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 product.

The Auction - Part Three

The Auction - Part Three

Duane called and said he wouldn't be home until six-thirty. I let him know his brother had arrived, and he was surprised about that. I let him know everything was under control and that I had matters in hand.

As soon as I got off the phone with Duane, I banished Davante and Harley to my en suite, where they could have a nice long soak in the hot tub and then relax in their room until Duane came home. Of course, before they did that they had to visit with the twins, who were, as we say, twinning. Davante was particularly attentive and Harley couldn't keep her hands off of Dina.

Holly and Celeste planned to have dinner at the Tuttlehills. Chuck would be in this weekend and Holly was all atwitter. Harriet Tuttlehill was getting ready for a big regional meet on Sunday, and Mr. Miller was here to tune her up. She was expected to win the one hundred and two hundred meter backstroke and spent Friday practicing against her teammates and, of course, little Celeste. All the girls on the team looked to Celeste for inspiration, and she cheered each and every one of them on.

Just before we sat down for dinner, I got a call from Holly. She and Celeste would be staying over at the Tuttlehills. At least Celeste would be. Chuck was in, and Holly would be 'running' with him. If one could run on one's back, that is. Perfect. Now we could talk with Harley and Vante, once the kids were in bed, of course. Dinner would still be on me.

Bertha, being Bertha, volunteered to hang out and cook for us, but, for the umpteenth time I shooed her and little Ellie out the door so that she could have dinner with Mac and take a break for a change. She would be visiting with family so she had the weekend off. Domingo was hanging out tonight, and he volunteered to help out in the kitchen. My dear Domingo. Always coming to my rescue.

Once the kids were up in their rooms having tablet time, and the babies were in bed, Harley shooed Dom out of the kitchen, apparently wanting to show me, and her love interest, that she knew her way around a stove.

As promised, Duane was home at six-thirty, and after a bear hug from his brother and a kiss from me, I sent him upstairs to get changed into something more casual for dinner and tonight. Shorts, sandals and his Bob Marley tee shirt were the order of the day. Davante got a laugh out of that.

Bertha had made pancake batter and Duane just loves pancakes, so I split the griddle with Harley, who made eggs and omelets to order and I made the pancakes and bacon, the easier of the two. I ordered a veggie omelet and it was both beautifully presented and delicious. Score one point for Harley.

Conversation was light and casual. Mostly about the budding relationship between our dinner guests and about the kids. Of course. Once we finished eating, but before we dispensed with the dishes, Davante got a serious look on his face.

"There's something we have to tell you two." And he looked over at Harley. She nodded.

"We're pregnant!" She said, with a big grin on her face.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God." I said. "I'm so happy. Another Royce baby. Or is it twins?"

"We don't know," Harley said. "When I missed my last period, I peed on the stick and got a positive result. So we haven't had our first ultrasound yet. We haven't even heard a heartbeat. We just know it's happening."

"How are you feeling, Har? Getting sick yet?"

"Nope. I feel great. But I'm a bull. No morning sickness for me."

"Well, we shall see how tough you are. Of all the tests I've been confronted with, having twins with Duane Royce may be the biggest. Will you be able to work? When will you stop?"

"Davante has already confined me to the office and given me the job of reuniting the lost girls with their families. I have to say, though, I find it satisfying in a way."

"That's great news. And after the baby is born?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Hannah. There's other news too."

"I was hoping so."

"Vante has asked me to marry him."

"And?"

"What do you think? Who could resist a Royce man. Could you?"

"Not for a minute. Duane is my home, my happy place."

"We are going to do something small and soon. We'd like you and Duane to stand up for us."

"It would be my honor. Duane?"

"If you chose anyone different, I'd kill him before I let him."

Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

Domingo was standing by in the kitchen and heard every word. There were hugs all around, and he was sworn to secrecy. He kicked us out of the kitchen and proceeded to do the dishes. Harley and I went upstairs to see the babies and tuck the big ones in. The boys went outside to have celebratory brandy and cigars, which Davante brought with him.

