THE CUSTOMS AGENT SPOKE in Spanish to Luna.
Luna answered, pointing at the papers Roark had given him, repeating the same thing he had said in Spanish for the past five minutes.
Talerco studied his fingernails.
Tyler bounced his foot.
Collins tapped his thumb on his leg.
Tank sat rigidly, perfectly still.
Neil stared at the customs agent.
I could smell their adrenaline.
Weapons were not permitted on the plane, but we were all armed. Disregarding regulations, we had all brought our own concealed gun on board.
I glanced at the time on my cell phone.
We needed to get off the plane and get to the port.
The customs agent looked suspiciously around the cabin, then settled on Talerco. “Why are you here?” he asked in accented English.
Talon lazily pushed to his feet and smiled. “Bachelor party.” He slapped Luna on the shoulder. “My friends thought I needed one last hurrah before I tied the knot.” He leaned toward the customs agent. “I didn’t have the heart to tell ’em testosterone and margaritas aren’t as temptin’ as my woman.” He chuckled.
The customs agent handed the paperwork back to Luna and quoted a fee.
Luna pulled cash out of his wallet and gave it to the customs agent.
The customs agent pocketed the money and nodded once before taking his leave.
Luna exhaled.
Talon slapped him on the shoulder again. “Relax, Patrol. He was just tryin’ to get a rise out of you. And a bribe.” Talon chuckled again. “Next time you might wanna get with the program if you wanna speed the process up.”
“I’m not going to a fucking Mexican jail for offering a bribe to a customs agent.” He shook his head. “No way in hell.” He glanced at his watch then at Tank. “We got supplies coming?”
Tank was looking down at his phone. “Our ride’s already here.”
Luna glanced at Roark. “You stay with the plane. If we’re not back in three hours, head back without us and switch to plan B.” Luna glanced at all of us. “Everyone set on the backup plan?”
The backup plan had us getting out of Mexico by vehicle. Once we got to the Texas border and crossed, then we were to call Roark or Luna’s office to arrange a pickup or an additional escort. The problem with plan B was the highway between the port and the Texas border. Luna referred to it as the Highway of Death. He had said it was impassable without an armed Mexican federal police escort.
“We are all in consensus.” Neil stood. “Let’s go.”
Seven of us exited the plane.
Two SUVs similar to Luna’s vehicles were waiting with drivers, engines running. I got in the vehicle with Luna, Talon, and Neil. The driver did not say a word as he drove off the hot, dusty tarmac. Twenty minutes later, the driver speeding through increasingly deserted streets, no one spoke.
I glanced behind us for the other vehicle, but it was gone.
The hair on the back of my neck rose.
Luna was in the front passenger seat, Talon behind in the third row of seats. Neil sat next to me. I moved my foot and tapped Neil’s boot once.
His gaze trained out the tinted window, Neil did not acknowledge me.
I tapped again.
Deep, quiet, Neil spoke. But the words were in another language.
If I was not staring straight ahead, I would have missed the slight lift of Luna’s chin.
Before I took my next breath, both Neil and Luna moved.
Neil’s arm went around the driver’s neck as Luna reached over and grabbed the wheel.
The SUV swerved violently.
The driver choked and kicked and flailed his arms.
“Motherfucker,” Talon swore from the back seat. “End this now, Vikin’!”
Neil snapped the driver’s neck.
“’Bout fuckin’ time.” Talon cursed again. “Kick his ass out.”
Luna held the wheel while Neil reached forward and opened the driver door.
As if they had choreographed their maneuvers, Luna shoved the dead driver out. Hot air rushing in, the vehicle still moving, Luna held the steering wheel and crawled into the driver seat. “Fucking pendejo.” He yanked the driver door shut.
Neil leaned back in his seat.
“I thought you two ladies were fuckin’ sleepin’ on the job.” Talon scoffed. “That fucker took a detour ten minutes ago. Tank is on my shit list.”
Luna pulled his phone out, dialed and held it to his ear. “Where the fuck are you?… Jesucristo. Yeah we will talk about it, but not right now. You got any fucking supplies because this vehicle is empty… Copy.” He handed his phone back to Neil. “Get GPS up on the location Tank’s got.”
Neil took the phone and held it to his ear. “Address,” he demanded. A second later, he hung up, swiped across the screen a few times then handed the phone back to Luna. “We are ten minutes away.”
I glanced behind me at Talon. “Is there anything in the back?”
Talon scoffed. “Not a thing.” He looked over my shoulder. “Patrol. Who the fuck was this prick Tank hired?”
Luna glanced at the cell phone’s GPS. “No clue, but we’re on our own, and Tank’s vehicle has limited guns and ammo.”
“They got medical supplies?” Talon asked.
“Don’t count on it.” Luna reached in his pocket, then handed each of us one of the small communication devices for our ears. “We’ve got comms, our personal weapons, and hopefully some long-range firepower when we meet up with Tank. We’ve figured shit out with way less before, we’ll do it again.”
Talon took his device and put it in his ear. “They get rid of their driver?”
Luna shook his head. “Their driver was Tank’s contact. He claimed he had no idea our driver was up to something.”
“What kinda idiot takes on four guys in an unarmed SUV?” Talon asked.
Luna shrugged. “A desperate one.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Or a paid one.”
“You think Estevez knows we are coming?” Neil interjected.
“No clue, but I’m gonna assume the worst.”
I only had one priority at this point. “How are we going to get the women back with limited ammunition?”
Luna met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Creatively.”