Chapter Ten
Cole
I ’ m unable to hide my surprise over how willing Bella is to fill the bait position in our honey trap scheme. The idea was not my own. In fact, when Mason initially pitched it to me, I was against it. But when he told me that it came down via Commander Merrick and the JTF: SHIELD leaders, he got my attention, and I realized this was a big deal.
The joint task force that Mason is referring to was established a little over two years ago – Joint Task Force: SHIELD – and it brought together the U.S. Coast Guard and our SEAL Team with Central American governments – specifically the O.I.J. – (Organismo de Investigació n Judicial, Costa Rica ’ s criminal investigative body) – as well as INTERPOL ’ s National Central Bureau. SHIELD stands for Supporting Humanity by Interdicting, Eradicating, Liberating, and Disarming , and it specifically targets the trafficking of drugs, weapons, counterfeit commodities, and, of course, humans.
This could be the break that the Central American Feds and the U.S. military need to improve interdiction efforts in Costa Rica. We ’ ve had joint task forces operating in Mexico, Panama, and Colombia for a while now. Still, Costa Rica has been slow to the ballgame, partly because, as I explained to Bella, it demilitarized a very long time ago.
Still, I needed to be convinced that involving Bella was necessary and safe. Mason brought it up to me when I was on the phone with him at the airport, waiting for my flight. He convinced me that it was the best option on short notice and with limited resources.
“ Think about it,” he said after dropping the bomb on me. “ They were targeted and groomed within the first two days at that resort. After I briefed Commander Merrick on the situation, he got comms going with the Feds in Costa Rica and Panama, and when he got back to me, he had some surprising intel to give me in addition to a proposal.”
“ What kind of proposal?” I ask, and I can ’ t help but feel skeptical. “ I ’ m going there to help Bella find her cousin. Not put her in danger, too.”
“ Commander Merrick and all the higher-ups think we can capitalize on this,” Mason told me. Of course they do , I think. I ask him how our commander and the powers-that-be intend for us to do that.
“ After receiving the photo of the two men Bella sent, our points of contact at OIJ used facial recognition technology to identify them. They know what organized crime group they ’ re connected to but don ’ t have locations. They believe Lucas and Sebastian are two of several aliases these guys use and that they are actually brothers by the names of Juan and Tomás Reyes, ” Mason explains.
The OIJ is one of Costa Rica ’ s principal law enforcement bodies responsible for investigating serious crimes at the national and transnational levels. The pushback Bella got from the local police is not surprising, and she would have likely not gotten far with them. There have been reports of lower-level law enforcement being involved in drug and arms trafficking because they ’ re getting their pockets lined by the gangs and cartels. Sadly, the low wages from jobs that are above board contribute to the temptation to accept bribes.
I can ’ t stress enough that Bella did the right thing by reaching out to me. It could make a world of difference in Harley's fate, either being on a global Missing Persons list forever or being rescued simply because she got in contact with me. Escalating this case to a priority for our task force will be a win-win for all of us.
“ Okay, so assuming we know who they are, what will we do with that information?” I asked Mason.
“ This could be huge,” Mason replied. “ The OIJ and INTERPOL have been trying to locate the headquarters and track down the higher level operators of the most well-structured organized crime group in Costa Rica, known as Los Morreco. Up until recently, they have primarily been running drugs and weapons but are now trying to expand their operations and are dabbling in human trafficking and migrant smuggling. And you and I both know it’s become a multi-billion dollar industry.”
“ Yeah, I mean, we ’ ve known that Mexico, Panama, and Colombia are huge players in trafficking everything, but I ’ ve always thought Costa Rica was fairly safe, considering the sizable expatriate community there,” I say to Mason.
“ Same here. However, according to Merrick, drug traffickers from other Central American nations have started using Costa Rica as a base of operations and a hideout. Looks like the Costa Rican gangs decided they wanted in on a piece of the human trafficking pie as well,” Mason continues. “ This will disgust you, but it ’ s actually being called ‘ sex tourism ’ , and it explains why private sector businesses – such as the construction, real estate, and hotel industries – are being utilized to speed up the expansion.”
