Chapter Thirteen
CACHI
I’d been praying for five minutes as the captain talked quietly on the phone, losing my place in the Rosary several times as I overheard Rex’s name. I looked up as a window between the back of the truck and the cab, suddenly slid open.
“Candy, we’ve got a tail.”
I listened to him, sure I’d misunderstood something until the captain went to talk to the agent driving.
“Are you sure, Mars?”
“Aye, sir. I’ve ‘ad my eye on them for a while, not sure they were really following. But they’ve swerved in and out of their lane, always keeping at least one other car between us for several miles now. They’re good.”
“Shit,” the captain swore under his breath.
“They must have picked us up at Cachi’s house.
Keep an eye on them and get us to the office as soon as you possibly can.
I need to get this family to safety before we go to Rex’s last location.
I don’t think we have much to worry about with the tail.
They obviously know who we are and it’s much safer to take the family to the federal building than to a safehouse.
“Let SAC Bradley know the office might have company so he can get another Tac Team at the ready to defend anyone in the lobby. Since we go in through the underground garage which they can’t access, that’s the only way they can infiltrate the building.
” He checked the dive watch he was wearing and then spoke to the driver again.
“It’s late and there shouldn’t be any pedestrians at the building, but cartel goons can sure as hell shoot up a lobby and take out the guards. ”
“Will do, Cap.”
“Thanks, Mars.” The captain instructed the other agent and Marcello who immediately took up positions with their guns, looking out the back.
We all watched silently. He started calling someone else and even though I was eager to listen, I was interrupted by Mamá when she tapped on my knee. Her eyes were wide with fear.
“What happen, Cachi?”
I explained in Spanish what was going on. They all looked freaked out, so I took Mamá’s hand in mine. “We are safe, Mamá.” I looked away but she reached out and took my chin with gentle fingers, turning my face toward her.
“Cachi, your friend, Rex, is okay?”
I shook my head, feeling the tears burning behind my eyes again. I didn’t want to cry again in front of her or my aunt and uncle, but holding them back was getting harder and harder. I looked down at my phone before answering.
“He no answer, Mamá.”
She cocked her head as her expression morphed into sadness. “I sorry, Cachi, pero, these men…they are very professional. I think they protect your friend and he very strong…your Rex.”
The sweet sadness in her words struck me then.
Of course she was right. Rex’s phone could’ve died and that would explain why he wasn’t answering.
If the cartel had been following us from the house, then chances were, they wouldn’t look for us anywhere else.
They’d have no way of knowing where I worked anyway.
I nodded. “Si, Mamá, Rex, he is strong.” I gave her the most reassuring smile I could as I squeezed her fingers.
She smiled back and picked up her rosary to start her prayers all over.
I picked mine up from the bench seat and began my own prayers as the captain took another call.
“He’s there?” he suddenly said. “What?” The urgency in his voice wasn’t reassuring. My heartrate sped up. “And he’s—” the captain paused as he listened on the phone and nodded, more to himself than anyone else. “But he’s breathing?”
I sucked in a breath as the back of the truck suddenly got deathly quiet.
“Okay, Mickey. Get him to the hospital as fast as possible.” He turned to look at the rest of us, still pressing his phone to his ear.
“We’re gonna be at the federal building in three minutes.
I’ll drop off these folks and then meet the team there.
See you in a few.” He swiped the phone and got serious.
“What happen to Rex? Why he go to the hospital?” I could hear the panic in my voice, but the idea that Rex had been hurt, scared the shit out of me.
He frowned. “Someone shot him, Cachi.” When I opened my mouth to ask if he was still alive, he held up both hands. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but someone heard the shot and came running. They must’ve scared his attackers away. Fortunately, one of the guys who ran out there is a first responder.”
“What is first responder…he is doctor?”
The captain shook his head. “Not a doctor. The man is a paramedic. He’s trying to stop the bleeding and 911 has been called. The ambulance will be there in a minute. I’m gonna drop you and your family at the federal building and then meet my team there.”
“I go with you, Captain.”
“No. You have to stay where it’s safe.”
I shook my head. “No, Captain! I go with you, see Rex. I need—” I covered my mouth as the tears filled my eyes. I shook my head again. “I go with you.”
