Page 69

CHAPTER 67

THE 5 A.M. Aeroméxico flight 33 to Monterrey International Airport had been delayed due to a mechanical problem, unspecified by the flight crew. Joe Molinari and Bao Wong were strapped into their seats in business class when this announcement was made by Captain Fredericks, who promised that the issue was small, that the part was being refitted now, and “Thank you for your patience.”

Joe and Bao exchanged glances.

“Let me look,” she said.

Bao typed on her phone, scrolled with her thumb, and after a long minute said to Joe, “It’s either this flight or the United flight at two this afternoon.”

He shook his head no.

The whole operation would fall apart if they weren’t in Monterrey on time—three and a half hours from now—when they would meet with FBI agents who had cartel connections. Those connections might lead to the person or persons who had killed the Orlofskys.

Joe texted Chief Steinmetz to give him the flight update, but Steinmetz did not respond. Joe kept his phone on in airplane mode and put it into his shirt’s breast pocket. He answered Bao’s questioning look, saying, “Let’s give it another half hour, and if we’re still on the ground, we pull our badges and ditch.”

Ten minutes later, the lights dimmed in the cabin and the flight attendant made his announcement. “We’ll be taking off shortly. Please return your seat backs to their upright positions and stow your carry-on items …”

Through Bao’s window over the wing, they watched the airliner roll into position, then coast down the tarmac and lift off into a murky gray sky. Joe checked his phone, then stuffed a pillow behind his neck and fell asleep.

Sometime later, he awoke to the bucking of the aircraft as it bounced onto the runway before coming in for a safe landing.

Soon the aisle was filled with people and their hand luggage. A snarl of carts clogged the exit to the stairway that was slick with rain. Bao and Joe gripped the handrail as they stepped down to the puddled tarmac and entered the crowded terminal.

Joe planned to contact Mick Dougherty and Juan Ruiz. He had worked with them both in the past and trusted them. He also knew that the odds of being identified by the Diablo cartel as they made their way through the luggage retrieval section of the terminal was 100 percent guaranteed. By the time they reached the revolving door, this information would have been sent to cartel leaders, even the head of the entire operation.

Since foreigners were not permitted to bring arms into the country, if anyone was waiting to pick them off, this would be the time.