Kidnap and Ransom (21 page)

Valencia blew smoke toward the treetops before saying, “This is recon. No plan yet.”

“If we don’t get out by tonight, they’ll kill us,” Calderon said urgently.

“They might kill us sooner,” Flores said. “Things have gotten complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

“They’re trying to get Calderon to work with them, arranging kidnappings,” Flores said. “He’s going to tell them yes to buy some time, but either way one of us probably won’t be walking out of here.”

“Huh.” Valencia’s eyes flicked over to Calderon. “I’ll let Brown know.”

“Oh, thank God. I was hoping Ellis would be here,” Calderon exclaimed.

“We’re doing what we can, sir. Be ready to move.” With t Valencia shifted away.

Flores and Calderon watched him leave. Valencia kept his head down as he strolled past the pens. As he circled the guard tower, a soldier barked something down at him. Flores froze, terror gripping his heart. Valencia had to make it out, had to let the others know where to find them. He felt the hope deflating.

Valencia said something in response, and there was a cackle of laughter from above. Valencia ground out his cigarette under a boot heel, turned the corner and disappeared. For a long moment, they both remained silent. When a few minutes passed without the sound of gunfire, Flores let his shoulders relax.

Calderon turned to him, expression jubilant. “You see, amigo? Now all we have to do is stall for time.”

Flores was about to reply when a shadow darkened the door of their cage. He looked up to find another guard staring in at them, the same one who had escorted him to see the general. The guard fumbled with the lock, then the door swung open. He pointed at Flores.

“Venga conmigo,” he said gruffly.

Twenty-Three

“Fancy meeting you here, Jones.”

Kelly blinked back tears. “How did you find me?”

Her former partner, Danny Rodriguez, stepped into the cell. He forced a smile. “The boss got a call that one of his agents was locked up down here for murder. Imagine his surprise when he heard it was you.”

“McLarty sent you?”

“Not exactly. I was in L.A. working a case, and heard the news through the grapevine. Figured I’d come bring you a cake with a file in it. Sorry I didn’t get here sooner, I caught the first flight out.” His eyes wandered down to her leg, and she realized her prosthesis was still off. She quickly reached for it, sending it tumbling off the cot to the floor. “Here, let me—”

“I’ve got it,” Kelly said sharply. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She leaned over and scooped the prosthetic off the floor, busying herself with strapping it back on. Rodriguez kept his eyes averted, as if she were putting on a bra, not a leg. She felt a flare of rage, then tried to temper it. He was just trying to be courteous. Rodriguez had visited a few times during her recovery period, but eventually stopped showing up. Probably because she was just as surly with him as she was with everyone else.

“So.” Rodriguez leaned back against the bars. “You missed my wedding.”

“Sorry about that,” she mumbled. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Rodriguez held up his ring hand. She caught a flash of gold. “It was a lot of fun. Shame you weren’t there.”

“I wasn’t up for it.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Rodriguez appeared to have aged a decadshe last saw him. He no longer looked like an unseasoned rookie. There was an air of confidence about him now. Even his face looked leaner. He’d finally lost the last of his baby fat, and the beginnings of worry lines creased his eyes.

“Thanks for coming,” Kelly said. “I’ve been trying to explain what happened, but they didn’t bring in a translator.”

“What the hell are you doing here, Jones? Aside from killing kids, I mean.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Even though he said it, she detected some doubt. Kelly could hardly blame him. When an agent went through what she had, they never came back whole. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that she could have lost it. Had their positions been reversed, she’d probably be wondering the same about him.

“Remember Stefan Gundarsson, from the college case? He’s here.”

“Stefan’s dead.” Rodriguez’s brow wrinkled.

“He’s not. I saw him.”

“That how you got so messed up?” He waved a finger in a circle, taking in her appearance. Kelly realized how she must look: beaten, bruised and reeking of garbage. No wonder Rodriguez was sticking to the far side of the cell.

“There was a lead in one of those files you gave me that claimed he was living down here. By the time I found him in the dump, he’d already killed the kid. But he’s still out there, Danny.”

His eyebrows shot up—she never called him by his first name. “First things first,” he said after a second. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“You need to call it in. I can work with a forensic artist—he’s modified his appearance slightly. His hair is short now, and he’s clean-shaven—”

“Jones, relax. We gotta make sure you don’t end up a permanent resident of the Mexican prison system, then we can deal with other matters.”

