From the moment they'd been given the particulars of their op, Frankie had been itching to get this entire meeting over with and get moving. She understood the logic of splitting up, as well as the risk that it carried. It was a decision that she might have made in the SEALs. As Nick had handed down assignments to the rest of his team, she nodded in agreement, though it was likely unnoticed by anybody else in the room.
Once the meeting was over, everyone made their way out the door. She had expected pushback and took it in stride. By this point in her career and life, she was used to being one of, or possibly the only, females in a group and having someone tell her that she had no place there. Tex's response was probably the most predictable, Iceman's however... left a bad taste in her mouth.
When she'd been given the files of the other people she'd be working with, she'd spent hours pouring over the details of the dossiers. Every detail of every downfall and success laid out for her eyes to see. On paper, they all read well. Dozens of hostage rescues, kill/capture missions and long-range reconnaissance, just to name a few of the ops they'd been on in their time.
Iceman's had been of particular interest to her.
After Action Reports portrayed the man as a trusted commander and not just some superior with shiny bars on his collar and a mouth full of recruitment slogans. Between the lines, however... Iceman was a loose cannon in her mind. He led with his heart. Sometimes that even seemed to overshadow his head. Early in Frankie's Navy career, she learned that the problem with having a commanding officer that you trusted above all else meant never questioning the intent behind an order...or if there was any.
When Frankie had to stop him in the hallway, she knew that she had to be careful. She hadn't wanted to draw a line in the sand, especially before rolling out on their first op. As she spoke to him, however, she hadn't waivered. Her mentioning of Yemen hadn't been a dig against him. From her time in the SEALs, she knew that most ops in Yemen rarely went well.
Regardless, when he made the decision that they were to approach both locations with a low profile, a small smile crossed her face. Her expression got serious again as he instructed her to change her clothes. With a simply "Copy that" and a nod, she went to go put on something more fit for field work.
Soon enough, she was in the parking deck with the Iceman, Preacher and Tex. One glance at her clothing, stance, and entire aura indicated that she was all business. With a brief exhange, the four of them got in the SUV. Iceman drove, with Tex riding shotgun and Preacher and Agent Rae in the backseat. They were headed to the bank, but midday traffic in L.A. was a nightmare. It would be a while before they got to their target.
"So, how'd you end up at D.H.S.?" Preacher asked.
"Do you want the long or the short of it?" Frankie asked simply as she rolled her head to either side before she rolled her right shoulder in a semi-stretch, a habit she'd developed several years ago.
"The way this traffic looks? I think we've got time for the long version." Iceman said from the driver's seat.
"We were South Sudan for what was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab. We were thinned out, too much ground, too many entrances... " She said as her eyes seemed to drift off into the memory. "Smoke was interfering with I.S.R., but we were still given the green. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds after we breached, a f**king S-belt blew through the wall." She said before pausing for a moment. "Jacked my shoulder, got a Medical Discharge and found out the life of a civilian wasn't for me."
Her eyes drifted up toward the rear view mirror, meeting Iceman's for a moment before she spoke again.
"Did I miss anything from the file...?" she asked evenly.
"I read that you got a Silver Star out of that op." The old Canadian said.
Frankie gave a little nod. "Yeah...and seven reconstructive surgeries, plus some gnarly scars and brutal physical rehabilitation." Frankie said.
"Does that mean you're slow on the draw there, Agent?" Asked Tex, practically spitting out the title.
"I guess we'll find out, won't we...?" She said as she looked up towards Tex's seat.
The former Green Beret gave a little chuckle. "We sure will, darlin'."
Michael cleared his throat, hoping to ease the tension from the exchange.
"So, Team Four, huh? You ever meet a Senior Chief by the name of Adams? He was a buddy of mine." He said.
"Senior Chief Adams? Yeah. He was on a different team, but we ran a few ops together. He's a hell of a Frogman." She answered.
A buzz grabbed Frankie's attention. She grabbed her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. She looked at the screen for a moment before speaking up.
"Son of a b***h." She said beneath her breath. "Schematics are in." She said as she slightly shook her head.
"You don't like what you see?" Iceman asked.
"The easiest entry would be through the front." She said, clearly not enthused at the idea.
That brought a small sigh from the others.
"We breach the front, we've got every civilian between us and what comes through the door after us." Preacher said to no one in particular.
