The Crisis: A Thriller

Stuck working at a backwater convenience store in the middle of northern Florida, Mattie longs for a cigarette. She longs for her days as a marine biologist at the Queen Aquarium down south. She longs for her best friend-Hank the Manatee. Her colleagues blamed her for his death, and now, she blames herself. She should have done something sooner. Today, a nervous couple enters the convenience store. The man is big, bald, and has a tight grip on the girl's arm. The girl is small, young, and has a number tattooed on her leg. It looks like a brand. ". . . Blue Honda mini-van going to Salt Springs. Someone named Stanley." A similar thing happened to Mattie's cousin. This girl is being kidnapped. Trafficked. The note isn't enough for the police to care, but Mattie does. She jumps into her decrepit Toyota wagon and flies onto the highway, wasting no time. She's got to stop that mini-van before it reaches Salt Springs. She's got to save that girl before she's sold to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, in Cuba, a militant rebel has sent his men to the US. He's been searching for a young woman with a cryptic tattoo on her leg for over ten years.