Dimitriv gripped his hands around the metal railing and leaned forward to peer down at the scene below. He closely watched from the east-end railing as twenty workers were huddled around three long metal tables, and were bagging the lower-grade heroin that Dimitriv’s gang already had in supply for distribution.
The women at the center table were processing chalky white, powdery pure-grade heroin. Dimitriv and his crew would be able to charge a high street price for that heroin. The heroin processed on the outer two tables, however, had a rose gray color that indicated slight dilution of the product. Because of the dilution, they were unable sell the second batches for as much as the first. Dimitriv could not wait to get his hands on more of the premium smack coming in from Afghanistan.
The workers in his facility consisted mainly of indigent women from the surrounding towns. The entire staff was required to wear only a tank top and short, tight bicycle shorts that had no pockets. These precautions were to prevent the women from leaving with the product on their persons.
“We have hired fifteen men to guard each floor every day, for the next two weeks. Based on prior production rates, for a half ton shipment, it will take at least two weeks for the workers to cut and bag the product for individual or bulk sale.”
“How is the product coming in from Afghanistan?”
“We’ve worked out that the easiest route is through Tajikistan. Our associates in Afghanistan will be using many of the same couriers that they’ve used before.”
“Are the couriers supplied with enough arms? And are they adept at moving the heroin from the mountains through Tajikistan without being caught by the Tajik Border Forces or the Russian border guards?”
“From what we can confirm with Malook, yes. Each courier is supplied with at least one weapon depending on the amount of product that they are carrying across the borders. The couriers that are being used for this shipment are skilled in hiding in the mountains and within the heavily wooded forests. In addition, key Tajik legal officials have been on Malook’s payroll for quite some time. So if some of the couriers should run into trouble, they have a point man to contact in the local police agency for assistance.”
“Good. Then it looks like things on that side are going well.”
“Yes, sir. As well as can be expected.”
“What about the transfer out of Russia. Do we have everything lined up with the shipping company?”
“Malook still has to contact us with those details, sir.”
“What’s the hold up? We need to have all of these details hashed out within the next day.”
“I know sir, I spoke to him yesterday about shipping the items out on one of the tankers, but so far he hasn’t given me any concrete information about the drop off.”
“I want you to call him again as soon as we finish our walk through of the facility.”
“Of course, sir.”
“We need that information as soon as possible,” Dimitrive continued. “When you speak to Malook, make sure he understands that his lack of professionalism is this matter is making an extremely bad impression upon us.” Dimitriv hated when self-centered pricks like Malook felt that they could jerk his chain. He didn’t get as far as he had in life by being a fool. And so he didn’t appreciate anyone trying to make an idiot out of him.
“Yes, okay.”
“Make it crystal clear to this asshole that our current agreement is not set in stone. Our organization can very easily find another business partner to work with.” That wasn’t a completely accurate statement. In fact, it assumed a lot. It assumed that the King’s Triad would be able to find another suitable partner, with premium product, who could guarantee access to U.S. markets. It wasn’t impossible, but it was highly unlikely. No, Dimitriv was counting on this deal to go through.
Chapter Fifteen
V
ictoria awoke with a start. Her long hair was matted around her face and her legs were twisted up in the black silk sheets that draped the bed. Her cheek felt hot against the coolness of the pillow. It took her a few seconds to recall where she was. Then it clicked. She was at Joshua’s. In his bed. Well, that wasn’t exactly right. She was in his guest bed.
She kicked the sheets down off her legs and sat up. A soft yellow glow streamed in through the partially closed blinds of the bay window to her right. Last night, she hadn’t had the chance to fully take in her surroundings. She’d been bone tired and all that she had wanted to do was sleep. But now her curiosity was back.
Looking around the room, she saw that the guest bedroom was a large size. Joshua had chosen a sea foam green coloring for the walls. The color was a calm contrast to the oak wood dresser and bed. A framed watercolor painting hung on the opposite wall. Now that she thought about it, Emmani had probably decided on this room’s décor. Victoria just could not picture Josh pouring over different color palettes to finally land on sea foam green. Like many men, beige was the standard “go to” color for Josh whenever it came to home decorating.
Shuffling to the bathroom, Victoria spent the next fifteen minutes showering and then another ten minutes getting dressed. By the time that she finished, it was close to eight in the morning.
Walking out of the bedroom, the intoxicating smell of freshly brewed coffee immediately hit her nostrils. Yum. Victoria was a certified caffeine addict, and barely a day passed by without her having at least one cup of coffee. Entering the kitchen, she found Joshua sitting at the table.
His dark brown hair was slicked back from his face and he was wearing navy blue BDUs. His hair was slightly longer than it had been when they were dating. His black T-shirt hugged his chest. It seemed impossible, but the muscles of his chest and arms were even more defined than they were a year ago.
