I’ll Walk Through Hell for You

Jasmin is my best friend. No, she’s more than that. She’s like a sister to me and I would do anything to keep her safe and happy. And I did actually. When everyone lost hope and thought she couldn’t be saved anymore I didn’t give up and I never will give up on her.

When we were little kids Jasmin and I started going to the same school. That’s where we first met. The thing is little kids can be brutal sometimes. My parents were drunks and abusers, they still are, so none of the kids wanted to do anything with me. My body was usually covered in bruises from the beatings at home and quite often I didn’t wear the cleanest clothes. Thus, all of the kids bullied me and looked at me like I had some contagious disease or something, all of them but her. She was kind to me from the very beginning. One day as I was eating my lunch alone in the corner of the canteen Jasmin came up to me and started talking. There was no disgust on her face as she looked at me. No disgust that I was used to seeing in all of the others. She simply asked me my name and when I answered she introduced herself. Jasmin did not care that I was different, she only thought that I looked lonely so she made it her mission to befriend me. And befriend me she did. From that day slowly but surely we became inseparable. Hence, Jasmin gave me everything any kid could wish for – she gave me a loving family. I was always welcome at her home and could count on not only her but also her parents’ support.

One fall evening when we were eighteen Jasmin went out with her girl friends. It was already late in the evening when they decided to go home, so I suggested to Jasmin that I would come and pick her up to bring her home safely. Unfortunately, she insisted that it was fine and she would take a walk home on her own. To this day I regret this decision. I shouldn’t have let Jasmin convince me that she would be fine, because she wasn’t.

About fifteen minutes after she went home I got a text message.

“Scott, I don’t know what to do. I think there’s a car following me.” Jasmin seemed worried even through texts.

“Everything’s going to be okay. Where are you exactly?” I sent her a text back quickly.

“I’m like 10 blocks away from my house, so like 6 from yours.”

“Okay, turn and go towards my house. I’m going to leave and come to meet you, so see you halfway.” I sent Jasmin a message as I was taking my jacket and going through the door.

“KK, thanks, Scott.” her answers were getting shorter

“Always, Jas. Though, is the car still following you?” I was worried for her and wanted to make sure she was fine.

“Yeah, I think they’re catching up to me.”

“Jasmin, can you tell me how does the car look like?”

“I think it’s a black Mercedes, though, I can’t see its number plate. I think it’s covered or something.”

“K, Jas, I’m halfway there. Please hold on.” At this point I was worried sick. The car was following her without a doubt.

“Scott, please hurry.” This was the last message I received from Jasmin before she went silent. I was running to meet her, but she never showed up. I waited for a while but nothing happened. She was gone. That day Jasmin had become a victim of human trafficking.

After about an hour without any signs of Jasmin I ran to her house. I told her parent everything that I knew that could have happened to her and we went to the police station with my text massages as evidence. The police announced her search that same night. Thankfully Jasmin’s text about covered car plate numbers were enough of a confirmation that something bad had happened and that it wasn’t simply the act of a teenager who ran away. Those messages also gave some leads to start the search even though the kidnappers would probably do a car change along the way.

Two months had passed after that horrible night and the searches for Jasmin were still fruitless. Thus, police decided to cease the investigation on her case. They settled on the conclusion that in the best-case scenario Jasmin would be out of the state, maybe even in a different country or continent working as a slave or a sex worker and in the worst – she would had been used for her organs to sell them in the black market because there was no body found. Jasmin’s parents were devastated, but they were slowly losing hope and accepting the idea that they would never see their daughter ever again. I however couldn’t accept it. I blamed myself for Jasmin’s disappearance. I was the one who couldn’t save her when she cried out for help. I had failed her. Though, I wasn’t going to give up that easily. Deep down I knew she was still alive and so I had to do everything in my power to save her. The question was - how?

The obvious choice was that I would need to become a police officer or a detective and get a job in the missing person department. I was eighteen and my grades were quite good so that meant I would graduate school in a few months and I could start my degree in this field. However, for me to get a detective’s job it would take years. I would need to get my degree at university where I would spend at least four years, then I might be able to start my career as a police officer and finally after years I might get a promotion to be a detective and be able to get access to the information needed to find Jasmin. This meant that by the time this would happen Jasmin might be dead for real. Thus, I repudiated this option and chose a completely opposite path.

As I came to my decision and had a plan in mind I dropped out of school. I then joined a local criminals’ gang and became their drug dealer. I knew I had to gain their trust and get a name for myself for me to be able to get connections with bigger mobsters. And so I did that. I worked hard as their pawn till I was finally recognized by the Baleuar mafia that had quite a reputation in several different states. Luckily, I had no fear working in this kind of field and being acknowledged by some of the most feared criminal in the States. I believe this was due to the fact that growing up with abusing parents eventually you must learn how to defend yourself and my final goal was worth fighting for. Therefore, with my connection and thorough work on dealing drugs and completing other types of tasks after only a year I was finally able to leave my local gang and become one of the Baleuar mafia’s members.

