Simon

Simon - A Hannah Todd Story

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. This work is copyrighted by the author. All characters involved in sexual activity are eighteen years of age or older at the time of portrayal.

This is the continuing adventures of Hannah Todd. I would strongly recommend you read at least some of "The Bridge," "Badass," and "The Auction," which provide the backstory for most of the characters in this story. And if you've been reading me, thank you for your continued support. Your comments are priceless, so please leave your wisdom so I might improve my writing.

Simon - Part Four

Special Agent Carlotta Russo was a good pickup for me. Having her as my in at the F.B.I. was working out just fine. I had asked her to mention the name Simon to bidders and bodyguards she was interrogating and with some of them it hit an obvious nerve. More so with those who worked directly for Teetotaler, the auctioneer, than with any of the others. She told me that two of them were visibly shaken when she mentioned the name to them.

"Miss Todd, they both said that the name meant nothing to them, but their actions spoke differently. They all lawyered up, so nobody is saying much of anything, but everyone is trying to cook some kind of deal. Mostly throwing their mates under the bus to gain their freedom."

"Tell me, Carlotta. What are the chances of getting some of these people out on bail? If they are out and about, maybe I can find a way to get them to talk."

"Oh? And what do you think..."

"It's amazing what I can accomplish outside the confines of the law. If I can get my hands on just the ones who are Teetotaler's people, that could provide me with the information I require to move on to my next step."

"And who is this Simon you are so interested in?"

"Simon is the next step. If you want to see more girls freed, Simon is the key. Speaking of the girls, how are they doing? Have you been interviewing them regarding their captivity?"

"I have a small group of agents interviewing the captive girls. They are mostly a mess. They all have PTSD in one form or another, and many of them won't talk to us at all. They are all scared, except for a handful who are angry and are actively seeking to implicate those who held them captive. Those are the girls you might want to speak with."

"They are. I'd like to videoconference with these girls anonymously, so they don't know who they are talking to. Do you think you can arrange that? I can set up the technology so there won't be any traceable fingerprints."

"You never cease to amaze me, Miss Todd. Must be nice to be so rich."

"It does have its plus side. Try to set something up for me this week in the evening sometime."

"There are three in particular who I believe would want to speak with you. If they knew..."

"Tell them nothing. What they need to know, they will learn from me. I want to see them, but I don't want them to see me. And I want to speak with them alone. No lawyers, no family... just them. I'm counting on you to set this up right."

"I'll see what I can do. I will text you as I line them up. There are three girls in particular who might fit the bill. Two came in on buses and one from a guy named Tagachi, who we have in custody. The way she is talking, she will be an important witness against him in this case."

"Then I want to talk to her first. Tagachi is alive only due to my good graces."

"Please don't burn her as a witness. He was not at the venue when the bust went down, so without her testimony he might walk, Scott free."

"You just make the connection, Carlotta. Let me handle the rest. How about the other girls? Are they receiving medical and psychiatric care?"

"Some are, and some are in facilities; they are so broken. Mostly, we are trying to get them out of federal hands and into state services for now. The ones we returned to their families seem to be doing the best. Those without the support of loving families are having the hardest time. So many of them came at us all at once it's hard to provide the care they all need."

"I think it's time for me to open a new company providing mental health care to the victims of this kind of abuse. Boy, the cycle never ends does it?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Todd. I've seen it all throughout my career with the bureau. The bad guys may be the ones going to jail, but the victims always pay the highest price."

"Well, we do what we can, don't we, Carlotta? You just get those names and contact info for me and I'll take the next step. And let me know how a few bucks might help these girls the most. If I can be part of the solution I want to be."

"Thank you, Miss Todd. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

*CLICK*

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I can't remember the last news cycle that didn't contain a report of or about one or more of the freed girls and women. Every day a tearful young thing was paraded in front of the cameras, telling her story of capture and captivity. They are each a cautionary tale that warned young girls of the dangers that lurk in dark places and around any street corner. Calls to RFS increased by thirty percent every time some poor thing told her tale of woe. Unfortunately, we had to refer out much of that business as few could afford our services and we were pretty booked up.