He was the type of man who would never have to worry about his looks fading with time. Victoria was convinced that even after he turned seventy, Joshua would look even more handsome than he did right now. He glanced up from his breakfast plate when he noticed her standing there watching him.
“Good morning,” he said with a disarming smile, looking her over from head to toe. He had a small, puckered scar at the apex of his lip that gave him a rakish appearance. Victoria had always loved to press her lips right against that scar. She was itching to do so right now. “I made breakfast for you, but you looked like you were sleeping so well—I didn’t want to wake you up. The eggs and toast are still warm.”
“No, it’s fine,” Victoria reassured him, walking over to the counter to where the coffee pot was located. “I needed the rest. And thank you for making breakfast.” Victoria poured herself a cup of coffee—Josh had left a mug for her beside the machine—and then she sat down across from him at the dining table. Joshua had already set out a plate for her, and she filled it up with scrambled eggs, toast, and a couple of strips of bacon.
For the first time, she noticed a sliced half of a grapefruit sitting beside his plate of eggs. He popped a segment of the pink-toned, fleshy fruit into his mouth. She had forgotten that he could be something of a health nut. No doubt, he had already woken up and gone for a run and did some weight training before she’d woken up.
“It was no problem. So what do you have planned for the day?”
“Planned?”
“Yeah. You are still investigating Henning’s shooting, right?”
“Yeah. But I have to check in with my editor first thing this morning. He wanted me to come in and meet with him today. Obviously, I’m going to miss that appointment.”
“What did he want to talk to you about?”
“Oh you know, the usual. Life … my overdue columns … oh and he probably wants to hand me my pink slip in person.”
“Why would you be fired?”
“For starters, I didn’t tell my boss about the extent of my investigation into Henning’s earlier kidnapping. He was basically blindsided when the FBI agents followed up on their interview with me by knocking on his front door. He had to explain to them that he hadn’t authorized t
he investigation that I had been undertaking.”
“Yeah, you mentioned that when I picked you up. But you didn’t explain why you didn’t just get clearance from him to begin with?”
“Because Edward wouldn’t have given me the approval, Joshua. Henning’s kidnapping is still classified as an international crime, even though it involves a well-known, local political figure. Quite frankly, the Dallas Star Gazette doesn’t have the resources that would allow for those types of investigations to take place. Since I wouldn’t be able to travel overseas and interview witnesses, the Dallas Star would worry about the accuracy of my reporting.”
“Then why would you even want to start the investigation in the first place?”
“Because there was a story there. I could feel it. I still do. I just haven’t been able to put all the pieces together yet. And now, Henning’s murdered in broad daylight? That can’t be a coincidence. I have a hard time believing that his murder was related to his Middle East abduction.”
“Do you have any leads? Any theories about what you think happened?” Joshua had finished eating his breakfast, so his attention was squarely on Victoria. She had his undivided attention.
“Well, like I said earlier on the phone, I know that Henning’s company is under a federal drug investigation. And you know as well as I do that the Middle East is a prime drug production center.”
“True. So you think that Henning’s kidnapping and murder is due to involvement in the international drug trade?”
“Yes. I do. I’m just not positive what criminal element his company was involved with. The most logical answer is that he had a falling out with the terrorist group that kidnapped him. And that they kidnapped him to send a message. But it could also be a rival drug syndicate in the region that wanted to send a different message.” Joshua didn’t say anything, which was significant. He didn’t look at her like she was crazy. But he didn’t exactly affirm what she was saying either.
“That’s going to be difficult for you to prove,” he finally said after a moment of silence.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Look, I have to head to the base for a little while this morning and run some errands,” Joshua said, abruptly getting up from the table and putting his dish in the sink. “I’ll be back sometime in the early afternoon.”
“Oh okay.”
“Try to stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” Before Victoria could respond with a snappy comment, he’d already walked out the front door.
Victoria found herself looking at the door for some time after he had left. She knew that she was safe and protected when she was with him. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would not let anyone hurt her—that he would defend her with his life.
She wasn’t foolish enough to believe, however, that he was still in love with her. His protective nature was just deeply engrained within his DNA—a byproduct of testosterone and chromosomes. She still could not believe that she was back with him, even though she wouldn’t be there for long. She had always known that she could count on Joshua when the going got tough.
When Victoria had left for San Diego, she had tried her hardest not to leave a paper trail that someone could follow, if someone was actually watching her. Her efforts had included paying for everything with cash and ditching her car in Texas, and opting to take the bus instead.
She’d made several bus changes to different cities in Texas before she got on the Greyhound that had Los Angeles as its final destination. She had tried to use every disappearing technique that she had ever read about in some mystery novel or saw on a television show.
Pulling out her cell phone, Victoria saw that Edward had called her two times this morning. Crap. She had at least managed to send in her column about the Highland Hills Robber. She’d found out from Devin that they had positively identified a mentally ill homeless man who had committed the robberies. The column wasn’t as dramatic as her usual offerings, but she was distracted by the murder investigations that continued to pull at her.
