LOS RIOS, Mexico, Friday afternoon, real time
"What's wrong, Tony?" Lopez asked, the concern heavy in her voice as she watched him peer tentatively out the dirty hotel window. The hot sun this time of day made everything and everyone lethargic and drowsy.
Where to begin? he thought to himself, not answering for the moment. The disturbing unease he'd felt from the moment they'd arrived dogged him. He didn't know how Jack had tolerated this atmosphere for nearly six months now. The poverty and squalidness of the small, isolated Mexican town were bad enough. But he'd seen all that before. It was the oppressive, pervasive tension that weighed on him.
Everyone he met was suspicious and tentative…as if they were under constant scrutiny and their daily existence teetered on the edge of a dangerous precipice. The dark umbrella of Salazar's control smothered these towns that orbited the outskirts of his extensive ranch. He couldn't help but wonder that if it was this bad ten kilometers from the ranch…how bad was it for Jack at the epicenter?
He and Agent Lopez had been here three days now, and he was beginning to understand the disturbing changes in Jack he'd sensed over the past few months. He'd worked with Jack regularly since he'd returned to CTU. As time had put some distance between him and Teri's death and Kim had matured into a responsible young woman, Jack had relaxed back into a normal personal and professional relationship with Tony. In fact, he was a good friend.
And now he was very worried about his friend. Regular communications had degraded into sporadic updates the last two months and now he hadn't been heard from for over two weeks. Intel reports from operatives in other cartels reported suspicious build up within the Salazar operations. Something big was going down soon.
"I don't know Maria," he said, dropping the dingy sheer and flopping back on the bed. "Two days and we aren't any closer to finding out Jack's status. Every person we talk to could sign his death warrant if they turned out to be on Salazar's payroll. If he isn't dead already he kept to himself. "And Division is breathing down my neck to send in a strike team and take the ranch by force if we don't make progress soon."
"You spoke to them today?" she asked, settling her self at the other end of the bed and fiddling with her hair.
"Yeah," he said looking at her. Maria Lopez was one of the most conservatively dressed agents at CTU. But now she looked more like a Tijuana hooker. Of course he didn't look much better—unshaven, his upper bondings removed by his dentist so that he was missing most of his two front teeth, and he hadn't bathed in three days. The second hand clothing he wore was permanently encased in a layer of dust.
Their cover as a low life couple on the lam had worked so far. But Tony felt time running out.
Division had been pushing to end Jack's mission for weeks now, even before he went silent. Jack's temper had been on an extremely short fuse. Contact, when it did come, was short and curt. If challenged or questioned he often lashed out with anger and profanity. He refused to consider extraction saying he was close to a breakthrough, but would never give the specifics. And then he disappeared.
"Chase said Chapelle is chomping at the bit to end this. Ryan knows if we go storming in there we may not take anyone alive…including Jack. Chase thinks he can hold him off for a couple of more days, but that's it," Tony continued as he rose back up towards the window and peaked out again. "But it doesn't really matter. I don't think we have much more time than that anyway."
"So we need to do it then?" Maria asked to his turned head.
"Yeah. We'll watch them tonight and pick out a couple of targets, try to get one alone and take him without being seen."
"Not easy," Lopez worried.
"No, not easy," Tony agreed. "Salazar's men are more highly trained and smarter than your typical local mercenary. Finding one who puts himself in a position to be abducted, knows the information we want, and is willing or can be forced to share is asking a lot." He reminded himself the 'highly trained' part was probably due to Jack's influence.
"Not to mention one who may not be missed right away when he doesn't show back up at the ranch," she added to the list of difficulties.
"Knowing Jack he's got them running like a military outfit. Anyone may be missed the moment they aren't where they are supposed to be," he fretted, remembering how tightly Jack had run CTU as director.
Jack's job had been to find out what Salazar was doing with his terrorist friends, not improve Salazar's military capabilities. But from the little he'd gathered from the locals, in the last few months the Salazar regime had become much more formidable. He prayed he was wrong that Jack's presence had something to do with it.
"Then we have to coordinate with CTU to move in as soon as we have the intel on the ranch and Jack before Ramon is suspicious," Lopez surmised.
