by Mike Ryan
“This could be it,” Bridge said.
“It’s gotta be. It’s gotta be him.”
Three black SUVs emerged from the gate, all with dark tinted windows. They turned right after exiting the house.
“What were you saying about the windows?” Bridge asked.
“He’s in the middle one. Three cars, leader in the middle, guards on both sides. He’s there.” Nicole turned the car on and was about to gun it when Bridge put his hand on her arm.
“Just relax. Wait a minute. They’re obviously not in a speed race with that convoy. We’ll pick them up. Just give them a few minutes so they don’t suspect a tail. Otherwise we lose our element of surprise. And possibly our only shot to grab him.”
Nicole agreed, though she couldn’t hide her anxiousness. She started tapping her foot on the floor, her whole body shaking as a result. She looked in the rearview mirror, the side mirror, checked the dashboard, everything she could think of to try to slow herself down, not that it was helping very much.
“Now?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Nice and slow. Like I said, we’ll run into them. They’re not in a hurry. We shouldn’t be either.”
“Says you.”
Nicole put the car in drive and went down the same road the other cars did, though she was still moving a little faster than her boyfriend would have liked.
“Slow it down, Nic, or else I’ll put you on the bench and I’ll take over.”
“Like hell you will.”
“I’m serious.”
Nicole grunted, but did ease up on the gas pedal a little. Just a little. Though she was still going faster than Bridge wanted, he could live with their current speed.
“Should I PIT them?”
“No, you shouldn’t PIT them.”
“Why not? If we can take the back car out and make them flip, we only have to worry about the other two.”
“Umm…”
Bridge tried to think of a good reason not to do it, though he was having trouble coming up with one. They were on a stretch of road that didn’t have any traffic. It would have been a good place for it. And if they waited until Flores got to wherever they were going, there was no guarantee it was going to be any better of a situation. It might have been worse. If he was meeting with another group of people, then they would have had more men to worry about. Of course, it was also possible that Flores was going somewhere to eat and was planning on having a quiet meal by himself. Then the grab would have been much easier. But there was no guarantee of either situation, and they had to make a spot decision on the fly.
“I’m doing it,” Nicole said, not waiting for an approval from her other half.
Bridge had nothing to say. He took a deep sigh, then reached down to the floor and put his hands on his rifle. As Nicole floored the gas pedal, Bridge put his hand up to the roof and braced himself. Nicole made the time back up between the cars in no time at all. As she got to within seconds of the third SUV, Nicole sped up even more, then let the car drift a little to the left of the SUV. As she pulled up alongside the black car, she quickly pulled the car back to the right, forcefully striking the SUV towards the rear bumper. The driver of the SUV tried to throw his breaks on, but the car immediately flipped into the air, tumbling over on its side several times before it finally landed upside down on the roof.
“Whew!” Nicole said with a smile. “That was fun!”
Bridge’s eyes widened, and he slowly looked at her. He had nothing to say. He just let out a brief exhale, thankful that they weren’t flipping alongside the other car. After seeing what happened to the other car, the first two SUVs immediately stopped. Nicole stopped their car a little behind what they assumed was Flores’ vehicle.
“Here we go!” Bridge yelled.
He jumped out of the car, Nicole grabbing her rifle and doing the same. Then, all four doors of the first SUV opened. Men exited the car, guns in hand. Bridge and Nicole didn’t wait to be fired upon first. They each took out the ones closest to them first, the men coming out of the backseat of the SUV. The driver and the passenger were both able to get a shot off at their attackers, though the shots both missed their intended targets. Bridge and Nicole did not miss, however. And just like that, all four men in the lead SUV were down. Nicole turned around, just to make sure nobody in that third SUV had escaped the car and was coming. She didn’t want bullets flying at them from the rear. Nobody was there, though.
Bridge and Nicole had their rifles pointed at the middle SUV, waiting for a move from someone inside. After seeing what happened to the others, nobody appeared to be all that inclined to get out.
“Sergio Flores!” Bridge yelled. “Come out with your hands up! If you do this, you will not be harmed!”
Bridge looked at Nicole, who then repeated what he said in Spanish. A few seconds later, the front passenger door opened. A man got out slowly, his hands raised high in the air. Bridge knew from Flores’ picture, this guy was not him.
“You’re not Sergio Flores.” The man didn’t respond. Bridge kept his rifle pointed at him. He was dressed in a suit, and Bridge wanted to make sure he wasn’t intending on playing any tricks. “Slowly lift your suit jacket up and turn around. Slowly.” The man did as Bridge asked. There was no gun. “Get down on the ground and spread your hands and feet apart.”
The man once again did as he was ordered.
“Well, we know they understand English,” Nicole said.
“Driver!” Bridge yelled. “Out of the car!”
The driver got out of the car, and Bridge repeated the same exercise with him. He also did exactly what he was told. After having him put his face down on the ground, Bridge turned his attention to whoever was in the back seat.