Don’t get me wrong that year had felt like forever as I was constantly thinking about Jasmin. Some nights I couldn’t sleep knowing that the person that was closest to me, the person that I considered to be my family, my sister, was God knows where, suffering alone as a slave or a prostitute. From time to time I had nightmares that Jasmin was dead or was killed right in front of my eyes and sometimes I even convinced myself that maybe it would be better if she was dead for real, because maybe then she wouldn’t be suffering. I couldn’t imagine what she must have been going through if she was actually alive. However even though more than a year had already passed after Jasmin was kidnapped when I managed to become a part of Baleuar mafia this mean that I was finally one step closer to finding her.

After that I worked even harder to gain my boss Grayson’s trust. I slowly become one of the best of Baleuar’s fighters and proved myself to be worthy of the position as the commander for Grayson’s shipment transfers. I was glad to become his commander when only a bit more than a year had passed since I joined Baleuar. Having this positon I put everything I had into my job and eventually I became Grayson’s right arm. My boss and I grew quite close during those years I worked for him and I was able to call him my friend. And truth to be told Grayson wasn’t some cruel mobster who killed just for fun. Of course, he wasn’t a saint either but most of his crimes were usually just illegal shipments of guns, alcohol and drugs. Grayson was simply a businessman. Hence, when we trusted each other enough I finally told Grayson why I am here and asked for his help. I told him about Jasmin and how I was searching for her. And Grayson did help me. He disclosed to me the best-known human trafficker names and gave me access to the underground human auctions. After appearing in one of them I had done some digging and was able to track where most of the people that had been sold at those auctions were transferred to. It had been no surprise to me finding out that it was Las Vegas where most of the girl victims of human trafficking, sold at human auctions ended up in. With this information I was also able to find the man responsible for Jasmin’s disappearance.

Grayson and I managed to catch the bastard and we interrogated him till we eventually had a name of a man who bought my dear sister. After we got what we needed I beat the shithead unconscious and was seconds away from killing him myself. Yet I controlled my emotions and kept him alive. I decided that being locked up in prison and rotting there until his last breath was a much worse punishment for that bastard than death. This way, he had to witness the fall of his human trafficking legacy knowing that he was unmasked by a nobody like me and realize that his life was now ruined like Jasmin’s. Thus, I presented him with all the evidence to the police myself.

Afterwards with lengthy process, through work and a lot of help from Baleuar mafia’s tech guy Matt I was finally able to get all the information on the buyer and track down his location. Without much sweat I convinced Grayson and Baleuar’s team to lend me a hand in getting Jasmin back. When I knew I could count on them and had a plan in mind it was go time. We flew to Vegas as the man who bought Jasmin had an underground club there. It was an illegal strip club that was known only to the dangerous criminals and other lowlifes. From the reports of the club that Matt and I managed to hack we had knowledge that most of its workers were missing girls from all around the States. All of them were victims of human trafficking just like Jasmin that were now forced to work as sex workers and satisfy all their clients’ whims or be tortured instead.

When we reached the underground club we armed ourselves ant took our positions. I knew damn well that blood would be shed, because I only had one chance to get my heart sister back. Grayson and I infiltrated the building pretending to be clients. That was the time I finally saw her after more than four years. Jasmin looked awful. I could see she wasn’t getting enough food as her once fit body was now too skinny. She was dressed only in sparkly underwear and her body was covered in bruises. I knew she wasn’t just beaten by her owner but also tried to take her own life because there were several visible cuts on her wrists. The only thing I wanted to do back then was run to her and hold her tightly not letting go. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that. I knew I had to keep my cool. That’s when I spotted Jasmin’s chocker. All the girls were wearing them. The chocker was a tracker that would shock the girls if they tried to oppose or run away. So, I knew they were trapped there.

An hour had passed in the strip club when we were at last ready to act. Grayson gave me a sign and I started a fight with some random lowlife that was in my way. That way I managed to distract the owner of the club from his surroundings putting his attention on myself. Grayson then took his position and put a gun to the bastards head. I knew the man was an amateur in his business as there were no bodyguards of his in sight. I then took out a man I was fighting in one punch and got into my position as well. This fight was between me and the asshole owner who made Jasmin’s life hell. There was no other outcome of this situation so without a hesitation I shot him in the head. The blood splashed everywhere but I didn’t care about that. I ran towards Jasmin and caught her in my arms while Grayson and Baleuar’s men cleared out the club of other criminals that were connected with Jasmin’s disappearance.

At first Jasmin didn’t recognize me and tried to push me of off her. After everything she went through it wasn’t surprising to me. After all more than four years had passed when we last saw each other. Besides, back then I was still a boy trying to fight for his place in the world but now both of us were changed. In those past years Jasmin experienced more cruelty than most could handle and I was no longer a saint myself – I just killed a man right in front of her eyes. Though, when I spoke Jasmin finally understood who I was. She gasped after recognizing my voice ant tears began falling down her face. I squeezed her even tighter in my embrace. My sister’s tears had always been my weakness because I couldn’t stand her pain. In spite of this, that day I was the happiest I had ever been. That day Grayson and I not only rescued Jasmin but also freed all the other girls from the club and they were finally able to see their families after years again.

The day when the incident happened, Jasmin lost her innocence and I sacrificed all of my possibilities of having a normal life and job. Though, I didn’t care about that much. The moment when Jasmin had finally reunited with her parents again I knew it was all worth it. I knew that without hesitation I would do it all again because she is my family and you have to fight for your family as no matter if it’s your family by blood or by heart it is still the most meaningful thing in life.