"As far as I can tell from what Jack's told me, the son of a bitch is always suspicious. There in lies the problem." And the reason Jack's life was at risk from the moment he made contact with the cartel. "Come on," Tony said, resigning himself to the towering odds against them, "let's review the possibilities."
From his pocket he took out the small notebook he'd been updating each night Salazar's men came into town to drink and carouse. He needed one of these men to unlock the key to the Salazar compound for CTU and to tell him if Jack was even still alive to save.
At that moment, the subject of his concern was still very much alive, but very close to wishing he wasn't. Fucking Ramon and his fucking games, Jack thought as he flushed down the last of his stomach's contents and went to the sink. I look like shit he thought as his reflection glared back at him from the mirror.
Three days of withdrawal and a nearly constant barrage of physical and mental abuse will do that to you. He had lost track of how long it had been. At least most of the swelling was gone, even if the bruises at various stages of healing still left a rainbow of colors on his skin. He brushed his teeth to rid himself of the taste of bile and tentatively swallowed a little water thinking it might stay down this time.
"Well, well Jack, up and about I see," Ramon crowed from right outside his bathroom door when he opened it, standing so close his after shave made Jack's stomach heave.
Jack didn't want to admit that it was the closeness itself that made him nauseous.
TWO WEEKS EARLIER
"Ramon, no, don't," Jack warned as Ramon brought the radio to his mouth to issue the order. His hand flew to Ramon's wrist without thinking. He didn't want the men to die…and they would if he let Ramon change the plan.
He immediately knew he'd pay for what he'd just done. Telling Ramon he was wrong was one thing, but doing it in front of the men and having the audacity to physically stop him stepped way over the line. Never invade Ramon's space unless invited or expect to pay.
Jack withdrew his hand quickly. "I'm sorry Ramon," he blurted, trying to find a way to lay blame on himself for Ramon's ignorance. Then maybe at least Ramon would feel less embarrassed. "Oscar brought me some new intelligence on the security set up. I didn't tell you because the way we had originally designed the plan, it made no difference."
Tomas looked sympathetically at Jack from behind Ramon's back. He knew exactly what Jack was doing. This raid had been planned down to the last detail. But Ramon, over confident and arrogant, had changed it at the last minute so Benitez, in his last moments of life, would know exactly who had defeated him.
Except Ramon had forgotten about were Jack had told him the majority of men and weapons were stationed and how which angle they attacked from was critical. Making it to Benitez's house before it was blown would put most of their men directly in the line of fire of Benitez's security force.
Ramon was an intelligent man. But his past history in the way of military strategy was to use brutal frontal assaults and, as a result, he had lost many men. He hadn't cared as his recruits had been poverty stricken locals with no training—basically cannon fodder. Jack had spent six months training the men…and more subtly Ramon…in more effective methods. Their mortality rate had dramatically decreased almost as much as their efficiency had increased.
He wasn't proud that he'd increased the killing efficiency of one of the most dangerous cartels in Central America. But doing so had brought him the respect from Ramon that he'd needed. And it had brought it quickly. It would be hard to watch these men he'd worked with all die today, especially since Ramon had been hinting of something big coming soon. If they lost all their experienced fighters, whatever it was might be delayed. And he'd be trapped in this hell that much longer.
"Jack," Ramon seethed but at least did not launch the fatal attack. To his credit, Ramon turned his attention to the task at hand. He would deal with Jack's indiscretion and omission later. "Rearrange the men to your liking," he said handing him the comm unit with fire in his eyes. "Come Tomas, we will return to base camp and wait for 'Generale' Jack to bring us our spoils."
Tomas lowered his head so as not to meet Ramon's gaze and draw any of his wrath on him self. There was a reason Tomas had lasted so long under Ramon's command.
Ramon stormed off like a petulant child unable to play the game his way. Jack swallowed hard and broke the tense silence that had descended on the small group of men running the raid. "Resume original strike positions," he ordered into the mouth piece. "Unit leaders, report status."
One hour later, without loss of a single man, the compound was theirs. Jack looked at the carnage of bodies and the storehouse of riches he'd just secured for the Salazar cartel. For the millionth time tried to reassure him self that what he was doing would be worth it in the end.
