This Time? Chapter 5
The note arrives with an afternoon snack that Lucy never ordered but isn't about to turn down. The nacho toppings layered on freshly fried tortilla chips are ten steps above what she can sometimes grab from a food truck, but the note is even more promising. "Quality assurance testing satisfactory. Meet at the same location in two hours to schedule delivery."
"Anyone intercepting the note wouldn't know the location," she murmurs to herself. "And nothing here could be introduced in court as incriminating." Alonzo is smart, but hopefully not smart enough to penetrate her cover. And compared to some of the stories she's heard from Harper, this case is moving at light speed – almost too fast. Once she talks to Alonzo, she may not have much time to contact Agent Beller, and he may have very little to set up the rest of the operation. But they'll make it work. A lot of lives depend on taking down Alonzo's distribution network. And finishing up the case would mean a chance to get back to LA – and Tim.
After polishing off her nachos, Lucy carefully washes her hands and checks her appearance before climbing back behind the wheel of her BMW. The car belongs to the DEA, probably confiscated from a drug dealer in another part of the country. She wouldn't be responsible for any work-related damage. But cheese stains would be another matter. The entertainment system is first class, the in-car Wi-Fi permitting Lucy to access any music on the web that she wishes. Right now, she's into Butterfly Ali. For some reason, the artist feels like an old friend, and Spotify has all of his songs she likes.
Captured by the music, she barely thinks about Alonzo or the details of her supposed fentanyl operation until she's almost back at the abandoned race track. This time, Alonzo's there first. He's sitting in the bleachers smoking a cigar as he awaits her arrival. With his love of luxury items, Lucy guesses that it's probably Cuban. A child of the mostly post-smoking era, she's not crazy about being too close to any type of tobacco smoke, but outside it shouldn't be much of a problem.
Alonzo nods, acknowledging Lucy's arrival. "As prompt as before. I will say that both you and your products are most impressive, Ms. Loo. Your quality is first class. But now, we'll have to see if your ability to deliver is a match. How soon can you provide me with an initial shipment of 40,000 units?"
"What dosage?"
"One milligram."
"Shape, color?" Lucy inquires.
"For this first shipment, I'll leave that up to you," Alonzo allows. "But even when carefully inspected, the pills should appear to be legally produced, with the appropriate markings."
"Of course," Lucy agrees, "and even analysis wouldn't prove them to be otherwise. They'll be impossible to identify and trace, even if they fall into unfriendly hands."
Alonzo smiles knowingly. "That's the plan, Ms. Loo. So what is your delivery date?"
"What's the destination?" Lucy queries.
"It will be somewhere in Southern California, but I will provide you with the details a few hours prior to delivery. So, a date, Ms. Loo?"
Lucy does quick mental calculations. "I have 35,000 pills at that dosage packed and ready to ship. Our press can put out 1,000 pills in 24 hours. Plus packing and shipping time, that would be six days."
"And if you merely shipped the 35,000 you already have on hand?" Alonzo inquires.
"One day, Mr. Alonzo, with the precise time depending on the exact destination."
"Very well. We will start with the 35,000 in one day. And I will notify you of the exact destination, as I stated before. I look forward to a pleasant and lucrative relationship, Ms. Loo."
"As do I, Mr. Alonzo."
"And do try the pheasant," he adds. "Less delicate than the quail, but also quite delightful."
"I will do that," Lucy promises.
When Lucy meets Agent Beller at a Palm Springs bar, a band is playing live music, and jumbo screens display a football game. He inclines his head toward the dart board in a back corner. "I scanned for bugs. The place is clean. And between the music and the games, anyone would have a hard time overhearing us. Still, keep your face toward the board. That will minimize the chance of lip reading. So, what went down at your meet?"
"Alonzo asked for 40,000 one mg. pills. I thought I could put him off for a few days by saying I only had 35,000 in stock, but he called me on it. He wants the 35,000 tomorrow, and he'll only give us a few hours notice of the location. All he would tell me was Southern California."
Beller rubs his hand over the scruff forming on his jawline. "That's going to be tight. Southern California covers a lot of territory, and getting 35,000 pills that look like fentanyl together won't be easy either."
"They better not just look like fentanyl; they'll have to test as fentanyl," Lucy points out. "Alonzo has his own lab and techs. They'll be able to tell the difference pretty much immediately."
"We can use a confiscated stash," Beller figures. "But putting everything together will make things even tighter. And you know the rules. We can't actually let him get away with the drugs. We'll need to have everything in place to bust him the minute he accepts the shipment."
Lucy's dart hits the triple 20. "So, can you make it happen or not? Alonzo knows everything that goes on at the spa where I'm staying. He probably knows I'm here. If we can't do this, I'll need to get away from Palm Springs right now."
"Relax," Beller advises. "We'll get it nailed down. But you should get back to your bungalow ASAP. I need to start right now putting everything for the operation in place." He hands Lucy a transmitter. "Use this only once, to send me the location of the drop-off. It will put out a split-second burst, almost undetectable. Then destroy it immediately. You can't run the risk of it being found."
"All right," Lucy agrees. "Anything else?"
"Cross your fingers."
Alonzo's note comes with Lucy's breakfast. That cuts into Beller's preparation time – a lot. But there's nothing Lucy can do about that. The location is a beach in San Juan Capistrano. That makes sense. It's close enough to the border for any personnel Alonzo has in Mexico to access. The beaches there aren't heavily frequented, particularly those closest to the railroad tracks, which this one is. And I-5 is the only reasonable route in. Alonzo can have his people watch it.
None of that will make life any simpler for Beller and his team. The easiest thing would be to have DEA agents come in by boat or helicopter. But either way would have to be scrupulously timed. So far, Lucy's found Beller and his people to be efficient and smart. She can only hope Alonzo isn't smarter. She uses the transmitter as Beller directed, then crushes it under her heel until the pieces are unrecognizable. With any luck, the little bits of wire and plastic will flush down the toilet. She can handle that in a moment. She pulls out a cell phone she's sure Alonzo monitors and makes her call to a bogus facility requesting the delivery as instructed. Watching as the wreckage of the transmitter disappears in swirling waters, she says a prayer that it's the only part of her mission that will go down the drain.