CHAPTER TWENTY
“Do you understand that you’re dealing with some of the most ruthless cartels in the world?” said Miguel. “I’ve been away a long time but I still hear things and these men are different from those I dealt with.”
“We understand, Miguel but we may not have a choice but to face them,” said Ham.
“You will be making a deal with the devil if you do this,” he said shaking his head. “I do not advise it.”
“Then what? What do we do? Ignore all of this. Let Bora become the leader of Bolivia, a country by your own admission that contains some of the most dangerous cartels in the world? Do we just bomb the entire place, level it?” asked Gator.
The men in the audience stared at him, listening intently.
They’d all been in or near Bolivia. They all knew exactly what he was talking about.
And they all knew that this decision was not one to be taken lightly.
It would involve a huge team heading down there if they were going to confront Bora or take on the cartels.
“Ham, son, we don’t have the answers to all this,” said Nine. “Miguel understands their world better than anyone. Although, in truth, he’s been away from it for nearly fifty years now. The players have changed.”
“But the game hasn’t,” said Rush. “Look, we’re not sure where all the pieces fit but there’s something more happening here. Those men that chased the four of us through the jungle were nearly as good as we are. If they’d had our technology, they would have caught us.
“This is not some random ex-American service member who threw a bunch of guerillas together to lead a coup. These dudes were well-trained, well-organized, and most were American.”
“That’s fucking scary,” said Angel. “What about Rita Ruvienne? Did she appear to be truthful?”
“With us? Yes,” said Tobias. “But I did get the sense that maybe she was hiding something. She didn’t want our help, not right then, right there, but she asked for help keeping the cartels controlled.
But someone in that cantina knew who we were or knew who she was.
We tried calling the number she gave us but it just goes to a random voicemail. ”
“AJ and Tanner are working on that now,” said Gator nodding at Tobias.
“Listen, we asked you all here because if we go down there, it could quite literally become World War III. We might be stepping into a hornet’s nest. We could send someone to take out Bora but that might leave our sniper vulnerable and it may not take care of the problem at all.
“We asked all of you here to help with some direction. We’re in new territory here and we value your opinions.
Bora cannot go unpunished and remain alive.
We want the cartels stopped, but let’s face it, they won’t stop.
We could kill them all and still be chasing them down over the next fifty years. ”
“He’s right,” said Brooks. “And how do we know that Ruvienne will be a better president than her husband? What do we know about her?”
“Almost nothing,” said Priscilla. “It’s one of the many things making the White House very nervous.”
“So what’s the solution?” asked Gator.
“We could use our hologram technology to help us,” said Thomas. “It’s worked many times and it reduces the risks of loss.”
“It’s a great idea and we may use it at some point,” said Jak with a fierce expression. “The three major cartels we’re dealing with are the Marquez family, the Los Malvados, and ángeles de la Misericordia.”
“Los Malvados, the evil ones, they are the ones to really worry about,” said Miguel. “They’ve been around for decades, continuously run by one family. They’re mostly just involved in drugs, occasionally trafficking women. The one thing they don’t tolerate is the trafficking of children.”
“Great. A drug lord with a conscience,” said Ham sarcastically.
“Don’t knock it,” said Miguel. “He doesn’t deserve a medal but at least you know he’s not sending children to predators. It’s also something you might be able to use. If Marquez and the ángeles are trafficking kids, you may get him to turn on them.”
“So, we create a war within a war?” asked Ham.
“Perhaps,” nodded Miguel. Ham let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples. “It’s not an easy thing to do, Ham. You’re going into enemy territory and you don’t even know how to identify the enemy. They know you’re coming now. Bora knows that you’re coming and he’ll be waiting.”
“You should enter through Chile,” said Torro. “They would expect you to come through Peru or Brazil. You’ll be closer to help if you need it.”
“Will Chile help us?” asked Gator. They all turned to look at Gator. “If we get into trouble, if we’re fucked, will Chile help us?”
“Only if the POTUS gives the request,” said Priscilla, “and right now he’s trying to stay out of this.”
“Figures,” growled Jak. “Fucker wants us to do his dirty work and then turn his head.”
“I don’t want to add to the drama,” said AJ, “but I’m having serious trouble finding anything on Margarita. I can’t even find a maiden name, birth certificate, nothing. It’s like this woman dropped from the sky and married the former president.”
“Another thing to make me feel warm and fuzzy,” frowned Ham.
“May I give a suggestion?” asked Lucy.
“Of course you can,” said Gator. “You’re part of this team.”
“Use the animals.”
“What?” came the cry of fifty people.
“Use the animals to help you in the jungle. Dad and Luke both can hear the animals. So can Trak. The animals will help to lead them to the cartels and possibly the woman. They know that we are friends.”
“Lucy, there are killer animals in those jungles. Are you telling me that snakes and cats will listen to us?” asked Brooks.
“Jaguars are the primary predators, along with bears and anaconda. But they are not unreasonable. Trak seems connected the most to gators and snakes, but he hears them all.”
A hundred heads turned to stare at the man in the back corner who simply shrugged.
“You didn’t think to tell us that you could hear them all?” asked Nine.
“You didn’t ask,” he said shrugging.
“Dad, you can hear all of the animals and you can reason with them, so can Luke.”
“I’m not as good as Dad, Lucy. I mean, I’m getting better but what if I mess it up?” asked Luke.
“You won’t mess it up. Listen, just get into the jungles near their locations and the animals will help you with the rest. They won’t be able to lay out a plan of attack but they should be able to guide you safely in and out of the jungles and give you an idea of numbers of men.”
“This is nuts,” frowned Ham. “We’re basing an entire operation on the cooperation of wild animals. We could be sitting ducks. No pun intended.”
“Or, they could save your lives,” said Sniff.
“I will go,” said Trak. “But I take Alvin with me.”
“That’s probably smart. He could help you,” said Lucy.
“Okay,” nodded Ham and the others. “Okay. We use the animals to help us find the cartels. I say we find Los Malvados first. If we can get them to back off from this, we’re only dealing with two cartels and Bora.”
“I will reach out to Los Malvados for you,” said Miguel. “I will arrange a meeting in public. Just know that it may not matter to them if they wish to kill you.” Gator raised a brow nodding.
“Wonderful. I look forward to having tea before my death.”