by Lynda Filler
“We have a new member of our team.”
A willowy Eastern European brunette stood quietly in the corner. The woman already memorized the dossiers of everyone in the room. Zach, she knew from Afghanistan. She owed him her life.
“Tasha, say hello to the team.” The guys looked around as Tasha stood up.
“Tasha? Welcome back!” Samaar, not usually emotional, gave Tasha an encouraging smile and a brief kiss on both cheeks.
“I’m sure everyone is aware that a couple of years ago, the US Military promoted two women into the Rangers for the first time in history. There were actually three, but before it could be announced, I talked Tasha into joining us. She purposely failed the shooting part of the course and then resigned. Our gain.”
“Well, it wasn’t quite like that Luke. I simply didn’t do my best.” Tasha explained, rolling the playful eyes that Luci remembered from the Katching Kitten Ball at the Palais de Versailles.
She’s been working out of the NYC office and helped us take down Sying last year.”
The boys on the team gave a few catcalls, and Tasha immediately spoke up.
“Meet me in the gym later, and I’ll show you who’s boss!” Tasha challenged the testosterone in the room. Everyone laughed and welcomed Tasha to the team.
“I’m good at hand-to-hand combat, Krav Maga, and I can cook up very dirty bombs. I play war games online so if anyone wants to play against me, good luck with that! So, you better watch your ass and don’t try and hit on me. And no, I’m not a Lesbian!” Then she added, for full impact, “But, I did learn a lot for my mission with Sying. And, for Maggs, I might take a walk on the wild side!”
Luci had never seen Maggs blush. Well, Tasha was going to add an exciting dynamic to Raven’s Group.
“By the way, I kept the diamond choker with the emerald leash that Mme Sying had me wear. So, if anyone gets bored and wants to play—as long as I’m in charge—I’m in.” Now the catcalls began in earnest.
Zach rescued orphans of war like others brought home stray kittens. She’d been seven at the time her mother was murdered, and Zack had found her alone in Afghanistan. Zach was happy with the playful and skilled warrior his Tasha had become. Luke’s mission against Sying gave Tasha the opportunity to her revenge against the human trafficking criminal Gregorki who had abandoned her mother before he knew she was carrying his child, Tasha.
“Okay, let’s get to work. We’ve got some challenges right now. There’s a couple of out-of-control issues, and the good guys need our help. One, a human trafficking problem originating in Mexico; and two, if you read the news this morning, someone is manipulating the markets again.
RB, you get busy with analysis of the short sales through Hong Kong and Shanghai. Zach contact your friends and see what you can find out about a new source of heroin coming into the US via Mexico. It might be Afghani. I think it might be a drugs-for-humans exchange, but we’re not sure yet. And also put out feelers on a new Mexican group involved in human trafficking. Any questions?”
“I can work with RB,” Tasha suggested. “I’ve been developing a program on the world stock market indexes. Can’t get rich from the military.”
“Okay, that fits. Trafficking. Luci, why don’t you team up with Zach and Israel. George, you and I can start tapping our sources. Let’s meet back here later this evening.”
12
Bay of Banderas, Mexico
THE PANGA JUMPED wave-to-wave towards Boca de Tomatlán from Yelapa. Spray misted across the boat. Alice jumped for joy. The crazy lookout on the bow, a Greek god from another era, threw his arms up in the air and cried to the heavens. Lorena felt like she was in the middle of a Mel Gibson movie.
No matter how many times Lorena traveled the coast of the Bay of Banderas, she marveled at the beauty. Swaying palms, caramel sands, lush tropical flowers, the briny smell of the ocean—as close to Heaven on earth as one could get.
Lorena said a prayer and thanked a God she was slowly beginning to trust again. 9-11 was fading from her mind. There were times she could hardly visualize her Tony’s face. Zach had saved her life by taking her from the FBI into a joint task force set up to capture or destroy the perpetrators of 9-11. And then when it was disbanded after the death of HVT Osama Bin Laden, she’d returned to run a safe house in Yelapa. And then Alice had come into her life. And her heart was full again.
