Chapter One #2
I glanced at Marshall Clifford, the former British SAS sniper who drove our BearCat. We had a couple of snipers on our team—the other being the tall Texas Army Ranger—Rex Monroe. We all enjoyed their dual country rivalry which was pretty epic at times.
“According to the DEA, yes,” Candy replied.
“And if Rojas is stupid enough to be caught with Gomez at the same location, taking them both into custody will be icing on the cake. Either way, the capture of even a single high-level cartel boss is important to both the DEA and the FBI.” Candy pinned me with a glare.
“Let me repeat that for the slower among you this morning. Rojas is not our target, so it doesn’t matter whether he’s there or not.
” He turned back to the whiteboard and tapped Gomez’ picture. “He is.”
Monroe raised his hand. “I know we’re talkin’ about the DEA here, sir, and I may be slow…but don’t it make more sense to wait until the two are in the same place so they can grab ‘em both at once?”
“It would, yes, Monroe, but this isn’t our operation,” Candy reiterated. “It’s the DEA’s.”
“Gotcha,” Monroe said. “The DEA’s objective is to grab Gomez and we’re facilitatin’ that by clearin’ the way for ‘em,” he drawled. Candy nodded. “Oh…kay.”
“You’re all clear on this?”
“As mud,” Monroe said, stroking his square jaw.
Several people snickered. I loved Rex Monroe’s Texas twang.
The country sounding boy was Houston born and bred.
He was tall, sandy blond, and cowboy all the way down to his ever-present cowboy boots.
The way he always had a bag of Reese’s Pieces shoved down into one of his cargo pockets had earned Monroe his nickname.
He was a stunning man…all six foot six of him was sex on a stick.
“And I should clarify…” Candy hesitated for the briefest of moments. “We’re not going into the building. We’re—” He stopped midsentence when the door opened and three people walked in.
I glanced over at our special agent in charge, Donovan Bradley.
I hadn’t had much experience with the SAC since we’d transferred from Houston, but I’d seen the respect he got from agents in the office.
That kind of said it all in my book. Loyalty was my middle name, so I appreciated it when I met a man who commanded it.
He’d looked me in the eye when we’d shaken hands at our first meeting.
In my limited experience with him, I’d noticed how Bradley seemed solid and unafraid to listen to advice in making a decision only after he’d heard all sides of an argument.
When we planned out the operation in Grand Cayman, he’d listened to Candy.
He understood that a good Tac Team acted as the FBI’s tip of the spear.
We were first in, last out, and Bradley seemed to understand that.
He was followed into the room by SAC Hope Bannister of the DEA and another man I’d only seen in passing.
I didn’t know who the stranger was, but the scowl on his face wasn’t pleasant, which never boded well.
I wondered if something was wrong or if his expression came from being dickish in general.
The minute he opened his mouth instead of letting the two SACs take the lead, the question in my mind was answered.
“Did you tell your team they’re acting as backup only, Sorensen?” His smirk wasn’t nice.
Backup?
“I was just getting around to it, Turley,” Candy said.
My boss was pissed. There was an unmistakable tone in the way he replied.
“How are things situated?” Joy drawled. “What do you mean by backup, suh?”
I glanced over at the team medic, Alain Joy.
The shy, generally quiet man had a lilting upper-class British accent, which I’m sure suited his patients well.
There was something almost mesmerizing about the former SAS soldier that had a calming effect on people when they were hurt or under duress of some kind.
“I mean that, you guys—” Turley waved his hand at our team like he was swatting flies. “You’re back up for my team, that’s all.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t know why the hell we need you at all.”
“That’s enough, Turley,” SAC Bannister said sharply.
She wore a scowl. “As I stated in the briefing with Sorensen last night, we need both teams. We’re not leaving anything to chance, so stow the attitude.
We covered all this. Bringing it up again when it’s been decided makes you sound unprofessional. ”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I was the first to admit that I hadn’t liked Bannister when I’d met her, but after this, she was beginning to grow on me.
Bradley cleared his throat then looked at Candy. “Did you brief the team, Sorensen?”
“Yes, sir. They know the target.” He glanced at the board.
Bradley nodded. “Good.”
“I didn’t get a chance to tell them about the DEA team but now that you and SAC Bannister are here, we should get to that.”
“Fair enough. Continue, Special Agent Sorensen.”
Candy nodded. “The DEA’s Tac Team will be going into the building to retrieve Pedro Gomez. Our team will be covering all ingress and egress points to and from the building so that if he somehow manages to elude the DEA, we’ll take him down outside the building.”
You could have heard a pin drop in the room.
Not a single person on our team uttered so much as a groan as Candy went on.
He turned to Bannister who was standing closest to the door.
“Would you turn off the lights, SAC Bannister? I’ll put up photos so that everyone can see what we’ll be up against.”
Without a word, she switched off the lights as Candy pulled the whiteboard out of the way and began typing on the iPad.
Seconds later, an image of a tall, brick building appeared on the blank wall behind him.
It was a street view. He stepped out of the way so everyone could see it and I leaned forward in my chair.