I needed someone to help me with a new company that could help free these poor young things from the demons they were living with. But I was running out of people to put in charge of things. People I trust that is. So, deep in thought, I remembered my friend William Jenkins, the nurse anesthetist from Hershey who I hadn't been in touch with in too darned long. So I gave him a call.

"William. It's Hannah Todd. Long time, my friend."

"Too long, Hannah. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call? I've been thinking about you lately."

We talked for an extended period, and I found out William had earned his credentials as a C.R.N.P. since we'd last spoken. Still not spot on for the position I was seeking, but I needed trust now more than field experience. But when he told me that he was now working in pain management, I got excited because managing pain was paramount on my agenda.

"William, I'm starting a company that will help manage the trauma of girls and women who have been trafficked and subjected to indignities they could have never imagined in their previous lives. I need someone I trust to run it. It will mean managing psychiatrists and psychologists and an entire team of therapists and peer counselors of all stripes. I can always get administrators, but I need someone to make the big decisions. Someone with a medical background."

"You have a medical background, Hannah. Why not you?"

"Oh, I'm far too busy running everything else in my world. It's nice being rich, but it is very time-consuming."

"I almost forgot how rich you are. You know, having known you from before you were. I understand you're a billionaire now."

"Right on the cusp. Some days I am, and some days I'm just your average multi-millionaire."

"So what is it that you think I can do for you?"

"To run my new company... Let's call it Todd Therapy Services. Come on board and I will pay you a ridiculously high salary with a bonus structure that will allow you to live in a fashion you could become accustomed to."

"Things out here in Hershey have been okay, but I must admit, I am getting a little bored. Living in Philly could certainly pick things up for me. Not to mention working for you. Let me think about it and do some research. Then maybe you and I can kick it around a bit and see if there is something there."

"I can't ask for more than that, William. Call me in the next few days and let's see if we can put it together. I'm already getting excited at the thought of it. And of having you back in my life."

"Oh, rich lady's not getting any sex?"

"Don't worry about that. This rich lady is getting plenty. And I'm in love too, so you and I will be having a strictly professional relationship, as well as a good friendship. That never goes away."

"Thanks for thinking of me, Hannah. I'll be in touch soon."

*CLICK*

Moving to the Philadelphia area certainly opens up a lot of options for William, both professionally and socially.

Being a socialite whose pet cause was the care of psychologically damaged and abused women, it was not a stretch that I would be putting my money into this cause. Without undue notice, that is. Not wanting to create a connection between me and the news stories of freed trafficked girls, my philanthropy in this area acted as a shield against those who might make a connection that could bring us down.

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On Thursday, I heard from Special Agent Russo regarding the girls I wanted to speak with. She had scheduled two of the three girls I planned on speaking with, and I started with Tatiana Aleiva, the daughter of Russian immigrants. She had been taken right off the street without warning. Russo said that she was the angriest of the three and the most willing to cooperate in order to exact her pound of flesh from those who did her harm. But instead of a videoconference, I decided to call her from a burner phone routed around the world by Alec, so it wouldn't be traced back to me should anyone be trying to track me. So I dialed her up with fingers crossed.

"Hello," the young woman said with a thin Eastern European accent.

"Hello Tatiana. I was referred to you by an agent of the F.B.I. Do you have a minute to speak?"

"Who is this and what is the nature of your call?"

"Let's just say I'm a friend. And I'm looking to help you out with a mutual problem. In time you will know plenty about me, but for now I'd like to keep my identity confidential."

"How can I trust you?"

"Because I am the one responsible for ending your bondage. For setting you free."

"Prove it, lady."

Then I went about telling her the story of the auction and my team's part in it. Nobody else could know the details like I did unless they had been there. I hadn't, but I'd seen the entire thing through the camera mounted within a wasp drone.

