A Touch of Regret (A Nick Bracco Thriller Book 8), page 18
“Barely,” Tommy said. Jake and Silvio sat next to him wiping grime from their hands and tending to small lacerations.
“You two okay?” Nick said to Jake and Silvio.
He got a couple of nods.
Matt was scrubbing the VIN from Tommy’s car so it wouldn’t be traced back to Nick, while Lloyd was on the phone making sure the appropriate local police came to the scene and saw things the way Lloyd told them to see it.
Nick looked down at Gallardo’s vacant mausoleum and wondered how far away he was at that very moment. Lightning blanched the sky above them and a second later a loud boom of thunder exploded overhead. Another rain cell was about to pass over them.
Silvio got to his feet and hobbled over to the remains of the SUV. He bent down and picked up a metal rod from the frame of the vehicle and began scraping something into the desert floor. After a minute he dropped the rod and headed back to the group.
A horn beeped and when Nick turned, Lloyd was behind the wheel and yelled, “Let’s go! We can’t be here when law enforcement arrives.”
Nick reached down and Tommy grabbed his hand. When Nick pulled him to his feet, Tommy said, “Now what?”
Nick walked to the car with a knot in his stomach. “Now we’re going to Red’s place and I’m going to shackle Jake to his refrigerator.”
# # #
“Why does Daddy always have to be working?” Thomas asked, sitting on the beach and digging a hole in the sand.
Julie looked up at their temporary home atop a cliff overlooking La Jolla Cove. It was approaching low tide and Thomas seemed to be waiting a while for a new wave to replenish his hole with water, yet like his dad, it wasn’t coming anytime soon.
“Well,” Julie said, her fingers playing in the sand next to him, “Daddy has an important job and sometimes he needs to be away for a few days to get his work done.”
“To chase bad guys?”
“Um, he’s not always ch—”
“What if the bad guys start chasing him?”
Julie’s words got stuck in her throat. Thomas was getting old enough to imagine real scenarios. “That can’t happen though because Daddy is in a very secret club that doesn’t allow the bad guys to know anything about him.”
“Oh. What’s the name of his club?”
“Well, even the name is a secret,” she said not wanting Thomas to tell anyone his dad worked for the FBI.
“Why?”
“Because they like to be private.”
“But why?”
“Well, they like to be... um—”
“Because the bad guys might come to their houses?”
“No, no, Thomas, the bad guys would never go to the good guy’s homes.”
“But why?”
Julie glanced around the beach for a distraction. She found one. A man was throwing a Frisbee for his dog and it landed nearby. “Hey, look at that dog playing catch.”
Thomas smiled as the animated creature jumped around with the Frisbee in his mouth and pranced back to the man, dropping it at his feet.
Thomas stared as the dog backed away, wagging his tail and anxiously waiting for the Frisbee to glide through the ocean breeze. The man teased the dog, waving the Frisbee in front of him. When he finally flicked his wrist, it floated to the left, then swung smoothly around the beach until it dove straight down over Julie and Thomas’s head. They both ducked and laughed as it skidded across the sand right behind them.
The dog scooped the Frisbee in his mouth and darted away, kicking up sand at them with his paws. Julie smiled as she wiped away loose bits of sand from her son’s cheek. The man saw this and came over.
“I’m so sorry,” he said with a slight Mexican accent, looking at Julie in her two-piece maybe a second longer than needed. “He’s just a little excited to be out here on the beach. I hope you understand.”
“Of course,” Julie said, brushing the remaining specs from Thomas’s hair.
The man did something that caused Julie to sit closer to Thomas. The guy didn’t leave right away. Instead, he reached into his shorts pocket and removed a plastic wheel with tiny dots at the end of the spokes. He spun the wheel with his index finger, and the tips lit up in different colors. “Here,” he said, handing the wheel to Thomas. “It’s an old Mexican prayer wheel. When you spin it, you’re supposed to pray as the wheel turns.”
Thomas’s eyes grew with excitement as he held the toy which, to Julie, looked like a low shelf prize from a penny arcade.
“Does it work?” Thomas asked with his innocent voice.
“If you pray hard enough,” the man said, looking at Julie as if he’d just given her son the Hope Diamond.
Julie’s warning antenna flared up. She couldn’t possibly take the toy away from him, and maybe that was just what the guy wanted.
“Thank you so much,” Julie said, beginning to collect Thomas’s beach toys.
“Are you guys here for the week?” the man asked.
Before Julie could answer, Thomas said, “We’re here for a long time. My dad is coming to be with us too. He works for a secret club.”
The guy looked at Julie who shrugged as if she didn’t understand what Thomas was referencing. “We really need to get going,” Julie said gathering their stuff and putting them into her beach bag.
“Nice talking with you,” the guy said with a strange look.
Julie could feel her pulse beating in her ears as she peeked over her shoulder and saw the man watching them with a curious expression. She grabbed Thomas by the hand and trudged along the uneven sand, which gripped her feet like suction cups.
As they climbed the steep cement stairwell that led to street level, Thomas asked, “How come we had to leave?”
“Because you need to take a bath and I need to cook us dinner.”
“But didn’t we just eat lunch?”