LOS RIOS, Mexico, Friday Night, real time
From the table in the far corner, Tony peered around Maria's head and watched the drunken revelry. Maria fidgeted on his lap and once more he hoped Michelle never found out the details of this mission. No one paid attention to the drunken whore on her boyfriend's lap. And her closeness allowed them to whisper to each other without raising an eyebrow of suspicion. But Michelle would be unlikely to accept where he had put his hands as part of the act.
Five of Salazar's men had been here for several hours. Of them, three were on his list as possible candidates for interrogation. A fourth appeared to be an ex-military type that would be too risky to deal with. And the fifth was a young man in his late teens or early twenties they'd never seen before.
"It's getting late Tony," Maria whispered into his ear after planting a couple of staged kisses on his face. "We need to choose and make our move."
"Yeah," Tony whispered back, but turned her on his lap to look at what was developing behind her. "But I think we've got trouble."
Maria turned to see one of the older men, bottle in hand, swaying unsteadily inches away.
"Hey buddy," he said in the local Spanish dialect, "you seem to be the only lucky one in here." He gestured at Maria and then turned to his four mates who were watching with interest. "How about sharing," he said as he made a lewd gesture with his hand on his crotch. It wasn't a question.
Oh, fuck. He felt Maria's hand tighten on the back of his neck. How the hell was he going to play this without blowing his cover, getting Maria raped, or getting the crap beat out of him?
"She's nice," the guy continued, reaching out to rub his hand down Maria's face.
To her credit, Maria smiled up at him.
Tony assumed the least threatening posture and tone he could manage. "I'm honored," he hiccupped drunkenly, "but unfortunately, she's not available. We're getting married," he added trying to appeal to any level of sentimentality the guy might have.
The interloper's eyes surveyed Maria and he laughed loud and hard. Maria's cover may be just too convincing. "Maybe you think that tonight, but you'll reconsider in the morning when your head is clearer and your wallet lighter." He turned to his friends who joined him in the joke…all except for the boy who had turned away back towards the bar.
Suddenly Maria's hand was in his. "Ah, senorita," he crooned gently. "I am not asking for myself, but for my handsome son over there."
All eyes went to the boy--who looked like he wanted to disappear into his drink.
"Surely you would not turn down a handsome sum to show him your tricks?" he continued running his eyes down Maria's long exposed legs.
Tony shoved Maria off his lap and stood. He towered over the small, older man who was not the least bit cowed by Tony's scowl.
"Senior," the man said stepping closer to Tony, shoving Maria slightly out of the way, "you would deny one of Senior Salazar's most promising men the gift of your woman?"
With the mention of Salazar, the boys head whipped around towards his father. There was fire in his eyes…anger…but Tony wasn't sure who it was directed towards. His father had played the trump card that every citizen in this town knew to fear and every visitor learned to quickly respect.
Tony glanced at Maria who was assessing the boy as any good whore would. He admired her acting talent. She was good. In the moment the father took to glance back at his son, Maria signaled her assent to Tony. The boy would have to do. Hopefully he'd been with the Salazars long enough to know something. He was young enough to hope that he would intimidate easily.
Looking appropriately chastised and afraid, Tony backed away. "I am sorry, senior," he apologized. "I am happy to oblige your son." He made a show of handing Maria the key to their room. The boy stood. He was handsome and well built, and relatively well dressed compared to most of the locals his age. Tony saw his reluctance but knew he was bound to do what his father had ordered.
Maria sidled up to him and ran her hands up and down his chest before taking his hand and leading him out the door towards their hotel. All eyes followed their exit. True to his word, the father threw several hundred dollars worth of pesos onto the table next to Tony and smiled at his easy victory and his ability to provide an ample reward. Tony picked up the money and smiled greedily back. Picking up his drink, he toasted the Salazar man and downed it, needing it, worrying about Maria on her own with the boy.
THE SALAZAR RANCH, TWO WEEKS EARLIER
The celebration of their victory was in full swing by the time Jack forced himself to leave his room and join in. Most of the guys were already drunk and didn't notice how late he was. Except, of course, for Ramon.
Ramon stood laughing heartily with a group of the older hands, but his eyes followed Jack.
