by Mike Ryan
“I’ll be careful.”
“Just don’t let your feelings cloud your judgment. Come back to me in one piece and the same man that you are now.”
“Why wouldn’t I be the same person?” Cain asked.
“I just know that sometimes people do things that change them. Things that they can never erase from their memory. You already have a few of those. You don’t need any more.”
“OK.”
“Don’t kill him if you don’t have to.”
“I’ll do what’s necessary,” he replied. “Nothing more and nothing less.”
Cain leaned in and passionately kissed her before ending their embrace with a hug. As Heather watched him leave the apartment and walk down the hallway, she worried that it’d be the last time she saw him. She knew that Sanders was more crafty than the others that Cain went after. Though she knew how good he was, she always worried about his safety, and she worried that he’d let revenge get in the way of good judgment.
Cain met up with Raines at the airport as they waited for their flight to be ready. It was about a six hour flight to Tegucigalpa with a fifty minute stop in Miami.
“Why we flying in to Tegucigalpa instead of San Pedro Sula?” Cain asked.
“Not as busy an airport I guess,” Raines answered.
“I thought that’s what they wanted? To blend in.”
Raines shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know.
“Where’s Ruiz’ house?”
“Looks like it’s in La Ceiba.”
“La Ceiba? That’s all the way on the coast,” Cain said, frustrated. “That’s a lot closer to San Pedro Sula than where we’re going.”
“Maybe they thought Sanders would be watching there more closely.”
“What’s the report on Ruiz?”
“House built last year so he just moved in. Gated community, mountain view, ocean waterfront, large lot,” Raines replied. “Think Sanders is there with him?”
“I don’t know. I kind of doubt it. I mean, Sanders isn’t really the kind of guy who would be hiding in someone’s basement, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah.”
“I think it’s more likely he used Ruiz for help in getting him situated and he’s probably living in a beach house somewhere. What’s the distance to La Ceiba from the airport?” Cain wondered.
Raines plugged the information in to his computer. “Between five and six hours by car.”
Cain groaned. “Fantastic.”
“Should we get a rental when we get there or use a taxi?”
“Let’s get a rental. That way we don’t have to worry about getting a taxi every time we have to go somewhere. Plus, some of those cab drivers are shadier than the people we go after.”
“True.”
After an hour of waiting they were finally able to board the plane. They had plenty of time to talk, about both the mission and life in general.
“So how is Heather with everything?” Raines wondered. “Frustrated with you being away so much after the surgery already?”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Just stands to reason. She’s a good woman. Sticking with you the way she has.”
“Better than I deserve probably.”
“Any woman that has the misfortune of loving men like us will always be getting the worse end of it. Because of what we do and who we are.”
“Shouldn’t have to be that way.”
“But it is. And it most likely always will be.”
“As soon as this is over I’m taking time off and taking her somewhere,” Cain said.
“That’s the way to keep a woman happy,” Raines laughed.
“She deserves more than I can ever give her.”
“As they all do.”
Raines continued talking for a few minutes but noticed that Cain wasn’t responding. He looked over at his partner, who seemed to be in another world. Cain was deep in thought and could hear Raines’ voice but couldn’t really hear anything he was saying. Raines shook Cain on the shoulder to break his trance.
“Deep thinking?” Raines asked.
“What?”
“Your mind is somewhere else. Anything important?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Cain replied.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ruiz just bought a beach house in a gated community within the last year, right?”
“Yes.”
“Is it possible that Sanders fronted him the money and also bought a house for himself?” Cain wondered. “Especially a place with a view. A mountain or a beach or something. I can’t see Sanders living in a dump of a place.”
“Interesting theory. Plausible I guess.”
“I’ll text Shelly and see what she can dig up.”
Cain texted Lawson, asking her to research home sales within the last year, specifically checking on sales closer to La Ceiba, or homes that have sold with a mountain or beach front view. Lawson texted back a few seconds later that she would look into it.
Five hours later they landed in Honduras at the Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa. They both had a sigh of relief as they touched down since the airport was considered one of the most dangerous in the world. It was considered very difficult to navigate, though more so in inclement weather. Luckily they were able to fly in perfect weather. They donned baseball caps and sunglasses to maneuver through the airport without being spotted in case Sanders had eyes watching. They constantly glanced around and surveyed their surroundings without giving the impression that they were looking for something. They rented a car and started driving for La Ceiba with Raines behind the wheel.
La Ceiba was a port city on the northern coast. It had a population of over two hundred thousand and was the fourth largest city in Honduras. It was surrounded by jungles, mountains, rivers, and beaches. It was a very popular vacation spot.
Once they got closer to La Ceiba, Cain received a text from Lawson. There’d been homes sold in the area but she couldn’t find any evidence to suggest Sanders was one of those purchasers. Cain wasn’t quite satisfied with the response and called her.