The big former Marine Raider held out a hand for the phone and looked over it for a moment before speaking. She had passed it over and felt something in her stomach drop. Honestly, the idea of going in through the front with so many places that they could get hit from didn't sit right with her.
"There's a staff entrance at the side, stairs that lead to the roof and the back door itself. We should be able to slip in through one of those entrances. My guess is that whoever's watchin' the bank will either be blatant or stupid with how they watch it. That mean's they'd probably park up the street from the front of it. Likely a few armed bangers with a mountain of backup just a phone call away. We go in through the roof or the staff entrance, they'll know something's up. I think our best point of entry and the main and rear entrances. Just a matter of pickin' who goes where." Preacher assessed as he passed the phone up to Iceman for he and Tex to see.
Once everyone looked at the schematics, it didn't take Iceman long to come up with a plan.
"Two go in through the front, one through the back, someone at the SUV to pick everybody else. The front team goes in, gets a look at the crowd so we know how to approach. Rear heads for the manager's office. Best case scenario, no one has any idea what's happening and we all slip out." Iceman said.
"Yeah. Because we're REAL good at NOT gettin' shot at, boss." Tex said sarcastically.
"Just keep it in your pants and we'll be fine." Iceman said.
"What about the guards?" Preacher asked.
"What ABOUT 'em?" Tex asked.
"I mean, are we dealin' with rent-a-cops who are gonna get in the way and try to be heroes or are they cartel plants?" Preacher asked.
"You think they might have guys inside AND outside the bank?" Asked Tex.
"With that much money in one place? You're gonna want as many guns around to make sure things go smooth as possible. I don't think that panic button would call in L.A.P.D." Iceman said before continuing.
"Okay. Me and Rae go through the front door, Preacher through the back. We find the security room and the manager's office. Try to avoid cameras. IF we have to engage the guards, non-lethal takedowns only, they might be straight." Iceman said.
"What about me?" Tex asked.
"You stay in the truck and watch the street. If these idiots DO move, we need you to keep an eye out." Iceman ordered.
"The f**k? So this b***h you've never worked with gets to have your six goin' through a door, but I, a guy you known and worked with FOR YEARS, am gettin' benched? That's bulls**t and you know it." The Texan said angrily.
Frankie had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep her from telling Tex off.
"Someone's got to watch the blindside. And besides, you'd find a way to start a gunfight in there. We need to at least TRY to pull this off quietly." Iceman defended.
"Man, f**k quiet. Quiet ain't our thing. Quiet ain't NEVER been our thing." Tex said defensively.
"Hey, man, relax. Look, we go in here, we're gonna need a quick out. No disrespect to the bossman, but he's not exactly the best driver around. Plus, if things DO go loud, you can run in and save all our a**es." Preacher said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder from the backseat.
Tex then turned towards Frankie in the backseat.
"So f**kin' help me God, you f**k up and get my guys hurt, there won't be enough left of you to fill a f**kin' shotglass" He seethed through gritted teeth.
Frankie had her eyes on the bank, though Tex's anger drew her attention once again.
"I'd expect nothing less." She replied with a small nod.
Then, the SUV came to a stop. They were on the side of the bank. Just their luck, a guard was outside smoking with the door propped open.
"Here's our chance. Let's move." Iceman said as he exited the vehicle.
"Everything'll be okay. We'll see you in a minute." Preacher said to Tex before getting out.
"I hear any shots, I'm comin' in." Tex said before everyone dismounted the vehicle.
As Frankie got out of the SUV, she adjusted her shades so that they sat on top of her head. She then walked next to Iceman and put her arm around his before smiling. Iceman was a little surprised when she first wrapped her arms around him, but went with it quickly. It was actually a very clever ploy. No one would think anything of a couple walking into a bank. When the doorman held open the door for the two of them, she spoke up.
"Five minutes, ten tops... promise." She said.
It may have sounded sounded as though she was referring to how long the duo would be inside the bank, but she was actually referring to how long she figured they would have once things hit the fan inside.
"It'll probably be less than that. I spotted a couple of open windows with a view of the SUV. It'd be a pretty decent place for a shooter to pop out and f**k with us." Iceman said.
As they entered the building, she had released the grasp she had taken on his arm and had moved forward across the customer waiting area and toward a long wooden table that held the teller notes and deposit slips and leaned against it as she reached forward toward the stacks to pull one free. Her eyes were taking in the surroundings about them. It was fairly busy in the bank, as she made out a couple dozen civilians and the one security guard roaming the lobby.
