Hector turned in his seat, and watched the black SUV turn back the way it had come. “I think perhaps you are correct, Luis.”
Luis closed his eyes and fought the urge to curse. “We follow.” He put the Mercedes in reverse and eased out of the parking spot. “There is much more traffic now. It should be easier to blend in.”
He pulled the Mercedes onto the highway and allowed a few cars to fill the gap between the two vehicles. He maintained a steady pace and nodded when the truck turned right and began driving back towards the park.
“I think it is time we end this,” Luis stated. He turned to Hector. “Get el jefe on the phone. I have an idea.”
Hector punched the number in then handed the phone to Luis. “Jefe, it’s Luis. I have an idea for these cabrónes that I think you’ll like.”
El Fantasma listened carefully to Luis’ plan and nodded to himself. “You can keep them there until the others arrive?”
Luis smiled as he drove. “Si, Jefe. I am positive of this.”
“Then make it so. I will send you reinforcements immediately. Expect them by sundown.”
Luis smiled again. “Gracias, Jefe. I won’t let you down.” He ended the call and tossed the phone to Hector. “Are you ready?”
Hector smiled as he tucked the phone back into his coat pocket. “I was ready before you called him.”
Luis looked to the rearview mirror. “Fernando?”
He looked up and met Luis’ stare. He pulled a folding knife from his pocket and flicked the blade open. “Just let me at them.”
Langley Virginia
Matt Laughlin pushed his way into his boss’s office. “I need a leave of absence.”
Phillip Sammons looked up from the papers scattered on his desk. “You missed the morning meeting, Laughlin.”
“I know.” He shoved the file in front of his boss. “Something came up.”
Phil reached for the file and flipped it open. “Jesus, Matt. This is from ’98.”
Matt crossed his arms and nodded. “I was their supervising field officer. Whatever is going on, they’re tightening the ranks.”
“Clearinghouse report?” Phil held the paper up. “This is what has your panties in a twist?”
“Phil, these guys broke up in late ‘99. None of them ever spoke to another again until just a few days ago. Now they’ve put the band back together and they’re up to something.” He reached across the desk and tapped the report at the top of the file. “Our pilot bit it just days ago in a questionable accident. Houston PD states that there was a gangland style attempt on Sparrow—I mean, Vasquez, just a few days after. Next thing you know, White is crawling out of the Everglades for the first time in possibly a decade, and they’ve all convened at some shithole state park in southeastern Oklahoma.” He stood back and eyed his superior. “Something is going on.”
Phil shut the file and slid it back across to him. “Why not just call them and ask what the fuck is up?”
Matt set his jaw. “You didn’t read the entire file.”
Phil shook his head. “It’s three inches thick. No. I didn’t read it. How about you give me the Reader’s Digest version?”
“They walked out on me, took my chopper, then raided three separate government supply depots gathering their own arsenal.” He blew his breath out hard. “Then they went after unauthorized targets on their own.”
“Using government supplied munitions,” Phil finished for him. “That was a shit storm just waiting to happen.”
“The only thing that saved their asses was that there weren’t any cases of collateral damage.” He cleared his throat. “That we know of.”
“So, it was unsanctioned…yet nobody bothered to report their actions or attempted to stop them.” Phil pulled his reading glasses off and gave Matt a stern stare. “So, unofficially, their actions were…sort of sanctioned.”
Matt sighed and sat down heavily. “They were doing what nobody had the balls to authorize.” He shrugged again. “Until they stopped.”
“Why’d they stop?”
Matt gave him a look that he couldn’t quite read. “Some think it was because they ran out of munitions.”
“What do you think?”
Matt eyed his boss carefully before he spoke. “My personal belief is that they took enough heads to satisfy their own sense of retribution.” He seemed to deflate in the chair. “We lost a man during the initial op and the team took it really hard. They wanted blood and didn’t want to have to ask permission to do it.”
“So they crippled one of the largest drug cartels in history…and then just quit and went home?”
Matt nodded. “So it seems. They were this close to causing the entire operation to implode and they just fell off of the map.”
Phil reached for the file again and perused the personnel sheets. “Bridger?” He sat back and eyed Laughlin carefully. “Why does that name ring a bell?”
Matt chuckled slightly then became more serious. “Last year? That total pooch screw in Pakistan?”
Phil’s eyes widened. “Ah, yes. I remember that.” He sat up straighter. “That was Bridger?”
Matt nodded. “He had returned to the states and continued working for us with different operations. Then one day he just fell off the planet.”
Phil scanned the other names. “Anybody else continue in our line of work?”
“Soares did for a while until he went private. He’s been working for Baba Yaga since then.”
Phil nodded again then flipped through the sheets. “Mauk?”
“Worked in the prison systems for a while.” Matt shrugged. “Nothing of note.”
“Vasquez worked for Houston PD, you said?”
“Correct. And Wolcott bounced between mediflights and working in the prison systems.” He leaned forward and tapped DJ’s photo. “He fell off the planet as well.”
Phil continued reading then closed the file. He sat back and gave Laughlin a disapproving stare. “How long?”
“For?”
“Your leave of absence.”
Matt came to his feet and picked up the file. “I honestly have no idea. But I need to know why they’re back and working together.”
Phil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Two
