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I nodded at my friend and pushed back the fear.
“Damn,” Mark whistled, “she sure was one determined lady to do all this to keep the little guy hidden.”
“It’s impressive.” Cole studied the map. “Smart lady to give us a direction.”
Movement at the door had Frank quickly blur the screen as it slid open, and Savi looked in. She glanced around and locked eyes with her husband. “Excuse the interruption, but Benjamin Bale is here and has something to share with you all. He thought it might be important, seeing as you’re leaving tonight.”
“Okay.” Cole flipped the file in front of him closed while I switched off the screen.
Ben’s walk looked painful, and the torture the Cartel had inflicted during his captivity was evident.
“Forgive me, but I wanted to share this.” He held up a tiny chip, and Mark held out his hand to inspect it further. “It’s from my camera. I hid it before they destroyed it. As you might know, the teams we’re paired with train us to hide our footage in any way possible. Lucky for me, the monsters who searched me didn’t check under my busted dead toenail.”
Mark’s face paled, and he dropped the chip on the table like it scalded his hand. “My bologna sandwich isn’t agreeing with me, suddenly.”
“Maybe it's because you eat bologna,” Mike scoffed as he pulled out a small device to project the images into the computer.
“Have you guys gotten any word on Nicole Winter?” You could see by his expression he was worried about her. They’d have had each other’s backs in the line of work.
“Not yet.” Cole answered.
“Okay,” he let out a small breath, “she’s got a reputation of being a badass, and at the risk of her kicking the crap out of me later, it’s important to know she’s actually a big softy.” His voice cracked at the end. “She runs with the big sharks but wears her heart on her sleeve. You have to gain her trust before she’ll let you in. I’m only telling you this because when you’re over there, if you see her, she might need a ride home.”
Cole started to shift through the papers in the folder. “What about the team that was assigned to you? I don’t see where they came home.”
“They were executed.” He rubbed his shoulder. “I believe I was the target, and that meant they had to be killed.” His eyes glossed and he stared at the floor. Something passed through Cole and Frank. Apparently, that knowledge hadn’t been reported to Washington yet. “One of them was only twenty-two and had a pregnant wife back in Kentucky. I don’t believe Nicole knows that they were killed and might be trying to head to the next pick-up point.”
“Excuse me.” Frank raced out of the office with his phone to his ear.
“Ben,” I pulled his attention over to me, “what can you tell me about the Cartel activity in Mexico City?” We had our intel, but insight from a war correspondent’s photographer would be invaluable.
“It’s riddled with Cartel, worse than before, thanks to Pedro Perez, who just resurfaced after a few years. There are rumors that his son Bruno is alive, but I haven’t seen that firsthand.” I gave a quick glance at Cole. “If Bruno Perez is alive, that’s going to be a real big problem for Nicole.”
“Why?”
“Because she just spent the last six years gaining the trust of Sully Sanchez, who I now know was in the pocket of Bruno Perez. And if you know anything about Bruno and the type of women he likes, well, Nicole has been at the top of that list.” He looked pointedly at Cole. “Your wife, to give you an example, would be just his type of woman, Mr. Logan. I hope for her sake she doesn’t go on your missions.”
“She certainly does not.” Cole didn’t miss a beat to clear that up.
“Good, because his last few girlfriends were found at the bottom of the ocean but not before he crushed in their faces. He’s a horrible human.”
“Has he had a run-in with Nicole before?” I was curious to know how much trouble she might be in if we did cross paths.
“Yeah, once before, when she was still new at her job. She wouldn’t talk much about it, but whatever happened, it left a mark. She barely slept for a week after that and had these crazy nightmares. I just pray he’s gone.”
“It’s a good thing we’re aware of all this.” John glanced at Cole. “Thank you, Ben. We’ll take a look at your footage and let you know if we have any questions for you.”
“Of course.” He moved slowly toward the door but stopped. “I’m sure whatever you’re working on now doesn’t have to do with finding Nicole, but if she’s still missing in a few days, do you think they’ll send someone out there to find her?”
“If she’s as resourceful as you say, chances are she’ll pop up soon.” Cole gave him a reassuring smile. “But of course. Frank’s already on it.” He pointed to Frank outside the unfrosted doors.
“Thank you.” He disappeared through the door.
Daniel flipped the screen back on. “Nice to know correspondents and their videographers still have a good friendships like back in my day.”
John opened and closed his mouth then decided to speak. “Going back to tonight’s mission, and I totally agree it’s of the highest priority.” He nodded at me. “It’s about family.” The guys all hit the table with their fists to show their support, and the lump found its way back to my throat. “We all know that every one of the borders will be swimming with Cartel, the airspace will be on high alert, and Jerry Canos made our faces public after the Castillo hit. Now we could potentially be up against Bruno Perez, and he’s a major problem. I just want to throw it out there that if we do get our hands on this boy first, how in the hell will we get him back here?”
I spoke up. “I have an idea. I’m just not sure you’re going to like it.”