CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Following Mia’s instructions, we all got armed and ready to invade. Over our tactical gear, we threw the coats and other apparel we’d use to throw the Alacráns off our planning. We dressed as journalists, cameramen, first responders, so we could approach the building without being spotted.
Zach and the other bomb specialists were already working around the building to dismantle the bombs the cartel had planted, and he’d meet us again with Team Alpha so we could barge inside .
Aaron told the superiors what we could about the mission, leaving out our latest discovery and our plan to keep Pablo in the building.
We were waiting for Zach’s signal to approach the headquarters, and the energy was already increasingly exhilarating. Shane looked murderous as he stared at the window of the room where we learned Pablo and Delilah were.
The other guys were following their rituals to get mentally prepared for the assignment, and the Alpha Team was ready for battle. It wasn’t every day they had to work with a legend and her team of go-getters.
Team Beta was already positioning itself outside the other end of the building to give us support in case we needed it, and to keep any Alacrán from running away.
“ We’re all set ,” Zach’s voice sounded through the radio.
I motioned for the team to scatter and approach the DEA. I was ready to follow them when Mia touched my arm. We stared into each other’s eyes until she pulled me by the lapel of my medical coat for a brief, hard kiss on the lips.
She poked my chest. “Stay safe and don’t die. That’s an order.”
I grinned and pecked her lips. “Yes, madam. Anything for you.”
She tipped her chin, satisfied with my response, and off we went. As soon as we reached the porch where we’d be concealed from the windows, we got rid of the deceiving clothes and regrouped. We waited until Mia and Danny prayed, and then got into position.
“Tomorrow, we rest,” I said.
And the whole team repeated. “Tomorrow, we rest.”
Danny and Ben banged the door open with a battering ram, and we stormed inside.
We had a few seconds of head start until the Alacráns noticed our presence, and we took advantage of it. But our lead soon came to an end when we realized there were way more than the twenty-five criminals we were told to be inside.
We weren’t deterred, though. We pushed inside, matching their attack and increasing our shooting power at each new group of cartel members that showed up.
“Fuck!” Ben cursed. “There are way more. Where are they coming from?”
“They must’ve been in the room with the butchered feed, that’s why we didn’t catch them,” I answered between shootings.
“This smells like a freaking trap,” Mia spat. “We can’t let them gang up on us.”
“And we need to get Delilah,” Shane asserted.
Our team advanced a little, only to stop again to return fire .
“This is taking too long,” Mia complained. “If we don’t get up soon, Pablo might find another way out.”
“But what should we do? We can’t just explode this building,” Zach countered.
She frowned, and then her features brightened into a big smile. “You’re right. We should explode the building.”
His brother shook his head. “That’s not what I said—”
“Why didn’t I think of this before? We need to explode it.”
“I said exactly the oppos—ah, why do I bother?”
As we engaged in heavy shooting with the cartel, she gazed around, inspecting the building. She stared up and frowned.
I pointed up to the right corner and volunteered. “Pablo and Delilah are in the room in that area.”
She nodded and turned to the guys. “How long can you resist here?”
“As long as it takes,” Zach answered promptly.
Ben side-eyed them both. “I had a totally different answer all ready to go.”
“Give us seven minutes tops. After that, we need to retreat.”
Ben cursed. “ What ?”
She pointed at the spot I showed her. “I need to get there, and we need to overpower the Alacráns on two flanks, otherwise, they’ll end up beating us. You retreat, let them advance to get out of their hiding. Ethan and I will work a way up to plant a bomb under Pablo’s ass. Once we do it, you push forward, forcing them under the bomb as well. Then we summon the Beta Team. There won’t be a way out for them.”
“You can’t explode his room!” Shane exclaimed. “You’ll hurt Delilah.”
Mia touched his arm. “I won’t. I promise you.”
“This is bordering on the insane, Bryant.”
She smiled at Aaron. “That’s why it’ll work out.” Turning to me, she leaned her head to the entrance. “Let’s go.”
Bending at our waist, Mia and I ran to the front door, where one of the bombs was dismantled and squatted. She pulled one grenade from her tactical gear and proceeded to cover it with some of the plastic from the explosive, and I mirrored her.
“We can’t overdo it, otherwise the whole thing will fall.” she instructed. “We just need the ground in Pablo's room to collapse.”
“The building was thickly built.” I chimed in as we worked. “The walls and the floors are armored and were made to sustain resistance. I believe two of those will suffice to break the ground, but not bury us.”
Once we were ready, I looked at her. “What’s the plan now? ”
“Now, we finish this show.” We ran back to the guys, still bending in safety, to keep us hidden from the crossfire, and she contacted the tent over the radio. “Edna? Are you there?”
“ What do you need from me? ”
Mia gulped and took in a fortifying breath. Aaron was right. It was insane. I could only hope her strategy would work.
“I need you to shoot at Pablo’s room.”
She bit her bottom lip as we waited for Edna’s response.
“ I’m sorry. I’m not sure I heard you right. ”
“You have snipers and thermal vision goggles, right? Well, we need one of them to shoot into his room. But do not shoot Delilah.”
“ What are you planning, Bryant? ” Mr. Dawson sounded on the radio.
“We need you to force him to the north of the room.”
