Page 237 of Wild Card
“Not my room. This place is still haunted by prisoners. Last week, I swear I heard sounds coming from the basement.”
“Well, then don’t go down there,” he says lightly, but there is a definite grate to his tone. “And you know my home didn’t house prisoners. It merely held them.”
“Still freaks me out.”
Ricardo blows out another loud breath. “Give me five minutes and I’ll have Len take you home.”
“Thank you, Ric.”
“That’s good enough.” I blow out a breath, feeling a little pressure ease off. “It’s not much, but it’s something.”
Ford steps over. “Fill us in.”
“How much do you know?”
“Read the file, but there is a lot missing.”
“Max’s intel led him to American businessman John ‘Ricardo’ Lewis. Parents immigrated to the U.S. legally, setting up in Las Vegas. Ricardo specialized in Finance and Economics, sinking himself into banking, real estate, and technology. His reputation grew, leading him to partner with a venture capital firm that focuses in Hotel and Casino management. With his expertise, he can move money without question.
“Ricardo and his sister, Rosa, have dual citizenship. Years ago, he came to Mexico and proposed a new real estate development near Mexico City. He worked closely with the embassy, building relationships and partnering with local businesses. They jumped on the chance to increase tourism, pouring money into the community. He became a big name, respected by all, and virtually untouchable. Then he expanded his reach over here to a more sought-out tourist destination. His connections and reputation made it an easy sell.”
“Real Estate Tycoon reviving a hurting economy. Perfect cover,” Major states. “No one would suspect he’s funneling and funding terrorist activity. What’s up with the jailhouse?”
“Old jailhouse from the early 1900s. Ricardo purchased a year ago and renovated. The permits and plans filed show he left the holding cells in the basement, citing he was preserving history and they’d be used as storage. He outfitted with high-tech security inside and out—we haven’t been able to get close enough to gather information, until tonight.”
“Perfect place to hold American military hostages.” Ford glances back at the screen. “Which means Max knew this, too.”
“Question is why’d he let himself get caught?” Ace’s dark gaze swings to me. “And where the fuck is the rest of his team?”
“One of them is watching his accounts and planning to disappear,” Blade snarls.
Realization sweeps across Ace, Major, and Ford’s faces as their minds start reeling.
“The fuck?” Ace hisses. “We have corruption in the core of this?”
“Max believes we do.” I tip my chin to Rand, who inserts a drive into a different laptop, the screen coming to life. “We’re still decrypting all these messages, but it’s definitely a breach. One of Max’s guys is feeding information back to Ricardo’s camp.”
“Jesus, how’d you get this?” Major moves in, scrolling through the information.
“Max. His communication silenced inside the boundary of the property. He left a trail for us, this hard drive being the last thing found.”
“Son of a bitch knew we were coming.” Ford blows out a breath. “Instead of waiting, he went in alone to get to his guys.”
I nod my confirmation.
“We suspect Max knows who the mole is, trusted his other two guys, and left them behind to carry out the ruse of this mission.”
“So, we have three guys locked in a safe house somewhere. One of them a traitor, and two of them babysitting until they get a new directive?”
“Pretty much. They have no idea we’re here,” Blade adds.
“Hayes said Max vetted each guy himself for his team. How’d he miss this?” Ace questions.
“This is intentional. It goes back further than we know. His special assignment in San Diego pulled him in deep with this. He’s been watching for months, setting up traps while hanging in the background, calculating his next move. He purposely picked this guy for his intelligence team, putting him in the direct line of fire. They all thought they were black ops. We’re the black ops.”
“Robbie, Finn, James—they don’t know any of this?”
“My guess is they are figuring it out now. Too risky for Max to relay the info.”
