Once again, they all went into Noah and Sarah's room and sat down to eat. Sarah turned on the TV; news of the explosion and investigation was dominating all of the local channels and some of the national ones.
The FBI had made it into town, as the deputy had said, and one of their spokesmen told a number of reporters that they were looking at the possibility of a drug-related hit. There was no word yet on what type of explosives might have been used, but the devastation seemed to indicate that it was definitely something powerful. The spokesman said that the FBI was working with local and state authorities, and was actively looking for several suspects.
The television displayed two pictures, photos of men who were considered to be suspects in the bombing. Ironically, they were photographs of Armando Rodriguez and Carlos Perez. According to the spokesman, they were known associates of Enrique and Alejandra Gomez, and there had been rumors of a rivalry in their organization over the past few months.
“Good luck finding either one of them,” Neil said around a chicken leg. “You'd have to sweep up a lot of debris and go through it for DNA to find those guys.”
“Nah,” Moose said, “they can probably find a finger or two, get prints off of those.”
Sarah looked at the two of them. “I don't think either one of you guys has ever grown up,” she said. “You're like twelve-year-olds, you think anything gross or disgusting is funny.”
Both men looked at her in silence for a moment, and then Neil grinned. “Gee, thanks, Sarah,” he said. “I think that's the nicest compliment you've ever given us.” He went back to chomping on the chicken leg.
Noah had watched the exchange, but just shook his head. “We'll be leaving in the morning,” he said. “I don't think it will be any surprise when people start checking out of hotels around town after this, so let's be ready to get up early and head out. I'm sure I'll hear from Allison in the morning, but domestic mission protocol says we don't call in for at least twenty-four hours after completion, in case the authorities are monitoring phone calls.”
Neil dropped the leg bone into the now-empty bucket. “No problem,” he said, “I'm ready to get some sleep, anyway.”
“Yeah, me too,” Moose echoed. “What time you want us up and ready in the morning?”
“I want to look normal. We'll check out around seven thirty, then maybe hit Denny's again for breakfast before we get on the road.”
The guys agreed, and left the room. Sarah finished the last bite of her chicken and headed for the shower. She paused at the bathroom doorway and looked back at Noah.
“You coming?”
*
The team checked out on schedule and was back on the road by eight thirty that morning. They had put more than fifty miles behind them by the time Noah's cell phone rang at just after nine.
“Good morning, Camelot,” he heard Allison say. “From all the reports, it appears you have had a successful mission.”
“It seemed to come out okay,” Noah said. “We managed to get them all together in one place, and take the whole lot of them out at once.”
“Yes, and I can't wait for the debriefing on this one. Our friends at DEA are freaking out a bit, they didn't expect you to make such a big hole in the city. I told them they got what they ordered and to shut up. Of course, that doesn't stop the FBI from running their mouths, but nothing ever does.”
“Well, I hope I haven’t caused you any problems,” Noah said. “You told me to make a statement, and I think I did.”
Allison burst out laughing. “Let me tell you something, Camelot,” she said. “I've been up since four o'clock this morning, getting calls from every agency chief you can imagine. You have shaken not only the Angelos Cartel, but every drug cartel in Latin America. From what I'm hearing, they're having trouble getting anyone to think about coming in and taking over. As for the feds, they're in heaven. Your explosion, because it looks like all of your targets were eliminated, gave them everything they needed to get warrants to search the remaining homes. They're finding all kinds of stuff, even evidence of dirty cops in the area. They'll be having a field day for at least six months out of this.”
“Glad to hear it. We should be home late tonight. You want us in tomorrow morning for debrief?”
“Absolutely,” Allison said. “I'll have the coffee and doughnuts ready. Great job, Camelot, tell your team for me.”
Noah put the phone away. “Queen Allison says we did a good job,” he said. “I guess it gave the DEA an excuse to get warrants on the rest of the targets, and they're having a lot of fun with it.”
“We debrief in the morning?” Moose asked.
“Yep. Bright and early, of course. Breakfast in the conference room, coffee and doughnuts.”
Neil groaned. “Is there something in the operations manual that says we aren't allowed to get enough sleep? Why couldn't we debrief at noon? Lunch, instead of breakfast?”