by Desiree Holt
“I am pleased to see you, jefe,” Hector greeted him, “But to what do I owe this honor? You gave me no hint. Business is good and we have no problems. Si?”
Luis nodded. “Business is excellent. It always is in your distribution area.”
“Well, then. You also mentioned on the phone you wanted to borrow a truck?” It was obvious he was doing his best to soft-pedal his curiosity.
“I need to do a little snooping,” Rojas told him. “Do you perhaps have an inconsequential vehicle I can borrow?”
“Inconsequential?” Hector chuckled. “Is that code for anonymous? Not likely to be tagged by the policia? One that blends in?”
“It is.” They began to walk away from the plane, trailed by two of Luis’ men and one of Hector’s. “So, do you have one?”
“Of course.” He lowered his voice. “Doesn’t every good drug dealer? It’s in my parking area.” He waved at Luis’ attire. “But you won’t be very anonymous in that outfit, mi jefe.”
“That’s the idea. They’ll remember the shirt and cap and not the man.”
“Ah. Of course. Well, here we are.”
They had reached the wide graveled space next to the house. Sure enough, among the handful of vehicles sitting there was a gray, four-door pickup, covered in dust and showing its age.
“I only need it for a few hours,” Luis told the man.
“It’s yours. The keys are in the ignition.”
“Thank you, amigo.” He grinned. “I’ll take great care with it.”
The two men shook hands. Then Luis climbed into the passenger seat while one of his men took the wheel and the other sat in the back. There was no need for talking. Luis had googled the location of the hospital where Bernardo Ferren was a patient, so there was no need for conversation.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to their destination. As soon as the truck stopped, Luis turned to his driver.
“Thirty minutes. No more. That’s all I can afford to spend here.”
“Si, jefe.”
Luis opened the door and climbed out of the truck, entering the hospital’s main entrance through an electronic door. He headed at once to a large directory on the wall by the bank of elevators. The cardiac care unit was listed on the third floor. Good. Now to see if he could get access. An elevator opened while he was standing there, disgorging its passengers. He stepped in, pressed three, and waited while other passengers entered. Finally, the doors closed, and the car moved up. He was grateful it only made one stop before hitting three.
The cardiac floor was a bustling place. Halfway down the corridor was a nurses’ station, and stretching on either side of it and along the wall across from it were private units with sliding glass doors fronting them, most of which were open at the moment. Nurses and other personnel were moving about, distributing medication, checking patients’ conditions. He spotted doctors in a few of the rooms, others had one or two visitors in them. And, in a small conversation area at the far end, a small group of people sat waiting their turn to visit, or speak to a doctor.
What drew his attention the most was one room almost at the end of the corridor. He couldn’t see into it at this distance, but a man sat in a chair directly outside the open door. Dressed in slacks and a sweater, there was nothing really remarkable about him except for his posture that reeked of the military.
Interesting. He would have to ask Lorena to find out where Bernardo hired his security guards. Many agencies employed former military, so it wasn’t all that unreasonable to think that was the situation here. Still, he wanted to satisfy himself as much as possible.
At the nurses’ station in the center of the corridor, two nurses were occupied with paperwork but what stood out to Rojas was the man in scrubs sitting with him. He could have been cut from the same mold as the other two men. Rojas was sure they were Bernardo’s security guards. But there was something about them that put his senses on alert.
He walked slowly down past the row of rooms, staying out of everyone’s way, smiling politely in the way of someone with a purpose. He peered quickly into each room as he kept walking until he reached the room next to where the guard sat.
The moment he got close to the room, the man sitting in the chair pinned him with a stare that said Move and I’ll take you apart. Yes, definitely former military, he decided. He didn’t see a weapon, but he knew for damn sure there the man had one handy on his person.
What the hell?
The man sitting in the chair rose, all six foot plus of him, and planted himself in front of Luis.
“Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. I, uh, have a friend who works for the Broncos who’s here in the ICU. I was told he could have a visitor. He doesn’t have much family, so I came here to see him. The problem is, I can’t find him.”
“That’s because you’re in the wrong place. And on the wrong floor. This is the coronary care unit. You got off on the wrong floor. Let me help you.”
At the nurses’ station in the center of the corridor, two nurses were occupied with paperwork. but what stood out to Rojas was the man in scrubs sitting with them. He could have been cut from the same mold as the other two men. Rojas was sure they were Bernardo’s security guards. But there was something about them that put his senses on alert.
Another man who matched the first two came around the corner just then. Three guards? And this one slid seamlessly into Bernardo’s room, opening the door just enough to admit him but not allow anyone to see inside.
Fuck!
Was Bernardo even in there? Was he being held somewhere else while the brother and sister-in-law took his place? Maybe that wasn’t even his brother and sister-in-law at the Whitlow lodge. But if they weren’t, whoever it was were damn good ringers, according to Lorena.
Something here was off. He had been running the cartel for so long every one of his senses was finely tuned to anything the least little bit off.
