Louis Collins: A Post-American Odyssey

Chapter 169

Robin McCarthy stood at the head of the conference table. His Dominion Guard uniform was immaculate, but his red beard was slightly unkempt, and the strain showed around his eyes. He greeted Louis with a brief nod and a handshake.

“Nice speech, Louis.” He looked around the room. “I almost cried.”

“I’m sure you did,” Louis said.

Robin’s expression stayed serious. “I’m here to talk about what happened in New Orleans. I have new intel from Director Warren.”

He slid a tablet to Louis. Angelique leaned in beside him. Gladice stood behind Louis’s chair, her hands on his shoulders. The others found seats around the table. Constantine and Judith remained standing near the door.

“Who’s Director Warren?” Maeve asked.

“Head of Collective intelligence,” Robin said. “She’s been very cooperative.”

“Good,” Louis said. “What’s the story?”

“After you were abducted, your father authorized joint Collective-Dominion operations. We cracked down on the local trafficking networks in New Orleans. We found the warehouse you were held in.”

Gladice’s hands tightened. “Did you find my dead squadmates?”

“We did,” Robin said. “I’m sorry, Gladice.”

Angelique traced the back of Louis’s hand. “What about the people who took us? Who did you find?”

“Multiple bodies were found at the site. We identified most of them as low-level operatives. Human traffickers. Small-time players. But the second group who overwhelmed the rescue and took you to Dixie was more professional.”

Robin tapped the tablet. A diagram showed names, companies, bank accounts, and shipping routes linked across the screen. “They were not a random cartel. They were a specialized extraction team. Linked to a shell corporation called ’Lumen Path Shipping,’ registered in the Great Lakes Alliance, with logistical hubs in Virginia, New England, Canada, the Collective, and the Central Union.”

Willa leaned forward. “Do you think they are the same group that abducted Donya in Chicago and me in Boston?”

“Not directly,” Robin said. “But they likely fed information to local affiliates. Lumen Path Shipping acts as a broker. They gather data, identify targets, and then either sell the intel or facilitate the extraction themselves. They don’t handle the long-term holding. They deliver. In your case, they delivered to Theodore Hargrove and other Dixie interests.”

“Who runs this Lumen Path?” Louis asked.

“We don’t have a name yet,” Robin admitted. “The leadership layers are heavily anonymized. But we traced funding to accounts around the world, including some in the Dominion, which we already seized. We’ve also made arrests in Los Angeles and the Bay Area of people working as data collectors. They sold location data on high-value individuals. Your movements were flagged.”

“Someone was tracking us through New Orleans?” Angelique’s voice was cold.

“Yes,” Robin said. “That’s how the abductors knew where you would be, when you would be vulnerable. After the Julian Vautrin Incident, your security detail was distracted, which gave the traffickers an opening to disguise as local security staff. They had inside help.”

“From who?” Louis asked.

Robin looked at Constantine, who gave a slight nod.

“The New Orleans Municipal Police,” Robin said. “Two officers. Both have confessed to being on the payroll of Lumen Path before Collective authorities executed them. They sold your security protocols and helped get the traffickers close.”

Gladice cursed. “Those motherfuckers.”

Louis stared at the network map on the tablet. “So the people who did this are still out there.”

“Yes,” Robin said. “We are still digging. We know Lumen Path is well-funded and well-connected. But we have a lead. We found a coded message in one of their seized laptops. It mentions a meeting in Salt Lake City. A meeting between a high-level Lumen Path operative and a representative from the Kingdom of Utah.”

“Utah?” Willa’s brows furrowed. “I thought they were isolationists.”

“They are,” Robin said. “But they also have a thriving underground market for human trafficking. There is strong demand there for trafficked young women because of the population loss. It is possible they are working with Lumen Path to expand their operations.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Louis asked.

“We can’t go into Utah,” Robin said. “Not without starting a war we don’t want. And we don’t have enough evidence to justify a military operation. Not yet.”

“So we do nothing?” Maeve’s voice was sharp.

“Not at all,” Robin said. “We keep digging. We keep looking for the leader of Lumen Path. Our agents are working on it. We will find them.”

“Your agents,” Gladice said. “What about us? We want in.”

Robin looked at Constantine. “It’s your call, sir.”

Constantine looked at Louis. “What do you think, son?”

“I think we should be a part of this,” Louis said. “We have a personal stake. We want justice. For us. For everyone they have hurt.”

“Are you sure you are ready for this?” Constantine asked. “You just came back from a nightmare. You might want to rest.”

“We will rest when we have justice,” Angelique said. “Not before.”

Gladice nodded. “She’s right.”

“I agree,” Willa said. “I want to know who is behind this. And I want to make them pay.”