"You see the tattoos? Sinoloa." She said while still appearing to be writing on the small slip of paper.
Iceman nodded when she mentioned the tattooed security guard.
"Well, there is a cartel washing money in this bank. Not much of a stretch to imagine that there's more than one." He said.
As Iceman and Rae made their way to the front entrance, Preacher had walked towards the rear entrance. The guard was smoking, his back away from the street. The former Marine walked up behind the guard and put him in a chokehold. The man struggled and had even reached for his gun, but as Preacher's grip tightened, the guard abandoned the gun and kept trying to pull his arm off, to no avail. Once the guard was limp, Preacher dragged his body between some parked cars and took his gun, radio and I.D. badge. He placed the radio in a dumpster near the rear entrance before walking into the door.
"I'm internal. Movin' to the Security Room now." He said.
He walked up to the reinforced door and placed the I.D. badge in the scanner. The only sound that it made was a soft click as the door unlocked. Preacher opened the door and before the guard could reach for his pistol, he had his weapon trained on the man's head.
"You wanna keep your head, keep your hands where I can see 'em." Preacher said evenly.
With a huff, the man put his hands up. Preacher walked up to the man, delivering a hard blow to the back of the man's head knocking him out. He took his pistol and prepared to enter the office area.
"Guards are down. I'm movin' to the Manager's Office." He announced quietly into his comm.
"Copy that. We'll wait for your go." Iceman said before looking to Rae.
"We're probably gonna need a distraction so he can slip out. Any ideas?" He asked.
To a casual observer, it may have appeared that Frankie was intent on whatever it was that she was writing on the slip settled on the counter there in front of her, but her attention was anywhere but. She had finished scrawling on the slip, a small smile still on her lips. Once she put the pen down and picked up the slip, she looked over at the lines at the teller desks.
"One or two?" She asked, making a slight gesture towards the desks with her head. It was hardly foolproof, but the longer that the two of them were in line, the longer time they had to come up with a diversion so that Preacher could leave with the manager unnoticed.
"I don't love either of them." She admitted.
"I'll follow your lead." He said as he followed her to the longer of the two lines.
Once Preacher cleared the security threat, he made his way through the door into the bank's rear office area. There were a couple of people at the desks speaking with employees and another who was eating her lunch, none of them seemed to look up at the strange man who looked ready for a fight. They had probably had so many men like that in the bank, that it wasn't anything of note to them anymore. He walked straight along the wall to a glass front office with Esteban Mendoza's name on it. He gently knocked on the door and was waved into the office.
"Welcome to Grand National Bank, sir. How may I assist you?" The man asked in a practiced, professional tone before turning his attention back to his computer monitor
"Actually...I think I can help YOU." Preacher said as he walked closer to the desk.
Mendoza looked up from his computer at the man with a confused look on his face.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I understand." He said.
"Mister Mendoza, I'm part of a...special interest aimed to take down some of the people who do business with this bank. I'm here for a ledger you've been making of the special, more... sensitive transactions that you wouldn't want to leave a paper trail of. If you don't have it, I need you to take me to it. And before you attempt to lie and say that you don't know what I'm talking about, I feel I should tell you that there are armed people just outside your home waiting for a phone call from me. You can either plan a family movie night or a family funeral. The choice is yours." Preacher said, his tone of voice leaving no reason to doubt the seriousness of is words.
Mendoza looked at the man, a range of emotions crossing his face. Finally, he hung his head before looking a picture of his wife and children on his desk and taking a deep breath.
"If I cooperate, do I have your word that my family and I will be safe?" Mendoza asked, still looking at the photo on his desk.
"You have my word that if you cooperate, I'll protect you all as if you were my own flesh and blood." The large man assured him.
With a sigh, the man stood up and walked around his desk towards Preacher.
"It's not here. I'll take you to it." He said.
"Okay, be advised, Mendoza's coming with us. Boss, a distraction would be pretty good right about now." Preacher said.
To any on lookers, the pair of them were having a mundane conversation, not worth trying to listen in on. Frankie's eyes were still tracking the lone security guard still in the lobby. She whisper, keeping her voice quiet enough for only him to hear, though still getting Iceman's attention.
"Guard's movin'." She said.
He had already spotted the guard moving towards the back area.
