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Post by Black Canary on Sept 4, 2012 14:07:04 GMT -6
Dinah couldn't fight the amused grin, so she ducked her head in what was probably a fruitless effort to hide the expression . He was so one of the Bats, based only on the fact that he seemed so against being connected with them despite his wardrobe selection. Dinah had known most of the crowd for years, so she knew the best course of action would be to not antagonize him any further, but still! Did they not realize how entertaining they were? They were all just so set on setting themselves apart from the others in the circle, and by doing so they all behaved the same. "Yeah, yeah, okay," she replied, now somewhat more successful at hiding her grin.
The blonde reached up to zip up her jacket over the top half of her bodysuit. It was a little chilly at night without the wind from her bike, so she had come prepared. Well, as prepared as someone in a pair of fishnets could be, anyway. In the midst of making sure the desk appeared exactly as it had when she had first arrived, she looked back at Red Hood when he spoke up again. Dinah shrugged. "Who says I'm not?" She supposed she was testing him, but only to give him the chance to prove himself right. Dinah didn't know him and she didn't know what he was capable of. All she had to go off of was his reputation, which frankly wasn't that great. Every test came with the possibility of failure, but also just as great a chance of passing. She was keeping her fingers crossed for the latter.
As Hood made his exit through the window, Dinah arched a brow. Hey. If anyone was going to make any blonde-related comments, it was going to be her. "Right back atcha, cupcake," she said, bidding him farewell with a lazy wave. Now all she had to do was hope that she wasn't making a terrible mistake. With Hood gone, Dinah ran out of the office and back out to the front of the school where her own motorcycle was parked. It gleamed under the illuminated streetlights as she grabbed her helmet and pulled it over her blonde hair. She mounted the bike a moment later, and within a few moments the engine was purring loudly before she raced out of the parking lot. God help her if they didn't find those girls in time... or if Red Hood found them first.
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Post by Red Hood on Sept 7, 2012 19:28:05 GMT -6
Red Hood pulled up right out front of the guy's house. Carl Greene. Jason hadn't got a look at the record the guy had but that really didn't matter to him. In the Red Hood's eyes this guy was their best lead and right now he had no time for the games or stealth or any of that other crap. Canary was on his case about not killing folk right? Well Jason didn't have to kill, he didn't even really need to draw his gun to get the answers he wanted. Carl Greene was just a schoolbus driver, he was hardly a tough egg to crack. Jason left his bike running (loudly) and hopped off making quick strides past the lovely lawn out front and right up to the Greenes' door. Avoiding the front door for now Jason checked the exterior of the home, getting familiar with the layout and mapping out what the inside would look like.
He stopped at a window and peered through the thin curtains, making sure he kept to the side so that no fleeting glances caught sight of him. Inside it appeared the Greene family was just wrapping up dinner. Carl was clearing the table of dishes and piling them in the kitchen sink to prepare their wash. While the lovely Mrs. walked back and forth over the carpeted floor carrying a small bundle of joy that she bounced in hopes of getting the kid to sleep. Now was his time to move. Jason sped around the house back to the front of the estate and introduced the door to his size eleven boot.
Hinges cracked and the door frame split. Mrs. Greene screamed bloody murder. The infant hollered and cried like no tomorrow. Carl dropped his newest stack of dishes and before he knew it his face was forced into the sink that was filled with dirty dish water. "Oh god, oh god!" The wife was terrified and while Jason may not have wanted her to be here when he did this he didn't feel he had the time to waste waiting for her and the baby to leave. "Go in the other room, lock the door, don't call the police, and don't come out of the room for the next hour!" She nodded to the masked man, looked to her husband longingly, and then bolted. It was more than likely she was going to try calling the cops. Good thing Jason had cut the phone line before allowing himself in.
"Oracle, if you're as good as they say you are you'd better get a jam on cells down here now." She probably wouldn't like him ordering her around like that, but kids lives were at stake here. Grabbing a fist full of Carl Greene's hair Jason finally yanked the man out of the dirty water and then tossed him onto the table where he'd just been enjoying dinner with his wife of 12 years. The driver was frozen in terror was he watched the Red Hood stalk around the table. "Wh-where's my wife?" "Safe, now that she's away from you. But I'll be doing the whole asking questions thing, alright? Four little girls - Julia, Ashley, Samantha, Lily - all missing. Tell me what you know about it."
