The flight is relatively smooth, save for some minor turbulence, and we land in a dusty private airfield about five miles from the colonias. Several older-model cars are waiting for us at the side of the unmanned runway.
We get out, and despite the setting sun, heat waves rise above the flat scrub surrounded by prickly low-lying mesquite trees. The smell of dirt, engine exhaust, and ozone is thick in the air.
“Why do I have to drive a beige Taurus?” Anders complains while walking up to his and Max’s car.
“Who says I’m going to let you drive?” Max fires back, jingling the keys at him.
Anders grouses but goes to the passenger side, and Omar sends Max a thumbs-up as he gets in the car with Hopper. I go with Erik and don’t mind him driving while I check the map. Ant, Levy, Nacho, and Charlie head toward a station wagon with wood paneling and a missing bumper.
Hedy gave Levy the keys to the station wagon, but Nacho snatches them before Levy can even look at the driver’s seat. Tapping my chest, I mouth a silentthank youin Nacho’s direction. Levy catches the gesture and lifts a middle finger as he gets in the back with Ant. Laughing—and relieved—I blow him a kiss.
We’re all sweating as we do a quick comms check, everyone verifying that, yes, they know where they’re going, and no, their car does not have air conditioning in the triple-digit heat.
“The jet is nice and cool, in case anyone’s concerned,” Hedy cracks over the comms.
Jerk.
We each head off toward our assigned locations. Omar quickly runs into an issue when Hopper starts skipping through all the radio stations, most of which are coming in from Mexico.
“Please turn off the radio, Hopper. I require silence to focus.”
“Well, I require background noise to focus, and I don’t understand the Spanish stations.”
“Then the road noise should suffice.”
There’s a tense pause on the line, then a gruff “Fine” from Hopper. Thirty seconds later, Hopper starts humming to himself over the comms, and I look over at Erik, shaking my head. “Can I say how happy I am to be paired with you?”
He holds out his fist, and I bump it. I’m tempted in this moment of conviviality to ask him about his intentions for my nephew, but no. We need to focus on the operation at hand.
Erik and I arrive at our colonia first, then wait as everyone else verifies through comms that they’ve reached their locations.
Ant’s voice comes across the line. “We’re at the warehouse, and the only person we see is a guard wearing an unfortunate set of overalls.”
“Unfortunate, how?” Anders asks.
“They’re like a red that’s faded into pink. Doesn’t go with his coloring. Also, he’s armed to the teeth. We’re still trying to avoid killing support staff, right?”
“Correct. Can’t make any assumptions.”
“Can’t we assume that because he’s armed, he’s not there against his will?”
“Good call. Still, it’s best to avoid killing him if you can.”
There are some grumbles across the line, but we agree that it would be bad to kill somebody based on an assumption.
Well, most of us agree. Hopper is still put out by the lack of background music.
Like the other two teams, Erik and I scout the three locations we’re going in on. The colonias are a combination of spread-out rusted trailers and multiple trailers stacked right next to each other.
We’ve agreed on silent comms, save for letting the group know when we’re going in and when the mission has been accomplished.
The one wrinkle Charlie’s team discovered is that the only entrance to the warehouse is the one the guy in the unfortunate faded red overalls is guarding. Given the lack of options, they’re waiting for at least one of the teams to join them before going in.
We’ve already decided Erik will stay in the car for our first target. I already know what to do and, frankly, Erik sticks out.
We find a mesquite tree to park by, and I exit the car to the sound of the Texas nighttime. It’s pitch-black and the stars overhead are gorgeous. There is, however, some wildlife slithering in the underbrush, and my heart rate spikes at the sound of a rattle a few feet to the left.
I stop in my tracks, and thankfully the snake has slithered off into the dark by the time I’m able to pinpoint it with the light on my cell phone.