"I see him. No way he gets clear with that guard back there." He said.
Just as those fingertips had shifted toward her ear as though she were about to tuck her hair behind it to give Preacher the heads up that they were quickly running out of time, his voice sounded in her ear. She and Iceman had just been getting ready to step up to that teller window themselves when Preacher asked for a distraction.
"Sorry." She said before turning to face Iceman. He was about to ask what she was apologizing for, but she slapped him in the face...hard.
"YOU LYING, CHEATING PIECE OF S**T!" She yelled, getting the attention of anyone who hadn't already noticed the slap.
She then began screaming, much of it incoherent, though the few words that were still discernable in her tirade were rather profane. On occasion, she would step away from him, moving for the exit before turning back to him and screaming once again. Frankie hoped the security guard would stop walking toward the rear and make his way toward the commotion in the lobby. Iceman rubbed his face, which felt like it was on fire from her slap. Rae was good at improvising, he'd give her that much. No one notices a couple walk into a bank, but EVERYONE notices a couple fighting in public.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT?! YOU THINK I'M CHEATING EVERY TIME I'M OUT OF YOUR SIGHT, YOU MANIAC!." He retorted as he and Rae began shouting at one another.
"MANIAC?! I'M the maniac?!" She shouted. "I wouldn't have to worry every time you left the house if you spent HALF as much time in it as you do 'working late'!" Her tone indicated that she wasn't convinced by that explanation.
The security guard stopped walking and turned towards the two.
"Oye. You two need to take this outside." Said the guard.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She shrieked as she pulled out of his grasp, though still moving towards the door.
"Hey, back off, man. I came in here to try and open an account with my girl so that she can know that I'm not spending my money elsewhere." Iceman explained to the man.
"Hey. It looks like you and your heina got bigger problems than a joint account." Said the guard.
"Oh, she's not MY problem anymore." Iceman said before looking to Agent Rae.
"Not YOUR problem anymore!? You know what.. You're right, the only problem here is you f**king your secretary." Frankie spewed that venom from her lips between gritted teeth as that security guard had taken hold of both of their arms.
"I don't know how you're gettin' home, but if I get there first, you'll be pickin' your stuff up off the front lawn you crazy b***h." Nick replied.
"Oh did you forget dear? The truck is in MY name." She retorted.
The guard placed a hand on each of their arms, pushing them towards the door.
"I said you two need to leave. You're interrupting business. I'm not gonna tell you two no more." The guard said as he walked them just out the door.
"Fine man, whatever. We're leavin'." Nick said.
As soon as Preacher heard the slap and yelling, he began leading Mendoza to the rear door. Everyone was focused on the commotion in the teller area, so no one gave them so much as a glance.
The two men managed to get to the back door. Mendoza gasped a little as he saw the unconscious man in the Security Room.
"Is he-" Mendoza asked, unable to bring himself to say the word.
"No. He's just unconscious. He's probably gonna have one hell of a headache when he wakes up though." Preacher said as he walked to the back door, stopping just before opening it.
"We're set at the front door. Tex, how's it lookin' on the street?" He asked.
"No movement. Ready to go when you are." Tex replied.
Michael nodded a little before turning to Mendoza.
"The truck's just out here. We walk normal, get in, pick up the rest of the team and leave." He explained.
Mendoza nodded and the two men made their way out the door. They crossed the street and reached the SUV, with Michael opening the rear passenger door. Steve had moved to the driver's seat and had a shotgun seated next to him.
The SUV pulled up to the corner near the bank's front door.
Throughout their ploy, Iceman and Rae moved for the exit, occasionally stopping to continue the argument. If they were causing such a ruckus at the front door, then no one would be looking toward the back door. She made her way to the front doors, roughly shoving at the one that wasn't being held open. Once she got outside and out of the view of the civilians, she dropped the facade.
"Boss, we're outside and ready to move." Tex said.
"Copy that, we're movin' now." Nick said as he walked towards the door.
She brought her glasses back down over her eyes and took the opportunity to let them glance toward the open windows that Iceman had mentioned before they went in.
"We've got movement. Third floor, Second window." She said, careful to keep her tone calm as she couldn't make out exactly who or what was in the window and didn't want to tip off any potential bad guys while she was in the open.
She wasted no time getting into the SUV. When Iceman and Rae got into the vehicle, they saw that Preacher and Mendoza were already in the vehicle.
