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Once we landed, I paid the cabbie and hurried inside. I spotted Abbott immediately, and he waved me over. “They were ready and waiting for us. Jordan is debriefing the teams, and we are pulling out in five. We’ve got a tactical unit and a forensics crew. The tac team will make sure we can get close to the house without accidentally blowing everyone up, and then forensics will process the scene.”
I sighed, feeling slightly deflated. “We’ll have to wait around while they work, won’t we?”
He shrugged and chuckled. “It won’t be so bad.” He led me over to one of the local enforcers, who nodded at me and motioned into the briefing room. Jordan and Paige were at the front of the room with satellite images of the area displayed on the wall. Jordan was reading something off his tablet, and I leaned against the back wall.
“The area is heavily overgrown, as you can see in these images, and we’ve decided to go in by ground instead of air. We would be hard pressed to land any aircraft far enough away to ensure we wouldn’t set off any alarms or traps. Tactical will go in first and secure the area. Once it’s clear, we’ll head up and start our search.”
Jordan glanced at me, noted my presence, and looked away. “Everyone clear on the plan?” Once he determined there were no questions, he clapped his hands together. “Let’s get going then.” He gestured to me. “This is Agent Carter, and she is the special agent in charge. All commands go through her or me. Let’s do this.”
The men got up and began dispersing to their vehicles. Jordan left immediately, ignoring me entirely. I followed him out of the room and picked up the pace, nearly jogging down the hall, until I caught up with him. He glanced at me but said nothing. He was still mad.
We went out to the lot and piled into vehicles. Jordan and I hopped into one of the UTVs and belted in. Santiago’s place was out in the boonies, and a lot of the roads were either dirt trails or nonexistent. UTVs were practical, and the IPF-issue UTVs were larger than average, boxy, enclosed, and air conditioned. They would handle the terrain with ease while keeping us from baking in the oppressive heat. I appreciated the comfort.
Jordan and I had the vehicle to ourselves. Abbott, Karson, and Borski piled into the unit behind us. Michelson was staying at the office and coordinating from there. She wasn’t much for field work, and there wouldn’t be a lot for her to do onsite until we found the drive. If we could find it.
We had to wait for the tactical unit’s tank-like vehicles in front to load up before we could leave. The officers and enforcers moved quickly and with purpose, and before long our caravan began to move. Jordan put our vehicle into gear and followed the line ahead of us.
The air was thick with tension, and I chewed on my lip while I pulled my radio com out and pushed it into my ear. Jordan already had his in. I mentally checked everything over in my head, making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
When there was no putting it off any longer, I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Jordan grunted.
I folded my arms and scowled. “I was a jerk, I know. I’m sorry. I had a bad night, and I took out my frustrations on you.”
“Did you ever think of calling me instead of beating a bag to a pulp?”
I sniffed and looked away. “I’m independent. You know that.”
Jordan sighed, the anger bleeding out of him. “Why did her calling upset you so much? I know you don’t like to talk to her, but this seems like more than that.”
I didn’t want to talk about it, but this was Jordan. He was my best friend. “She wanted us to visit her, and Alexi wanted to go by herself. She doesn’t understand the kind of person Mom is.”
“Because you’ve shielded her from that.”
“Is that a bad thing? Can you blame me? I know Alexi is her own person and will eventually discover that our mom is self-destructive and the god of her own universe, but I don’t want Lexi to hate her.”
“Shielding her isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But she’s sixteen now, not ten. Talk to her. Really talk to her. And listen to what she has to say and what she wants. Don’t you think it would be better if you told her what was going on versus her figuring it out from Victoria?”
He was right. It would be better if it came from me and not her. “I don’t want to hurt her. I want her to think her mother is just misguided and an addict, not…not horrible. If she knew even a quarter of the stunts Victoria pulled, she’d never speak to her again.”
“Eventually she’s going to figure it out. She’s a smart kid.”
“Can’t I pretend?”
He snorted. “You? Stick your head in the sand? That would be a first.”
I wrinkled my nose. He was right. That wasn’t my personality. “Fine. Maybe when this craziness is over, I’ll talk to her. But I can’t promise I’ll tell her everything.”
“She doesn’t need to know every detail, but some basics would be good. At least let her know why being with her mom alone would be a bad idea.”
We lapsed into silence for a while. The drive took around an hour by ground. I felt better now that Jordan and I weren’t on the outs, and I decided to shove my personal issues to the back of my mind. The anticipation of what we would find at Santiago’s place was building. I hoped we would find something,anything.
But, preferably, a name.
The vehicles in front of us finally stopped, and the tactical team disappeared up ahead. I couldn’t see anything through the thick foliage surrounding us, but we weren’t far from the coordinates Claude had given us.
Jordan grabbed the hand radio, swapped frequencies, and turned it up so we could hear the team ahead of us talking. We listened while they moved methodically towards the cabin, carefully examining everything. Eventually, I heard a report of a string of landmines. I held my breath until another voice confirmed they were disarmed.