Kelly could tell by the way he said it that he didn’t believe her. “I saw him, Danny. He’s here.”

Rodriguez didn’t respond. He walked out of the cell and spoke to the guard in a low voice. The guard nodded once, then started to slide the door shut.

“Wait!” Kelly cried, lurching toward the door. A wave of panic washed over her as it closed.

Rodriguez held up both hands placatingly. “It’s okay, Kelly. Trust me, I’ll have you out of here as soon as I can.”

The click of the latch seemed to resonate. As their footsteps faded down the hall, Kelly sank back down on the cot. For some reason, now she felt even more alone.

Mark clicked off the radio with a frown. They were still hunkered down in the knoll. Brown wanted the deal sealed before taking them back to the main group.

“What?” Brown asked.

“Syd said yes. And there’s

“Christ, seems like there’s always another thing,” Decker grumbled.

Brown waved a hand impatiently to silence him. “What?”

Mark was still turning the information over in his head. It didn’t sound like Syd believed Isabela, but forced to choose between the two of them, he leaned toward trusting Isabela. He knew those CIA types. Syd seemed capable enough, but her lack of faith in intel she hadn’t personally confirmed was hardly surprising. “We’ve got this girl with us whose father is being held down there. She claims that a rival cartel is planning to move on the camp tonight.”

“Which cartel?”

“The Sinaloans.”

Brown bellowed a deep laugh. “Well, there goes our inside information.”

“So it’s true?”

Brown grinned. “I got a Sinaloa goon back at our staging area who told us the same thing.”

“That’s how we found the camp,” Delano chimed in.

“Yeah?” Mark rubbed his chin. “Two separate sources. I wonder if your guy knows what time the raid is supposed to go down?”

“We’ll see. And since we’re buddies again—” Brown’s grin widened “—I’ll give you first crack at him.”

Flores shifted in his chair. The general glared at him contemptuously. “I’m disappointed in you, Señor Flores. I thought we had a deal.”

“I figured you’d call Calderon out. Did you hear he wanted to talk to you?”

“Sí.” Gente’s hands tapped together in front of his mouth. He had the swollen, dimpled knuckles of a child. “I have nothing left to say to Señor Calderon. You were supposed to do the talking for me.”

“Oh,” Flores said, subdued. So it looked like that part of their plan was a dud. Now that Calderon had finally caved, it was funny that Gente wasn’t jumping at the chance to strike a deal. Didn’t make a hell of a lot of sense. But then, nothing about this made sense anymore.

“He told you he was innocent.” Gente leaned back, causing the chair to groan woefully. “And you believed him.”

“I can’t figure out why else you’d keep him alive,” Flores said. “His story made more sense than yours.”

“And what was his story?” Gente’s lips kept tugging up at the corners, as if he wanted desperately to smile but the weight of his cheeks prevented it.

“That you wanted him to strike a deal releasing client lists, and he refused. That’s why you wanted me to kill him.”

“He refused?” Gente cocked an eyebrow.

“That’s what he said.”

“I understand, señor. After all, he your employer. And you’re right, we have kept him alive. But then, he still has some powerful friends in the government here. If we killed him, it would send the message that no one is safe.”

“I’d think you’d want that. Make them scared of you.”

“Not really.” Gente rocked slightly. “A certain level of government assistance is necessary to keep our operations flowing smoothly. If they saw us as a threat, they might take actions that wouldn’t benefit us. That is why you—” Gente jabbed at the table with a meaty index finger “—must kill him.”

“And if I say no?”

Gente regarded him in silence for a moment. “Part of me admires your blind loyalty, even to a man as undeserving as Cesar Calderon.” He practically spat the name. “If he is not dead by tomorrow morning, then both of you will be shot during an escape attempt. This is a gift I’m giving you, soldier,” he said. “I could easily stage such a thing and guarantee your deaths. But I would prefer that you live. You remind me of myself at your age.”

Flores swallowed a slew of retorts to that comparison. “I’d do better with a gun.”

“I’m sure you would.” Gente laughed out loud. “And I’d bet you’d take a few of my men with you.”