"Get us out of here before this gets ugly, Cowboy." She said as closed the doot.
"It sounded like it had gotten a bit ugly. " Tex said. "Who got the s**t slapped out of them in there? I could hear it over the comms."
"Just get us out of here." Iceman said before turning his attention to Rae.
Once everyone was loaded up, Tex wasted no time getting them away from the bank. All along their route, Frankie would glance up at windows, searching for any signs of an ambush.
"Quick thinking on the fight, Agent Rae." Iceman said.
"Agent? YOU'RE POLICIA!?" Asked Mendoza.
"Shut up and stay down." Preacher and Rae said in near unison as they pushed down on his neck and shoulders to keep him as low in the seat as possible, not caring much for his personal comfort.
"What do you say we just stick with Rae from here on out, hmm?" Frankie said.
"Ah...I never should have agreed to this. You people can't protect my family. You can't protect anybody...I'm a dead man." Mendoza said.
"Shut the f**k up back there." Tex said.
As they were driving away from the bank, Iceman had been watching behind them to look for any sign of pursuers. He had spotted a Black SUV behind them. It had been on them since they left.
"I got eyes on a tail, a couple cars back." He said.
Frankie would glance out the rear window from time to time, a hand still resting on Mendoza's shoulder. Once she saw the tail, she prepared herself to half to fight off whoever was inside.
"Those are the puta madres from the bank. They must notice that I'm gone. They're going to call the people watching my family and kill them." Mendoza said.
"No they won't." Iceman said before pulling out his phone and called Big Bad.
"Boss, we're at the house. No trace of the ledger. We've secured the family though." The Brit said.
"Copy that. We've got Mendoza. He's gonna lead us to the ledger, but we may have a tail. Heads up, you may have bad guys headed your way too." Iceman reported.
"Yeah. I see a couple of cars and don't think their bloody Girl Scouts, mate. You might want to get L.A.P.D. over here sharpish." Big Bad said.
"On it. Stay safe and call me when you're clear." Iceman said.
"Got it." The veteran sniper said before ending the call.
"Rae, get L.A.P.D., your people, whoever over to the house. My team needs backup." Iceman said. He'd barely gotten the words out before she pulled her phone out.
"On it." She said, drawing the phone to her ear.
"This is Agent Rae, D.H.S. Badge Number 3476. Transporting High Value Witness. We may have hostiles on our tail, requesting backup at our location." She said, her voice not betraying the tension she felt in her body as she drew and readied her own pistol.
"What about the guys behind us?" Preacher asked.
Just then, the SUV came to a stop at a red light. Preacher and Iceman drew their pistols while Tex grabbed the grip of the shotgun.
"Do what they do. If THEY get out, WE get out." Iceman said.
"Please get out, please get out, please get out…" Tex muttered to himself.
"Loco gringos." Mendoza said as he got low in his seat with his hands over his head.
"Rae, stay with Mendoza." Iceman said, looking through the back window, his pistol drawn and ready.
Though everything in the girl was itching to get out of that vehicle with the rest of them, she simply nodded in agreement as Iceman told her to stay behind.
"I got your back, boss." Preacher said.
"Tex?" Iceman asked.
"I got the left side." He replied in a low tone.
It was a tense few moments as they waited at the red light, everyone in the SUV sat in silence as they waited to see what would happen next. The moment that passenger door of the pursuing SUV popped open, the three trained PMCs got out, guns drawn, raised and ready. Some of the civilians in other cars screamed in shock at the sight of the armed men quickly and aggressively moving out of their vehicle, while some cowered in their cars and some even got out and began running away. The only sounds that could be heard were the screams of fleeing people, the honking of car horns as people further way didn't understand what all the commotion was about and the barking of a dog that had been left in someone's car.
"If you want your head to stay on your shoulders, keep it between your f**king knees." She said as she kept a hand on his shoulder, her pistol clutched tightly in her other and her eyes glued on the scene unfolding just a couple car lengths back.
The men in the tail SUV's passenger seat were talking, as evidenced by their mouths moving. They were likely talking about their options in the face of the three armed men, clearly ready for a fight. Iceman and Tex had stayed fairly close to the SUV, while Preacher had moved to the sidewalk to get an angle on the rear passenger seat and rear hatch. It was tense and quiet for a moment. Until the man in the passenger seat got out.
From his position, Preacher could see the glint off of the man's pistol slide.
