Page 12 of Operation: Silent Angel
“At a luxury resort just north of Cancun.”
“Is he affiliated with any of the cartels?” Cooper asked.
“From what I’ve seen, affiliated yes, a member of any specific cartel, no. However, the cartels all seem to give him a tremendous amount of leeway. I’d almost say he’s untouchable. So, that tells me he’s working with them and providing them with a great deal of income. That’s the only thing that explains how he moves throughout all of Latin America and Mexico.”
“He’s bound to have valuable information on multiple groups,” Shepherd said. “Obtaining that intel from him would be useful to multiple agencies.”
Mac nodded his agreement. “He’s booked at the resort for six more days. If he stays the entire time, we have our window that we’ll know where he is, so we can scoop him up.”
“Six days seems like a long time for him to be hanging out at the resort,” Cooper said. “Is he also conducting business there? If we surveil him, we may identify others who need to be off the street as well.”
“I had also considered that,” Mac said. “My request for that portion was also declined by my superiors at Interpol.”
“Which is why you came to ask for our help rather than intercepting him alone,” Shepherd said. “We both know you could have secured him alone.”
“Doable, but not optimal,” Mac said. “And if he’s meeting with any cartel heavy hitters, there may be additional security in place that would royally fuck up my ability to carry out my mission.”
Yvette saw the expression on Shepherd’s face that signaled he agreed with Mac’s assertion. She could also see the gears turning in Shepherd’s head. He was already mentally staffing the mission.
“Plus, there is the exfil and the interrogation to consider as well as transmitting the intel to the appropriate agencies, which are all your team’s specialty,” Mac added.
There was silence in the room for several beats before Shepherd spoke. “I think nine of my team on the ground in Cancun, including our onsite Ops Team,” Shepherd said. His gaze shifted to Yvette. “With zero lead-time on this, we’re going to limit the Ops Team to two. I’m going to assign Garcia to be your Ops partner so if anything goes south, we can pull him into the action.”
She nodded. She knew she could tap on the Digital Team as well as the HQ Ops Team for assistance if needed.
Then Shepherd’s eyes shifted to Cooper. “You and Miller will be booked guests, as will Lambchop and Saxton, to surveil our target and any of his associates we may identify.”
“Roth and Woods would be the last logical team members,” Cooper said. “She’s ready for a mission such as this.”
“We do need a team medic, and I do think staffing our mission with couples who are checked into the resort as guests will provide us the best cover,” Shepherd said.
“Agreed,” Cooper said. “Two men would be more suspicious for the cartel security.”
“Mother will round out the team,” Shepherd said. “Including you,” Shepherd added, his gaze shifting to Mac, “that makes ten on the ground.”
“Can Ruiz identify you, Mac?” Cooper asked.
“If I’ve done my job right, he doesn’t even know he’s been found or has been under surveillance,” he answered. “He’s never seen me.”
“What will be your cover during this Op?” Shepherd asked.
“I’ve already checked into the resort. I plan to make contact with him as a customer. He may be on the Red List and arrestable, but I’d still like to have irrefutable proof at the moment of arrest to back me up and to shove the resistance I received right down the General Secretariat’s throat. I also want to learn how he’sconducting business and find out with whom. It’s not enough to take him down. I want to dismantle the entire organization. If this is the end of my career, I plan to go out with a bang.”
Yvette noticed, as did Shepherd and Cooper, that Mac’s voice was strong and unapologetic. There was no bitterness or anger in his tone, just his righteous desire to take one of the world’s worst criminals into custody.
“Mother will be your protection,” Shepherd said as he nodded at Mac, approving his plan.
“Do you believe the General Secretariat of Interpol is personally protecting this guy?” Cooper asked.
“No, but someone he has deferred decision-making power to, is.” Mac paused, and his eyes swept from Shepherd to Cooper. “How fast can you put this together?”
Shepherd checked his watch. “It’ll take a few hours. Angel will make the reservations for our three couples at the resort.” Shepherd said.
“Ruiz is booked in building one, which is also where my room is. There are no appropriate structures for the onsite Ops Center close enough to the resort. If we can sneak our people and equipment onto the resort property, my room can function as the Ops Center,” Mac said.
“Mac, get all the particulars to Garcia ASAP. His Digital Team will pull together the info on the resort so we can fully formulate the plan.”
Mac nodded.