"How do I know..."

"You don't. But sometimes you just have to trust." And she did. At least for now.

We talked for half an hour; about her captivity and the punishments she endured and the abuse at the hands of evil men that had been her life for the past eight months. I asked her about where she had been and if there were names she knew that might help me to pin down some abusers. Then I hit her with the knockout punch.

"Were you ever under the thumb of a man named Simon? He is my main target right now."

"I know this name, Simon. I spent time before the auction serving him. I do not know how long as I never got to see clocks or calendars. He was cruel, as cruel as any man I have met during this journey. I would kill him if I saw him again."

"Well, I'm looking for him and would be happy to place him at your feet should I apprehend him. Anything you could tell me that could help with that would be appreciated. I know what he looks like, but I do not know where he is at the time. What say you?"

"Tennessee. I was brought to the auction from his place in Tennessee. I heard them talking about it. But he did not come with. Only six of us girls in a closed van were taken from him to be put up for auction."

"Did anyone mention West Virginia?"

"No, but they did mention Maryland. That's where we were freed. When the vigilantes came and freed us, I tried to escape so that I could kill Simon and his people, but the police came before I could get close to them. There were guns everywhere, and if I could have gotten close I would have killed as many as I could."

"I'm sure you saw that somebody killed plenty of them."

"I did. But all those dead bodies could not stem my anger, and Simon was not among them."

"So, I understand. But I'm looking for him, and if I catch him, I may just let you be the one that brings his sorry ass to an end."

"Then I will help you in any way I can. I can describe him if you wish."

"No, I've got that. What I need now is a location."

"All I can really tell you is that there was lots of mountains around. Very woodsy."

"Tell me about the property."

"You wouldn't know there is a building there. Everything was underground. But the property was fenced. That's about all I saw. Even the parking was underground."

"Did anyone mention the name of a town while you were there?"

"Gatlinburg. Someone talked about stopping in Gatlinburg to gas up. But other than that the men who transported us were pretty quiet."

"Do you recall how far from where you started it was till you stopped in Gatlinburg?"

"It wasn't long. Maybe half an hour."

"Thank you, Tatiana. You have been most helpful. Would you mind if I called you again with more questions?"

"If you can kill more of those assholes, you can call all you want. Will I ever know who you are?"

"That is to be determined, Tatiana. Right now our relationship is our little secret. Understood?"

"Totally. Let me know how I can help."

I followed up the call by calling the other girl, a Minnie Shore, who feigned bravery but cried through the entire conversation. She was of no help at all. So, I crossed her off the list.

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Something that kept sticking in my brain is the reference to Simon living underground. Is that just a metaphor, or does he truly live under the ground? Duane's basement is a small example of what can be done underground. The subbasement in my new pool house to be will be an example as well, but on a larger scale than Duane's. A testament to my cleverness and Duane's brilliance.

So, I'm looking for a fairly large plot of land, without any buildings, in either Tennessee or West Virginia and half an hour from Gatlinburg, TN, and there are lots of mountains. Well, that pins us down some, but not very much. Hopefully we can find someone who might tell us where we can find Simon. That phone link is looking more and more appealing every day. But if I use it and fail, then Simon will evaporate.

But he must ply his trade, or his funds will dry up. It's not cheap running an evil enterprise. Especially when you must run it in stealth mode. But like with Teetotaler, he must have another auctioneer to lord over. Or several. Teetotaler is the key. If he has mates, and I know that he has, there's gonna be an auction, and I just have to find out when and where. Oh, that's all. Time to squeeze Mr. Teetotaler.

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He was no Milquetoast, but he looked so pitiful sitting on that metal chair, chained up and naked as the day he was born. I feel great power in confronting my opponents in this way. It makes them so much more docile and amenable to my requests. But Teetotaler did not succumb to my charms so easily, and put up a pretty good fight. For that he payed.

