Page 25 of Operation: Silent Angel
Mac came and stood behind her, beside Garcia, as he’d already moved to view the camera feed as soon as he’d entered through the sliding glass doors behind her.
“Two whores; our boy’s not too greedy, is he?” Garcia said.
“And they both come with a pretty high price tag, I’d bet,” Mac said. “The question is, are they both for him?”
“He doesn’t strike me as the type who plays with another dude in the room,” Yvette said.
They watched the two women unpack various sex toys from the Louis Vuitton bag one of the women carried. They laid them out on the dining table as though it were a display at a home party. Well, in a way, it was. Then they watched one of the women fit a flex camera inside the purse, which was set on the table behind the toys.
“The trajectory of that camera is right on the bed,” Yvette said, pointing at the screen. “What do you think? Does our target want a photographic reminder of his encounter with these two, or is someone setting him up by making a sex tape without his knowledge?”
“I can’t imagine a blackmail tape like this would do anything to intimidate him,” Mac said. “From what I’ve found out abouthim; he’s a total sleazebag. He’s not married or in a relationship, which wouldn’t matter to him if he was as he basically fucks anything with a hole,” he paused and upon seeing Yvette’s disapproving scowl, he apologized. “Sorry. He’s also known to rape the victims of his human trafficking operation, and he likes kids. No, there’s something else going on here.”
“Lambchop, have the target’s dinner companions shown up yet?” Yvette broadcast.
“Negative. He and the muscle are sitting and waiting for the companions.”
Laura Lee took a small drink of the red blend the waiter had just brought them as her gaze shifted to Ruiz and the muscle. Lambchop had ordered them each a glass as he felt not having one at an Italian restaurant might look suspicious to the target. Then her eyes momentarily fluttered to take in Cooper and Madison, seated just past Ruiz. They were close enough that if anything was spoken at a normal volume, they’d hear. Unfortunately, there was no direct sightline from their room to the restaurant, so Mother would not be able to pick anything up on the super mic if anything was said in lower voices.
Five minutes later, the host brought Ruiz’s dinner companions over, a Hispanic man in his mid to late forties and a much younger woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties. She had long blonde hair, bright green eyes, and golden tan skin over her slender body held up by long, shapely legs. The man was not the same who had visited Ruiz at his cabana earlier that day, though he did have an air of wealth and authority about him.
“I do not like the look of this,” Lambchop broadcast in a whisper. “Hold your glass up, darling. I want to get a picture of you,” he said in a normal voice as he brought his phone in front of himself.
Laura Lee lifted her glass into the air and smiled, knowing Lambchop’s request was a ruse. Lambchop pretended to take the picture but snapped it of the couple who were seated with Ruiz. He took several and then texted them to the team, knowing Yvette would get them run through every database to try to identify the pair.
Ruiz and his companions had a pleasant dinner with nothing discussed that Cooper and Madison could overhear that was damning. Lambchop and Laura Lee finished their meal and went back over to the bar they’d been at so they could observe Ruiz from there. Unfortunately, the over-friendly New York couple from the bus saw them and joined them without being invited.
Before Ruiz and his companions left the restaurant, Yvette already had an ID on the man. “This just got a whole lot more interesting,” she broadcast. “The man eating with the target is Raphael Arias Moreno, a high-ranking member of the Colombian government.”
“And refresh our memories please, Control, isn’t Colombia a member of Interpol?” Briana Woods transmitted.
“Yes, they are,” Mac answered for Yvette. “This explains a lot.”
Yvette muted her comms. “Don’t jump to conclusions, Mac.”
He frowned and shook his head, muting his as well. “A high-ranking member of the Colombian government is having a nice dinner with Ruiz, who is on the Red List. What conclusion should I come to?”
Garcia laid his hand on Mac’s shoulder. “Moreno may not know who Ruiz is.”
“Yeah, or he could be in business with Ruiz, or is being paid off by him,” Mac argued.
“Those are both possibilities too,” Garcia agreed. “You won’t know which it is until we get more proof, or we interrogate one or both of them.”
“They’re getting up from the table,” Cooper broadcast in a whisper. “Xena and I will follow the dinner companions. The rest of you stay on the target.”
Outside the restaurant, Ruiz shook hands with the pair who’d joined him for dinner, and they separated. Ruiz and the muscle went to the bar where Lambchop and Laura Lee sat, chatting with the New York couple from the bus. Ruiz got a drink. The muscle did not.
Cooper and Madison followed at a distance as the government official and the young woman took a leisurely stroll around the grounds. They ended up at the jungle pool in a secluded cabana, each with a glass of champagne they’d snagged at one of thebars they’d passed. It was easy for Cooper and Madison to sneak up on them and remain concealed with the dense foliage that surrounded the pool and its cabanas plus the dim lighting. They were close enough to hear every word of their conversation.
“Thank you for agreeing to come here with me,” Moreno said. “Having a pretty young American woman on my arm increases my standing with a man like Ruiz. You played tonight perfectly.” He held his glass up as though he were toasting her.
She giggled an embarrassed laugh. “If you say so, Raph. I’ll leave the politics to you. My father trusts you so until you prove it to me otherwise, that you’re not trustworthy, I’ll also trust you, to a point,” she said, her voice changed to a tone of warning with the last three words of her statement. “I picked up on the very subtle sexual undertones of the conversation the two of you had at dinner, or maybe not so subtle, Alfredo sauce dripping from penne. I’m warning you, do not leave me in a room alone with that man ever. I know who he is and what he’s capable of. And I won’t hesitate to strike to disable him if I sense anything is off.”
“There’s a lot at stake, Christy. Your father understood that. Enough for him to have you come here with me. Ruiz won’t get his hands on you. He’ll respect that you’re mine.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“For show only,” she reminded him.
“Would it be such a bad thing, you and me?” Moreno asked. “There was a time that you had a crush on me. You used to look at me like you would have done anything for me.”
