The Snake
Nicholas shimmies himself to the roof's edge, raising the binoculars and trying to get a visual on his target. The Red Door Market is busy, so it’s perfect for his men to blend in with the rest of the locals.
Gregory’s team of four is on the ground, while Blackstone is established on the rooftops. John and Jace have the entrance. Bryan and Hermes have the exit, and Nicholas and Edson have the center.
He slides a fresh piece of cinnamon gum into his mouth as he scans the crowds. It isn’t easy looking for someone they’ve never met before.
Dyke worked his magic with his contacts, and they finally came up with a name, Pat Rick. His father is heavily involved with the Cartel. Of course. There was even some talk that Pat killed his wife after his son was born.
Nice. Not exactly the boy next door type. Nicholas glances down at the picture, studying Pat’s tattoos. Most of them represent prison gangs. He has an angel on his neck and three sixes along his collarbone.
“Blackbird One to Raven One,” his father’s voice cracks over the radio.
“Go ahead, Blackbird.” Nicholas raises his binoculars and scans the crowd.
“I have a visual on our subject entering from the west gate and heading toward you. Cream shirt, black hat, black pants.”
“Copy that, Blackbird.”
“Eagle Eye Two to Raven One. I also confirm the visual on our subject. He’s heading my way,” one of Gregory’s team members adds to the radio waves.
Nicholas clicks his radio. “Copy that; stay in position. We follow him from here.” After everyone confirms their visual on the target, they hold tight and watch his every movement, studying his mannerisms and surveying the crowd to see if he’s alone.
They soon discover Pat travels in a group of four. They each carry two weapons in plain sight at the waist of their pants. Definitely not professionals, all smoking like chimneys, and one even polished off several beers and is now showing signs of being tired.
Two of the four men look to be brothers and are more interested in playing on their phones than anything else. After three long hours of watching them, something is happening.
Pat’s back is to Nicholas, and he seems to be angry.
“Raven Two, are you getting this?” Nicholas asks Edson.
“Affirmative, the drunk is angry, saying the girl set them up, and it’s a waste having her handcuffed to a wall when she should be spread out…” Edson’s voice trails off momentarily, making Nicholas blink back the idea of popping a bullet into the fucker’s skull. Where the hell is she handcuffed? “Subject is yelling back, saying to go get the car.”
“Be ready to move. Fox One and Two, let’s go.” He orders Jace and John down to the SUV to be ready when the time comes.
Rushing to get to the car before the men arrive, Hermes signals at Nicholas to cover him as he drops to the ground and slips a tiny tracking device onto the 1993 Honda Civic that Pat came in.
Moments later, they’re following the low-riding car down a busy street. Edson is in the back seat, tracking the vehicle to ensure they have a good signal in case they lose them.
They settle into what becomes a long drive. An older couple seems to be on a Sunday drive, and two other cars are between them and the Honda, so it’s easy to tail them without being obvious.
Finally, after about two hours, the Honda pulls into a small driveway of a rundown home.
“Mijo!” An elderly lady comes hurrying out, kissing one of the brothers on the cheek and slapping the other upside his head.
John parks far enough away so they won’t be detected, and they quickly set up their equipment to hear precisely what’s being said.
“Pat, what’s Landon’s new girlfriend like?” a younger woman asks inside the kitchen.
Nicholas hands his father a pair of earphones as he shifts into a better position.
“Why do you want to know, Taylor?” Pat laughs. “He’s not interested in you.”
“Screw off,” she hisses. “I just want to know if she’s agreeing like you.”
The young girl shouts as someone smacks her.
“Sí, she’s agringa—pretty little thing. Landon fought hard to get this one, but she was already in the attic. She has a mouth on her.” He laughs again. “She called him a monster and said to go fuck himself.” They all laugh.
The old lady makes a sound as she clanks some dishes. Nicholas and his men flinch at how loud it is over the earphones.
“Ha! You can laugh, but I know I can give Landon what he wants. Why would he want Agringa? I can see myself in that grand house, just like the one from Skeleton Key. I would be wearing pretty clothes and…”
The men cut her off, laughing and teasing the woman, saying she should go there and kill the girl so Landon could see she was the one he should be with.
Nicholas looks at Edson, the movie buff, waiting to see if he knows what the girl meant by the house from Skeleton Key. Edson clicks away on the laptop and turns it around to show him.
A Louisiana-style home? Here is TJ. That’s different and should be easy to find.
Edson nods and gets to work, and Nicholas mentally kicks himself as he remembers Eloise mentioning it looked like that.
A chair scrapes the floor in the house as the girl asks, “So, did the GI Joe crew show up?”
Someone snickers something Nicholas can’t make out, then a cough. “No one showed. I think the girl was fucking with me, seeing if she could trust me. Too bad for her.” He snorted. “She’ll get hers. Landon will take his time breaking her and enjoy himself the whole time. He’s a sick fucker.”
Edson makes a face at Nicholas, knowing he isn’t the only one itching to get a moment alone with this guy.
As night rolls around, Nicholas and Edson take the first shift, and the rest pass out in minutes.
One thing about being in the Army, you can fall asleep anywhere, and when you’re told to sleep, you don’t think twice. You find a spot, and you’re out.
Edson trades places with John later in case Pat leaves in the middle of the night.