Chapter 366 - In Cartagena - mdfour
Roland
"Mom punished them because they ate two cakes."
I wanted to laugh. With my kids, you never know what might happen. Every day, Verónica tells me about their crazy adventures. One day, it's a new haircut style for our dog.
Poor D’Artagnan was stripped of his fur because my three little musketeers decided to give him a different style, and Verónica had to shave our dog. Galaxia left us a long time ago. Now, Gala has had her first litter, and I took the first four puppies.
Each of my kids has their own. After the failed stylist attempts by my kids, Verónica gave them a puppy to make them understand they can't do what they did.
Her way of correcting them has worked well. My kids are responsible for taking care of their animals, bathing them, and everything related to them. It has been great for Liam. Now we have two female dogs and three male dogs. Dante has Ginebra, Enrique has Galápago, Liam has Alaska, Victoria has Orion, and we have ours.
"That's why Mommy punished them!" At that moment, Orion came looking for his mistress. I kissed him on the forehead.
"Let's go eat that cake with milk." We found Verónica in the kitchen.
"This is your lunch and your dinner. I know you won't be back early." I felt like a little kid, now carrying a lunchbox. "Don't look at me like that. Carmela made you some delicious pasta, and for the evening, some very tasty chicken burritos."
"Thanks," I gave her a peck. "So, the kids are punished?"
"Roland! They'll get a stomachache; they ate two cakes. TWO! Each with a liter of milk."
Victoria climbed onto the island bench. My beautiful wife put a piece of cake and a glass of milk in front of us.
"They had a party. Do you know what they said? Mommy was very tasty." I wanted to burst out laughing. "I made them read about gluttony. I'm not saying they can't eat, but two portions and another later. But honey, Mrs. Claudia brought them at nine in the morning, and an hour later, they were gone." I started eating.
"No way! Now I have to make sure Liam's sugar doesn't spike. You know he's not diabetic, but his tests always show high levels. Imagine with that amount of sugar. I'll take him to the clinic tomorrow."
"Sounds good. I'll talk to them tomorrow."
My wife came closer, blessed me, and checked if I had the rosary our old lady left us.
"I love you. Now go and do your part to make things right. Go be a hero."
I arrived at the station. I turned on the monitors just as Aníbal walked in. He looks better every day, except for his aim, which seems completely off. We bumped fists, and he sat in his spot.
"Did they send you lunch too?"
"They sent me a lunchbox! Who would have thought, Churrusco with a briefcase in hand with…" He opened the bag he had and started pulling out containers. "Lunch, dessert, this is dinner, another snack for the afternoon, another, three thermoses with different juices, two fruits." The more he pulled out, the more I laughed. "Two packs of cookies. They told Shirly, and she took it literally. But still, I adore my Sweetheart."
"What can I say?" I showed him mine. I hadn't even seen what Verónica packed. "We're a mess for our family."
I checked the time. The plane would arrive in about ten minutes. My phone rang, an unknown number. I looked at Aníbal, who understood he had to trace the call.
"Hello."
"Boss!" I didn't recognize the voice. "It's González. Rata gave me this number an hour and a half ago to call if something happened."
González is one of the few from my old life I trust. He's involved in this because I asked him to and to ally with Emilio. He's in charge of transporting one of the trucks. He'll take them to the place where they'll be put in a container. Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.
"It must be important if you dared to call me. Tell me."
"Emilio changed plans. The kids and girls won't be leaving in a container from the port anymore. He says there have been some suspicious changes and fears they've been snitched on. So now I have to take them to a clandestine port in Mamonal, and the ship will meet them at a strategic point at sea. Rata isn't answering."
"He's traveling. You're in my hands now. I just checkmated you, bastard."
"González, as long as you have the kids in the truck you're driving, you'll be safe, and trust me, we'll protect you. Try, if possible, to convince him that you should have all the kids, suggest sending other trucks as decoys."
"Boss, I know you guys work perfectly, but it's been a long time since I've been in a confrontation, and honestly, I'm scared shitless. Why did they change the plans at the last minute?"
"Who said they changed my plans?"
"I don't understand."
"González, this has always been the plan. We've always been moving my pieces. Your job is to convince Emilio that all the kidnapped should be in your truck. You'll be escorted by two more trucks, which will be decoys, and that's how you'll sell the idea to Medrano's little prick. The truth is, at a specific point on that route, we'll switch your truck. He thinks he just outsmarted us, but this has always been the plan."
