The Auction

The Auction - A Hannah Todd Story

The Auction - 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" and "Badass," 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.

The Auction - Part Eleven

When Ronnie showed up with Alec and Anthony, I was giving Duane a good-luck kiss and telling him to be careful and not to fuck things up. "Move quietly and with caution. I'll be watching and listening from here with my inside crew." Hoagie, Ninja, Romy and Lizzie. Archer, who would be flying with Juicy on the mission, would be there too. We would do dinner after the kids were done and then adjourn to the office and videoconference room to watch the action as recorded by the bodycams and rifle cams. I would be on pins and needles the entire time.

Bertha stuck around to make dinner for the crew after the kids were fed and dispatched upstairs for tablet time and bedtime. Salads for some of us, and breakfast for dinner for the rest. Everyone ate as we spoke except me. I just picked at my salad nervously and made small talk with Hoagie about his kids. We saved all talk of the mission for the office, when we would be free from Holly and Aggie's curious ears. There is absolutely no reason for them to know what's going on.

Our team would not arrive on site and disembark from the cars until after dark, approximately eight-thirty. And I started to pace, as the feed from the bodycams and the comm-link were not yet active. Lizzie dragged me out to the Greenhouse with the others so that we could talk about tonight's mission.

"Did you have to send so many people out on this mission?" Ninja asked. "I would think two or three people would do the trick."

"No," I said. "Duane wanted our team, who will be leading the mission, out there and knowing every blade of grass we will be walking on. He wants the snipers to find their roosts and the guys leading the charge to have already walked the earth where they will be raising hell. This will be the quintessential SEAL mission, without the blowing stuff up part."

Herb was in the closet tonight, and he had all the body cams set to view like a videoconference on our big screen in the videoconference room. Audio was set, and the comm-link was on. The team disembarked at eight-forty-five, and headed into the woods. They moved quietly until they were the requisite fifty yards from the tree line. Tish found a nice nook to set her equipment up and Rapper stood guard over her.

Tish whispered to Duane as she hacked into the ASRs, One Eagle drone and two cyberdogs she detected on the property. From the team's vantage point, they could detect two human baddyguards at the front entry door and a team of two walking the perimeter of the warehouse, just inside where the dim lights shone, giving the only light in the area.

When the team of two made the turn around the building to move toward the back, our snipers climbed up on trees they thought suitable for their job. Herman was in the middle, Caroline to his right and Kevin to his left. Once in position they turned on the cameras attached to their scopes, and three new screens opened up on the monitor we were watching.

At about nine fifteen, Tish told Duane that she had enough video to create loops for each of the robotic guards to blind those who were watching to what was really happening on the ground. The guards at the front door had a single Cyberdog, who just sat and looked vigilant as the computer chips that were his brain scanned nothing but the video loop Tish was feeding it. The Cyberdog with the baddyguards walking the perimeter went to ground and stopped functioning altogether. Not that uncommon with the sometimes technologically stubborn dogs. The Eagle drone just flew around like nothing was going on.

As the baddyguards in the back were struggling to carry the Cyberdog, stuck at the back of the warehouse, our snipers, cameras rolling, scanned the warehouse, from top to bottom and side to side. There was nobody on top of the warehouse, but Herman focused, momentarily on a gun mount which, we expected, would hold a fifty-caliber machine gun. The operator of that gun was a dead man walking. He would be Herman's first target.

The team spread out and surrounded the warehouse, getting a good look, and videos from their bodycams, of the building itself; revealing doors on each side and the rear of the warehouse. All regular sized entry doors, the only garage doors being in the front, which we avoided so as not to disturb the two baddyguards at the front door.

The guards carrying the downed Cyberdog entered via an entry door at the back of the warehouse, as Avi observed them from the treeline through the scope on his rifle. The lights were dim inside the warehouse but there was some movement inside, which Avi couldn't identify. However, our wasp drones, which Tish had on one of her monitors detected four people moving around inside, and as they approached the guards carrying in the dog, the damned thing sprang to life and jumped out of their arms. He then ran himself into a pillar and knocked itself out. That Tish has some sense of humor.

