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I tilted my head. “Looks familiar, Thorne.”
“That’s Alex Filmore,” Damon said.
It struck me then. I’d seen the guy around the Afghan base camp several times, but until this moment, I hadn’t matched the name with the face.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” I cursed under my breath. “That’s one of the intelligence guys I’d seen on base. He’s older now…that’s Filmore?”
“Yes,” Damon replied.
I looked at Raven. “You know what this means?”
“That all this shit is connected and now we have proof?”
I shook my head sadly. “Yeah, but not only that. There are innocent people inside that den of snakes, Raven.”
“If they’re even still alive,” Raven replied, looking like he was about to cry.
I took his hand and squeezed it hard, staring into his eyes before turning back to the screen. I stared at the face I hadn’t seen in many years before dragging my gaze back to Lincoln. “What do we do now?”
Snow sighed deeply. “There’s only one thingtodo.” He glanced at Mac and then Damon. “We need to end this.”
I was about to ask him what the fuck that meant when his phone suddenly rang. He swore under his breath and I watched him yank it out of an inner pocket in his jacket.
“Snow!” he barked into the phone. He listened for a whole minute as I watched his face fall. “What the hell,” he muttered. He listened. After another minute, he made a fist with his free hand and turned to Mac. They exchanged a loaded glance before Lincoln spoke again. He visibly straightened. “Yes, sir. I understand.” He checked his watch. “Tell them we’ll meet them at the Federal Building in half an hour.” He hung up and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” I asked.
“That was my SAC. Mac and I have been ordered back to the office to speak to his counterpart at the DEA.” He suddenly turned back to the laptop. Noah and Judy were looking up at someone who was talking to them.
“Yes, sir,” Noah said before facing the webcam. “Gotta go, guys.” He leaned toward the screen before it went black.
I glanced at Lincoln. “What just happened?”
“Apparently, the DEA has an ongoing task force looking into the cartel. They’re a pubic hair away from being able to make a case to bring down Oscar Castillo and the entire Sanchez Cartel. Mac and I have been ordered back to the office to meet with the DEA to explain why we’ve been investigating Trevor Sunset Willis. Apparently, Noah and Judy’s searches have been noticed,” he growled.
“Why?” Mac asked.
Lincoln’s teeth were grinding. “Because he’s an undercover DEA agent.”
“Trevor?” Raven asked. He sounded incredulous.
“Yes, and we might have just gotten him killed and blown their whole fucking case,” Lincoln said. “Sorry, guys, but we’ve got to go.” His phone rang again, and he swiped angrily at it. “Yes, sir?” He listened a few seconds before looking me right in the eye. “I don’t think…” He paused. “Yes, sir. They’ll be there.” He pulled the phone away from his ear. “Miguel. You and Raven are going with us. Cars will be outside in ten minutes.”
“Fuck!” I swore under my breath before looking at Raven. His eyes were as round as saucers. “I’m so sorry, Raven, but I really need some pills.”
He jumped up. “Yeah, right now.”
I watched him run out of the room before dropping my voice to a whisper. “This is fucked up, Snow. I don’t want Raven anywhere near those DEA fuckers and he’s definitely not getting dragged deeper into any of this shit.”
Lincoln nodded. “I know, and for the record, I’m sorry, Miguel. I had no idea.”
Damon began to rub his hands together. “What?” I growled.
“Take it easy, Huerta. This is exciting. No one’s going to get hurt so sac up. This is just like old times,” he said with a grin.
I was not amused in the least. “Just like old times, asshole?”
“Don’t worry, Miguel. I’ve always had your back and now, every fucking federal agency in the U.S. has Raven’s as well.”