More Than an Echo (Echo Branson Series) (36 page)

“We think what happened in India is happening here.”

Danica stepped next to me. “Listen to this, Clark:
In 2003, an illegal kidney-procurement network was uncovered in South Africa. The donors were recruited mostly from the slums of Brazil flown to South Africa where the operation was performed, compensated between $6,000 to $10,000 and returned home. The South African middlemen were then able to sell the organs for as much as $100,000.
It’s big business, Clark. Big, dangerous business.”

As if she’d read my mind.

I read the rest of the piece, my palms sweaty. This was happening everywhere on a voluntary basis. The Chinese government actually sanctioned the harvesting of organs from its prison population, and in one year, performed over forty-one thousand operations.  “My God—”

“In South America, they actually use the street urchins because their organs are young and viable. They sell mostly to an expanding Asian market, namely the Japanese, who as you may know, have a burgeoning class of millionaires.”

“Your boy Smiley is on the inside of a story that will blow your career open if you live to tell about it.”

“She’s not going to tell about it,” Danica said matter-of-factly. “Leave this one to the cops, Clark. Tell the story after the fact, but leave the rest alone.”

I looked up at her but said nothing.

Roger kept talking. “Besides their housing boat, they may have one or more smaller boats as well because they won’t want to dump the dead bodies near the ship. They’ll have to dump them further offshore.”

“They’ll also need a smaller boat to get the guys from the dock to the mother ship,” Franklin said, his fingers skimming across the keyboard.

“In other words, Clark, step away from the God—Damned— Story.” Danica’s voice was steel. I had only heard her use that tone twice before in our lives.

I looked from one serious face to another and, one by one, they each nodded. “Even if you are able to convince that task force of what is happening, politics would take over before justice. Even the United States government can’t control the cartels. Why do you think eighty percent of the world’s cocaine comes out of Colombia and yet, the United States has never imposed a  Cuban-like sanction against them?”

Danica walked over to me and took my hand. “Nothing good can come of this. Tell Finn. Tell the task force, then let it go.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

Danica held her hand up. “And lest you doubt the four of us really, really smart people are right, then ask Melika. Hell, ask Tip. This is not your fight, and it’s not a fight you can win.”

Then whose fight was it?

I heaved a huge sigh. I hated when she used Melika to back herself up. “I understand what you’re all saying but—”

“But nothing, Clark. Goddamn it, you are way out of your league on this one. I’m sorry, but you really are.” Releasing my hand, Danica took a folder off the desk and handed it to me. “Read this.”

The boys were all nodding. “The Boss is right. Walk away. It’s probably too late anyway. More than likely, your friend is a goner.”

“But what if he isn’t? What if there’s a boat out there with our guys in it? What if everything you’re saying is true and I do nothing? How do I live with myself knowing I sat cowering in the corner doing nothing?”

“The way the rest of us live with ourselves. You have to ask yourself why you are the only one willing to risk your neck on this.”

I looked into Danica’s eyes. I didn’t have to be empathic to read her fear. Whatever they had discovered in their digging had scared the hell out of every one of them.

“Forget what they taught us at Mills and take care of yourself.” Danica opened the folder and rifled through the pages. “There’s a reason the cartels are still around, still powerful, still in our midst, and it’s a big reason. They. Are. Killers.”

I took the folder from her. “I tell you what; let me ask Melika about it. If she says—”

“Why not ask Tip?” Danica asked.

I shook my head. “ No way. If she so much as thought I was going to be in danger, she would be here like that.” I snapped my fingers. “Even if I didn’t need her help, which I don’t.”

“Some day, you’ll realize what Tip is all about, but for now, you need to proceed with caution. These are not the kind of people you want to piss off. You might win this battle, but these people are warlords, Clark. Warlords who seldom lose.”

I nodded. “We’ll see. I’ll have to think about it.” Gathering up the file, I looked over at the guys who were eyeing the pizza. “You guys are the best. You know that, don’t you?”

“We’re only the best if we can keep you alive.”

“I’m going to be fine. I swear. I’ll read everything in the file. I’ll arm myself with knowledge, but I’m not walking away from this.” I started out the door with Danica hot on my heels.

“Clark. I know how you get, and I am begging you to let this one go.”

“Dani, I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but if there’s a boat under a bridge, I don’t know how I can turn away, cartel or no cartel.”

She nodded slowly. “I have something for you in case you simply can’t stop yourself.”

I followed her back to her office. She opened her desk and pulled out the revolver she had threatened to buy for me. Then, she pulled out something I initially thought was a phone.

“This is your direct link to the boys’ computers. It’s a prototype for a machine Roger has been working on. It’s also a video camera for conferencing. Has a camera, webcam capability, and uploads via satellite, not wi-fi or cable. That means it doesn’t matter where you go, you are always online. We all have one. You can video conference with one at a time or all of us while also e-mailing or surfing the Internet. This way, if you need instant information, we can access it for you right away. It’s just a prototype, mind you. Presently, we’re having some problems with the embedded camera, but we’re working on that.”

I opened the tiny computer and was amazed at the clarity of the screen. Suddenly, Carl’s face was on the monitor. “Yo Princess. Pretty cool, eh?”

I almost dropped it. He scared the crap out of me.

Danica nodded. “The moment you open it, all of our computers beep. The fact that it’s linked to a satellite means no dead spots, no dropped calls, and has a better frequency and longer range. Opening the monitor signals the rest of us on the same vidmeet protocol. Let’s just say it’s our way of keeping tabs on you.”