“Shelly, you gotta dig deeper,” Cain said. “There’s something there. I can feel it.”
“Matt, Ruiz bought his home with a mortgage and is making payments. It wasn’t a cash sale to suggest he was fronted the money and he didn’t buy anything else to suggest one house was for Sanders.”
“Check his bank account. Where’d the money come from? Check the names of whoever bought houses and see if one is an alias. The answer’s in there, Shelly.”
Lawson sighed, though she knew he was probably right and she could’ve dug deeper. “I’ll do what I can.”
“I take it she didn’t find anything?” Raines asked.
“Not yet. He’s here somewhere. Just have to find the link.”
They arrived an hour later in La Ceiba and drove near the gated community that Ruiz’s house was located in. They got out of the car and surveyed the situation.
“If people only realized that they’re not as safe as they think they are in these things,” Raines offered.
“I guess it’s more a state of mind than anything.”
“Well, let’s find a spot.”
The duo went around to the side of the community and found a portion of the wall that they were easily able to scale and go over. The night would be able to conceal their movements and within ten minutes they were at Ruiz’s house. Cain took the front of the house while Raines went around to the back. They looked at the perimeter of the house to make sure there wasn’t another type of alarm system but there was none. The lights were off as they started to make their entry. Cain was able to get in through the front door relatively easily while Raines came in through the back door. They slithered through the house undetected, checking each room as they passed through it. They came across a closed door that they figured to be the bedroom. Cain gently turned the handle to avoid making any noises as he slowly opened the door just a crack. He looked in the
room and noticed a man laying on the bed with his back to them. He nodded to Raines to follow him in. Cain walked around the bed to face the man as Raines stayed in back of him. Cain looked at the man and confirmed it was Ruiz, nodding to Raines that they had their target. Cain shook his shoulder slightly to wake him up. As soon as Ruiz’s eyes opened a little, he jumped up in bed when he recognized Cain. Ruiz looked in back of him and saw the other agent standing there and began to get worried about what they might do.
“Matthew Cain. It’s good to see you again, my friend.”
“Good to see you. Been a long time,” Cain said.
“Much too long. What brings you down here?”
“We’re looking for someone and we think you can help us with that. But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about,” Ruiz objected.
Cain looked down at the floor and sighed, a frustrated look covering his face. “I was hoping you wouldn’t take that approach. I don’t want to beat it out of you or force you in any way, but the man behind you, he doesn’t have the personal history with you that I do. He probably wouldn’t feel as badly as I would.”
Ruiz slightly turned his head, seeing Raines out of the corner of his eye. “I know why you are here,” he regretfully admitted. “But I will not ever turn on him. You know what he did for me.”
“I know. But I also know, and maybe you don’t, that he’s done a lot of things that he needs to pay for.”
“That is not my concern.”
“But it is mine. And one way or another we will find him and he will pay. You can make it easier for all of us if you help us.”
“I will not. Torture me if you must. Beat me up if you will. But I will not turn on my friend.”
“I admire your loyalty even if I don’t agree with it,” Cain said, thinking of another way to get the information they wanted. “Did he buy you this house?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.”
“Yes. He did.”
Cain nodded to Raines to call Lawson with the information that they now knew for a fact that Sanders had given Ruiz the money for the house. Hopefully they’d be able to trace a bank account. Though Cain knew that most people would talk if they were beaten or tortured, especially if they weren’t trained to withstand such things, it was a path he really didn’t want to go down. Ruiz helped him during his first mission and Cain didn’t forget that. Though Raines could take over and Cain could technically wipe his hands of the matter, he still wanted to try other ways first. They tried for another two hours to pry some useful information out of Ruiz but he stayed firm in his stance of not giving them anything. Though Raines understood Cain’s approach he was starting to lose his patience for the process.
“I think it’s time to try something else,” Raines told his partner.
“Not yet.”
“He’s not giving us anything doing it this way. It’s time to try it my way.”
Cain put his head down and looked at Ruiz. “If you don’t give me something, I can’t stop what is about to happen,” he warned. “We’re not going away until you give us something.”
“And it better be factual or else I won’t be so kind hearted anymore,” Raines said.
Ruiz knew he had to start talking or else they wouldn’t leave. “He bought a house near Santa Cruz.”
“That’s on the other side of the country. Why would he do that?” Cain asked.
“I do not know. He did not make me privy to such decisions,” Ruiz answered.
“You’re lying,” Raines said. “We all know he’s not there. Do you really think we’re just going to take your word and leave here, leaving you to contact him that we’re on our way, giving him enough time to escape?”
“I know my fate regardless.”
