28. Vaughn
28
VAUGHN
W e mobilized the team for an assault, but if all went as planned, only two of us would breach the compound walls.
Owen and I.
Mom would kill us both if she found out what we’d signed up for. I’d proposed going in solo, not wanting to put anyone else’s life at risk, but Brandon had refused unless I had someone watch my six, and Owen had insisted that person be him.
With children and orphanage staff surrounding the compound, we’d had to completely reassess the op. Essentially, we had to treat this as a hostage situation, which meant launching a full-scale attack on the cartel fortress was out of the question.
So, instead of overthrowing the compound, our mission now had only two objectives: assassinate Espinoza and extract Hope. And if we happened across Ortega along the way, I’d take great pleasure in sending him to hell in a cloud of red mist. We’d pick off the remainder of the PCC’s soldiers and loyal supporters when it was safe to do so .
Hidden in the back of a truck driving toward the orphanage, our team made their final gear checks and tested comms. Sage would fly the spy drone from the surveillance van parked a couple of blocks from the compound while the guys stayed in the truck on standby much closer. Owen and I would stay in contact with the team at all times, and if shit went south, my brothers would be ready to respond quickly.
None of us were deluding ourselves. There was a real risk that if Owen and I ran into trouble, the team wouldn’t reach us in time. We’d be dead before they even scaled the wall. I accepted that, as did Owen, although the thought of anything happening to my kid brother terrified the hell out of me.
Brandon sat beside me as we bumped along the potholed road. He checked our location on a tablet. “Arriving at the infil position in two mikes.” He jerked his chin toward me. “You squared away?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you’ve barely slept, eaten, or had your shit together since Hope offered herself up as bait.”
My response was an unamused grunt because the bastard was right. But none of that mattered. Hope needed me, which meant my focus would be razor-sharp as soon as I dropped into the compound.
I adjusted my lucky blade at my thigh. “It’s my woman in there, so if you think there’s anyone more motivated than me to do this op, go ahead and let me know.”
“It’s not your motivation I’m questioning. It’s your ability to make rational decisions when this mission is as personal as it gets.”
I shifted to face him fast. “Then tell me, who would you send if it were Sage being held in that compound? Who did you send when it was me in that tunnel in Venezuela?”
He had no comeback. When one of us was injured or isolated from the pack, Brandon was the one who took point on fixing things. Not only because he was a good leader, but also because he felt responsible for everyone. He’d been the one to track me down when I’d been taken hostage. He’d led the recovery mission and carried my broken body to the helo, thinking I stood little chance of surviving.
“Okay. I get it,” he said. “I just want you to know that if you’re not feeling one hundred percent about going in there, any of us will gladly do this for you. You never need to doubt our commitment to extracting Hope safely.”
“I know.” I exhaled deeply. “But you’ll have to beat me unconscious before I sit out this op.”
Brandon snorted. “I figured you’d say something like that.”
“One, this is TOC. How do you copy?” Sage’s voice came through my earpiece. She’d act as our tactical operations center so Brandon could focus on the op.
“Good copy, TOC,” I responded. “Why don’t you tell us about our hunting conditions this evening?”
“Twelve guards on duty. Shift change was two hours ago. You’re not going to believe this. Eight of the guards are grouped in the northwest corner watching a couple of roosters attack each other.”
I arched a brow. “You mean a cockfight?”
“Sorry,” Sage responded. “The comms glitched. A what fight?”
“Cock,” I said louder into the mouthpiece.
Sage cackled, and since the rest of the team was listening in, they had a laugh at my expense, too. Before I could grumble at her, Sage added, “Hey, what do you get when you cross a rooster with an owl? A cock that stays up all night.”
As the team’s laughter settled, Kane chimed in. “What did Mrs. Duck say to the big black cock?” Everyone went silent, waiting for a smutty pun. “Quack, of course. Ducks don’t talk.”
There were several groans as Kane slapped his thigh and guffawed at his awful joke .
This game was familiar. We’d ease the pre-op tension with jokes, roastings, or anything to momentarily distract us all from the seriousness of what we were about to face.
“All right, jackasses,” I said. “Time to get our game faces on. Sage, how many…rooster cages are there?”
“I’m counting maybe a dozen birds, and this fight is the first. If all those guards stick around to watch, it’ll leave a skeleton crew patrolling the perimeter. That’ll take the heat off your entry.”
I glanced at Brandon, and he gave me a small nod, letting me know that he, too, felt like Sage’s update was a good omen. “Remember, Decker. Don’t go getting too cocky .”
I rolled my eyes before peeking through the opening in the canvas covering the back of the truck. “We’re almost there.”
