LITMIR.BIZ

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car 3, vehicle to their back and left. We saw that red Jeep when we left the airport. Again when we took the last exit. Three occupants. No, wait. Four.”

      A radio crackled, and then she heard Sibbit’s voice. “Vehicle three, ready defensive tactics. Red Jeep with multiple occupants. Left lane, coming fast.”

      The Jeep drew nearer and Ava felt a familiar spike of adrenaline. “Weapons sighted. At least two rifles.”

      Sibbits repeated the information to the third vehicle, while she heard McCabe speaking into his own radio, ordering the first SUV to drop back and exchange places with them. Benton was urging de la Reyes onto the floor, while he grabbed his weapon.

      Ava lowered the high-powered glasses long enough to duck out from under the rifle strap, and readied the weapon. Sliding off the safety, she steadied the rifle, sighted, waiting for the command. The third vehicle swerved behind them into the path of the red Jeep, to force it to decrease its speed.

      Except it didn’t slow down. The Jeep slammed into the SUV, and there was a screech of metal on metal. Gunfire was exchanged between the two vehicles.

      “Do you have a shot?”

      Ava peered through the rifle’s site, readjusted position to make up for the trajectory through two windows. “Yes.”

      “Take it.”

      The Jeep rammed the third SUV again, sending it spinning into the side rail. Ava saw the man in the Jeep’s front passenger seat swing his rifle toward their vehicle as it raced toward them. Ignoring him for the moment, she concentrated on the driver, and squeezed the trigger once. Twice.

      The Jeep’s windshield shattered and the vehicle jerked to the right as the driver slumped over the wheel. The shooter’s shot went wild. Ava saw the passenger in the front seat lower his weapon to wrench at the wheel as it veered into the far lane of traffic in front of an open-bed truck hauling a load of caged chickens.

      “Vehicle one dropping back.”

      The bullet hole through their back window sent out a spiderweb of cracks, ruining her visual. She reengaged the safety and swung a leg over the seat to kick the window out with one booted foot. Their SUV picked up speed, lengthening the distance away from the Jeep. She saw the other SUV’s occupants returning fire with the shooters in the Jeep before it careened into the median, flipping over on its top.

      Ava could hear Cael snapping orders, Sibbits trying to raise vehicle three’s occupants on the radio. De la Reyes was on the phone commanding a police helicopter to contain the scene. But then the Jeep burst into flames.

      There would be very little for the police to investigate once they finally arrived.

      “I owe you thanks once again, Senorita Carter.”

      Ava shifted uncomfortably, sliding a sidelong glance toward Cael. “It was a team effort, sir.”

      They stood in the sitting room of de la Reyes’s opulent personal quarters on the third level of the presidential palace. Antonio stood at a wet bar tucked in a corner, pouring himself a glass of wine. For the first time since she’d met the man she could read weariness on his face.

      “It was, yes.” He gave her a small smile as he offered her a glass of wine. Because she could think of no polite way to refuse, Ava took it. “And I have already conveyed my gratitude to Senor McCabe.”

      “Have you compiled the list I asked for?” Cael accepted the wine Antonio held toward him.

      “I have. It is there for you, on top of the desk.” De la Reyes raised his own glass and drank deeply as he turned to face them. Lowering the glass, he added, “It includes every person in my government, along with their position. I do not like to suspect any of the names on it.” He gave them a grim smile. “Only one of them learned the date of my arrival from me.”

      Cael crossed to the desk and picked up the paper, scanning it quickly before lifting his gaze to meet the other man’s. “The men you had in the States with you…I collected their cell phones prior to them boarding. It would have been nearly impossible for them to communicate our plans prior to boarding the plane.”

      “So that means Rafael Gonzalez has betrayed me?” De la Reyes dropped heavily into an ornately carved chair that looked to be centuries old. “He has been with me since before I won the presidency. I would have trusted him with my life. I have done so, on countless occasions.”

      Lifting a shoulder, Cael said, “We have to take precautions. I’ll want to interrogate him, of course. We’ve already got him placed under house arrest. He’ll be detained until we can be certain.”

      Antonio’s head jerked up, the hopeful expression on his face impossible to miss. “You think he could be innocent? How can that be?”

      “The pilot had to file a flight plan. It could be someone in the airport. Hell, someone in the tower might have been paid to tip off your enemies whenever your flight plan was received.”

      “Then we still have no way to be certain who has been disloyal, or whom they alerted. I do not see that we are any further ahead then we were in Metro City.”

      Cael gave a feral smile. “Leave it to me. Our investigation is already under way. I’ll need access to the bank accounts of every name on that paper you compiled for me, as soon as possible.”

      De la Reyes nodded. “You shall have it. I’ll make the calls first thing in the morning.”

      “Then I’ll have some answers for you in a matter of days.”

      Antonio raised his glass in a silent salute. “I will wish you luck, then, Mr. McCabe, since your success may mean my survival.”

      Sibbits drew duty outside de la Reyes’s quarters that night, so the rest of the crew gathered in a conference room on the first floor of the palace. While Benton and Cael swept it for electronic bugs, Ava mentally calculated the last time she’d gotten a full night’s sleep. Since the answer was too dismal to contemplate, she dismissed it. It didn’t appear to be changing any time in the near future.

      Finally, everyone settled into a chair around the table. She was reminded of the briefing that had taken place after the shooting…was it only two days ago? Two and a half?

      Cael made introductions. “Mike Reynolds and Luis Perez have made some inroads since they got here two days ago. I’ll let them bring you up to date.”

      Ava turned her attention to the two men he indicated, the ones who’d had the vehicles and weapons waiting for them at the airport.

      Both were swarthy and dark complexioned, although Reynolds was taller and leaner than the stocky Perez. She knew instinctively that McCabe had chosen them for their ability to blend in with the San Baltes residents. If they were fluent in Spanish, they wouldn’t raise suspicion mingling in the markets and cantinas ferreting out information.

      Reynolds lost no time. “De la Reyes is highly unpopular with some factions.” He stood, handing out thick files to each of them. “Especially by those who support the deposed dictator, Alberto Martinez. But we don’t think Martinez is the threat. For one thing, he’s been in exile in Brazil for three years. His supporters don’t look good for the assassination attempt. We couldn’t find any indication that they have the organization to move in once de la Reyes is out of the way.”

      He stopped, and Perez took over. “It’s more likely that the attempt was financed by this man.” He held up a picture. “Enrico Ramirez. He’s the leader of a very powerful drug cartel that operated out of San Baltes for two decades, apparently with Martinez’s knowledge and approval. Like most of the drug lords in the South American countries, he runs his drugs down the river systems in the jungle. De la Reyes has been cracking down on criminal elements in the country, and although he hasn’t managed to catch Ramirez, his efforts have seriously curtailed the man’s activities, and profits. He’s had forensic accountants secretly going through the banks’ records for months, hoping to find those Ramirez is funneling his money through.”

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