to kill Nichole Dalton, and if he was willing to be that cold-blooded, he probably planned on killing her daughters as well. He hoped they weren’t already dead.
By now, Cantrell’s people would be crawling all over the warehouse and questioning the two wounded mercenaries. If either of them knew the location of the safe house, all bets were off. They might arrive at a raided location with the CIA crawling all over the-
“Damn it.” Nathan spoke in English now.
“What’s wrong?” Harv asked, following suit.
“Our vehicle. Montez won’t be expecting his man to arrive in it.”
“We should’ve thought of that.”
“Options?”
“We’ll have to park at a safe distance and approach on foot.”
Nathan pivoted toward Julio. “What’s your procedure when you approach the safe house?”
“We’re supposed to call just before we get there.”
“I have an idea,” Harv said. “We disabled their vehicle. He had to use ours. If Montez asks, he found it by using the remote switch on the keychain. It was parked down the street.”
“That might work.” He turned toward Julio. “You got that straight?”
“Yeah.”
“Play along and you’ll live through the evening. If you don’t, the world won’t miss you.”
“Who
“We’re the guys asking the questions.”
Julio didn’t respond.
“Are the two little girls in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about dogs?”
“No.”
“Are there any motion sensor lights on the outside?”
“No.”
“How many men are usually in there besides your boss?”
“Two.”
“Is anyone else in there, like someone your boss
“I don’t know.”
“Easy, partner,” Harv said.
Nathan looked out his window before asking several more questions, all related to the safe house’s layout and Montez’s resources. He specifically asked about night vision equipment and Julio said his boss didn’t have any. He felt a little surprised at the lack of security measures and supposed Julio could be lying, but didn’t think so. Montez obviously thought his lair remained safe.
They drove past Mission Bay and took I-8 east to I-805 south. Apparently the safe house wasn’t within the actual city limits of San Diego. Julio had them take Bonita Road east to San Miguel Road. From there they turned south on Proctor Valley Road before making a final turn east on Jonel Road. The surrounding area looked to be mostly rural, dominated by large, flat acreage parcels with lots of vacant land. Newer homes were interspersed with older ranch properties. He’d never been to this area of Bonita before. The absence of streetlights on Jonel Road worked in their favor.
He addressed Julio. “How much farther?”
“Maybe two hundred meters.”
“Which side of the street?”
“The left.”
The pavement ended and Jonel became a dirt road. “Harv, pull over and kill the headlights. Let’s break out our NV.”
“What’s our plan?”
“Julio said he’s got a wounded man with him. Harv, you’re tall, but not as tall as me. You’ll play Julio and Julio will play the wounded man. I’ll cover you while you approach on foot. You’ll be helping Julio walk.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Montez said the door will be unlocked. If Dalton’s girls are in there, they’re probably not being constantly watched. They could be restrained, or in an isolated room or closet.”
“We need to be careful not to shoot through walls,” said Harv.
They secured their NV visors and turned the devices on. Their world turned bright green. The ambient light from San Diego’s glow and surrounding houses gave the NV monoculars more input than they needed. They both turned the gains down a bit.
“We’ll make one pass with the headlights dark and return to this location.”
Harv began a slow drive down Jonel Road. They passed a horse pasture and several corrals on the right side. After thirty seconds or so, he asked Julio, “Which one?”
“Next house on the left.”
He studied the property as they rolled past. The access, also a dirt track, looked to be about seventy yards long. He saw the rear end of a light-colored van near the house. Three rows of mature citrus trees lined the left side of the driveway and extended all the way to the rear property corner. They’d provide good cover from that direction. Several smaller trees, probably jacarandas, partially obscured the house from view, but he saw several windows glowing brightly. He looked behind the Mercedes to gauge the wind. Dust from the tires drifted lazily to the northeast. Maybe three miles per hour. That reinforced his plan to use the citrus trees as cover. He’d be downwind from the house-important if there were dogs. His trust in Julio’s report was far from absolute. After another quarter of a mile or so, the road came to a dead end. Harv executed a U-turn and cruised past the house in the opposite direction.
He pulled to the shoulder at the point where Jonel became paved again and kept the engine running. They donned the radio gear, body armor, and belly packs. Next, they checked their suppressed Sigs and strapped Predator knives to their ankles. Time to make the call to Montez.
Nathan had their captive lean forward from the rear seat. “You try anything cute and you won’t finish your sentence. Do you doubt me?”
Julio shook his head.
“Tell him you had to take our vehicle because we slashed your tires. Keep it short.” Holding his Sig’s suppressor against Julio’s head, he scrolled down to the number Julio had supplied earlier, hit send, and pressed the speaker button.
The voice on the other end held no emotion. “Where are you?”
“We’re almost there, but I got to tell you something.”
“What?” Montez’s impatience crackled through the line.
“The guys that shot us up, they slashed the van’s tires. I had to take their car.”
“What about Hector and Pablo?
“They’re in the trunk.”
“What make and color is your vehicle?”
“A blue Mercedes.”
The cell signal ended.
He and Harv got out and huddled in front of the idling Mercedes where Julio couldn’t hear them. “Pull in the driveway and park about thirty yards from the house,” Nathan whispered. “I’ll parallel your position through the citrus trees to the north and advance to the van’s position. Tuck your Sig into the small of your back. When you reach the porch, I’ll rush forward from the van. I’ll knock Julio senseless and we’ll storm the house. I’ll take the left.”
“I can’t wear my NV visor.”
“I’ve got you covered. The trees are right next to the driveway. Even though Julio said there weren’t any, there could be motion sensor lights mounted on the eaves. If they snap on, knock Julio cold and we’ll accelerate the attack. If things turn south, we’ll back off and let Cantrell’s people handle it.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
