aggressive men stared at him harshly and Thomas made the conclusion that his job was to intimidate. "Good, so if we can skip the foreplay and head on to the more satisfying aspect of our deal, I would appreciate it." He spoke confidently, eyeing each man.

"My contact didn't tell me you were this impatient." Thomas' attention went directly to the man entering the large space, four men surrounding him.

"There is a lot of things your contact probably didn't tell you," Thomas replied. Reacher smiled eerily.

"Probably." He responded ominously.

"Well Mr Reacher, are we here to chat, or are you going to show me the merchandise?" Thomas felt some satisfaction as the man's lip twitched.

"You haven't told me your preferences, Mr. Green." He countered.

"What do you offer?" Thomas needed to buy time. He would be alerted when the other locations were about to be stormed, so for now he needed to stall.

"Everything. We provide from all cultures, races. Do you have any specifications?"

"Hmm, well I do prefer my women to be untainted." He responded and deep down it was true. He enjoyed his flings and one night stands but an untainted woman was hard to find. He didn't exactly mean virgins, a woman could be experienced but untainted. He guessed it was hard to explain what his ideal woman was.

Reacher smiled. "I believe I can make that happen. We had a new shipment today, all untouched and as you put it...untainted."

"Excellent. But of course, I would like to see for myself." Thomas replied.

"Of course," Reacher replied as he signaled to one of his men. Four of them disappeared behind an entrance leading further into the warehouse. "Just give us a minute while we prepare the girls for your visit. If you like you may also test the product, free of charge of course."

Thomas smiled despite his innate urge to decapitate this bastard. "Thank you for the offer." He replied lightly. He was excellent at what he did so his disgust for this man, no matter how profound, was not transparent.

One of the four men re-entered and signalled. "This way, Mr. Green."

Thomas followed, all the while mapping the nine henchmen, he could tell a lot about their 'skills' by the way they moved. Most were just overconfident, thinking that brandishing a firearm made them invincible.

Thomas was led to a smaller space than the one he was just in. About forty girls stood in two rows, shaking and terrified. They were flanked by the three goons that had left before.

"Is this all?" Thomas questioned, his hands burning. He couldn't wait to get his hands on these men.

"All that meets your requirements," Reacher responded as his gazed travelled hungrily over the barely clad women...some girls as young as fourteen.

"I see," Thomas replied as he pretended to study the women.

"How about we talk numbers?" Thomas questioned, "You can put your girls back for the time."

With a signal, the girls were hoarded back into a large container and soon the room only comprised of Thomas, Reacher and his men.

"How many of them do you want?" Reacher questioned.

"All." Thomas replied instantly.

Reacher laughed. "You want all forty of them? For what purpose?"

"Yes all forty of them as for the purpose...that's my affair."

"I would still like a hint." Reacher probed.

"I act as supplier to many underground agencies," Thomas replied, his watch beeping spontaneously. "Oh sorry about that." He apologised as he turned the sound off, his heart rate increasing. It was the signal he was waiting.

"Well since your acting as retailer, I am afraid I will have to jack up my usual prices."

"By how much?" Thomas questioned.

"About ten percent," Reacher replied and Thomas feigned to be affected. He turned around in what would seem an attempt at clearing his head, but he was really getting a look at the twelve armed men's positions.

"Is that your final price? I mean I am spending a lot of money as it is." Thomas tried to negotiate.

"Sorry, that's my final offer."

Thomas raked his fingers through his hair, "Well, here's my counter..." His words soft but the threat in them unmistakable. He firstly attacked the armed gunman flanking his right, using his gun to eliminate most of the threat.

Thomas had Reacher by the neck. The hated man battered and bruised and Thomas just wanted to see him even more so. Broken limbs were not enough.

"I am guessing your name isn't Green." The man spurted, blood oozing from broken teeth.

"Pretty perceptive for a dead man." Thomas taunted.

"What do you want? Money? I can get you whatever you want." The man begged for his life. Thomas inwardly laughed, why was it that all the men he brought down always assumed he wanted money?

"I want to purge the world of you." Thomas replied as he raised a gun to Reacher's forehead.