CHAPTER THREE

Cartagena, Columbia –

The four IMF agents made it to Cartagena on time. A safehouse had been arranged for them in the city. When they arrived, they discovered there was only one bedroom and two couches. Although Ilsa was going to offer to sleep on the couch to avoid admitting she was with Ethan, Luther was a step ahead of her.

"You two can have the bed. Benji and me will stay on the couches," Luther said.

Ethan and Ilsa exchanged looks. Benji could read between the lines. "So, you two…are a two?"

"Yes," Ethan and Ilsa said in unison.

Benji threw up his hands. "I knew it! I said it'd happen eventually. Well, congratulations and all that. Though, these couches look like they haven't been cleaned since last century. Can't say I'm excited about sleeping out here."

"We have exactly three hours to be ready for the meeting with Carlo and Gonzales. Get your gear ready. We'll need to make the masks too," Ethan said.

While Luther and Benji unpacked in the main room, Ethan and Ilsa unpacked in the bedroom. Ilsa caught Ethan's eye. They had to chuckle at Benji's reaction. Afterwards, Ilsa put her arms around Ethan's shoulders and set her head in the crook of his neck. He held her in return.

"Ready for this meeting?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to wearing a mask."

"Just to warn you, it's not fun. It's kind of hot actually," Ethan chuckled.

Ilsa laughed. "Good to know."

"C'mon," he muttered with a peck on her forehead. "We have to get in character."

Jose and Jorje occupied a dusty table in a seedy bar. Their men covered every entrance and exit, wielding specially made weaponry. They causally sipped cocktails as they checked the time. Their buyers, Chung-Ae and Dae, were a brother-sister team from North Korea. They were high in the rebel ranks, but they were not fighters. They were strictly businesspeople.

This made neutralizing the duo extremely easy. Ethan and Ilsa merely waited for them to appear on the road to the bar. They wiped them out before they knew what had happened. Then, they put on masks to take their identities. In disguise, Ethan and Ilsa went to the meeting.

Benji and Luther were not far. They were going to listen in and offer a secure escape route if needed. Ethan and Ilsa entered the bar, identifying Jose and Jorje in the corner. It wasn't an ideal spot for them to be in, but they'd make it work.

"Mr. Carlo," Ethan greeted him as Chung-Ae.

"Hello. Sit down. Do you want a drink?" Carlo offered.

"We don't drink until business is finished," Ilsa responded.

Carlo shrugged. "Fair enough. I have what you asked for. Enough weapons to win your fight and defend your position for years to come."

"Does Mr. Gonzales have anything to offer us in the way of a sample?" Ethan asked.

Jorje slid an electronic tablet to Ethan and Ilsa. They looked it over in detail, memorizing every word. Ethan then handed it back. Ilsa nodded with approval, speaking. "We're interested, but we want to see the goods before we pay."

"Understandable. Meet us at the warehouse on the edge of town. Number sixty-four. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock. We'll show you what we have, but only if you have the money on you. I want an immediate hand-off," Jose said.

Ethan and Ilsa exchanged whispers as if they were considering the deal. Ethan eventually agreed. "Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock."

There were handshakes before Ethan and Ilsa left the bar. Jorje turned to Jose. "They didn't use the safe word."

"No. They weren't our buyers. They were someone else," Jose said.

At the safehouse, the team compared notes. Benji attempted to research the warehouse in question, yet he couldn't find anything. He scratched his jaw with a glower. "It's like this warehouse doesn't exist. I'm not picking it up on any satellite scans. It must be protected from signals. Totally hidden."

"It can't be invisible from the ground," Ethan replied.

Ilsa knew what Ethan meant. "You want to check out the warehouse in person tonight?"

"Why not? It'll give us an idea of what we're walking into tomorrow," Ethan said.

Luther raised an eyebrow. "Strictly recon, right?"

"Strictly recon," Ethan agreed.

Benji frowned. "Which means we'll probably get into some serious trouble."

"Probably," Ilsa agreed.

The team suited up and hopped into their rental car. After a brief drive, they reached the warehouse. From the outside, it didn't seem like anything special. Benji and Luther did a scan of the structure. They had installed technology to make the building vanish on radar and satellite. In addition, Benji picked up multiple security cameras and machine guns imbedded in the walls.

"It's like this warehouse is a fortress," Benji commented. "I can't see anything inside of the warehouse because of those machine guns. They're blocking my scans."

Ethan stopped to think. "We need to see what's inside. Is there a window?"

"Vents near the roof. And a drainpipe," Ilsa said, smiling.

Grinning in return, Ethan knew what she was suggesting. "Vents that are the perfect size for a person to get through."

Luther glanced at Ethan. "Oh no."

"It's only recon," Ethan promised. He looked at Ilsa. An amused expression came to her.

"Could you block the signal of the cameras? Give us a second to check?" Ilsa asked Benji.

"I can, but they're sure to notice," Benji replied. He held a finger towards Ilsa. "You're getting to be as reckless as he is."

"What can I say? He's a bad influence. The best kind to be," Ilsa said.

Ethan shrugged. "I'll take it. Give us five minutes, Benji. Try to make it seem like the system is rebooting. That might keep them from getting suspicious."

Ilsa and Ethan left for the warehouse. They had a difficult climb up a drainpipe to reach the roof. From there, Ethan held Ilsa's waist so she could hang upside-down over the edge. It was the only way to reach the vent. She used a small tool to unscrew the vent cover. When it was off, she handed it to Ethan. She then swung into the vent. Ethan lowered himself over the edge and followed her inside.

They found themselves on a loft above the warehouse. It was packed with high-tech guns and explosives. As they swiftly moved about, they saw a room marked as Jorje Gonzales' office. They looked at one other, communicating that they were going to take a quick peek.

Smoothly, they slipped into the office below. They found the schematics for all of Jorje Gonzales' weapons. Ethan happened to have a device on his person that could scan the documents. Until that point, everything was fine. Then, Benji's computer glitched. The cameras went online.

"In Mr. Gonzales' office!" the guards shouted in Spanish.

Ethan and Ilsa rapidly left the office. They headed back towards the ladder that led them to the loft. By then, the guards had come. They opened fire. Ilsa took a bullet to the shoulder, one that was meant for Ethan. It didn't slow her or Ethan. They clambered up to the loft.

"You okay?" Ethan asked.

"A flesh wound. I'm fine," she replied.

He gently checked her injuries as Benji's voice came into their earpieces. "Um, the cameras came back on. I think they've seen you."

"You think they've seen us?" Ethan growled. "Ilsa's been hit. We need extraction."

At that moment, men came onto the loft. Ethan and Ilsa hightailed it to the vent they had used earlier. Ethan pushed Ilsa through first. She gracefully slid down the nearby drainpipe. Ethan was right behind her.

Together, they made it to the ground. The men fired shots as they ran away. Luther and Benji arrived in the getaway car. Ethan got in the back with Ilsa. He used his jacket to apply pressure to the wound in her shoulder.

Though it seemed like they had driven away without being followed, Jose Carlo's men were cunning. They were going to find the safehouse, just like Jose Carlo was going to find Ethan's face on his security feeds.