"Wait, wait, wait," Ramon announced loudly to the room. "Everyone. Let us celebrate our illustrious military leader. He secured us millions of dollars worth of Senior Benitez's heroin today and every single man lived to celebrate here tonight." Ramon raised his glass. "To Jack," he cried before downing the glass and pulling the whore next to him more tightly to his side.
Jack faked a smile and tried to read Ramon's sincerity. He didn't relax. Ramon was as good of an actor as he was a business man. Jack would still pay for what he'd done today. But given this performance, it appeared his punishment would be in private.
Jack grabbed a nearby bottle of tequila, raised it back to Ramon, and then took a long drink. Days like this made him wish he hadn't given up the heroin. The alcohol helped, but it didn't deaden the dread and self loathing like the drug did.
"He's in a good mood," said a feminine voice behind him.
As Ramon busied himself with the woman at his side, Jack turned to Claudia.
"He made a lot of money today," Jack said watching her clear empty glasses from the table, daring to get close enough to smell the intoxicating scent of her hair. He picked up several empty bottles as an excuse to follow her into the kitchen.
"Still," she continued once they were alone by the sink, "he is too happy. I know him. When he is giddy like this…" she paused and peered back out into the crowded room making sure they weren't being heard, "I don't know. He's up to something."
Jack was using every ounce of self discipline not to run his hand up her chest and around her breasts as she turned to the sink to rinse out the glasses. He didn't want to think about Ramon for at least a few minutes. He wanted Claudia.
"Like what?" Jack asked, not really caring, but trying to distract himself from the urge to push his growing erection against her backside.
Claudia dried her hands on a towel and looked Ramon's direction once more. "I don't know," she repeated, "but…usually it's personal. He likes his money, but he gets off more on his power trips. And usually that means someone is the victim…someone gets hurt. And the prospect of it makes him happy." She walked away from the sink and Jack and found an open bottle of wine. "I wonder who pissed him off today," she said distractedly.
Jack felt the blood leaving his face.
Pouring, without looking at him, she whispered, "Can I come to you tonight?"
He didn't answer. Of course she couldn't. Hector was home-although they'd risked that before, especially after these parties when everyone was drunk or wasted. But Ramon might be out looking for him. Finding him in bed with his brother's woman would not help his cause.
Claudia turned and saw him. "Jack," she said instantly knowing. Jack was expert at hiding his emotions. Rarely though, he would let her in and she could see the man under the iron exterior. When she did, what she saw always puzzled her—that this man could do what he did for that bastard Ramon. Just now, though, she saw a rare glimpse of worry. "…what happened?"
"Nothing," he comforted. "I think he's just happy he's that much richer. Everything went perfectly today." He took another big gulp of the bottle he'd carried in with him. "I just don't think we should risk it tonight, Claudia, that's all."
Claudia looked around again before taking his hand. "Jack, please, be careful." He was her only link to sanity in this place. She couldn't afford to lose him.
-2---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOS RIOS, Mexico LATER FRIDAY NIGHT, real time
Cautiously, gun drawn, Tony cracked open the door to their room. Yes, Maria Lopez was good. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the boy in his underwear bound and gagged on the bed. Maria sat in a rickety chair next to him smoking a cigarette, still looking the part perfectly. She smiled at the boy then back at Tony.
Wordless, he jerked his head towards the bathroom. As she rose to join him, Tony took stock of the boy. Instead of the fear he expected, the boy leveled his gaze threateningly at the older man. Tony was impressed with his courage but dismayed at what it might mean for their chances of learning anything from him.
"Well?" he asked when they had sequestered themselves in the dingy little water closet.
She smirked. "He didn't want anything to do with me at first. But he's nineteen. His resolve broke quickly the moment I laid hands on his belt. After that, securing him was easy."
"What does he know?" he asked, feeling slightly sorry for the kid.
"About us or about the Salazars?" she asked, dumping the cigarette in the toilet and flushing.
"Both," Tony said, cracking the door to check on the boy. He'd laid his head back and was staring despondently at the ceiling. He was scared despite the good front he put up. And he wasn't going anywhere. Maria had him tightly bound to the bedposts.
