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Tryst tapped the paper with the eraser end of the pencil he held.
“What are you thinking?” I asked. Before he could respond, Doc’s, Merrigan’s, and my mobile vibrated.
“Dammit,” Doc muttered.
I turned to Tryst. “Two victims who were at the ranch were found dead near La Higuera.” Like I assumed Doc felt earlier, having to tell Tryst the details was difficult. “They were shot execution-style.”
Tryst put his head in his hands, covering his face. I had no doubt it was in an effort to hide his devastation. “They didn’t make it one hundred miles.”
I put my hand on his arm. “We both did everything we could to discourage them from leaving the ranch on their own.” Something else occurred to me. “You said two.”
“That’s right,” Doc responded.
I turned to Tryst. “Five men left together that day. Not two.”
“You are correct.”
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a murder suspect—or three,” said Doc, rubbing his hands together.
When I noticed he and Merrigan were once again studying their mobiles, I looked at mine. Our eyes met when I finished reading.
“What is it? Tryst asked.
“Mexican authorities were able to identify the two men via their fingerprints. Both had warrants for their arrest,” Merrigan told him.
None of the victims rescued from the shipping containers were carrying any kind of ID. Given the number of refugees, it had been a challenge to identify some of the people. However, given the horrifying ordeal they’d been through, we’d accepted what they told us and didn’t treat them like criminals.
“What were the warrants for?”
“Trafficking,” said Doc. “And it gets even more complicated; there’s an alleged connection to Manual Varilla.
During the next hour,several things happened. First, Merrigan initiated a videoconference with the coalition leader, Nemesis, as well as each of the task force commanders—Philip “Ares” Kappas from the US, Winston “Cayman” Trace from the UK, Kai “Poseidon” Allora from Malta, Henry “Zeppelin” Bonham, a former member of MI6 who was tapped to lead the Swiss team, and finally, Justin “Magnet” Magnussen, who like Zep was former MI6 but had been appointed to lead the Albanian unit.
“Jesus, we were wrong about no guards being in the containers,” said Ares after Doc briefed them on the information we’d just received. It was evident he was feeling as though he’d misread the situation on the ground at Felixstowe. However, as Doc reminded him, he wasn’t alone in his assessment. Every agent who’d participated in the raid believed as Ares had.
“The reunification process is complete, yes?” Nemesis asked.
“Affirmative,” I confirmed.
“What do you suggest?” Merrigan asked, turning to me.
“We’ll need to reassemble as many of the original team members as possible, along with whoever else you can spare from the Pharaoh op,” I said, looking at each of the task force commanders.
“Ares?” prompted Nemesis.
He’d been typing something on his laptop. “Tank, Blackjack, and Atticus are available.”
“How quickly can they deploy?” I asked.
“They’ll be on the next flight out,” said Ares. “Doc, you got any favors you can call in for transport?”
“Roger that. I’ll have a plane waiting at Gatwick this afternoon.”
“Anything else we need to cover now?” Merrigan asked.
“The most urgent of our tasks is reassembling the team in Alamos.” I turned to Tryst. “With your permission, of course.”
“Permission granted.”