Alice struggled in Lorena’s arms.
“Movie Lena? Kithy?”
“Yes baby, movies, Hello Kitty shopping and ice cream. What do you think?”
“I wuv you, Lena!”
“I love you too baby girl.”
“Lena!! Big girl now.”
“Yes, you’re a big girl now.”
“Dolly Lena?”
“Yes, I have Dolly in my knapsack.”
The Panga jumped several waves, and a Greek god maneuvered the large fishing boat turned water taxi, up to the dock. The sun was high in the sky. Maybe they would stay in town tonight. Make it a mini-vacation.
“Tathi Lena?”
“Yes baby, we will take a taxi, and then we go to Las Galerias to shop!” Lorena wondered if Alice’s lisp was related to the trauma she witnessed in her life. It might be a good idea to see a therapist in Puerto Vallarta. God, she was thinking like a mother, like Alice was her little girl. She picked her up and gave her kisses.
They arrived at Galerias in time to catch a showing of Frozen at the Cineplex. Alice was entranced with the big screen and ate her popcorn like the big girl she was becoming.
It was early evening when they exited the movie and window-shopped in the mall.
“Lena, Lena!” Alice pointed excitedly at the Hello Kitty store. This one is going to be a fashionista. Mommy packs a Sig Sauer, and Alice will want a Luis Vuitton backpack! Poor Luci.
The mall was packed. Long weekends in the summer brought a hoard of people from the cruise ships, Guadalajara, and the surrounding cities.
“Lena, Lena! Want this!”
Alice pointed to a black Hello Kitty backpack; perfect for the pre-school she would enter in the fall.
“Yes, I love it too. Okay, be a good girl while Lena pays for this.”
“What a lovely daughter you have, she is so cute.”
“Thanks. Let me find my wallet. Wait for a second, I have it right here.”
“Sorry about the wait, my terminal is slow, lots of traffic tonight.”
“That’s okay. Where are you from?”
“I moved here from Mexico City last year. I love working and living here!”
“Yes, all the kids love this store. Alice always wants to come here.” Lorena called out to Alice.
“Alice, come to meet this nice girl from Mexico City.”
Lorena turned around, but she couldn’t see Alice.
“Alice, don’t hide from me, it’s not funny.”
Lorena left her purchase on the counter and moved to the tray of toys Alice had been looking at. She tried not to panic, but Alice was nowhere to be seen. “Alice? Alice!!” Lorena was panicked now.
“Contact the mall security right away!”
“Yes, señora.” The girl grabbed her phone and dialed immediately.
“I’m sure she has just wandered out to the mall. I will put the alert out right away.”
Lorena moved quickly. Looking in both directions, there was no sign of Alice.
She ran to the railing and looked down the mall. But Alice was nowhere to be seen. She rushed towards the Starbucks on the second floor, the closest store to the escalator. She took two stairs at a time running towards the mall entrance on the main street.
She thought she saw a tiny girl Alice’s size, struggling in the arms of a massive Hispanic man. Could it be Alice?
At that moment a Security guard tapped her on the shoulder.
“Señora, how can I be of assistance?”
“I lost my daughter. She left the store I think, but maybe not of her own volition. I think I saw her there.” She pointed to a spot in
the crowd on the stairs, but the man was no longer there.
She pointed to the vehicles on Francisco Medina Ascencio and thought she saw a flash of the yellow t-shirt Alice was wearing.
“There! Can you see that man! I’m sure he’s got Alice!”
People rallied around her once they realized what was happening. When she rushed through the entrance, a grey truck was pulling out at top speed.
“There! Stop that truck!!”
The security guard had now been joined by two others both speaking Spanish so quickly she could not comprehend.
“We have called the Policia and given a description of the truck. Don’t worry, we will get her back.”
“Oh my God!” Lorena fell to the steps, tears streaming down her cheeks.