"Nothing about us except we're not who we appear to be. The kid is smart…very smart," she said. "He's been on the ranch for nearly a year. But the way he talks… he even made some off hand Shakespearean reference about his father thinking it would go over my head. He looked pleasantly surprised when I called him on it and started to talk to me. So he's educated. But he clammed up when I hinted about anything pertaining to the ranch. But there's something there…I mean I think he can be useful. Just a hunch."
Tony wondered how far Maria had let the kid go with her to get even that amount of information. But that was her business. Look how far Jack had gone to do his job.
"Alright, let's get going," he ordered opening the door.
The boy's head popped up to look at them as soon as he heard the door creak open. Tony was instantly on him with his knife pressed to the still unbearded skin on his upper neck. He felt a stab of remorse that this kid was so young.
"I'm going to undo the gag," he informed him, "and if you make a single sound…any sound…it will be your last." The boy tried to stare him down, but his fear won out and he nodded reluctantly. "Alright," Tony said, watching Maria move in to remove the old rag as he continued to hold the knife at the boy's throat.
He remained silent and swallowed heavily making the blade bob slightly in place.
"What's your name?" Tony asked simply.
"Oscar Ordonez."
"Okay, Oscar," he continued, feeling the boy out, "how long have you been with the Salazars?"
"A year."
"What do you do for them?"
"Why do you give a fuck?" the boy cursed, his courage buoyed now that Tony had moved the knife away.
The knife instantly reappeared at his throat. "Listen to me Oscar," Tony threatened. "I don't want to kill you, but I will. Your little life means nothing to me. I'm interested in a much bigger fish. But if you help me…I might let you walk away from this…in one piece." Tony felt bad doing it, but he looked down at the prominent bulge under the front of the boy's briefs. Oscar got the message loud and clear.
"I do the same as everyone. Work the ranch."
"So you're a farmer?" Tony smirked at the boy's answer.
"Yeah, I'm a farmer," he confirmed.
Tony dragged the knife gently down the boy's torso and lifted the band of his underwear with the tip. What he was doing was callous and crude, but usually effective. And efficiency and time were of the essence here.
"Oscar," he warned, "I don't have time to play games with you. You're a little old for games, aren't you?" The knife disappeared into his briefs. Oscar stiffened and held his breath.
"Oscar," Maria said a little more softly than Tony would have preferred, "tell my friend what he wants to know. I think it's in your best interest."
The boy's eyes flicked nervously over to her. She smiled comfortingly at him but she was still not clear the good cop/bad cop game was the way to go. Tony seemed to be doing fine with only the 'bad side' in gear.
Oscar remained silent and studied his captors. His picked up his head and looked at where the knife disappeared into his shorts. He didn't want to be a coward. On the other hand, he had no desire to loose his balls over Ramon Salazar. He let his head flop back and closed his eyes.
"Alright," Oscar acquiesced. "What do you want to know?"
"Just answer the question I've already asked."
"I'm a standard hand. Meaning I spend my days threatening the locals to pay their tithes to Ramon. Other than that, I train with the other men in weapons and combat. Once in a while I work with Tomas in the office doing some of the books. I'm good with math."
"Tomas?" Maria asked.
"He's Ramon's…what's the mafia word…consigliore," Oscar said the Italian word effortlessly. "He was his right hand man."
"Was?" she followed.
"Until Jack came along."
Tony and Maria flicked their eyes at each other. Finally they might be getting somewhere.
"Who's Jack?" Maria asked, trying to maintain the same nonchalance she'd had asking about Tomas.
Oscar stayed silent. Tony could see his mind working. He was cooperating, but he hadn't folded. Maybe the father hadn't been exaggerating when he'd boasted his son was one of Salazar's most promising men.
"Look," Oscar began tentatively, feeling his way. He couldn't see anyway this was going to turn out well for him if he let events run their course. "I've already told you enough to get me killed. Honestly, whatever you do is nothing in comparison with what Ramon will do to me if he finds out."
He looked up at Tony to gauge how he was doing. When he saw Tony was listening, he was encouraged. Why not make a play to get off the ranch? He'd been praying for a chance since he'd been taken on. He hated the place and the thought of spending the rest of his life there…well, he might as well take his chances with these two.
"What's your point, Oscar?" Tony asked, irritated, tired of threatening him with the knife.
