CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Cooper’s team of Rangers, along with two other teams, descended upon the area surrounding the drug warehouses. They couldn’t touch the animals and they couldn’t touch the coliseum but this was their domain.
“Coop? If we do this those animals are going to die,” said one of his teammates.
He nodded, realizing that it was the truth.
“We can get to the warehouse holding the product and destroy that by flooding the building. We’ll set off the fire suppression system, soak the product, and it’ll be destroyed, at least temporarily. ”
“I guess we don’t have an option,” frowned Coop.
“There is another option,” said a soft voice from behind him.
She was their source, their informant and she’d been giving them intel for weeks now. Her own parents and two brothers had been killed during the construction of the coliseum, their bodies tossed in the river like they were nothing but trash.
That’s when she vowed to ensure the death of Marco. The problem was she wasn’t a soldier or a spy. She wasn’t a woman that had any real talents at all other than making handbags for tourists from recycled materials found in the area. It was enough to live on but it did little to fight a mad man.
“Alright, Bianca, we’re listening,” said Coop.
He’d told the entire team that she was hands off. She would be treated with respect and dignity and if anyone dared to touch her, they would answer to him. She wasn’t some jungle whore, she was an innocent wanting exactly what they all wanted.
“Beneath the warehouse there is a tunnel that leads to the river for easy escape or an alternate delivery of the drugs. If you blow the gate, the tunnel is flooded.”
“And so is the warehouse,” smirked Coop.
“Yes. The sprinklers in the warehouse can be shut off easily. You might cause some damage but not enough.”
“But the river isn’t going to rise enough in the warehouse to destroy it all,” said one of the men.
“That’s true,” nodded Coop.
Lightning flashed above them, the sounds of a storm rolling through the region, about to begin.
He shook his head realizing what shit luck they were having.
He thought about calling home but shook his head.
No. This part of it they needed to do themselves so that the others weren’t left with all of it.
“The gods are listening to you,” smiled the beautiful woman beside him.
Her thick dark hair was braided down her back, the huge brown eyes staring up at him.
She couldn’t be more than five-feet-four to his six-feet-two.
She had a narrow waist, curvy hips and the most gorgeous chest he’d ever seen on a woman.
“The gods?” he said hoarsely.
“Yes. We are about to have a, what do you Americans say? Ah! A deluge.”
“Great, we’re all going to get wet,” he frowned.
“Yes and if we open the roof of the warehouse, so will the product. Blow the gate to the river and create holes in the roof. It will flood from up and down.”
“Fuck, she’s right. We can get on the roof, plant a few blocks of boom-boom and the whole thing will cave,” said the man.
Coop nodded. It could work and it would give the home team the opportunity focus on the manufacturing site, the animals and the coliseum. Rodriguez was arrogant enough to think it was all just an accident caused by nature.
“You need to leave,” he said turning to Bianca.
“What? No! No, this is where I should be. I want to see him destroyed,” she whispered.
“He will be destroyed but we won’t risk your life in doing so. You need to be far from here when this happens or he’ll know you were involved.”
“But…” He gripped her arm, roughly pulling her away from the men. He wanted them to know he didn’t favor the woman and he wouldn’t risk their lives.
“No buts,” he said firmly. “I told you when you offered to help you would follow my orders or leave. Now, leave.” She stared up at him and shook her head.
“You’re like the rest. You get what you want and you throw a woman aside. I thought we were friends. I thought…”
“You thought what? I’m a United States Army Ranger doing my job, Bianca. That’s all.” He could see the flash of hurt and surprise in her face. The pain was emphasized in those doe-like eyes and it nearly made his exterior crack.
“Of course. My mistake,” she whispered. “Good luck, Cooper.”
He watched her walk away and everything in his gut told him that he should run after her, hold her and tell her that he was crazy about her. He was proud of her strength and spirit, her resilience in the face of all this evil. But he couldn’t, he just couldn’t.
Turning, he returned to his men who were all staring at him.
“What?”
“She cared for you, brother. You didn’t have to treat her like that,” said one of the men.
“She’s an informant. That’s all,” he said coldly.
“Coop, you can fool yourself man, but you’re not fooling us.
You two have grown close.” He held up his hands as Coop started to speak and shook his head.
“I’m not saying anything has happened between the two of you.
You’d be in a better fucking mood if it had.
I’m just saying she’s been valuable and faithful to us. ”
“She’s an innocent and needed to leave.”
“So, you were worried about her?” said another man.
“Yes. No!” He frowned at them shaking his head. “We have a job to do. You three set the charges at the river. I’ll set the charges on the roof. You won’t see me, but I’ll be there.”
“Another family secret weapon?” smirked one of the men.
“Something like that.”
It was 0210 and they had just a few hours to make it happen. When the signals were given that the river was set to blow, only a few moments later Coop appeared before the team giving the thumbs up on the charges on the roof.
As if mother nature was on their side, the skies opened and a deluge that would make the bayou proud descended upon them.
With his hand in the air, Coop counted backwards, his hand on the detonators for the roof, his teammate holding the one for the river.
“Five, four, three, two…” The sound of one was drowned out by the deafening explosion that time itself perfectly to myriad of thunder and lightening filling the sky. He smiled to himself, silently thanking Mama Irene and Matthew.
He’d done it often in his time in service. Things that appeared that shouldn’t have when he needed them. Ways that opened when all others were closed. He knew it was them and he was grateful for them all.
Because of the sounds of the storm, Marco’s men were slow to react to the explosions. By the time they had, water was pouring into the drug filled warehouse from the skies, and up through the tunnels below.
It was like watching ants scramble to save themselves. They knew that Marco would blame them. Either way, they were dead men.
Coop watched the men scatter as the bricks of drugs floated in water, some of it escaping the warehouse. In the distance, the Camelot that Rodriguez had built for himself was slowly illuminating, help rushing toward the sounds of chaos.
Taking out the phone most important to him, he hit the call button.
“The warehouse is gone. The rest is up to you.”