“Mr. Adams…it’s not safe and—”
“I go with you, Captain. I see Rex. This is my fault.” I glanced at Marcello who’d been silent throughout the ride and now looked over. “Marcello, you tell him.”
Marcello’s look of distress was easy to read. “Cachi, the doctors will do everything they can to take care of Agent Monroe. You being there will only distract them.”
“No, Marcello. I go with the captain!”
Marcello looked at Candy. “Tail’s gone. And what can it hurt, Captain Sorensen? He’s going to be with you and an armed cadre of agents.”
The captain stared daggers at my friend and was quiet for several moments before he finally turned to me. “If I let you come with me, will you promise not to get in the way, Mr. Adams?”
I felt my heart racing as I nodded vigorously. “Yes, Captain! Gracias.” I reached for his hand. “Thank you!” My voice broke then. The captain stared at me and squeezed my hands just as the truck slowed and we made a turn. He looked up as he let go of my hands.
“We’re here.” He walked to the front, opening the partition window. “Marcello said the tail’s gone?”
“They dropped back about a mile or so ago, Cap. They must ‘ave worked out where we were ‘eading.”
“Okay, good to know. The last thing we need is a firefight right here in the parking lot.” He slid the partition window closed.
I sat back, thinking about Rex and how he may—even now—be dying as we drove into an underground garage. I was fucking terrified. All I knew was I needed to see Rex.
It took ten long minutes for the captain to get my family situated in the office before he, the driver—whose name was Mars—and Marcello, got into a black SUV with me.
It had limousine tint on the windows, so even if the cartel was looking for us, there was no way for them to identify the passengers in the car.
The captain sat up front with the driver, leaving me in the back alone with Marcello.
As soon as we’d driven out of the underground lot, I turned to my friend.
Before I could ask the million questions in my mind, he spoke.
“I’m sorry, Cachi. I know you think I should’ve told you about being with the FBI a long time ago, but I was in an undercover assignment, so it was impossible. I only hope you can forgive me.”
I stared at him, feeling how he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders as he apologized. “Is not your fault, Marcello,” I said quietly. “I understand you cannot say.”
“If I could’ve, I would’ve. I only feel bad that the constraints of my assignment didn’t allow me to tell you what was happening. I feel terrible now that I asked you to be a valet.”
I nodded slowly. “Why you ask me, Marcello? If you know these people are cartel, why you ask me?”
He looked pained. “It’s a long story. I don’t even know how to explain it to you.”
I didn’t understand. When I didn’t say anything, the captain turned around to look at us. “I spoke with SAC Bradley, Mr. Adams. That’s my boss. From my understanding, the store your uncle owns has been under surveillance for a while now.”
I frowned then glanced at Marcello before looking back at the captain. “Surveillance…what does it mean?”
“It means that while we were watching the cartel members, we noticed that one of them goes into the store a lot,” Marcello said.
He pulled something out of his pocket and I realized it was a paper.
He unfolded it before handing it to me. It was a photograph of my tio’s store in downtown.
In the picture, I was standing behind the counter smiling at a Hispanic man as I handed him a bag.
It must have been one of the days I’d been filling in for Tia or Tio when they were out at lunch.
Otherwise, the time stamp on the photo didn’t make sense for me to be there by the register. I looked up at Marcello.
“Marcello, when you see this bad man, you think I am part of cartel?”
He shook his head, frowning deeply. “No, Cachi. I never thought that. Never. I know you couldn’t possibly have been involved with them, but my boss didn’t have the same faith in you that I did because the man came back to the store again and again on a Sunday when you work.”
“I remember him now you show me picture.” I pointed to the photo. “He come in for gum and soda. Sometimes he buy little toys my tio and tia sell, but he not friend. I do not know his name.”
“From what I understand, Special Agent Biagi argued vociferously in your defense, Mr. Adams,” the captain said. “He never believed you were a part of it, but his boss insisted that he offer you the job to see how you would react to the men going to the party.”
I nodded at the captain then looked at Marcello. “So, you trap me, Marcello?”
“I never wanted you involved, Cachi. Believe me, I never thought you had the heart to be a drug trafficker. I’ve known you for five years and I told that to my boss.
And to top it all off, when Special Agent Wallace also agreed that you should be pressed in the interview you did, he went into it with preconceived notions. ”
My eyes widened. “What that means?”