As evening shadows settled between the mountain crevices, they moved toward their rendezvous point. Geared up, they crept along the scrub brush toward the back of the warehouse on the edge of town. Their surveillance had shown that the security was increased around the warehouse, but the former special ops would have no problem.
“We’re in place,” Carson radioed to the LSI-WC compound.
“Roger that,” Jeb responded. “We’ll signal when ready.”
Jeb and Rick overrode the signal for the surveillance cameras inside the warehouse, putting them on a past loop, essentially allowing them to slip in without anyone observing on the cameras as well as giving Carson, Adam, and Leo a visual on the inside before they entered. Finding their opportunity, they slipped through the back window, immediately staying within the shadows of the tall wine barrels.
The three trucks were on the inside of the massive building. Stainless casks were loaded onto the trucks. Carson knew Alonzo’s winery shipped pressed grapes to Vincent’s winery for co-fermentation with some blended wines. Another truck was loaded with oak barrels, also for transporting to Vincent’s winery to sell. Looking at the casks and barrels, it wasn’t hard to imagine they could be fitted on the inside with a way to transport cocaine. But knowing they could be searched at any time at the border by the DEA, using a tunnel for transporting made sense. He also knew that cocaine could be dissolved in wine and then extracted later, but dogs could now detect that, as well.
It was the third truck that had his attention. It had parked away from the others, the back end near a wall. Stealthily moving to the side, he finally was able to gain sight of a door that seemed to lead to nowhere, just like on the U.S. side. Several men from the back of the truck were carrying boxes through the doorway. Knowing he’d found the Mexican entrance to the tunnel, he gave the signal to Jeb.
Using his patch into the security system, Jeb was able to set off an alarm near the front door. The workers jumped, all running to see what the problem was. Adam slipped around the end of the barrels and attached a miniature camera and tracer to one of the boxes. The alarm stopped, and after a few minutes, the workers returned, unaware that the boxes they were now transporting into the tunnel could be followed.
Slipping out the way they came, they made their way back to their hotel, pulling off their equipment and stowing it in backpacks. Once inside their connecting rooms, Carson and Leo went over the surveillance information already coming in with Jeb and Rick while Adam double-checked their equipment.
“Once we get a view from the inside of the tunnel, we’ll know if we can get in or if we just send this to the DEA.”
Hoping whoever carried the box would not stack it where the camera was facing a wall, he breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to obtain a view. “Fuckin’ hell, they didn’t even bother securing the tunnel with anything other than wood.”
“Seriously?” Adam asked, standing from his repacking and walking over to peer over Carson's shoulder.
They stared at the inside of the tunnel, its earthen walls still exposed, the support beams made out of wood, and a wire strung along the ceiling with light bulbs about every five feet. The tunnel was small, not allowing for anyone to stand, forcing whoever moved through the space to crouch or crawl. “One thing’s for sure, it’s gonna be a tight fit for men our size to use. They must use skinny men to haul the containers of drugs through.”
“All that fuckin’ money and they don’t do anything more than this,” Leo said. “So, the workers that go through there are taking all of the risks, and the Garzas get all the drug money.”
“Well, all the money that doesn’t go into the cartels’ pocket,” Carson added. “I wonder how much the Sinaloans take.”
“I’ll bet Dave knows. From what I understand, he’s become an expert on the Sinaloan cartel. And it makes me wonder how far up the food chain Alonzo and Vincent are. The higher they are, the more money they keep.”
Watching a little more, Carson had Jeb send the information to Dave. Adam settled in the other room, the TV on as he lay on top of the bed. Leo took a shower, and Carson pulled out his phone, sending off a text to Jeannie.
How was your day?
He wondered how long it would take for her to respond, but the three bubbles appeared immediately, and he grinned, not caring if he felt like a teenager again.
Good. Put feelers out for a few ER jobs at the closest hospitals. We’ll see.
There’s no rush. Take your time so you feel it’s right.
I don’t want to be bored.
I can think of a few ways to keep you from being bored.
Yes, but only when you’re here. Otherwise, I have to use my imagination.
Blowing out a breath, Carson’s imagination leaped at the thought of what he’d like to be doing if he was home with Jeannie.
Ok – got to stop before it gets embarrassing.
LOL!
So, what are you doing tomorrow?
Going to see Maggie tomorrow. I’ll go early.
Let Rachel know where you are. Wear necklace.
Always.
He hesitated. The desire to sign off with love was strong, but they’d never said the words and he wasn’t about to do so for the first time with a text. His fingers hovered over the keys, finally deciding on Sleep well and sweet dreams, beautiful.
You too… and be safe!
See you tomorrow.
Can’t wait. XX
Leo walked out of the bathroom, took one look at Carson, and started laughing. “Damn, boss, you’ve got it bad.”
Looking up, he kept grinning. “No, man. I’ve got it good.”
“Maggie! This is beautiful,” Jeannie gushed, her arm looped around Maggie’s waist. She had arrived at the condo and been given the grand tour. She checked for bugs just to be on the safe side, giving the good news that she found none to Maggie.
“It feels so good to have my things again,” Maggie said. “It was lovely to stay with Cheryl for a while, but I missed my privacy.”
Turning, she sighed heavily. “I know. The way you had someone spying on you made it horrible.”
Maggie led her to the sofa where she had a teapot and cups set out on the coffee table along with a plate of cookies. Jeannie poured and handed the cup to Maggie before fixing one for herself and settling on the sofa.
“So,” Maggie began, lifting a brow. “Now that we can talk without ears listening, what do you know about my son-in-law’s business?”
Nearly spitting out her sip of tea, Jeannie’s eyes watered. Coughing several times before clearing her throat, she managed to talk. “Wow, you really cut to the chase, don’t you?”
“At my age, I don’t have time to beat around the bush. Living on their estate meant I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut, but between my bum hip and then feeling ill, it was hard to discern anything.” Leaning forward, she lowered her voice as though still used to being careful. “I even wondered if Penny gave something to me to keep me feeling unwell just so I’d have to stay.”
Sucking in a quick breath, Jeannie sighed heavily, shaking her head. “Maggie, how could you have stayed there so long?”
“My niece. I know it gave her peace of mind to have me close while I recuperated. But I simply couldn’t talk to her about her husband. The few times I tried to bring up my concerns, she grew defensive. And from her perspective… I get it. Vincent is a loving husband, and I’m glad. But I know he’s involved in things that are suspicious, and when his house of cards falls, I’d hate for my niece to get caught in the mess.”