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“I’ve got him,” said Beau. A few seconds later, the other man fell to the ground. At the same time, more shots went off in the container.
We later learned one of the victims, a woman who was not Luisa, was killed and Manual Varilla had been captured.
3
LUISA
In my dream, I heard people moaning and screaming, but not clearly enough to decipher what they were saying. I tried to open my eyes to end the nightmare, but they seemed plastered shut. My head throbbed, and I was nauseated by the stench my brain conjured. When I tried to roll over, my arms and legs felt trapped by heavy weights.
I pried one eye open to find myself in total darkness. I didn’t need to see to know my horrific nightmare wasn’t a dream. I was in the bowels of hell.
4
PRESS
Over the course of the next several hours, the K19 team interrogated Varilla. Neither Ridge, Beau, nor I were privy to the details. I couldn’t speak for them, but I had no desire to be informed.
As Ares had predicted, thirteen victims were inside the shipping container in Yavaros, none of whom were Luisa Reeve. That particular container had been scheduled to leave the following morning. Its final destination was to be Yangshan Port in Shanghai, China.
“Varilla wants to cut a deal,” said Ridge, who’d been studying something on his mobile. “He says he can tell us where Luisa is.”
“That’s great news,” said Beau.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t help but think there was more to it.
“Fuck.It’s dependent on him providing proof of Luisa’s life, which he hasn’t been able to do,” Ridge spat, confirming my fear. “I need to update Seraphina and her mother.”
“We’ll remain here, providing whatever assistance is required, if you’d like to return to Tryst’s ranch,” I offered.
Ridge conveyed his thanks and left a few minutes later.
“Do you think she’s alive?” my brother asked once we were alone.
“I don’t know what to think,” I responded honestly.
Beauand I returned to the ranch the following morning and were exiting the SUV at the main residence when Tryst came outside.
“Varilla cracked,” he reported. “Another shipping container owned by the same holding company as the one the team found last night is headed for the Port of Felixstowe, in the UK.”
“From Yavaros?” I asked.
“No. From the Port of Altamira on Mexico’s eastern coast. Varilla has also confirmed Luisa Reeve is in that container.”
“When did it leave?” Beau asked.
“Five days ago,” Tryst responded, looking at his mobile. “A team is convening to meet the ship when it arrives in port. Ares sent a brief with further details.”
While I was exhausted to the point where I could barely keep my eyes open, rather than sleep, I went inside and logged on to my laptop to read Ares’ message.
As opposed to only one container transporting victims, intel suggested there could be as many as ten. Thus, a full-scale raid was being coordinated between K19 Security Solutions, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the UK’s National Crime Agency, and Military Intelligence Section 5—Britain’s equivalent of the US Department of Homeland Security. Ares also mentioned Interpol was on standby, should further assistance be required.
The brief went on to say K19 was sending eight from their primary team and four from their second unit, Shadow Operations. They’d also requested support from the six Los Caballeros who’d participated in the raid on the single container in Yavaros. Like before, our main role would be victim assistance.
We were scheduled to leave on a flight out of Ciudad Obregón Airport this afternoon. Given the container ship’s arrival time couldn’t be pinpointed until the day of, we would remain on standby in London until such time as we were needed in Felixstowe.
While the K19teams stayed in a hotel near Eaton Square, those of us from Los Caballeros stayed in a triplex my family owned in the same area.
The day after our arrival in the UK, we received word the container ship would reach the port in approximately twenty-four to thirty-six hours and the team would be deploying within an hour’s time.