"You bastards! I'm scared out of my wits and you're as cool as a cucumber."
"In four hours, the action begins. The kids will be out of the picture, and once you're off the road, we'll send you the address where you need to drop them off. Someone will be waiting for them."
"For now, we'll start dismantling things bit by bit. Once the kids are in the hands of the organization, we'll deliver checkmate." The man's laugh almost burst my eardrum. "One last favor."
"Whatever you say, boss. You know I have kids the same age as the kidnapped ones. I can't be insensitive to that."
"Find a way to place the trackers Rata gave you on Emilio. They're easy to hide."
"In three hours, I'm supposed to be at the warehouse."
"Keep your earpiece on. I want to hear everything he says to gather evidence and bring him to justice."
"I will."
"Thanks."
……
Miguel
Being in Cartagena, in ninety-five-degree weather, wearing a suit is boiling my balls. Diana would be laughing at me. Though I wasn't the only one uncomfortable in a Spider-Man suit. On top of that, I had a flannel hoodie and my camo pants. We're loading up on ammo.
"Guys, it's time to head to your specific spots," said Rata.
"Dammit, even my ass is sweating," said Rasca Culo, making everyone burst out laughing.
"We're all in the same boat, man," said Arnold. "I must be competing with Cereza."
He stood next to him, and honestly, both of their cheeks were red. The smack the older one gave the younger one made us laugh even more.
"Tell us, Shaman, got any bad omens?"
"Stop messing around and get ready."
"González has done his job. The little fish has taken the bait," commented Roland.
"Perfect," responded Rata. "Everyone knows their position. Zombi got into the truck identical to González's. Lobo will accompany him, hiding in the seat so no one suspects."
"The two guys with our driver are our employees who now work for the consortium. Once González deviates, the truck with Zombi and Lobo will take over."
"At the clandestine port, Cereza will be waiting with a speedboat. They park there sometimes, so it won't be suspicious. Rino and Rasca Culo will be hiding. A small ship will arrive to take the kidnapped to the big boat. Rata, Arnold, and I will arrive by helicopter."
Any was waiting with GAULA agents, many federal agents, and the Colombian guard nearby. We had indications that many bad guys would be at the clandestine port. It was going to be entertaining, but our target was Emilio. Once we gave the signal "checkmate," he would flee. We hoped González had managed to place the trackers.
We were all in position. We got into the helicopter. We had been given access to one of the company facilities in Mamonal, near where the exchange would take place in minutes, and the port was just a few minutes away. Arnold was in charge of the machine guns, Rata had set up his mini satellite office, connected with Churrusco and the boss.
"Delivery swapped," Roland told us.
"Cereza?" Rata asked.
"Arriving," he responded.
"Rata, there's a lot of movement, many men," Rino intervened.
"Wait for the signal," the boss spoke again.
"Target approaching," commented Rasca Culo. "Where's the little fish?"
"Package in custody, reinforcements on the way, and Rata. Churrusco will send you the little fish's coordinates."
"Sorry for what I'm about to say, but this seems too easy," Rasca Culo spoke again. "Maybe we're just used to action." I looked at Simón, not for any bad reason, but honestly, everything had gone too perfectly, too calmly.
"Shut up, you jinx!" shouted Mojón. The gunfire started, we could hear it. I clutched my scapular.
"Where's Emilio?" I asked.
"Supposedly in the same hangar," Rata said in a whisper. "Boss?"
"González is already on his way home with escorts. They'll be out of Colombia for a few months. He's going for his family. Churrusco has already sent the message to Medrano."
"Something doesn't add up," Rata said. An explosion in the distance made me start the helicopter.
"Big bastards," Roland said very calmly. I lifted the helicopter to support the guys. "The kids are fine. They searched the boat where Rino, Rasca Culo, and Cereza were. Now Lobo and Zombi are killing left and right." From the sky, we saw the patrols approaching. "The new guys are locked in the armored truck. The others have already left the sea, armed and ready."
"They're having fun," commented Arnold. From the air, he began shooting at the bad guys, precise shots, no killing recklessly. Looking at Rata, I knew something still didn't add up for him.
"That son of a bitch," Churrusco intervened in the conversation from the base. "How the hell did he know?"
"What's going on?" Rata asked.
"The bastard has González's family… We have a damn mole," Roland said.