“Trust Luis,” said Brodie.
Taylor said to Luis, “Stop the car.” She got out of the car, and Brodie followed. They both looked back at the white building and checked out the surroundings.
Taylor said, “You know it’s possible that the National Guardsmen got the word to Mercer that two gringos are looking for him.”
“That’s entirely possible.”
“Would he run? Or be waiting for us?”
Brodie replied, “If I were Kyle Mercer, I’d guess that the two gringos were CID, tipped off to the bordello by his Army buddy Al Simpson—who he knew he should have killed. Captain Mercer would also know that eventually we’d locate the bordello and come looking for him.” Brodie continued, “And he’d also know that we have very few resources or allies here, and that we’re coming for him without backup. Therefore, he won’t run. He’ll be there waiting for me—or us, if you want to come in—and even though he’s a one-man army, he’ll arrange all the help he needs to drag us into a back room and cut little pieces off us until we tell him who we are and what we know.”
Taylor had no reply, but Brodie thought she looked a bit worried. He continued, “That would make an arrest difficult. But if he hasn’t been tippedoff by the barrio grapevine, and if he’s in that bordello tonight, I will make the arrest.”
Taylor thought about that, then said, “This is crazy. We can’t—youcan’t go in that place alone.”
“If I get in trouble, I’ll call the police.”
“Not funny.” She looked at the white building and the surroundings. “Scott… maybe we should stake out the place and see if he enters, then wait for him to leave and take him on the street.”
“You mean follow standard procedure? That’s boring.” He added, “I want to drag his ass out of there.”
She looked at him.
“I want him to remember how he was taken down.”
She kept looking at him. “If you go in there, I go in there.”
Brodie made eye contact with her. Maggie Taylor was not into macho bullshit as he was; she said what she meant and meant what she said. “We’ll play it by ear.”
She reminded him, “The mission comes first. The mission is to apprehend Kyle Mercer. We don’t need a barroom shoot-out to satisfy your ego.”
“You take the fun out of everything.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Who squealed?” He assured her, “We’ll consider all scenarios and methods tonight.”
They got back into the car, and Brodie again took the back seat with Taylor. Luis, without comment, hit the gas and headed out of Petare.
Taylor said to Luis, “Tonight is optional.”
Luis did not reply, but nodded.
She told him, “You did a good job today.”
“Gracias.”
Brodie said to him, “If all goes well tonight, you and your family will get tourist visas from the embassy and tickets to anyplace in the U.S. Once you are there, you can request political asylum.” He added, “The embassy will back you on that.”
Again, Luis nodded.
The flip side of all going well was probably not worth mentioning.
Taylor leaned toward Brodie and whispered in his ear, “It’s not fair to ask him to risk his life for the promise of a new life.”
“Sure it is. We are offering salvation.” He reminded her, “Do what has to be done.”
She nodded. “You’re the officer in charge.”
