Vail nodded. “So help us find Hernandez before your boss does. No one will know you told us.”
Figueroa chewed on that a moment, then shook his head again. “I’m done here. I’ve told you what I know.”
“That’s bullshit, and we both know it,” DeSantos said. “What did Villarreal want with Hernandez?”
The man looked around into the darkness. He sighed deeply and said, “He wanted us to release him.”
“To keep DEA off your backs.” Vail nodded slowly. “So Villarreal and his men had something to do with busting Hernandez out. Because if Cortez killed him, they knew it’d bring big time heat, destroy their business.”
“Like I was saying,” Figueroa replied. “You already knew what I know. So cut me loose.”
“Where’s Villarreal taking Hernandez?” Vail asked.
Figueroa forced his chin back. “How should I fucking know?”
Vail tilted her head and studied Figueroa. “Because you do. Even if you don’t know for sure, you’ve got an idea.”
Figueroa looked down, struggled once more against DeSantos and Dixon.
“You’re not hurting yourself here, Arturo. You’re helping yourself. And you’re helping
“Las Vegas. They’re taking your friend to Las Vegas.”
“Vegas?” Dixon asked. “Why Vegas?”
“Villarreal has a place there. Now, can I go?”
DeSantos checked his phone and played with the joystick. Jordan was attempting to pinpoint their position using their cell signals. Thomson was on his way over and would be there shortly. But when DeSantos flipped to the next text, what he saw surprised him. He reread the message to be sure he’d gotten it right.
Turino stepped forward with a set of standard handcuffs. “Dixon, secure our prisoner to the bumper.”
“No fucking way!” Figueroa said. “You said you’d let me go if I answered your questions.”
Vail shook her head. “First of all, I said we
Turino tossed Dixon the cuffs, which she caught with her free hand. “Why me?”
“Because I’m in charge and I don’t like what you said back in Napa about my name.”
Dixon frowned, then kicked off her shoes and rolled up her pant legs. She pulled and dragged Figueroa to the Land Rover’s rear bumper, located the undercarriage tow bracket, and fastened the handcuffs to it. Figueroa continued to resist, but Roxxann “Buff Barbie” Dixon easily controlled the slightly built prisoner. Once the restraint was in place, Dixon backed away and headed toward shore.
VAIL PULLED HER PHONE to call Gifford. She knew he was asleep by now, but she felt he would want to be informed about Robby’s whereabouts. He answered immediately, which surprised her.
“Sorry for calling at this hour,” Vail said.
“I’m not sleeping. What have you got?”
“A lead on Robby, sir.” She explained what they knew, and provided the information they’d gleaned from Figueroa.
“I’m with Agent Sebastiani de Medina and ASAC Yardley, on a plane en route to San Diego. I’ll see if Mr. Yardley can make a few calls, get us some info on Alejandro Villarreal. I’ll text you anything I find out.”
Wind gusted into Vail’s face. “You’re on your way out here?”
“Mr. Yardley felt it was looking increasingly likely that Robby was somewhere out west, so he invited me to join him on one of DEA’s confiscated jets.”
“Sounds like they have a whole fleet.”
“And semis and even a yacht or two. They come in useful. Maybe we can strike a deal, get a private jet just for the BAU, like on TV. All kidding aside, good work, Karen. No,
“I’ll consider it stellar when I’m holding Robby in my arms. We were so damn close. We literally missed him by seconds.”
“You’ll find him. I’ve got confidence in you.”
Another blast of wind slammed against Vail’s body. She turned her back to block it. “Given our intel, sir, you might want to divert to Vegas.”
“Concentrate on finding him. I’ll discuss it with Mr. Yardley and determine our course of action. Gifford out.”
Vail joined Mann, DeSantos, and Dixon, who was drying off her legs and feet with a rag from the SUV’s trunk.
“We’ve got a problem with Turino,” DeSantos said. “I was just told he’s—”
“My ears are burning,” Turino said with a chuckle, coming up from behind. “Must be talking about me behind my back.”
DeSantos drew his Desert Eagle and, in one motion, shoved his pistol into Turino’s right ear. The agent’s eyes bulged. “What the h—”
DeSantos wrapped his forearm around Turino’s neck. “Why don’t we start from the top, Agent Turino, and tell us what the fuck you’re really up to.”
78
Whoa—” Vail said, holding out her hand. “Hector, what the hell’s going on?”
Keeping the Desert Eagle firmly against Turino’s head, DeSantos removed the agent’s Glock and shoved it into his own waistband. “Seems that Agent Turino has been working against us. Isn’t that right, agent?”
Turino was arching backward against DeSantos’s torso. “Lower that fucking gun. Are you out of your mind?”
“Answer my question.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
DeSantos twisted to face Mann, Vail, and Dixon. “The shit’s hitting the fan on Cortez in two days. Agent Turino here has taken it upon himself to keep us busy. Specifically, to keep our noses away from Operation Velocity.”
“Why?” Vail asked.
Turino ground his molars. “I told you, Karen. This is bigger than one person. Going after Hernandez, I understand it. But you’re being selfish. The stakes are much greater. A lot more lives are at stake.”
“Son of a bitch,” Vail said.
“Look at the big picture.”
“We could’ve done both,” Vail said. “I told you that.”
“Is that right?” Turino said. “Look what happened when Hernandez disappeared. You went searching for him, blew his cover, damn near fucked up an operation that’d been years in the making, and jeopardized several agents we’ve got undercover. Sometimes you have to work with the team and not take matters into your own hands.”
Vail chewed on her lip. She couldn’t argue with Turino—but, damn it, what was she supposed to do when Robby went missing? Did they think she’d just go wine tasting and sightseeing?
“Working with the team’s exactly the point,” DeSantos said. “If we’d known, if you’d shared your concerns with us, we could’ve worked with you, maybe run a fake op to throw them off, a decoy, so it didn’t jeopardize Velocity. There are ways to preserve the overall op but still get things done under the radar.”
“I didn’t think you’d listen. I did a little research on you people. Karen in particular. Following rules and working for the greater good doesn’t seem to be in her DNA.”
Vail stepped back.
“Now what?” Dixon asked.
“Nothing to worry about,” Turino said. “Cortez no longer has Hernandez, so you’re no longer a threat to Velocity. Once Villarreal broke him loose, I had no reason to stand in your way anymore.” Turino brought a hand to his neck and pried away DeSantos’s arm to free up the flow of oxygen. “Look, I want to see Hernandez brought home, no question about that. A LEO in the hands of a cartel burns at me. I lived through Camarena. I knew the
