Insertion, page 4
“What is it?”
“The last thing we found was a note on the counter next to the ashes. It said, ‘come and get us, gringos’.”
“Dammit,” Jack said, rubbing his eyes. “Did you tell anyone about the note?”
“No, you’re the first.”
“Good, let’s keep it that way. If they knew we were coming, then someone on our end is feeding them information. We’ll have to play this one close to the chest until I can get any further info. Until then, head back to Virginia and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I expect you to have a little bit of fun while you’re down there,” Pete said. “Those women in Florida are on another level of gorgeous.”
Sighing, Jack responded, “Goodbye, Pete.”
Just then, a familiar voice said from behind him, “A mole, huh? What are you trying to get me into? You’re getting too old for this, you know.” The dark-skinned athletic-framed individual walked past Jack, tossing a polaroid on the table. Grabbing the seat across from his old partner, Max picked up the menu and looked it over.
“Jesus, Max, a Polaroid? At least treat me with some dignity and respect.” Jack took out his cell phone and pulled up an image of his own. Jack’s image was of his rear-view mirror and depicted Max sitting two car lengths behind him at a traffic light in Fort Lauderdale. Reaching over and grabbing the polaroid, Jack said, “You didn’t even catch my good side.”
“Is that your excuse when anyone takes an unsolicited picture of you grabbing your luggage at the airport?” Max laughed.
Jack signaled the waitress to come over to the table and watched his old partner bombard her with a volley of questions, half flirting and half about the cocktail menu.
Jack hadn’t seen his friend in over six years and he looked good for being deployed all the time. Max’s lumberjack beard showed hints of grey not too unlike Jack’s own, and was a friendly reminder that both operators were aging. Once the waitress walked away with his order, Jack saw the beady brown eyes staring back at him and could tell by the inquisitive look on his face Max wanted to get right to business.
“Well, old friend, how are you?” Jack said, leaning back in his chair.
“Not too bad, man, just on vacation here as I’m sure you can tell.”
“Damn,” Jack said with a slick response in between sips of his beer. “Whatever they have you doing at the agency must be nice if you have time for vacation.”
Max laughed. “Yeah, as I’m sure you’re aware now, I work alone.”
“David might have mentioned it,” Jack replied.
The closest people sitting next to them were ten paces away at the bar. Leaning in close, Jack’s seriousness began. “So what have you been doing all these years after the Khaled op?”
“Nothing, just riding solo. David convinced the DNI that I would be less of an asset to the agency if they were to put me behind a desk,” Max said.
The only person David Carter reported to was the Director of National Intelligence, Alexis Moore. She would be the one briefing the president of any and all CIA matters during their National Security Council briefs. She was also the main reason and the absolute last line of security from the president finding out about the Bering Group. Somebody needed to operate with impunity to handle terrorism, no matter what kind reared its ugly head and an off the books task force was the way to do it. Killing, torture, you name it it was green-lit. After all, what the president didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.
Giving him a blank stare, Jack said, “I wish they thought that way about me at the time.”
“You’re also older than I am Jack, but I can’t blame you for getting mad when they made you an instructor. Honestly, I can see why David did it. All you did was slow me down.” Max took a swig from his drink. Jack chuckled and took another sip from his beer.
Sitting in his chair, looking out into the vast ocean, Jack thought for a second or two before he said, “I take it you already know about my group then?”
“I knew about you after David told me that he was picking you to lead the team. You realize I was the first person he asked to join, right?”
“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Jack whispered under his breath. “I take it you’ve heard about our current situation?”
Finishing his drink, Max replied, “I don’t know anything past the initial kidnapping. I was told you were going to brief me on any current events.”
“Not here. There’s a seat, more like an empty first class cabin, with your name on it. We leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“Hold on a minute,” Max said. holding up his hand. “I like my current job. I love working with you and have nothing but respect for you, but if I agree to help you it’s strictly a favor to you. Nothing more. I’ll work with this crew of misfit toys you’ve assembled, but for the record, you’re the only person I’ve ever worked with, and quite frankly I work best alone.”
Laughing, Jack said, “Fair enough.”
“Tell me about the rest of the hooligans you’ve assembled.”
“There’s a smartass, a couple of chill people, an attractive blonde, a guy who can pretty much bench you and me at the same time, and then there’s me.” Jack gave a courteous bow at the table.
Shaking his head and smiling, Max responded, “That doesn’t give me any information whatsoever, but I can’t say I’m surprised. You’re coming with us, right? You’re not leaving me in the trenches with these newbies?”
“I’m getting too old for this. I just turned fifty, I can’t be jumping out of planes and running and gunning anymore.”
There was a long pause as Max realized what Jack was asking him to do.
“How much experience do these people have? How old are they?”
“This would be our second assignment as a group, and they’re young,” Jack said. Taking a deep breath before he continued, he said, “And they were all washouts for various reasons from the FARM.”
Letting out a long sigh and looking down at his drink, Max said, “I’m babysitting. Perfect. What about experience before you recruited them?”