“No you don’t,” Cain told him. “All we want is Sanders. We understand why you’ve helped him. But nobody can hide forever. If it’s not me that gets him, they’ll send someone else who won’t understand your situation like I do. I can’t guarantee what would happen after that.”
“You’ll let me go if I help you?” Ruiz asked.
“You have my word,” Cain replied.
“He was here. He left two months ago because he thought you were getting close to him.”
“Where’d he go?”
“El Salvador.”
Raines didn’t believe a word he said and had now lost whatever patience he had left. He walked around the bed and looked Ruiz in the face. Without saying a word, Raines delivered an uppercut that landed flush on Ruiz’s jaw, knocking him over across the bed and down to the floor. Ruiz quickly got his wits about him and scurried to a box underneath the bed and opened it, pulling out a gun. He stood up to fire but Raines was one step ahead of him. Once he saw Ruiz reach underneath the bed for something, Raines assumed it was a gun and already removed his. As soon as he saw Ruiz with the weapon in his hand, he quickly fired, hitting Ruiz in the right shoulder. Ruiz dropped back down to the floor in agony as he clutched his shoulder. Cain watched the sequence of events unfold and was disappointed that it had to come to that. He wished Ruiz would’ve just told them what they needed and be done with it. Just as Cain was about to walk over to Ruiz, his phone started ringing. It was Lawson.
“I think I got him,” Lawson hurriedly exclaimed, not even Cain a chance to say hello.
“Sanders?”
“Yeah. I was able to track the bank account number that was used as a down payment on the house Ruiz bought. It’s not his bank account.”
“Whose is it then?” Cain wondered.
“Belongs to a man named Ramos. I can’t find any info about this guy so it must be a cover.”
“Could be.”
“Anyway, a house was bought twenty minutes away from where you are, a down payment made through the same exact bank account,” Lawson said.
“What’s the address?”
“I’ll send it to your phone.”
“OK.”
“How are you making out there?” she wondered.
“Just about finished.”
“He tell you anything?”
“Not really,” Cain replied, hanging up.
He walked over to where Ruiz was laying and knelt down beside him, checking out his wounded shoulder. A few seconds later the text came through with the address they thought Sanders was at.
“Looks like you’ll be all right,” Cain told him. “It’ll just hurt for a while.”
“Did you find him?”
Cain nodded. “Does a man named Ramos ring a bell?”
Ruiz smirked, and though he didn’t confirm or deny the name, his face conveyed the message that it was true.
“You never heard it from me,” Ruiz said, somehow managing a smile.
“I know.”
“It was important to me. I knew this day would come someday. And I knew it’d be you. But after all he’s done for me, I couldn’t be the one to give him up.”
“I know. If you were to get this visit, were you supposed to contact him in some way to warn him?” Cain asked.
Ruiz nodded. “Just supposed to call him.”
“Where’s your phone?”
“On the table by the bed.”
“We’re gonna have to take it with us.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll get it back to you somehow,” Cain informed him.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get another.”
“Can I trust you to not try and contact him after we leave?”
Ruiz nodded again. “Only other phone I have is the landline in the kitchen.”
“You’ll have to get it fixed.”
“I understand. It was good to see you again, my friend.”
“You take care of yourself.”
Cain propped him up against the bed before they left. On the way out, Raines cut the cord to the phone in the kitchen as a precaution. Their mission was just about over. They could fee
l it coming to a close.
Chapter 12
“You ready for this?” Raines asked.
“Let’s just hope he’s still there and doesn’t know we’re coming,” Cain replied.
They’d just arrived at the outskirts of the property they believed Sanders to be living at. It was a two story white beach house. A light was still on. They approached as they usually did. Cain in the front, Raines in the back. The front door was on the upper level, steps leading up to the deck. With his gun gripped steady in his hand, he slowly walked up the steps, almost expecting something to jump out at him. Once he reached the front door he jiggled the handle, surprised that it wasn’t locked. He slowly pushed the door open, ready to start dodging bullets. The room was dark as Cain kept walking through, trying to stay close to anything he could use for cover if the need arose. Once he cleared the room, he went into the hallway, instantly noticing a light on in a room at the end of it. Cain walked past a couple of closed doors, making his way toward the room with the light. The door was slightly open but Cain couldn’t make anything out as he looked through the crack. The only thing he noticed was some books on the wall. He assumed it was a study room or a library. He pushed the door open a little further only to see Sanders sitting directly in front of him in a chair, locking eyes with him. Cain quickly pulled his gun up, ready to exchange fire. To his surprise though, he wasn’t dodging any bullets. Sanders sat there calmly as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Cain thought it was odd behavior for a man on the run. He thought maybe he was being set up and Sanders had a trick up his sleeve. The men remained in their respective positions for a minute, neither saying a word to the other. Cain knew he had Raines coming any minute so he wasn’t going to rush into anything.