---------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------

We did not make love Friday night, but pillow talk was not optional. Especially tonight. Lying there with the man I love, he told me something that tightened the almost ever-present knot in my stomach.

"They know about us, Hannah. Not everything, but they know the basics."

"Who knows what? What are you talking about?"

"Davante and Harley. They know about the lost girls and our part in their release. Not everything. But they are speculating pretty accurately."

"How, what?"

"Davante told me while we were out smoking cigars. He's known about our hit squad since the Peace Dunbar incident, where he helped by obtaining the drugs for us and getting the contacts we needed to close that deal. That and the F.B.I.s suspicion due to Peacock's place getting hit so soon after ours. It was really Harley who put two and two together. She's one smart cookie. I think smarter than Vante. The good news is that she swore to him that she would not reveal her suspicion to anyone. She said that whoever did whatever it is that we did was doing a public service. One that even the F.B.I. couldn't' replicate. She said she's thinking of leaving the bureau after the baby is born."

"Do you think it's time we come clean to her? And Davante? Or are we fucked from the get-go?"

"I can make her a great offer and take her away from the F.B.I., in a minute." And I snapped my fingers. "Wouldn't Les love to have a former F.B.I. agent in Recovery bringing years of primo experience to the company? And doing really meaningful work from the comfort of an air-conditioned office, or even from home while the baby is growing."

"Or babies?"

"Please. I don't wish that on her or anyone. Let her have her babies one at a time like Iusedto do."

"The kids have playgroup tomorrow at Polly's house. Celeste will be at Gloria's with Herman and Peggy. They'll be taking her to Harriet's meets on Sunday. I think it's time to show our cards to the soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Royce. Do you think I'm jumping the gun?"

"No. You're right. It's time. They are family now and I think, better than anyone, they know the gravity of the situation. I don't want to take them to the safe house just yet, but a meeting in my office is in order. Time to show them some film. Maybe bring Avi up to let him make her an offer. He's the head honcho over at Todd Recovery. Let it be on him."

"I like where your head is at on this, Hannah. Tomorrow the house will be virtually empty. We'll bring them into the videoconference room and show them what the hell is going on. I still have concerns about Russo and Herbert. Maybe my brother can throw them off the scent. Convince them they are on a fool's errand."

"Which it is. Who has done more to stop human trafficking than we have? Certainly not the government. They fall on their faces every chance they get. Tomorrow it is, then. I'll even keep my medical bag handy in case I need to resuscitate either of them."

"Frankly, if it wasn't so good having an in at the F.B.I., I would try to snake Vante away from them and give him a prime position at RFS. His experience and talent make him a valuable commodity. And the feds can't beat the pay. What do you think?"

"I don't know. Bringing him in could cause some resentment with Herman. You two being besties means a lot to him. He could see Davante as competition for that. After all, you two go back to the beginning. And nothing is tighter than twins. That's a bond that even we don't have."

"Or maybe we can have him run the continent for Todd Recovery. Talk about a superpower that we would inherit. He's had lots of overseas experience and would be a best fit with Avi here, stateside, and him in Europe. Maybe London or Berlin. Or even Zurich. They're all far from the contamination in the Slavic states. Imagine him raising his family in Europe."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to make life decisions for your brother? Let's take this a step at a time and see where it goes. It starts with revelation. And that's tomorrow.

---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------

Saturday morning, breakfast was on me. Lots of scrambled eggs for the kids and then ship them off to Polly Untermyers where they can play with Lily Chu, Kimmie Tuttlehill, Arabella Rivera and the Untermyer kids. Then Harley and I made eggs to order with all the trimmings. I even took a crack at hash browns. Harley made me another omelet, Denver this time, and it was divine. The potatoes were just okay. When you are used to Bertha's cooking it's hard to settle for less. She was taking the weekend off, and Aggie was watching the babies along with Becca.

Lunch would be salad and dinner would be the best fried chicken anywhere. After breakfast we would adjourn to my home office and do the grand revelation. Hopefully instead of eating salads for lunch I wouldn't be eating crow.