“Yes, but dinner takes a long time to cook,” Julie said, watching the man return to throwing the Frisbee to his dog. Nick had done this to her. He never walked across the street without noticing every detail around them, and it was hard to turn off, even on vacation. Especially one that was prompted by a job-related threat. They’d been together so long, Julie knew the size of the threat by how far they had to travel to avoid danger. This time it was only San Diego and no security detail. But her paranoia was in full flare as she locked the door behind them and peered down the long expanse to the beach below. The man was still throwing his Frisbee, paying no attention to their house. Julie’s nerves finally calmed a bit.
When she turned, Thomas was twirling his new toy with a giant grin. The sad part was that all Julie could think about was the fact that the wheel might have a listening device inside, or a GPS tracker.
The thing that settled her down was her trust in Nick. He would never leave them vulnerable. Ever. That one thought kept her heartbeat close to normal.
That and the glass of wine she was about to pour.
Chapter 32
Gallardo sat behind his desk with the office TV turned to Telemundo. On the screen was the remnant of a burning vehicle found in the desert just north of the Mexican border. The desert was smoldering with violence. Rico was dead. So was Pedro Cruz. But by who? And why?
He needed to know the truth, but knew he might never find it. Not among the crime lords he was entangled with.
The TV helicopter showed an aerial view of the burned vehicle. Next to the smoldering chassis in a patch of clearing were the letters DM etched into the desert floor. Daunte Morales. The message was loud and clear. There was a war happening now and he needed to be smart about the decisions he made. Retribution would have a price.
Gallardo placed a task on Dark Wallet while monitoring the broadcast. He hovered his finger over the keyboard and watched the reporter mention his name associated with the vehicle that was destroyed. The moment she mentioned Rico’s name, he pressed the send button. It was done.
Iggy walked in. “What’s wrong?”
Gallardo showed her the Morales symbol on the desert floor.
Iggy placed a hand over her mouth.
Gallardo glanced at the open door.
“No, no, don’t go looking for emotional support from Arturo,” Iggy said. “You need to retaliate, and you need to do it right away. Every minute Morales thinks he has beaten you, he gains strength. This is no time to be spineless.”
Gallardo’s blood ran hot through his veins. He instructed Iggy to shut his office door, then pointed to a chair in front of his desk.
Iggy sat.
Gallardo muted the TV and leaned back in his high-back leather chair. “Do not try to humiliate me. I have my plans. Do you understand?”
Iggy sat stone-faced, crossing her bare legs and folding her arms across her chest. “I am simply saying what all the men are thinking. You don’t know because you live inside this large office inside this mansion and don’t see and hear what I do.”
“And what is that?”
“They think you are afraid of Daunte. Afraid he will pilfer your men just like he did with your pilot.”
“You need to understand that I’m climbing up the side of a mountain. I know exactly where I am going. You are throwing weather my way and exposing me to things which I shouldn’t be exposed to.”
Iggy made a face. “What are you talking about? You sound like that ancient Chinese general, making up stories without any proof that his theories even work. He lived in 500 BC. How could you possibly know if this guy was the genius you think he is? How would you test out one of his strategies? Start a war and see if he was right?”
“Well, you need—”
“And what would he know about the weapons which are available today? They used bows and arrows and threw rocks at each other. You don’t think his strategy is a little outdated?”
“He never lost a battle.”
“With slingshots.”
“Regardless, all warfare is based on deception. This is the main thing that I have learned from him.” Gallardo rocked forward in his chair. “I have a great surprise for Mr. Morales. As long as you do not create a sense of weakness among my crew, it will succeed. That cannot be tolerated.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Gallardo frowned. “Do you remember how I saved you?”
“Oh, no,” Iggy held up her hands. “Are we going to have this conversation again? You saved me?”
“You think you could have made it on your own? You really believe that?”
“Stop. You underestimate me all the time and it’s annoying.”
“I underestimate nothing. You are dangerous. I know that.”
“Then quit using the same distorted version of history. It is hurting my ears.”
Gallardo got to his feet and roamed his office. He did his best thinking while pacing. The motion kept his mind fertile with ideas. He didn’t understand why, but something about the mind and the body in motion.
There was a knock on the door.
“Yes,” Gallardo ordered.
Arturo poked his head inside the door as if he might be interrupting something sensitive.
“Come,” Gallardo insisted. “What is it?”
Through the open door, Gallardo could sense a buzz on the floor below. Hushed voices and hurried steps echoed throughout the massive corridors. News of Rico’s death had reached the crew.
Arturo stepped in. “We are low on supplies. Food and alcohol for the poker game tonight.”
Gallardo walked over to the large picture window which overlooked the backyard. Standing by himself in nothing but shorts and sandals was Mateo Martinez. The kid smiled while watering the grass from a lengthy hose. The only problem was that he was watering the artificial putting green.
“Send Mateo,” Gallardo said.
Arturo didn’t speak for a moment, but he didn’t move either.
“Did you hear me?” Gallardo said.
“Yes, but you don’t mean send him by himself, do you?”
“Of course I do.”
“But, he is...”
