Chapter 07: Hit Squad

It didn’t take much convincing. Just another seventy grand U.S. to get Juan to locate a coyote brave enough to transport Manuel Garcia across the border for Alexa. Although things hadn’t gone to plan down in Puebla, they had gained some valuable Intel that could blow their case wide open. And while it would have been more prudent to finish their hostage off and leave his body on Julian Cruz’s doorstep, Curt was committed to bringing the mayor face-to-face with her misconduct.

After securing Garcia in a vacant home in the woods, she and Curt returned to her house to decompress. Plus, Alexa had been anxious to get back and hug Willow. Gavin stood at the door as the pair pulled in and almost instantly, Garcia’s words about his dad began swirling around her head. “Are you ready for this?” Curt asked, noticing her apprehension.

“Yeah. Let’s get this over with,” she replied and slid out of the driver’s door.

“Of course, he is,” Gavin sighed heavily before dropping onto the couch after Alexa filled him in on what she’d learned in Mexico. She hated being the person once again informing him about his father’s involvement, but she’d promised complete transparency. “I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but after everything he’s done to try and fix our relationship. All those emails, texts, phone calls…he made it seem like he’d turned over a new leaf. And yeah, I mean I wasn’t and still am not ready to forgive him but, I thought he’d changed. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“No, Gavin,” Alexa said, gently rubbing her husband’s shoulders as she sat with him on the couch. “This is not your fault. Some people go crazy with power. It corrupts and they just can’t help themselves. But you can’t blame yourself for his decisions. I won’t let you.”

“Alexa’s right. It’s not your fault your father is a duplicitous piece of shit that helps his rich friends get away with murder. You’re just the one sitting there with information prior to his becoming governor and not doing anything to stop it.”

“CURT?!” Alexa gasped and glared at her longtime friend.

“Well excuse the hell out of me,” Gavin rejoined. “Everyone doesn’t have a savior complex!”

“It’s called morality; having a sense of decency or just being a better fucking human being,” Curt said. “Your father stands there with his finger on the button and can’t determine the good path from the bad. It shouldn’t be a tough decision to stand up when someone is doing wrong or protect the ones you love.”

“Right! Because you’ve proven you’re so much more capable of handling that yourself. Tell me again, how many partners have you lost during your career?”

Curt’s muscles worked in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. Alexa stared at him. “Watch it,” Curt warned at the same time Gavin stood, dark fury swirling in his eyes. The aggression in the two men was rarely ever seen, but it was apparently quick to find. “You and I may not be the best of friends but up until now we’ve at least been cordial. That can quickly change.” 

“I think it already has, Detective. How dare you come into my house and accuse me of not doing enough to protect my wife? My daughter? You have no fucking idea the lengths I’d go to keep them safe. They are my family, MINE! And I will kill any son of a bitch dumb enough to threaten them. Even if it’s my dad. Even if it’s you.”

“Apparently not! You could have gone public years ago with what you knew about your father and kept him from taking office but you didn’t. It got a lot of good people killed, including my partner!” Curt shouted.

“Fuck that! You’re the one that brought this shit into our lives. You’re the reason my family is in danger! Why my wife is being shot at. Why my DAUGHTER’S BIRTHDAY PARTY GOT BLASTED TO HELL!”

“Alright, guys, enough. Let’s try and remember we’re on the same side here, ok?” Alexa said, doing her best to neutralize the situation.

A look of guilt overcame Curt’s features as he hit upon a realization. Gavin was right. Had he not come looking for Alexa’s help, Willow’s life never would have been imperiled. “I never meant for…” Curt’s words broke in his throat.

Alexa’s eyes fell on a small package on the coffee table in the reading room for the first time. “Gavin, what’s that?” she asked, moving closer for inspection.

“I don’t know,” he said, finally breaking his gaze from the detective. “I found it on the front porch shortly before you got home.”

“It’s addressed to Curt.” It was wrapped in brown paper, had no distinguishing features and felt relatively light when she picked it up. There were no ticking sounds still, she erred on the side of caution while handling the package. Gavin and Curt inched closer as Alexa tentatively began undoing the wrapping to reveal a shoebox. When she opened it, she gasped and immediately placed it back on the table and took a step back. “It’s…”

“Dennis’ hand,” Curt finished. “I’d recognize that ring anywhere. SON OF A BITCH!” he yelled and pounded his fist into the wall. “These assholes are screwing with us.”

“There’s a note,” Gavin said, pushing the severed hand to the side to free an envelope. It was brown, like the package, and was clear of writing on the outside. He broke the seal and tipped the contents onto the desk. It was a photograph of Willow on the playground at school taken just two days ago and with it a small slip of paper. “Such a sweet, delicate child.”

Gavin dropped the note and his hands fell to his side. Both closed into fists and he felt his rage boil over. He didn’t know who had delivered the threatening missive to his door but, he did know whoever it was just made the biggest mistake possible.

