Page 28 of The True Garza

“I mean it’s over,” I return, unfazed. “Raffi Safaryan, Jamal Grigoryan, and his entire team are being arrested now as we speak.”

“What?” Both Stony Twin and Guy bark in unison.

Sacha looks confused.

True is quiet.

Guy demands, “What the fuck did you do?”

With a smirk, I point a gun finger at him. “There it is.” I’m smiling now. “Why do you all seem so upset? I thought the goal was to chop down the new operation before it could spread. Wasn’t it?”

Exasperated looks are exchanged.

True’s attention doesn’t leave me. Arms crossed over his chest, almost as if in defense.

“See, word on the street is that Red Cage Commando Security and Investigation Services are thebestat what they do,” I say. “They workfast.They cross lines. Break the law. They get the job doneby any means necessary.” I lean back and fold my hands behind my head. “So imagine my disappointment when I came in and was thrown some convoluted, long-winded plan to take down Jamal Grigoryan. It didn’t make sense. I mean, you had a man on the inside for so long that he knew their entire operation inside out, and still there was no quicker solution to taking them down? Nah. Something didn’t smell right.

“So I arranged several meetings with Sacha to discuss the so-called ‘plans.’ And whenever I suggested other ideas, he was quick to give me all the reasons they wouldn’t work. It had to be donethisway, and also, let’s prepare forthisin casethishappens.” I flash them another smile. “Then it all made sense—you all were working a job within a job, and you needed to getthatjob done before you took down Jamal. But, hey, let’s spin the dumb lady agent around a couple times to get her dizzy and string her along until the job is done. Then take down Jamal and throw the LX-BI a bone.”

I drop my hands to the table and lean forward, looking at each of them one by one. “Having a pussy doesnotmake me inferior or an idiot.No onefucking plays me.”

There’s silence in the room for several heartbeats before Stony Twin growls, “Guy. Urgent regroup arrangement, ASAP.”

Guy is already typing at warp speed on some weird bulky device as he leaves the room.

True’s stare is on me. My neck is hot from the intensity of it. His expression is unreadable, and I don’t know why I’m itching to know what he’s thinking right now. I shouldn’t care. He’s a dick for not being upfront with me about what they were doing.

Say something, I silently beg.Give me a glimpse into your thoughts.

“How’d you do it?” Stony Twin asks me, stealing my attention.

I clear my throat. “I planted bugs, cloned Jamal Grigoryan’s phone to scrape his data, and spent the last two weeks listening and gathering intel.”

“So much for being down with the flu,” Sacha mutters.

“Yeah,”—I reach over and pat his hand—“sorry for slipping you, considering you’re being evaluated and all.”

He’s surprised. “I’m being evaluated?”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Stony Twin says, then gestures for me to continue.

“The majority of the audio was Jamal bitching about needing a better system to move more girls faster,” I go on. “But eventually, I got something solid. Learned two of his men would be taking a ‘double vacation’ to France with their girls. Heard names, flight times, the private plane charter they use, the location in France where the smuggling happens….

“We got to the private plane charter ahead of them. Offered their man inside a deal if he worked with us. Swapped the co-pilot and attendant with undercover agents and had trackers slipped into the girls’ pockets once they boarded. Expectedly, Jamal’s men passed over the girls the second they landed in France. International agents were able to track the girls right up to where they were forced onto a boat and were about to be smuggled off. A shit ton of arrests were made. Jamal’s ‘millionaires’ sang like canaries. The end.”

“Well done,” Stony Twin grits out.

Oh, he’spissed.

“Okay, I can see that you’re mad,” I say, “but, you know, I wouldn’t have gone rogue if you’d just been honest with me from the outset. You all really thought I wouldn’t see through the bullshit?”

“You were underestimated,” Sacha voices.

“Clearly,” I agree.

“Well,” Stony Twin says, pushing to his feet, “now that that’s over and Walter Bridge has another big ‘win’ to brag about in the news, our business here is done. Wish we could say it was nice working with you, but we never really got a chance to, did we? You did it all on your own.”

“Whoa, no.” I shoot to my feet as well and throw a hand out across the table to halt being dismissed. “I didn’t ask for a meeting to come chit chat about a finished assignment. I could’ve just given you a courtesy call—maybe. But I didn’t do what I did for LX-BI. It’s all for my own selfish reasons.”