Dark Princess: Shadows (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance #89)

50. Kian

50

KIAN

K ian was halfway to the door when his phone buzzed. Seeing Onegus's name flash across the screen, he paused, pulled out a chair next to the conference table, and sat down.

His mother hadn't specified a precise time for lunch since she didn't know when Morelle and Brandon would be done with their tour, so he could spare a few minutes to talk with the chief.

"Hello, Onegus," he answered.

"We may have stumbled onto something bigger than we anticipated," the chief said. "I put Roni on tracking potential targets, and what he found was shocking, to be honest."

"That bad?"

"There are entire networks, Kian. Services that broker children to perverts, all operating out in the open on the internet with apps that don't even try very hard to hide what they are used for. Roni has barely scratched the surface, and he's already uncovered an avalanche of leads."

Kian's free hand clenched into a fist. "If we want to run sting operations to address the infestation, we might need Turner's help. What are we looking at in terms of organization?"

"I'm still trying to organize my thoughts, Kian. To start with, it will need to be a completely separate department that will require someone to head it. We'll need specialized teams that are smaller than what we are using to bust the trafficker cells. This isn't just about the end users anymore. There's a whole layer of middlemen, the brokers who connect buyers with suppliers."

Kian groaned. "How come we didn't know about this?"

"We knew. We just didn't realize how big it was. We've started seeing really young kids only lately in our rescue missions, so we assumed that it was a fringe thing. But it's not. I think there are other traffickers who specialize in kids."

Bile rose in Kian's throat.

The level of depravity humans were capable of was really staggering.

"Roni also stumbled upon articles and stories about those pimps of kids collecting blackmail material on their clients. Politicians, actors, wealthy businessmen, you get the picture. Does that sound familiar?"

The question was rhetorical. They both knew exactly what this resembled.

"Doomers." Kian spat the word like a curse. "This fits their MO perfectly. They've graduated from drugs and prostitution to dealing in children. Demon spawn. They truly have no regard for human life, not even the most innocent."

"If the Doomers are involved, we'll need to structure our approach accordingly. Dealing with them is not like dealing with humans."

Kian ran a hand through his hair. "Guardian safety has to be our primary concern. We have to assume Doomer involvement in every operation."

"Agreed. It's going to strain our resources."

"We'll need to shift more of the Kra-ell trainees into the regular missions to free up Guardians. How is their progress going?" He rose to his feet and started pacing.

"They're incredibly strong fighters," Onegus said. "And they learn fast, but we are having disciplinary problems."

Kian frowned. "That's unexpected. After having lived under Igor's boot for so long, I would have thought they'd be more compliant. Discipline was enforced mercilessly at his compound."

"Igor ruled through compulsion and fear while we operate on loyalty, respect, and proper training. It's a completely different paradigm, and they're struggling to adapt."

The distinction was important. Fear might produce immediate results, but it created unstable foundations. The Guardians' strength came from their unity, their shared values, and trust in the chain of command.

"Don't forget that they have been training for weeks, not decades," Onegus continued. "I didn't really expect them to be combat-ready any time soon and have only used them in backup positions so far. But if we want to shift our operations in a new direction while continuing what we've been doing until now, we have no choice. Not unless you want to hire human mercenaries for the pedophile stings."

That was an option, but then Kian would need to rely on Turner, and the guy was too busy with his own operations to take on an entire new division.

"We can't work with humans. They are fine for the occasional job but not on a regular basis."

"So that leaves the Kra-ell, males and females," Onegus said. "The females are even more ferocious than the males, especially the purebloods."

"I will need to speak with Jade." Kian thought of Drova and whether it was a good idea to get her involved. She was still young, but she was capable, a good fighter, a powerful compeller, and she was chafing from having nothing to do.

She could be an asset if her abilities were properly harnessed. She could render even Doomers helpless.

The more Kian thought about it, the more he liked the idea, and he had a feeling that the girl would like it, too. She wasn't a bad kid. She just needed direction.

"We can't rush this," Onegus said. "Better to have fewer reliable teams than risk operations going sideways because of undisciplined elements."

Perhaps he shouldn't tell Onegus his idea about Drova.

Talk about undisciplined elements.

Kian checked his watch, grimacing at the time. "Start putting together profiles of potential team leaders for the specialized units. We need our most experienced people on this—Guardians who've faced Doomers before."

Onegus groaned. "First, I need to create the organizational chart in my head. Roni is also still digging, but he says the network is extensive. This could be bigger than anything we've tackled before."

"Do you have anyone in mind who can head the new division?"

"My first thought was Arwel, but I can't do that to the guy. It would break him. We need someone more emotionally resilient."

"Turner would have been great if we could persuade him to close his private operations. He doesn't get emotional, and he can deal with shit that would devastate anyone else."

"Good luck with that," Onegus said. "You've dangled better positions in front of him, and he didn't bite. We need someone else."

"Make a list of potential candidates, and we will go over them together."

"Will do, boss." Onegus ended the call.

Kian's earlier good mood had thoroughly evaporated.

If the Doomers had indeed moved into trafficking children, it represented a new level of depravity even for them. But it made tactical sense. What better way to control powerful people than to have evidence of their worst crimes?

Spending a night with a prostitute was no longer a big deal, and holding evidence of that over someone's head was not enough leverage. Sex with minors, especially really young ones, though, was enough to ruin someone's life.

That was powerful leverage.