Diego chanced moving closer and caught a glimpse over Slippy’s shoulder as he typed commands into each computer, his eyes rapidly darting back and forth, confirming kills as they occurred in real time. “Madre de Dios…”
“Shht,” Slippy whispered, his eyes staring at the screens. “Concentrating here.”
Diego stepped away and felt his hands trembling as he assumed his position once more. He fought the urge to look back, even when the shooting began.
Near Chapala, Mexico
“The rumors are true, Fantasma. My men are planning something, and it will be soon.”
He gripped the phone tighter and clenched his teeth, forcing himself not to scream. “How soon, General?”
“Any time, señor. I overheard them saying: ‘before dawn.’”
El jefe glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. “It is less than an hour before dawn, General.” He couldn’t disguise the malice in his voice. “You wait until now to tell me this?”
“Señor, I only just now overheard them. I have been here at work for days just trying to find out what was going on with my own men and…” He sighed heavily and pressed the phone closer to his mouth. “The very moment I heard what they had planned, I called you.” He seemed to stiffen over the phone and his voice took a much more authoritarian tone. “My debt to you is paid. You have been warned. We are done.”
“General!” El jefe barked. “HOW will they attack?”
The general sighed again and his voice softened. “I heard them tell one of the men to relieve a UAV pilot early. If I had to guess, they will be using an air to surface missile.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “I must go. So should you.”
El jefe saw red when the phone went dead in his hand. He spun and looked across his office. “Raul. We must go.”
“What is it, señor? Who was on the phone?”
“That was General Mendoza.” He strode purposefully past him and reached for his safe. “He called to inform me that his men will be attacking soon.”
“How soon?” Raul felt his voice crack as he spoke. “How can we—”
“Very soon, Raul!” he yelled at him. “And we are taking the tunnels.” He paused and gave him a lopsided smile. “You were wise to prepare them.”
Raul nodded quickly. “I did not think it would be…” He swallowed hard. “When will they be here?”
El Fantasma glanced to the ceiling and shook his head. “They could already be here.”
Gunshots erupted outside and both men stiffened. Raul shot him a wide-eyed stare. “They are here!”
El jefe shook his head. “I think not, Raul. Mendoza claims he heard his men tell a UAV pilot to prepare.” He shoved paperwork and money into a duffel then jerked the zipper shut. “My guess is that is Bravo team.”
Raul shook his head nervously. “No, señor. The odds of both of them attacking at once are…”
“It does not matter.” He stared out the windows of the office and shook his head. “Perhaps we can return and sift through the wreckage for the bodies of Bravo team.” He glared at Raul. “Something tells me that the Sinaloa will be stealing my vengeance from me as well.”
Near Chapala, Mexico
“Going hot,” Mauk announced as the men guarding the compound realized they were being targeted. He settled the illuminated crosshairs center mass on the man closest to the stairs of the house and applied pressure to the trigger. He ignored the recoil of the rifle and barely noticed the man pitching forward before he maneuvered the barrel to the next target.
He cleared as many of the guards that were in the open as he could before he resigned himself to scanning the windows of the grand house. One or two of the lights had come on once the shooting started, and anybody stupid enough to create a silhouette near the glass was dropped. It didn’t take long before the lights went out and the building remained in the dark.
Near Chapala, Mexico
Bridger made a cautious approach to the house and caught movement from the corner of his eye to the right.
“Contact right,” DJ barked before dropping the target with three shots from his suppressed barrel.
The pair never broke stride as they closed the distance to the main structure of the house. Once they erupted from the dense vegetation, Bridger held a fist in the air, stopping them.
A quick scan to their right and he noted Sparrow and Momma Bird emerging from the darkness and closing the distance to the rear of the structure. Bridger motioned forward and DJ squeezed his shoulder again.
Bridger angled to the left and slipped under the railing surrounding the deck, coming up low and scanning the front and side of the porch before the pair moved forward. Staying below the dark picture windows, he came to the main entrance and stacked on the left. DJ stacked right and pulled a flash bang. “Cover.”
Bridger watched him pull the pin before turning away from the open door and covering his exposed ear with one hand. Once the flash popped, the two men spun and entered, barrels swinging left to right, dropping anybody who dared be inside.
Near Chapala, Mexico
Laughlin stacked outside the rear doors and watched as Lisa pressed herself to the other side. They could hear men yelling in Spanish inside and Laughlin pulled a flash bang. He ripped the pin and looked to Lisa, who gripped the door handle.
They heard the first flash bang pop inside along with the distinct sound of glass breaking. Laughlin nodded to Lisa, and she jerked the door open. He tossed it inside and she slammed the door shut just as the incendiary erupted, temporarily blinding and disorienting anybody in its immediate vicinity. Lisa pulled the door open again and the pair entered, shooting at any target that presented itself.
Laughlin transitioned left and Lisa fell in behind him, clearing rooms on the right as he cleared those on the left. They worked
