Everyone gathered in the large conference room for the night briefing. The wall of monitors showed the outside areas surrounding Molly's tavern front and rear. There was no activity, and reports from VJS security officers confirmed the same. Quinn brought Gwen with him to tell what she told Raven about the potential raid on the tavern. When she finished, Gwen slouched in her chair moving closer to Quinn.
It was Quinn's turn next. Quinn put his arm around Gwen and pulled her closer as he spoke. "After Gwen called Raven, the lawyer appeared at Molly's. Raven gave Molly the news, but Molly was unmoved by the revelation. Diana, the bartender, sat with Molly and Raven, so she knows what is going to happen. After Raven had left, Molly summoned Carlo and bid Diana return to the bar. Molly and Carlo spoke in hushed tones, but a look of alarm crossed Carlo's face briefly."
Slade interrupted, "Tomorrow evening during the dinner hour, the raid will happen. We have cars stationed close to the tavern now, waiting for the victim's evacuation."
Quinn continued, "Molly was angry with Carlo, but she maintained her calmness. Carlo shrunk away from her and hung his head as if he were a punished child. When Molly finished, Carlo sat for a few minutes, but soon returned to his duty at the door. The rest of the night passed without incident. The tavern is a very busy place. Anna worked hard serving the people who kept her running to the bar and serving. She observed the meeting but heard nothing said. I think the message from Raven caused a stir, but we have to watch the place more carefully for the next few days."
Slade took over, "There are no reports of missing men, but that could be normal due to the transient nature of construction workers."
Suddenly over Slade's shoulder, one of the monitor panels lit brightly. The back door to the tavern opened followed by a single person leaving to carry rubbish out, but that was not all. A dark SUV drove up to the door. Soon Carlo emerged leading two naked, blindfolded men into the back of the SUV. After the men entered Carlo took a seat on the passenger side of the front. The SUV drove slowly away from the tavern down the darkened alley to the main street.
Almost immediately, a heightened sense of excited urgency spread in the conference room. Slade phoned the cars watching the back of the tavern and filled them in on the action. Everyone moved to leave the room and join the pursuit. Slade stopped them and advised that the people on the site be allowed to do their jobs unhindered. He cautioned the group to watch and be ready. The mood stayed high, but everyone relaxed and watched the monitors.
The pursuit vehicles had dash mounted cameras relaying video to the conference room. Eran enlarged the pursuing vehicle's video feed to examine who was in the SUV and if the victims appeared endangered. So far, it seemed that the drive was uneventful.
As everyone watched, the original monitor screen brightened again. This time, a limo pulled up and stopped. The back door opened as the tavern door opened and two more naked, nervous, blindfolded men appeared. These people were forced physically to enter the limo followed by Molly and two fey. As Eran observed the monitor, she enlarged it on the screen. All eyes shifted from the pursuit to the limo. A loud groan rang out in the conference room.
Slade calmly picked up his phone, dialed a number. He said, "Just as suspected they used a diversion with the first limo. Are you in a position to follow this second vehicle?"
A smile crossed Slade's face, and everyone knew that all was in control. The anticipated diversion happened but did not catch the pursuit vehicles off guard. Whatever happened next would not be a surprise to anyone in the room, only the people in the limo would know that things were over. All eyes in the room switched to the new pursuit following Molly. The tension level in the room elevated.
Quinn stood, slowly walked to Slade and pulled him out of the room. When the door closed, Quinn spoke, "Gwen worries about Raven and her involvement in the deception of Molly. She does not want Raven implicated in any of the cases against Carlo and Molly. What do you think about that?"
Slade looked through the door at Gwen. She slouched still intently watching the monitors. Slade returned to Quinn, "Raven like Quinn was a pawn in this game to trap Carlo and Molly. Unless to Molly's and Carlo's defense, they are called, Raven's and Gwen's involvement is secret. They are in the clear as far as VJS cares."
Quinn replied, "Thanks."