13
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
ALLEGRA RAISED HER champagne glass in a toast.
“To all my amazing sisters! To friendship. To our futures!”
Five beautiful girls dining at La Leche drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Several whispered and pointed out Allegra. Her Miss Jalisco 2018 photos had been in all the newspapers both locally and nationally.
The girls had determined that tonight would be a ‘Cell Phone Free Event.’ Elisabetta was the official photographer. She alone could open her iPhone and post to Instagram. The rest could take the pics from her page in the morning.
“Let’s finish up and go to La Santa! I want to dance the night away!”
“Yes!” The Chicas agreed.
They paid their bills, laughing all the while.
Five guys sat around a private table towards the back of the restaurant. They were deep in conversation. But when the girls stood up to go, Alex put his hand up to stop whatever they were saying to each other.
“Wow.”
“Jorge, go invite the girls to join us.”
Jorge smiled, a quirky bad-boy look. His dimples and movie-star-charisma easily captured the attention of the girls when he approached.
“My buddies and I would like to invite you ladies for a glass of Champagne. It would be our pleasure to have you join our table.”
Allegra, the least steady of the group, looked over at the table. What could it hurt she thought? Discreetly she turned her diamond to the inside of her hand.
“Actually, we were about to go to La Santa. Why don’t you join us?”
“Wow! We are actually going there too. Wait one second, we have a limo out front, and we will escort you, ladies.”
The chicas stood giggling like teenagers. These guys were hot! Must be from Mexico City, DF. They didn’t recognize any of them.
“Cool. Ladies, are we all good?” Allegra asked. Feeling very grown up they all laughed.
“Yes! Let’s party!”
The owner of La Leche had come out of the kitchen to see Miss Jalisco in person. He shook his head when he saw what was happening. But when El Guapo set his sights on a girl, one didn’t mix in. It was terrible for business and dangerous for life in general.
He watched the Bellas exit and enter a waiting limousine. Then he returned to his Crème Brûlée an aperitif after the busy evening.
14
Las Galerias Shopping Plaza, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
LORENA WAS SURE she was about to have a heart attack. How could something so horrific happen to her baby and to Samaar? Did the kidnapping have anything to do with her past career choices? Or was it serendipity?
She left the office of the Mall Administration to make a secure phone call. This was the hardest thing she could imagine doing in her life. But time was of the essence.
“I must speak to Raven immediately. This is Lorena calling from Mexico.”
“He or Zach will call you back on another line.”
She leaned against the wall, people moving back and forth towards the washrooms. She could hear the slot machines ringing from the Emotion Casino.
Her phone vibrated.
“Lorena, what’s wrong?”
At the sound of Zach’s voice, Lorena broke down.
“Zach, I’m so sorry, so scared. They’ve grabbed Alice, and I don’t know what to do!”
“Wait, slow down. Where are you and who grabbed Alice?”
“I’m in Las Galerias Mall in PV. We came here to go to the movies. I was buying a Hello Kitty knapsack in the store. I turned away from Alice for two minutes. Two minutes Zach!!! And they grabbed her!”
“What do you mean? Who grabbed her? Did you see?”
“I caught a glimpse of her t-shirt. A man was moving quickly through the mall. I think maybe she was drugged.”
“Did you see where he went?”
“I ran with Security, but it was too late. All I saw was a grey Chevy truck pulling away from the front of the mall, you know, across from the marina where the cruise ships come in. Oh, Zach, Raven has to help us. What are we going to tell Samaar? Why did they take my Alice?”
Lorena was sobbing. An older Mexican woman came up to her and took Lorena in her arms. The kindness of a stranger was more than she could bear. She broke completely.
“Lorena, Lorena! Speak to me!”
“I’m so sorry Zach. What are we going to do?”
“I will get RB on it right away. Was she wearing her silver necklace?”
“What?”
“Her necklace. The one Samaar sent to her. Was she wearing it?”
