Page 172 of Depths of Destruction
I lean even closer. "Know this, Mr. President. Santiago Gómez wants his brother back. The Belizean politicians have Santiago in their pockets. How long do you think they are going to hold Nicolas? Hmm?"
He rises. "You have forty-eight hours to get it taken care of."
"No."
His eyes turn to slits. "Excuse me?"
"No. You have twelve hours to get me documents showing the person of interest has been lifted off both Naomi and Emilia, as well as the reinstatement of my entire team with Interpol. Then I take care of it."
A sinister laugh fills the air. "You aren't the one in a position to make demands, Agent Lòpez."
I pull a phone out of my pocket. The screen displays a blocked number. With my eyes locked with the President's, I say, "Alpha fifty-nine, can you confirm you've recorded this conversation between President Tyler and myself?"
"This is Alpha fifty-nine. Confirmed recording since 1401 when you first addressed the President."
"Thank you, Alpha fifty-nine."
Blood drains from the President's face, and he glares at me.
"Twelve hours. If anything happens to me, Naomi, or Emilia, this gets delivered to the media. If anything happens to my family, this will be sent. If my guys aren't reinstated and the person of interest isn't lifted off the Salazar sisters, this gets uploaded to every social media and news site for the world to listen to. Am I clear?"
His face turns red with anger. "I don't know who you think—"
I put a new burner phone on the table in front of us. "I'm the guy who's going to put a bullet in Nicolas Gómez's head and send you the video to this phone so you can re-watch it as many times as you want. It seems to me like this is a win-win for both of us, don't you think, Mr. President?"
He stays silent.
And just to dig into him more, I say, "Don't worry, Mr. President. We're behind closed doors."
He finally buckles. "I'll have it to you in the next few hours. Where do I send it?"
"To the media."
"What?"
"The lift on the persons of interest is to be sent to the media. You will make a statement that, based on new information, the Salazar sisters are of no use to you. I want the documentation for that and the reinstatement from Interpol on a written document. Scan it to my email with the other guys on my team all cc'd."
He points at me. "If you don't deliver, there will be consequences."
"I always deliver."
"You didn't deliver her."
"That was by choice."
He grunts again. "Finish this off and come back and see me. I have a few other jobs for you."
"No. I don't work for you now or ever. Consider this a favor. And one other thing."
"What's that?" He crosses his arms, glaring.
I rise. "If any of your men follow me out of here, this recording gets sent. I don't think the public will like this during election season, do you?"
He scowls, and I turn and leave the White House.
When I'm confident I'm not being followed, I pull my phone back out. "Alpha fifty-nine, we're clear."
"Copy," Kalim responds and hangs up.