Even with the screaming of fleeing people and the barking of a dog, for Frankie, time seemed to stand still until that tense silence was exchanged with screaming and gunshots.
"GUN!" Preacher called out.
"MARICON DE MIERDA!" Shouted the man as he raised the pistol at Preacher.
Once the man raised his pistol, Preacher, Iceman and Tex began firing.
At the sound of the shooting, Mendoza let out a panicked yell and sat upright.
"Jesus Christ." Frankie hissed as she pushed him back down, pressing his chest into his knees once again. "Stay. DOWN."
Preacher fired at the man who had drawn on him, striking him in the upper chest. The force of the rounds pushed the man back, but he still raised his pistol and fired at Preacher, forcing him to take cover behind a parked car.
Iceman fired through the passenger side door and window at the man as soon as Preacher called out that he had a weapon. Several of his rounds had gone through the window and struck the man. The barrage of hard hitting rounds made the man slump to the ground, the upper half of his body laying face down in the passenger seat.
Once the shooting began, Tex fired his shotgun at the driver of the SUV. It was loaded with slug rounds which, at this range, would hit exactly what his sights were aimed at, the engine block and the driver. When Tex's round found the driver's head, the inside of the windshield was largely covered in blood and brain matter as the man's body slumped forward on the horn and his foot was apparently still on the gas pedal as the vehicle drifted into the car in front of them.
As soon as it had started, the gunfight was over. The three men kept their guns trained on the SUV, looking for any signs of life from the people inside.
"Sound off." Iceman said.
"I'M GOOD!" Preacher said, his mind still racing from the encounter, though his hands remained completely steady.
"Good here." Tex said.
"I think there's a guy in the backseat." Preacher said, his pistol trained on the rear passenger door.
Just as he spoke, the rear passenger door window exploded as the man inside fired a burst from an automatic weapon. Preacher took cover again, while Iceman attempted to suppress the shooter in case the man was looking to make his way back to him.
In the meantime, Tex made his way up the left side and managed to get to that passenger door. With Iceman and Preacher firing at the Hummer, the man in the back stayed down when he wasn't firing, so he never saw the shotgun wielding man come up. He saw it as his chance to slip out what he thought was the unguarded side. Just as he turned towards the left passenger door, the shooter saw Tex level a shotgun at him. The moment he brought the weapon around to try and fire, he got a face full of a 12 gauge slug round for his trouble.
"All Clear." Tex said, the barrel still smoking as he held the shotgun up, ready to quickly and definitively finish anyone else who came looking for a fight.
No matter what minor hesitations she had initially had of the PMCs, Frankie couldn't deny that she was glad that they were on the same side.
With the sounds of gunfire still hanging in the air and reverberating off of the tall buildings, Frankie barely noticed her phone buzzing on the seat. It was actually another round of Mendoza's whimpering that drew her attention downward and to it. An L.A.P.D. dispatcher was calling to informer her that traffic cameras picked up multiple SUVs moving fast towards their position.
"Preacher?" Iceman called, hoping that his 3IC hadn't been hit.
"Yeah. I'm good. Just the holes I was born with." He said as he caught his breath.
Sure that the threat was down and that the rest of his team was still upright, Iceman back to the back passenger door of their SUV and opening it.
"Rae. Mendoza. You two okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. We're still here." She replied simply her pistol in her hands, low, but still ready.
"Okay, we're gonna collect cell phones and wait for L.A.P.D." Iceman said.
"No time." Frankie said. Iceman was about to ask her to explain herself when she continued. "I just got word that we've got incoming."
The two of them looked around at where they were. A busy intersection surrounded by tall buildings was the last place that either of them would want to have a gunfight in if they could help it.
"What's the call, boss?" Preacher asked.
"We're not waiting for L.A.P.D. Just grab the cell phones and wallets." Iceman instructed.
Without another word, Preacher and Tex moved to check the dead men. Once they found the wallets and cell phones, Iceman opened up the rear of his SUV.
"We need to be anywhere but here fast. We have to move Mendoza to safety." He said as he pulled out his plate carrier before passing Preacher and Tex their own armor and making his way to the front passenger seat.
"Rae, if you're lookin' for somethin' bigger, that banger in the back of that other vic had this. Might be useful." Tex said as he handed her an AMP-9 submachine gun before climbing into the driver's seat, while Preacher got in the rear passenger seat. Once Rae got back in the SUV, Tex drove off and cleared the scene. Iceman called Big Bad's phone, hoping the man would pick up.