And I see where he ’ s going with this. “ Which would explain how easily Bella and Harley were targeted at their resort. Inside operators. Moles. A concierge, social director, or bartender could be the eyes and ears behind the victim targeting.” And as the words come out of my mouth and my brain wraps around the scheme, I ’ m sickened by the thought of how vile these ruthless assholes are.
“ So do these guys have ties to any particular cartel, and does the OIJ have a theory about what Harley was targeted for?” I asked.
“ According to the intel Commander Merrick gleaned from the OIJ, it ’ s believed that Los Morreco runs drugs and launders money for the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which has far-reaching tentacles, and we suspect that they effed up somehow,” Mason said. “ Drugs lost, stolen, whatever. Either way, we have reason to believe they ’ re trying to get themselves back in the cartel ’ s good graces.”
I swore under my breath. I was hoping this wasn ’ t related to a cartel, though I had a feeling there might be no way to get around it. The cartels have such a presence throughout South and Central America now – and even in the U.S., for that matter – so it shouldn ’ t be a surprise to hear this.
“ So, assuming this theory is accurate, how would they use Harley? ” I ask. “ As a drug mule… or some sort of an offering for their screw-up?”
“ That ’ s still one of the unknowns,” he replied. “ It ’ s hard to say for sure, but the guys at INTERPOL and OIJ seem to think it ’ s more likely related to drugs and debt versus forcing her into a prostitution ring or something equally nefarious.”
“ Jesus. I hope they ’ re right,” I say, running my hand through my hair like I often do when I ’ m stressed. “ Why do they think that? Did they say?”
“ They seem to think their objective might be to use Harley to kill two birds with one stone in effect,” he continues. “ She could be used to smuggle both the product and cash they owe the cartel AND be used as a token peace offering to the cartel leader to try to smooth over their screw up and settle the debt.”
“ It chaps my ass that the cartels use people for their evil purposes as if they’re disposable, material goods, Mason,” I reply, trying to control my anger. “ We enlisted for noble causes, and I just hope we can make a difference. Not just for Harley, but for all the victims that have suffered at the hands of these bottom-feeders.”
“ Amen, brother,” Mason replies. “ I ’ m right there with you. And if you need me down there, say the word, and I ’ m on a plane.”
“ Thanks, man. So what ’ s the plan? What ’ re our first steps?” I asked, bringing the conversation back to the main topic.
“ We need to nail down some coordinates. Whether it ’ s the location of their headquarters or where they lay their heads at night, we need to do some tracking,” Mason said. I knew it was something that sounded a lot easier than it really was.
“ Which, I ’ m guessing, is why you want to use Bella as bait,” I said.
“ You make it sound like we ’ re throwing her to the sharks without a lifeline,” he laughed. “ You ’ re going to be right there, and since we ’ re working with the OIJ, you ’ re going to have a team of men backing you up.”
I nodded despite the fact he couldn ’ t see me. Even though there were still aspects of the plan I didn ’ t like, I was starting to follow what he was getting at. I could see this coming together in a way that would not only save Harley but could potentially help us take down a drug smuggling ring and maybe even find other victims of trafficking.
He explained the plan to me then, and now I ’ m thoroughly and painstakingly explaining everything Mason shared with me to Bella.
“ You and I will pose as a couple checking into a resort. I ’ m the high profile businessman, and you get to play the part of the rich wife without a care in the world. The more clueless and vulnerable you can make yourself appear, the better,” I explain. “ And not just a bored wife, but the bored and neglected wife would work to our advantage here.”
I notice how she’s looking at me, and I wonder if this is all hitting too close to home since we were supposed to be married ourselves. But I choose to ignore that elephant in the room for now and address this as the plan we ’ ve put in place. I feel torn down the middle over the idea of posing as lovers.