“I understand what he is,” Gallardo said, watching the poor simpleton leaving a puddle of water on the synthetic grass. “He was my best driver before the accident. He knows the route. He’s taken it a thousand times. Have him take the Humvee, this way if he hits someone, he’ll never feel it.”
When Gallardo turned, he saw Arturo looking at the TV.
“It was a missile,” Gallardo said absently.
Arturo stared at the screen and said, “What kind of missile?”
“From a drone.”
Arturo said, “Look!”
“What?”
“There,” he said, pointing to an open spot next to the debris where the letters ‘DM’ were etched into the desert floor.
“Yes,” Gallardo confirmed.
“Daunte?” Arturo wondered out loud.
“Yes.”
Gallardo always thought it might come to this, but not this soon. “We need to have everyone available. Call in the rest of the men and have them here. Fortify our position. No one comes or goes without my permission.”
Arturo was captured by the images he was seeing on the screen. “We should move to a different location.”
“No. That is when we are vulnerable. We stay here for now. Once the vote is official tomorrow morning, we can make our move.”
“Why would he do this now?” Arturo asked. “Right before the Senate vote? We have the upper hand. We control the deciding vote.”
And, of course, that was the question which ran through Gallardo’s mind. The timing felt wrong. Yet his actions would escalate the war and make their entire operation vulnerable. At least this was what he wanted Daunte to think. Act weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak.
“The poker game tonight,” Arturo said. “Should we cancel?”
“Absolutely not. We have some very important players coming. This cannot interrupt their attendance.” Gallardo looked up at him. “You understand that, right?”
Arturo nodded but seemed unsure.
Gallardo went over to his cousin. “We have leverage that I have yet to use. Tonight, I will use that leverage to get my revenge. Our revenge.”
“What will you do?”
“Let me handle the details. Just have everyone ready. And let the crew know I am responding to this attack. They must understand that Rico did not die in vain. I cannot explain further. You will have to trust me.”
Arturo seemed to understand his role. He nodded with more conviction.
Gallardo never considered himself a gangster. Not like Daunte Morales and some of the other monsters who forced their men into hazardous situations. With Gallardo, it was almost as if he were playing a part in a movie. He merely had to appear strong and wise, even if he didn’t believe some of his own moves. Being decisive was more important than being right.
He motioned for Arturo to leave and returned to his chair behind his desk. He needed to respond to the disgusted look on Iggy’s face. “Mateo is not well, and everyone knows this. Even the animals of the street would not bother him. It’s too cruel for even them.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“I sleep just fine.” He leaned back in his chair. “What is really bothering you?”
“Nothing,” Iggy said looking out the same window he was just peering through. “It’s just, I would like to be included in your plans.”
“You want to know what I’m doing?”
“Yes. I do.”
Gallardo wiped imaginary dust from the top of his desk, then gazed at his bare hand. “Daunte Morale’s daughter, Isabela, is very fond of animals. She’s going to school to become a veterinarian.”
Iggy seemed anxious for him to get to the point. “I’m familiar with Isabela. We were just at her wedding.”
“Correct. And Daunte loves her more than anything in the world.”
Iggy glared. “You wouldn’t dare–”
Gallardo held up his hand. “Let me finish. I issued a reward on Dark Wallet, anyone who leaves a dead dog on Daunte Morales property gets a $5,000 reward.”
“Eww. You don’t even know for sure it was him that killed Pedro and Rico.”
“Please,” Gallardo scoffed. “He had his signature logo etched into the desert floor. Believe me, it was him.”
“So, in return for killing two men on your payroll, you’re going to have some dead animals dropped off on his property?”
Gallardo smirked. “Who do you think Daunte will send to clean up the dead beasts?”
Iggy shrugged, looking confused and disgusted all at once.
“He will send some low-level crew members to take care of the mess. However,” Gallardo walked around Iggy and shut his office door. “One of those dogs will have a bomb inside waiting to explode. Do you know what that is called?”
“Loco?”
“Deception.”
“So then you start a war?”
“The war has already begun. Once Rico and Pedro were murdered, the battle had begun.”
“And you’re going to use some ancient general’s advice to win this war?”
Gallardo was not liking Iggy’s attitude Iggy. “Now you are underestimating me.” He folded his arms across his chest. “This poker game I’m having tonight, do you know who is coming?”
Iggy shook her head.
“The chief of police, Juan Chavez. He comes with his own set of guards. I will be the most protected civilian in the country. Should Daunte come looking for a fight, he will be very disappointed.”
Iggy crossed those legs. Her superpower.
“And what happens tomorrow? And the next day? Is Chief Chavez going to move in?”
Gallardo had heard enough of her insubordination, but needed her to behave for just a few more hours. “We will be leaving tonight. You and me. There’s a new pilot coming and he’s going to fly us to Acapulco. I have a place there up in the mountains which no one knows about. Not even Arturo.”
There was a sparkle in her eyes he’d never seen before. As if the underbelly of her demeanor decided to let loose. “Are you serious? You will take me away from here and move to the ocean? For how long?”
Gallardo got caught up in her enthusiasm. “For as long as you want. I can operate my business from anywhere. There are nightclubs with live music and the restaurants are beyond belief.”