Just as it seemed like the phone might go to voicemail, it clicked.
"Boss?" Gordon asked.
A look of relief washed over Iceman's face at the sound of his second in command's voice.
"Good to hear your voice, brother. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah. We're all still vertical." Big Bad responded.
"The family?" Iceman asked, prompting Mendoza to look up at the direction of the phone.
"All good. Once we convinced them that we'd get them to safety, it was a matter of extracting 'em. 'Til those wankers showed up. Doc got them up in the attic. Demo and Ace watched the rear to make sure we didn't get surprised."
"And where were YOU during all this?" Iceman asked.
"I was in the front room holding off the bloody horde." Big Bad replied.
"Sounds like you kicked a** over there." Iceman admitted.
"Eh, we held. It got a bit dodgy when the ammo started running low, but by then, the coppers had arrived and dealt with the rest of 'em."
"Any of 'em talkin'?" Asked Iceman.
"Not unless they plan to resurrect." Big Bad answered.
"Alright then. Stay with the family. We'll get Mendoza to safety." Iceman said.
"Right then. Talk to you later." Big Bad said before hanging up.
Once the call was over, Iceman looked over to Frankie.
"You know of a safehouse where we can stash Mendoza?" He asked.
"I can get us one." Frankie said as she reached into the backseat to grab her plate carrier out of the back, as she hadn't had the chance to do so earlier.
"Wait. What about my family?" Mendoza quickly asked.
"They'll be with you as soon as possible." Preacher said.
Frankie had been about to put her armor on before she stopped, looked at it for a moment and instead prompted Mendoza to hold his arms up so that she could secure it to him.
"Help him out over there." She asked Preacher.
Michael adjusted the armor so that it was secured to Mendoza's other side.
"I don't know a lot of knights who just give their armor away to any old maiden on the street." He remarked as he tugged to make sure that the vest was on properly.
"You got another? I'd be happy to strap up." Frankie said, glancing at the man wearing HER armor.
Preacher shook his head when Rae asked for another vest.
"Sorry. We only pack for ourselves." He said.
"Mr. Money over here can't even keep his head between his knees when bullets fly. And as it stands, we need him." It really was as simple as that for the woman. "Besides... makes it just a hair harder for Tex to put a bullet in him." She jested.
This made the former Green Beret let out a small, genuine chuckle.
"Trust me, darlin'. Ain't no vest gonna stop me from killin' a man." He said.
A moment or so later, her phone buzzed as she was informed of the location of an available safehouse.
"Head for Route 365, southbound. L.A.P.D. is gonna run interference until we get out of city limits." She said.
When Rae passed along the location of the safehouse, Iceman pulled out his phone and texted Big Bad the location before turning his phone off.
"Everyone turn your phones off, we don't want anyone trackin' us to the safehouse." He said.
Preacher pulled out his phone and followed suit. Tex passed his phone to the man so that he could focus on driving.
"Rae, check for Mendoza's phone. We can't take any chances." Michael said.
"You said you were going after Malzera, right?" Asked Mendoza.
"Not in so many words. But they just tried to put a bullet in your head to keep you quiet. When they couldn't find YOU, they sent people after your family. I think it's pretty clear that you don't have a whole lot of friends in L.A., Esteban." Iceman said.
"Come on, man. What would you want me to do, huh? I thought it was legitimate business at first." Mendoza said.
"What about murder, drug dealing and who knows how much other s**t seemed "legitimate" to you?" Preacher asked.
"Hey, man. I wasn't killing anybody. I just took care of the money." Mendoza said.
"Bulls**t. You're complicit. You know where the money comes from and you know where it went. You can't be in a snake pit and think you can't get bit." Tex said from the driver's seat.
"Hey, f**k you, pendejo." Mendoza replied, his chest swelling slightly with unearned bravado.
As Mendoza spat venom at Tex, Frankie delivered a quick, harsh jab into Mendoza's ribs, just above the protective side plates.
"Enough." Iceman said, holding up a hand as he turned to Mendoza. "How extensive is this ledger you've got?"
Mendoza grabbed at and rubbed his ribs for a moment, glaring daggers at Frankie before answering.
"It's got a history of every dropoff and pickup that those cabrons made to the bank."