“Back seat! Come out now or else I’m gonna riddle this car with bullets!”
The back door on the passenger side opened. A man in an expensive-looking suit slowly got out. This time, it was Sergio Flores. He put his hands in the air, though he did so with an angry expression on his face. He didn’t like being treated this way. Not that anyone would. But a man like Flores expected to be treated with more respect, even amongst his enemies.
“Anyone else in there?” Bridge asked.
Flores hesitated for a second before answering. “No.”
“If there is, they will be killed if they don’t come out.”
Flores licked his lips, then looked inside the car. With his hands still in the air, he motioned for whoever was still in the car to come out. Bridge and Nicole kept their rifles pointed at the door, ready for action if that’s what they intended. They were quickly put at ease when they saw a woman and a child exit the SUV. The woman and child stood in front of Flores. It didn’t take any explanation to figure out it was his wife and son, who looked to be no more than six or seven years old.
“What is this about?” Flores asked.
“We have some questions that you need to answer,” Bridge replied.
“Like what?”
“Like not here.” Bridge waved at him to come forward. “Come with us.”
“No,” Flores’ wife said.
“If he does exactly what we ask, he will be returned to you unharmed.”
“And if I don’t?” Flores asked.
“Then you won’t be coming back. We don’t wish to harm you, we just want information that only you can provide.”
Flores looked uncomfortable, but glanced at his wife and nodded that it would be OK. He gave her a kiss on the lips, then kissed his son on top of his head.
“Be a good boy for your mother.”
Flores left his family behind as he walked toward Bridge.
“You have a spare in that car?” Bridge asked.
“Yes. Why?”
Bridge looked at Nicole, who knew exactly what to do. She pointed her rifle at the front tire and shot a hole right through it. She then walked over to the lead car and shot a hole through all four tires.
“Once they change the tire, your wife and son should
make it home soon,” Bridge said. “But nobody’s following us.” With Flores by their car, Bridge patted him down for weapons, but he had none. “Get in the back seat.”
Flores got in the back seat as Nicole got behind the wheel. Before getting in the back seat with their prisoner, Bridge looked at the scared family they were leaving behind.
“My apologies, ma’am. There wasn’t another way. But you have nothing to worry about. As long as he gives us the information we need, he will come back to you unharmed. You have my word.”
Though Mrs. Flores didn’t know Bridge or who he was, she had to have faith that he was a man of his word. Once Bridge was next to Flores, Nicole took off, driving quickly down the road to put the carnage behind them and eventually out of the rearview mirror.
“I’ll have you know I will not forget this,” Flores said. “In front of my wife and son is unforgivable.”
“Relax, pops,” Bridge replied. “You’re lucky I didn’t just put a bullet in your head and call it a day.”
“You may well yet wish the day that you had.”
Bridge looked at his prisoner with contempt. “Listen, you, you wanna make threats and put up that macho front, I promise you I’ll bury you where you stand. And I would really not like to go back on my word and have you make a liar out of me and make your wife a widow. But if you keep up with the nonsense talk, I’ll just forget about you and find out what we need to know without you. Do I make myself clear?”
Flores studied the man’s face. He quickly determined Bridge wasn’t one who scared easily. He had conviction in his voice, power behind his words, someone who was sure of himself. He was confident, but not cocky. And everything he had said and done up to that point suggested to Flores that he was a man who was experienced at this sort of thing. This wasn’t his first rodeo. There were no hesitations, no false steps, no stuttering in his words or his actions, everything was clear and obvious. He didn’t appear to be a man who bluffed. And judging by the men that Flores had already lost, it was clear that Bridge was a man who would and could follow through with his threats.
“So what do you want with me?” Flores asked.
“Already told you. Information.”
“About what?”
“Otto Meyer.”
“Never heard of him.”
“That’s not the answer I want to hear,” Bridge said.
“It’s the truth.”
“Listen, I already know you have a relationship with him. So this can go one of two ways. You can be honest with me, tell me everything I want to know, then you’ll be back home with your family in a few days.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll cut my losses now and put two bullets in your head and throw you out of this car. And then I’ll find out what I want to know anyway. It’ll just take longer. The other way is quicker. And you get to live at the end.”
“What assurances do I have that you’ll let me go anyway?”
“My word.”
“And how good is that?”
“The best you’re getting right now.”
Flores looked out the window and sighed. Neither proposition excited him too much. Informing on a colleague and business partner didn’t appeal to him, but neither did death.
“So which is it?” Bridge asked. “You wanna live? Or you wanna die?”
Flores looked at him and threw his hands in the air. He knew he was beat. He had no alternatives. “What makes you think I won’t come after you when this is all over?”