The color drained from Curt’s face as he slowly lifted his head toward Alexa. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. If I knew I had a tail, I’d never have come here. This is all my fault.”

“No. Stop that,” Alexa said, waving him off. “We can’t let this break us that’s exactly what they’re hoping for. This threat is simply a ploy to get us to back down. It means we’re close to finding out something they don’t want us to know.” Quickly, she picked up her phone and started dialing.

“What are you doing?” Gavin asked. “We need to pull Willow from school. Who are you calling? These people threatened our little girl and you don’t seem bothered by that at all.”

“You can’t be serious! Of course, I’m bothered by it. And I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure her safety. Starting with armed guards to watch her when we’re not around,” she said turning her back as she completed her call.

Gavin paced the living room, trying desperately to get a handle on his emotions as he listened to his wife’s back and forth. When she was done, she turned with an exasperated sigh. “Ok, Remi’s gonna get some of his guys to stick with Willow he’s already sent a few to the school.”

“This is fucked. This is seriously fucked,” Gavin shouted, growing more and more agitated. “We need to do something.”

“And we will. Just trust me, Gavin, I know what I’m doing. We will come out of this whole. I promise,” Alexa replied, pulling her husband into an embrace.

“Garcia,” Curt said, jumping up as an idea struck him. “We need to go at him harder. Take off parts until we get names. All of them,” he growled. “It’s time to put an end to this once and for all.”

“You’re right. We should get to the safe house and get him to talk. I’ll see if Remi has a few more guys to spare.”

“And I’ll get to Willow and make sure she’s ok and meet you out there,” Gavin stated. Alexa quickly turned with a surprised look at Gavin’s assertion. “What? You didn’t think I was just gonna stand around and wait for you to handle this on your own, did you? They threatened my little girl AFTER making her birthday party look like the O-K Corral! I’m in this now.”

Alexa smiled and nodded. “Alright then,” Curt rallied. “Let’s get a move on.”

While Gavin headed to the school to check on his daughter, Curt took a cab to the local PD to grab information from his contact, leaving Alexa to go on ahead to the meeting spot. But once she pulled into the driveway of their makeshift stash house, she quickly got a sense that something was off. Examining the area, she noticed the chain that held the gate closed had been left on the ground and tire tracks leading toward the back of the property that weren’t there this morning.

Entering slowly and guardedly, she checked the area for signs of life. The old cottage had been vacant since she and Gavin had first moved into the neighborhood eight years ago. No one ever visited the place; evident in the overgrown yard. But it would appear, today was different. Circling the drive with her car, she left the engine idling as she slid out of the driver’s side door.

The stillness of the surrounding forest was enough to put her on high alert. But that calm was broken as she neared the right front tire of her vehicle. She heard a noise. A manmade noise; like the sound of a gun being racked. Alexa was ducking behind the car when the first shot was fired. It whizzed past her ear and startled her to the ground. 

“Shit,” Alexa yelled, keeping herself covered. Calmly retrieving her gun, she slowly slid down the side of the car toward the trunk. Another hail of shots rang out, hammering the side of her vehicle. Crouching lower, Alexa grabbed her phone and dialed. A moment later she heard Gavin’s voice. With gunshots ringing out into the wilderness, all she could think to say was, “You busy?”

Julian Cruz watched indifferently as his former friend and confidant got taped to a chair in the kitchen while his security team pelted the car with round after round of rifle and pistol shots from the upstairs windows. It was getting dark outside, but he could still see her crouched behind the car. Cruz knew they had to kill her quickly before backup arrived. Jesus “The Enforcer” Morales was setting controls with a remote cell phone trigger while watching the activity outside.

One of Cruz’s personal security guards tugged on his arm. “We need to get you out of here, Julian,” the man said. Cruz shook off the guard. He was too captivated to leave. The woman was cornered and he was willing to wait a few moments to enjoy the kill.

“Tell them to hold their fire,” Cruz said. The security guard ran around out of the kitchen and up the stairs. A few moments later the shots ceased. As expected, the hidden female took the opportunity to open the driver’s side door and sneak into the car.

The woman was good, he could barely see her head sticking up as she stepped on the gas and spun dirt with her tires. Cruz placed a hand on Jesus’ shoulder while staring intently on the road in front of the car.

“Ready?’ Cruz asked.

“Si, Julian,” Jesus said, hovering his thumb over a button on the remote detonator. As the car fishtailed down the unpaved street, Jesus timed the vehicle’s forward motion perfectly. He pushed the button.

The car jumped up in a ball of flame as the explosion catapulted the vehicle five feet in the air. It tilted the car sideways and the charred shell skidded to a stop just before hitting a large pine. The blast echoed throughout the woods and Cruz couldn’t keep the smile from his face as debris from the car littered down over a stand of trees. “Now,” Cruz said, nodding with satisfaction. “We can go.”