Becca was not due to show up until after ten this morning, so Aggie brought the babies down and joined us for breakfast. She loved the eggs over that Harley prepared for her, but skimped on the hash browns. Harley was scoring points everywhere. Especially with me. But let's see if we make it to lunch.

When breakfast was over, Aggie cleaned up and Becca took the twins into the family room where Harley and Davante joined in the frolicking. Davante threw his nephew up into the air and caught him, much like his father does. And Harley played patty-cake with the Diva. Parents in training and they will make good ones. Especially if we can extract them from the government.

After an hour of fun and frolic it was time to get down to business. Business time. So we went up, the four of us, to my office and I started off with a line of questioning nobody was comfortable with.

"Tell me, Harley. What is it you think you know about us? About our enterprises?"

"Well, you're highly successful and run the best damned security service in town. Stories of RFS bodyguards saving people are fairly frequent on the news. It is probably the reason you have grown so fast."

"Come on, Harley. Let's not be naïve. What is it you think you know about our operation?"

"I definitely think you are involved in the release of hundreds of girls who have been trafficked on the east coast. I can't surmise how far-reaching it is, but I know locally you have had outstanding success. I mean, five hundred missing and trafficked girls all coming out of the woodwork, almost at once. That's almost as big an accomplishment as your becoming a billionaire under thirty years of age."

"And what makes you think I have anything to do with it?"

"It's certainly no coincidence that right after your home is struck, unsuccessfully, by a home invasion crew the same crew is taken down no more than days later. With overwhelming force. And then the property that was struck is suddenly blown sky high and leveled to the ground. It's..."

"Why me, Har? Why us?"

"You have the means, and you have the motivation. You obviously hate these guys. And they are gone. Disappeared off the face of the earth. We sure can't find them. And the only mistake I see that you've made is letting all the operators who were holding all those girls run free without locking them down too."

"Sometimes you just can't do it all. Sometimes the end has to justify the means."

"So it's true. You are involved."

"Gonna rat me out, Agent Tanner?"

"No way! You're a fuckin' national hero. And I'm proud to know you. To be family with you. You've accomplished more in this one action than I did in my entire career. Davante says you are a badass, and it's true. You're as badass as they come."

Whew. That's a relief. I trusted my instincts and I expect it's gonna pay off.

"Tell me, Harley. Would you consider leaving public service and joining a private company?

"Is that a job offer?"

"I can't make one, but I know someone who can."

"I'm always willing to talk. Bring him on. Or her."

"Could be either or both. Competence trumps gender in my organizations."

"I like the sound of that."

"Feel free to talk to any of my people. Duane's people, I should say. You can't walk fifty feet around here without bumping into one. Herb is right down the hall and he knows plenty."

"Could I get back into the field?"

"Not if you are with child or nurturing a baby." Duane said with a scowl. "That's non-negotiable. In time, though, you would get to choose. You any good with a gun?"

"Top of my class out of Quantico. Sharpshooter all the way. I'll bet I'm a better shot than you."

"Don't count on it. SEALs don't miss. Ever. My friend and partner, Herman Krass is an expert. Best shot I ever worked with."

"Don't you think a woman could shoot?"

"Ha. Caroline will show you what a woman can do with pistolorrifle. She is one of the best shots in RFS. Ex-Marine, sharpshooter all the way. Just a hair short of expert. And she never stops trying to be better."

"Nor do I."

"Someday when we all have the time, I'd love to take you gals out to the range and see who is the best shot."

"I'd love the challenge. It's been some time since I've been beaten."

"Alright, you two," I said. "If you want to lay your cocks on the table, we can see who has the biggest one, and I'm taking bets."

Davante got a big laugh out of that. Then we all did. Then Harley got serious.

"Speaking of genitalia, Hannah, you've got some pretty big balls laying it all out there for me. Takes a lot of trust. I'm honored that you have that trust in me. Now, what can I do to earn that trust?"

"First, you can tell me what Russo has in mind for us."