“Me too,” Donya said. “I want to help in any way I can.”

Savannah shrugged. “I’m in. It’s better than sitting around and waiting for the next shoe to drop.”

Cherish looked at Louis. “If you are going, I am going too.”

“Me too,” Maeve said. “I want to kick some ass.”

Constantine smiled. “I like that. But you are not all soldiers or spies. You are victims. And you are not trained for this kind of work.”

“Neither was I,” Louis said. “But I learned. And I survived. And I’m not helpless anymore. Neither are they.”

“Alright,” Constantine said. “But you will answer to Robin, and ultimately to me. You will follow our orders. You will not do anything stupid. And you will stay safe. Understood?”

“Understood,” Louis said, looking at the others. They nodded.

“Good,” Constantine said. “First things first. We will not go to Utah. Not yet. We need more evidence. And we need a plan. For now, you will focus on your recovery and your preparation for university. You will not be field agents. You will be consultants. You will help us with the intel. With the analysis. With the strategy. But you will not operate outside the Dominion. Not until we say so.”

“What if we find a way to go in?” Gladice asked.

“You will not,” Robin said. “Unless you have my approval. And you won’t get it.”

Gladice rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Good,” Robin said. “Now, for the next steps. We will set up a secure communication channel for you. A private network. Access will be limited to this group and a small cleared investigation team. We will brief you on any new intel. And you will tell us anything you remember. Anything that can help us find these people. Anything at all.”

“We will,” Louis said.

“Good.” Robin looked at Constantine. “That’s all I have for now. I will keep you updated.”

Before anyone could answer, Venessa knocked and entered. She held a tablet. Her face had gone pale.

“Constantine. You need to see this.”

The tablet showed the Tengri homepage, but the familiar layout was gone. In its place, a single image filled the screen: the family photo taken at the party earlier that day. The caption read:

WE ARE COMING FOR YOU.

The message changed, cycling through every language used in the Dominion. Then the screen went back to Tengri’s normal look: Your Lives, Under One Sky.

Constantine took the tablet.

“How?” he asked.

Venessa swallowed. “We don’t know. I will start the damage control protocol. This is an attack on the Dominion itself.”

She left the room, already making calls. Constantine looked at Robin. “Find who did this. Find them now.”

“I’m on it,” Robin said, and followed her out. “I’ll be in the lab.”

Constantine handed the tablet back to Louis. “Looks like your speech made a bigger impact than you thought. Someone is scared.”

“I hope they are,” Angelique said, her voice cold.

“So do I,” Constantine said. “Because fear is a powerful motivator. And it makes people do stupid things. Things that will lead us to them. We will use their fear against them. We will make them regret the day they crossed my son. And my family.” He looked at Louis. “Get some rest. We have a long road ahead of us.”

Judith touched Louis’s arm. “He’s right. You need to take care of yourselves. And each other. We will handle the rest. For now.”

She led Constantine out of the room, leaving Louis and the women alone.

“Well,” Savannah said. “That was… a lot.”

“Yeah,” Louis said. “It was.”

“What do we do now?” Donya asked.

Cherish took out her phone as it buzzed with a notification. She read it and stilled.

“What is it, Cherry?” Louis asked.

“Someone sent me a message,” she said, her voice trembling. “On Tengri.”

“What does it say?” Angelique asked.

“I don’t want to read it out loud.” She looked at them, her eyes wide. “It’s… not nice.”

“Let me see,” Louis said.

Cherish handed him the phone. The message was from a private account with no profile picture. The text was simple, but it made Louis’s blood run cold.

You should have died in Dixie.

He looked at the user name. Crusader_777.

“Fucking bastards,” Maeve said, reading over his shoulder.

“Who is this?” Willa asked. “Can we trace them?”

Cherish’s eyes filled with tears. “Why would someone say that to me? I didn’t do anything to them.”

“Because they are fucking assholes,” Gladice said. “And they are scared of us. Of our story. And our truth.”

“I thought people in the Dominion were nice,” Cherish said, wiping her tears. “I thought they were different from Dixie.”

“They are,” Donya said, putting an arm around her. “But there are bad people everywhere. And the internet makes it easy for them to be mean. Anonymously. Without consequences.”

Louis tightened his grip on the phone. “I’m going to find out who this is.”

“How?” Willa asked.

“Follow me,” Louis said. “Let’s get Robin before he gets too deep in the lab.”

They left the office and hurried down the hall to the elevator. The doors opened, and they went inside. Louis pressed the button for the B2 level. Maeve’s phone buzzed. She read it and scowled.

“I got one too,” she said. “Commie slut. Should’ve stayed in the coal mine.”

“What’s fucking wrong with people?” Gladice said.

“They are insecure, hateful, and pathetic,” Angelique said. “And they hide behind screens to feel powerful.”