Once the snipers had taken enough shots of the surroundings from the high up point of view, and determined that the tree line was, indeed, one hundred and thirty meters from the building, they climbed down and joined up with the others who had done their rounds and gotten lots of photos and video of the warehouse and its surroundings. Then it was time for Tish to release the technology and for the team to head home. Mission accomplished.

When the cars came around and picked up the operators, the bodycams went blank, and I heaved a sigh of relief. Nobody injured and nobody detected. It was a clean mission pulled off by the best in the business. Kudos to Alec and Anthony for taking the lead and making that possible.

It would be two and a half hours until the boys were home, so I began to pace again. The boys left, but Lizzie held Romy back, and she dragged the two of us into the hot tub to chill out. Even in the comfort of my favorite mode of relaxation, I was still a wreck until Duane got home.

When he got home, the house was totally quiet, and I awaited him in the bedroom with nothing on but my big, fluffy robe. I was lying on the bed, checking out the videos taken by the bodycams tonight when Duane entered at about one in the morning. I immediately opened my robe and flashed him, and, like the good soldier he is, he stripped down and attacked me. Oh so good.

There was no pillow talk tonight. We were both too exhausted. Especially after our little romp in the hay. Sleep came easy. But the morning came quickly.

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"You were up late last night." Holly said to me as I came into the kitchen to fetch some coffee. "And what's with the late-night crowd? I wanted to check it out, but I was afraid to come out of my bedroom."

"Just business, Holl. RFS never sleeps, and the security of our clientele is ever-present on our minds. It's not your business to worry about it."

"No, it's Duane's. Why are you always so involved? You certainly don't give the time to your other companies in the Enterprise that you do with RFS, Recovery and Acquisitions, whatever that is."

"You know what you need to know. Just keep signing the checks and we'll be good to go. After the divorce, they will no longer come under the auspices of Todd-Bernstein and will be my problem and not yours."

"RFS is still very profitable right now, and I hate giving up those revenues."

"As much as you hate giving up your wife, Holly?"

"See, I knew you would go there. Why does it always have to be about you, Hannah? When is it gonna be aboutus?"

"It stopped being aboutuswhen Chuck Miller entered the picture. Don't you worry your pretty little head off, wife. The enterprise will still be worth a billion by the end of the year. Even without RFS."

"Speaking of Chuck, the Olympics are coming up, and I hope you are still coming."

"Have you planned for our coming? The kids have been looking forward to it, and I've got Becca and Aggie and a full guard contingency scheduled for that time period."

"Of course. Just checking. These are very valuable tickets we have, and Celeste is looking forward to spending time with the swim team."

"And I'm sure Harriet and her mates are looking forward to having their favorite mascot on board."

"Well, it's only two months away, so I hope you won't be too busy."

"I've already cut the week out of my schedule, so count on us being there, one way or another."

"Good. I know that Gloria and Harriet would be very disappointed if you missed it. Harriet's got an excellent chance of medalling in the one hundredandtwo hundred meter backstroke events."

"I know. That's all Gloria is talking about these days. I believe she is taking five of my people, including Rapper Malone, with her. That's money in the bank for RFS. And some of my best people will be with us."

"And the babies?"

"I'll have my SEALs watching over them, and Caroline and Juicy. Herman and Peggy will be coming with us, so I will be leaving Hoagie and Alec in charge of the house, and Avi and Anthony will run RFS and the other two companies from the Navy Yard while we are gone."

After excusing myself from Holly, Caroline and I went for our five-mile run, and I got myself cleaned up and dressed to go to the safe house. Time to commune with Mr. Butler. Time to prepare him for the auction.

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Dressed in pink scrubs, James Butler was ready for something. Anything, he was so bored. We had segregated him from the other visitors, dressed him, and fed him decently. I had made him a deal that both spared his life and made him a reluctant employee of mine. Unofficially, of course.

