Birds of a Feather

by Don Easton

  “Then you are not angry,” replied Big Al. “And Señor Damien will not be offended?”

  “Of course not.”

  Big Al and Jack talked idly for the next twenty minutes before a screeching of tires out front and a wave from a bodyguard told them the boss had arrived.

  “Please, wait here,” instructed Big Al, as he hurried outside.

  Jack casually strode to the front door and looked out through the glass. Parked in the middle of the street were a row of four black SUVs. Bodyguards had stepped out of some of the SUVs and were watching everyone and every vehicle. Big Al had gone around to the far side of an SUV that was the third one down the line.

  Moments later, the bodyguards leaped back in their vehicles and all four SUVs roared off.

  Big Al smiled as he returned to talk to Jack inside the brothel.

  “Yes, I am allowed to take you,” said Big Al, “but not when it is dark.”

  “Not when it is dark?”

  “My boss is concerned about … well, that is his orders.”

  “Tomorrow then?” asked Jack.

  “Yes. At twelve o’clock my men will pick you up at your motel and bring you to Juarez. Then you are to be blindfolded for the trip to and from Casa Blanca.”

  “I understand, but Damien will be expecting to talk to me as soon as I see it. How long will it take?”

  “Oh … maybe an hour and twenty minutes each way, perhaps twenty minutes to show you Casa Blanca and then return. I think three hours will be enough. I am sorry we need to pick you up so early, but a delivery is being made later in the afternoon and I was told to have you away from Casa Blanca before then.” Big Al paused and said, “Again I must apologize. It is not me who does not trust you. It is my boss who is —”

  “It’s okay,” replied Jack. “Somebody else’s coke does not interest me. I do need to arrange a time with Damien to be able to tell him I have seen it with my own eyes. As soon as that happens, we’ll be in business.”

  “Good, amigo. I will have you back in El Paso by three, so you can make whatever arrangements you wish after that.”

  After Jack left, Big Al could hardly contain his glee. He believed he had orchestrated what would surely be one of the largest business opportunities the cartel ever had. Jack had guaranteed him that all he needed to convince Damien was to see Casa Blanca. That would take place in a matter of hours.

  Big Al smiled to himself at what a shrewd businessman he was. He had impressed Jack … and now that business was guaranteed, it was time to impress Señor Damien. What better way to impress him than to give him a photo of Jack and himself surrounded by topless young women … along with the gift of a diamond-and-gold-encrusted Rolex?

  Big Al glanced at his own watch. The time difference in Vancouver was an hour earlier. If he hurried, perhaps his men in Vancouver could purchase the watch first thing in the morning and deliver it to Señor Damien by noon …

  chapter thirty-three

  * * *

  It was four o’clock in the morning when Jack was dropped off at the Armadillo Motel by one of Big Al’s men. Jack showered, changed his clothes, and then drove into El Paso. After driving down a few darkened alleys to assure himself that he was not being followed, he went to the hotel room Adams had originally booked for him to write his notes.

  Verbal evidence given to an undercover operative, particularly if it could be quoted word for word, was vital when it came to court. Jack had a lot of quotes he had been memorizing and was anxious to jot them down before his memory faded. First he knew he needed to call Adams.

  It was five o’clock and still dark when he called Adams at home. The phone was answered on the first ring.

  “You okay? How did it go?” asked Adams.

  “I think Lily’s alive!” said Jack excitedly.

  “You found her?” gasped Adams.

  “Not yet, but I will. El Pero and one of Big Al’s bodyguards kidnapped her and took her some place to use as a sex slave. I don’t have time to talk now. I’m at the safe house and I’ve got a ton of notes to write. I want to meet your friend this morning and show him a picture. He said he would check the alley every morning between eight-thirty and nine.”

  “No problem, I’ll take you. A picture of who?”

  “A bunch of Big Al’s guys, including the one who was with El Pero when they kidnapped Lily. The guy is a cop. I also got an admission from the two men who murdered Earl Porter. Those two, along with El Pero, are meeting me at the The Old Warehouse tonight. Hopefully we’ll be able to arrest them. Before then, I hope to find where Lily is.”

  “Fantastic! Man, this is great!”

  “Give me until seven-thirty to write my notes, then pick me up and I’ll fill you in on the details. Also grab my laptop from your office and I’ll download some pictures to show your friend.”

  Jack finished his notes shortly after seven and decided to go down to the hotel coffee shop for breakfast. He found Adams already there.

  “I’ve already had two cups of coffee,” said Adams. “I was waiting until seven-thirty like you asked.”

  “I could use about a quart myself,” replied Jack. “Also breakfast … is there time?”

  “If you make it quick. Traffic coming this way on the bridge in the morning is heavy. Going in should be light. I’ve got your laptop in the car, so you can download the pictures as I drive.”

  Jack ordered breakfast and filled Adams in on all the details as he ate. When he finished talking, Adams leaned back in his chair and said, “I gotta tell you something. I was really pissed off when I was first told I had to work with you.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Yeah … sorry about that. But you have done one hell of a great job. I wish you and I could be partners permanently.”

  “Thanks. I feel the same way.”

