Page 26 of Digital Desire

“I know that he would never hurt me on purpose but what if by letting go and loving him, I get hurt?”

“No guts, no glory,” he replied.

“So, does this mean I have your blessing?” she said and laughed.

“Jury is still out. How about we get this shit sorted with Will and Madison and then I’ll let you know,” he replied.

“Deal, and you have to give Will a chance to explain.”

“Deal,” he said slowing as they got closer into Aguablanca. He pulled in to the carpark of a deserted strip mall but kept the engine running. They couldn’t afford to stay long and attract attention.

“We need to find out which road out they’re going to take,” Jack said pulling out a small tablet and bringing up a map.

“If it were me taking Will, I’d use the back road that runs along the edge of the jungle line,” Aubrey said pointing to the road that arced around the village and headed back towards Cali.

He looked at her and nodded. “Yes, I agree. As soon as the others arrive, we’ll plan it and get Alex and Reid to run the route.”

Aubrey nodded and looked back towards the police station. “Do you think he’s alright?”

“Yeah. Will is a tough bastard, and he’s savvy. He knows how to handle people like that.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just hate the thought of him being set up.”

“You seem more worried about Will than Madison,” Jack said, and Aubrey looked at him sharply waiting for the judgement but found none.

She sighed in frustration. “Madison has been getting into scrapes all our lives, so I think I’m desensitised to her shit now. Of course, I am worried, but it’s tempered by anger at her blatant disregard for her own safety and my feelings.”

“I get that, that’s how I feel about Will.” He nodded sadly. “Maybe we both have some big discussions in our future,” he said with a shrug.

“Maybe?” she answered without committing.

* * *

Darkness was descending by the time they had finalised the plan and confirmed through the text chatter they had picked up from different sources that Will was being picked up by Esteban Perez and his men.

Knowing that Esteban was doing the collection changed little except the value the cartel placed on Will. Esteban was Santiago Rojas’ right-hand man, and he never left his side. They had thought they would get a lower level soldier involved for this but Esteban doing it showed how much they wanted Will and that scared Aubrey.

They’d set up a takedown on the abandoned road that spurred off towards derelict farmlands. Keeping everything on the down-low was a priority, and the last thing they wanted was random involvement from young men looking to impress the cartel by shooting at them.

Liam had set charges to take out the lead vehicle as they had suspected that they would use a three-car convoy for the job. Then Reid and Jack could take out the drivers from the principle car and rear vehicle. She and Alex would provide cover from slightly further out.

As they drove to the target point, Aubrey went over the plan again in her head. She was to watch Jack, Reid, and Liam’s six along with Alex. They had shocked her when they had included her in the plan. Aubrey had kept up firearms training with the hope of one day getting into the Firearms Unit on the London Met.

That dream didn’t have the pull it once did, but she enjoyed the firearms practice immensely so kept it up. The only thing she didn’t know was how Jack had known she was so proficient with a firearm.

It was dark when the car she was in stopped and she and Alex got out, grabbed their weapons and disappeared into the darkness as the others drove on. Finding some scrub to use as cover she flattened herself along the ground in silence as Alex did the same a few feet to the left of her.

“Comms check,” came over the mike and she responded.

“Alpha five checking in,” she replied when the others had spoken.

The comm went silent as they waited, her heart was beating a steady tattoo as Aubrey focused on what she had to do. The cold night air bit into her skin as the heat from the earth gave way to the cold of the night. It had taken a few minutes to get her head around the night vision goggles Liam had given her, but she was fine now.

“Alpha one, this is alpha three. We have three incoming vehicles approximately a mile out, but they are not cartel. Repeat, not cartel. My contact says the men who picked up Will were not cartel but private security mercenaries.”

“Copy that, alpha three. Continue as planned but prepare for this to get ugly. Looks like the dirty bastard has his hands in this pie too.”

Aubrey had no idea who or what they meant, but she knew it wasn’t good. Her adrenalin was pumping, her heart beating faster as they waited, the only sounds that of bugs and animals from the jungle in the distance.