“Give me another chance.” Flores tried to sound earnest as he said, “I’ll do it tonight.”

“How will you do it?”

“I’ll put a pillow over his head so I don’t have to see his eyes when I drive the knife through it.”

The response seemed to satisfy the general. “Very well. But if Calderon sees another dawn, I will have you both killed. And it will not be quick or painless.”

Twenty-Four

As she stepped outside, Kelly felt the pressure in her chest ease. She inhaled deeply—even the smog tasted good after stale prison air. “Thanks, Rodriguez. I owe you one.”

“You owe me a hell of a lot more than one,” he grumbled good-naturedly. “Did you know that seventy percent of the cops in this town only made it to third grade? They’re not a fun bunch to deal with.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them you were a hardened criminal who was already wanted for similar crimes in the U.S., and that we’d make sure you never saw daylight again.”

Kelly examined his face to see if he was kidding.

He shrugged. “Hey, it worked, right? Part of the deal was that I get you on the first flight out. So let’s grab a cab.”

Kelly sifted through her backpack to make sure everything was still there. Her wallet was shy a few hundred pesos, and her pill bottle was gone. That would usually send her into a panic, but for some reason the actually made her feel calmer. She still had enough cash to get by for a few days. Her expensive new cell phone was gone, too. She considered trying to get it back, but thought better of it. Chances were she wouldn’t need it anyway. “I can’t go.”

Rodriguez breathed out hard, sending his lips flapping. “I knew it.”

“We have to head to the dump and interview some of the people living there. One of them might know where Stefan is.”

“Absolutely not.” Rodriguez’s grip was firm on her elbow as he steered her toward the curb. “You get caught again, I doubt they’ll let you out. And they’ll probably throw me in there with you.”

“You don’t have to come,” Kelly said. “You can go back, try to persuade McLarty to send backup.”

“I told you, Jones, I already ran it by him. He can’t spare anyone right now.”

“He didn’t believe me, did he?” Rodriguez didn’t answer. Kelly stared him down, but he didn’t shrink under her gaze. He had grown up, she realized. Which probably didn’t bode well for her. “I’m telling you, he’s here,” she insisted.

“Jones, you’ve been through a lot the past seven months. I mean, with the accident—”

“It wasn’t an accident. My leg got blown off by a grenade,” she retorted.

Rodriguez shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “Anyway, you’ve been under a lot of stress.”

“Not enough to make me start seeing things, Rodriguez. We never found Stefan’s body.”

“The M.E. thought it probably got caught under something in the river.”

Kelly blew out air, exasperated. “It’s been three years…don’t you think some sort of remains would have turned up by now? Didn’t you see the report last fall from the P.I. the Kaishens hired? Stefan’s money ended up here.”

Rodriguez sighed. “I knew I shouldn’t have gotten you those files. That case isn’t even technically ours. If the field office in charge didn’t follow up on it, there was probably a reason.”

“They didn’t even bother looking into it. Maybe because he wasn’t stateside anymore, so ASAC Bowen figured he could shunt the problem off on Mexico.”

“C’mon, Kelly. You don’t honestly believe—”

“I’m telling you, the P.I. was right. Somehow Stefan survived the shooting and came here. And now he’s killing people again. What he did to that kid was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

“I know. The comandante showed me the pictures.”

“So?” Kelly asked. “You want to just let him keep doing that?”

She could see him weighing what she’d said. “We don’t have any jurisdiction here.”

“I know

“You’re not officially on duty right now. And I’m supposed to be back in L.A. by tomorrow morning. I could catch hell for getting involved in this.”

“Then get on a plane.” Kelly marched away from him, headed into the throng of people. It was twilight, the streets were packed. Horns blared as cars pumped out choking clouds of exhaust. She felt Rodriguez at her shoulder.

“Don’t be like that, Jones. You know if there was any way—”

“I know. Listen, you’ve done enough.” She raised her hand to flag down a cab. It inched through the traffic toward the curb. “I’ll be fine. Just do me a favor. If I don’t make it home, tell Jake what happened.”

“Christ, don’t say that.”

The cab parked at an angle. Kelly opened the door and awkwardly climbed in, dragging her bad leg behind her. She leaned over to pull the door shut. “Goodbye, Danny.”