  “I’m not trying to get mushy or anything, but I would really feel bad if something happened to you.”

  “Not as bad as I’d feel.”

  “Good point,” chuckled Adams, “but what I am trying to say is we could use some more manpower. Maybe it’s time for you to phone your boss and get permission to go to Mexico. Then I could go to my office for help.”

  “Forget that. If Ottawa did give permission, our policy states it would only be after Mexico gave their permission, along with approval from various police agencies.”

  “Do that and you may as well phone Guajardo himself and tell him who you are.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But if I ask my bosses for help, they will contact your people about it and then refuse because you weren’t given permission.”

  “Of course. That’s what bureaucracy is all about.”

  “The thing is, as it stands now, if you do find her, you’ll be in shit for going into Mexico.”

  “I’ve been in shit before.”

  Adams brooded silently as he twirled a spoon around inside his already-stirred coffee. When he looked up he said, “Actually, I’m in deep shit myself right now.”

  “Oh?”

  Adams twirled the spoon again, then let out a deep sigh and said, “I’ll tell you about it another day. Let’s focus on what we’re doing.”

  “I do need to do that. I haven’t been to bed since the night before last.”

  “Runnin’ on adrenalin.”

  “Mixed in with a little alcohol and caffeine. Hell of a combination, but as far as me being in shit goes, I’m willing to take my chances. One way of getting me off the hook would be if I find her … and we can pinpoint her location, how about you going to your bosses and saying a CI told you where she is? Leave me out of it. Ottawa wouldn’t need to know.”

  “I could do that,” Adams agreed.

  “And as far as arranging to arrest the guys at The Old Warehouse tonight, tell your bosses I went back to the Armadillo last night to see if Slater had shown up and ended up running into Big Al’s men. Say we had a few beer and El Pero told me he kidnapped Lily and Berto and Eduardo told me they did the hit o
n Porter in Canada. If they ask you where I was drinking with them say you presume it was in my room. If we’re lucky, by then we will have found Lily and make it look like your friend told you.”

  “What will you say if it goes to court?”

  “The truth. I will never lie on the stand … maybe refuse to answer to protect a source, but I will never lie. Court’s not a worry. Except for whether or not someone was convicted, my bosses never bother to find out the details. They’ll presume I stayed on this side of the border … unless someone from here tells them otherwise.”

  “My bosses would never bother hanging around a courtroom either, although I don’t know if the D.A. handling the case would blab. It would depend upon who we got.”

  “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

  “You don’t mind taking chances, do you?” replied Adams, looking thoughtful.

  “The important thing is to rescue Lily.”

  “Yeah … and keep you alive,” replied Adams sombrely.

  At eight-thirty that morning Davidson was having a terse meeting with Weber in his office.

  “So the fucking Mountie called him at five o’clock this morning?” repeated Weber. “I thought the son of a bitch said he was taking the night off to sleep.”

  “He didn’t. Everyone thought he had gone to bed, but then the bug picked him up entering the room about five this morning. He called Adams shortly after to tell him the girl is still alive and is being held someplace as a sex slave.”

  “And he got an admission from the two hitters who went to Canada,” noted Weber. “You gotta admit, the guy is good.”

  “You’ve said the same thing before about Adams. We all could be if we broke the law or ignored policy.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Besides, I wouldn’t give them too much credit. Once the arrests take place tonight, there is no way any of the bad guys will talk. The Mountie did okay getting these guys to meet him tonight, but when you think about it, what he is really doing is signing the girl’s death warrant. For her sake, I hope it is quick,” said Davidson.

  “Yeah … I agree with you there.”

  “Another scenario I envision tonight is seeing them grabbing El Pero prior to the arrests and taking him for a ride out in the desert to make him tell them where the girl is. If Adams is true to form, he might kill him after and claim he escaped or something.”

  “We could get them both on conspiracy to commit murder.”

  “If we get there in time to rescue him. Otherwise it could be murder.”

  “There’s always that,” replied Weber. “So what was Adams up to all night?”

  “He did spend the night at home,” replied Davidson. “Then came in first thing this morning, grabbed the car, and split before anyone arrived.”

  “So where are they?”

  “Meeting one of Adams’s CIs,” replied Davidson. “They just got out of the car.”

  “Did they talk in the car?”

  “Nothing of interest.”

  “What about what the Mountie did last night? He must have talked about that?”

  “He left his room shortly after seven. Adams was out of his car at six-forty so I think they might have bumped into each other in the hotel lobby or coffee shop.”

  “What if —”

  “Not to worry. With whatever happened last night, it didn’t give them much time to talk about anything else. Besides, we would have heard something about it when they got back in the car.”

  “It sounds like things are really coming down to the crunch,” said Weber.

  “For sure. I spoke with the profilers this morning. They say once El Pero and the two hitters come into El Paso tonight and get arrested, it should do the trick. Adams and Taggart will feel a kinship with each other. Once the arrests are made, Adams knows Taggart will be heading back to Canada. They are confident Adams will spill his guts to him before he goes. Once that floodgate opens, it will make them more inclined to talk about other things they’ve done, as well.”