Sitting across from me, Owen nudged the toe of my boot with his own. “We ready to do this?”
I slung my rifle over my shoulder. “Watch and learn, motherfuckers, as the Decker brothers take down the biggest cartel in Mexico.”
The guys gave their final words of encouragement, a few offering up fist bumps. Owen grabbed the wire cutters.
“Good luck,” Brandon said. “We’ll see you at the exfil point.”
I fastened my combat helmet. “Copy that.”
A moment later, the truck slowed to a walking pace, and my brother and I jumped out the rear. With night-vision goggles on, we made our way to a shadowy section of the orphanage’s wall that we’d identified as a security–camera blind spot. The truck carried on to a vacant lot nearby, which would later be our rendezvous point with the team.
“One, this is TOC,” Sage said over the radio. “You’re clear of Tangos for roughly two mikes.”
“Copy,” I replied.
I gave Owen a boost up the wall, and he made fast work of clipping the razor wire before giving me a hand up. We dropped into the orphanage and took cover behind a small outbuilding—the security booth. Peering through the window, I found one guy inside monitoring a half dozen live camera feeds from locations around the compound. He was our first target.
“One Tango approaching the security booth in ten seconds. Hold your position,” said Sage.
The patrolling guard spoke briefly to the one in the booth, mentioning something about an upcoming soccer game before laughing and departing.
“All clear,” Sage confirmed.
I pulled out my suppressed pistol and entered the booth. The attendant’s eyes widened when he saw me, but that was all he had time for before I put a bullet in his head.
First problem solved. But we needed to move swiftly before someone noticed the body.
With the help of Sage and the drone’s thermal-imaging camera, we planned to step our way to the mansion undetected.
“One, you’re good to proceed to your next cover location.”
At Sage’s instruction, we moved toward the first column of a pavilion with a swift but steady pace, our rifles at the ready.
“Lone Tango lurking in an alcove twenty meters north of your location.”
I peeked around the column and spotted a partially obscured man facing away from us. He had a rifle over his shoulder and a lit cigarette between his fingers.
I glanced through the nearest window. The long room was dark, but a small night-light revealed row after row of sleeping children in bunk beds.
There was a risk suppressed gunfire would wake a light sleeper. And if it didn’t, there was a good chance the hefty guard’s body hitting the ground would.
Using hand signals, I told Owen to stay put .
A cheer went up somewhere in the distance. Probably the cockfight.
I took out my lucky knife and moved toward the guard on soft feet. I’d reached halfway when his radio crackled and a voice asked for a check-in. I used the distraction to creep closer. Still with his back to me, the guard responded that he had nothing to report, before taking another drag on his cigarette.
I lunged for him. My hand covered his mouth while my blade plunged into his neck.
The guard bucked and twitched. It didn’t take long for the fight to leave his body. I dragged the corpse farther into the alcove before signaling Owen to join me.
“Tango down hard,” I whispered into the mouthpiece of my radio.
“That looked brutal,” Sage said, which was rich coming from a woman who’d once stabbed a foot-long dagger through an enemy’s neck. “You’re clear of Tangos until you get to the inner-compound wall. And it looks like they’re pulling fresh birds from cages.”
I stuck to the shadows, Owen close behind, and continued toward the wall that separated the orphanage from the compound.
“Stop,” Sage ordered quickly. Footsteps scurried across the courtyard. I spun to aim my rifle at the new threat. “Don’t shoot,” she added. “It’s a kid.”
A boy, no older than six, ran from one dorm room to another, carrying a stuffed rabbit.
“Do you think he spotted us?” Owen asked.
It didn’t matter. We had no choice but to continue, but since the kid hadn’t looked our way, I replied, “Nah. We’re good.”
We didn’t have time to waste, so Owen and I moved to the final obstacle before we were inside the compound. With Sage’s assurance that there were no guards nearby, we scaled the internal ring wall the same way we had the outer and dropped into the mansion’s gardens with a light thud.
We needed to move swiftly but steadily. It was only a matter of time before someone raised the alarm about the two dead guards.
Avoiding the well-lit footpath, we stayed in the shadowy gardens to reach the balcony where we’d spotted Hope. If she wasn’t in that room, we had big problems, because finding her in the mansion would become a dangerous guessing game.
As I unfastened a rope ladder from my pack, Owen tapped my elbow. I tensed at the contact, but then he pointed to a bench near a grove of palms. I gave him a thumbs-up, and we shifted the seat to beneath the balcony. With Owen giving me a boost, I pulled myself up and over the handrail, then gave my brother a hand to do the same.
Before I could peer through the door, it swung open, and I was met with the most beautiful sight I’d ever laid eyes on.
My Gatita.