The man frowned, he glanced around his home as if he feared more Red Hoods would come climbing out of his walls or through windows, or squeeze from under the couch in the living room. Jason snapped his fingers at Carl, "Pay attention, Carl. What do you know about those missing girls? Woodrow Wilson Elementary. Go." "I...look, I don't hurt anyone. I'm just a bus driver. I don't know anything." Jason stopped in his tracks, leaned his head slowly to one side. "Oh my bad!" He spoke in a little voice, a less threatening one. "I must have the wrong guy."
Committed to his act Jason shrugged his shoulder apologetically and turned to feign an exist. "Oh wait, no I don't!" He turned back and in a flash he had Carl by the front of his shirt held in the air, then sharply slammed the man down onto the floor. Jason could hear the wife yelp from in the other room. To drown her out he stomped on the back of her husband's knee and Carl's howl did the job perfectly. "I know you're a closet sicko, Carl. Just be straight with me man. I've killed over twenty people this year alone - there, there's my dirty laundry. Now it's your turn." Jason backed off and raised his foot away from the man's leg. Carl struggled to crawl away from Jason once he was free, sobbing over incoherent words as he belly crawled to the living room.
"Talk! I promised someone I wouldn't kill you, well kinda promised." Red Hood rounded the crawler and stooped in front of Carl, the cold nose of his gun pressing right against the bus driver's temple. "Don't make me go back on a kinda promise, man."
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Post by Black Canary on Sept 10, 2012 9:08:29 GMT -6
The engine of her bike died down as Dinah parked outside the small house. The lights in the kitchen and living room were on, and as she approached, she could hear the sound of some shoot-em-up movie on the television. The blonde crept around the back of the house and knelt down in front of the back door. The small lock-picking kit was withdrawn from one of her gloves for the second time that evening before Dinah went to work on the lock. There was one thing she had learned from the other Gotham regulars, and that was that subtlety and scaring the crap out of someone could go a long way when it came to getting information. The door clicked quietly before she pushed it open and stepped silently inside the house.
Though the volume of the television had likely masked any sounds made by her uninvited entrance, Dinah couldn't see Mark Hastings from where she was and she would prefer to be on an even playing field in that regard. "Cut the lights, O," she whispered. After a few instances, the sound of the television disappeared and was replaced with Mark's shout of surprise as the house went dark. She could hear him scuffling to his feet as Dinah continued to the living room, but Mark made her job easier and met her in the hallway between the living room and the kitchen. "Oh sh-!" he began before a forearm pinned him to the wall by his throat.
Just because this guy didn't have a record and the other did didn't mean he was innocent in this. Dinah had seen serial killers without so much as a parking ticket to their name. He wouldn't be the first law-abiding citizen to turn to a life of crime, nor would the other driver have been the first to clean up his act after making some serious mistakes. With the lives of four little girls on the line, mercy was not her first priority. "You are in charge of getting four girls to and from school safely, and they're gone," Dinah snarled, leaning her face closer to Mark's terrified one. "Tell me everything you know. Now." The man began to stammer violently before managing to compile several words. "I d-don't - I swear I don't know anything!" he cried, choking slightly at the pressure against his throat. "I never did anything to them!" Dinah's blue eyes narrowed, and she lifted her other hand, positioning it so that her hand was perpendicular to Mark's heart and her fingers were extended. "You know that stupid 'make your heart explode' technique they always talk about in bad ninja movies?" she said in a low voice. "I bet you always thought it was just some made-up Hollywood kung fu, didn't you?"
Mark's face paled as he realized where his was going, and his wide eyes moved down to Dinah's hand. "Surprise. It's real. And I know it." That wasn't really true - technically it was a move that induced ventricular fibrillation, was almost impossible to time properly, and involved absolutely zero explosions - but he didn't need to know that. "One last chance to tell me the truth." At this point, Mark began to openly sob. "I don't know!" he wailed. "I really don't know, oh god, don't kill me..." She had wanted the truth, and that was it. Dinah may not have been a mind reader, but she had been doing this job long enough to know when she was being lied to - especially when the person she was talking to was an elementary school bus driver and not someone well-trained enough to lie without showing any signs of it. The growing smell of urine was pretty convincing, too.