“Yes, she was, she loves it.”
“It has Luke’s email address and your phone number. Maybe someone will try to call for ransom. Besides that, it has a homing device.”
“What?? You never told me that!”
“I didn’t want to worry you. Listen, I will talk to Raven and call you back. Keep your phone charged and stay there until the mall closes. We will have a plan by then.”
“Okay, Zach. Tell Samaar I’m so sorry.”
15
THE STROBE LIGHTS cast weird shadows around the bar/lounge. Alex kept his eyes on the girls, the bartender and the cashier. He had an eye for great pussy and a nose for theft. After all, he was a thief himself. There was no question the staff was skimming. Tomorrow he would bring in a new crew from Guadalajara. This one would be taught a lesson they would never forget.
Allegra danced with her posse. What a sexy vixen. He wanted her for more reasons than one.
“Here baby, you need some more champagne.”
“I think you are trying to get me drunk.” She threw herself onto the lounging couch. Her sexy shoes fell to the floor. Alex put his arm around her and nodded to his boys across the dance floor.
“Why don’t we move this party to my place. Here, drink up señorita.” Allegra finished off her champagne and started to feel more than a little woozy.
“Take me home, Alex. You know where I live?”
“Of course, baby. I will take you home. Come with me.”
He held her close and walked her out the back entrance of the club.
By the time the club exit door closed behind him, his limo was there. The door opened, as Allegra passed out.
“This makes it a lot easier.”
“What’s up boss?” Jorge came up behind him. The rest of the group was still in the Club.
“What’s up you ask? Do you know who this is?”
“Sure, she’s the smoking hot Señorita Jalisco. That’s what her friends tell me.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But she’s also the Contador’s future daughter-in-law. And that fuck has stolen my money. And I’m going to get it back! We’re taking her to the villa.”
“Okay boss, but what about the rest?”
“Leave them here. The girlfriends are too drunk to know what’s happening. Tell the rest of the boys to get the girls back to the Peninsula Nuevo Vallarta. They’re all together in the Penthouse. If they ask for Allegra, say she wanted a private party and laugh it off. Tell the boys to spike their drinks if they have to. This will all be over by tomorrow afternoon.”
16
“SUMMER IS A great time
to go diving in Puget Sound. The waters are warmer, the sun is shining, and it feels almost tropical.” George laughed out loud.
“Yeah right,” Luci murmured. “My idea of warm is 80 degrees, not 50! I’m Israeli remember.”
Tasha joined in. “For me, the 50’s are okay. I did some of my training in Coronado in December and January. Open water is freakin’ cold at that time of the year. So, this won’t be so bad.”
“Yeah, me too. But you already know that, right. I worked with Zach in SEAL Team 6. Diving in 50-degree water, without someone trying to kill you, is a piece of cake!” George added.
“So, what you two are saying is I’m the wimp here.” Luci smirked.
“Yep.”
“So, here’s the objective. There’s an old trawler sunk down about 60 feet. I want you to set charges on each side and be back to the surface within 8 minutes. Go!”
Luci and Tasha disappeared immediately. They stayed within sight of each other. All seemed okay until they hit 40 feet. Tasha signaled frantically to Luci. At first, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then Luci read the sign to turn slowly. Directly behind Luci was the biggest shark she’d ever seen. She had no idea what it was, but its length was approximately 25 feet, and it was coming right towards her. Inside she panicked but her training kicked in, and she slowed her movements and her breathing to normal.
Tasha was at least 30 feet away but also stopped all movement.
The massive, deadly fish remained motionless. After a minute or two, he found both human objects less than enticing and turned in the opposite direction.
Tasha motioned to Luci to go up. It took significant discipline for them to rise slowly.
George was waiting with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“What the hell George? What was that thing?”
He pulled the girls up onto the diving boat. They removed their tanks.
“I assume you mean my buddy the Basking Shark?” He laughed so hard Luci almost threw her diving knife at him.