It's not illegal if the government is aware of it and allows it to happen. At least, that's what HYDRA reasoned. The gang was not secretive at all. They payed their taxes to the government with the money made by selling children.
Officer fits paced in front of the children, his boots crunching in the snow. Finally he stops in front of a little boy who looked at least somewhat healthy. He grabs the boy's chin, jerking his face up. "Name and age?"
"A-avis, sir. Um, 13. I think." The boy was trembling, although whether it was from the cold or from fear was impossible to tell.
Fits strikes him across the face, electing a soft whimper from the kid. "You think? I don't want to know what you think, I want facts." He turns back to the trader with a curl of his lip. "I'll take this one."
The boy stares at the ground trying not to cry as he is unchained from the rest. Everyone had heard the rumors of what happened to the children Hydra bought. Rumors that were only made more real by the fact that they kept coming back. As if the other children disappeared.
Fits turns to the person behind him. "Get this thing inside and cleaned up."
