Six guards. That wasn’t a good start. That was a lot of enemy personnel.
Dante continued, “He also said that security cameras were set up strategically around the property with infrared motion detectors.”
Shit! What did you expect, Simon? You knew Valentina Mieles would be a hard target to get to. That didn’t change the fact that it would be almost impossible to breach the perimeter during broad daylight.
“Tell him about Nicolás,” Abigail said.
“Who’s Nicolás?”
“Nicolás is her lead bodyguard.”
That was good to know. “What’s his background?”
“Since we don’t have a last name for him, we’re not sure.”
“But you did find something?”
“It’s only a guess—”
“Ah, c’mon, Dante, it’s more than a guess. He fits the physical description that was given to us.”
“Anyway,” Dante continued, ignoring his wife, “I wouldn’t put too much thought into this if I were you, but there’s a Nicolás Gomez born in 1981 who was dishonorably discharged from the Fuerzas Especiales for leaking intelligence to a known drug cartel associate.”
“The Mexican navy special forces?”
“Yes. Supposedly they’re a tier-one unit, but I doubt they really are.”
“Still, he’s someone we’ll need to be careful about.”
Carter ran his hands over his face. His three-day beard was beginning to itch. “How many road access points are there?”
“That’s the good news,” Abigail said, stopping the Land Cruiser to let an old woman cross the street with her dog. “There’s only one.”
Carter was still studying the satellite pictures when they reached the Airbnb rental twenty minutes later. The rental was a small but charming three-story house.
“We’ll drop you off here,” Abigail said. “You’ll find everything you need on the kitchen table. It’s apartment number one, and the code to unlock the door is four-nine-two-three-four.”
“You’re not coming in?”
“We each have our own place,” Dante said, tossing a mobile phone to Carter, “so if one of us gets caught, the whole thing won’t collapse.”
“Check your gear, take what you need, and we’ll link up in thirty minutes,” Abigail said, unlocking the doors. “Dante’s number is the first contact. I’m the second, and the Guadalajara DEA office is the third one.”
Carter climbed out of the Land Cruiser and watched the SUV as it smoothly accelerated away before coming to a stop at an intersection packed with shoppers, commuters, and tourists. Carter stretched and arched his back a few times to loosen up before he made his way to the rental unit. He punched in the five-digit code Abigail had given him, and the door unlocked. He opened it and slid inside.
The place wasn’t big, but it was clean. Carter used the toilet, washed his hands in the sink, and brushed his teeth before he headed to the tiny dining room, where he found a set of car keys and a handwritten note telling him where the vehicle was. He carried the keys with him to the bedroom. On the bed were three medium-size Pelican cases and two duffel bags.
Carter spent the next twenty minutes checking the equipment, loading the weapons, and making sure the NODs had new batteries. Exactly thirty minutes after he was dropped off, Carter called Dante.
“Everything was to your satisfaction?” Dante asked.
Carter, a perfectionist, and exceptionally so when it came to marksmanship, wished he could have test-fired the Glocks and the MP5s, but he had no choice in the matter. “Everything’s fine.”
“How do you want to play it?”
“Our only objective is to confirm that Leila and Sophia are here.”
“What about Hector Mieles?”
“I think it’s fair to assume that if Hector’s here, the girls are here too, agreed?”
“Makes sense.”
“So I’ll head in the direction of the Black Tosca’s residence and drive around once. I’ll call you back once I’m done, and, depending on my findings, I’ll let you know what we’ll do.”