Sands woke up the next morning and got dressed all in black to commemorate the Day of the Dead. He threw a brown blazer on over his outfit to cover up his guns. He went to the internet café and gulped down several cups of coffee while he got a computer update from the CIA. Nothing in the report seemed amiss. Then he began making phone calls.
Almost immediately, he realized that the day was not going to go as smoothly as he had hoped. He attempted to call Cucuy several times, but he was nowhere to be found. He was also unable to reach his inside man who worked for the President. He did reach El by phone and El informed him that Cucuy had apparently ratted Sands out. Cucuy had abducted El and brought him to Barillo the previous day but fortunately he had managed to escape. He also learned that the President was blockading the roads so the much needed guns he was expecting had not arrived as planned. Sands had also noticed a new man was tailing him.
He tried to call his contact at the CIA headquarters several times but his phone mysteriously disconnected every time he tried that number. He hated to have to call Samantha for help, but under the circumstances he had no choice. She was supposed to be his backup after all and she could help him get what he needed to finish this operation. He'd just have to figure out how to keep her greedy little hands off the 20 million pesos later.
She answered her phone groggily, apparently still not out of bed even though it was almost noon. Jeez, that girl was lazy, he thought angrily. He told her to listen carefully because he needed her help, then he quickly began relaying to her all of the latest happenings and asked her to get him some backup, preferably a male with experience, he thought to himself. God help him if he got stuck with just her. But, today was too important to try to go it alone. Midway through his phone call he was abruptly cut off. He heard static on the line and another click. It sounded like his call was being intercepted.
"I'm just going to freak right out," he said out loud to himself.
No, he was not going to freak out, he told himself silently. This could all be rectified. He just needed to get everything back on track and there was still El and Ajedrez. It could still go off as planned with a little bit of help from Samantha. He went to the Flying Cow where he was to meet with Ramirez for an update.
Samantha got out of bed quickly and dressed after Sands had called her. Everything was apparently going down today with Sands and he needed her help. He sounded somewhat frantic on the phone and then they got cut off. She quickly called the CIA to relay his message and get more information on what she could do to help him.
They reluctantly filled her in on what was going on that day. Since she was there in Mexico with Sands, she would need to find him and help him accomplish his goal. They warned her that it was a Top Secret mission and even though she didn't have Top Secret clearance yet, under the circumstances, she would be allowed to help with the operation. They didn't have time to get another agent in there.
She felt butterflies in her stomach as they told her that a coup d'etat of the President of Mexico would be happening that day and Sands was supposed to make sure it went down as planned. It was now up to her to make it happen for Sands.
She hung up the phone. A Presidential assassination? That was way more of an assignment than she ever expected to be on. Wasn't she just supposed to be watching a rogue CIA agent's back?
She jumped as her cellphone rang again. It was Sands. He told her that he needed a new line, that his line had been compromised and that he was at the Flying Cow restaurant. He sounded irritated and concerned. She knew this wasn't good. She needed to get over there right away with another phone for him.
She needed to be better armed so she put all her available guns on and a jacket over top of her outfit. It probably looked weird in this heat but she didn't care. She quickly called for a taxi and headed into town with an extra phone for Sands. She pulled up at the Flying Cow restaurant, got out, paid the taxi driver and went inside.