"Okay, okay, shh," Dinah said, dropping her arm from Mark's neck and taking a step back. "That's all I needed, you're okay. Thank you." She hated putting someone innocent through that terror, but when there were the lives of children at stake, there was no time to let it get to her. Now she needed to get out of there, fast. The blonde took off at a run, raced back to her parked motorcycle, and within an instant was back on the road and speeding toward the other address. "Oracle, I need green lights all the way to Hood's location!" she barked. "He's got our guy!"
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Post by Red Hood on Sept 17, 2012 18:05:23 GMT -6
"Listen, don't do this. You don't have to do this! I-I have a family." The man tried pleading with Jason and it was pathetic. "Yeah I just saw them, remember? And I do have to do this. If sick bastards like you aren't punished then even more of you start crawling out of the woodwork, abducting more little girls. Actually I should just get it over with now and put a bullet in your head." Jason moved his index finger from the side of the gun and wrapped it around the trigger. Beads of sweat and tears poured down the bus drivers face, he was clearly not ready to die. "Stop! Stop! I didn't touch any of them, I swear! I was...I was just paid to tell them where the girl's would be. I didn't touch any of them."
Jason was glad that the man had finally cracked but the moment was possibly the most bittersweet he'd ever experienced. He had his lead now but it made the reality of what was happening to those girls even more painful. "You're supposed to be someone those kids can trust." He sneered down at the sobbing man and didn't care to hide just how much he hated this guy, but for now the driver had extended his life. A yelp came from Carl's lips as the Red Hood yanked him off of the floor and tossed him onto the couch in the livingroom. Lowering his gun and letting his finger abandon the trigger he so desperately wanted to pull a second ago, Jason took a seat in the chair opposite Carl.
"Keep talking." Now that Jason knew it was Carl these men had contacted he needed to know just what they had let the man in on. Had he seen their faces? Did they tell him a place where they could meet? And most importantly did he know where the girls were? "How did they contact you?" "I was grabbed one day...they put a hood over my head. They explained who they wanted and what they wanted me to do. I didn't ask what they planned to do with those girls, I-I'm sorry. They threatened to kill my family if I told! They said they'd kill my wife and child right in front of me!" "Stay on topic, Carl." Jason didn't give a crap about Carl Greene's personal issues, he cared more about those girls the man had handed over to a group of slavers.
"I'm sure they told you who's next and I'm sure you provided them with the necessary information to grab this girl without getting caught. You're going to tell me exactly what you told them and if I even think a part of it's a lie then I'll kill you right in front of your wife and child." Jason probably wouldn't do that, the wife and baby were innocent in this, but if he was lied to he'd definitely pay Carl a visit while the Mrs was out running errands.
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Post by Black Canary on Sept 19, 2012 16:43:35 GMT -6
"He'll do it, too."
Dinah stood with her arms folded in the doorway leading to the hall, looking oddly calm given the situation. She couldn't say she had been a minute ago; seeing the front door kicked in had made her just a wee bit concerned. Apparently either Red Hood was going for the intimidation factor, or he just didn't have the finesse of the rest of the Batclan (not that he was connected to them, of course). Given that he had been able to sneak up on her earlier that evening, she had assumed the former. Two males voices had been audible as Dinah had stepped into the house. One was Hood's; the other she assumed to be that of the second driver, Carl Greene. So he was still alive. Dinah had smiled at the thought. That, at least, was a good sign.
Now, as she stood there, she had no intentions of interfering. She hadn't liked instilling fear in Mark Hastings because she hadn't known if he was guilty of anything. This guy? She would gladly scare the crap out of him if necessary. What he had done to those girls was unforgivable. Fortunately, Hood seemed to have the terrifying bit down just fine. Dinah was only there to listen in on whatever information Greene had to give him and to assist in giving the impression that Red Hood would gladly put a bullet in the man's head should he refuse to cooperate. She wasn't exactly known for being the type of hero to forgive murder, but she supposed that she could at least thank Ollie for tarnishing that reputation. Everyone was suspicious of his allies now. Dinah couldn't say that she ordinarily liked that, but sometimes - like now - it came in handy.