  Jack and Adams stood in an alcove in the alley. It wasn’t long before Rubalcava arrived and Jack quickly filled him in on what had happened the previous night.

  Rubalcava listened intently and his voice became grave when Jack mentioned the parade of four black SUVs that arrived when Big Al went to talk to his boss. “My friend,” he said, putting his hand on Jack’s shoulder, “this is very serious. It tells me who you are dealing with.”

  “Guajardo himself?” asked Jack.

  “No, his protection is even bigger. But what you have described fits the men who are directly below him. They are extremely dangerous and would kill their own mother for a peso. You must be very, very careful, amigo.”

  Jack nodded solemnly.

  “Now, you have some pictures to show me?” said Rubalcava.

  Jack turned on the laptop and brought up the pictures. Jack expected a little good-natured ribbing when the pictures from inside the brothel were displayed, but there was none.

  Rubalcava’s dark eyes flashed out from beneath his furrowed brow as he looked. “I know three of these men,” he said bitterly. “They are sworn to uphold the law, not break it. This piece of shit here,” he said, pointing at the screen with his finger, “is a detective who works out of my office. His name is Sanchez.”

  “That is who drove Big Al last night from the restaurant to the brothel. He is also the one who went with El Pero when they grabbed Lily Rae.”

  Rubalcava stared at Jack for a moment as his thoughts went back to the day Greg Patton had been kidnapped. “Lily Rae … do you know if she wore a necklace?”

  “Yes. Apparently she wore a pendant that was —”

  “A small frog,” said Rubalcava.

  “Yes. How did —”

  “Sanchez gave it to a secretary in my office the same morning Greg Patton was kidnapped.” Rubalcava spat on the ground and uttered a string of profanities in Spanish.

  “My original plan was to have El Pero, Berto, and Eduardo arrested tonight in El Paso,” said Jack, “but only if we could rescue Lily first … if she’s still alive.”

  “If you are blindfolded, it may be difficult to find out where she is,” said Adams.

  “Big Al said it was outside of Juarez and they would have me back at the motel three hours later. Between driving through El Paso, clearing customs, and driving through Juarez … then the return trip, I figure it can’t be more than a thirty-minute drive outside of Juarez.”

  “That covers a big area,” said Rubalcava. “The place will be heavily guarded. Other houses in the area will be owned by the cartel. For something as important as this, they won’t have guards who are asleep or drinking tequila under a tree. They will be professionals.” He glanced at Adams and said, “Perhaps even trained by your government.”

  “I told Jack about the commandos we trained who were then bought out by the cartels,” said Adams ruefully.

  Rubalcava looked at Jack and said, “So you realize how dangerous it will be. They will have a lot of security to ensure they are not being followed once you are picked up. With city traffic it would not take them long to spot us. Even if we succeeded, once they left the city … well, to follow you into a rural area would be a one-way trip. None of us would return.”

  “Big Al was told not to take me there when it was dark,” noted Jack. “They don’t entirely trust me and are going to blindfold me … you’d think they would take me when it was dark. It would be even easier to see if someone was following.”

  Adams looked at Jack and said, “You’re thinking of lights?”

  “Exactly. Maybe an airport beacon or something. Perhaps a sign on a hotel roof in the distance. Something they don’t want me to see that could help pinpoint the location.”

  Both Jack and Adams looked at Rubalcava. “I am sorry,” he said. “I can’t think of anything like that outside the … no, wait.” Rubalcava’s brow furrowed as he thought. “I just remembered. West of here is a radio tower that is only a few
miles south of the border. The area has many hills, so perhaps the tower would be difficult to pick out against the background in the day, but at night is has a light on it to warn aircraft.”

  “That gives us a direction,” said Jack.

  “Possible direction,” corrected Adams.

  “If we are able to locate Casa Blanca and Lily is still alive, how do we rescue her?” asked Jack, looking at Rubalcava. “Are there people you would trust to go in and do the job?”

  “With what we are talking about, there is nobody I can really trust,” replied Rubalcava.

  “If we arrest El Pero, Berto, and Eduardo tonight, maybe a trade could be negotiated?” suggested Jack.

  Rubalcava sighed and said, “If we locate the tunnel, there will be no trade. For making such a mistake, the only reason the cartel would take them back would be to kill them.”

  “Not such a bad thing,” said Jack, noticing a nod of agreement from Adams.

  “There would also be no reason for the cartel to let Lily live,” noted Rubalcava. “In fact, her death may be long and painful out of revenge.”

  “I take it they wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested if they did that,” said Jack bitterly.

  “No. If political pressure was put on our government for her murder, then someone else would be framed and arrested for the crime. Perhaps someone who wasn’t even a criminal.”

  “So what do we do?” asked Jack, aware that his feelings of optimism at what he thought he had accomplished had turned to frustration and despair. Peaks and valleys … always peaks and valleys …

  “If we find the tunnel and you approach the Mexican authorities for help, there is a very real possibility someone involved in her rescue will have been bought off.”

  “If we locate the tunnel, what about using it to conduct a raid from your side of the border?” asked Jack, looking at Adams.