“ What do you mean? ”
“Scare him away from the doors,” I explained. “And don’t shoot Delilah! ”
“ We can’t even know where they are in the room .”
“That’s what thermal vision is for. The sniper is supposed to push them away from each other—so he won’t use her as a shield. Once that happens, force him to the corner of the office. We’ll take over after that.”
“ And how on earth would someone shoot to accomplish that? ” Mr. Dawson was rightfully unbelieving.
“Instruct the sniper to shoot between them first,” Mia clarified. “The first instinct is to get away from the threat. That’s how they’ll run to different corners of the room, and you’ll make sure he’ll run to the north of it.”
“ Why not shoot him? ”
“Because you might end up hurting Delilah in the way.”
“ Then why not just let him go to the ceiling? The surrounding buildings are filled with snipers. ”
“Don’t let him go out! We want him inside.”
“ Is there anything I need to know? ”
“No ceiling!” She emphasized but didn’t answer his question. “We’ll keep him in the building and trap him with the others. We’re also dealing with the clusterfuck below. If Pablo’s to be stopped, we need to do so where the other members can see.”
“We don’t have much time.” I urged. “At our command, we need you to corner him. Can you do that?”
After a brief silence, Mr. Dawson assured me. “ Count on us. Good luck! ”
We joined the guys and our team again. Mia nodded at Zach, who tipped his chin in understanding.
“Team Alpha,” I called through the radio so the cartel wouldn’t hear it. “On my command, you’ll retreat and cover me and Mia. We’ll clock the backing off on two minutes at the most. On three. One.” They gripped their weapons. “Two.” I timed my clock. “ Three . Retreat! ”
They started to walk backward, not once slowing down the shooting. As predicted, the Alacráns thought they were winning and advanced to corner our team. Taking advantage of the space they left, Mia and I ran hiding on the sidelines.
Once we reached the designated spot and I made sure it was safe, I helped her up the column so she could plant both bombs on the roof, right under where we wanted Pablo.
I looked at my watch. “Forty-three seconds.”
She slipped from the column and cursed while strengthening her grip. I was on the verge of a heart attack, but I knew she could do it.
“Thirty-two seconds.”
She struggled to make the second one stick, so it took us more than I felt comfortable with.
“Nineteen seconds.”
She cursed but insisted.
“Seven seconds.”
She pushed a little bit more. “I got it.”
I helped her get down, and we sped up to the sideline again.
Mia turned on the radio for the tent. “It’s all set. Shoot! ”
“Team Alpha, advance !”
The deafening sound of gunfire increased. The guys and agents pushed the Alacráns back as we instructed. From outside, we heard the sniper’s shots shattering the glass from the upstairs office.
I clicked on the radio again. “Team Beta, get ready to barge in on my command.”
We couldn’t risk them getting in before it was time and scaring the criminals around the building, jeopardizing the whole strategy. For the crazy plan to work, the timing and the spotting had to be just right.
Mia pointed the gun at the bomb and turned on her radio. “Just a little further, Zee.”
“ How much? ”
“Force them under the last pillar. We’ll take them all at once.”
Zach and the others pushed, increasing the attack, and my heartbeat sped up. Adrenaline was coursing high through me. We could actually pull that off.
“Edna. Where is he?”
“ Almost in the corner, Mia. ”
She watched the Alacráns being forced into the place we wanted. “You have ten seconds.”
All seemed to have aligned like the stars. The moment Edna announced Pablo was on the spot, the Alacráns were forced right under the ceiling where we wanted them.
I pointed the gun at the bombs like Mia and shouted into the radio, “Beta. Now! ”
Mia and I shot at the improvised explosives, and I threw myself over her to the ground, covering her body from the blowing up. The guys and the agents from Team Alpha sought a safe space until they could attack again, while Team Beta barged into the building from the other end, surrounding the cartel.
As planned, part of the roof fell over the Alacráns , bringing a disoriented Pablo down. As soon as he went down, Mia and I got up, and just like our teams, pointed our weapons at the men we were there to stop.
“You’re surrounded, Salazar,” Aaron announced. “All of you drop your weapons and put your hands in the air.”
The moment Pablo realized what was going on and spotted a grinning Mia amongst his siege, he pointed a gun at her, wrath clear on his features. But my Spitfire was ready.
Boom!
Mia fired one precise shot.
And as she promised, he’d leave the place with a bullet in his head.
Seeing their leader dead, the other criminals dropped their guns and got down on their knees .
The guys, Mia, and I got out of our safety spots and stepped closer to Pablo’s body.
She placed two fingers on his neck and nodded at us.
At her confirmation, Shane ran upstairs to get Delilah back. Zach pulled Mia’s shoulders for a side hug and to press a lingering kiss to the side of her head. Aaron nodded at her and granted us a rare smile. Ben and Danny slapped her shoulder. I interlaced our pinkies and pulled her softly to me, as part of our team sprinted to where the other hostages were being kept.
I watched her face and frowned as I noticed her disturbed expression.
She squeezed my finger and peered up at me. “I thought this would be more satisfying.”
“It was intense, I’ll give you that. But we accomplished something huge today.”
Mia bit the inside of her bottom lip. “Then why does it feel like this isn’t over?”