Dinah waved one hand dismissively. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to watch." She leaned against the door frame, her arms still crossed and her blue eyes boring into Greene. She highly doubted that Red Hood would decide to kill him when she was right there, but that didn't make the thought a little tempting. It was his fault that those girls weren't home right now, safe and sound in their own beds, instead of being lost and afraid. She could understand desperation, and she could understand fear... god knew she had felt both in her life. That didn't make what Carl had done any more acceptable. He may not have known exactly what would happen to the girls, but he knew very well that if they didn't wind up dead, their fates wouldn't be much better.
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Post by Red Hood on Oct 2, 2012 14:47:14 GMT -6
Carl Greene stared at the red masked man wide eyed, a look carried in his eyes that Jason had seen time and time again. It was the look of a man in desperation, a man stuck out at sea with no viable way to get back. Carl was on the edge and he was teetering off, he was finally about to crack. The fact that he had even managed to keep his mouth shut this long in the first place was no small feat. The look in Carl's eyes flickered for a moment, just above Jason's head and slightly behind him. Jason then heard the familiar voice of his partner for the night. "Hm?" He turned slightly on the chair cushion and glanced over his shoulder at the blond bombshell Black Canary.
To say that Jason was surprised to see the woman there so soon would be a vast understatement. Her suspect was not terribly close to Jason's and he would have at least expected her interrogation to be just now ending. But perhaps her guy had proven his innocence rather quickly and thus sent Canary on her merry way, and now no doubt she was here to make sure Jason was on his best behavior. Red Hood smiled at the older woman, but of course she couldn't tell that, and then turned back to face the shaking Greene. "She likes to watch. Especially when there's lots of blood." Jason let the words trickle into Carl's soul and watched as the man visibly squirmed with discomfort. Of course at the very first sign of spilled blood Canary would more than likely pounce on Jason and cut the entire interrogation short; but Carl didn't know that.
Fearing too take his eyes off of the couple for too long Carl glanced at a clock on the far left wall as quickly as he possibly could while still getting the information he needed. "In just a little under an hour. Her name's Delilah Lee, same class as Lily Evans. I overheard her and friends discussing a sleepover, when they asked me about her I told them about it. I don't know why these people want these specific girls but you have to understand, I had to give them what they wanted...they would have killed my family." Once again Carl broke down, with his face in hands and deep sobs slipping between his fingers.
"I told the she'd be easiest to grab in the morning. The girl she's staying by, her parents leave early in the morning and I heard Delilah say she could walk home from her friends house. Oh god what have I done." More sobs. Jason just stared at the man, feeling only disgust and not a single ounce of pity for him. "You tortured four little innocent girls and were going for a fifth. Now who's this friend of hers and where's the house." The Red Hood stood in front of Carl now, his index finger tapping idly on the side of his gun. Carl looked at the weapon and stammered but miraculously managed to bring his eyes up to the holes in Jason's mask. "Her name's uh...Carly. Carly King. She doesn't live that far from the school, maybe two or three blocks. On 154th street. Please," Carl began cowering on the sofa now that he'd offered all he could. "That's all I know, I swear. Just don't hurt me or my family."
Jason was sure the man was telling the truth but that didn't make him feel any better about the situation, and he was also pissed that Canary was standing over his shoulder. Red Hood holstered his weapon and turned sideways to look at Canary. "Good enough for you, boss?"
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Post by Black Canary on Oct 8, 2012 11:19:05 GMT -6
Dinah gave a short, casual nod at Hood's words. She wasn't above terrifying someone into the information they needed, particularly if that person was guilty of something as horrible as what Greene had done. He had taken innocent children and harmed them in a way that could never be reversed. Even if they did get those girls home - and they would - they would never be the same. This wasn't something that could be so easily forgotten. As far as they knew, they would never see their home, their family, or their friends ever again... they might not even survive. Dinah knew exactly what that felt like, and it wasn't something that ever went way.
