Page 26 of Flash and Bang
“You decided to do that rather than pursue the UC angle?” Jarrett asked, frowning down at the phone.
“Well, it wasn’t my call. I agree with you, getting someone undercover would be ideal so that we might be able to actually find someone in charge of the operation but the higher-ups believe that they’llbe able to follow the shipment to its intended recipient if they pick up his lackeys. Ultimately though, they’re more concerned about the possibility of allowing a large amount of what may be unstable explosives to hit the streets. It’s more of a public safety issue than anything else at this point. Not only that, with the militia involved, we don’t know what their end game is. If they actually plan on using these domestically against soft targets, we have a duty to keep them off the streets whether we’re able to tie the shipment back to their leaders or not.”
“I see,” Thayne said. “Well, I suppose that makes a lot of sense when you look at it from that angle. Public safety is always the bigger concern.”
“Right,” Snow said. “So, the reason I’m calling you is that the FBI and Homeland need the ATF in on this. The Mexican satellite office is aware but they have no agents in the area. That leaves you two.”
“Of course we’ll be there, Snow,” Jarrett said. Thayne was already on his phone, probably calling Stanger to find out why the hell no one from the LA office had called them. Judging by the expression on his face, he was as pissed as Jarrett was. “Tell us when and where and we’ll call LA and find out why no one informed us.” Just as Jarrett said it, his callwaiting popped up on the screen of his phone showing Stanger’s number. “Um, that’s our boss now, Snow. If anything changes, I’ll call you but please text us the details.”
“Fair enough.” Snow hung up the phone and so did Thayne as Jarrett swiped the screen.
“Evans,” Jarrett answered.
“Evans. You and Wolfe still down south?” Lloyd Stanger asked.
“Yes, sir,” Thayne answered as Jarrett turned into the parking lot of a local Mexican restaurant that had been recommended by the desk clerk at their motel. “You’re on speaker with both of us.”
“Good. You’ll be staying another day. We just got a call from the FBI field office in San Diego and they want the two of you in on a joint federal raid at the border.”
“We already know about it, sir.” Thayne said, “We just hung up with one of the FBI agents we met earlier today. He called to tell us that the FBI and Homeland wants us there.”
“Good. So, I assume you know what’s going on.”
“Yes, sir,” Thayne answered as Jarrett parked the Jeep and shut off the engine. Jarrett looked overto his partner. “We understand the ATF satellite office in Mexico was involved in this investigation for some time. I’m not complaining but it would have been really nice to have been briefed on this smuggling ring before now,” Thayne said.
Jarrett gave Thayne an enthusiastic thumbs-up and Thayne smiled.
“We weren’t sure it was connected and it hasn’t been our jurisdiction until now. Our Mexican field office was handling it.”
“Yes, sir,” Thayne said, looking pissed as hell. “As long as we are involved now, that’s what matters.”
“Report back to me as soon as it’s complete,” Stanger said. “And, Evans?”
“Yes, SAC?”
“Don’t do anything stupid!”
“Yes, sir,” Jarrett said, frowning at Thayne as he disconnected the call with a swipe and burst into laughter.
“He has no faith in me.”
“I wonder why,” Thayne said.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jarrett good-naturedly groused as he got out of the Jeep.
Thayne laughed. “Seriously, Jarrett. We have to be careful tonight. I don’t want you doing anything that puts yourself in danger.” He met Jarrett at the front of the Jeep.
Jarrett smiled at him and then reached out to circle his waist and pull him close for a quick hot kiss. When he stepped back Thayne’s eyes were blazing with fire. “I promise. Now, if I don’t get some food in me, Iamgoing to hurt someone.”
“Let’s go. I could eat a horse,” Thayne replied.
They turned and walked into the restaurant. Jarrett hadn’t felt like driving back tonight anyway, and just watching how excited Thayne was getting about going out on an assignment made Jarrett’s heart happy.
****
Thayne and Jarrett headed out to the staging area at midnight, driving in Jarrett’s Jeep which was still packed with their duffel bags. They were meeting at an abandoned used car lot about two miles north of the Mexican border in an area of wide-open desert called Otay County. The closest city, Tecate, was several miles away and sat right on the border, thirty-seven miles east of the US border crossing in San Ysidro, near San Diego. They pulled off the deserted road and were stopped when they came to a roadblock of two black SUVs. The FBI checked their IDs and only then were they let through and directed to where Special Agents Snow and Terraciano were waiting for them. Jarrett parked the Jeep and they walked over to the two agents, dressed similar to the way they were in all black tactical gear and armored vests. Theirs were stamped with FBI as opposed to their own which were marked ATF. Terraciano and Snow wore black knit caps and were checking their weapons. Several other men in similar gear were milling around. As they walked up, the two agents smiled and strode over to greet them with handshakes.
“Glad you were able to make it,” Special Agent Snow said.