Page 37 of Fast Vengeance

“Manny. Phone call for you.”

Manny looked up as David came in through the back door of the rental house, bringing a breath of salt-scented air with him. “Who is it?”

“Ortega.”

His contact within the Mexican Customs Authority. He took the secure, encrypted phone from David, answered as he walked through the kitchen to stand at the windows overlooking the garden. “Ortega. You have news?”

“Yes. The DEA team arrived in Mexico City an hour ago.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. That had been quicker than expected. They must be acting on fresh intelligence. No matter. Manny could easily adjust his own timeline and be ready for them if they were indeed down here for him. “How many men?”

“Twenty-six. Including one of its FAST teams.”

Okay, they must have a credible tip then. A solid lead to hunt with. “Who are they working with?”

“I heard they’re with our special forces.”

As he’d suspected. “And I’m the target?”

“One of them. Apparently they have several active operations in the works.”

So they would also be targeting El Escorpion and Montoya. “Where are they heading next?”

“Veracruz.”

A long way from here. “When?”

“No one knows. Soon, I would think.”

Someone knew. “Find out. I need to know where they are at all times, and know where they’re going before they move. Understood?” His entire plan depended on that insider knowledge.

“Yes. Of course.”

In the meantime, he would have David keep working their contacts until they got an answer and confirmed all of this. “Anything else?”

“No.”

It was enough for now. “Update me immediately when you hear something more.”

“I will.”

Yes, he would. Because if he didn’t, Ortega’s family would suffer for it. That’s the way this game was played, and though Manny didn’t love the violence the way some of his kind did, he certainly wasn’t bluffing. He would use whatever weapon available to him to get what he wanted.

His daughter. At any cost.

He ended the call and handed David back the phone. “They’re in Mexico City with a FAST team, coming to Veracruz. He didn’t know when they’re arriving.”

David’s calm expression never faltered, and Manny was strangely calm as well. They had both prepared as much as possible for what would happen next. All they could do now was see it through. “Everything’s ready. The place is secure and the last chatter we picked up said you were still in Chihuahua,” David said.

So then Manny still might have some time to get everything finalized. Though he wasn’t counting on it. “And Montoya?” The reward money Manny had offered for him should have turned up something by now.

David shook his head, his lips curling in disgust. “No one’s seen him.”

Well he was out there. And every day he kept breathing, the greater the threat he posed became. “Keep working our channels. Put pressure on people, find out where he is and keep on top of the Americans.” Everything depended on advance warning of their arrival.

“I will.”

Manny turned to look out at the balcony. God, he hated being on the run and looking over his shoulder every step of the way. It could be worse, though. He also had time and distance in his favor, since the taskforce hunting him would still be thirteen hundred kilometers away once they reached Veracruz. “When do we move?”

---