“There was none before—like I said, they’re all washouts from the FARM for small reasons, but I saw potential in every one of them. Plus, because they’re technically washouts, they won’t have anything on file showing that they’re part of—”
“The agency making it that much harder to identify them if someone were going to try and hack into the servers. I like the concept of it. It makes a lot of sense, but if I do this, then they take orders from me downrange, no questions. And maybe when this is all said and done, it’s a strong maybe, I’ll contemplate joining this team.”
“I couldn’t have asked for anything else,” Jack responded.
“Sounds good to me,” Max said, flagging down their waitress yet again, only this time it was to get the check. “How bad is the situation I’m walking into?”
“What do you think Max, the world’s most dangerous drug lord kidnapped one of my guys using his sicarios, and we have to get him back. I need you to lead them through the trenches, I can’t do it anymore,” Jack said. His tone told him all he needed to know. “We tracked the SUV to a house in Nogales and have a satellite currently overlooking the location. I sent a couple of your new teammates to intercept them, but shortly before you showed up, one of the guys called me and said they weren’t able to get him.”
“You don’t have any other information?”
“There was an underground passage that was found, and a note that said ‘come and get us gringos’,” Jack said.
“Perfect.”
“Yep, Same shit, different day.” Both men pushed in their chairs and discussed a few more items in addition to what time to meet at the airport. Giving one last handshake and hug, Jack hoped and prayed Max would give them the edge they needed.
CHAPTER 7
Max met Jack at the airport just after one o’clock in the afternoon. Once both men were safely aboard the Gulfstream 550, the noise from the turbo jet engines filled the plane as it taxied out to the runway. Once they were in the air and had reached their cruising altitude, Jack filled Max in about how the Bering Group operated. When they had finished with the details, there was still about an hour or so left before they landed, so Max decided to catch some sleep. Landing at five-thirty, Max went to collect both their bags as Jack made a phone call to Pete to see if any updates were available.
The ride to Gainesville was quiet. Max spent the time in the passenger seat admiring the different trees and scenery the further they got from the city. Pulling into the subdivision, Jack flashed their IDs to the gate guard, who opened the gate, making a familiar creaking noise reminding Max of the worst horror movie he could think of. The neighborhood was engulfed with so many trees and shrubbery it could be mistaken for a Planet of the Apes movie set, Max was in shock.
“How on Earth did you guys secure funding to live in a neighborhood like this?”
Jack just smiled and left it alone. Making a left onto a side street, he slowed his pace, made another left, and pulled onto the long winding driveway.
“I see you have people that work for you with poor taste in vehicles,” Max said, trying to wrap his head around the couple of beaters and one decent-looking SUV. Parking next to the massive bronze water fountain of Poseidon with his trident, Jack killed the engine.
“Don’t worry about your bag,” Jack said. “I’ll get it.”
“I get a chauffeur and a bell boy if I work for you? Things are already starting to look up!” Max said, pulling his sunglasses over his face.
“I said I’ll get your bag, I didn’t say I wouldn’t do anything to it, smartass,” Jack scoffed.
“Whatever you say, boss.”
Shaking his head as he opened the front door, Jack said, “Head upstairs to the theater room, they’re all probably in there.”
“If I can find it, jeez.” He was in awe at the old rustic-looking floor and massive ceilings that seemed to stretch out to eternity.
“Easy, it’s upstairs on the top floor, first room on the left.”
“Roger,” Max said. The house was freshly renovated, yet the wooden stairs squeaked and moaned at every step he made. Finally reaching the top floor, he still couldn’t hear anything, but took Jack’s advice and opened the door to his left.
He felt as if he stepped into a local bar and, being an outsider, the needle stopped on the record.
“Who’s the new guy?” Kyle asked, sitting in his recliner to Max’s right.
“I’m the guy they wanted to hire to make sure you do your job,” Max said, quickly shutting the door. “You must be the other guy.” Giving an annoyed look back, not having anything else to say, Kyle turned back around and pulled out his cell phone.
“Don’t worry about him,” Kwame said, walking over to him to shake his hand.
“Firm grip there,” Max said, ending the handshake and rubbing his right hand.
“It’s nice to meet you man, some people,” Kwame said, pointing to Kyle, “will take a bit getting used to.” Making a little more light conversation with Max, Kwame finished and decided to take the seat next to Kyle. One by one the rest of the team introduced themselves. Max was easily the oldest in the room at thirty-three. Great, he thought.
The last person to introduce themselves was Courtney, who he found incredibly beautiful. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail extending down to the small of her back. He noticed her the second he entered the room but was abruptly interrupted by the ignorant asshole with the New England accent. This was going to be fun, he thought.
The door opened once more, and Max took a seat in the back next to Kwame as Jack entered the room. Heading to the front, he pulled up the computer and pressed a button to lower the projection screen as the current satellite image of the house in Nogales appeared.
“Okay, first and foremost, I assume everyone has met our newest team member, Max Fontaine?”
“Yes,” the group spoke in unison.
“He’ll be working with us on this until we find Ben. Treat him with respect and let’s not have any issues, got it?”
