Chapter Hotel #3
“I’ll call you back in five minutes,” Ruiz said and then put his phone into his pocket.
Cooper exited the men’s room and went right back to his chair, where Madison sat upright in hers.
“Mother, get ready with the mic. Ruiz took a call while in the head and asked the caller to call him back in five.” Cooper knew that if the caller was a loud talker, there was a chance part of that side of the conversation could also be picked up with the super mic.
Instead of coming back to his lounge chair right away, Ruiz walked in and through the Preferred Club bar.
“I’m on him,” Madison transmitted as she rose from her chair.
She tied a scarf-like wrap around herself and slipped on her sandals.
She followed Ruiz out to a food cart where a resort worker was grilling up carne tacos just past the Preferred Club bar.
“He’s getting lunch,” she whispered. “Coop, I’m getting us tacos. ”
“Excellent,” Cooper said.
Ruiz got two in a small boat from the man doing the grilling and Madison watched his back as he retreated back into and through the Preferred Club bar. She placed her order and waited only a few minutes before the man placed two of the food boats in her hands.
When she returned to her lounge chair, Cooper was just getting out of the water. The four others were still wading waist-deep in the large infinity pool, blending in with the rest of the resort guests. Ruiz sat on his lounger eating his tacos and sipping a recently delivered mojito.
Cooper waved the poolside drink server over to them.
“Can we get a couple of club sodas with lime or lemon, whatever you’ve got.
” Then he straddled his lounge chair and dug into his tacos.
Whenever he turned his head to view Madison, he clearly saw Ruiz as well as his four team mates in the water.
“These tacos are really good,” he transmitted.
“I’m sure Ruiz will be here for at least the next half hour if you want to get some, team. ”
Briana and Roth both immediately got out of the pool and dried off. They placed an order with the poolside drink attendant for a couple of virgin strawberry daiquiris. Then Roth walked in the direction of the taco cart to get them lunch.
Ruiz lifted his phone to his ear. “I’ve got him on the super mic,” Mother transmitted. “The call is in English and I’m picking up a few words from the caller, male, New York accent.”
From the pool, both Lambchop and Laura Lee’s gaze shifted to the couple from New York they’d spoken to on the shuttle bus.
They’d waved to the couple earlier when the couple took a couple of lounge chairs across the pool from them.
They’d actually been surprised that neither the husband nor the wife had gotten into the pool yet.
“No way. He can’t be talking to Ruiz,” Laura Lee said, transmitting her words to the rest of the team.
She was surprised to see that the husband had his phone to his ear.
“Mother, can you shift the super mic to the couple across the pool from Lambchop and Lah-lee?” Cooper asked. His gaze flickered up to the balcony where Mother sat. The sun, shifting positions, now beat relentlessly on the building. Mother had little shade. He had to be baking up there.
“Negative, they’re too close to the building for me to get a good line on without exposing the equipment,” Mother replied. “I’ll let you know the second Ruiz’s call is over, though, and we’ll see if it lines up with his call ending.”
“What is being discussed, Mother?” Yvette asked.
“From what I can make out, I think the caller is trying to arrange a time to pick out his own product with Ruiz.”
“If that means what I think it does, I’m going to throw up my breakfast,” Briana said. “We have to stop that from going down.”
“We will MP,” Lambchop said.
“It sounds like tomorrow morning is the shopping day they’ve agreed on,” Mother said. “They’re planning to meet in a parking lot at a grocery store in Cancun.” There was a long pause. “And the call just ended.”
Lambchop was facing the New York couple. “Yeah, his call just ended too,” he confirmed.
“Lambchop, you and Lah-lee need to cozy up to them and see what you can learn,” Yvette ordered.
“Affirmative, we’ll try to make some dinner plans with them,” Lambchop replied.
“Mother, you have to be getting hot up there. It doesn’t look like you’ve got much shade,” Cooper transmitted.
“Affirm, Coop. It’s getting toasty. I’m going to need a dip in that pool soon to cool off.”
“I’m a registered guest,” Yvette broke in. “After Ruiz comes up to take his afternoon nap, I’ll bring you down with me. It did feel very nice yesterday afternoon.”
