Harris fumbled about and grabbed a flask in the glove compartment. He was parked in a rusty F-150 outside a seedy motel. The only other interesting thing was a dead armadillo collecting flies. I can't believe Vivian is dumb enough to stay in El Paso. Unless she's trying to go to Mexico.
Two other men were in the truck with him. One of them, an older man in a beat-up jacket, looked at his watch. "Harris, we've been out here for two hours. This has to be a waste."
"Yeah," said the thug in the back, playing with his silencer. "For all we know Seth's dumped Vivian for a Chinese contortionist."
Harris rolled his eyes. "Look, I've got trusted informants. Ramos wants Vivian dead." He didn't need to add that Ramos was giving him a second chance.
Harris excelled in only one thing -- being average. He lack Vivian's brains, or Seth's muscles, or Sam's skills. His advancement had mostly been due to the fact that he never took a risk. So while everyone else found themselves dead or in jail, Harris continued to serve Ramos.
But such underserved promotions had a price. Ramos was quickly putting Harris in charge of more and more dangerous operations. Harris knew one day he would slip up. That's why he liked having a few idiots along for the ride. It's easier to place blame on a dead man.
Like the two grunts in the truck.
A Silverado pulled into the motel. A man wearing a jacket quickly jumped out of the truck and ran towards one of the doors. It was clear he didn't want to be seen. The door opened, and he quickly rushed inside.
"Number one-three-seven. Just like he said." Harris turned to the man with the gun. "Shoot them in the head. Nice clean kill. Hide the bodies in the bathroom. And try not to leave fingerprints."
"Why aren't you helping?"
Harris held up his cellphone. "Making a call."
After the grunts left the truck, Harris phoned Ramos. He seemed relax. Must have taken his heart medication today. "Even you can't mess this up."
"Don't worry, the plan is -- "
BAM!
The older grunt opened the door, setting off a trap. Harris ducked under the wheel. An explosion rattled the truck, and the bodies of the two grunts and the man with the jacket flew into the air and crashed into the dust.
Ramos could hear everything over the other line. "Harris, what was that?" Harris said nothing. "You're the reason I need all this damn heart medication, you know that, right?"
"Yes...sir..."
"Get back here," said Ramos. "She had Aaron on her team. This complicates things."
***
Seth spotted the sandwiches. He grabbed one off the top of the pile. "I sure hope there's no mayo."
Vivian grabbed something from the bag. "Here's a napkin for -- nevermind, that's what a shirt's for..."
Aaron was talking on his cell phone by one of the boats. When he hung up, he had a grin on his face.
"This is not good," said Leigh to Vivian. "I hate that face."
"Fixed your parole officer problems," said Aaron.
Vivian stopped eating her sandwich. "Do I want to know how you did it?"
Seth wiped the mustard off his nose. "Hells bells, I want to know how you did it."
"Easy. Detective Ashley Greenwood is a very busy man --"
"Wait," said Seth. "Ashley's a he?"
"Just finish your sandwich, Seth. Anyways, he's been assisting the FBI and the Border Patrol with Vivian's capture. I'd say they'd find you in a week, two weeks tops."
"And?"
"And he's also very angry that he can't do anything about his damn son-in-law. Bastard broke his daughter's heart when he ran off with a toothless stripper. They've been at it like two jackrabbits at some seedy motel. So, I arranged for Harris to think you were in the hotel room...and well, let's just say Detective Greenwood is very eager to repay us anyway we like."
"Which means?"
Leigh grinned. "Which means Greenwood is feeding false information to the FBI. And since Ramos has access to government files and is bound to be sniffing around..."
Aaron finished her sentence. "It gives us a small advantage."
"For how long?" asked Seth.
"I make no promises. But we need to talk to Sam and Chris. Those boats need to be ready by tomorrow night."
