The Cartel Enforcers (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 2) (20 page)

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Your house in two hours, I’ve got one more thing to do at the warehouse.”

Before Calderon could say another word Smith hung up. He liked Smith’s tenacity. He was not sure exactly what Smith’s role would be after this was all over; however, they would either work together for awhile until he had no further use of him, or he thought,
I may need to kill him after he gets the money.
He decided he wouldn’t make a decision on Smith’s fate until he saw the man in action.

Chapter 35

A federal undercover officer dialed the number to his boss. He finally had a decent update to share with him, and he was excited to talk to someone since he had not done so for three weeks. He’d been inserted into Tijuana several weeks prior as it was anticipated the cartels in the area would be looking for hired shooters based on the turf war along the U.S. border.

The supervisor answered and said, “Well, what do you got?”

“You called it boss. Calderon will use the tunnels to get away with the money. Supposedly there’s a tunnel that was recently completed that opens up to Mexico and connects to the existing tunnels beneath the city.”

“Did he go as far as telling you how he knows which way to go, it’s like a bowl of spaghetti down there.”

He replied, “Calderon pre-marked a location near a pipe. Apparently the money will be delivered to him and he will take it to Mexico. He has talked to someone on the phone, only in Spanish. Whoever it is, he’s updating him every step of the way. He may have a boss in Mexico.”

A short silence followed. Then the supervisor said, “Ok, keep your head low when the shooting starts. You think Calderon suspects you or anyone else there as an agent?”

“I don’t think so. All the men were tested when he called out two of the mercenaries he said he did not trust. He killed both men in front of us. Gruesome really. But fear and the large amount of money they think they are getting for the job has them all in good spirits. How’s it looking on your end?”

“Meetings have taken place, everyone has a stake in the case, and the big bosses seem supportive still,” replied the supervisor. The supervisor knew not everything he just told his undercover agent was the truth, but he did not want the agent to be more stressed than he already was. The assignment he was in could cost the agent his life at any moment; however it was the torture that would ensue prior to his death that scared the hell out of them both. The supervisor knew it all too well after his own escape from being tortured in Mexico City twenty years prior.
The nightmares never go away
, he thought.

“Okay, sounds good. This is scheduled to go down tomorrow night, I’ll text you the time we start to roll out. And let your people know some of the guys working for Calderon are cold blooded killers. We’ll be heavily armed. Remind them this is not training. This is life or death. If people lose focus, they’ll die.”

The supervisor was proud of his agent’s ability to assess the situation and remain calm. The two murders that occurred right in front of him would have forced most people to blow their cover and compromise the mission. But not this agent, he was as cool as the other side of a pillow. The supervisor had known him for almost twelve years and he was close friends with the agent’s father. If anything happened to him, the supervisor would have a tough pill to swallow and an even more difficult time advising the kid’s father.
It’s not going to happen on this mission
, the supervisor tried to convince himself.

“Copy that. I’ll advise the teams. If you get into a tight spot hit the emergency button and the troops will come ASAP. Make no mistake about it, if Calderon figures you out, the torture will be unbearable.”

“That’s what the little cyanide pill is for.” The undercover agent tried to sound confident but absolutely dreaded the fact that he may actually have to use it.
The things I do for my country,
he thought.

Chapter 36

Once again Kovach found himself in a precarious position. He was talking to his wife on the cell phone trying to convince her to pack their bags for a
surprise
visit to see her sister in Minnesota. She wasn’t buying it and she wanted to know what was wrong. He obviously couldn’t tell her anything. He finally settled her and told her he’d see her in a few hours to talk in person.

As he hung up with his wife, Kovach finally found the access to the tunnels beneath the city. He could have asked the city manager or a city public works person, but he didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing. He found himself anxiously looking for the subtle mark left by Calderon according to the undercover officer. He anticipated running into some of Calderon’s men in the tunnels at some point, but he was not sure when or where.

Kovach slowly came up to a spot in the tunnels that only went left or right, a place cops called a “T” intersection. Since he was by himself, he would have to poke his head out on one side, see what he could see, then repeat the process for the other side.

He was wearing city maintenance attire in an effort to buy him time should he come across some of Calderon’s men. The ruse seemed like a good idea at first, but now he retrieved his weapon from the small of his back and placed it in the tool bag he was carrying for quicker access. The hair on his neck stood up as he made the first peek down the tunnels to his right.

He went flat on the floor as he noticed two men, both with MP5 sub-machine guns slung across their chests, standing no more than thirty feet from him. He cursed under his breath.
Now what the hell is the game plan
?

Kovach thought about continuing with the city worker ruse, but decided against it. Based on the men being armed, he believed they had one job-kill anyone in their way.
What was another body to Calderon
?

He considered how close he was to the two men, and whether their presence meant the mark left by Calderon was near. He was silent and still on the ground speculating on what to do next when he heard several voices and what sounded like squeaking wheels coming from his left.

He slowly looked where the sound came from and saw three men pushing a cart. He could not see what was on the cart. It was heavy because it required all three men to push it.

The two men with sub-machine guns heard the same noise and turned to investigate.
Crap
. He scanned the area looking for a small spot to hide. His pulse raced as he realized he needed to find the mark quickly, otherwise the gig would be up and he stood no chance against five suspects. The tunnels had dim light making it more difficult to find a place to hide. He looked for enclaves or shadows and finally found a small enclave to his right just short of the T-intersection. He scooted backwards on his stomach making sure he did not make a sound. The voices were getting louder, which meant they were close. He quickly but quietly stood up in the enclave and pushed his back as deep as he could into the wall trying desperately to save his own life. Something stuck him, but he didn’t yell out loud because he would have surely died then.