"Relax, Tony, let him talk," Maria intervened, seeing something Tony did not.
"I'm willing to tell you what you want to know…"
Tony lashed out, believing the boy was just trying to string them along. He put his large hand around Oscar's skinny neck and pushed. "Listen, kid, you are in no position to bargain here…"
"Tony wait," Maria ordered, grabbing his wrist and freeing a startled Oscar.
"For what, Oscar," she asked sternly. "What is it that you want?" She didn't want to give him the idea she'd keep rescuing him. Although, in truth, she liked the kid. He had balls.
Oscar looked pleadingly at Maria. Despite the fact that she'd betrayed him, she seemed the safer of the two. "Can you keep him the fuck off me?" he begged.
"If you cut the crap and get to the point," she bargained.
Oscar desperately wanted to ask to be allowed to sit up. Negotiating from this position, nearly naked, was intimidating. But he knew better than to ask now. He eyed them suspiciously as he regrouped and decided on the truth. It could get him killed. On the other hand, he was probably going to die anyway.
"I'd like to know who you two are, but I'm not going to ask." Tony scowled. Oscar continued quickly. "I don't want to work for Ramon Salazar. I want out. The usual way out is to die or be killed trying."
"Then why the fuck did you join?" Tony asked hostilely, not willing to believe this was going to be this easy. Ramon forced men to do a lot of things against their will, but joining his inside corps was not one of them. It would be dangerous and inefficient.
"It's a long story."
"Make it short."
The boy's eyes became transiently sad. Maria didn't think he was acting. She hoped the story sounded like the truth.
"I was in college…in Mexico City. I didn't know where the money came from…but I didn't care. My mother forced my father to let me stay. He wanted me to come with him to work for the Salazars…for the money. But I wanted to be in school and I resisted. But then she died. And I found out that Ramon Salazar had been the one paying my tuition."
"I was disgusted. Even more so when I found out he'd paid my way through high school as well. Ramon does nothing without expecting a return. He owned me. What use would college be when I was destined to work for the Salazars no matter what? My father wanted me to leave school. So I didn't fight him. I joined him at the ranch like he wanted."
Maria was impressed…a kid from here learning to read was an accomplishment-let alone college.
Tony was more skeptical. "Why would Ramon Salazar pay for your schooling?"
The boy shrugged. "I don't know for sure. Tomas is a very distant cousin. I think he knew what a good student I was. Honestly, in retrospect, I think he told Ramon and they were training me for a role in the cartel. I certainly do more office work now, help Tomas out, unlike any of the other men…especially the other young guys."
Tony looked at Maria to see if she was inclined to believe this. And even if it was true, could they trust what he told them about the ranch? She looked convinced.
"So you want us to get you out?" she finished for Oscar.
Oscar looked away, suddenly unsure of what he was doing. He couldn't trust these two any more than he could trust Ramon. Most likely, they were just from a rival cartel. They'd have no inclination to keep him alive or help him escape. But now it was too late. Fuck it, anything was better than being anywhere near Ramon.
"Yeah," he answered softly. "I figure you two aren't going after Ramon alone. You've got backing from somewhere. I'll work for you or just disappear. Whatever you want. I just want out of here."
Badly enough that you just put your life in our hands Maria thought.
Tony reached forward with the knife. Oscar flinched. But Tony moved past him and cut the ropes binding his arms to the bed. He helped him sit up. Time to throw a little trust the boy's way and see what he did with it.
Oscar was visibly relieved as he sat up rubbing his reddened wrists.
"So who are you?" he asked.
"Not yet," Tony admonished. "We talk first. Who's Jack?"
The boy's hairless chest rose and fell as he released a deep sigh. This was the point of no return.
"An American. Mercenary. Ex military…special forces I think. Showed up about five or six months ago. Ramon seems to trust him…as much as he trusts anyone. It's just that Jack…"
A perplexed look crossed his face. "Jack is what?" Tony urged, relieved that Oscar was using the present tense in reference to Jack. As far as the kid knew, Jack was still alive.
"It's hard to describe Jack. He's…well…he's a tough and he can be a son of a bitch…but he's not mean…not like Ramon. But Ramon loves him. He uses him now even more than Hector."