“Problem?” he asked.
“This gentleman is looking for his friend, but he’s on the wrong floor. I’m just going to get the correct information from the nurses and help him to the elevator.”
“Oh, I can find it myself,” Luis protested, and dug deep to find a smile. He really wanted to pull out a knife and show this hulk that he could still dismember a man without breaking a sweat. But that wouldn’t help his cause, and it would disrupt the image he’d dressed to portray.
“No problem,” the bodyguard told him. “It’s my pleasure.”
I’ll bet it is, Luis thought.
“So, who’s the big shot in the room you guys are guarding?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could while he was being smoothly hustled down toward the elevator.
“Big shot?”
“Yeah. He must have some juice to have two of you guys watching him.”
“Oh. No big shot. That’s our uncle. We’re with him because he doesn’t have any other family.”
Yeah, right.
“That’s very nice of you guys.”
“That’s us, just a couple of nice guys. And here’s your elevator. I hope your friend is okay.”
Luis had to admit the guy was smooth. He himself was no novice at this stuff, but before he could even say thank you, he was in the elevator and on the way to the fourth floor. He’d be riding a few extra minutes but it didn’t matter. He’d gotten what he came for. At least part of it. He pushed the button for the lobby but had to wait for the elevator car to make two stops going up before it headed down again.
The pickup truck pulled up to the entrance just as he exited the building. He climbed in, motioned for them to get moving, and pulled a burner phone from his pocket. He had the home phone numbers for both Ferren brothers. He pinched in the one for Bernardo. A female answered.
“Ferren residence.”
Luis had done his homework. Bernardo and Jeanne Ferren had a housekeeper, so he was sure she was the one answering the phone.
“Yes. May I please speak to Jeanne Ferren?”
“Well, can you tell me when I might speak with her? I’m sure she’ll want to take my call.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Her husband has had a massive heart attack, and she is spending every spare moment in the hospital with him.”
Well, that was a big fat fucking lie.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What hospital? Perhaps I can stop by and pay my respects.”
“I’m sorry,” the voice said again, “but he’s not allowed visitors. If you could leave me your name and phone number, I can pass this along to Mrs. Ferren.”
“That’s all right. I’ll just try her next time I’m in town again.” He clicked off the call.
All his antennae were vibrating, and he was damn sure those men at the hospital weren’t private guards hired by the Ferrens. But who, then? He’d say they were government agents except he was positive there was no way in hell word of what was going on had leaked. The people involved had too much to lose. Besides, their avid hunger for power would make them doubly cautious. But something was definitely up here.
Next, he tried Max Ferren’s number, and a man answered. Luis tried to remember everything he’d learned about Max and his wife since Lorena had told him about the switch. Did they have a live-in male? This guy didn’t sound like any servant he’d ever heard. A bodyguard? If so, what was he doing at their house instead of guarding them at the meeting.
“I’m sorry,” the man said, “but Mr. and Mrs. Ferren are away for a few days. If you give me your name and phone number, I can pass a message along to them when they get back.”
“That’s okay. I just thought I’d try and hook up with them while I was in town. I’ll try them again next time.”
He disconnected and sat there holding the phone, thinking. They could drive by both Ferren houses and see who was actually there but he didn’t want to give anyone a chance to get a good look at him.
“Back to the plane,” he told his driver. He had to think about this.
After returning the truck, he thanked Hector for his assistance.
“I’ll be calling you again shortly,” he told the man, “about the action we discussed.”
He had brought each of his top-level distributors into this along with key lieutenants and prepped them for what was coming. He was being tasked with providing the manpower and they would need a great deal of it.
“As we’ve discussed,” he told the man, “this has to be carefully executed. America has a lot of military power, and we have to cut off their legs and take control before they have a chance to react.”
“It is an honor, jefe,” Hector told him. “I await your call.”
It wasn’t until they were back on the plane and in the air, and he was seated with a drink in his hand, that he made the next call. As expected, it went to voice mail, so he left a message. Fifteen minutes passed, and he was on his second drink when his cell rang.
“What is it?” Lorena hissed. “You know we are all meeting. We’re finally down to the rest of the details. I’ll let you know when I have the information you need.” She paused. “You and your men are still ready, yes? You’re not calling to tell me you’ve changed your mind, I hope.”
“Why would I change my mind? When this happens, the world will be my marketplace, with international distribution.”
“Then what is so important?” she demanded.
He took a sip of his drink. “I hope I’m wrong, but I think we’ve been made.”
“What?” She squeaked the word, although she still kept her voice low enough. “Damn it. That’s impossible. What makes you think that?”
“I decided to check out the situation with the Ferren brothers myself. I went—”
“You did what?” Her voice had dropped twenty decibels and two octaves, a very bad sign. “Without checking with me first? Discussing it?”
“Fuck it, Lorena. Even though I don’t have a so-called seat at the table, I’m as much a part of this as you and the others. Agreed?”