"How'd you end up with Sinaloa Cartel workin' bank security?" Iceman asked.
"Just kind of...came with the new arrangment." said Mendoza.
"Where's the ledger?" Iceman asked again.
"No. I'm not telling you ANYTHING until I see my family and I have an immunity deal IN WRITING!" Mendoza said.
"You'll get that AFTER you give us something usable." Iceman growled.
Mendoza put his head down and stayed quiet the rest of the ride.
"Ya know, I was thinking..." Frankie said to no one in particular as she checked Mendoza for a cell phone. "The safe house is awfully small. Not sure we have room for a family of six." She said before looking up towards Iceman.
Once she found the phone, she turned it off and continued speaking.
"Why don't you go on and call Big Bad back. Tell him not to worry about the family. They don't know anything about the ledger anyway." She said, nonchalantly.
Preacher nodded his head in agreement, going along with Frankie's ploy.
"Yeah. That makes sense. Boss, I can call 'em." He said.
"What? No. You can't be serious." Mendoza said, a new pang of terror in his eyes.
"F**k that. Just throw 'em to the gangbangers. I'm sure it'll sort itself out." Tex said with a smile.
"No. You can't do that. My family wouldn't survive those animals." Mendoza pleaded.
"Then you better tell me something useful or I swear to you I'll drop your whole family off in the middle of South Central and drop the word that they're snitches." Iceman said, turned around to face the banker.
"Look, it's all in my ledger. When money came in, how much, all of it." Mendoza stammered.
"Then where's the f**kin' ledger?" Tex asked, glancing up at Mendoza through the rear view mirror.
He looked up towards Iceman, but put his head back down, saying nothing.
"Rae, could you please explain to our friend here how the Cartel deals with people who threaten or f**k with their blood money?" Iceman asked.
"If you're lucky..." she began, her eyes remaining on the passing buildings and traffic. "They'll drag you into a room full of every single person that you love. They'll start with your youngest son. Show you that they're serious. You'll beg, but...you won't even recognize his face when they're done beating him. Then... they'll move on to your oldest sone. They'll take their time with him. Blades, hacksaws, anything with a sharp edge. But they won't kill him. They'll leave him gurgling on the ground at your feet while they move on to your wife and daughters. They'll force you to watch as they take everything that was ever pure about them and warp it until they're begging for death."
As she casually went into the greusome detail of what was likely to happen to his family now that the Cartel wanted to kill him, Frankie turned tolook at Mendoza.
"But don't worry Mr. Mendoza... they won't kill you. No... they'll let you live. Hell, they might even let you go home. But they'll know that you'll never be able to close your eyes without seeing the things they've done." She said with a small, indifferent shrug. "Again... that's if you're lucky."
As Frankie began telling Mendoza how the cartel was likely to kill his entire family in front of him, Mendoza looked at her in horror. When she started talking about what they'd do to his sons, he looked angry. When she talked about what they'd do to his wife and daughters, he looked as if he was going to throw up. When she told him that they'd likely let him live with the memories of what they did to his family, he was putting his hands over his ears so he didn't have to keep listening to it.
"Okay. Okay. I get it. Just...please stop." Mendoza whimpered.
"Then tell us where the ledger is." Iceman said.
"It's...it's with a friend." The man choked out.
"That's not good enough. Y'know what? F**k it, I'm callin' Big Bad. I'll just have them shoot the family and save the bangers in South Central the trouble." Iceman said as he pulled out his phone.
"IT'S WITH A PRIEST!" Mendoza blurted out, the fear and desperation clear in his voice.
"A priest? Why would you put it with a priest?" Preacher asked.
"Because church is one of the few places that even the cartel doesn't try to f**k with." Tex cut in.
"What church is it?" Iceman asked.
"Saint Matthew's Church. It's not too far from my house." Mendoza said.
"Saint Matthew's?" Preacher said with a small scoff. He looked up towards the front and could tell that neither of his teammates nor Rae understood the significance. "The patron saint of bankers."
"Just...just don't hurt my family." Mendoza pleaded.
Once they got the information they wanted, Frankie grabbed her phone and called in the information.
"They're sending another team for the ledger..." Her tone made no attempt to hide her displeasure at the tasking.
"And what are WE supposed to do, exactly?" Tex asked annoyed.
"We're to proceed to the safe house and babysi-" She got out before they were all caught off guard by a vehicle that had t-boned them.