“I do pretty much the same thing. I buy and sell all sorts of commodities.”
“I hear there is a lucrative market on the Dark Web. All sorts of things can be bought and sold there. Have you heard of this?”
“Ye-e-e-s-s,” he answered, eyeing her with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”
“Because. I’d be interested in doing some business there. All I need to do is find out how to get to the online market places.”
“You act as if I knew about such things.”
“Oh, trust me, sweetie. You do, and I’m sure you do a lot of business there. I just need to know how to access it, and get in on the action myself.”
Several moments of silence passed with Roger’s face showing no emotion. Finally, he said, “If you’re serious about the Dark Web, I can get you there; but what you do there is strictly your business. You’d be on you own.”
“I’m a big girl. I think I can handle it.”
“Okay, First, you need to install and use Tor. Go to The Tor Project and download the Tor Browser Bundle, which contains all the required tools. Run the downloaded file, choose an extraction location, then open the folder and click Start Tor Browser.”
“Thanks, Roger. You’re a dear. I really appreciate a man who is successful, and takes command of every situation he’s in. ”
“Thank you. So what do you do when you’re not running deals on the Dark Web?”
“Come here and I’ll show you…”
She gave him a sated smile, and held him close.
“Be careful, or we’ll have to get back on the ride,” he quipped.
“Patience, my gallant lover; all in good time.” She looked at the clock. Glowing red numbers showed ‘12:17 AM’. If she hurried, she could catch the Metro train before the station closed at three a.m. She decided it best to go now, leaving him wanting more. Getting up and not resisting the urge to tease him, she said, “Well, I’d better go.”
He looked pained. “Do you really have to go now?”
“Yes, Roger. I can’t spoil you right away, now can I?”
“Oh, you’re too late. I’m already spoiled.”
“Good. You’ll have to call me soon, so we can... take up where we left off.” Her eyes bore into his with unmitigated suggestion. The clothes went back on with her shawl. The purse went back in her hands. As she walked towards the front door, she turned, her lips parted, followed with, “Mmm. We’ll have to revisit this real soon.” Then she walked out the door.
* * *
“Is that you, Poisonous?”
Grievousness! Does this woman never sleep? “Evie! What are you doing up at this hour? You really didn’t have to wait up for me.”
“I know, but I worry about you.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m a big girl. I can handle myself... honestly.”
“Aren’t you getting home a little late?”
She felt her temper start to rise, but fought it back. Remember. Be nice. “Oh. Well, we enjoyed ourselves so much, we sort of lost track of time.”
“Poisonous... there’s not much you can do at this hour of the night except hang out at bars, or get breakfast at some twenty-four hour diner.” She grinned wryly. “Or find other things to do.”
Poisonous grinned. “How would you know of such things?”
“Hmmm. It seems some demons were guiding the misadventures of my sister once upon a time.”
“Touché. I promise you, all we did was dance the night away, and then stop by that all night diner in Adams Morgan. Anyhow, he just dropped me off downstairs. I assure you, he was the perfect gentleman.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Evie’s judgment bore into her, but she shrugged it off with a too-sweet smile. “Good night, honey. I’ll see you in the morning.” After a pause, she added, “well... later this morning. Don’t wait on me getting up. I think I’ll sleep in.”
“G’night, Poisonous,” Evie said, as she walked towards her bedroom, while blue-green eyes stared keenly at her. Any thoughts of worrying about Evie’s intentions evaporated. This humanity suddenly appealed to her even more. All sorts of delicious mischief came to mind, and it felt so good.
* * *
Sunday, July 6th
The big, sandy-brown J. Edgar Hoover FBI building on Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th Street, NW, and 10th Street NW was practically empty. As it was a hot, sultry day in the middle of the Summer, and this was the weekend, Agent Dan Hightower dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Notes piled up from lots of research sat on his desk, a stack of paper almost an inch thick. He scanned through the stack, and compared the contents of each page with information in the FBI’s database on known cases and perpetrators. Perusing the contents, something caught his eye.
“This is interesting. I see a lot of cases of disappearing women. And, as is typically the case, they are usually young teenagers, abducted without their permission. They are almost always lied to, and promised some glamorous job, and when they find out the truth, they can’t escape the clutches of the pimps or owners of the brothel that controls them.”
His head shook in disgust, and he pored over many cases. A recent case of a disappearance caught his eye.
He dialed the number to his chief. “Hey, Fred. I’ve found a case of human trafficking right here in the D.C. area.”
“Meet me in my office in about a half an hour. Let’s brainstorm.”
“Sure thing, Fred.”
A half an hour later, Fred poked his head in Dan’s office. “Come on down, and bring your notes with you.”
He followed Fred Choudhary down the hallway to Fred’s office. After sitting down, he put his notes on Fred’s desk.
“Fred, a young girl of
