Chapter 33 My Motherly Messy Disaster
“Women! Claus planted his feet, hands open like he was trying to catch two falling knives.
“Stop.” He said again, softer this time, forcing himself between them.
“We don’t need to tear each other apart at the moment.”
Mia’s jaw flickered; Carol’s eyes narrowed, but for a breath the room held—an awkward, brittle truce.
“Okay?”
Claus read it as best he could: the two women weren’t kissing and making up, but they’d paused the war for now. He felt both relieved and queasy. Something else sat under the surface, and neither of them wanted it dredged up.
Carol gave one small, calculating nod. “We’re… fine. We were just having a healthy conversation.”
“Healthy conversation?” Claus questioned her statement, unbelievably.
“Aren’t we, my dear Mia?” Her voice was cool, almost businesslike.
Mia answered with a tight, curt, “We’re fine,” the sort of answer that promised nothing and deflected everything.
“That’s good.” Claus forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
He still didn’t understand the full map of whatever game they were both playing, but he could feel the edges. He shifted his weight, trying to take the sting out of the silence.
Before anyone could invent more reasons to fight, Carol’s demeanor changed again.
“So, what was that?”
“Oh, yeah. It was the stuff I stole from Blue Eye. I sent it out earlier to be decoded. Cody ran it. That was what came back with the note. The plan.”
“And?” Carol questioned further.
They intend to move the package to the drop. El Patricio to inspect. No witnesses. They’re moving Rick in the same truck as the shipment.”
Mia stared at him.
“The… shipment? The load? What—what do you mean by shipment?” Her face drained of color.
Carol’s mouth twisted.
“They’re shipping him with the consignment. With the dope. The goods.” She spat the slang like a curse.
“They hide people inside the trucks… Hide them with the load so cameras and roads are less likely to pick them out.” Her voice dropped low: “It’s a method. Makes people disappear under legitimate freight.”
Mia’s hands clutched at the table. “So he’s…” The thought didn’t finish. Her blood went cold.
Claus’s jaw worked, but Carol narrowed her eyes at Mia, then cocked her head.
“You dated him,” she said, not unkindly. “Did you learn anything useful while you were with him, or was all that romance just a pretty story?”
Mia flinched as if struck. “I… “What do you want me to say?” she hissed. “It wasn’t supposed to be part of this. I…”
Sensing the tension rising again, Claus cut in.
“Now we know their plan. They want to move Rick inside the same truck as the stash so the truck runs as a normal load, and nobody notices. El Patricio wants to be the face at the inspection. You know he loves theatrics.” Claus spat the last word bitterly.
Claus watched Mia’s confused expression as he let the words hang for a beat. When her question came in, it was exactly what he expected.
“What plan? You haven’t said the plan. You just said…”
“They won’t just toss him in and drive, Mia.” He said. “It’s a whole theatre.
“I can’t believe this.” Carol mumbled.
Claus turned to Carol briefly. “She’s been civil for two years. She’s rusty.”
He returned his gaze to Mia.
“There’s a scheduled pick-up at a northern yard… legit-looking paperwork, sealed crates, a manifest stamped with a broker’s ID. The truck will pull into a customs-style holding bay at three a.m. El Patricio men show up, makes a show of checking seals, signing forms… They are there to validate the transfer. That gives them a cover: an official inspection made visible but staged. Are we on the same page?”
Mia nodded.
“Good! While they are checking the seals and smiling for the men around him, the men who actually run the operation will slip Rick into a hidden compartment in the truck’s belly or inside a double-floor crate. If anyone asks, the crate is listed as machinery parts or textiles. You know, something bulky, unremarkable. Cameras that scan the outside won’t notice a human, because the paperwork says it’s freight. The truck leaves the yard with an escort, and by the time anyone realizes what’s missing, it’s already out of jurisdiction and in Patricio’s controlled hands.”
He paused, watching both women react.
“Don’t look at me.” Carol spat. “Explain it to her like a child.”
Claus noticed Mia’s fingers digging into the wooden table. He instinctively moved the hand and put it on the arm of the chair. He then continued.
“They might also use him as collateral during the sell. El Patricio isn’t sentimental. There’s a mid-level broker who wants to buy the consignment…big money. Rick is leverage. If the buyer questions the package, they hold up Rick. ‘Pay up or the hostage goes with the goods.’ He becomes bargaining chips in a transaction. Collateral damage.
“So Rick could die?”
“Oh, come on. Was that not the reason for his kidnap in the first place?” Carol exclaimed, frustrated by Mia’s innocence.
“They aren’t keeping him to interrogate; they’re keeping him to force the buyer’s compliance, to prove they mean business. If the buyer baulks, the El-Patricio makes an example. That’s why El Patricio wants to be present…his face, his performance, legitimise the transfer and telegraph control.”
“And if the operation is successful?” Mia asked again.
Claus sighed. “He’d still be dead.
Fearing that Mia would ask another silly or unnecessary question, Carol interjected.
“Okay. So, I hear you. Why are you telling me all of these?” Carol asked.
“Because you asked.”
“Because I need you.”
Mia and Claus’ voice came almost at the same time. Claus gave Mia a stern look. If she continued like that, she’s going to trigger Carol again. And Claus knew too welll she can never stand her madness.
“Don’t drag me into your mess.” Carol was already walking towards the door.
“But I’m your mess.”
Carol stopped mid-step, her hand resting against the wooden doorframe. Slowly, she turned, eyes locking on Claus.
“Dagger!”
“You know I can’t die before you.” Claus continued.
“Then don’t die.” Carol snapped.
“I can’t say if you don’t help me.”
“Stop it!”
“My scars, my rage, my survival…”
“I said stop. Don’t blackmail me.” Carol snapped.
“So, it’s working.” Claus teased.
For a moment, Carol’s eyes softened, just a flicker, a crack in the armor. But then she straightened, her expression hard again.
“What’s your plan?”
“That’s the fun part. I don’t have any yet.”
Carol raised her brows. “Are you kidding me? What the fuck have you been doing? Just checking out a damn note?”
Claus shrugged a bitter, tired shrug. “Cody told me our cover was blown because of the flash drive. I had to make sure there wasn’t more that could flag us. So I went to check the perimeter, the burner laptop, and the other thumb drives.”
“How is that possible?” Mia asked.
He met her eyes. “Cody found markers, timestamps and a metadata trail. He flagged it as possible. I checked. There was something…well, they’d stamped the manifest in a way that could be traced. That’s why I wanted to see if anyone else could pick up a pattern. If there was an extra breadcrumb. If we were being watched.”
“So, those men were Blue Eye’s men? Right?” Mia wanted to be cleared on that.
“Right!”
“If I get what you’re trying to say, you left a drive with you? Claus!” Carol exclaimed.
“I didn’t know it was there. There was not enough time to check all I took thoroughly.” Claus defended himself.
“Oh yeah, you two had the time to fuck but didn’t have the time to ensure our safety.” Carol snapped at him.
Claus looked at Mia, worried that Carol's words would hurt her but was surprised to see her smiling.
“Oh damn! Somebody is fearless.” Claus remarked.
“You are smiling? I should have left you to them. You won’t be smiling if their bullets have pierced your skull.” Carol added. She is serious but sounds funny.
Mia's smile turned into laughter and Claus soon joined in.
“Wow! I’m a joke to you two now?”
They laughed even more. Their laughter was loud but was soon cut short by the sound of the bell. They stopped abruptly.
“Please just tell me you didn’t bring the fucking drive here.”