Another Day in Paradise

By Dr. Kathy M. Basnar

Throughout the world, people of all races, ethnic groups, ages, and genders disappear without explanation every day. This is a story of their plight, from freedom into slavery and sometimes back to freedom. Across the globe, not only humans but also exotic animals, precious gems, timber, petroleum, natural gas, and other limited natural resources face similar perils and are illegally transported through the same distribution pipelines.

In a world faced with rapidly diminishing resources, the theft of human life and scarce resources has become a major criminal enterprise across the globe. To stop this criminal epidemic, the public must be aware and prepared to report any suspicious activity pertaining to any of the crimes previously mentioned. This should be reported immediately to the appropriate authorities. Personal intervention is not advised unless it's the only viable option.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645360728

Dr. Kathy M. Basnar

Dr. Kathy M. Basnar's twelve years working as an educator in a juvenile justice system lends her credibility in books of crime fiction and thrillers. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three rescue horses, and ten cats.

Book preview

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About the Author

Dr. Kathy M. Basnar’s twelve years working as an educator in a juvenile justice system lends her credibility in books of crime fiction and thrillers. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three rescue horses, and ten cats.

Dedication

To honor the men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives to save others.

Copyright Information

Copyright © Dr. Kathy M. Basnar (2019)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Basnar, Dr. Kathy M.

Another Day in Paradise

ISBN 9781641827409 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781641827416 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645360728 (E-Book)

The main category of the book — Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to my husband who showered me with patience and support as I worked long hours at a keyboard.

Chapter 1

Sixty thousand people filled the football stadium. Originally known as the Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, located in Maryland, it currently had the seating capacity of 82,000, but Alex sensed that he was close by. She was happy now in her new life as a wife. These past two years had flown by since her last job as undercover agent for the federal government. The FBI promised her that she would never be in danger again, but she knew better. He was close by for a reason and would soon make contact.

Her husband Jim got up and walked to the concession stand to get popcorn. Immediately, Alex was aware that someone was sitting behind her and knew that it was Sam. Only Sam could make her heart beat faster; even now she wanted to be in his arms where she always felt safe. He was an experienced FBI agent and involved in many international cases. One area of expertise that Sam was working on at the time was a terror group based in and around the southwestern part of the Philippines. Where for more than three decades, the group had been engaged in carrying out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, and extortion in their fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

Sam leaned over Alex’s shoulder and said, It’s good to see you again. Alex was still beautiful. Her blonde hair and penetrating green eyes would take any male’s breath away. She was an experienced undercover agent participating in numerous cases of human trafficking including covert/overt operations, following up on leads, conducting surveillances, interviewing victims and deadly with the Glock. In the past, Alex was often called upon to investigate difficult cases involving international human trafficking and political kidnapping. Once she gets on the trail of something, she sticks right on it. She was also fluent in five languages.

What do you want, Sam? asked Alex.

Sam replied, The General is in trouble and wants to talk to you. He wants me to set up a meeting with you.

Alex slowly replied, What kind of trouble is the General in?

Sam replied, I am not at liberty to say what the trouble is.

Hesitating, Alex said, I will contact you later in the week, Sam.

That will be too late, Alex. We need for you to leave immediately, like right now. This is top secret, and has to be dealt with as soon as possible. Sam stood up. I will be waiting for you outside. We will take a cab to the airport. You will not be able to make contact with your family or anyone. I will be outside by the cab stand. Alex was in anguish over the fact that she could not leave Jim an explanation of her absence. She got up and left behind Sam.

Standing in the shadows of the concession stand, Jim observed Alex leaving behind Sam. He acknowledged to himself that the stage was set. Jim was a good-looking American who owned and operated a bookstore in Washington, D.C. The bookstore proved to be a good cover for his extracurricular activities of espionage (spying). This lucrative business made him a very wealthy man in the circles of Washington, D.C. Being married to Alex allowed him to make connections in the FBI departments that otherwise would not have been possible.

Jim had a fleeting moment of guilt about Alex because he knew that he would not see her again. Alex was the pawn in this game, but there was too much at stake to do anything about it. Jim took out his phone and dialed the Pizza Parlor number. The chef answered, and Jim said, Two plain cheese pizzas delivered to 107 Rose Lane, Washington, D.C. after the game. Thank you. Later that evening, a car bomb blew up the residence at 107 Rose Lane, Washington, D.C. The news reported that no one was left alive. Jim then threw the phone in the Potomac River and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Alex and Sam arrived at the airport just minutes before take-off. The big 747 passenger jet taxied down the airstrip toward Buenos Aires, Argentina. While on the plane, Alex and Sam entered into polite conversation about the flight and the weather. Ten hours later, the big plane landed in the Buenos Aires airport. Alex and Sam were met by the General’s bodyguards, and were placed in a limousine and whisked away to the General’s country estate outside the city. The sun was coming up, and Alex thought how beautiful the countryside was.

The General loved country living, and this was where he lived since his retirement. She could see the magnificent estate in the distance. The big manor house, the surrounding outbuildings, and the barn that housed the General’s magnificent Lipizzaner horses. The horses have an ancient history that dates back to the eighth century and the Moorish occupation of Spain. Some of the beautiful Lipizzaner mares and foals were grazing in lush pastures, and far off in the distance was a pasture with grazing Appaloosas. Alex wondered why the American Appaloosa was in Argentina and on the General’s country estate.