She stood silently as Red Hood continued his interrogation. While she was pleased to see that Greene didn't have any bullets in him, it was obvious that the vigilante had been trained by one of the best in the business. Bruce had a way of making a person feel like he could - and would - rip them limb from limb without a second thought, and all without even lifting a finger or inflicting any actual damage on whomever he was interrogating. In a way, Dinah admired it... in another, she despised it. It was all psychological warfare, which could often be even more damaging. Broken bones healed. That fear of believing you may not escape with your life didn't. That wasn't to say that she preferred to go around beating the snot out of people, or that she didn't use such techniques herself, but there were many aspects of this job that she loathed and interrogations were one of them. Intimidating others into getting what she needed was often necessary but never enjoyable. At the end of the day, they were still people. Dinah wouldn't ever let herself forget that.
She hadn't looked away from Greene once, and even after the interrogation had apparently concluded, her blue eyes were still fixed icily on the man. There was no excuse. Not a single damn one. He could have contacted the police, he could have stood up to them, he could have done anything beside sacrifice those little girls. Anyone who willingly threw a child to the wolves like that was despicable. Dinah shrugged one shoulder at Red Hood's question and pushed off from the door frame. "No," she replied. "But it'll have to be for now." They could come back for Greene later. Right now, she wanted to make sure that no more children were harmed. While she certainly had a few choice words for the man, she knew that at this point it wouldn't accomplish anything.
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Post by Red Hood on Oct 25, 2012 7:04:59 GMT -6
Jason didn't even want to look at Carl any more, the man was pathetic and weak. He couldn't blame the guy for fearing for his family's safety, but to trade four girls for his own reassurance was just spineless and cruel; Jason could blame him for that. Now he regretted not injuring the bus driver further before Canary had showed up, but somehow Jason was sure he'd get another shot at it sometime in the future. They couldn't waste any more time on Carl Greene however, not now that they had information on the last girl. "Go clean yourself up Carl, and go make sure your wife hasn't left you yet. Oh, and you might want to start looking for another job." The man didn't need to be involved in anything that placed him around children, if he screwed that up Jason would be paying him a second visit.
Brushing his hands off Carl Jason stood from the couch and followed Dinah out of the house he had broken into. "You sure showed up here fast." He commented in passing as he walked down the Greenes' walkway and reclaimed his motorcycle. Jason didn't need the backup and he hadn't called for any, of course he knew why it was that Black Canary had showed up so quickly after dealing with her own suspect but he tested the waters just to see how she would respond to him. Red Hood threw a leg over his bike and started up the ignition.
The sun wouldn't be up for a while but in a little bit under an hour Delilah Lee was going to be kidnapped. The Red Hood and Black Canary were going to prevent that from happening. Jason turned his bike around and shot back toward the school and 154th street. They couldn't be completely sure of when the men they were trying to stop would make their move so Jason and Dinah needed to get in position as quickly as possible if they wanted to make a difference tonight.
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Post by Black Canary on Oct 25, 2012 9:03:04 GMT -6
The only good news here was that they knew who the next target was and, if they were lucky, they would be able to find the missing girls by intercepting the next would-be kidnapping. Dinah tried to find some joy in that, but she wouldn't be truly satisfied into all of those girls were home safely. She was typically a fairly optimistic person, though not foolishly so. There was no reason to celebrate until they had found the missing girls and the people responsible for their abductions were held accountable. They may be one step closer to that, but they weren't there yet.
Dinah's eyes were narrowed as she exited the house and stepped back out into the cool evening. Her glance moved sideways as Hood joined her outside and commented on her speedy arrival. Dinah shrugged one shoulder. "I might be blonde, but don't think I can't look mean," she replied. She had been doing this job for a long time; she knew how to get information out of somebody in a hurry, especially someone who wasn't trained to not crack under pressure. Having Oracle controlling the traffic for her didn't hurt either, but she knew that wasn't what Hood really meant. That was okay. She was willing to trust him but that didn't mean that she was going to throw caution to the wind right off the bat. Just because she gave him the opportunity to be trusted didn't mean he didn't still have to earn it himself.
