A SEAL Never Quits

by Holly Castillo

  “We’d like that to be the Scorpions.” Stryker carefully set his beer down on the glass table in between them. “But we’ll go somewhere else if we have to. We’d just hate to have to face you from opposite sides.”

  Turf wars in Nuevo Laredo were at an all-time high. The number of gangs in the area was insane, and they all wanted a piece of the pie. But none of those gangs were using the level of encryption and high-powered technology the Scorpions were.

  “We’ve already been building our street team.” Stryker kept his eyes focused on the lieutenant. “We just need to coordinate getting the product to them. We’d already have sicarios, hitmen, in place too, but a meet with your capo is critical before we proceed.”

  “What made you leave Matamoros if you had such a good thing going there?” He was sipping his beer, but his eyes were laser focused on them. This man didn’t play. He took his job very seriously. “How do I know you’re not still working for your capo in Matamoros and are looking to expand your territory by taking over the Scorpions?”

  “It’s getting too hot in Matamoros. The policia are cracking down on the cartels no matter how much we grease their palms. Half our lieutenants have been killed or arrested. It’s just a matter of time before one of them flips on all of us. We decided to get out while we could.”

  The lieutenant ran his tongue along the front of his teeth before taking another long swig of his beer. “The Scorpions are already successful. We move a lot of product. We have an extensive network already in place. So, tell me, what can you offer?”

  Stryker looked over at Buzz. Buzz pressed his lips together tightly, then leaned forward. “The entire northeast section of your territory between Venezuela Street and Madero Street is in jeopardy of going to the Zetas. Your lieutenant running that section of the city is playing both sides and is pocketing money that you aren’t even aware of.”

  “José has been with us for a long time and is as loyal as they come. He wouldn’t double-cross us.”

  Buzz looked over at Stryker, and Stryker nodded his head. Buzz slowly pulled out his phone, keeping his other hand open and wide so they wouldn’t shoot him, thinking that he was pulling out a weapon. They had already been patted down and their sidearms removed as soon as they had arrived. But the hitmen were always on edge, especially when it came to protecting their lieutenant.

  Buzz got to the screen he was looking for and handed his phone over to the lieutenant. He swiped through the pictures, his frown deepening with every picture he saw. Finally, he handed the phone back to Buzz, his lips pressed into a thin, tight line. “We’ll take care of the problem,” he said, and, even though the music was loud and his voice was quiet, the deadly menace in it still carried.

  “I’d like to take that area,” Phantom said, his eyes penetrating and his face strong. He didn’t look like a man who would accept a negative answer easily.

  “You should know that you don’t just take over an area. You have to buy in, first. And I need to see your established street crew. This is one of our busiest sections in the city. I can’t lose out on the area because you aren’t competent.”

  Phantom’s eyes narrowed. “My past speaks for itself. But you know that because you’ve already done the research on me or we wouldn’t be sitting here talking. And I have the cash to buy in right now if you want it. But I get the feeling there’s more you aren’t telling us. Perhaps it has something to do with the problems you’re having with your supply right now.”

  The lieutenant shifted in his chair under Phantom’s intense gaze. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

  “Of course you do. We’ve heard things on the street. You have problems with your supply line, and that means you have problems with your business altogether.”

  “And you think you have a way to fix it?”

  “There are other suppliers I’ve worked with. They can help us out until we’re back in line.” Stryker’s gaze never wavered, and he maintained his relaxed, confident position reclined in the chair the entire time he was talking with the lieutenant.

  “We have very high standards for what we expect in our product.” The lieutenant rotated a shoulder, another sign he was uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

  “I wouldn’t take anything but the best.”

  “In order to consider this or even to move you all into territories, there are going to have to be shifts, and obviously we’re going to clear out at least one problem, leaving room for someone to step in. But nothing gets done without the capo giving his approval.”

  “And what is the problem with that?” Stryker asked, leaning forward into the same position as the lieutenant.

  The lieutenant smiled slowly. “Why don’t you come along to the meeting? I think the capo will find you all very interesting.”

  Stryker exchanged glances with Buzz and Phantom, who each gave him agreeable nods, before returning his attention to the lieutenant. “Just tell us when and where. We’re ready to get to work.”

  * * *

  Benicio always enjoyed a scotch on the rocks as he wound down from a long day. And it had been an incredibly long day. Their supply lines had been tied up for over a week. What seemed to have been a minor breakdown had been held up by time locating parts for processing the drugs and measuring them out. Every provider they usually went to seemed not to have the main piece they needed, until they had finally located the part today. Now it was just a matter of rushing the part to get it to the supplier.

  He sighed heavily and pressed the tumbler of scotch against his forehead. The heat in the city was getting to the point of sweltering, but at least it wasn’t the humid heat that was closer to the coast. And it wasn’t even May yet.

