Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Fain shook his head. “Absolutely not, and that’s why we’re being careful about the team. Johns isn’t close to his brother, though I know they talk from time to time. Johns was responsible for Hunt being willing to talk to McKay-Taggart about his security issues. He’s already hired on Shane Landon and Declan Burke, but I made sure he’s never met Blade. Johns is the one who got you the intervie…er, audition, and you should expect to spend some time with him. We need to work this from several different angles.”
What Fain really meant was they needed to work Hunt. “And all of this is because some drug dealer in Mexico is his biggest fan?”
Green set his Scotch down and clapped his hands together like a boy eager to play. “El Comandante. He runs the single nastiest cartel in Southern Mexico, and that’s saying something. The rumors are he used to be in the Mexican military and runs his operation with the same precision he was taught there. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. In the last four years, we’ve attributed over a hundred bodies to what we call the Jalisco Cartel.”
“The name comes from the state we know the cartel is based in, though they’ve now spread out and cover a lot of territory,” Fain admitted. “The Commander has become a big-time player, and you know what that means.”
She did. “He’s got heavy ties to narcoterrorism.”
It was always fun when the bad guys got together to create some chaos. And to make a shit ton of cash. “Terrorist groups are working with cartels, sometimes they are the cartel, in order to make money to fund the Jihad. Mexico is one of the biggest recruitment centers for radical Islamic terrorists. That’s why the Agency is interested. You think this Commander person can lead you to bigger enemies.”
“It’s worse, Kay.” Fain had gone positively grim. “We’re fairly certain the Commander discovered one of our plants. We imbedded a long-term operative in the Jalisco organization four years ago. He’s steadily moved up and gotten closer to command. Ten days ago, he failed to make a routine contact. He’s been radio silent since and we can’t find any trace of him.”
Her stomach clenched. Yeah, she knew a little bit about that. She’d been undercover for years, always terrified that any minute someone would figure out who she was and she would wish she were dead. MSS could be terrible to loyal agents. They didn’t mind a bit of torture to keep the morale where they wanted it to be. She’d been interrogated more than once. She couldn’t imagine what they would have done to her had they found out she wasn’t who she said she was.
She would have been alone because the Agency would have denied her very existence. It would have caused an international incident. It was good to know that when it wouldn’t cost them too much, they were willing to try to figure out what had happened to an agent. “So the plan is for me to make Joshua Hunt feel comfortable and safe enough that he’ll agree to go into a drug lord’s house for a party? Because you understand he would have to be insane to do that.”
A chill went over Green’s face. “Well, then you’ll have to drive him a little crazy, won’t you?” It was gone in an instant, replaced with another sunny smile. “Hunt doesn’t know that the Mexican businessman named Hector Morales who keeps inviting him down for the weekend is a drug lord. He and Hector have met in California several times and it was all cordial. Josh is filming in and around Mexico City in a few weeks. You don’t have to convince him to go. He’s spending the weekend there. Hector writes big checks to Josh’s charities. There’s some question as to how close in business the two are. You’re simply going to convince him to take you with him.”
“And it hasn’t occurred to you to sit Hunt down and ask him to go? Tell him what you need him to do and why,” Kay offered. “I’ve found oftentimes men like Hunt want to do the right thing. He’s played plenty of military characters. He likely thinks he could handle it. Of course, that’s precisely why I would be there. Then we don’t have to deal with all this subterfuge.”
“You want me to entrust a high-level operation to a Hollywood actor?” Green asked. “First off, I would have to get him clearance, and that’s not happening. Second, I’m still not sure our intelligence is correct and that Hunt isn’t working with El Comandante. That’s part of what I need you to figure out.”
Fain held up a hand. “Kay, this is the only way this particular op gets done, and the Agency has its reasons. If you can’t handle it, I need to know now.”