He was called ‘the General’ because of his leadership in bringing closure to the ISIS attacks in the United States. At that time, The ‘General’ was the Special Operations commander for the United States. He met Alex and Sam at the front door and ushered them inside. He was truly a man to be reckoned with. His quiet strength and tenderness always appealed to Alex. It is good to see you again, said the General. Come inside to my library. I have refreshments for you. The General’s library was impressive. The bookshelves were filled with books, some ancient and some currently published.

Please be seated, said the General, and I will explain the situation that has occurred. As you know, all of your younger years were spent as guards or teachers in a small YDC facility in Georgia known only as ‘Paradise’. This juvenile facility is only 17 years old and is located 150 miles south of Atlanta, Georgia. There are guard towers, security fences, armed patrols, and surveillance cameras. Atlanta now has an international airport that connects with other countries around the globe. Evidence indicates that this facility is the holding pen for hundreds of young kidnapped victims who are later sold to the highest bidder.

One of those victims is my granddaughter, Tess, who was kidnapped three days ago while on a school field trip. This kidnap-investigation led to ‘Paradise’ where it was discovered to be the ‘holding pen’ for other misfortunate victims. Tess was kidnapped as a ‘payback’ for some of my activities as leader of the movement to get rid of ISIS in the United States. I need your help in getting Tess back along with the others and finding out who is responsible, whether it is a group or one person. I trust only you and Sam. As you know or suspect, I am still very active in the ploy against ISIS concerning their activities in the United States. We think that ‘Paradise’ is the strong hold for kidnapped victims east of the Mississippi River because of the access to the Atlanta International airport.

The money from the sale of the victims goes directly to the funding of ISIS in the United States. At this time, we have not located the ISIS leaders in the United States. The only thing that we know for sure is that ‘Paradise’ is a hidden facility and off the mainstream of the U.S. intelligence department. I cannot impress upon you both about how dangerous this situation is. Your assignment is to go to the YDC as a guard and as a teacher, and search, locate, and rescue the victims before they are moved to another hiding place. Evidence indicates that there are twenty or more young females and about ten young males held in captivity. These young people are ten to thirteen years old and have been at the facility for nearly a week. Sadly, the General mentioned, that even now the young people may have already been shipped out to unknown destinations.

Alex, I am sorry to tell you that your husband Jim was killed in a car bomb explosion while at your home in Washington, D. C. We have no clues at the moment of who caused his death. Alex felt a sudden sadness and emptiness. The General said, We don’t think that there is any connection to the kidnapped victims at this time; however, we are not ruling out everything. Stay here tonight and fly out early in the morning. I have all of your tickets and details worked out for your return to Atlanta, Georgia. After you land, proceed to the Avis car rental company and pick up your car and drive to ‘Paradise’. Your new jobs will begin immediately after arriving at the facility. Good luck to both of you. The General then turned and left the room. The housekeeper showed Alex and Sam to their rooms and later brought them each a food tray.

Sam turned to Alex and said, I am sorry about Jim’s death. I know that the news was hard to take. We will find out who did this, I promise you.

Thanks, Sam, replied Alex. I just want to be by myself if you don’t mind. I will see you early in the morning.

The next morning, Sam and Alex said goodbye to the General, and both were taken to the airport in the General’s limousine for their flight to Atlanta, Georgia. While flying, both talked about the weather and their flight to Georgia. Upon landing, they made their way to Avis car rental and received their awaiting rental Ford SUV. The three-hour drive to ‘Paradise’ gave them time to talk about the options for locating and rescuing the young kidnapped victims. Sam and Alex realized that they would be on their own and without weapons in the facility. It made the rescue victims almost impossible except for the fact that Sam had an idea of how to implement the rescue once the victims were found.

Paradise was a small, 159-bed juvenile facility located near a small South Georgia town. The facility included a reception building where the inmates could receive visitors daily from 3:00 p.m.to 5:00 p.m. The inmates were in school five days a week. The school classrooms were small and could hold only fifteen students. The student population was counted every hour by the guards. The students enjoyed recreation after school hours and then had an early supper and then returned to their assigned dorm rooms. The three dorms housed fifty plus students with six to eight guards for each dorm. Security cameras were in every corner of the dorms and classrooms and were monitored 24/7 by trained guards. The security guards were highly trained and equipped with the latest weapons.

Although the guards had no guns but tasers to use, they were experts in ‘take down’ methods. Most juvenile troublemakers were placed on 72-hour lockdown and were isolated from the general population. Sam was placed on the guard list to take food to those inmates who were on lockdown. In doing so, Sam became friendly with two of the inmates on lockdown. The two boys quietly told Sam that new students were taken to the cell at the end of the lockdown hall and were never seen again. Sam asked them if they could identify the inmates. The two inmates told Sam that the new students were always covered with hoodie and were never allowed to show their faces as they walked down the long hall to the end. Sam immediately related the information to Alex.

We have to investigate the lockdown hall to see what is at the end of it. Alex said.

Tonight, I will carry the food tray to the lockdown inmates and make my way to the end of the hall, said Sam.

I will go with you. I have a guard uniform that I can use. It is too dangerous for you to go by yourself. I will meet you at the entrance to the lockdown dorm at 7:00 p.m., replied Alex.

At the scheduled time, Alex and Sam were standing in the long hall of the lockdown building. Both were dressed as security guards and were delivering supper