Page 21 of Operation: Silent Angel
“There is a screen that slides to partially cover the bathroom,” Mac said. “But it’s not solid.”
“Where’s the target?” Garcia asked, getting down to business.
“Taking a nap in his room next door.” Yvette pointed to the common wall. “Rooms are soundproof, can’t hear much from the balconies through the sliding doors either.”
“He was at the Preferred Club pool when we arrived. We surveilled him poolside for two hours,” Mac said. “He had one visitor to his cabana.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and showed them the photo. “Yvette already sent his photo to your Digital Team to get a bead on him. If I had to guess, I’d say cartel higher up.” He flipped through a few of his photos. “This guy is his muscle, hung back during the meeting.”
“I sent his picture to the Digital Team as well,” Yvette said.
Both Garcia and Mother studied the photo. It was of a man in a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved button-down shirt who didn’t look like he belonged near the pool. He looked on guard and serious. Then they scrolled back to the man sitting with the target in the cabana and studied him as well.
“We’ve got one of the micro cameras on the balcony pointing into the front part of his room through the patio door. As long as he leaves the curtains open, we have eyes on him,” Mac said.“We’re waiting until tonight when he leaves his room to put a couple in his room.” They’d brought three with them from HQ.
“Cooper and Madison will have a room directly across from him,” Garcia said. “They’ll get both the super mic and long-distance camera on his room as soon as they check in. Both pieces of equipment are in Madison’s suitcase.”
“Travel essentials,” Mac joked.
“While things are quiet, do you want to grab something to eat?” Yvette asked the two men. “It’s an all-inclusive resort, so you’ll be able to eat and drink at all the restaurants and bars as well as get room service delivered.”
“Just steer clear of the Preferred Club areas,” Mac added. “They do ask for name and room number to enter and use those facilities.”
“I’d like to get more of our Ops equipment set up,” Garcia said. “A room service order would be nice.”
“Yeah, the DEA flight had no food service, rude,” Mother joked. “I don’t recommend that airline.”
Yvette and Mac chuckled.
“The rest of the team should be here in about an hour or so,” Mother added. “Coop messaged shortly before we arrived that their shuttle bus is nearly full. They’re just waiting for one more set of guests whose flight was late. He said there are four othercouples on their bus waiting for the last stragglers. I saw only two people working check-in up in the lobby when we came through, so check-in at the front desk may take a while. He’ll message us again when they’re in their room.”
Yvette chuckled. “I’m sure he’s getting impatient waiting on the bus. He’s not exactly a seasoned vacation and leisure traveler used to waiting.”
The three men laughed with her. Then Mac placed the food order for Garcia and Mother and stipulated he wanted contactless delivery through the butler’s door. He showed it to the others. Realistically, they could stay all week and have no contact with anyone else. There was even a do not disturb feature that would keep their butler and housekeeping away.
***
The last of the arriving guests finally made it onto the shuttle bus. The three Shepherd Security couples tried to blend in, chatting with the other guests and each other as if they were strangers. A feeling of relief settled over them when the doors closed, the driver climbed into his seat, and they were on their way. All the guests on the bus were staying at the same resort, so there’d be no other stops, no delays.
Towards the back of the shuttle, Roth and Briana sat beside another young couple, who were from Atlanta and were on their honeymoon. They were very talkative. “So, where are you all from?” the bride asked.
“I used to live just outside of Atlanta, not too far from you,” Briana volunteered. They discussed each couples’ hometown and cover. It was best to stick close to the truth. “I’m up near Indianapolis with Sebastian now,” she said, patting his hand. They were both honored to be included in this Op, and being assigned as a couple was even better.
“We’ll have to meet up for some drinks while at the resort,” the bride said. “I love meeting new friends while we’re on vacation. And there are several bars I can’t wait to visit on the property.”
“Right?” Briana agreed excitedly. “And the restaurants look amazing too.”
“The whole resort looks amazing,” Roth added.
Closer to the front of the shuttle bus, Laura Lee Saxton, sitting beside Lambchop, her partner for this mission, sat telling Madison, who sat in the seat beside them, and a woman who sat with her husband in the seat in front of Madison and Cooper that she was from Virginia. “I met him in college,” she told the other guest to answer her question. “And where are you from?”
“Upstate New York,” she answered. “Trevor and I met in college too.”
The conversation progressed to what they each did for a living, with the New York woman disclosing that both she and her husband were attorneys. Laura Lee stuck to the truth that she was an engineer, and her husband was a pastor. Madison usedher prior job title of production manager and said her husband was a sales manager at the same organization.
“A pastor?” the New York woman repeated, making conversation while eyeing him to reconcile his appearance and his stated profession. “Do you have a congregation?”
Lambchop chuckled. “I do have a small congregation. I preach sermons. I’ve performed weddings, baptisms, and funerals.” He wasn’t lying. Nor would he say his funerals had been praying over his brothers and either committing their souls to the afterlife or easing them into it as they took their last breaths on the battlefield. “I was called to ministry at an early age.”
“I find it very interesting,” the New York woman said.
