“One hundred barrels, every trip,” Miguel replied.
“That’s a big truck,” Joe said, “and a lot of coke.”
“Do the local police know what’s going on? Is he paying them off?” I asked.
“Some of the lower ranking ones, yes. But the chief is a sworn enemy of Mendez. He has been trying to prove he is a drug smuggler, but Mendez is always tipped off by his men in the department and has never been caught with the drugs on his trucks,” Miguel explained.
I told him that was all for now, but I wanted to speak with him later.
“Oh, one more thing, Senor Burnett, the deliveries follow a strict schedule, and the next shipment is to go out in three days.”
“Well, then, we have three days to make sure it doesn’t go,” I said.
Miguel was taken away, and the team gathered around.
“So, what are you thinking, Colt?” Dimitri asked as he settled in on the bench across from me. The others followed suit. “Can we trust this dude?”
“I’m not sure, but I think so. Mendez is no dummy to have been in business for this long, so we will have to be smarter than him. And this is going to have to be done by the local law enforcement; I don’t want us directly involved.”
“Well, how’s that going to work?” Joe asked a little skeptically.
“Give me a minute. In the meantime, O’Reilly, give Fitz a call and give him a very abbreviated Sit Rep. He’ll want more, but we don’t have time. Then call Gus and get an update from him. I’m sure the wheels of justice have not stood still in our absence.”
“Roger that,” she said as she pulled the SAT phone from her pack and stepped away from the group.
“Now, let’s figure out a plan to take this bastard down.”
We talked for the better part of an hour before zeroing in on a possible workable interdiction. It would be tricky, with a lot of moving parts. Not being on the front lines had its disadvantages, but it could provide us the cover of our involvement that we needed—kind of like playing chess with an opponent on the internet. We were finishing up when Miguel showed up again with his village escort.
“Senor Burnett, something else I forgot to mention, the trucks always travel with an armed escort of three vehicles—one in front and two behind. They are cartel men sent to protect the shipment until it gets into the mountains. I am sorry I forgot to mention it earlier.”
Well, that throws a hell of a wrinkle into the plan, I thought.
“Okay, is there anything, I mean anything else you may have forgotten?”
“No, Senor, nothing I can think of.”
“All right, thanks for that information.”
“Well, you all heard the man, bad guys with guns,” I said.
“Good grief, that seems to be the story of our lives lately,” Joe said.
Dimitri laughed, “And you’re complaining about a little excitement now and then.”
Joe looked at him askance and said, “I love you, brother, but sometimes I think you need professional help. I’m talking the head exam kind.”
Now, Dimitri really laughed and slipped into Boris speak. “Da, you capitalistic Americans get too set in your ways and become soft like udder of cow and lazy. It is up to me, Dimitri Sokolov, who comes from most excellent Cossack stock, to shake you up and remind you there is life to be lived and adventures to be had. Challenges to overcome… and bad guys with guns to dispose of!”
Good God, I thought, as Dimitri slapped Joe on the back and laughed uproariously. Those two, I thought, brothers from different mothers.
“All right, you cowboys, these guys with guns may not be our problem if I can help it.” The others had joined in the laughter, and as it died away, we turned our attention to the problem at hand.
“We’re going to need Uncle Harold if we want any chance of success. Hand me the SAT phone, O’Reilly.”
I had him on the line in a minute and explained the situation to him and our desire to take down Mendez and his coke ring.
His first question was, “Do you have a plan?”
To which I answered, “I was hoping you could help with that since we’re not in ‘Dodge;’ we’re at least two days out.”
There was silence on his end for a couple of minutes, and then he said, “So, we somehow have to ambush this load of drugs and make sure the cops can easily find the drugs, all the while fighting off cartel gunmen intent on killing us and not get caught by the cops while doing this. That about right?” he asked.
“That’s about it,” I said. “Oh, and it has to happen in the city where Chief Gallegos and the local law enforcement have jurisdiction. Oh, and try not to hurt any civilians.”
“And you’re not going to be around?” Uncle Harold asked.
“Nope, not even close; I can’t take the chance of us getting mixed up with this and have blowback in the States as well as down here. This needs to be a local matter, handled here.”
“I understand, plausible deniability.”
“Right, think you can handle it? It is your backyard, after all.”
“True, and this happens in three days?”
“Yep, I’ll be back in touch with more details as they become available.”
“And who’s going to take care of the police involvement?”
“Leave that to me; you figure out a plan, and I’ll handle the police.”
“All right, let me get started on it, and I’ll talk to you tonight,” Uncle Harold said, sounding thoughtful, dubious, and seriously up for the challenge.
“Sounds good; talk to you then.”
“Well?” Doc asked as I put the SAT phone down.
“The wheels are turning,” I said, “we need to keep pumping Miguel for any additional info and keep Uncle Harold posted.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
He lay the phone on the table next to his margarita. Picking up the glass, he looked over the salted rim at his companion across the table.
“What?” he asked jovially.
The dark-haired female asked,
