Page 37 of Operation: Silent Angel
“Yeah,” she said dismissively, but her voice was shaky, and she still had tears streaming down her face.
Briana came beside the woman. “Christy, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” The woman’s clothes were intact, so she knew she hadn’t been assaulted yet.
“How do you know my name?” She looked wildly around the room. “Who are you people?”
“Relax, we’re the good guys,” Briana said.
“How is Moreno?” Yvette asked through comms.
“Just starting to come around,” Roth said. He had a bathroom towel pressed against his head wound. “He’s probably got a mild concussion. I’d like to see the footage of the strike to decide how bad it could be.” He knew that calling an ambulance or any local authorities was not something they wanted to do unless they had no other choice. More than likely, Moreno would be fine as he was already coming to.
“Footage?” Christy echoed.
“Lambchop and Lah-lee should be on scene in a matter of minutes,” Yvette broadcast.
“MP, can you take her to your room?” Garcia called over to her. “We need to start asking questions, which means we need to separate them.”
“Yes,” Briana said, standing up. “Christy, I need you to come with me.”
“I’m not leaving Raph,” she said.
“Yes, you are,” Briana said. “But don’t worry; my colleague will look after him. We’ll get the two of you reunited as soon as wecan.” She pulled on Christy’s arm, prompting her to stand. When the young woman didn’t, Briana said, “Please. I don’t want to have to escort you at gunpoint. We’re the same as your dad, served in similar units. As I said, Christy, we’re the good guys and we need your help. There’s a lot of innocent people in danger right now because of Ruiz, people we can help.”
A disturbed expression passed over Christy’s face. She nodded and stood.
“Thank you,” Briana said.
She led the young woman from the room, her hand holding Christy’s arm. Briana was vigilant for any signs she’d run or try to alert someone to the fact that she really wasn’t going voluntarily. But she didn’t. Briana got a cold bottle of water from the mini-fridge and handed it to Christy after she was seated at the dining table. Then Briana got one for herself and sat across from her.
“Our team has been surveilling Ruiz for the last two days. We saw your dinner with him last night and had one of our people close enough to hear most of your dinner conversation too. Did you know Ruiz is on Interpol’s Red List?”
“If that means there are several countries he’s wanted in, yes,” Christy answered. “Raphael is trying to locate his niece. She disappeared a few weeks ago, and he believes Ruiz trafficked her. That’s why I agreed to help. She’s only fifteen years old.”
Briana’s heart thumped in her chest. “Stopping people like Ruiz is what we do. We’re also pretty good at getting info out of people. If he knows where she is, we’ll make him tell us.”
“I hope you’re right,” Christy said.
“Where’s your dad?” Briana asked.
Christy looked confused by the question. “He’s following other leads.”
“Here in Cancun?” Briana asked.
Christy looked away. “I’m not sure where. He stopped answering my calls and texts a few days ago.” She didn’t have to say out loud how worried about him she was. The expression on her face said it for her.
Briana switched her comms to transmit and relayed the conversation to everyone on the team. She even sent the most recent picture of Walter Dyer that Christy had on her phone. His one notable feature was a diagonal scar across his forehead.
Lambchop and Laura Lee arrived moments after Briana and Christy had gone. “Where do you need us, Mac?”
“We need to split up and interview these three,” he said, motioning to Ruiz and the two women.
“And him,” Lambchop said, nodding to Moreno.
“We’re one room short on this side of the resort,” Mac said. “MP already took Christy to her room.”
“Then we do those three individually and hold them together before and after,” Lambchop said. “Who do you want to talk to first?”
“Lady number one,” Mac said, pointing to the woman in the red bra and panties. He grabbed the robe from the closet and draped it over her shoulders after Lambchop pulled her to her feet. “We’ll interrogate in my room.”
