Page 55

M addox

What in God’s name was going on?

“You fucking lied to me. This is all about the bitter war between Fernando Alfaro and Yuri Provincal.” The fucking Russian had emigrated from Russia decades before, marrying an American girl of notable presence within the upper echelon of society.

He’d raised a happy little family all while controlling the entire state of New York with a typical Russian iron fist.

Yet his baby boy son, the man I knew as the Raptor, hadn’t appreciated the fact that his father had refused to give him any control with the Bratva organization.

Or that he’d been tossed into the military to calm his ass down.

What the Navy had done without realizing it was to provide legal methods for a true sociopath with a penchant for utilizing explosives to explore his imagination. Misha had been damn good at what he’d done.

Until he’d gone off the deep end.

But kicking him out of the Navy had fueled the anger. He’d sought retaliation while feeding the same greed his father had nurtured.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Maddox. You don’t know what the hell we’re dealing with,” Gray barked into the phone. “I hired you to do a job, not to interfere.”

“Inter-fucking-fere?” I snapped. “You’re right.

I don’t know shit. That’s because you refused to share the truth.

You allowed me to head into a situation you knew could have a horrific outcome.

You expected me to save the day all while luring the Raptor out in the open.

Why bother using Alfaro as bait? Why not just tell me the truth?

The Raptor and I didn’t leave on the best of terms. He wouldn’t mind putting a bullet in my brain. ”

“I didn’t think your experience with Misha was a strong enough reason to lure you out of retirement.”

At least Gray had the decency to use the word ‘lure.’ “What’s wrong? Couldn’t trust the people you’re working with, or you just didn’t have the skillset to take on a drug lord and his sidekick?”

“It’s more complicated than that, but yes, your level of expertise was required as evidenced by your success.”

Anything involving Yuri Provincal in the middle of a war wasn’t just complicated. It was deadly. He owned the police in New York, had corrupted politicians, and had taken over the drug trade market years before. He’d also made headway in the Fentanyl drug trade long before it had become popular.

I kept up with the news. I’d thought the Raptor had gone crawling home to Daddy after his expulsion from the Navy.

I guess I’d underestimated the kid.

He’d grown into a dangerous man by utilizing the specialized training he’d received in the military. This was nothing but two drug lords fighting for control of the drug trade industry, sprinkling in human trafficking as so many cartel and mafia organizations had done through the years.

Greed was the driving factor.

And the desire for the ultimate power.

Drug wars weren’t new. Neither were turf wars between opposing crime syndicates, but in my mind, this was World War Three given the incredible power both men carried.

I stood outside the van, the blood boiling in my veins. I didn’t like being used. Or being lied to. Kage was leaning against the driver’s door, eyeing me intently as snow continued to fall. The limited outside lighting did little to mask his concern and confusion.

“More complicated? I’m curious, Gray. Are you working to achieve indictments or doing your best to continue a cover-up?”

“How fucking dare you! You know exactly what Misha Provincal is capable of.”

“I call it like I see it. Whatever you’re doing, you’ve continually placed Charmaine in danger. That pisses me off. All over a turf war.”

“That’s a primitive way of putting it. I also wasn’t the person responsible for encouraging her to head to El Salvador.”

“But you didn’t mind using her when you realized who she was.”

He sighed, hesitating for a few seconds. “Is Charmaine safe?”

I laughed. “For now. How long do you honestly think that’s going to last? Why did you really ask me to help you?”

“I meant what I said,” Gray insisted. “You’re one of the few people I can trust.”

“You knew about the Raptor all along. Months ago. Maybe years.”

“We suspected. He left clues, tags of his identity, but nothing could be proven and trust me, experts in law enforcement have tried. He remained in the shadows.”

“We? Who the fuck is we? Certainly not the Navy. Certainly not the Feds. They were as confused as I was.”

He hesitated.

Or had the agent played fair in all of this?

“This is over unless you tell me who the fuck you’re working with,” I gritted out.

“You learned more than you let on back in DC,” he suggested. “You have additional information in your possession. I sensed it before but didn’t press.”

“Because you wanted certain details kept safe and out of the public eye until the time was right. Very clever.”

“It wasn’t about being clever, Maddox. It was about determining how deep the corruption went. Yuri has played games for years, but nothing with such a wide sweeping grasp. As you might imagine, Alfaro was none too pleased when Yuri stepped on his toes.”

“The only reason Charmaine is still alive is because Alfaro is aware she’s been holding additional information.”

“He’s been hunting for her. But so has Yuri.”

“Yet I had to fight with you to get her into witness protection.”

His sigh brought another wave of anger. “We’d already talked about it.”

“Another we. You don’t trust the FBI, especially Wilshire.”

“Agent Wilshire is the least of our worries.”

I thought about what he was telling me. “If Yuri gets his hands on the documentation, he’ll gain control and take a victory lap in his own private war on drugs.”

“Succinctly put,” Gray admitted. “Whatever you have, we need it, Maddox. You know the reports you and Charmaine provided were the tip of the iceberg. The ship is sinking fast and if we don’t uncover the players in the middle, more lives will be lost.”

“Protect then crucify.”

“Yes. Yuri is ceremoniously cleaning house because he doesn’t have the truth. Eventually, he’ll find Charmaine and he will eliminate her. She is too close.”

“Yeah, she is. I’m going to ask you one last time. Who are you working with?”

“Goddamn it, Maddox.”

I remained quiet.

“This is highly confidential. Do not tell anyone, including Charmaine. I’m involved with a group of former military leaders, politicians, and corporate moguls with the lofty goal of eliminating corruption within various organizations.

