Chapter 37
They were cutting it close. Preparing for their mission to take out the three Leon werewolves had taken several hours and the entire Werewolf Alliance team to get their ambitious task rolling.
Byron sat on the passenger seat of a dark SUV that Jude and his men had procured, or rather borrowed without the owner’s consent.
They were parked on the street where the Leons’ hotel was located.
Austin, Mason, and Ransom sat in a similar SUV on the same street, their car parked on the opposite side, facing in the opposite direction.
The rest of the team were posted at strategic points, ready to divert traffic to send the Leons to a spot in town that would make them sitting ducks.
He had to admit, Charlotte’s idea was beyond brilliant. He was proud of her. Considering the stress she was under, knowing what would happen to her if this mission failed, she’d shown strength and a cool head. Now it was up to him and Jude’s team to execute her plan.
“It’s time,” Jude said and punched in a number.
He put the call on speaker, so Byron’s phone, which was already on an open line with the rest of the team, could pick up the sound. It rang only once, before it was answered.
“Yes?”
It was Bruno Leon’s rough voice.
“This is Jude Beaumont.”
“Are you downstairs with Charlotte?”
“No. We’ve decided not to hand Charlotte over to you. There’s no deal.”
Bruno cursed. “You seem to have forgotten what I have on your mate.”
“I haven’t. Go ahead. Go to the police and give them the evidence you have. If you’re still in our territory by nightfall, we’re coming after you.”
Jude disconnected the call without a goodbye.
“Let’s see how long it takes them,” Austin said, his voice coming from Byron’s phone.
“Keep your eyes peeled on the hotel garage,” Jude advised.
Byron tugged on his outfit. Over a khaki uniform that they’d bought at an army surplus store, he wore a bulletproof vest protecting his vital organs.
Jude, Austin, Mason, and Ransom were wearing the same clothes.
Danielle had found premade fabric letters in a craft store.
Charlotte had helped her affix them to the bulletproof vests, spelling out ICE, the acronym for U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Not everyone had been able to get a helmet similar to the ones ICE agents wore, so he, Mason, and Ransom wore military-green baseball caps.
Everyone had a neck bandana they would don just before getting out of the car.
Their disguise was complete with wide, dark sunglasses, gloves, and the proper weapons.
Due to the time constraints they were under, they had to use different weapons: Jude, as well as Mason, were armed with standard-issue Glock 19s.
Austin carried a SIG Sauer MPX machine gun, while Ransom and Byron carried Geissele Automatic AR-15 rifles.
Byron preferred a rifle to a handgun because it felt more like a hunting rifle, which he was most familiar with. He tapped on the butt of his weapon.
Jude turned his head. “I hope you’re as good with this as you say you are.”
“Don’t worry, I know how to shoot.”
“Good, I’m counting on you. They’ll be armed, which will play into our hands. Aim for the heart. We don’t want them to get a chance to repair their wounds; we have to damage their organs so badly that they can’t heal quickly enough. Francisco and Wendell will do the rest.”
“Got it. It’s a shame we can’t use silver bullets to kill them with one shot,” Byron mused.
“It’s too risky. The medical examiner would detect that the bullets were silver. The Leon pack would find out about it, and then our cover would be blown, and this whole masquerade would be for nothing. So, go for the heart and the lungs. Austin, Ransom, Mason, got it?”
“Yep,” Austin replied through the phone. “We’ll disable them long enough.”
“Won’t it be too suspicious for all of us to open fire and keep shooting?” Ransom asked. “I mean, I hate ICE like the next guy, but not even they shoot more than three or four times at the same person.”
“That’s why I hope they’ll pull their guns first,” Jude explained.
“Let’s provoke them so they do,” Byron replied.
Suddenly, Jude pointed in the direction of the hotel garage. “There, a car.”
“Is it them?” Austin asked.
Byron zoomed in on them. “Yes, I recognize Hector on the passenger side.”
“Right,” Austin replied. “Bruno is driving. Steve should be in the back, but the windows are too dark. I can’t see inside.”
“Austin, they’re heading your way,” Jude said and put the car in drive. “We’ll go down the other road. Wendell? Are you ready with the roadblock?”
“All set here,” came Wendell’s voice loud and clear.
The Alliance members really weren’t leaving anything to chance.
Byron was impressed. They’d stationed Wendell and Parker at different junctions to set up detours so the Leons’ SUV was funneled into a specific area.