"Uses him?" Maria asked, "for what?"
"Well, in the beginning, like all the other men. Then Jack took over all the arms training and security. But now…well, Jack does all the dirty jobs. Anything Ramon needs. It's almost…" He stopped. "Nevermind."
Tony didn't want to sound too interested in Jack, but what Oscar was saying was making him very nervous. He needed to hear it all, now.
"This guy is important?" Tony asked, playing dumb. "Because we never heard of him."
"Yeah, he's important."
"Then tell me all you know."
Oscar shrugged his shoulders again and brought his long legs to cross in front of him. Sitting there like that in his undershorts, he looked like a little boy, not a trained cartel soldier.
"There's not much else. He's smart. And I think that bothers Ramon."
"You just said Ramon loves him."
"Yeah, but I think Ramon is bothered by him too…sort of threatened. I'm smart, but I can't fight like Jack, the men don't respect me like they do Jack. Ramon has Jack do all these things…like he's testing him…waiting for him to screw up or for Jack to tell him 'no'. That's what I overheard Tomas say one night to one of the other men. And I thought about it…and I think Tomas is right."
"Why would Ramon do that?"
Oscar chuckled. "You obviously don't know much about Ramon Salazar."
"Then teach me," Tony growled, letting Oscar know his insolence would not be tolerated.
"Ramon doesn't need a reason. Ramon does what he wants to who he wants. Like he's playing a game. And he takes what he wants."
With that last sentence Oscar looked down and Tony swore he saw the boy shiver. What the hell was he implying? That he takes 'who' he wants as well? Tony looked at the boy in another light, not as thug in training, but as a very good looking, well spoken young man. Was Ramon interested? Did that explain the risk Oscar was willing to take to escape? He suppressed his own shiver.
"How does Jack act towards Ramon?"
"He respects him…like everyone does. But sometimes Jack pushes Ramon. He gets away with more than anyone else. But then sometimes Ramon looses it."
"How does Jack push Ramon?"
"I don't know…well…like sometimes he'll defend one of the men. Like if he knows the man isn't guilty like Ramon thinks. No one else will do that."
"And Ramon listens?"
"Sometimes."
"And if he doesn't."
Once again Oscar shrugged. "He gets punished."
"Who gets punished?"
"The man…or Jack…or both. Depends."
Said so matter of factly. Tony wanted to know what the hell that meant. But the way the boy said it, Oscar thought it was obvious. Tony doubted that punishment on the Salazar ranch was a time out. More and more he understood the changes in Jack.
Maria saw the worry in Tony's face and knew they were teetering close to exposing their hand. She was beginning to trust Oscar, but not enough to reveal who Jack really was. She changed directions.
"Tell us about the ranch…the layout."
Oscar looked at her strangely. He'd never seen a woman with a role in any cartel. Certainly not like this woman and how she was acting. For the first time, he wondered whether these two were police. But that might be better for him. He wouldn't be jumping from one hell to another. And they were slightly less likely to kill him after he told them what he knew.
"What do you want to know?" he asked, deciding being the best informant he could be would be in his best interest,
THE SALAZAR RANCH, TWO WEEKS EARLIER
On his way out the door, Jack grabbed at one last partially emptied bottle of tequila, dismayed that his mind was not numb despite how much he'd already downed. He walked steadily and slowly towards the annex to the main house where he and Tomas slept. The private room was a privilege Ramon had granted him two months ago saying he needed his best men close by. Jack liked the privacy over the open, crowded quarters of the bunk room. But the disadvantage was that Ramon showed up far too often unannounced.
On the other hand, the semi seclusion of the little house had allowed his relationship with Claudia to carry on. Jack wondered if Tomas suspected anything. And if he did, was it within Tomas's stoic and quiet nature to tell Ramon? He thought not. Tomas survived by being efficient and indispensible to Ramon and keeping his head down. He was as high up in the cartel as he could go. He had nothing to gain by causing controversy…especially one that would bring Hector down on him. Tomas did not respect Hector. He was polite to a fault with the younger Salazar and otherwise maintained his distance.
