The Ides of Matt 2017

Chapter 8

Chapter EightI need information first,” Hector had to slow her down. Not that he could blame her. He felt the same way.

To find Alejandra after all these years and then to come so close to losing her again made him sick. What Miguel had planned for her…the fury rose in a wave that threatened to choke him.

But the 75th Rangers had taught him how to rechannel fury, saving it to focus on the battle moment. Then Delta had taught him how to turn hot fury into cold, until it was a finely-honed weapon.

It didn’t take long to get Miguel to spill everything: hierarchy, contacts, combinations to safes, and passwords to his computer. He’d tossed Alejandra a recorder and she’d held it close to his mouth to make sure they didn’t miss a thing. How she didn’t rip his face off in the process was one of the most impressive displays of restraint he’d ever seen.

Before he let Miguel get dressed, he yanked his rifle free, and shoved a small breaching charge for blowing open locked doors up the guy’s a*s.

“See this?” he held the remote up close for Miguel to see. “One press of the button and you explode from the inside out. We clear?”

Miguel nodded hurriedly.

Hector tossed the control to Alejandra who caught it one-handed, then looked at him thoughtfully but didn’t say anything.

On their way back to the garage, the three of them walked as if everything was okay, Miguel imperiously waving guards aside. They made a few stops along the way. A small knapsack was soon filled with the contents of Miguel’s safe, though Hector didn’t bother with the cash. Instead he left an incendiary for whoever opened it next. They picked up Miguel’s laptop and smartphone along the way, dropping them into foil bags to avoid anyone tracking them.

In the garage, the bus and most of the SUVs were gone.

“Tell me you have a plan, Hector,” Alejandra had picked up several weapons along the way until she was almost as heavily armed as he was. It looked damned good on her. “My sister’s out there somewhere.”

Hector loaded Miguel and his files into the trunk of the Ferrari—thankfully he wasn’t a big man. Then Hector hit him with enough morphine from his Delta med kit to keep a horse down for a day.

He and Alejandra slid down into the soft, black leather of the bucket seats.

Yes, he had a plan. But he had a mission to finish first.