  There was a quick rapping at his door, and he glared at it. Hector Cruz, one of his most trusted lieutenants, flipped open the peephole as Benicio casually reached under his desk, gripping his semiautomatic that was taped to the side of the drawers. There was caution, and then there was preparation. Benicio firmly believed in being prepared for any scenario possible.

  Hector flipped the peephole closed and looked over at him. “It’s my cousin. She says she has some information from the streets.”

  “Tell her to take it to you tomorrow.”

  “She says it pertains to you…and it’s urgent.”

  Cursing under his breath, Benicio inclined his head toward Hector and the lieutenant let in his young, attractive cousin. He sat up a little straighter in his chair. Hector had neglected to inform him it was this cousin. Elsa Domingo was one of the most coveted women on the street. But she kept close to her Scorpion family, and in turn, they made sure to keep her protected from all of the filth that lusted after her.

  “Elsa, my dear. What a pleasure you are to my eyes and my heart.” He stood and greeted her, pressing a kiss to each one of her cheeks.

  Elsa gave him a tentative smile. She was just as strong and brave as most of the men he had working for him. And she was far more intelligent. He could have any woman in the city he wanted. Including Elsa. But he wouldn’t put his lieutenant in that kind of position. Family was always first. And that meant you didn’t mess with the members of your cartel, or their families.

  “I hope you still feel that way after you hear what I have to tell you,” she said softly, as she sat down in the plush chair opposite his desk.

  Benicio balanced himself on the corner of the desk and folded his hands in his lap. “Why would I ever feel differently, bonita? You truly do make a man’s day brighter.”

  “Ay, Mr. Davila, you certainly know how to charm a woman. I wish I had better news to bring. But there are some new men in town, and I believe they intend to bring you harm.”

  “We are constantly facing new competition. But have no fear at this, bonita. We always come out winners in the end.”

  “These men are not your competition. They are here to
shut you down. They are from the U.S. They are el gobierno. The government.”

  Benicio fought hard not to grind his teeth together. He thought he had settled things with the U.S. government officials already. Were they angry because he had come and stolen from some of their CEOs? If so, they didn’t need to send men over in secret. These types of problems could be handled over the telephone, and usually a wire transfer settled any disputes.

  He couldn’t stop the frown that was forming on his forehead. Slowly, he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head from one side to the other, his neck popping loudly. “What exactly do these men want?”

  “The Scorpions. From what my source tells me.”

  “Who is your source?”

  Elsa gave him another one of her smiles, but it was tilted. “Do you always give away your sources, Jefe?”

  “What do they want with the Scorpions?” he asked, frustrated. He would be able to find out her sources soon enough.

  “To take them down. They’re out to destroy you.”

  This time he did grind his teeth together. “Tell me everything you know.”

  Chapter 19

  “Brusco.”

  “’Bout damn time you contacted me. It’s been ten days without a word from any of you.”

  “You know how it can be. This is the first chance we could get to a secure line.” Stryker rubbed his eyes wearily.

  “Good to hear your voice. How’s the progress?”

  “We’re in. I’ve got several names I need you to run to find out exactly what we’re up against.”

  “Sure thing, boss. Fire away.”

  “Antonio Fernandez. Hector Cruz. Raul Ortega. Juan Alamedas. Castro Gamboa. Franco Morales. Those are the top leaders in the organization.”

  “So you met the capo already?”

  “No. He’s a very reserved man and reclusive, and from what we’ve learned, hardly any of the lieutenants spend time with him. But we know his location, and we now know where his main hub is. We need you to check the area via satellite and see if it is transmitting data. He’s having a meeting with all of his lieutenants tomorrow night. We need to know everything pertinent so Buzz can locate their transmission room and get as much data downloaded as quickly as possible. We need to know the facility layout, any movement in or out of the place over the next twenty-four hours—anything and everything you can dig up.”

  “Yes, sir.” Brusco’s fingers were already flying over the keyboard in their communications room. “How are all three of you holding up?”

  “We’re fine. All is running smoothly. How…how are things there at the ranch?”

  “Good. Cattle seem to be developing just fine, and Snap and Santo have been diligent about checking on them.”

  Stryker’s hand tightened into a fist as he hesitated over his next question. “Anybody seen Anya?”

  Brusco was silent for several long moments. “She may be a problem.”

  “What do you mean? What happened to her?” Stryker’s heart rate kicked up. If something happened to her while he was gone, he would do everything in his power to get back to her.

  “This is probably best discussed when you get home.”

  “Is she safe? Brusco, you need to tell me what has happened.”

  “She’s safe. But she’s going to be a problem.”

  Ice settled in Stryker’s stomach. “What do you mean?” All emotion had left his body. He was numb. He was prepared for anything. He was dying a slow death. Hell, he didn’t know what he was anymore.

  “She turned up here at the house a few days back. Someone sent her the same photos that were sent to you. And whoever sent it also sent it with the cartel pictures. There’s a leak somewhere, and whoever this dick is, he’s causing a major problem.”

  “What did you do when she showed up?”

