Chapter 22
The first thing Moto did when he caught up with HERO Force was explain everything that transpired with his brother to Razorback. “And do you believe him?” Razorback asked.
“I do.”
“You weren’t so sure at the hospital.”
“I made a mistake. I believe him now.”
“Are you willing to stake my men’s lives on that?”
He knew exactly what he was taking on, knew the importance of judging his brother’s truthfulness correctly. “Absolutely.”
Razorback nodded. “Good enough for me. Let’s hope he hears something about the shipment.” He walked back to the rest of the team, assembled around the hotel suite’s conference table. “In the meantime, I want Champion and Sloan at the docks. We need eyes and ears on the ground.”
The men nodded. Razorback checked his watch. “Logan O’Malley should be calling in any second with an update on DeRegina’s downfall in the Port of Savannah.” The phone in the center of the table started to ring. “Right on time.” He pressed a button. “Logan, you’re on speaker.”
“I interviewed several DEA agents involved with the operation—“
Moto interrupted, “Anyone named Spaulding?”
“No.”
“Good, ’cause he’s a mole.”
“Anyway, you were right, Razorback. There was definitely a methamphetamine operation in addition to the opium being shipped in. But the Savannah warehouse wasn’t where they cooked it, it was just a storage facility for the components.
So even though the feds raided it twice, there was nothing they could do.
They had two guys undercover for over a year before they could nail down an opium shipment from the Middle East. Even then, they weren’t able to get DeRegina himself.
A handful of underlings went down for the crime, but it was enough to cut off access to his distribution network and force him to find a new port to import his drugs. ”
Moto shook his head. “If his name wasn’t on shit in Savannah, how much you want to bet it’s not on the operation here in Houston, either? How are we going to pin this motherfucker down and actually put him behind bars?”
“Good question,” said Logan. “Nothing I’ve learned here points to a way to do that. He was very careful to keep his hands clean.”
Razorback leaned forward in his chair. “Thanks for all your hard work on this one, Logan.”
“Any luck on Ben’s computer files?” asked Moto.
“Nothing,” said Logan.
“What’s the problem?” asked Razorback.
It was Moto who answered him. “We’re trying to find a way to prove who tampered with the file dates on Ben’s computer and planted the evidence against him.
It’s easy as hell to fake a creation date, but proving it was done and who did it is a much harder task.
” He eyed the men around the table. This was what he was good at, and it pained him to admit he could fail. “It might even be impossible.”
Logan signed off just as Moto’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out to find a text from Ben: The Realtor for the seller said she’d call me back at seven p.m. with a counteroffer.
“Ben texted me.” He read it out loud.
Razorback crossed to him, taking the phone out of his hands and looking at it himself. “Does that mean the boat’s coming tonight at seven?”
“I think so.” He typed a response, reading it aloud as he went. “Did you hear back from the inspector on the condition of the dock?”
A minute later, he had a response. “He said it’s good to go.”
“So the ship’s coming in tonight,” said Razorback. He turned to Sloan and Champion. “You two better get going. I want you in Kevlar. Suit up and take every precaution.”
When they were gone, Moto turned to Razorback. “Are you calling in the feds on this one?”
Razorback’s eyes were dark and determined. “No. We do this one alone. See if you can get your brother out of there before the shit hits the fan.”