We arrive at the black market and get out of the car. I still keep Alex in my arms and she still hasn't spoken. It's funny how Alex can be so damn quiet as the other girls -including Patricia- are screaming at the top of their lungs, but then, none of them are in shock.

Vince and Kirk step out from the other car, dragging the girls along and putting duct tape over Aubrey's mouth to keep her quiet. The other girls are just sobbing, but it seems like there's no off button to Aubrey's heartbreaking screams.

"Everyone ready to go?" Zeke asks and everyone nods and we start moving towards the gray industrial building where the market is held.

We reach the run down door in a matter of minutes and it squeaks loudly when we open it and walk through. Next up is a dark corridor, the only light of source coming from the one lamp attached to the wall which flickers and is on the verge to break.

By the next door, there's a heavily built guard watching it, and normally we would've said our names and reason for being here, but we're already well known here and the guard recognizes us since before.

He scoffs and mutters something we can't hear, before wiping off some sweat from his bald forehead and then putting in the code to the heavy door.

We don't say thanks, we're not known for being polite, and walk through the door.

A strong smell of cigarettes immediately hit us and the air is thick with smoke. Zeke brings out a cigarette himself and lit it. He holds out the package for me to take, but I shake my head.

We walk to the back of the room and pass both young and old men on the way. There are a few girls here too, but barely anyone except for the ones that are up on the market.

I sit down on a crimson red sofa and pull my feet up at the table in front of it, gently placing Alex in a comfortable position on my lap, her head resting against my shoulder. Her body is tensed and her lips slightly parted, like if she's about to say something, but she doesn't.

Zeke sits down beside me, I feel the cushions sink down a bit under his weight, and Danny sits on a wooden chair by the table that's now working as my footrest.

The other guys disappeared somewhere, some of them to go behind the stage with Aubrey, and some of them to probably meet old acquaintances or buy something to drink.

Whatever they did, they came back within a few minutes, except for Kirk who stayed with Aubrey.

"Here you go", Vince says and hands me a beer. He didn't ask me if I wanted it because he already knew I would.

"She's still not answering, huh?" he then says and eyes Alex. I sadly shake my head and open the can and take a sip of what's inside.

"No, she's not. Didn't think it would affect her so much."

"What did you even do?" he asks and I realize I haven't told anyone and I grin.

"Just gave her a little water to bath her pretty little head in."

Vince chuckles slightly and take a sip of his own beer before sitting down on the free side next to me.

I sigh and lay back my head and close my eyes for a moment. A small headache has formed in my temple and I pinch the bridge of my nose with my free hand.

After a couple of seconds, I open my eyes again and they immediately adjust to the dull light. My hand moves from my face down to Alex's thigh as my eyes travel over the people in the room. Some, most, of the faces are familiar, but it's also some new ones I don't recall that I've seen before. Like the man in a black suit near the exit. He wears a white shirt underneath the black blazer, and it seems to be too neatly fixed compared to everyone else's clothing. Same thing goes for his hair. It's light and pretty messed up, but it seems like he tried too much. Like if he tried to make it look messy on purpose without indicating that he'd put any effort in styling it, but his original haircut gives it away. It's too neatly cut, not layered or damaged at all. It wouldn't even be a little bit out of place if it wasn't for the styling product he'd put in. Maybe it just looks like that, or maybe he's vain. Not that it matters for me at all.

What does catch my attention, on the other hand, is his eyes that seem to flicker through the room over and over again, and when it lands on the corner where we are, he immediately look away like if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. I watch him intensely, not even caring to hide my stare. I think it makes him uncomfortable because I can see his Adam's apple move as he gulps and look away towards the stage.

If there's something about a place like this, a black market, it's to not trust nor upset anyone. It might not end very pretty.

The light suddenly flickers and then goes off completely, the room bathing in darkness a few seconds before the light by the stage goes on again, this time even lighter than before.

A man in his late thirties comes forward, holding a microphone in his hand, and introduce himself. I already know who it is since I've been here more than once and he's been the host the latest years ever since the host before him got busted by the cops.

If you're into the illegal business, nothing's safe, but you sure as hell can make a lot of money.

The man on the stage, known as Ty, explain how the bidding will work - if there by a chance is any newcomers here who don't know about it - and then it starts.

First up is some drugs and I lost my interest halfway through the bidding. We're not here to sell or buy drugs, we just want the money for Aubrey and then we'll leave.

I notice that the man in a neat suit is talking on his phone, and I caught him glancing over at our table once again.

My eyebrow furrows together. What's his problem?

I take another look at him, suspicious about his true identity, and then notice that he takes eye contact with someone across the room.

I follow his gaze that lands on a middle-aged man with short, brown hair and a mustache. The man with a mustache glances over at me and that's when I get the hint that something really isn't as it should.

I elbow Zeke in his ribcage and he almost chokes on his cigarette and gives me a glare, but the glare vanish as he sees my serious face.

"Wha-", he starts but gets cut off by Ty who practically shouts into the microphone to get everyone's attention.

Ty calls up the next one on the stage, and Aubrey stands up, but she's not the only one.

From the corner of my eyes, I see someone from underneath the stage stand up as well.

"Everyone freeze!", the one who stood up says, holding a gun in his two hands. It's the neatly dressed man. "Hands up in the air where we can see them. We're from the police." I notice that the man with the mustache is standing up as well, along with yet two other ones. They are all armed with a gun and I hear Vince curse behind me.

"Shit."

I agree.