The elevator doors opened on B2. Louis led them to a door labeled “House Security.” A Dominion Guard stood outside, nodding as Louis approached.

“We need to see Captain McCarthy. It’s urgent.” Louis said.

“Yes, sir.”

The Guard knocked on the door. Robin opened it.

“What’s up?” Robin asked.

“We have a problem,” Louis said, stepping inside. He held out Cherish’s phone. “We are getting threats. On Tengri.”

Robin’s expression hardened. “Show me.”

Louis showed him the messages. Robin read them, then handed the phone back to Louis.

“Seems like your speech riled up some trolls,” Robin said.

“These are not trolls,” Savannah said. “These are threats.”

“They are still just words,” Robin said. “For now.”

“For now?” Maeve’s jaw tightened.

“If they escalate, we will act,” Robin said. “But we can’t arrest every asshole with a keyboard.”

“No, Robin,” Louis said. “I think we will. Find them. All of them.”

Robin looked at Louis. “That’s a lot of manpower. And a lot of legal hurdles.”

“I am asking you to find them,” Louis said. “For my family.”

Robin sighed. “I will need to consult with the Supreme President.”

Louis called his father’s number and put on the speaker.

“What is it, Louis?” Constantine’s voice came.

“We have a problem. Threats. Against the family. On Tengri.”

Constantine was silent for a moment. “I see. And what do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to authorize a full investigation. We will arrest everyone who sent a threat. We will make an example of them.”

“That’s a big request, son. And it sets a dangerous precedent.”

“They are threatening our family. That’s not an abstract threat, Dad. That’s personal.”

“I know,” Constantine said. “But we have laws. We have procedures. We can’t just ignore them.”

“That’s a breach of national security,” Louis said. “Given the circumstances. And a direct challenge to the First Family. If we don’t act, we look weak.”

“I agree,” Constantine said. “Alright. You have my approval. Use whatever resources you need. Find these people. And make them regret the day they were born.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

Constantine hung up. Robin looked at Louis. “Alright. Let’s get to work.”

Willa stared at him. “You’re going to arrest people for sending nasty messages on the internet? That’s insane.”

“These aren’t just nasty messages, Willa,” Louis said. “They are threats against my family. Against the First Family of the Dominion. That’s a crime. And we will treat it as such.”

Willa looked down at her phone. She had a new message. She opened it and read it. Her face hardened.

“Okay,” she said. “Arrest them.”

“What did it say?” Angelique asked.

“It said women like me belong in the kitchen. And that I’m a whore who deserves to be raped.”

Louis made another call to Venessa.

“What now, Louis?” Venessa’s voice was tired.

“I want you to call Mr. Cruise and the Tengri legal team. Have them apply the emergency safety filter to block any threatening messages sent to any of us.”

“That’s a massive overreach.”

“I want it done.”

“Fine,” Venessa said, and hung up.

“Who’s Mr. Cruise?” Donya asked.

“He’s the CEO of Tengri,” Louis said. “And an old family friend.”

“Good to have friends in high places,” Savannah said.

“Yes, it is,” Louis said. He looked at Robin. “Let’s get to work.”

Robin nodded. “Follow me.”

He led them to the house command center. A wall of monitors showed live feeds from the security cameras, while a large screen displayed a map of the Dominion. Several analysts worked at their stations. Robin clapped his hands.

“Attention. Pause current tasks. We have a new priority. The First Family has received threats on Tengri. The Supreme President has authorized a full investigation. We need to find the source of these messages, and the people behind them. Now.”

The analysts turned to their keyboards.

“We can try to trace the IP addresses,” one of them said. “But they might be using VPNs or proxies.”

“Then try harder,” Robin said. “Check the metadata. Check the timestamps. Check the patterns. Look for anything that can lead us to them. And cross-reference with the Lumen Path intel. See if there are any connections.”

Louis watched the screens. He saw Cherish’s message pop up on one of the monitors. The analyst typed fast.

“I got a hit,” she said. “The IP address is from a residence in Santa Monica. It’s a real address. Not a VPN.”

“Good,” Robin said. “Send a team. Pick him up. And bring him in for questioning.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m going with them,” Louis said. “I want to see this guy’s face when we knock on his door.”

Robin hesitated. “Are you sure? That’s not your job.”

“It is now,” Louis said. “I’m done waiting.”

“Alright,” Robin said. “I’ll notify the Dominion Guard and the Metropolitan Police.”

“Make sure they are discreet,” Louis said. “I don’t want a media circus.”

“Got it. I’ll arrange a signal jamming vehicle to block any local cell transmission. Just in case.”

“Good thinking.”

Louis turned to the women. “Now, who’s ready for a night ride?”