Earl POV

Kane, Drew and Heather were preparing themselves to go undercover in the auction that was starting in two hours. A lot happened after I interrogated Marc. Since I knew couldn't rely everything on Aaron, I had asked Heather to send some men to poke around. One of them succeeded to infiltrate the staff working for the auction. Hopefully, he secured us a few places for the main event with four tickets. At the moment, he was still working there to help us in case things started to turn bad. One bad tendency of Kane was the fact that he underestimated his opponents. That is why I took the risk to send both Kane and Drew together since they can only reach their full capabilities while working as a team.

Still, without knowing the identity of the brain of the organization, we couldn't do a thing. We could win a battle, but not the war. There was where Nikolaev's twins came into the play. With one of my men in the inside, we started a rumour to attract the big boss' attention. By accident, Ashley discovered that there where a few of the families going against the decision of disposing of Kane, Sky and Drew. So, we created a rumour saying that the Nikolaev were willing to pay a lot of money to put their hands on them. They would do everything to regain their former glory. In no time, they were greeted with open arms. Yet, it took a day or two before they could meet the boss. Even then, they didn't see him in person. They were way too cautious to my liking.

Anyways, the most important was the fact that we discovered the real date of the auction. Neither Aaron or Marc were right. Which was improbable. Aaron said he got it from a secure and reliable source. As for Marc, he was contacted by the enemy. Which meant they lied to Marc. Plus on his phone, there was indeed a few information, but none of them were true. I even asked Shelby to trace back the source of the calls and emails. But was the most suspicious was the fact that after we caught Marc, Aaron was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't answering his calls and he didn't return to France. If the enemy captured him, they would have asked for a ransom which they didn't. What was happening?

So here we are in a penthouse that I bought a few hours ago. Let's say, I had to convince the owner of this propriety to leave rapidly and without a fuss. This penthouse was perfect since it gave us a perfect view of the building where the auction would be. The reason I didn't send Sky was that she was our sniper. She will be able to keep an eye on the exterior of the building while they are inside and assist them in need. She successfully mastered all sorts of guns in only a few hours. She was adapting so fast that it was scary. She could easily hit a target kilometres away.

"Is everyone ready?" I asked when it was time for them to leave. They all nodded in answer making me nod back. "Remember, we are all connected by the radio, but if something happens, do not panic. I had someone put cameras and radios all over the room where the auction shall be. You all already know what to do."

"Guests are starting to enter the building," Sky stated through the radio since she was already on the rooftop.

"Then, we are off," Heather said in return as Kane and Drew followed her out.

"Be careful everyone," I murmured.

Once the door had closed behind them, I sat down on the chair next to Ashley as she was already watching the screens hanging on the wall. She hadn't said a word all day which was rare. Usually, she wouldn't think twice before verbally attack Kane, but today she just ignored him. She may not have been happy with my decision, but no matter how she acted, I wouldn't change my mind.

Ashley and I tested communication devices and made sure that every camera was connected. Ashley and Sky were in charge of monitoring the exterior of the building as for me, I was watching the inside of it. Even though it was a private event, there was still a whole lot of people in there. Maybe there were a hundred people? Apparently, they had secured a lot of rare animals and antiquities, but the main attraction would be the slave auction which will be restricted to only a handful of people. There was also a rumour saying that their boss would be attending. This will be our chance. Fortunately for us, Heather got us in and if no one recognized Kane and Drew, we can take them down.

"The slave auction is starting," Heather reports as I carefully watch the screens.

"Our main objective is to find their leader. Once you did do not let him escape," I answered. "Does anything look suspicious to you, Sky?"

"Negative, no one in sight."

What irritated me the most was the fact that the guests are all wearing white masks. They all looked the same for me. None of them seemed to have any bodyguards nor any kind of distinction. And because of that, the auction started and people started to bet money on what they liked. The amount of money escalated pretty rapidly since the buyers were pretty stubborn. Most of the slaves that were auctioned were kidnapped teenagers or used slaves that their owners didn't want anymore. All of them were malnourished and scared out of their wits. None of them had the same impact as Kane. No wonder, if he was in the auction, he would be sold for a fortune and I doubt that the military would back away easily. They were the easiest to spot among the crowd since they refused to change from their military outfit. However, since they were on the second floor, very few people could see them.

I played with the cameras as I observed the audience on the second floor. Up there, the setting was displayed in sort to have multiple private rooms. Fortunately for me, there was a camera in each room. But getting close to one would not be easy because of the tight security. We couldn't afford to cause a commotion and have our target to escape in the chaos of the crowd.

I was starting to lose hope until I saw something that I couldn't believe my eyes. How the hell did they get up there? This time there were two people that had been pushed on the stage. Both the Nikolaev's twins were on the stage with their hands and feet cuffed together.

"Heather, are you seeing what I am seeing?" I asked through the microphone.

"Yes," Heather whispered on the other side as I could see people starting bidding on it. "What should we do?"

If we don't do anything, the would be sold to someone to do as they please, but if we put too much of a fight, their leader may suspect something. There must be a reason why the twins were put there.

"Heather, stall for some time," I answered to her question before turning to Ashley. "Is our mole still here?"

Ashley frowned at my question before taking out her phone to contact the spy we put inside their organization. But after she didn't succeed to get through the third time, I knew what it meant. He had been discovered and since the twins were up there on the stage, the man had talked.

Pathetic.

I should just eliminate everyone here. As if I could do that. I would already have if I was certain that our target was inside this building. Anyways, what should I do? The twins will be sold to some old geezer at this pace. We could always rescue them, but if we buy them, there was a slight chance that we might meet their leader even if it may be a trap. We had our men ready to get inside the building at any moment, but not knowing who we were fighting against was a huge disadvantage. But if we don't, we may lose their track for good.

"Heather, you have to win the bidding," I finally ordered after a moment of reflection.

"Do I have a limit?" Heather asked while she continued to offer a higher amount of money.

"No. Win it, no matter what."

"Understood."

She was now bidding against one person only and he was damn persistent. The amount just exceeded five hundred thousands and he wasn't backing up. This may take forever, but it looked like people were running out of patience.

"Five million!" Kane shouted out of nowhere creating a heavy silence throughout the room.

Five million? I knew that I said there was no limit to the amount they could bid, but going from one million and something to five million was way too extreme! That fucking bastard, was he trying to ruin me?! I could already hear Shelby chewing me up for wasting way too much money. We could have settled this matter for less, but no Kane was too impatient! Why couldn't he fall asleep like he usually does when he was bored?

I took multiple deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. At least, we saved the twins and we had a chance to meet our target. Money was money, we could recuperate it later on. Fortunately for me, I already gave Heather one of my cards with no limit on it so she can pay the amount, but Kane will regret it. Five million wasn't equal to five dollars! If he ever wanted sex again, I will make him work for it. He better pay up before touching my five fucking million dollars ass.

"I heard five million! Five million once... Twice... Sold!" the man on the stage shouted after hitting his wooden hammer on the lectern. "This will conclude the auction for the day. Thank you very much for your patronage. For those who have to collect their item, please come this way."