"She doesn't know what to think as far as I know. But she shouldn't be a problem for you right now. She and Herbert have themselves up to their elbows in trafficked women they have to deal with and deal with quickly. I think between Maryland and Delaware they have picked up over a hundred or so of the lost souls. So far, no one has come out of D.C. That's got them stumped."

"We have no intel on D.C. They must be in another, more southerly district. Maybe out of Virginia. Maybe we can create some sort of false flag set up to get Russo off our scent."

"Leave her to me," Davante said. "I'll keep her out of my territory."

"Well," Duane said. "We didn't have any action in Delaware or Maryland so there's no link to us there."

"You really did this, didn't you," Harley said.

So I walked her into the videoconference room and showed her the compiled newsreel of the media coverage of all we did.

"Yeah," Harley said, "we've seen all this coverage, but in a different way."

"That's okay," I said. You haven't seen this." And I played the video of Peacock's house exploding. "Nobody has seen this but my people."

"Oh my God," Davante said. I saw photos and video of the aftermath, but this... this is amazing. The power."

"That, my brother, is the power of Hannah Todd."

"Now that's badass," Harley said.

"Why, thank you. My favorite title."

"Now that you've freed almost five hundred girls, what are you going to do for an encore?" Davante asked. "How do you top that?"

"You don't," Duane said. "You build on it. Every so often auctions are held to sell off these poor things to the highest bidder. We're going to go after the auctioneers. And I hope you won't stand in our way."

"You should know better than that by now. Especially how I helped you with Peace Dunbar and kept my mouth shut all this time. If you can't trust me, who can you trust?"

"What's this about Peace Dunbar?" Harley asked. And Davante explained his part in setting up the demise of Mr. Dunbar. She was astonished, but not unpleased. Her admiration of her man was undiminished. We were getting closer quickly. And I was feeling relieved.

Before lunchtime, I gave Harley a tour of the Farm and the Greenhouse. Nothing from the Farm was mature enough to pick, but there's always something green in the Greenhouse. Especially from the hydroponic part. So we picked lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cukes, peppers and carrots from the hydroponic side of the Greenhouse and brought them up to the house to prep for lunch.

It hasn't been demonstrated yet how well Harley knew her way around a gun, but she sure knew her way around a knife. I hard-boiled some eggs and cut up some ham and cheese from the fridge, and we had ourselves a nice big salad for lunch.

Lunch was a lark, and we talked mostly about the wedding and what it is to raise the Royce twins. Boy, did I have stories. Harley hung on every word. By the time they left at the end of the day after a dinner with the kids of fried chicken and fries, she was scared to death that she would be having twins. But I promised her that I would save Duanee and Dina's baby clothes so, no matter what she had, she'd be ready to dress the little bugger or buggers.

Before they left, I dragged Harley up to my bedroom and got out my medical bag. I pulled out my stethoscope and tried to detect a fetal heartbeat, but my equipment was insufficient to pick it up. So they left knowing no more than they had when they arrived. My best guess, given the regularity of her cycle and the date of her last period, was that she was about six weeks into this pregnancy. Long enough to detect it, but not much more. She had scheduled an appointment with her OB/Gyn for about two weeks from now and would learn more then.

The kids were outside playing when we bid Davante and Harley a fond farewell. Celeste arrived home moments after the couple left, and we heated up some chicken and fries for her. Herman and Peggy brought her home, and they came in to visit. They had chicken too. Not as crispy as when we first got it, but delicious nonetheless.

Holly was still out with Chuck and she called to let me know she planned to sleep out tonight. I owed her one so that was an easy call. It was up to me to tell Celeste. At nine and three quarters, she already knew about the birds and the bees, so a simple, 'Mommy's out with Chuck tonight' would do it. She just loved Chuck. Almost as much as her mother did.

After bath time for the kids, they had tablet time before bed, and the Krasses and we sat down in the family room and chatted. We talked about Celeste's swimming and the upcoming nuptials of Davante and Harley Tanner. We didn't mention the pregnancy, as we were sworn to secrecy. It's just too early to talk about it.