“Because I assume you’re not a dumb man, Mr. Flores. First of all, you won’t find me. I’m a ghost. You’d spend a lot of time looking the world over for someone who doesn’t exist. And secondly, if you come looking for me, and are actually unfortunate enough to find me, I will kill you. If you just do things my way, and then forget about all of it, you can go back to your life as it is and move on. But if you don’t, I will put you in a box.”
Flores looked down at the floor for a moment. Then he looked back at Bridge and smiled. He knew the man meant business. “How can I help?”
Bridge returned the smile. “That’s what I like to hear.”
13
After driving for half an hour, Nicole eventually pulled the car off the road and behind a building so if anyone looking for Flores drove by, she and Bridge wouldn’t be seen. They got out of the car.
“I don’t think we thought this through enough,” Bridge said.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know what to do with him now.”
“Let’s just get what we need out of him and dump him somewhere. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that this guy probably has multiple buildings, or Meyer does, or whoever’s in charge of this thing. Actually, we know they have multiple buildings. They have one where they keep the girls, and one where they take them for business. And they may have more than that.”
“So?”
“So we can’t hit all of them at once. If this guy gives us what we want, then we let him go, then he makes a phone call and lets someone know we’re coming… We might only get to one building. The rest will probably be empty by the time we get there.”
“I see your point. What do you suggest?”
“I don’t know.”
They thought for a minute, then Nicole found the solution. “I got it. He’s gotta come with us.”
“That’s easier said than done. Keeping an eye on him all the time while we’re taking apart his business....”
“Nobody said he had to be awake for it.”
Bridge squinted his eyes, knowing full well what she was talking about. “You’re not…”
“I’ll just give him one of my favorite cocktail mixes, and he’ll be out while we do what we need to do.”
“Out permanently?”
Nicole shrugged. “Well, out until we’re done what we need to do.”
“You’re so devious.”
“Thank you. So what do you wanna do? Talk to him here or take him back to the hotel?”
“Let’s take him back,” Bridge answered. “Being out here makes me uncomfortable. Who knows how many people this guy’s got out in the street looking for him?”
“Might have contacts at the hotel too, for all we know.”
“Maybe. But at least there we’ll have four walls around us and won’t be out in the open.”
They went back to the hotel. As they went inside, Bridge warned their prisoner that he would be shot on sight if he made the slightest move that indicated he was in trouble. Once inside their room, Flores sat down at the desk. Bridge grabbed a notepad and tossed it down in front of him.
“Start writing.”
“Write what?” Flores asked.
“Addresses. I want to know where the girls are being kept, and I want to know where the girls are being taken during the day.”
“What girls?”
“What’d I say about playing games?”
“I need to know what girls you’re talking about. There are many girls in this country.”
Bridge reached into his pocket and removed the picture of Evelyn Fester and showed it to him. “This one specifically.”
“Mmm, pretty. But I’m afraid I don’t know her.”
“You may not. But your boy Otto does. He’s the one who took her. I understand he’s taken a lot of girls and brought them here.”
“What Otto does is Otto’s business.”
“Hey! What’d I say about the honesty part. ‘Cause if I don’t hear it, the only way you’re leaving this room is in a body bag. You understand?”
Flores sighed and closed his eyes, then nodded. “Yes.”
“I want to know about Otto’s operations. If you can’t help me with that, then you’re just wasting my time here. And if you’re wasting my time, then…”
“I got it, I got it. I tell you what, instead of me writing down addresses and having you run all over the place trying to find this girl, why don’t I just call Otto
and tell him to release the girl? Then everybody wins.”
Nicole stepped in. “Yeah, except we don’t care about everyone winning. Especially you people. You can’t just take people and make them do what you want them to do for money just so you can line your own pockets. They’re human beings. They’re not here for your amusement. So no, we’re not interested in making any deals. The only thing we’re gonna do is shut this thing down. Not only are we freeing the girl we’re looking for, we’re freeing everyone else we find along the way.”
Flores looked at Bridge. “Someone seems a little hostile.”
Nicole grabbed Flores by the shirt collar. “You’re damn right I’m—”
Bridge stepped in and grabbed his girlfriend by the waist, pulling him away from their prisoner. “Not now,” he whispered into her ear. “Not now.”
Nicole quickly got herself under control. She nodded. “I’m good.”
“Looks like you got a little spitfire there,” Flores said with a smile. “I like a spirited woman myself.”
“I wouldn’t be too enamored if I were you,” Bridge said. “She’s just as likely to blow a hole through you as talk to you.”
“I tell you what, instead of writing down what you want, why don’t I just call over to these places and tell them I have someone coming who’s interested in one of the girls?”
Bridge smiled. “You think I just rolled out of spy school yesterday? You think I don’t know that you probably have some kind of code word that alerts them that someone’s coming and to pack up and move on the spot? Do I look like a rookie to you?”
Flores grinned. “No, you don’t.” He then shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
“Now that we’re done playing games, I want you to write down every address you know about that’s being used by Meyer for his sex-trafficking operation. And for your sake, it better be accurate.”