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“Charlie, I’m going to have to go down and look after Maggie, actually try to find her. Sergio’s looking, but she’s not where she’s supposed to be at the church. The priest isn’t there, either. Nobody on his staff has seen him since yesterday afternoon when he headed to the airport to pick up Maggie. I can’t reach Maggie on the phone, and I’m not getting any calls from her. She promised she would text me when she was settled last night. So that’s a big huge violation of the promises we made to each other.”
“What does Sergio think then?”
“He’s trying to play it cool, but he makes the excuse that it’s a glitch in the phone system or an incompatibility. Charlie, you know that’s BS right?”
“And you’ve checked all your other options?”
“Sergio promised he’d get back to me as soon as he checked the clinic. But I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m going to need to take a flight down there, and I’m going to need some wheels when I get there. I also need clearance to bring my weapons. And I need plenty of ammo. Now I know you’re really concerned about me getting into some kind of a World War III, and I promise you it’s not going to be that way. But I can’t just sit back and not do anything or wait for somebody to tell me what’s happened to her. And I’ve got to be armed. There’s no way I can drive down and cross the border without help. I was hoping maybe you could arrange a flight for me and I could land in a private airport nearby where I don’t have to go through customs. Can you do that, Charlie?”
“God, Brady, you’re really putting me in a bad spot. I’m really loath to do this for you even though I want to, but let me do some searching and check if we’ve got a reason for an op down there. If we do, maybe I can hire you out as a subcontractor. That would come with the perks of a vehicle or a van of some kind, and State Department could approve the use of deadly force if the situation was warranted. But we got to be damn sure she’s really missing or in danger. I’m not going to do this based on a hunch. I need some proof, and so do you.”
“Thanks, Charlie. I’ll get that proof for you. God, I would love it if all this was a false alarm. But I’ve learned that the instant I sense danger, I got to get ready. It’s way better to get ready and not need everything than to have to jam at the last minute and forget something or not be fully ready when the time comes. You know that. You know that’s how I roll.”
“I know that. And I know you would do anything for Maggie. I also know that if I say no you’re going to do it anyway. And I don’t want to see one of my best subcontractors wind up in prison or, worse yet, a Mexican prison. Let me check on the hot spots and see if I can get a billet for you, and then perhaps I can sneak you in under the radar. But not a word of this to anybody until you have concrete information, I get back to you, and everything is a go. If I get turned down, I must have no knowledge of any of your activities. You got me?”
“Absolutely, sweetheart. I love how your brain thinks.”
“Well, there aren’t a lot of men in this world who would say the same thing. Coming from you, that’s a real compliment. Now let me get off the phone and start doing my job.”
“Amen to that.”
Brady checked on Emma, who had gotten dressed all by herself and was sitting next to the bathtub watching the baby chicks.
“I think all these are girls, Daddy. They just look like girls, they walk like girls, and they chirp like little girls.”
He wasn’t sure how he should handle this one but took a stab at it, as if Maggie were standing right behind him.
“Well, I think a lot of babies act that way, Emma. Honestly, I’m not an expert. Somehow the breeders know the difference, but hell if I do. Sorry.”
“Oh, Daddy, you swear too much. I’m going to tell Mommy.”
“Well, right now I’m expecting a call from her. If you like, I’ll put you on and you can tell her yourself. How about that?”
“Deal.” She drilled him a look that belied her young age. Brady knew he was going to have his hands full when she got to be the age of dating.
He fixed breakfast for both of them and fed Tate. He kept the phone on the counter never more than a foot or two away from him. He didn’t want to miss a single communication.
About an hour after he cleaned up the kitchen, he got the call he was expecting from Sergio.
“Brady, we have a problem. There has been a reported skirmish, and they’ve closed the airport. I’m wondering if perhaps Maggie is waiting in the terminal. She may not have actually gotten to talk to Father Salvador yet. When the police close down the airport, they usually confiscate everyone’s cell phone in case there’s a military action or a terrorist attack. That’s standard operating procedure. She may not have a way to reach you or to get your phone calls.”
“They can really do that?”
“Yes, it does save lives, but it is extreme. It’s not a good idea for me to get over to the airport. I’m going to head back to the shop, and I’ve asked my daughter and one other office staff for the church to make an inquiry, a formal inquiry as to the whereabouts of Father Salvador. I think coming from the staff at the church, it’s the better way to go. That way I can still move about freely. If they suspect I’m working on someone else’s behalf, they might detain me. I can’t have that.”
“Okay, I got you. I have another call I can make too. Where are you getting this information from?”
Sergio chuckled. “Actually, my daughter said it was on the radio. And she says there’s going to be a news update on television. I think I should go back to the shop and watch it there. I will let you know what I find out.”
Now Brady had the actionable item he needed and hoped this might enable Charlie to authorize an op for him, but he didn’t have the proof yet, and he was hoping Charlie could find that.
He quickly dialed her.
“Charlie, I’m—”
“I said I’d call you back in an hour, Brady. God, I’m not a miracle worker. I need more time than this.”
“I think I have what you need. Sergio told me the airport is closed. There’s some kind of an operation going on there. Is that something you can find out about?”
