Blood of the Assassin

CHAPTER 26





El Rey stood impatiently in the lobby of the office building, studying the now dozen heavily armed Federales in a state of high alert, as he waited for his identification card to be validated by an anonymous computer somewhere upstairs. On his prior visit, security had been relaxed, with a quick, cursory check and a wave through. Now the officers were behaving as though the building was filled with gold bars and he was a thief.

Eventually the computer gave the okay, and the guard handed him back his ID and gestured to the elevator. He pulled the lanyard that dangled from the card over his head and waited for the doors to open, the hair on the back of his neck prickling from the room full of eyes staring at him. When the elevator arrived he pushed a button and then exhaled a small sigh of relief when it ascended, carrying him away from the trigger-happy monkeys in the lobby.

When he arrived at the command center floor he stepped into a kind of controlled mayhem, the energy of the place completely different than it had been before. Dark glares greeted his arrival, but he’d expected the reception, so they didn’t faze him. What surprised him was how grim everyone was.

He walked across the common workspace towards Cruz’s office but was intercepted by Briones before he’d made it halfway there. The lieutenant blocked his way.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m working with this task force, remember? You know, the expert sent by CISEN? Your best hope in the world of catching the assassin before he drills your Chinese dignitary? Ringing any bells?”

“What do you want?”

El Rey noticed the tension just beneath the skin of the lieutenant’s face. Something was wrong. “To see your glorious leader. Now get out of my way.”

“He’s occupied right now. Busy. You can tell me whatever you have for him.”

“I don’t think so. I want to talk to the big man, not his lap dog.”

Briones bristled, then choked down his anger. The assassin was just trying to goad him into an explosion. It was a game, and he wasn’t going to play it – he wouldn’t give the murderous prick the satisfaction. A smirk twisted his lips.

“Have you recovered from the collision? I heard you suffered brain damage or something. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

“Speaking of brain damage, what are you doing to catch the German, besides wasting my time when I’ve come to see your boss?” El Rey asked.

“None of your business. But as I told you, he’s busy, so I’m handling all of his duties until he can free up.”

“Not good enough. Now get out of my way, or I’ll move you.”

Briones stepped back and regarded the assassin. “What is it with you? Much as I’d love for you to try, after what’s happened today, I’m surprised you’d even show your face here. In case you haven’t picked up on it, the mood towards cartel killers isn’t at its most forgiving right now.”

El Rey paused, eyes narrowing. “What happened today? You lost me.”

“Ah, I keep forgetting. You’re not in the loop. This morning, three cartel gunmen tried to kill the captain. They failed, but it looks like they grabbed his wife, too. So he’s a little preoccupied, you could say. Much as I’m sure you believe everyone lives and breathes to serve your needs, it’s not the case. He’s got his hands full today, so for the last time, what the hell are you doing here and what do you want?”

El Rey nodded. “Hmm. No wonder. So that’s why all the additional security. I had no idea. Do you know which cartel, just out of curiosity?”

“What’s it to you which one of your scumbag employers tried to knock him off? Why – you want to offer to do the job for them and collect a bonus?” Briones spoke as though explaining photosynthesis to a five-year-old.

“No, you dolt. It’s because I still have extensive contacts, even though I’m out of the game. And I’m curious which group would raise the stakes to the level that they would try to take Cruz out. That would bring a lot of heat for no good purpose. Seems counter-productive, is all. They’re in the business of making money, so this is a little out of character.”

“Well, Mister Curious, it’s the worst of the bunch. Los Zetas. And it’s unclear as to why they would be suddenly gunning for him, although I would guess that he’s at the top of every cartel’s kill list because of his position.”

“I’m not so sure that’s true. He would just be replaced by someone else, so it wouldn’t solve anything.”

“You’re wrong. It was them, and their intentions were obvious. Hard to mistake three armed hit men trying to gun you down.”

“And you say they have his wife?”

Briones realized his error – he’d talked too much. It was time to do some damage control. “That’s none of your affair. It has nothing to do with catching the German.”

“Are you really so dim that you believe that the leader of our little group having been attacked and his wife kidnapped isn’t going to affect the effort to find Rauschenbach? Or are you telling me that you think he’s going to remain unaffected? That the hunt for the assassin will get a hundred percent of his attention?”

Briones regarded El Rey with curiosity, in spite of his hatred. “What’s it to you, anyway? I didn’t get the impression that you cared whether we got him or not.”

“I care because this is my assignment, and it was made clear to me that I was to do everything I could to stop Rauschenbach. If your part of the effort is distracted by personal problems, that will affect everyone, including me. Frankly, I’d just as soon not have to work with any of you – you’re about as effective as homeopathy, but apparently CISEN wants to play nice and include you, so I’m stuck in a position I’m not thrilled with.”

“Why don’t you just quit? Do us all a favor.”

“I wish I could.”

“What does that mean?”

El Rey peered over Briones’ shoulder at Cruz’s door. “Nothing. I need to talk to your boss. When will he be available? And please spare me the bit about talking to you. I need to discuss some issues about the site, and he was there with me yesterday. You probably haven’t even been there yet, am I right? So talking to you would be about as useful as talking to a rock.”

Briones hesitated, then put aside his enmity and nodded. “Wait here. I’ll go interrupt him and see when he’ll be available.”

El Rey watched as Briones hurried to Cruz’s office and disappeared inside, only to return again two minutes later.

“He’s on a conference call that will probably go on for quite a while. I’ll see that he gets in touch when he’s done. Figure an hour or two.”

“Great. So the situation is already interfering.”

“Like I said. He’ll call when he has a free moment.”

El Rey shrugged and turned, then paused and looked back at Briones. “Just out of curiosity, who’s the ranking Los Zetas honcho in D.F. these days? Used to be El Jaguar, if memory serves. That still the case?”

“Sounds right.”

El Rey glanced over his shoulder at the men watching the encounter from behind him.

“Tell your boss I’ll be waiting for his call. I’m headed out to the site for another look around. I had a few ideas of how to further tighten things up.”

Briones didn’t answer. The assassin sauntered back to the elevator, and a few moments later the steel cube swallowed him up and some of the tension in the room dissipated. The distinctive ring of Briones’ line sounded from the common room’s work area, and before long the encounter with the assassin was out of his mind as he dealt with a flurry of calls while Cruz coordinated with the team that was investigating Dinah’s disappearance.