Slade continued, "You like Gwen, don't you? Would you like to take her back to your city? She is a smart, lovely and likable young woman. You are lucky to capture her heart."
Quinn smiled as his face glowed with his feelings for Gwen. "I thought about taking her back with me, but we have not talked about our future yet. The case weighs heavy on her heart, and she is a strong witness against Molly and Carlo. Having her with me fills a large void in my heart and life following the death of my girlfriend at the claws and bites of a savage werewolf. I never thought I would find another woman for my life. She is the one."
Slade clapped Quinn on the back and opened the door to the conference room. "OK, people, let's get this pursuit into a stop and search. We need to capture these criminals and their next victims. Eran, tell the surveillance vehicles to move in and intercept both vehicles."
Eran talked to both cars, and the monitoring turned into a pursuit. Everyone watched as the cars drew closer and pulled their targets over. The noise level in the room increased as the excitement of the chase continued. Carlo's limo failed to stop and raced away from the VJS pursuit. Carlo's limo drove on at high speed away from the city and away from the estate outside the town which belonged to Molly. It became evident that Carlo led the police further away from the estate and Molly's future presence there.
Slade flipped open his phone and called the car pursuing Carlo. When the phone connected, Slade spoke, "Follow Carlo until he leaves the city. When he leaves the city, pull him over and put him into custody and bring him to VJS. Let the limo driver and the two occupants go free."
Connie asked, "What was that all about? Do we need to catch him?"
"Yes, if he crosses the city line and goes further then he is in violation of the terms of his release. We can arrest him, and Molly forfeits his bail. It is a big win for VJS. He will be here, and Molly will have to get men on her own."
Quinn spoke, "That will stop a lot of the problems with trying Carlo. He will have more charges filed which will keep him in jail a long time. The case is turning out to be interesting."
Connie laughed, "This is how we get the criminals to act and make mistakes that cost them. Carlo will get locked up, and if we catch Molly with two missing men, then she will go to jail too."
Slade turned to Eran and Kevin, "Can you get in a car and follow the pursuit of Molly. We may be able to catch her and hold her for kidnapping the two men in her car. I don't want to miss the chance to get her in jail too."
Eran folded up her laptop computer and left the room with Kevin. They got a VJS SUV and sped away to join the pursuit. Eran plotted where the pursuit was and directed Kevin to drive. Within fifteen minutes they were behind the pursuit car. The direction Molly was going was to her estate outside the city.
Eran called Slade, "Molly is going to her estate. She does not seem to be in a rush to get there. I think the woman feels that sacrificing Carlo will get her off the case and give her a chance to get away. I believe that we need to stop her before we get to her estate and she is inside. Once she gets there, we will require the warrant to search the place."
Slade laughed and said, "Leona issued a warrant to cover searching all properties Molly owns. That order is still valid even though used at the tavern."
Kevin smiled at Eran. His thoughts went to conducting a search of the estate. He remembered the scene of Raven and Gwen walking the property in the dark. The wall along the front of the estate did not surround the grounds. That could mean that Molly could escape the same way Gwen entered. Kevin spoke up, "The wall in the front of the estate is only a front. It does not surround the estate. Molly may be able to escape through the woods when we start the search."
Slade growled, but Connie spoke up, "Molly won't take the chance being in the forest at night. She is afraid of wolves and knows that there is a pack of werewolves that runs nearby. So that will keep her in the main house."
Kevin smiled and poked Eran who smiled back at him. "Should we wait for backup before we approach the house to execute the search warrant?" Kevin asked.
Slade replied, "Yes you should wait. Just block the entrance to stop them from leaving. We are dispatching a full forensics team to conduct the search and gather evidence."
Kevin replied, "With two cars we can easily block the estate entrance. No one will drive away tonight. The pursuit is working out better than I expected it would."
Eran said, "They took the turnoff toward the estate. They are still driving at a reasonable pace. I don't think they know we are tailing them."
Slade replied smoothly,"Let's not get too confident about this. Be careful and just monitor the situation until help arrives." Kevin shook his head and continued to follow Molly.