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“Stand down, Mike,” the chief barked. “We have plenty of manpower, and a plan. We’ll proceed as if this prick was never here. You got me?” He narrowed his eyes.
Mike understood and nodded, but didn’t like it. He knew that the more intel they had on what was going on inside, the better the operation would go, and the safer Joe would be. He understood that, Mason understood that, but…
Yeah. The boss had a point. It’d screw with Mike’s career if he beat the shit out of the gargantuan on the ground now, and he’d be sidelined for the rest of this operation.
Not an option. Fuck.
Mason waved Sandrine, Doug, and Amos over. They hauled the guy to his feet, and wrestled him away toward the bus where they’d keep him detained and restrained.
Mason, Mike, Alvero, and Welker were about to move back into the shadow of the trees to regroup with their squads, when the small door hissed open on its hinges.
Shit.
They all scrambled as one and got their backs up against the side of the building where they were hidden just as the portal fully swung free. Once it was closed, they watched as a man walked a few feet away from the warehouse.
Mason gave Welker—goddammit—the nod, and his teammate swiftly overpowered the guy.
As soon as Welk had him on the ground, Mike, Mase and Alvero approached, shining a dim, focused light down on the perp as he was turned onto his back.
They all recognized him.
Mason grunted, squatting next to the man. “Well, Chuck. It seems you’ve stepped in some deep shit this time, haven’t you?”
“I’m not doing anything wrong,” the man whined. “I’m just…out for a walk.”
They dragged him back into the trees to continue their interrogation.
Mike couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Right. If out for a walk means drugging and kidnapping my woman.”
Chuck’s eyes grew wide. “Y…your woman?”
“That’s right,” Mike growled. “She’s mine, so you better tell me she’s alright, or you’ll find yourself in a shitload of pain.”
“She’s fine. She’s fine,” Chuck quickly promised. “She’s knocked out, still unconscious, but we haven’t hurt her beyond that. I promise.”
Mike didn’t remind Chuck that the large asshole had knocked Joe’s head into a truck, but still, his gut unclenched the smallest bit. “How did you know she was undercover and looking at your operation? What did you have planned for her?”
Chuck suddenly looked like he was going to piss himself. “I, uh, don’t know who the guy is, in charge,” he told them, spluttering. “I never met him. All I know is that he told Galici who she was and where to find her, and said we were supposed to—” Chuck cut himself off, realizing he was about to implicate himself.
Mason probed deeper. “What was it Galici was supposed to do?”
The man blinked. Then, understanding what and who he was up against, gave over the information.
“Get rid of her, and make it look like an accident,” Chuck almost whispered.
“Motherfucking prick,” Mike snarled.
Mason shot him a look, and Mike attempted to calm himself. They weren’t going to get anything more from Chuck if Mike acted like an asshole. And he also wasn’t going to do Joe any favors if he went off the rails.
“Tell me who and what we’ll find inside the warehouse, Chuck,” Mason continued to squeeze the man for information.
A speculative gleam came into the Chuck’s eyes. “If I tell you, will you put in a good word for me with the DA? I can’t go back to jail. My mother…”
Mason grunted. “Seriously? You should have thought about her before you got mixed up with Galici.”
They all knew Chuck’s excuse for his ongoing criminal activities was that he had to support his elderly mother.
“I know I should have,” Chuck whined, “but he was offering a lot of money for me to keep things running smoothly for him.”