On the one hand, it ’ s what I ’ d always wanted with her, and the idea of pretending to have that, even for a short time, somehow does not feel like a sacrifice or a stretch. On the other hand, I ’ ve never completely gotten over the hurt from our broken engagement. I understand why she broke it off, and I don ’ t blame her for it, but that doesn ’ t erase the hurt I felt – and still feel – over what happened.
“ But the people here know I came with Harley,” she challenges. “ If they ’ ve been keeping an eye on the place, aren ’ t they going to be suspicious when you suddenly show up and put it out there that we ’ re married?”
“ I did say you weren ’ t leaving the resort, but I guess I should have clarified which resort I meant,” I say with a slight chuckle. She gives me a look, and I shrug.
“ So now we ’ re going to another resort?”
“ Yes, we ’ ve picked another resort,” I tell her quickly. “ More people are working on this than just you and me. There ’ s a whole team making arrangements and coordinating everything behind the scenes, trust me.”
She visibly relaxes, which is a relief to me. I do need her to trust me.
“ Do I need to check out of here then?” she asks after a moment, and I shake my head.
“ Not yet,” I tell her. “ Because we don ’ t know whether you ’ re being watched here, it ’ s best to keep things status quo for now.”
She nods thoughtfully as she continues to process each piece of information I give her.
“ On another point… have you been trying to get a hold of her through her phone?”
“ I did up until this morning,” she says with a sigh. “ I don ’ t know if they shut it off or if it ’ s dead, but now when I call, nothing happens. I can ’ t even get through to her voicemail.”
“ Hard to say. But before today, you were getting her voicemail at least?”
“ Yes, but she and I didn ’ t share our location if that ’ s what you ’ re getting at,” she tells me, answering my question before I ask.
“ I sure wish we had thought to do that,” Bella says with a sigh.
“ Look, hindsight’s twenty-twenty,” I tell her, hoping to make her feel a bit better. “That’s behind us, and we just need to focus on what we do going forward, ok?”
She acknowledges me with a nod, but I can tell it still bothers her. Bella has always been tougher on herself than on anyone else. It’s one of those qualities I admire… to a degree. It can also take its toll on those who possess it.
Even with our conversation focused on Harley, I can ’ t get out of my mind all the other things I wish Bella and I were talking about. Obviously, the whole reason I ’ m here is to find Harley, but there are so many things I want to say to her. Of course, now of all times is not the best time to bring up our past.
I know she broke up with me mainly because of the dangers of being a SEAL, and her fears surrounding that. She didn ’ t think she could handle it. I can appreciate that about her, and I ’ ve never held it against her that she felt that way. It would have been different if I had already enlisted when we met; she had a choice of whether to take things to the next level and knew what she was signing up for.
It might surprise her to know that I am always extremely cautious and careful about what I ’ m doing and how I ’ m doing it. I ’ m not just some cocky soldier who ’ s going to throw myself headfirst into a firefight or go on suicide missions.
“ Well,” Bella says. “ I guess if that ’ s the plan, then you ’ ll have to fill me in on the details… the where, the when, and the how. But it ’ s starting to get late. Do you want dinner?”
“ Sure, ” I tell her, and she throws away the empty beer bottles before giving a nod toward the door.
“ There are two restaurants here that are pretty good. I don ’ t care where we go; I don ’ t have much appetite, but I know we need to eat.”
I smile, pleasantly surprised by the fact that she said we . I know this isn ’ t a date or even remotely close to it, but it ’ s nice to be going to dinner with Bella after all this time. I wasn ’ t even sure that would happen. We ’ re getting along better than I ’ d expected, and I ’ m not going to deny the fact I have a lot of questions for her.
Dinner might be a good way for us to catch up on the last twelve years.
God knows I ’ ve missed her.
And being around her again feels like life itself is being breathed into me.