“This is the building where Pedro Gomez has set up his safehouse. The apartment he’s using is on the tenth floor.
” Candy used a laser pointer, zeroing in on an apartment facing the street.
“Ingress and egress points are the front door, and a back door which empties onto a narrow alley behind the building. That, along with a loading dock for small vehicles only due to the width of the alley, and two side doors, here and here.” Candy pointed to either side of the brick building.
“The alleys on either side of the building are only eight feet wide, barely large enough for a small car to fit, probably due to the age of the hundred plus year old building, before cars were a thing.
“As you can see, there are businesses on either side of the building. The one on the left is a Chinese grocery with apartments above, similar to the store on the right.” He pointed to it.
“This one is a tourist trap, catering to Chinatown visitors. They sell everything from Ben Wa balls to silk pajamas.” He shut off the laser pointer.
“The only access to the roof is via fire escapes on either side of the building. The front door is the only access residents have to their apartments. The structure was built before elevators were a thing, so all residents access internal stairs to get to them.” He turned to SAC Bannister and nodded.
She flipped the lights back on and the pain in my head returned with a vengeance.
“It looks like a fire trap,” Smith said, speaking up for the first time.
Napoleon Smith was almost as tall as Rex Monroe.
I’d always thought the huge, black man could have passed as a Nubian warrior, right out of one of those gladiator movies.
He had shoulders for days and was covered head to toe with muscles.
I’d seen him take down two guys at once when they’d challenged him to a wrestling match, thinking their odds would be good in the FBI’s basement boxing ring.
“Right,” Candy said. “It is a fire trap.” He glanced over at Turley. “That’s why I want all civilians evacuated beforehand.”
Turley pushed off from the wall where he’d been leaning. If looks could kill, the daggers he was shooting at Candy would have toppled him on the spot.
“And you were outvoted, Sorensen,” Turley growled. “Trying to evacuate civilians would only alert Gomez and the multitude of sicarios he no doubt has guarding him.”
“Which is exactly why we should try to get as many people out of the building before we start taking down doors. I’ll point out for the hundredth time that cartel guys are by their very nature, armed to the teeth.
Who knows what else they have in there in addition to heavy firepower.
They could have fucking grenades or incendiaries. ”
“Enough!” Bannister said. “Agent Sorensen, Turley’s team is responsible for what happens inside the building while your team is responsible only for making sure that anyone coming out of the building isn’t Mr. Gomez.
We discussed this at length last night and decided on this plan of action.
If you can’t live with it, then perhaps we should tap a different FBI Tac Team who will follow orders. ”
I watched Candy straighten to his full height, struggling not to say what was clearly written all over his face. My boss was pissed.
“Is this going to be a problem, Sorensen?” Turley asked smugly. “Because if you’re afraid, then maybe we should get a better team.” He turned to SAC Bradley. “Is this really the best you’ve got?”
I could feel the palpable anger in the room, but the way my boss’ face turned red was really a sight to see.
If I were a betting man, I’d guess Captain Candy Sorensen, decorated Green Beret, was doing everything he could not to launch himself at the smug bastard questioning our team’s value to the operation.
I’d also bet Turley had never seen a day’s service in the military, which just made everything he was saying that much worse.
No one questioned our team’s ability to do our jobs or our commitment to follow orders to the letter. No one.
Instead of killing the man outright, he did one better. Candy completely ignored the insult, looking straight at SAC Bannister.
“We will follow orders, ma’am…to the letter. I just wanted to point out once again, that not evacuating civilians beforehand, is reckless and stupid,” he said through clenched teeth. “I want that on the record.”
“Noted, Special Agent Sorensen,” Bannister said. She faced the room and cleared her throat. “Now that you know what’s happening, we’ll leave you with your team leader so you can work out the details.” She glanced at Bradley. “Are we good?”
Bradley nodded sharply. “We’re good.”
She and Turley walked out of the room and shut the door.
Even the stupidest person on the planet could feel the collective tension in the room leave with them.
I held my breath as Bradley looked at us before transferring his gaze to Candy.
He held out his hand and Candy shook it.
“Thank you for your input, Sorensen. Work out the details with your team.” He let out a surprising sigh and I heard the relief in it.
Candy nodded sharply. “Yes, sir. See you at 0530 at the staging area tomorrow.”
“Will do, Captain.”
Bradley exited the room, and I felt the air change around me as Candy eyed us up.
I could tell by the way he held himself—proud and tall—that he was pissed. He glanced at Judy and smiled, nodding politely. “Thank you, Judy.”
She saluted and I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. “Aye, aye, Captain,” she said brightly. Leaning close, she said, “Never let the asshats get you down.” She slapped him on the back. Several people did laugh at that as she took her iPad and left.
Candy’s resolve was openly displayed on his face as the door shut behind her.
“Carson Turley is a total waste of space,” he said, “but we’re going to follow the plan down to the letter.
Does everyone hear me?” He looked straight at me even though the question was directed to the whole room. “Are we good?” I nodded.
“Yes, sir!” we all shouted at once.
This was going to be a total clusterfuck. I just knew it.