Page 39 of Deadly Target
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Later that afternoon,Victor sat at the safe house once more with Thomas, Ronni, and Roman, filling in some blanks for Emma on the other end of the phone. Olivia had shooting practice and then the job at four that afternoon, so he was meeting her at her place that evening.
Meanwhile, Victor had the dog with him. Taz lay under his chair at the kitchen table. It wasn’t really big enough for all four of them and their assorted laptops and phones, but they’d squeezed in best they could. Emma was working on a psychological profile for the shooter, and they were feeding her Victor’s latest theory about the Kings and Fifty-seven Gang working together.
“Crimes committed across territories by cooperating OCGs—organized crime groups—is nothing new,” Thomas explained. “Colombian cartels and Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have been operating within the United States for decades, often working together to advance their mutual goals.”
Roman shifted awkwardly, trying to find space for his legs. “Terrorist groups work with drug trafficking organizations in a symbiotic relationship too. For instance, Hezbollah established a strong base in Latin America, working with Mexican DTOs to launder money, finance terrorism, and smuggle people. The Intelligence Community has seen a growing international convergence of OCGs and terrorist organizations taking advantage of the specialized skills and assets of each group.”
“The mafia has worked with al-Qaida and outlaw motorcycle gangs here in the US to carry out criminal operations,” Victor added. “All of these groups have diverging interests, goals and philosophies, yet they’re working together to capitalize on each other’s specific skills or assets.”
They heard typing on the other end, Emma making notes. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, then, eh? Very enterprising of them, and a little surprising, since I’m sure each group feels they are the power player in any of those scenarios.”
Ronni took off her reading glasses and tossed them on her keyboard. “These working relationships are usually short term. It would not surprise me if both the Kings and DeStefano’s Fifty-seven Gang are pooling resources, and also secretly planning to wipe each other out once their goal is accomplished.”
“It’s a possibility we have to consider,” Victor said. “Cooper’s shooting appears like a mob hit, while the bombing points to the Kings.”
Thomas leaned in and took a sip of his soda, staring at photographs from the latest crime scene. “This definitely looks like the work of a mafia hitman.”
More typing. “Or someonewantedit to,” Emma countered.
Ronni sat up and studied the photos too. “That’s it. It’s possible the two organizations are working together, but it’s also possible they’re each trying to frame the other for these crimes.”
She had a point and Victor rolled both ideas around in his head.
Roman shifted again, still not seeming to find the right spot for his long legs. “We have three other Kings we’re searching for in the bombing case that have explosive experience and/or have used a bomb in a crime. So far, none have been home, but my team has all three residences staked out.”
“I think it’s time to stakeout Gino DeStefano and Frankie Molina too,” Victor said. He planned to keep an eye on Alfonso Barone himself, hopefully without stepping on Olivia’s toes. “Thomas, you know all the cartels and their leaders. Is it possible to track down Silvestre Santos?”
Santos was head of the Kings, and much like DeStefano, kept a low profile, moving his home and headquarters around a lot. At any given time, he might be drinking champagne in a millionaire’s estate in Bel Air or slumming it with some of his family members along the Mexican border.
Thomas quirked a blond brow. “Track him down, as in bring him in for questioning, or put surveillance on him?”
Victor looked at Roman. “Either way works for me. What do you think? Putting pressure on the leaders of both the mafia and cartel might prove fruitful.”
Roman nodded slowly. Victor could see the gears turning in his head, analyzing the options. “I agree. The clock is ticking. Why don’t we start with the lieutenants in both organizations and work up from there.”
The lieutenants often ran the day to day activities and were easier to track down in most cases. Victor’s phone vibrated with an incoming call and he rose from the table, stretching his own long legs and hoping it was Olivia. Taz crawled out from under the chair, stood, and shook himself out. “Good idea,” Victor said to the group. “Work out the details. I’ll be back in a minute.”
As he walked into an extra bedroom, his high spirits sank. He plopped on the bed and the dog jumped up to sit next to him. “Director Allen,” he said, answering. “I was about to call you to give you an update.”
“I see Dr. Walsh went around the FBI and gained permission to create a special taskforce for this investigation.”
Great. Just what he needed, his boss pissed at Homeland. Well, he could be pissed all he wanted. Roman and his boss had made the right call, and Allen would have to suck it up.
“After much discussion, we agreed there was crossover between investigations we’ve both been working on,” he lied. He also preferred to use Roman’s law enforcement title. “Agent Walsh has had positive input on the case so far, and one of his people discovered a possible witness, who upon follow-up, was discovered murdered earlier today by what appears to be a mob hit. It’s all tied together.”
That told him a whole lot of nothing, but sounded good, which usually resulted in getting the man off Victor’s back.
A long pause met his ears and he braced for the yelling he anticipated was coming. “I’m working with the Justice Department on that funding you need for increased security for your agents,” Allen said.
Whoa. Wait. Victor had not expected that. On the other hand, Allen never liked to be outshone by any organization and was known in certain circles to enjoy a good pissing match over territories and various cases. Usually those cases involved high-profile victims or clients, but whatever. Victor would take all the help he could get.
“A word of warning,” Allen added. “Showing up in the tabloids is probably not in your best interest if you feel like either the Fifty-seven Gang or the Kings are targeting your people. Whoever their high profile target is, it could be you, so maybe you should be laying low as well as your agents.”
Victor made a face and Taz whimpered. Shit on a stick. He’d already forgotten about the photo, but now he was going to have to hunt someone down and put the fear of God in them. Or in this case, Victor Dupé.
Maybe this was why the director was suddenly on board with the extra funding—a glamorous actress had entered the equation.