Add the numerous one-way streets in San Rafael, and it was easy to herd them toward a place that forced them to stop.
“Okay, Austin, let’s herd the cattle,” Jude ordered.
“Yeehaa!” Mason responded in Austin’s stead.
On a tablet attached to the dashboard, several dots blinked, indicating where Austin’s car was and where the other Werewolf Alliance members were located.
Francisco had set this up ahead of time and assigned everyone a different color so it would be easy to see where everybody was.
There hadn’t been time to put a physical tracker on the Leons’ SUV.
They would have to follow them using visuals only.
“They passed us and turned left,” Austin reported. “We’re on their tail.”
“Got it,” Byron said, pointing to a spot on the tablet. “Jude, take a left here. We’ll catch up to them at the next intersection.”
Since he was a local and had lived in Marin County his whole life, he was taking over navigation. Jude didn’t question his decision, and it gave him satisfaction to finally be valued.
“Wendell, he should be coming up to your roadblock in a few seconds,” Austin advised.
“I see them. Detour is ready. They can’t go straight; that’s a one-way. They have to turn left.”
As they continued to drive on a street parallel to the Leons’ car, Byron watched the dots on the monitor.
“They are almost at Wendell’s roadblock,” he reported.
“They’re taking the detour now,” Wendell said. “I’m packing up. See you at the other end. Parker, they’re heading toward you now.”
“I’ll be ready,” Parker said.
“Fuck!” Wendell cursed all of a sudden.
“What’s wrong, Wendell?” Jude asked, instantly alert.
“Violet.”
“What about her?” Byron asked.
“She just blocked my truck with her car. I won’t be able to get out.”
“Leave the truck where it is,” Byron said. “She’ll be there for a while. She has an appointment at the bank around the corner. Stay out of sight.”
“Francisco,” Jude interrupted, “meet Wendell halfway and pick him up.”
“Be there in ninety seconds,” Francisco confirmed.
“Parker, are you ready for the second detour?” Jude asked.
“Send them my way,” Parker replied.
The dots on the tablet were all moving closer to each other.
Byron felt his heart beat faster now. He’d been the one choosing the place where they would have the best chance of taking care of the Leons and the least risk of being interrupted by innocent bystanders and the actual police force.
If this didn’t pan out, he would see it as a personal failure.
He could feel the tension in the car. He and Jude were the ones who had the most to lose if this went wrong.
“We’ve got this,” Byron said.
“They’re turning into the cul-de-sac,” Parker finally announced. “Showtime.”
Jude kicked the gas pedal down, and the SUV sped up.
At the next intersection, they saw the detour sign and followed it.
Austin’s SUV had already turned onto the street that led to an old, now defunct, warehouse that had been boarded up.
As Jude took the turn, Byron saw that Parker was already dismantling the detour sign and throwing the orange cones into the back of a white truck.
At the end of the road, the Leons had stopped and were now turning the car, but Austin was already blocking their retreat. Jude stopped next to him, blocking the street entirely, leaving no way for the Leons’ SUV to pass them.
“Grant, you in place?” Jude asked.
“Half a block away, ten seconds max,” Grant replied through the phone.
“Francisco, where are you? We’ve got them cornered.”
There was no reply. Byron exchanged a look with Jude.
“Can’t wait for them,” Jude said. “Austin, Ransom, let’s do this.”
Byron tossed the phone onto the floor on the passenger side and pulled his mask over the lower half of his face so the Leons wouldn’t be able to recognize him.
Jude did the same. Byron snatched his rifle and opened the door.
He hopped out, and Jude did the same on his side, while Austin, Mason, and Ransom got out of their vehicle, their weapons at the ready.
They were the lead team. Ransom was in charge of talking to the Leons because they hadn’t met him before and had never heard his voice.
From the corner of his eye, Byron saw a movement and cast a quick look in that direction. Grant had arrived. He was holding up his cell phone and had started to film. The stage was set.
The five team members dressed in ICE uniforms surrounded the Leons’ SUV.
Ransom banged on the driver’s side window. “Get out of the car!”
For a moment, Bruno Leon froze as did his companions, then he exchanged a quick glance with his brother before turning back to look at Ransom through the window.
“What’s the problem?” Bruno Leon asked.
“We need to see your papers,” Ransom elaborated. “Step out of the car, all three of you, and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Byron had reached the other side of the car and now stood near the rear passenger door closest to Steve, while Jude was covering Hector.
“We’re citizens,” Bruno said, “and we’ve done nothing wrong.”