Walker looked at the back of the van, where Isabella was still knocked out unconscious. "What the hell are we doing?"
"What do you mean?" asked one of the guys.
"If what Potter says is right, she and the kid are somehow linked to Galindo."
"And?"
"What are we going to get out of this? A mere "thank you"? A couple of dollars to split up amongst one another?"
"You want to drop the mission?"
"No. I want to turn it to our advantage. If Galindo is willing to make a deal with Potter, who is to say we couldn't do the same and benefit from it."
"You want to go rogue? Are you crazy?"
"No, I'm being smart. How much do you think Galindo would be willing to pay to get them back? Millions. After all the service and sacrifices we've done for this country, it's about time we got the proper retribution. We do this my way and we're set up for the rest of our lives."
"It is tempting," said one of the other guys.
"So, are we doing this?" asked Walker.
All the men looked at each other and nodded.
"OK. Have Lonergan transfer the kid, we're going to location C."
The guy nodded and took his satellite phone out as Walker stepped from the front to the back of the van just as Isabella was coming out of her sedative state.
"Well, hello there," he said as he knelt in front of her and pulled her to a sitting position, "how is our sleeping beauty?"
"Where is my son?" she said feeling as though she were putty.
"You'll be reunited shortly," he said. "Do tell me something. What ties you to Galindo? What makes you so valuable to him?"
"Who said I was?"
"Well, the man who tasked us to grab you and your son said it was the case. He seemed to know a lot about you."
In that one instant, Isabella knew it was Potter. He had warned her that he would be in contact with her, but if this is how he did it, it was fucking twisted.
"You should be smart enough to know not to believe what people say."
He eyed her. "Nah, I think he knew exactly what he was talking about. So, let's try this again, how are you linked to Galindo?"
"I'm not telling you anything. The only one I'll talk to is Potter."
He slapped her across the face violently. "The only one you answer to, is me. Potter is no longer in the picture. I'm not going to ask again, just tell me what I want to know, and you'll be better for it."
She knew that the minute they knew the truth about her and Samuel, everything would change. She'd sacrifice herself a million times over if it meant keeping him safe.
"Go to hell," she replied as she spit in his face.
He slapped her again then grabbed her throat with his strong hand. "I'll make you talk, no matter what it takes, I will get it out of you. You want to do it the hard way? Fine by me."
He let her go and went back up front. "Find me a number for Galindo."
The satellite phone rang, and the guy took the call. He eyed Walker as he listened, then put the phone out toward him. "It's Potter."
"Where are you? I thought I had told you to bring Isabella back to headquarters so that she could talk to Galindo."
"There's been a slight change of plans."
Potter narrowed his eyes. "I'm not one to like plans changing without my approval, Walker."
"As things stand, your approval is no longer necessary. We'll handle things from here."
Potter stared at the phone as the line went dead. His colleague looked at him. "So, where are they?"
"I believe that Walker and his men will not be joining us, nor Isabella. Walker has decided to serve his best interest and that of his men."
"Shit, that can't be good."
"No, it's not. If I don't have Isabella and Samuel, I don't have leverage with Galindo."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to give Galindo exactly what he needs to get to Walker and his men and take them out of the equation," he replied as he took his phone, "hopefully it will be enough to have Galindo rally behind us."
As Miguel stood outside drinking a glass of whiskey, his phone rang. He recognized the number being that of Potter and took the call.
"We seem to have ourselves a situation," said Potter.
"If you think that is going to help me agree to your deal, you're mistaken. I told you I wanted to see and talk to Isabella."
"As much as I would love to make that possible, it is no longer of my resort."
Miguel frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It appears as though the very capable men I've tasked with keeping Isabella and Samuel, have had a change of heart and somewhat of a hidden agenda. I'm sure they will contact you to discuss the new terms for their release."
Miguel took his glass and flung it across the terrace, shattering it against the floor.
"As a token of my good faith, I've just sent you the location where they had Samuel and the names of the men working with Walker."
"I'm going to kill those men and then, I'll come for you," replied Miguel as he hung up.
Nestor walked up to him, with another phone in hand. "It's Emily."
"I don't have time to talk to her," as he grabbed the phone from Nestor and terminated the call. "We've got a much bigger problem," he replied as he looked at his phone to see what Potter had sent him.
"Send a group of men to this location. It's where they were keeping Samuel. Talk to the neighbors, the locals and see if they know anything. As for you and the others, I need you to investigate these men," he said as he forwarded the message to Nestor's phone. "I need to know who we're up against."
"On it, Mickey."