He had done well, though. They had the information they needed without any bloodshed. The real test would come when they were face-to-face with the people responsible for kidnapping those girls. Dinah glanced briefly back at Red Hood as she approached her own bike. She wasn't even sure what she would do once they found the kidnappers. Crimes against children were the most taboo of all, and even stable, perfectly sane people could lost it when confronted with someone who had harmed an innocent kid. It was in their nature. That wasn't to say that Dinah believed that Hood would suddenly lose it and start getting trigger happy, but this was a delicate situation that tested the boundaries of anyone and everyone involved. The blonde pulled her helmet back on and took off on her bike after Hood, silently hoping that neither of them would lose their cool over the course of the evening.
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Post by Red Hood on Nov 12, 2012 19:53:23 GMT -6
Carly King. Red Hood kept the girl's name and the location of her home committed to memory. The two motorcycles roared down the block as Jason pushed his bike to its top speed with Black Canary following close on his tail. Jason knew this case was far from over but right now they were the closest they'd been all night to protecting another young girl and preventing her kidnapping. He needed to make sure Delilah was safe and out of harms way before he and Canary took their fight to the men responsible for these kidnappings; the men he had allowed to stay in operation for months. Jason narrowed his eyes and strained his bike to go even faster.
The few blocks between Carl Greene's home and the home of Carly King were crossed quickly and Jason only began to slow his bike (marginally) upon seeing the 154th street sign. The block was fairly quiet, a small quiet cul-de-sac where a large portion of its population appeared to be soccer moms. Identical houses liked the street and two vehicles were parked in the paved driveways. Jason's motorcycle quieted down as he directed more by his boot tapping the ground than the bike's own wheels. They didn't have a definite address for the King's on this street but with the lines of mailboxes out front of each yard finding the Kings' home shouldn't give them too much trouble.
Stirring his cycle to the side of the before the dead end that was 154th Jason parked and stepped off of his bike. He checked his watch while approaching Black Canary, "Not sure if the parents have left yet but we should get in position. As much as I hate to put these kids in any position of danger we'll need to stake the place out and wait for our guys to arrival. Unless you'd prefer going in there right now and getting the kids out and setting a trap." Both plans had their risks, waiting and watching could spell trouble for the intended target if Jason or Canary reacted a second to slowly (which honestly wasn't too likely, but still possible) and if they went in and got the kids out of harms way now little Carly and Delilah could easily botch this mission for them; kids weren't the most cooperative or stealthy.
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Post by Black Canary on Nov 14, 2012 16:12:36 GMT -6
If they weren't wrapped up in such an infuriating mess, it might have been a nice night for a motorcycle ride. Clear, chilly but not frigid, and while the moon wasn't full it provided plenty of light where the streetlights didn't. Dinah hung back slightly, allowing Hood to lead. She may not know him, and she may not fully trust him, but she knew that anyone who was trained by Bruce (he could try to deny his relationship to that screwed up family all he liked; there was no hiding it) could be counted on to get the job done. Their goal here was the same. Any son of a bitch who dared to threaten kids anywhere was doomed to a world of hurt, but doing so in Gotham? With the kind of people who patrolled these streets, it was practically suicidal.
They reached Carly's neighborhood, an idyllic suburb that one would expect to never have to deal with this sort of thing. It just went to show that nobody in this city was really safe. Even though she had grown up here, Dinah never fully understood why anyone thought that Gotham was a good place to raise children. She slowed her bike, then parked upon arriving at the cul-de-sac where the King family lived. Dinah swung her leg back off of her motorcycle, settling on both feet as Hood approached and began to outline their next move.
It was risky to try to set up a trap, but Dinah wasn't about to let two more little girls be put in harm's way if it was at all avoidable. Besides, if the kidnappers showed up here, she knew that between herself and Hood they weren't about to get away. Having more children put at risk was unnecessary as far as she was concerned. Even if they did somehow manage to get away, Dinah could get faces, a make and model on whatever vehicle they used, a license plate; that was more than enough for Babs to work off of if she needed to track somebody. She was good enough to trace someone using the most vague of details. "Let's get those kids out of there," she decided. "I don't want them anywhere near this mess." Even if they weren't kidnapped, knowing that such a thing was so close to happening was traumatic enough. They didn't need to be nearby when everything went down. If they were quick, they would be able to get the girls to a neighbor's house and keep them safe before anyone arrived.
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