Avi and Hoagie were with me, my two most insidious minds, and Avi had no problem kicking the cattle prod up to number 3 out of ten, and poking our guest in the gut with it. All things considered, he took it well, and did not immediately show me his cards. At least he didn't puke.

"Tell me, Mr. Teetotaler, who is most likely to be Simon's next auctioneer? We know he needs to deal to pay his bills. Tell me, or the next step is number 5 on the prod and in a more delicate area of the body. Say the..."

"My closest competitor is Thomas Truth. Not his real name, of course, but he thinks, given our industry, it has a certain ring to it. Heisan honest broker and is held in high esteem in the community. Simon will go there to broker deals. He owns Truth like he owns me."

"No, he don't own you no more, Miles. You're mine now. Lock, stock and barrel. To,obviously, do what I want with you."

"I'll skin him alive, Miss," Hoagie said in his best South Philly accent, as he pulled out that knife of his. Opened and ready for business. Teetotaler pissed himself. I guess he just couldn't hold it anymore. I guess that's why they seat him in a bare metal chair.

Teetotaler gave me Thomas Truth's latest contact information, and I set about figuring my next move. This was too big for me alone. I would need counsel from my top advisors. And of course, my general.

"Clean him up, boys. And feed him decent food. We will have much to talk about, Miles. Enjoy the small luxuries for now. When the cooperation stops, so do they." And out the door I went.

Next up, Deacon Peacock. Every step is a step closer. He would be my confirmation, and I would be testing his character once again, hoping to find little of it. I found confirmation from him about Mr. Truth.

"Yeah, Tom Truth is a good man. From my point of view, of course. He is a straight shooter and a man of his word. That is why his outfit has been around so long. His client list is shorter than Teetotaler's, but it's plenty heavy. He'll do fifty to a hundred an auction and everyone makes out."

"Except the girls, Deacon. They lose, big time because of pricks like you. But there's payback, Peacock, and it's overdue. But like I've said a zillion times, I hate to kill my guests. Making them miserable... well that's another thing. And just remember, Deke, we're on a pay as you go plan. You don't work for dinner, you don't eat. Show him what he'd be missing, boys. Feed him well."

I went to leave the room but turned back to him with a question. "Tell me, Deacon. Can you give me Truth's contact information?"

"Do you have my contacts list? It would be on there."

"Tell me, how many other auctioneers are on that contact list? I'd really like to know."

"There should be three, besides Miles. Four altogether. But Miles is the most prominent."

"And now he's mine. Names, Deacon, names?"

And he gave me the identities of the three other auctioneers, and I danced out of there like Fred Astaire. Homeward bound with Hoagie at the wheel and Avi riding shotgun, we discussed what could be done with the contact information for all of these traffickers. Then the three of us headed to the office and checked Contacts on the blue memory stick.

With Avi at the keyboard, we explored the memory stick and found, in Contacts, the information for all the named individuals. Each of the files had a notation that each was an actor. Except for these four, no other files had that notation. Mind you, others had notations. But not as actors.

Besides Teetotaler, there was Clunky Doyle up in Boston; Thomas Truth, out of New York and L'Cheetah Bolinski in Atlanta. But they all seemed to hang far from their addresses of record.

With my hand to my wrist, I said, "Call Aurelia Spanner"

"Hannah, darling. How is my girl?"

"Do you know why you're hearing from me out of the blue?

Isn't it always the way I hear from you? Either way, it's always a joy, and darned profitable. What's up, dearie?"

I've been digging. And finding gold."

I explained to her that I had found information on three other auctioneers besides Teetotaler, and that I wanted her to do a deep dive into each of them. "Whatever it takes, Rhee. Simon needs to make money and this is where he eats."

"Gotcha, girlfriend. I'm putting my best people on it right now. Including me. Give me until Monday, and I'll give you a full report."

"And don't skimp on Teetotaler, either. I may have him, but I want to know everything about him. He should find that unsettling as I dress him down and he tells me everything I wish to know."

Simon Ch. 04

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