Not only pharmaceuticals but other billion-dollar trades as well.

We’ve been watching Alfaro for years, realizing he was obtaining additional structure while infiltrating several countries, not just the United States.

He has close to a thousand soldiers. That’s substantial.

He’s found a way into other Latin American countries while setting his sights on the United States and Europe. ”

“Alright. What is Raptor’s role other than providing detailed information about explosives and other weaponry?”

“From what we’ve learned, he was instrumental in developing a formula utilizing Mercury Fulminate as I mentioned before.

He’s been the reason for at least twenty deaths of prominent businessmen and other mafia leaders.

He’s Alfaro’s righthand man and has been for several years. He even went after his own father.”

How could I not laugh? “Maybe it would have been helpful if you’d told me that. I’m surprised he didn’t pay me a visit while I was slogging through the jungle.”

“That’s because he doesn’t live in El Salvador. That much we know. He’s a ghost. In his line of work, he doesn’t need a landing spot. Plus, his father placed a hit on his own son. All very messy.”

“You were hoping my presence would draw him out in the open. Because he knows more than what I might or might not have in my possession.” I’d had my share of fights with a couple of SEALs during my career, most based on bouts of extreme testosterone.

Raptor had been a loose cannon from the beginning, a kid with an itchy trigger finger who’d eventually been tossed out of the Navy altogether.

Something he blamed me for.

“Yes,” Gray admitted. “We weren’t one hundred percent positive, but I’d hoped there was a chance.

Raptor has been working with Alfaro for years.

First as a loyal soldier. Then his skills were realized and Alfaro quickly promoted him to an enforcer.

He was able to use his love of explosives to his advantage.

Charmaine opened a can of worms almost a year ago.

She also drew Yuri’s attention, which allowed him to realize his own son had betrayed him. From there, things started unraveling.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“We believe the Raptor also betrayed Alfaro, taking the information he gathered from working with the man with him. Names. Transactions. Future transactions. People involved. He had plans on selling it to the highest bidder.”

“Someone discovered his intentions, thwarting his plans by managing to get their hands on the explosive documentation.”

“Very good. The invitation Charmaine received prior to her departure for El Salvador was from someone within the United States who’d spent years attempting to obtain this information, but had no clear and easy way of obtaining it.

Charmaine had no clue she was being used as a runner, for lack of a better term. ”

“Agent Wilshire is a part of this.”

“If you’re asking if he’s dirty, we don’t believe so. However, he wasn’t the person who spoke to Charmaine. That much we’re certain of.”

“Then who is?”

“Perhaps that’s irrelevant at this point. What is necessary is the discovery of the additional lists. If you have this information in whatever format, I need to know.”

I thought about what he was asking. “How far up the ladder does this go?”

“Far enough people will stop at nothing to get their hands on the data. In the wrong hands, there will be blackmail, extortion, additional deaths, and a possible influx of drugs. Anyone who opposes them will be eliminated and as you’ve already seen, creative methods have and will be used. No one will be safe.”

“What’s your ultimate goal other than obtaining this list?”

“Capture of the Raptor. With his testimony, we can bring down the responsible parties.”

How could I not laugh at this point? “Hunting a ghost. Why not?”

“Do you have the information, Maddox?”

I turned and looked at Kage, who had a smug smile on his face. “No, I do not. What she was given we provided months ago.”

Gray sighed, but I sensed he didn’t believe me. “Just be certain you know what you’re doing. I won’t be able to protect either one of you if the shit goes down the way it could.”

“Duly noted. I’ll let you know if I find anything. You’re just going to need to trust me, Gray. If what you said is true and you hired me to flush out an enemy, then that’s what I’m going to do. But I will do it my way.”

“Christ, Maddox. You’re not a one-man army. You could get yourself killed.”

“Like I said, you need to trust me.”

“As long as you know what you’re getting in the middle of.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

Gray sighed again. “Not only do I trust you, but I respect you. No matter what you thought all those years ago, I never lost faith. Thank you for your assistance, Lieutenant Grant. It is much appreciated.”

As soon as I ended the call, Kage sauntered closer. This was a precarious game that went way beyond dangerous, but one that had to be played.

“Are we going hunting?” he asked way too casually.

“I think you’re right in that it’s time we bring the savage playgrounds to us.”

He nodded several times. “You know what? I like the sound of that.”

“We protect Charmaine at all costs. No matter what happens? Is that clear?”

“Don’t worry, Maddox. I’ll have your back. Charmaine’s as well. Good to see how much you like her.”

Huffing, I glanced toward the house. “She managed to crawl under my skin.”

“The right woman has a way of doing that. Just don’t take it for granted. Even if she is hardheaded like you.”

At least I could laugh around him, something I never thought I’d do again. “It’s been a long time.”

His entire face crinkled as he looked up at the snow, purposely shivering. I doubted he felt the cold just like me. The thrill of the chase, the love of danger was in our blood.

“I’m sorry I was an asshole.” He rubbed his jaw as if to remind me the score was even.

“Hey, I always knew you were.”

He acted as if he was going to take a punch as we both laughed.

“I meant what I said. I’ve got your back. You always had mine.”

Kage’s words hit me harder than I would have thought after all these years. Perhaps they were exactly what I needed to hear.

The door to the van was swung wide open, Chuck peering at us from inside. “Hey, guys. I think you might want to see this.”

Kage and I looked at each other and he shrugged, still wearing the grin I remembered from so many years before. “Time to play hardball.”