The men met near his hiding location. He realized he wasn’t breathing and tried to slowly gather air. His hand was on his weapon and he slowly retrieved the flash bang grenade from his pocket. If he was discovered, he’d throw the flash bang, fire rounds in the direction of the men, and run like hell.

Kovach saw a portion of the cart and noticed large pieces of drilling equipment.
Son of a bitch
, he thought,
they’re going to drill right up to the warehouse floor.
He tried to hear everything the men were saying, but they were speaking Spanish and facing away from him. Giving up his location was not an option. Knowing what they were saying was not worth his life. It sounded like the conversation was ending and Kovach realized he was holding his breath again making him light headed. He exhaled quietly. A cold shiver ran down his back as his neck pressed against the concrete causing him to shake. The metal from his tool bag clanked against a pipe in the enclave making a loud sound.
Oh shit
, he thought.

The voices immediately stopped and Kovach was already pulling the pin from the flash bang grenade and preparing to throw it.

One of the men with the cart said something to the men with the weapons. As a whole, the two groups began walking right toward Kovach. He could see the men with the equipment cart were also armed now. He panicked and said a little prayer. He slowly inhaled one last large breath and hoped for the best.

However, they walked right past without noticing him. He waited a few minutes until he could no longer hear them or the cart and allowed himself to step out from his hiding spot. He shook his head and wanted to scream. He continued his search for Calderon’s mark. He was sweating profusely and his adrenaline was spiked.

Kovach was sure the men with the drilling equipment had created a way for the money in the warehouse to make it to the tunnels. He figured it would pass where he hid and make its way further through the tunnels. Therefore, he slowly and meticulously combed the tunnels looking for the mark indicating Calderon’s escape route.

Thirty minutes later, Kovach finally located a small white mark on a pipe in an area where the tunnels split again, two to the right and two to the left. He studied exactly what the mark looked like, where it was, and took a picture of it with his cell phone.

Among the many tools in his bag was a small can of paint remover. He retrieved a small rag, sprayed some paint remover on it, and began erasing the mark. When he was done, he retrieved a small can of white spray paint. He practiced several times on a piece of cardboard making the exact same line as the one he’d discovered. However, each time he did it, the paint would drip or run and it looked nothing like the mark he had found on the pipe. He eventually got a little better at making a replica mark, but it was obvious his work would be slightly different. He hoped the person searching for the mark he made would be in a hurry and not figure out they were heading for a trap.

He steadied himself and finally chose the pipe where he wanted to put his own mark. If the person with the money or Calderon located the mark and continued down the tunnel where he’d placed the new mark, they would end up coming up right into the hands of Dix and the team. He sprayed the paint on the pipe, but just like when he did it on the cardboard, it dripped. He wiped off his mark and tried again. The mark he made the second time looked much closer to the one he had found and he was satisfied with it.
It’s going to have to do in a pinch
.

Kovach checked his watch and noticed it was almost midnight. He knew the lighting in the tunnels would shut down in a few minutes. As quickly as he could, without being too loud, he made his way back to where he originally entered. Without incident he made it to the exit point to the city streets and back to his car. He drove home wondering what crazy story he would have to tell his wife to explain where he had been all night, and why he wanted the whole family to head to Minnesota as soon as possible.

Chapter 37

Smith knew hanging up on Calderon wouldn’t go over too well, but he didn’t care. His own safety meant more to him than entertaining Calderon’s need to be in charge. Smith moved the rental car three blocks from the Sheriff’s Office warehouse, parked, popped the trunk, and got out. He scanned the area for any witnesses while he fished around a plastic tub in the back of the car for a brown UPS shirt and matching pants. Once he found them he quickly put them on. He grabbed a sealed UPS envelope and affixed an address label and dialed the number he found for the warehouse.

A woman answered and said, “This is Sherry, how can I help you.”

Smith paused and said, “Hello Sherry, this is Lee Smith with UPS. We’re sending a driver your way, but we can’t read the name on the envelope. The first name is Sherry, but the last name looks like Carlino.”

The secretary replied, “Well my name is Sherry, but my last name is Lawton.”

“Well the more I look at the envelope it could be Lawton. My eyes have gotten worse over the years. My driver will be there in a few minutes and hopefully we can work this out for you guys,” replied Smith.

“Ok. Hopefully it’s for me since it should be my check,” replied the secretary.

“Sounds good, have a great day,” said Smith.

Smith hung up and scribbled the name Sherry Lawton as the addressee for the envelope. He started walking toward the warehouse but had to go back to the rental car to grab the UPS signature tablet. Within a few minutes, he was entering the warehouse and scanning everything beyond the front desk. His head was on a swivel as he walked right up to the front desk like he owned the place.

The secretary was smiling at him and said, “Hello, I hear you have something for one of us.”

Smith returned the smile and replied, “I sure do. Looks like this envelope is addressed to a Sherry Lawton. You have any idea who that may be?” He flirted with the woman with his eyes and poured on the charm.

He noticed she was not wearing a wedding band and there were two security cameras covering the front door and small lobby area. He’d been very successful with ruses, especially when it involved women, because he could read them better than men.