“Shit!” Phoenix exclaims.
Immediately, I focus on the screen that Phoenix is staring at. “What is it?”
“That’s not the same maid, is it?” He points to the screen.
I blow up the image and let out a growl of frustration. “No!”
The woman doesn’t knock on the door; instead, she peers through a thin opening in the curtains to peer inside. I can see that Maria and Franco are at the far end of the room, on the bed, from the video camera she left on for us. From this angle, it’s hard to tell if the maid can make out who is inside. I hold my breath and wait for her next move. When she moves away from the room, I breathe a sigh of relief, but that’s short-lived when she pulls out her phone and makes a call.
“Christ! This is bad,” I curse.
Phoenix doesn’t waste time and calls the team. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Give it to me,” Falcon commands.
“The snoopy maid just looked into their room, followed by a phone call. We may be in a race to see who gets to her first. What’s your ETA?” Phoenix asks.
“Bull!” Falcon calls out for him to answer.
“Seven minutes,” Bull answers curtly.
“I got a view on all the incoming roads to the motel,” I tell them. “Just appeared on my radar: a dark blue SUV traveling faster than the others and maneuvering around other vehicles. At this speed, he’s ten to twelve minutes away,” I inform them.
“We’ve got to make the decision. Do we have Maria leave and meet up with you at a different location?” Phoenix asks.
“We can make it,” I hear Rebel say.
“We’ll have three minutes tops,” Falcon says. “If they get to her first, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to find her or Franco.”
“We can do this!” Rebel insists.
He then speaks to Bull, “You get four minutes to get us there.”
“I’m fucking with the traffic lights. I’m putting red lights in their path to try and slow them down,” I tell them.
“Smart move,” Phoenix says, watching the view of the SUV racing toward Maria and her son.
We can see our team’s van and the SUV approaching the motel from different directions. They’re racing to get to Maria first. I’ve been able to delay them at several lights, but not for long because the driver seems to know the area well and is bobbing and weaving through side streets to avoid the lights. When they finally get caught at a light, I’m able to take a picture of the two men in the driver and passenger seats. It’s a job for later, but I hope to identify these guys and find out who they’re working for.
“They’re gaining ground.” I relay the information to Falcon. Phoenix and I are both relieved when they pull into the motel parking lot.
“You’re going to have to ditch the van earlier than expected. I’m getting our contact to find another car and meet you,” Phoenix adds, then takes his phone out to make the call.
I call Maria’s cell. “Falcon, Rebel, and Bull are there. Grab your stuff, including the computer. They’re not going to have time to do anything but get you and Franco out of there,” I warn. I hear her shuffling around the room.
“We’re ready,” she replies.
I hear the knock on the door, and Falcon calls her name. “It’s them. Talk to you when you get here.”
“We got her and the kid,” Bull says. I look at the screen and see them coming out of the room on the top floor of the motel, and the SUV pulling in. This is going to be tight.
“They’ve arrived. Stay alert. You need a distraction,” I tell the team.
“On it,” Rebel says into the earpiece. I see him go back to the van, then walk along the edge of the parking lot. He ducks low and is probably going to take out the tires. Once he’s done, he creeps along the side of the building to the front. I can’t see him from this angle. Rebel’s a master at what he does, and he knows how to handle himself.
Suddenly, I see him running and motioning for Falcon and Bull to make a run for the van with Maria and Franco. I watch as they climb in, Rebel being the last to jump in the back, and they take off faster than a bullet. Meanwhile, the two men emerge from the main office and run up the steps to the second floor to the room that Maria and Franco just vacated.
“Hell, yeah!” I let out a whoop of excitement.
