It was over in seconds. 20 armed men neutralized without a shot fired beyond Wrath's warning. Agent Reeves emerged from one of the vehicles, her face grim. She walked straight to Clutch. You called them in?
The second we knew they were coming. Figured you want the arrest more than we wanted the bodies. Clutch nodded toward the prone soldiers. Though I got to say it was a close call. Too close.
Reeves turned to her team. Cuff them all. Read them their rights. And someone get the bomb squad out here. Those SUVs might be wired.
Bomb squad? Caleb's voice cracked as he spoke into the radio. Did she say bomb squad? Cartels love their explosives, and Tiny replied. Probably had the vehicles rigged to blow if they couldn't take us out with bullets.
Stay inside, kid. This ain't over yet. The next hour was chaos. Bomb techs crawled over the SUVs, finding exactly what Reeves had suspected. Enough C4 to level half the compound.
The cartel soldiers were loaded into transport vehicles, still silent, still dangerous, even in handcuffs.
Caleb finally came downstairs when Tiny gave the all clear. His legs felt like water, his hands still shaking from the adrenaline crash. Stella pressed a whiskey into his palm. Drink. You've earned it.
He downed it in one swallow and immediately regretted it as fire burned down his throat. But it helped somehow. Grounded him. Reeves found him in the main room. You okay?
Define okay. Fair point. She sat beside him. For what it's worth, you handled this better than most trained agents would have. You didn't panic, didn't do anything stupid.
I hid in a corner with a gun. Exactly. Smart play. Reeves pulled out her phone and showed him a photo. Recognize any of these men?
The photo showed the cartel soldiers lined up against a wall. Caleb studied each face and shook his head. Never seen them before. Good. Means they don't know you either.
Probably just hired guns following orders. She swiped to another photo, this one of a different man, older with cold eyes and a scar running down his cheek. What about him? No, who is he? Miguel Cordero, head of the Sonora Cartel's Arizona operations.
These soldiers answer to him. Reeves' expression was grim. We've been trying to nail him for 5 years. Dalton was our way in, and you handing over that evidence was the key. But Cordero's smart.
He's already gone to ground. Meaning? Meaning he's the real threat. Dalton was just a corrupt cop. These soldiers were just muscle.