Read Online The Trade (A Hans Larsson Novel Book 2) by Chris Thrall - Free Book Online Page A

information from the Apollo program.
His subsequent arrest made mainstream news and, despite his learning
disability, resulted in a stint in a juvenile correctional facility. Nonplussed,
he’d used his skills upon release to expose a huge pensions and shares fraud committed
by Weltertech Corps, his evidence in court putting several fat-cat criminals behind
bars.
    Jonah knew his way around computers blindfolded. Under the screen
name “Glaxo,” he ran one of the biggest torrent operations on the planet,
providing free movie, music and software downloads to over a billion people
worldwide. Having learned from the mistakes of his youth, he could also hack
into any computer network in existence and cover his tracks – a talent of
particular interest to the Concern, hence his recruitment and subsequent code name
Odysseus, the genius behind the Trojan horse.
    “Odysseus, I need an address.”
    “Shoot, dude.” Jonah reached for a two-liter bottle of Cherry
Coca-Cola sitting among the smoking paraphernalia cluttering his custom-built desk.
He took several noisy slugs, oblivious to accepted social graces.
    “It’s the captain of a boat, the Rosa Negra ,
registered in Cape Verde. Name’s Alvarez.”
    “Dude, go to the Fisheries Commission. That shit will be
registered there.”
    “It’s three o’clock in the morning here, fartface. I need
the info now.”
    “I’m on it.”
    Eight minutes later Hans’ cell phone rang.
    “Orion, I got your address. It’s public knowledge, you know?
I also scanned the CIA database and police records. There’s nothing on this guy.”
    “That figures. Gimme the address.”
    “Forty-eight Rua de Avis, Porto Alto, Mindelo. Anything
else?”
    “Yeah, I love you, you nerd.”
    “I loveyou too, Orion.”
    Hans resisted the urge to tear around to Alvarez’s address
and find out where his daughter was – using any means necessary. It was two
months since Jessica’s kidnapping, and the odds of her still being in the
fisherman’s possession were slim. Besides, an impromptu visit would warn the
traffickers further up the chain and could result in dire consequences. Hans
needed advice from Muttley, so he took a cab back to the hotel, calling Penny
en route to let her know he was okay.
     

- 20 -
    A s Jessica came around on the filthy stone
floor, she felt someone dabbing the back of her head with a wet cloth.
    “Ouch!” She opened her
eyes, expecting to see her father.
    “Hello, Maria.”
    The awful reality hit home once again. Instinctively,
Jessica lashed out with the right hook her papa taught her. The man jerked
backwards, clutching a bleeding nose as his eyes watered. He raised his hand
and would have given anything to belt the little pissant around the room, only he
remembered his boss’s orders: Do not mark this one, for she will fetch us a
high price in Europe or the East .
    The man grabbed Jessica’s hair and yanked her to her feet. Then,
smothering her mouth and nose, he began to suffocate her. Jessica panicked,
fighting for breath and flailing with her fists. The man held the little girl
at arm’s length, mocking her with a sadistic grin, staring into her tiny blue
eyes with his menacing bloodshot ones.
    Jessica’s body convulsed and she peed herself. The man
released his hold and let her drop to the floor.
    She scurried backwards until she came up against the solid-wooden
bedframe, where she sat, shocked, but managing to scowl.
    “Maria.” The man’s voice deepened as he hovered over her. “We
can do this easy or hard.”
    “Didn’t hurt.” She screwed up her lips and gave him a look
of utter hatred.
    The man lurched across the cell and, taking a firm grip of
Jessica’s hair, went to pull her shorts down, his sick urge taking control. Again
he remembered his boss’s words – Do not be tempted with this one. She
must be intact, for we cannot be sure who will buy her – and went back to
wiping the blood from the gash in the back of her head.
    Jessica tried to