He would be joining my inside people at the auction, and he'd need to be prepared to confront people he may have known from past dealings as Peacock's number two. With that in mind, I was going to bring the two men together to have a conversation about how this was all going to play out.

Of all my captives, Peacock had the best and biggest room. He also had that damned bird with him. But we brought Butler into his room for the meeting. Dom and Hoagie came too. Dom to intimidate and Hoagie to interrogate.

When we marched Butler into the room, Peacock was aghast. He couldn't believe we had his second in command. But said nothing. He just gave the man a cold stare.

"So,Deke," I said. "Guess who is going to the auction."

"Me, I guess. And Mr. Butler here. I thought you were dead, James. Yet you seem resurrected from the ashes of Peacock Manor."

"Not resurrected," I said. "Bought and paid for. I'm considering not taking you to the auction and taking Mr. Butler in your stead. I understand he's quite experienced, and he has pledged his loyalty to me."

"He did the same for me. See where it got me?"

"Oh, it's not his fault you are here, but it's your fault he is going in your stead. He will be taking people who will be acting as your proxies at auction. And you are going to help. That is if you don't want an intimate relationship with a cattle prod and a good whoopin' by Big Dom over here."

"What must I do now?

"Just take a phone call. When Mr. Butler and crew are at the auction, he may have to call you to vouch for his bringing proxies in your stead to this auction. Don't worry, it will be a short call that will come in on Wednesday night. You'll be prepared by then, but will you be willing? If not, it will be regrettable, and I can promise you the longest, most painful death imaginable."

"That's right, birdman," Hoagie said. "You won't be the first man I've skinned alive. But you will be the hungriest by the time I'm done with you. You'll be begging me to kill you."

Hoagie, the old grifter, had a way of making it all sound true, and it made Peacock shudder.

"Don't you worry, Miss Todd. I'm long past resisting. I will continue to cooperate with the hope that someday you will givemea deal."

"You never can tell, Deacon. There are still things I may want from you. Quite different from what my associate here wishes for you."

"Then I shall be your humble servant."

"Like my friend, Charlie the Chicken, who is out there free ranging it. Right, Mr. Butler?"

"Did you talk to Tendler, James? Is he really out there and free?"

"He is," Butler said. "And Miss Todd has him wrapped around her finger. I've never seen anything like it. If I were you, I would take her at her word. She is one badass."

"So I've come to know."

"Well, Mr. Peacock," I said. "Jimmy here is going to the auction, and I may need you to vouch for him as your proxy. So, in a couple of days, you will be on standby so that we might wrap that loose end up. Are you with me?"

"Do I have much of a choice?"

"You always have a choice. It can be a good one or a very, very bad one. Blow it, and Hoagie will get his wish."

"There's no chance of that. I will cooperate and do your bidding. Just leave Raven and I alone and your wish is my command."

"Good to hear. Come on, Jimmy. We have much to talk about."

We left Peacock's room and went back to the room Butler was occupying. We talked about past auctions and how he planned to conduct himself. I told him that Hoagie would be in charge of his contingency, but that Romy would appear to be in charge, posing as Francois Peintre.

I let him know he would be adorned with a C-4 condom ready to blow at my command, and that there would be another group of my people on the inside unidentified to him. I laid out how I expected the mission to go, and he shook throughout the entire presentation. Remember, this guy is a paperwork guy, not a combatant. But he has also held power, and he was feeling pretty powerless right now. And mighty compliant. A lot of 'yes ma'ams' and not many 'no ma'ams' came out of his mouth.

Hoagie had one of Lizzie's cameras, and he took several facial shots and a couple of full body shots of Miss Peintre; so the makeup artist could replicate her face onto Romy's. We already had her I.D. so no fake identification would have to be made, unlike the rest of our inside people, for whom Lizzie would get forged documents made.

While the photos were being taken, Greta Goldheimer volunteered to go to the auction, but it made me suspicious that she offered. So I didn't even consider it.