She also had a missed call and a voicemail from an unidentified number. Victoria decided to go the path of least resistance and listened to the message of the unidentified caller.
“Hello … Ms. Sanchez . . ,’ the message started off. The caller’s voice was that of a young man. He sounded breathless, as if he had just finished sprinting. “This is Lou Kinley. I heard that you were looking for me. That you wanted to talk about Antonio. His death. I don’t know anything—” Before he could finish his sentence, the call disconnected. Weird. He hadn’t even left a phone number for her to call him back. Crap. Now she still had to track him down and corner him for an interview.
The next phone call she made was to her mother. Victoria spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the least alarming details of the past three days to her mother. She also explained that she was spending a few days with Joshua. Gloria had a lot to say about that before Victoria managed to end the conversation. As if she didn’t have enough stuff to worry about.
Next, Victoria picked her phone back up again and punched in the number to her editor. Edward answered his phone the third ring.
“Edward Linton, speaking.”
“Edward, this is Victoria. I—” she started before he cut her off.
“Damnit Victoria. You were supposed to come in this morning at 8:00.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, but I’m not in Texas right now.”
“Where the hell are you, then?”
“I’m in California.”
“Why the hell are you there? Look, Victoria. This type of behavior from you is completely unacceptable. I think that I’ve been very tolerant of your escapades, but I’m tired of cleaning up your shit.”
Yeah, he was definitely pissed at her. Victoria had never heard him use that type of language with any of the reporters. He sure hadn’t ever used that type of language in connection with her.
“I’m in California because my apartment was broken into yesterday. I was concerned that it was broken into by someone who is familiar with my investigations into Richard Henning’s kidnapping and the DEA’s current investigation into his company.”
“Did you contact the Dallas Police Department?”
“Yes of course. They dusted for fingerprints, but they are not hopeful that they’ll be able to find a match. It’ll take them several weeks to follow up with me. I’m not holding out too much hope that the police will find the perpetrators.”
“What was taken?”
“That’s the odd thing. The only item of value that was taken from my apartment was my laptop.”
Edward was silent for a few seconds as he took in her comments. Victoria had no idea what her boss was thinking right now. She was hoping that he would hear her out before he decided to fire her. “So you think that the breakin is connected to your reporting?”
“If it’s not, then it is a mighty big coincidence.”
“What exactly have you been able to uncover so far about Henning’s kidnapping?”
Victoria spent the next fifteen minutes getting her boss up to speed on her investigative efforts.
“Alright Sanchez,” Edward said as she finished, “I’ll give you a little more time on your reporting. But you better not let me down on this. You need to report in by the end of every week to update me on your progress. If I don’t find that you are making satisfactory headway in your investigation, then I’m pulling you from this case.”
“Okay, sir.” Great, now Edward was going to be breathing down her neck for the next few weeks.
“I also expect that you’ll be able to keep up with your regular crime reporting duties,” he continued. “Speaking of which, how is your investigation into the Antonio Ortiz murder coming along?”
“Well sir, I’m still gathering information on that story. It’s something that I wanted to talk to you about actually. I’ve received a voicemail from Lou Kinley, one of Antonio Ortiz’s friends, who said that he believes that Antonio was em
ployed by the Henning Cooper Company.”
“What? How does he know this?”
“Apparently, he called me sometime last night, I missed his call. But he left me a voicemail. He sounded nervous and agitated.”
“When are you going to meet with him in person?”
“About that. He was calling from a private number, probably a burner. His call disconnected before he listed a number that I could call him back at. I’m going to try Ms. Ortiz again to see if she has any updated contact information for him.”
“Listen Victoria, you better have something of substance to report to me the next time I call you,” Edward said, hanging up on her.
Crap. Victoria was still planning to place some more calls to sources, complete additional research into both Antonio Ortiz’s murder and Henning’s murder, but she needed more time. Victoria decided to continue her research with some more internet searches that she hadn’t gotten a chance to run before her computer was stolen. Joshua had left his laptop on the kitchen counter for her use and she decided that one of those “uses” would be to finish her research into the Henning Cooper Company.
Now that former Congressman Henning had been executed, she was going to expand her article to include a detailed investigation into his murder. From what Victoria could gather, there were really only two possibilities for the culprits: the terrorist cell that kidnapped him or someone from Mr. Henning’s circle of acquaintances.
Her friend Olivia had once told her that when in doubt trust in Occam’s razor. Specifically, that among competing possibilities the one that is the least complex is probably the correct solution to the inquiry.
However, in the case of Richard Henning’s killing, the most obvious answer to the “Who shot Henning?” question was that the Haqqai network (who had already taken credit for kidnapping the former Congressman) had finished what they had started. This possibility also happened to the one that most TV reporters were now running with. But Olivia didn’t buy it.
Pushed to the Edge (SEAL Team 14) Page 17
