“Brothers,” I begin, my voice carrying the authority that comes with being the asshole who started all this shit. “In seventy-two hours, we launchOperation Darkfire.Six simultaneous strikes across six cities. We getone shotat this. We fail, and The Rojas Cartel doesn’t just survive, they evolve into something we’ll never be able to touch.”
Shaking my head, I run my fingers through my hair. “All theinformation we’ve collected on these assholes tells us that what they’re building, what they’re working toward, isn’t just going to affect us here in Los Angeles. It’s why I’ve called you all in to help. Yeah, this fucking Cartel has taken so much from me personally, but what Javier is creating, the elitist of the world he has in his pockets who have power and persuasion that could ruin us and what we stand for, let alone what they could do to our families,our fucking children…” I pause, my throat tightening, my memories flooding back, seeing what I thought were the scorched ashes of Poppy lying before me.
The Cartel’s doing.
Little did I know they stole her from me and started training her to be a lethal weapon.
An assassin to kill for them.
Clearing my throat, my anger takes control over my emotions as I continue, “Javier isn’t just some run-of-the-mill Cartel coming in to take over my city. He’s in yours. He’s hiding in plain sight, and he’s building something so fucking impenetrable that if he manages to weave his tendrils into all the nooks and crannies he’s trying to, then the fucker will be impossible to take down. And us… Defiance? We’ll all be corralled quicker into muck than Haven and Rip dealing with our pigs out in the yard. There’s so much more we need to go over, but right now, I just have to know if you’re all in with helping me take this fucker down because LA can’t do this on our own.”
Hurricane shifts beside me, his Southern drawl cutting through the tension. “Alpha, my boys are ready to roll. Been ready since we got word about what these bastards have been doin’. The way they’re manipulatin’ these women. The way they’re trainin’ them. I have a daughter, she’s the damn light of my life. I have two more kids on the way.” His jaw tightens. “There’s no fuckin’ way this asshole gets to take another daughter from her family. Now we’re gonna make sure no otherchild has to suffer Javier’s poison.”
“Appreciate that, Hurricane. I’ve told you all during our individual calls, but I will run through it again with us all here…” I look at each of the screens. “During the operation, each Defiance Chapter will have its own designation for coms. Chicago, you’re designated C1. Houston, H2. NOLA, you’re N3. Tampa, you’re gonna be T4, Vegas, you’re V5, and us here in LA are L6. Everyone clear on their Darkfire designations?”
They all nod in understanding, so I continue, “All right. So, in your cities, the Cartel has infiltrated specific operations to help build their empire. These are the targets you will be hitting in Darkfire. Chicago, your op is an industrial storage warehouse hub. They store everything there, from what we can tell, and ship from there too. This is a major operations hub for them. We need it gone.”
Torque grins, his graying hair showing his age compared to our younger presidents. “You got it. I haven’t seen good action in a long-ass time.”
“Houston, the Cartel has a business out there where they’re laundering their money. It’s a front, clearly. But when you go there, you’re gonna find a lot of cash. Probably digital traces too. You’re gonna need tech with you.”
Six tips his head. “I’ll make sure to have Neon at the ready when we go in… and a lot of duffel bags.”
We all chuckle as I continue. “NOLA,” I turn to Hurricane beside me. “One of the more disturbing ones. Javier has a trafficking ring running in New Orleans. It’s said the yard is hidden somewhere in plain sight. We have the location, it’s definitely in your turf. He’s been running this under your noses this entire time.”
Hurricane curls up his nose, a low growl escaping his chest. “Fuckin’ cunt. I can’t wait to get back home and burn that place to the fuckin’ ground! I don’t know how I let this slip past me. Idon’t know how Marcel let this slip past him!”
We all tilt our heads. “Maybe something for you to look into. If Marcel is supposed to be the governing body of New Orleans down there, brother, either he knew and did nothing, or there’s a blind spot that neither of you knew about.”
Hurricane scowls, rubbing at his beard. “Neither of those options is good enough for me.”
“If it makes you feel better, brother, these Cartel cunts are running in all our cities. We all had a blind spot. And I’m the asshole who’s supposed to be able to see in the fucking dark,” Nycto from Tampa calls out.
Hurricane grunts out a semblance of a response as I crane my neck to the side. “Well, as for Tampa, your op is a weapons cache. They’re bringing in, storing, and shipping out all their weapons in Tampa. Your job, Nycto, is to destroy their weapons cache. I have a feeling you’re gonna want to wear your sunglasses for that one. It’s gonna get bright.”
Nycto and his crew all laugh. “Oh, we’re ready to blow some shit up!”
Smirking, I turn to Sin from Vegas, who is sitting back, staying quiet through this whole chat. “And Sin, yours might be the most dangerous.”
He snorts out an unsatisfied laugh. “Of course it is.”
“The Cartel has an experimental drug lab in the desert. It’s where they concoct the drugs they use to keep the women in the state they need. It’s fucking brutal, but also the lab, from what the Martinez brothers told us, seems unstable and has contamination issues often. So, you will need to be careful when you go in there. Maybe wear protective gear to keep yourselves safe.”
“Gee… thanks, sounds like a great time,” Sin states sarcastically.
I grimace in understanding. “I get it… I do. If it’s too much toask of you and your club, brother. I completely understand if you don’t want to risk it—”
“Oh, I never said we wouldn’t risk it. It’s just, I’m babysitting a couple of your members up here at the moment, who arereallyfucking slack at checking in, mind you. And now this? I mean, you owe me areallybig fucking party when all this is over, Alpha. I’m talking onehellof a fucking booze up, and I want prime ass ribeye when we come down there to celebrate this win with you assholes.” Sin chuckles, causing the rest of the clubs to cheer in agreement.
I grin as Hurricane nudges me in the shoulder. “Sin’s right, you know, brother. We’re gonna need one hell of a booze-up when this is done.”
I glance at Haven, who smiles at me and winks knowingly.
Yeah, I have a special kind of party planned.
“All right, we get through this, and everyone comes down here for a weekend-long party. Bring everyone, Old Ladies, girlfriends, boyfriends, fucking animals, I don’t care.”
“Are you looking at me when you said animals? I feel like you were looking at me? That was one time, and a fucking accident. And you swore you’d never tell anyone about that, Pres!” Deek groans down the line from Vegas.
