Aim And Fire

said.

“Hey, Lopez, you gonna make it?” Nate reached out and grabbed the Latino’s chin to see his face, then yanked his hand back as the gang member snapped at him with his teeth. “Oh, he’s still got some fight left in him, don’tcha, bucko?”

“I swear, my people are gonna track you both down, stake you out in the desert and leave you for the ants and the coyotes.” Lopez’s cold gaze flicked from Nate to Tracy and back again. “You and your puta are walking dead— you just don’t know it yet.”

“I’d be more worried about you making it through the night yourself first, tough guy. After all, it’ll be hard for your buddies to do anything if they never find you again.”

Nate leaned close to him, putting his face right next to the other man’s. “And you won’t be giving any orders from a shallow grave, pendejo. ”

Tracy swallowed hard in the driver’s seat. She knew they were going to interrogate him, which meant they might have to resort to less-than-legal methods to get what they needed, but from the tone of Nate’s voice, she could have sworn that he planned to kill the man afterward, no matter what. The line between the necessary means and the ends, already blurred by what they had just done, stretched out in her mind. Was torturing a suspect to get information okay? Was killing him? She squared her shoulders and concentrated on driving. Once they got to the desert, she’d pull Nate aside and find out exactly what he planned to do.

They left the city behind, and Tracy followed Nate’s terse directions as they headed into the rough Texas plains just south of New Mexico. As the lights of El Paso dimmed, the dark desert seemed to expand all around them until Tracy felt as if she were traveling through a dark alien landscape with the insignificant glow of the high beams illuminating only a tiny portion of it. She slowed down to turn off the main highway onto a two-lane paved road, then turned off several miles later onto a rough dirt road, where she slowed even further to navigate the winding, narrow lane. Lopez had ceased issuing threats and now hunched in sullen silence behind her. Nate sat across from him, his eyes never leaving the gangbanger.

Tracy drove for at least another dozen miles, until they were in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly Nate leaned forward. “Stop here.”

She pulled the Silverado over as he unlocked the handcuff from the bar, but not from Lopez’s wrist. “Ow, man, that fuckin’ hurts!”

Nate yanked the cuffs hard. “That was the point. You’re getting out here, and I don’t want any bullshit from you.

Otherwise, I’ll drag you out by the cuff, comprende? ”

Lopez nodded. “Don’t worry, I ain’t going anywhere with this busted leg, in case you forgot.”

“Cover him while he leaves. I’ll meet you around the other side,” Nate said to Tracy. He slid out of his seat and came around the front of the vehicle. He gave Tracy a look that she recognized immediately, as she had been on the receiving end of it from Gilliam several times during her tenure at DHS—follow my lead, and don’t ask any questions.

She nodded once, but her overriding thought as she turned the engine off, leaving the headlights on, was I’ll go along—for now. She kept her pistol out and trained on Lopez as he hopped out of the Silverado. He almost lost his balance, but managed to stay upright by leaning against the vehicle’s side. Out here, Tracy was surprised how chilly it was, the desert having rapidly lost the heat it had soaked up all day long. She shivered, glad for the long-sleeved shirt as she realized the other reason Nate had brought Lopez all the way out there.

“All right, hobble your way out there in front of the lights and turn around so we can get a good look at your sorry ass,” Nate ordered.

Lopez seemed to finally realize the seriousness of his situation. “Look, whatever you want—drugs, money, women, children—I’m sure we can work something out.”

Nate drew his pistol and pulled the slide back. “Go.”

Lopez hopped out in front of the lights, his satin boxers rustling in the breeze as he tried to maneuver on the hard-packed dirt without falling over.

“That’s far enough,” Nate said.

Lopez managed to turn around and stood in the glare of the headlights, shielding his eyes with one hand. “All right, you made your point. Now what the fuck do you want?”

“I always knew you were a businessman at heart, Lopez.” Nate holstered his pistol and walked out in front of the lights. “Now I’ve got a deal for you.” He reached up and took off the black knit mask, eliciting a snort of disbelief from the Mexican.

“Spencer? You broke into my house, dragged me all the way out here and broke my fuckin’ arm and leg? Do you know how dead I’m gonna make you?”

Tracy didn’t know who was more surprised, her or the gang leader. They knew each other—and had for a while, apparently. She snapped her mouth closed and focused back on the conversation.

Nate tossed the cell phone into the dirt near Lopez. “I’ll be fine, and so will you. I ran into one of your boys near the border, running illegals across the border with a couple of zetas earlier today. When I saw his tattoo, I knew you’d lied to me about what we’d discussed yesterday.”

Lopez tried to cross his arms, but only winced when a stab of pain reminded him of his broken collarbone. “So one of my boys is running wetbacks into the U.S. What’s that got to do with this?”

Nate shook his head. “Don’t shine me on, not now, and definitely not out here. The Barrio Aztecas are involved in everything that comes through El Paso, especially from the south. You knew about the Middle Easterners and that they were carrying something, but you didn’t want to give me any more information than necessary. You told me what you thought I needed to know, including the dead end of your two boys, then sent me on my way, didn’t you?”

Lopez looked as if he was going to plead ignorance again, then shrugged. “Hey, man, when word of the job came my way, I had no idea it would get so out of hand. But once it did, we were gonna take care of it our way, you know?”

“I figured as much—you were also way too cool about your two vatos getting killed. But I’m gonna do you a favor. With your help, I’m gonna take these guys down for you.”

Lopez frowned and shivered in the cool air. “Really?

You can’t even find these guys, but now you’re gonna take care of ’em for me?”

“Yup. After you get on that phone and tell whoever your contact is that one of the illegals survived the slaughter in the desert, and is at Providence Memorial Hospital, in room 305—and get that number right—I don’t need an innocent getting killed over this.”

Lopez nodded as he reached down and picked up the phone. “And you’re gonna set out the welcome mat and see who comes to call, right?” He flipped the phone open, his finger poised to dial. “Huh, can’t believe I get a signal out here.”

“Yeah, it’s as far out as we could get to have this little talk and still have you reach whoever you need to reach.

And just in case you get any ideas about sending a few of your boys over to Providence to wait and see who shows up, remember where you are right now, and who’s your only ride out of here at the moment.”

Lopez paused just long enough for Tracy to realize that’s exactly what he had been thinking about doing.

After making the call, Lopez flipped the phone closed.

“He’ll get the word out, but I’d get your welcome party set up sooner rather than later. My boy wasn’t too keen on not being in on the action himself. I managed to keep him out of the way for you—for now.”

“Good, ’cause I’d hate to have to run him in on obstruct-ing justice and attempted-murder charges,” Nate said.

“Yeah, like bustin’ into my house and dragging me out into the middle of the desert is approved procedure.”

Lopez’s entire body was shaking, and he kept his balance with an obvious effort. “Could we at least finish this in the car. I’m freezin’ my cojones off.”

“In a minute.”

“Goddammit, I made the fuckin’ call—what more do you want! You’re really pushing me, Spencer.” Lopez’s face grew sly as he thought it through. “Or is that what you’re anglin’ for, huh? You doing me this favor so I owe you