Everyone nodded in unison.
“Let’s jump right into this,” he said, turning to address Pete. His skinny figure and wire-rimmed glasses screamed analyst for some major tech company, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
“When we searched the house, initially we found nothing. Upon further investigation, Courtney and I found a tunnel discovered behind the wall in the pantry. Of course, we didn’t go down the tunnel but nonetheless, it’s there. Based on previous narco-trafficking trends, I would suggest that it leads somewhere into Mexico and that’s where they took Ben. Janet has her team working on some satellite thermal imagery to try and figure out where it leads, but they have nothing yet.” Looking at Jack before continuing with the next part and receiving a nod for a go-ahead, he continued, “There was also the matter of a note left that said, ‘come and get us gringos’. “This could only mean one thing: there’s a mole somewhere in the agency.”
Jack let the last part linger in the air before jumping in. “I’ve encountered this sort of thing in the past, but back then it would have been handled differently—as in truth serum, ropes, cattle prongs, if you get the gist,” Jack chuckled. Seeing surprised eyes from everyone except Max, he continued. “Anyway, keep it hush-hush for now until I figure this all out. No mention of the note outside of this room, there’s no telling who we can trust now. Not even Janet.” Silence fell around the room, but the severity of the situation was understood.
“Adding to Pete,” Alex said, drinking from his coffee cup as his right bicep looked like it was going to explode through his t-shirt. “We sat in front of that house for a couple of hours before entering it, and we know for a fact they didn’t leave because the SUV was parked in the driveway the entire time.”
“How do you know the SUV was at the house the entire time and didn’t leave to go somewhere else before you guys got there?” Kyle asked, flicking his long black hair backward trying to prevent it from falling in front of his eyes.
“If you were paying attention, you would have remembered the satellites watching the house,” Alex responded, his Puerto Rican accent coming out stronger than he wanted.
“Just asking a question, jeez,” Kyle said.
It was then Max decided to say his piece as he walked up to the front of the room. Knowing he was about to address people who he had never worked with and vice versa, he only hoped they would listen to what he had to say. He was sure they were a solid group of individuals, but he knew it was easier said than done sometimes telling people how to operate even if the new guy had more experience.
“Jack, can you pull up a map of Arizona and Mexico for me, please?”
“No problem.” Jack minimized the satellite feed and brought up a google map of the border.
“I’ve spent many assignments south of the border and I can tell you, do not underestimate the expansive network of these tunnels. These are very smart individuals with a lot of money and resources to have us guessing until we die from heat exhaustion as to where each one of their tunnels leads.
“My personal opinion, what they probably did was get out right here,” he said, looking at the map and pointing to an area that was about a mile south of the border. “After they got out, they possibly had a vehicle waiting for them and drove to some safe house,” he said, looking over at Jack to see if he had any more additional information.
“How long is the drive from the border of Arizona to the Gulf of California?” Kwame asked.
“It’s around four-and-a-half hours, give or take, depending on how far south they wanted to drive. I’ve done that drive myself working undercover a few years back—it’s a very long and monotonous drive.”
“Is there anything you haven’t done?” Courtney asked.
Max looked at Jack and they both laughed. The duo had such a dynamic history together and the team would never know the type of shenanigans they got into working together. “Surprisingly enough, I haven’t seen a cock fight.” He had the room laughing at this one.
Jack spoke. “Alejandro is a very smart individual and has very specific routes he has his drug runners take when their moving shipments. He doesn’t run the most feared cartel in the world for no reason.”
“It seems like we have an idea of what they did with Ben, so now I guess we have to come up with some sort of plan?” Nate asked, the only member of the group who was standing in the back of the room. His lean yet muscular six-foot frame screamed CrossFit as he took a swig from his water jug.
Just as Jack was going to answer the question, his pocket vibrated. “It’s time, I have to take this.” Max gave a final nod as Jack stepped out and shut the door.
The room was silent once more as Max cleared his throat. “I know there’s some rumors floating around the agency about myself and what I do and the history I’ve had here. Right now, you don’t need to be concerned with what I did in the past or how I got here or if the rumor mills are true. I’m here as a favor to Jack and you all are the new kids on the block.
“I’m here to make sure things run smoothly and efficiently downrange. If you listen to what I have to say when I say it, they will. Alejandro Alvarez is a mean and dirty son of a bitch and will do anything and everything to make sure we fail. What you did in the past and how you got here doesn’t matter anymore, and quite frankly I don’t care because when rounds start ricocheting off the trees and walls next to you, all that résumé bullshit goes out the window. Not everybody can last in a two-way range, but I’m here to make sure you can.”
Looking around the room, Max could tell they were ready on the outside, but time would tell on the inside. There was silence throughout the room now as Jack walked back inside.
“The authorities have raided that house before and others in that neighborhood because it’s known for trafficking illegals into the United States. Our intel guesses they’re taking him to an abandoned airfield located in Guaymas, Mexico. Previous intel suggests that there is some sort of hideout close by so that the traffickers can have a place to stay while doing business out there.