“Yes, yes, yes. Tell me what you did? Luis, if you’ve blown this—”
“Give me some credit, will you?” Sometimes he just wanted to smack her.
There was a short pause. “All right. Tell me exactly want you did and what you discovered.”
He explained about the trip to Denver and getting to the hospital when she interrupted him again.
“I can’t believe you were stupid enough to just walk into that hospital. What if someone saw you?”
“They did, as a matter of fact, which was exactly what I wanted.”
He told her about his outfit and why he chose it, and about the guards at Bernardo’s room in the CCU.
“They could easily have come from a high-end security company,” he said, “but just as easily be government guns.”
“In which case your outfit wouldn’t do you a. it of good. They’re trained to see past that and memorize face, whether they are current or former military. Damn, Luis.” Another pause. “Okay, tell me every single one of the details. I’m going to have to let the others know about this.”
When he finished, he was met with complete silence, silence that stretched so long he wondered if she was even still there.
“Lorena?” he asked at last.
“I’m here. I trust your judgment, Luis. Also, we’ve known each other a long time. You aren’t an alarmist. Extra careful, yes. And with good reason. But an alarmist? That’s not you. These people have to be form the government, and. not from a department any of us ae familiar with.”
“Not Homeland Security?”
“Maybe a specialized area. And if Bernardo is truly not at the hospital, the only reason they could have for maintaining the illusion is because they’ve got him squirreled away someplace until they can bring us down. I can’t imagine how they even got into this. We’ve been beyond careful. But if this is true, then the Max and Regan Ferren at Jed’s lodge are ringers. And damn good ones, I might add.”
“What do you mean?”
“They look exactly like the pictures we’ve seen of them.”
“Maybe the government had them go through plastic surgery,” he suggested.
“That would mean they were onto us long before now, and I don’t think that’s true, They’d have found a way to act as soon as they stumbled on the information.”
“Let me think a moment.” Silence hummed across the connection. “We are through for the day, although I’m sure the discussion will continue through dinner. And you aren’t the only one who’s leery of the new couple. They’re almost too good to be true.”
“Exactamente!”
“Let me get Elias alone and run this past him before I reach out to the others. As long as these people are here they can’t do us any harm.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Rojas warned her. “Keep an eye on any attempts to make phone calls or communicate in any other way.”
“And what way would that be?” she retorted. “They won’t be leaving the premises. In fact I might pull Jed to the side after I speak with Elias, and see if there’s some way he can have their car disabled.”
“Don’t do anything to raise red flags,” he cautioned. “Besides, you may not want to do that. When they leave, Whitlow can arrange to have someone track them and see where they go and who they see.”
“Luis, we are three weeks away from the big day. We have to do this very carefully so it doesn’t blow up in our faces.” She gave a humorless laugh. “So to speak.”
“Call me later and give me an update,” he insisted. “And if you need anything from me, all you have to do is ask.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After the call ended, Rojas had the steward bring him another drink and sat back in deep thought. One important fact had to be unearthed. Who in the fucking hell had discovered what they were planning and put a plan in motion? That was a key piece of information. If it was any part of the government
, he hoped it wasn’t the Department of Homeland Security. Those fuckers were relentless and had incredible resources they could tap into. That would present an even bigger problem.
He sipped his drink, sitting back in his chair, and hoped to hell his whole carefully constructed organization wasn’t going to fall apart or be destroyed because his hunger for money and power had made him agree to be a part of this plot.
Chapter Ten
Silas Branson was sitting at his desk, studying a report and wondering how things at the cabal meeting were going when one of the cell phones on his desk rang. It was the line he’d set up dedicated to this mission, now titled Operation: Zeus, for the Greek god of law, order, and justice. Only select people had the number.
He glanced at his watch as he reached for the receiver. Not quite dinnertime yet. Assuming he wouldn’t be hearing from Max or Regan until later in the evening, he frowned as he lifted the receiver.
“Branson.”
“Sir,” a deep masculine voice said, “this is Kaminski at the hospital in Denver. I think we may have a problem.”
Immediately, Si’s hand tensed on the phone, but he forced himself to remain calm. Get the details, assess the situation then decide if you need to panic.
“Give me the details.”
“We had an odd situation here just a few minutes ago. A man showed up in the CCU who said he was looking for a friend. He was dressed in Broncos gear, and he told me his friend worked for the team. But he showed a lot of interest in the subject’s room here, even though he tried to hide it.”
“He didn’t get into the room, did he?” Si demanded. He immediately regretted it because he had two of his best men on this job.
“No, he did not. Peralta came around the corner from the head just at that moment. Guy said his friend was in the ICU so I explained he was on the wrong floor. Left Peralta standing guard while I ushered the guy to the elevator. But he was too curious about Bernardo and I have a feeling he might know the room is empty. Then again, maybe I’m just making too much of this.”
I know we have to deal in facts, but—”