Chapter 254: They Are All Human Traffickers

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: They Are All Human Traffickers

The male police officer at the local precinct who answered the phone sounded shocked and conflicted as his eyes drifted to the middle-aged couple seated inside the office.

Evan Keller’s tone was serious as he nodded. "I guarantee it. An informant from our bureau submitted a new lead. A young man named Sid is driving a van, getting ready to move the group of recently trafficked girls.

And the way some of the villagers were talking made it obvious. The most important thing right now is for you to get your people over there immediately. We’ll be right behind you."

The officer scratched his head, his tone odd. "I just started dealing with a disabled couple from Feldon. They said there are a lot of elderly people left behind in the village and that they’re really tight on money. They wanted to see if they could get some piecework from the station to take back for them, to supplement their income."

But the officer knew this wasn’t the time to get hung up on that. He quickly changed the subject. "Alright, I understand. I’ll take my men over there now.

Since there’s a problem in Feldon, I’ll find an excuse to keep this couple here. Captain Keller, I don’t have enough manpower to control the entire village. You guys need to get here as fast as you can."

After giving the warning, the officer hung up. He found a random excuse to make the middle-aged couple stay in the reception room.

To prevent them from causing trouble or tipping anyone off, the officer even placed a signal jammer nearby before locking the door, ensuring they couldn’t send a single message or make a single call.

Once that was handled, the officer found two colleagues who had just come off their shifts. He had them watch the reception room and alert him immediately if anything seemed off.

Then he rushed to Feldon with the rest of his available men.

After hanging up, Evan Keller called the bureau chief, explained what had just happened, and asked him to call in more officers from surrounding areas.

With just their small group, trying to surround the entire village was a fool’s errand.

Getting more backup was the only sensible option.

Besides, it would be too much trouble for him to call and explain to everyone one by one. It was faster to let the chief issue the orders directly.

Meanwhile, after giving his instructions to Evan Keller, Heath Hale tightened his grip on the sharp tool in his hand and waited for the van.

After dealing with the few people at the gate, Sid shut it tight and drove the van up to the door of the building.

Heath Hale seized the opportunity. Through a crack in the door, he quickly punctured the van’s tire.

After getting one side, Heath Hale tapped Zoe Sawyer on the arm.

Working in perfect sync, they moved the door to line up with the other intact rear tire and gave it another hard jab.

Once he was sure both tires were ruined, Heath Hale quickly swapped the sharp tool for a tranquilizer gun.

’As soon as that Sid guy gets out to check the tires, I’ll take him down.’

Sure enough, the moment Sid got out of the van, he knew something was wrong. He walked over quickly, saw the rapidly deflating tire, and couldn’t stop himself from letting out a string of curses.

"How the hell did my tire just go flat! This is gonna screw everything up!" Sid kicked the wall in anger, then shouted inside, "Old Taylor, get out here and get to work! The van’s got a flat tire!"

He yelled a few times, but there was no response from inside.

This made the already-irritable Sid even more furious.

But just as he was about to open the door, Heath Hale shot him in the neck with the tranquilizer gun, dropping him.

Once Sid was down, Zoe Sawyer pulled the door open and stepped aside to make way.

The team members, who had been waiting behind her, filed out. After tying Sid up, they quickly swept the entire house and found two girls, barely conscious, in the innermost room.

From their clothes and appearance, it was clear the girls weren’t very old—probably between eighteen and twenty.

The two girls were locked in iron chains. The skin on their wrists was red from constant chafing, and in some places, it had broken and scabbed over.

Hayden Shaw examined the two girls. "Besides the wounds on their wrists, there are also several thin whip marks on their backs. Their current condition is due to being beaten and starved.

Once we get back, they’ll be fine after some proper nourishment."

After finishing the examination, Hayden Shaw also felt a great sense of relief. ’They haven’t suffered any other harm. That’s a blessing in this awful situation.’

Hearing this conclusion, Zoe Sawyer and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they could recover, it meant the situation wasn’t as severe as it could have been.

"Find a clean room and get them settled. Hayden Shaw, you take some people and search the entire place again, top to bottom. See if you can find anything else.

The rest of you, get ready. As soon as the backup from the other precincts arrives, we move out and lock down everyone in this village." Heath Hale assessed the situation and quickly delegated the tasks.

"Yes, sir!"

The other team members answered in unison, then began their assigned tasks according to Heath Hale’s orders.

Just then, one of the girls rescued from the house groggily opened her eyes.

She subconsciously raised a hand to block the harsh light from above.

The next second, the girl realized something was different. She shot up from the ground, staring at her own hands, her voice filled with disbelief. "The chains? Am I saved?"

With that thought, the girl looked up and saw several police officers standing guard not far away.

Hayden Shaw, who was in the lead, had noticed the girl’s first movement.

But not wanting to startle her, she held up a hand to stop a team member from speaking, and stood a short distance away, quietly observing the girl’s every move.

’They’ve just been rescued. They won’t be able to process it all at once. We need to give them enough time to react on their own.’

"Police... Police officer? Are you here to save me?"

Seeing the reassuring uniform, the girl’s voice started to choke up.

Hayden Shaw walked quickly to the girl’s side, pulled her into an embrace, and patted her back with exceptional gentleness. "We’re here to save you.

I’m sorry we’re only just now getting here. You’ve suffered a lot, haven’t you? Don’t worry. It’s over now. Everything is going to be okay.

How are you feeling? Can you tell me how you were captured?"

Hayden Shaw’s gentle voice soothed the girl’s heart, but then, as if remembering something, she grabbed Hayden’s arm, her voice filled with terror. "Everyone in this village—they’re all human traffickers!

They’re all traffickers!"

As the girl spoke, Hayden Shaw began to understand the whole story.

"My friend and I came here on a trip. We thought the natural scenery in the countryside would be nice for taking some pictures. On the road, we ran into a disabled couple. Their car had broken down, and they were sitting on the ground, covered in mud.

When they saw us, they asked if we could give them a ride back to their village. It was just up ahead, they said. Not far, only a ten-minute drive."