“He told me Señor Sanchez knew I’d been cooperating with the United States government. H-he said the only way my familyin Venezuela would be allowed to live was if I helped him get payback by setting up Agent Foster.”
“So you traded Agent Foster’s life for that of your own family,” Ryker summarized the man’s statement.
“Don’t you see?” Lopez begged. “I had no choice! He had pictures of my wife and son.Recentpictures he used as proof that he and his men could get to them whenever he wanted.”
“Don’t you mean your men?” Jagger rumbled. “After all, if you hadn’t been caught at the port in Chicago, you’d still be one of them, too.”
“I admit I have made many mistakes in my life. Working for Arlo Sanchez is at the top of that list.”
Ryker was silent a moment before he went back over all they had learned.
“So, your crew gets busted by Homeland during an op led by Agent Foster. Sanchez has a man inside, who you claim is Agent Vaughn. According to you, Vaughn came to you earlier tonight with proof your wife and child are in danger of losing their lives if you don’t do exactly as he says. Is that pretty much it?”
Lopez answered with an immediate, “Yes.”
“If we find Vaughn, we find Talia.” Jagger looked to Ryker. “Or at the very least, we make him tell us where she is.”
Ryker slid his chair back and rose to his feet. “I’ll go issue a department-wide BOLO on the dirty son of a bitch.” He marched across the room and out the door. “Be right back.”
He watched as the other man disappeared into the hall. With any luck, they’d locate Vaughn in no time. Then this thing could be over, once and for all.
They couldn’t, of course, simply take Lopez at his word that Vaughn was dirty. They also weren’t about to give the agent any more time to cover his tracks.
But as he waited in the room for Ryker’s return, a dull, gnawing sensation began to twist around in Jagger’s gut.Something still felt off with this whole thing. Like they were missing something big, but he didn’t know what.
His mind raced through everything they knew so far.
Someone started screwing with Talia by leaving a couple gifts from her past. Then they attempted to kill her by planting a bomb on her car outside her home.
Now she’d been abducted, a man she used to play spy games with was dead, and it was looking like at least one Homeland agent was involved. But…why?
Was all of this truly a plan for Sanchez to get his revenge? It sure seemed like a lot of unnecessary risks. Especially when the gun-smuggling asshole’s typical means of revenge was a quick and easy bullet between the eyes.
“It’s just you and me here, Mateo.” Jagger went over to the empty chair and sat down. “If you know where Talia is, now’s the time to tell me.”
“If I knew where she was, I’d tell you.” His throat worked a hard swallow. “But I have no idea where they took her.”
“But you do knowwhotook her. Don’t you, Mateo?” He watched the other man closely. Jagger leaned his elbows on the table and softened his tone. “Was it Agent Vaughn or someone else? Give me a name. Please. I know you want to protect your wife and child, but Agent Foster…” His voice grew thick. “I’m hoping someday she will bemyfamily. Please, Mateo.” He appealed to the man’s emotional side. “I can’t help her if I don’t know who to look for.”
“I don’t know for sure.” The man finally spoke up. “It could be Agent Vaughn.”
“But you think it’s someone else, don’t you?” Jagger studied the man closely. He didn’t miss the way Lopez’s gaze bounced nervously around the room. “Whoever it is, they scare you more than Vaughn ever could.”
Lopez met his gaze. His chest rose and fell with heavy, nervous breaths. “I don’t know his name. None of us do.” He shook his head. “We only ever call him The Fixer.”
“The Fixer?” Jagger frowned. “As in he fixes things for Sanchez?”
The prisoner dipped his chin with a slow nod. “He makes problems go away.”
Hence the name.
Reaching around to his back pocket, Jagger pulled out the photo they’d found on Sinclair’s bloody corpse. “What about this man?” He slapped the picture down onto the table in front of Lopez. “Did The Fixer take care of him, too?”
A look of pure terror widened the cuffed man’s eyes. “That is him.” His fearful gaze met Jagger’s with wild emotion. “Where did you get that?”
“Wait, you’re saying this man works for Sanchez?” He pointed to Keith Sinclair, who’d been standing a few feet behind Talia and her friend.”
“No, you misunderstand.” Lopez gave a hard, single shake of his head. “This man.” He pointed to the picture as best he could with his wrists in shackles. “I believe he is the man who took your friend.Heis the one they call The Fixer.”