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I wanted more on Mr. Yosh Tagachi, the Asian bidder who would be attending the auction. We had the book on the guy, both from facial recognition and from Peacock, who said he was a good customer of his and that he worked with mostly the Asian market, exporting white girls to mostly Japan and Hong Kong and bringing in girls from Southeast Asia. Our plan was to hijack him on the way to the auction, and Ninja would go in his stead.

So I had Peacock contact the guy and ask if a friend and proxy of his could get an early look at any girls he might be showing at the upcoming auction.

"Tell me, Deacon," Tagachi asked. "How do you know about the auction? I thought you were out of the loop. Who is your source?"

"I can't say, but I want in. I need some product, and so does this guy, Handler. He likes them young, and he likes them Asian. Do you think I can arrange a visit from him? Just to poke around. He won't buy until the auction. He's just trying to get an edge. Are you offering much this time around?"

"I'm bringing a dozen girls, stock is low or I would bring more. What kind of money does this guy have? Maybe we can make a side deal if the money is right."

"The guy's loaded, and he only buys with gold. Never with free credits. I think he'd be amenable to a side transaction, as long as you don't let Teetotaler know. He would take great exception to not getting his cut."

"I don't know. The auction is on Wednesday, and it's already Monday. It would have to be tomorrow. I could arrange it if it's early in the day. Say nine-ish?"

"I could do that. Once the location is given tomorrow night, all deals are off as I have to get my available girls to the venue that night. Me and a couple dozen others, so early is good."

"Do you mind if he brings a couple of bodyguards with him? He never travels without them."

"Nor do I. But keep it to two. I don't want to be outgunned in my own home."

"I don't think that will be a problem. What is your address so I can have him there promptly at nine."

Tagachi gave Peacock an address in Delaware, close to the Maryland border, not far from College Park and the University. Perfect. Really not that far from us and almost on the way to the venue. We can make it work.

Peacock did his job, and while the team was working out on Tuesday, Hoagie was visiting Tagachi with two of my best guys; Alec and Anthony, in tow. And he went with one hundred thousand dollars in gold in half-ounce bars. I expected him to come home with two girls. That would be a costly rescue, but an easy one. Peacock would get dinner and a shower. He was pleased.

Anthony drove the big Navigator, and Alec rode shotgun. Fake New Jersey tags were used just in case they would try to get the book on my operatives. Hoagie was in the back looking like a million bucks. Dressed to impress in his Tom Ford suit and Gucci loafers. No tie, of course. Hoagie never wore a tie. Even with a tux, which he would be wearing to the auction tomorrow.

Anthony went into Tagachi's home with Hoagie, and Alec stayed out by the car and bullshitted with the guard outside, who was smoking a cigarette. I can't believe they still do that. My guys don't, and Alec refused the offer of a smoke by the baddyguard.

After a short while the guard was called into the house and Alec went into action. He wrapped the rear, passenger side air spring with a C-4 minibomb which had a remote control element attached. The plan was to blow the spring while the vehicle was in transit and hijack the crew and then Ninja could masquerade as Yosh Tagachi and enter the venue without a care in the world with two members of the assault squad who excelled at close quarters combat. Hoagie would be going in a separate vehicle with Jim Butler and Romy, disguised as Frankie Peintre and two bodyguards, Rapper Malone and Avi Gold. Butler would be wrapped in C-4 as well, but in a much different way. Two close in combat vets would be going with Ninja to pave the way in.

After spending an hour and a half with Tagachi, Hoagie walked out with three girls, a package deal, and a hundred large in gold lighter. The two men shook hands and the three men left with three girls in the back of the Navigator. Only one of them spoke English, but was able to translate for the others when Ninja told them they had been rescued. They still seemed skeptical, but who could blame them. They'll come around once they get the Hannah Todd treatment.

After the girls were dropped off at another of my safe houses, the boys met up with the whole crew who were fine-tuning their assault plans at the old factory warehouse. Ninja and Hoagie went inside with the other inside crew, and Alec and Anthony went on to play the lead part in the assault. They were my SEALs. They would go in first. They'd be the first ones through the parking lot and into the building when the garage doors opened.