  “We had to take the necessary precautions. She asked for you first, and wanted to talk to you about everything. Don’t know what kind of spell you cast over her, boss, but—”

  “What the hell did you do?” This time there was emotion. There was anger. There was fear. There was need. Buzz and Phantom cut him a sharp look, and both of them became tense, but he signaled for them to relax. He knew what protocol would demand, and his gut clenched. To put Anya through such a thing…sweet, innocent Anya…

  “We had to question her, Stryker. You know we had no choice but to follow the proper steps in the protocol.”

  “And? Did you follow procedure and contact Haslett? Did he take her for further questioning?” There was another long pause by Brusco, and Stryker felt like screaming into the phone. “Where is Anya, Brusco?” he demanded when the pause went on too long.

  “We tried to get hold of Haslett, but he’s out of pocket. I left a message for him. In the meantime we improvised.”

  Some of the tension eased in Stryker’s body. “What do you mean you improvised?”

  “We told her that Snap and I worked for the DEA before retiring a few months ago. But that part of our retirement required us to stay on as consultants on some of their more difficult missions. We told her we didn’t know who had sent her the pictures, but that they were confidential.”

  “Did she buy it?”

  “To be honest, Stryker, I think she was so shaken by the entire experience that she would have believed anything we had to say by the time we were done questioning her.”

  Stryker squeezed his eyes shut. “How hard did you go after her?”

  “Shit, Stryker, it isn’t as if we broke out any torture devices.”

  “We don’t have much more time on this secure line. I’ll contact you tomorrow to get that intel. It’s critical we have it before the capo’s meeting in two days. And, Brusco, if you’ve hurt her in any way imaginable—”

  “Stryker, we gotta blow,” Buzz said softly, and Stryker realized he had already stayed too long at their temporary location. He could hear Brusco trying to make another apology, and he hung up just to kill the sound of his voice.

  * * *

  “Your cousin’s information has proved incredibly helpful.” Benicio was carefully grooming his goatee in the ornate mirror that hung in the restroom of his private residence. He lived in one of the more affluent homes in the neighborhood. His neighbors knew who he was, and knew to leave him alone.

  He had taken special care with how he decorated the interior. He didn’t want it over the top, as he had seen so many other capos do in the past. But he wanted it to declare the level of stature that he held at the same time. So the house was adorned with marble floors and granite countertops, rich wood cabinets, and top-of-the-line furniture picked out by an interior decorator who had been given an unlimited budget and told to make the home a modern powerhouse.

  Hector grunted from where he sat in an overstuffed chair nestled into a nook in the bathroom. “Good. At least I know she’s good for something.”

  Benicio hesitated in his trimming and his eyes met Hector’s in the mirror. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Benicio said, his voice dark and threatening.

  “So you trust her. I’m sorry, capo. I meant no disrespect.”

  Benicio nodded and went back to trimming. “It turns out there are three new men in town from Matamoros. But we’re having a hard time digging very far into their past more than the last few years. Something feels wrong about them.”

  “Are these the three who are coming to the meeting tomorrow night? The ones who Franco met with?”

  “Yes. He has no idea of the suspicions I have about them. And right now, their background looks ironclad. I can’t find anything to indicate they are from the U.S. The only thing is—one of the men looks like the picture of that rancher from Texas. But it’s hard to tell, and I can’t find anything that proves they aren’t from the U.S. either. So I’m going to go to Matamoros.”

  “Today?”
>
  “Tomorrow. I won’t be here for the meeting. I’m going to rely on you to conduct it.”

  “I’m honored, capo, but you know the men like to see you, to visit with you at these meetings. They so rarely see you throughout the year—”

  “Which is why I’ve hired someone to be there in my place.”

  “You’ve what?”

  “Hector, let me introduce you to Benicio Davila. Or, at least, a decent representation of me.” He made a flourishing gesture as a man walked in from the bedroom. Hector did a double take. The man walking in looked like Benicio’s twin. The features, all the way to the trimmed goatee, were almost uncanny.

  “This is Samuel. He’s my first cousin and has been working as a sicario for Antonio for years. Antonio has no idea we are related, as we have kept it very silent. With a little help from a makeup artist, it wasn’t too hard to get Samuel to look just like me. He already has my eyes and nose. The rest was simple.”

  “No, primo, you have my eyes and nose.”

  Benicio laughed and slapped his cousin on the back. “He’s perfect to have in front of the men tomorrow night. But the only one who’s going to know what’s going on is you, Hector. And, of course, Samuel. I’ve already directed Antonio to bring one of his other sicarios tomorrow, and he didn’t challenge me on the decision. We’re in a perfect situation here with Samuel.”

  “So, you want these mystery men to meet Samuel and think he is you?”

  “Precisely. And if they check out, then there is nothing for us to do except begin building a relationship with them. But if they don’t check out, then I’ll contact you and let you know they need to die.”

  “It will be my pleasure,” Hector said, a smile stretching across his face.

  * * *