CHAPTER 191
JAX'S POV
The celebration dinner that night should have been one of pure triumph. Skylar's speech to the UN General Assembly had been broadcast globally, generating more media attention for trafficking issues than we'd seen in years. But as I watched her push food around her plate while our children chattered excitedly about the day's events, I could see the familiar restlessness that meant she was already planning something the rest of us wouldn't like.
"Mama, the man from the newspaper said you were the bravest person he'd ever interviewed," Liam announced between bites of his pasta. "Is that true?"
"I think there are lots of brave people in the world," Skylar replied diplomatically. "I just had the opportunity to speak for people who can't speak for themselves."
"But you were scared, weren't you?" Addison asked with the perceptiveness that characterized everything she said. "I could tell when you paused before the part about demanding action instead of asking for sympathy."
"A little scared, yes. Speaking to world leaders is intimidating."
"Even when you're right?"
"Especially when you're right. People don't always want to hear uncomfortable truths."
Elena, now four and increasingly vocal about everything, looked up from her coloring book. "Are we going home tomorrow?"
"Yes, sweetheart. Back to our regular routine."
But I could hear the lie in her voice. There would be nothing regular about what came next.
After the children were in bed, the four of us sat in the hotel suite's living room, ostensibly reviewing the day's media coverage but really waiting for Skylar to reveal whatever plan was forming behind her careful diplomatic mask.
"The response has been incredible," Lucas said, scrolling through news articles on his tablet. "CNN, BBC, every major outlet picked up the speech. Social media engagement is through the roof."
"Three governments have already reached out about expanding cooperation," Harry added. "This could be the breakthrough we've been working toward."
"Could be," Skylar agreed. "If they follow through with action instead of just offering more committee meetings and policy discussions."
"You don't sound optimistic," I observed.
"I'm realistic. How many times have we seen politicians make passionate promises about protecting children, only to quietly shelve those commitments when they realize the political costs?"
She moved to the window, looking out at the New York skyline with the thousand-yard stare that usually preceded her most dangerous decisions.
"There's something else," she said finally. "Something I didn't mention in the speech because it would have caused an international incident."
"What kind of something?" Harry asked, though his tone suggested he already suspected.
"Intelligence suggesting that several of the governments represented in that assembly hall today are actively facilitating trafficking operations."
The room fell silent except for the distant sounds of traffic below. This wasn't news, exactly - we'd always known that corruption reached the highest levels of government in many countries. But Skylar's tone suggested she had specific, actionable intelligence.
"How specific?" Lucas asked.
"Specific enough to name names. Specific enough to provide bank account numbers and shipping manifests. Specific enough to prove that some of the people who applauded my speech today are profiting from the crimes I was describing."
"Where did this intelligence come from?" I asked, though I was afraid I already knew the answer.
"Sources who can't be compromised through official channels. People who've been gathering evidence for years, waiting for someone with the platform and resources to act on it."
"Skylar," Harry said carefully, "what exactly are you proposing?"
"I'm proposing that we stop pretending the system can fix itself from within. That we accept that some problems require direct action from people willing to operate outside official constraints."
There it was - the suggestion we'd all been dreading since the day we'd gone legitimate. Return to the methods that had made us effective but had also nearly destroyed us.
"We have children now," I said quietly. "Three children who've grown up believing their parents fight evil through legal, authorized means."
"We have children who've grown up safe and protected while other children suffer because we've been too cautious to be truly effective."
"That's not fair."
"Isn't it? Jax, we've rescued thousands of victims through our foundation. But according to the latest estimates, trafficking incidents have actually increased globally during the same period. We're losing the war while winning individual battles."
Lucas set down his tablet and looked directly at her. "What would direct action look like? Specifically."
"Coordinated strikes against facilities in seven countries. Simultaneous operations designed to rescue victims while eliminating the infrastructure that makes trafficking profitable."
"You're talking about assassinations."
"I'm talking about removing threats that legitimate law enforcement either can't or won't address."
"And if we get caught? If we're identified as American citizens conducting unauthorized military operations on foreign soil?"
"Then we face the consequences. But at least we face them knowing we did everything possible to protect innocent children."
Elena's voice came through the baby monitor, calling for water from her nightmare. I stood to go to her, but Skylar was already moving.
"I'll go," she said. "She usually settles faster for me."
As she left the room, Harry, Lucas, and I exchanged glances that carried years of shared experience and unspoken understanding.
"She's made up her mind," Lucas said finally. "This isn't a discussion - it's a notification."
"Then we make sure she doesn't do it alone," Harry replied. "Same as always."
"Even if it means going back to the life we swore we'd left behind?"
"Especially then. Because if Skylar's right about the scope of the problem, half-measures aren't going to save those children."
Through the monitor, we could hear Skylar singing softly to Elena, her voice carrying the same gentle love that had sustained our family through every crisis we'd faced.
"There's something else to consider," I said quietly. "What happens to our children if we don't come back from whatever operation she's planning?"
"The same thing that happens to trafficking victims if we don't try," Harry said grimly. "They grow up in a world where evil wins because good people were too afraid to act."
When Skylar returned from Elena's room, she found us waiting with expressions that told her everything she needed to know.
"When do we start?" Lucas asked.
Her smile was sharp enough to cut glass, but it was also filled with the kind of love that had brought us together in the first place.
"Tomorrow. But first, we need to have a very difficult conversation with our children about why Mama and the uncles need to take a business trip that might be more dangerous than usual."
As we began planning what could either be our greatest victory or our final operation, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were about to discover whether love really was worth any sacrifice.
Even the sacrifice of the peaceful life we'd built for the children who meant everything to us.
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