Max had to stop by the District C-6 police station to check in with the officer they coordinated the raid with.  It had been touch and go for a while.  The raid wasn’t supposed to take place for at least another two weeks.  They had plenty to go on now but Max wanted to make sure.  His two years undercover work was paying off and if they moved to soon all his work would have been for nothing.  But after talking to Billy and seeing what Jeffery had planed for Kate he decided to move now.<br/><br/>It took longer that he would have liked to get everything in place.  They had to get emergency warrants from two judges.  Arrange for additional police from the local authorities, which somehow always seemed to slow things down even more.  The fact that he had been too late to stop Kate from getting hurt was bad enough.  But the other fact that Jeffery had managed to escape during the confusion left him seething.  Sure they had an APB out on him but he could easily skip the country, somehow guys like Jeffery always seemed to be one step ahead.  If he did manage to get out of the country that meant involving Interpol and they were busy hunting terrorists which left fewer resources to help stop the white slave trade.  Jeffery was only the tip of the iceberg and they needed him to get to the real fat.<br/><br/>The white slave trade was flourishing in the States thanks to a rotten economy.  Girls like Kate were disappearing every day.  God only knows where they ended up.  Russia, the Balkans; hell even China.  Used to be the Middle East and Japan but the “shifting world economy” changed all that.  And somehow there was always a high demand for young, white, blondes.<br/><br/>Max stopped just inside the precinct door and unwrapped a piece of gum.  It was all bullshit.  He looked around at the controlled chaos of the police station.  Thank God they had Kate safely tucked away.  There was no way these amateurs were going to get hold of her.  No way!  As he swept the room his eyes fell on a familiar looking man sitting handcuffed on a bench awaiting booking.  He frowned.  Billy?  What the fuck was he doing here?  He shoved his way through the crowd.<br/><br/>“Billy?  What the hell are you doing here?”  Before Billy could answer Max was calling over an officer.  A beefy looking sergeant ambled over.<br/><br/>“Yeah?”  The officer asked in a heavy South Boston accent.<br/><br/>“Get these cuffs off this witness.”  Max ordered.<br/><br/>The officer looked down at Billy.  “Can’t do that.” He smirked.  “He’s under arrest.  He’ll be up for booking in a few minutes.”<br/><br/>The local’s loved to stick it to the feds every chance they got.  Max got in the guys face and shoved his badge in it.<br/><br/>“Listen pal.  Unless you want to go back to writing parking tickets for a living you best take the cuffs off this federal material witness.”  He emphasized the word “Federal.”<br/><br/>Max could be an imposing figure when he was pissed.  And Billy could tell he was pissed.  The officer grunted something under his breath but reluctantly uncuffed Billy.  He walked away but not before bumping shoulders with Max.  Max just shook his head.<br/><br/>“Fucking assholes.  You give them a break on a big case and they think they own it.”<br/><br/>He grabbed Billy by the arm and dragged him outside.  The sun was just cracking the horizon.  It looked like it would be a warm autumn day.  There was a Starbucks across the street so Max said he’d buy Billy a coffee and they could talk.  On an early Saturday morning there weren’t too many people around yet so they sat at a table near the back.  Billy wanted to go to the hospital to be with Kate.  Somehow he felt responsible for her.  Max just shook his head.<br/><br/>“No way man.  She’s a material witness in a Federal case with international ties.  She’s in protective custody down at Mass General.  Look she needs help and we will get it for her.  But right now?  Even I couldn’t get in to see her.  And if you go down there asking about her.  They will tell you there is no patient by that name there.  My advice would be to get with a lawyer because you will be asked to testify once Jeffery is caught and all this is worked out.  It’s doubtful he and his connections will be looking for you.  You were just there as his guest.  But Kate?  She knows the man.  Knows him well.  Her he will want to shut her down.  Look the bureau is going to be moving her around for her own protection.  She will be in psych wards so she can work out her issues.”<br/><br/>Billy was pressing him.  Max shook his head.<br/><br/>“I don’t know man.  A few weeks?  A few months?  Don’t worry about her school.  I’ve already got that covered.  She’ll be fine.  But look, you need to lay low for a while.  This is going to hit the press and the media today.  I’ll see to it that her name isn’t mentioned.  Yours too.  But you need to get with a lawyer because if there’s anything, anything at all you might have on this guy, we need to know.”<br/><br/>Billy calmed down some and asked Max how a former pro-football player happened to be a special agent for the FBI.  Max smiled and looked at his watch.<br/><br/>“Long story.  Listen we’ll sit down after all this is cleared up and I’ll tell you the whole story over a few beers, but right now I have to get over there and start cleaning up a few things.”  He winked.  “Okay?”<br/><br/>Max called for the check and tossed a twenty on the table.  He handed Billy his card.<br/><br/>“Look anything you might have heard or saw that would help us get this fucker give me a call.  Day or night.  Got that?”<br/><br/>Billy nodded.<br/><br/>“Okay.  Now clear out of here before the press gets here.”  He stood then held out his hand.<br/><br/>“You take care and don’t worry, Kate will be fine.”<br/><br/>The two men shook hands and Max headed back to the station.  The sun tilted higher and the early morning risers started coming in for breakfast.  Billy ordered another cup of coffee.  It was going to be a long day.<br/><br/>