“So you think Ruiz is going to go up for a nap after lunch, Control?” Laura Lee asked.
“He strikes me as a creature of habit. I think he will,” Yvette said.
“Sounds like you want some time in the pool, Control,” Madison broadcast. Her voice clearly showed she was joking. “You and Mac can take a turn tomorrow if you like.”
Yvette chuckled. “I may take you up on that tomorrow, Xena. From where I’m sitting, so far you’ve all had a cushy morning.”
“It’s been rough,” Roth said. “I just ordered virgin daiquiris.”
Yvette laughed with him.
Madison identified Ruiz’s next visitor before anyone else did.
He entered the Preferred Club pool area wearing black dress pants, and a white linen guayabera shirt.
He walked with purpose; his gaze fixed on Ruiz.
He was Hispanic, in his late forties to early fifties, had a full head of black hair worn a bit longer, but combed back from his face.
He had tats up and down both muscular arms and on both knuckles.
And his left ear was pierced, and he wore a large diamond stud in it.
“Ruiz has company,” Madison reported as the man she’d been watching since he’d entered the pool area walked up to and stopped in front of Ruiz’s cabana.
“I’ve got him,” Mother said. “Conversation is in Spanish. Sounds like an initial meeting in person, they just introduced themselves to each other. The visitor introduced himself as el provedor.”
“The provider or supplier,” Madison translated.
“Ruiz just referred to him as esbirro, which describes someone who enforces rules or acts as a heavy,” Mother said. “El provedor laughed at that description.”
“I’d say it fits him,” Lambchop said. “He looks like an enforcer or a hitman.”
His visit was short and just before he stepped away, he said, “I look forward to doing business with you to acquire new product.” Mother relayed this to the team.
***
The car that Mac and Manuel were in turned around and headed back the way they’d come. In the rear-view mirror, a pickup truck approached quickly. “Shit, this isn’t good,” Manuel said.
Mac saw that Manuel’s eyes were on his rear-view mirror. Mac looked out the window, into the side mirror, and saw the black vehicle, speeding up on them. “Push that gas pedal to the floor.”
Manuel picked up speed. It didn’t matter. The pickup truck easily caught up to them. From a side road ahead, another pickup pulled onto the road, and came to a stop, blocking the way.
“Go around it!” Mac ordered.
“I can’t the drop off on the sides of the road is too steep. We’ll roll,” Manuel said as he braked hard. He cut the wheel so the car skidded sideways before it stopped, nearly missing the impending collision.
The black pickup that had been behind them pulled up sideways, blocking their car from going back the opposite direction.
Before Mac could react, two men hopped from both pickup trucks.
Mac initiated a video call on his phone.
He yelled to the two men who approached his side of the car just as Yvette answered.
“We’ve been detained on the road!” he said loud enough for everyone to hear as he held the phone up for them to see the screen.
With his other hand, he held up his Interpol identification.
“I’m with Interpol and you are impeding an investigation.
We are on a video call with my director right now,” he announced.
“If anything happens to me you can all be identified!” He didn’t give his name on purpose.
“My investigation does not involve any known cartels or its members.” Then he repeated all he’d said in Spanish as he panned over all of the faces of the men who held guns on him and Manuel.
The four men froze. They didn’t know what to do. Three of them looked to the fourth, an older man with a scar on his forehead, over his right eye. Mac figured he must have been in charge. That man lowered his weapon but still held it at his side. The three other men followed suit.
“Look, jefe,” Mac said to that fourth man. “We took a wrong turn. We just want safe passage back the way we came.” He pointed in the direction that would bring them back to Cancun. “If you can secure that for us, I will owe you a favor at some point in time.”
A satisfied grin spread over his face. “Si, you may go. Do not forget this face. I will collect on that favor.”
Mac nodded. “You got it.”
One of the men got behind the wheel of the pickup that was blocking the road in front of them.
He backed it up, creating enough space for their car to pass.
Manuel shifted to drive and easily drove around the pickup.
Manuel’s gaze stayed in the rear-view mirror.
Mac’s was on the side mirror out his window.
