Page 33 of Her Last Hope
First, if there were hostages in the building, it would put them at risk. Ramos wasn’t necessarily the brightest criminal, but he wasn’t stupid and probably had the holding area booby-trapped.
Second, if the hostages had been moved and Fielding and his agents charged, not only could the sky light up from gunfire, but he risked losing the trafficking charge, which brought with it a dozen other felony charges, potentially putting Ramos away for life.
Whereas the casino charge Ramos could possiblyfight, getting the charge and sentence reduced, not really shutting him down.
“How long has this group been held here?” Leandra asked.
“The longest resident would be two weeks. As I told you, there are fifty in all, ranging in age from twelve to twenty. The majority being females,” Ramos said as the car rolled to a stop in front of a set of steel doors next to the loading dock.
Nick stepped from the car. His lungs stung from the scent of gas coming from the semi his brother backed up to the loading bay. The tractor trailer beeped in a continuous pattern until the truck screeched to a halt and Logan jumped from the cab.
“Where’s the money?” Ramos barked.
The metal doors to the building rattled, and two heavily armed men stepped outside, followed by Alicia, who made eye contact but quickly turned away.
The jury was out on what side of the Ho Chi Minh Trail she sat on.
“Here is half.” Logan tossed a bag, which landed with a thud about five feet from the truck. “You’ll get the rest when everyone is loaded.”
“I want to see the rest of it,” Ramos said, a response that didn’t surprise Nick in the least.
Logan turned on his heels, climbed back up in the cab, and pulled down another bag. “You want to look at it, you’ve got to come here.”
“Alicia, get the cash and check out the rest,” Ramos said with a clipped tone. “Let’s settle our business. Mymen created a diversion for Agent Fielding, but we’ve only got thirty minutes before he’s got eyes back on this building.”
Nick’s heart skipped a beat as he stared directly at Alicia who looked everywhere but at him.
Fielding had been adamant that his men had been undetected, but at this point, Nick figured that was only if Alicia was still one of the good guys. “How many eyes? And where have they been planted?” Nick asked, looking around again. Four office buildings stood several stories higher than the warehouse to the east. It would be easy for anyone on the top floor to keep an eye on the other side of the warehouse. To the west was the highway, but Fielding could have put a man up on one of the ramps. North and south were a little more complicated, but there were enough small businesses that could house a stakeout.
“A food truck across from Pendleton Offices and a tow truck from a garage down the other side of the street,” Ramos said.
“What’s the diversion?” Nick asked. Those had been the two stakeouts Fielding had copped to, but Nick suspected Fielding held back some intel. Damn Feds. Of all the organizations he’d worked with over the years, they’d been the least cooperative.
“It’s covered; that’s all you need to know.” Ramos pointed toward Logan. “Open your loading doors and my guys will hook you up to the dock.” Ramos waved them toward the front door. “Pardon the pat down, butif you’re carrying, we’re going to take your weapon. You can have it on the way out.”
“No need.” Nick handed over his Smith and Wesson as did his brother.
Leandra bent over, lifting up her pant leg and pulling her small handgun from its belt.
“Alrighty then.” Ramos held his hand out in front. “Welcome to the Holding Tank.”
Nick held Leandra’s hand, probably a little too hard based on her sideways glance. While he had more power and strength, she definitely outsmarted him in most areas…except tactical, which was her only weakness, and if this plan went south, she, unfortunately, was their weakest link.
They followed the armed men through a short corridor and then into the main storage area.
“Isn’t Alicia coming with us?” Leandra asked.
“She’s going to count the money,” Ramos said.
Nick strained to focus on the building. The only lighting provided was by a couple of flashlights. Various desks, sofas, and other home décor were set up in work stations. Ramos had built a reputation for being the king of restoration and was used by many of the rich and famous to make what was old, new again, creating unique pieces from any period of time.
No way did Ramos know anything about this business.
Just a front.
Nick noted the staircase at the far end of the building.According to the blueprints, the second floor was where all the offices were located. He also noticed how new the inside of the building looked even though there hadn’t been any permits or changes recorded by the county.
Which meant the plans they were working off were most likely wrong.
