27. Vaughn
27
VAUGHN
“ W hat are you thinking?” I asked.
Parked two blocks from a building of interest, Brandon and I sat side by side in the back of our van, flying the spy drone. Not only was the quadcopter almost silent, but it had no flashing lights to give away its location in the pitch-black moonless sky.
Brandon kept his eyes on the tablet, which displayed an infrared camera feed, while his thumbs manipulated the controller. “Now that we’re able to get a look overhead, I’m thinking this is the most well-protected orphanage I’ve ever seen.”
I had a strong feeling about this place. The team had spent the afternoon scouring satellite images and other intel in the search for properties that fit Hope’s description within our redefined search radius. After putting together a short list worthy of closer inspection, we’d chosen to divide and conquer. Brandon and I had headed straight for this location as soon as it was dark enough to launch the drone undetected, while the rest of the team investigated the other potential sites.
Our location was our strongest lead yet. Satellite images had revealed a large estate surrounded by an outer perimeter wall capped with razor wire. Several long buildings formed a U, and other, smaller dwellings dotted the outskirts of the property. We were almost certain the small structure near the solid iron gates was a security booth.
The feature that struck us as most intriguing was the luxury home smack in the center of the property, because when Brandon had hacked into the city planning office’s server and lifted the construction drawings, we’d found some anomalies. Namely, that the central dwelling shouldn’t exist at all.
Red flag number one.
And despite the sign on the front gate declaring this development a home for children, it wasn’t registered with any governing body, nor did it have a website or phone listing.
Red flag number two.
Sage hadn’t identified the orphanage in her previous Manzanillo search, because on paper it didn’t exist. Our mistake had been assuming the compound was near a location where children played, not that they shared the same grounds.
Brandon shook his head as he worked the drone controller. “I count fourteen—no, fifteen—guards, all carrying automatic weapons.”
The night-vision and thermal-imaging cameras showed them patrolling the grounds clear as day.
“This has to be it.” I rubbed my palms over my bouncing thighs, eager to move on the target and get Hope back. “Espinoza’s built a compound and padded it with orphans. Could someone be a bigger piece of shit?”
Maybe there was some Supervillain of the Year award the cartel boss had his sights on, because this seemed like a play straight out of a Despicable Me movie.
Brandon canted his head. “A clever piece of shit. How are we going to get in there and take down Espinoza without civilian casualties? ”
There was less chance of us hitting any, because we were good shots, but once Espinoza’s men started spraying their bullets around, those kids weren’t safe. We had to play this smart.
“Can you hack the security cameras?” I asked.
Brandon shook his head. “They’re not connected to a server, which means I’d need to enter the property to gain access. Doing that without having to dispatch a guard or two? Unlikely. We’ll only get one shot at overthrowing the compound, and if we lose the element of surprise, we’re screwed.” He tensed beside me and sat forward, pointing at the tablet. “Decker, take a look at this.”
On a first-floor balcony, the thermal-imaging camera highlighted a lone figure. Brandon switched to night-vision for a clearer view.
“It’s a woman.” I sat up fast. “Get closer. Zoom in.”
Brandon did, and my heart pounded. It thumped so hard in my chest I thought it might crack a rib.
“It’s Hope.” It had to be. The image wasn’t perfect, but I’d recognize that curvy little body and long wavy hair anywhere. “That must be where they’re keeping her.” I clenched my hands into fists to stop them from shaking. “I need to get her, man. I want her back right now.”
It took all my willpower not to run to the orphanage and slice myself to ribbons climbing over the razor-wired wall just so I could see her in the flesh and tell her I was there to take her home, but that would be a suicide mission for both of us.
My girl was two blocks from me, but she might as well be half a world away. It was fucking killing me.
“Patience, Brother. We’ll get her back.”
“How?” I snapped, because we’d never faced an assault with so much at stake before.
Brandon exhaled deeply. “I don’t know yet. Any attack has to be timed to perfection, or we risk Espinoza escaping and taking Hope with him. Who knows how many tunnels he has beneath that compound. And the orphanage adds an extra layer of complexity. We need to be smart.”
Usually, we’d take weeks or even months to meticulously plan an op like this. For such a high-profile target, we might even create a mock-up of the compound and carry out practice run after practice run until we’d worked over every possible scenario. Going in unprepared meant we’d have to take risks, and we couldn’t afford to take any on this op.
Stealthiness was key. We might be able to drop a few guards unnoticed, but not fifteen. Once the cartel became aware of our raid, the orphanage would turn into a war zone.
There was only one way to tackle this. The guys wouldn’t like my plan, but we were shit out of options, and I wasn’t going a day longer without getting Hope back and sending her son-of-a-bitch father for a dirt nap.
“Bring the drone back,” I said, and pulled my phone from my pocket.
Brandon glanced between me and the controller in his lap. “What are you doing?”
“Calling the team back to the house. We’re doing this tonight.”