I marveled at it. “Kind of like some cyber babysitter.”

“Not what it was intended for, Princess, but if it will keep you safe...safer...then so be it. Take the vidbook with you and keep in touch. Regardless of how you do this, it will keep you connected to the brains of this operation...and that would be us.”

I nodded. “Fine then. Are you sure you guys don’t just want to put a bug up my butt?”

Carl grinned. “Don’t have to. There’s a GPS system built right in.”

“Of course there is.”

Standing up I wrapped my arms around Danica and hugged her tightly. “Believe in me, Dani. I can do this. It’s not like I’m going out there to haul them in myself.”

“Right. You’re an empath, Clark, not some superhero. Remember that, will you?”

“I’ll try.”

Funny thing was, I wasn’t sure there was a difference.

“Hi, Mel. It’s me.” Shifting ears with the phone, I felt my shoulders relax as they always did when I talked to her.

“I was hoping you’d call. We’ve made all of the arrangements to get Cindy out of there, and they are willing to release her into your custody tomorrow morning.”

“Into
my
cu—”

“Just until we can get her out here. George can’t come, so I bought you and the girl an open ticket. I know this is a bit of an inconvenience for you right now, but it’s the best I can do at such short notice.”

“I can handle it, really.”

“I know you can. They’ll meet you at the hospital tomorrow morning at eight.”

“Eight. Got it.”

“As for the piece you are struggling with, all I can tell you, all that you’re
willing
to hear is that you need to do what you have always done; and that’s to follow your heart. It’s how you’ve always managed your life even when you were a young girl. I have no doubt you will do the right thing for your life...whatever that may be.”

“And if I’m in danger?”

There was a slight pause. “Echo, my dear, the world we live in is fraught with danger. Just because we have extraordinary abilities does not mean we are safe from these dangers. We each must look into our own heart to determine whether or not we are willing to take these dangers on.”

“Like the time you threw chicken to that alligator?”

“Precisely. Remember when you first came to the Bayou, how you couldn’t believe we lived among them?”

“Yes. They were so big and scary, and I knew nothing about them except how dangerous and scary they looked.”

“And Tip explained that our ’gators were no more dangerous than the squirrels in the suburbs, remember?”

I grinned. “Like it was yesterday.”

“Well, now you live in a world where danger is everywhere. You can shrink from it, attack it head-on, or walk away, but regardless of what you do there will always be danger lurking behind every corner. I understand Danica’s fear, why she cautions you to be careful; because you should be. But life is fuller when you follow your heart, and if your heart guides you to those dark places where danger lies in wait, then you must forge ahead with every bit of power the universe has given you. It’s your way, my dear. It’s simply who you are.”

I became a reporter because truth was my religion, my honesty and my creed. I couldn’t very well run from it just because it was hard or scary or dangerous. My truth now was that I just might have an opportunity to save the lives of people who deserved better than what the universe had given them.

I guess that settled it then. “Thanks Mel. You always did know what to say.”

Sitting at the table with Tripod in my lap, I pored over the file and notes and printouts Danica and the boys had given me. I was astounded by what I read.

Villagers in a destitute part of India who sold their kidneys in a similar scheme received about $800 for their organs. At one time, Israeli organ brokers were obtaining kidneys from people in former Soviet-bloc nations and transplanting them into patients who traveled to Turkey for the operation. For the broker, there was money to be made—one Israeli middleman in the organ trade made $4 million before being caught.

Sitting back, I whistled and shook my head and kept reading.

There are 99,564 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant in the U.S. 13,813 people were lucky enough to receive an organ. More than 15,000 Americans die each year while waiting for an organ. In Europe, 25-30% die before they can receive an organ transplant. The shortage of transplant organs has caused some very unscrupulous people to take advantage of the  desperate people in a race against death. Out of options, many in need of an organ are turning to an underground black market.

I started scratching out more notes.

People donating their organs to black market brokers are generally poor and from impoverished or underdeveloped countries. In December 2007, authorities in Africa and Brazil broke up one of these black markets. These are just a few of the worldwide documented cases against organ brokers that pay impoverished unassuming people to give up a kidney. Most of these cases are only brought to light when the black market harvester does not pay the donor
.

I sat back, stunned. It was beginning to make sense to me now. If Americans were paying for illegally gotten body parts, the organs needed to be harvested close by. The overhead would be minimal and the harvester would not have to pay out a single cent. It would be 100 percent profit. Not only that, instead of paying forty grand for one kidney, the harvesters could get both plus a liver, heart, and anything else they felt they could sell.

My stomach twisted as I thought of Bob.

I called Finn.

“Hey, Echo. I was gonna call when I had a second, but I never seemed to get one. Jardine told me the task force is starting its homework.”

“That’s good. Look, I think I know what’s going down in regard to my story and it’s big. I was wondering what you think I should do if I came upon information the task force might need, or if I should just back off now that they’re on it.”

“You got more evidence after your meeting? Busy bee. Give whatever you have to Darryl. Give it to him and trust him to do the right thing with it. I can’t speak for the other members of the task force, but I do know he’ll do everything he can to help. You give him something to work with and I guarantee you’ll get some answers. Jardine’s a good guy.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks. Be careful out there  Deputy Dog.”

“You do the same, Lois Lane.”

Opening the little computer, I watched as the tiny camera icon popped on and the monitor came to life. It was weird knowing that somewhere in the wide expanse of cyberspace four different people might know I had logged on to their own personal electronic universe. I had to admit that the little vidbook was pretty cool.