Obviously, Tomas and Jack had not become close. They were both very private. The separate entrances to their quarters distanced them enough so that they rarely even saw each other enter or leave. Tomas seemed to respect Jack enough to leave him alone. And Jack thought that Tomas appreciated that he had taken over a lot of Tomas's duties…especially the unpleasant ones. And with those duties, much of Ramon's scrutiny had fallen from Tomas to Jack. Lucky me, thought Jack drunkenly as he stumbled up the small step to his room.
Jack drank the last drops from the bottle and eyed his bed. He forced himself to undress before allowing his body to flop down face first atop the sheets. As tired and drunk as he was, he wasn't going to sleep. His mind raced. Thank God he didn't have any heroin in here or he'd be using right now. He wished he at least had Claudia.
Or Kate. Claudia was escapism. He cared for her, but their relationship consisted of sporadic nights of clandestine sex. That wasn't a relationship. Claudia was part of this nightmare…the only good part, but in the Salazar world none the less.
Kate had been there to care for him, talk to, make love to. She had saved him. Until he had ruined it. Until the drug had ruined it. He physically cringed as his overactive mind replayed a few scenes from the weeks before he'd left for Mexico. He'd blamed it all on Kate…she didn't understand his work, she wasn't giving him enough space. But now that he was clean, he could see the blame was his-and the drug's. He knew she wasn't going to be there when he returned.
Jack rolled over onto his back. He watched the ceiling fan stir the night air for a long time before the tequila finally won out and shut down his brain. He fell into a restless sleep.
Ramon kicked at the sole of his brother's shoe. "Hector, wake up," he ordered.
Hector started awake in the chair.
"You stayed sober like I told you to, didn't you?" Ramon asked.
"Of course, Ramon," Hector defended. "It's late…I just couldn't stay awake."
"Too many women tonight has worn you out," Ramon teased.
"Well if I couldn't drink Ramon, what else was I to do?" He laughed with his brother.
They walked silently towards Jack's room. Just outside Hector stopped. "Ramon, are you sure about this?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to provoke his brother.
To his relief, Ramon turned casually and looked up at the moon in the clear sky, considering, not angry. "I think we must, Hector. In less than a month, we will be heading a different direction. For these men to trust us, we need to appear strong. They will be prejudiced that we are not like them…or that we are not even Americans. Jack has worked with men from their country and religion before. Now that he is here, I understand how much I need him."
"Jack has been suspicious that something else is happening. In his subtle way, he's been pushing me to let him in-to help prepare the men. And I will. But before I trust him completely with what we are about to do, I must have his full and unconditional loyalty."
"But, Ramon, why do you think you don't? He's done everything you've asked. And done it well." Hector had no great love for Jack. He was jealous that Ramon counted on Jack so much. And he did not care for the arrogant American personally. But Jack was good at what he did and he'd brought them a lot of money already.
But what Ramon was planning…Hector had seen it before. Their father had done this twice with men he was testing. It could destroy Jack—and that was dangerous this close to launching their plans with the terrorists. And, he hated to admit, that he suspected this was about proving Ramon's power over Jack more than defining his loyalty.
"He embarrassed me today. He questioned my authority in front of the other men. You know I can't tolerate that."
Hector smiled conspiratorially at his brother, as Ramon nonchalantly reached into his pocket for a cigar and lit it. "You set him up, Ramon."
"Really?" Ramon grinned, blowing smoke up into the sky. Ramon relished Jack's anxious behavior at the party tonight. Even the great Jack Briggs could be frightened of what Ramon might do.
"It was dangerous, you know," Hector ventured. "Jack couldn't win. But if he had chosen to let you change the plan, we'd have lost a lot of men. You'd of been able to blame him, of course, but we would have been down manpower for what's ahead."
"A chance I took. I calculated Jack would stop me. But if he hadn't, we could deal with it."
"Besides, Hector, it's just a feeling I have," Ramon continued. "Jack is still an enigma to me. I want to break him down. Then we will find out what he is on the inside—what makes him have the balls to do what he did today. If he is as he appears, he will survive. If not, then we will know and have to move on without him-which is better than being betrayed in the future."
They stood silently as Ramon finished his smoke. "Go get Tomas and the old man," Ramon ordered quietly as he ground his cigar into the loose dust under his foot. "Let's get started."