The men and the pickup trucks didn’t move and soon they were so far back, they couldn’t be seen. Only then did Mac breathe.
“We’re clear,” he said, bringing his screen in front of his face and taking in Yvette’s image on it. As always, she was his safety beacon. “Thanks, Control.”
“You and I are now burned,” she said. “Get back here ASAP. There’s a third visitor we’ll need followed and the DEA Team that brought Coop and the others in are following another guy. They won’t be back in time, I’m sure.”
“Our ETA is about forty minutes,” Mac said.
“And I’d rather we get burned than Manuel and I get killed, which I can guarantee would have happened.
We’ll make adjustments onsite so it won’t matter.
And if I’m right about that place back there being this warehouse where Ruiz’s product is kept, we’ll raid it tonight and wrap this case up, so it really won’t matter that we’re burned.
Were you able to get any eyes on that structure now?
A lot can happen out there before the next pass of the satellite. ”
“Yeah, especially now that they know you’re onto it,” Yvette said. “Let me make a call to Big Bear and see what he can pull off.”
“Let me know when you can,” Mac said. Then he ended the call.
“Fuck!” Yvette swore after the call ended with Mac. She dialed Shepherd.
“Are there new developments on site since your message?” Shepherd answered.
“Yes.” Yvette relayed to him the contents of her call with Mac and his request.
“Has the Digital Team identified this Hector yet, or which cartel he’s with?” Shepherd asked.
“Negative but take your pick. There are two known to operate in the Cancun area.”
Shepherd sighed. “I’ve hesitated calling in a favor to get the satellite re-routed as it could come with questions we don’t want to answer at this time. What percent are you sure human trafficking victims are at that location?”
“I’m seventy-five percent sure, Shep. And now that Mac’s been discovered up there, I’m one hundred percent sure that by the next time the satellite passes or when we get there it will be empty of whatever is there now.
The conversations Ruiz is having are damning but Hector could have been going anywhere when he left his meeting with Ruiz, his own stash house for instance.
We didn’t hear anything that was a sure indicator he was going to where Ruiz’s product was at when he left. ”
“I’m not going to re-route the satellite. It passes again on its regular orbit within ten hours. What I can do is get a spy plane to make a few passes. If it looks like there’s human product there or if a move out is in progress, we can mobilize against it ASAP,” Shepherd said.
“I’ll let the team know,” Yvette said. “We’ll continue with our operation as planned.”
“Thanks for the update,” Shepherd said, then the line went dead.
Yvette provided the update to the team regarding her conversation with Shepherd and then placed a phone call to Mac to fill him in as well.
“Ruiz’s current visitor is getting ready to leave. Is Mac back and able to follow, Control?” Mother asked.
“Negative,” Yvette transmitted.
“I’m on him,” Garcia chimed in. He was already near the guest parking lot where a vehicle had been left for him by the DEA agents who’d dropped them off.
He fished the keys to the sedan from his jeans pocket.
As he opened the car door, the blast of heat from inside reminded him he was in Mexico.
He started the car and turned the AC to high, but he stood outside of the vehicle, waiting for it to cool off while he waited for the mystery man to exit the lobby, which he could see from his location.
Ten minutes later, Garcia saw the man stroll out of the lobby.
He was picked up by a black SUV that had been parked nearby.
Garcia got into the car, it had cooled off slightly, and he followed them.
They led him to a strip club in Cancun, near the airport.
He didn’t have to go inside to know it was a cartel-owned establishment.
The muscle guarding the door told him that.
He snapped off several pictures of the men hanging around the doors hoping the DEA could ID them and which cartel they belonged to. Then he headed back to the resort.
The pair of DEA agents that tailed the American, lost him. They reported to Cooper forty minutes after they’d left that he’d slipped them in Cancun, near the airport. Cooper passed it on to the rest of the team. “I almost hope that was Dyer,” Cooper said.
“Yeah, if not we have another player to keep track of,” Yvette agreed.
“Control, I’m back in comms range,” Mac transmitted. “Do you read?”
“Affirm, Mac,” Yvette said. “ETA?”
“Under twenty minutes.”