“We turned on Waters’ primary tracker. According to the signal, he’s located in Córdoba.” A red, blinking dot lit up on the map.
“Makes sense,” Steel offered. “My family’s main compound is there. Keeping him at the property in Buenos Aires would be too risky. Córdoba’s still a big city, but on the outskirts, you’re in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas. With safe houses and soldiers in the mountains, it’s the perfect place if they needed to move him somewhere fast.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get too excited just yet. After the fiasco with Nemo in South Africa last year, I wanted to make sure primary and secondary trackers were in working order, so I tested them before Waters decided to go on his little field trip. I had both turned on, paranoid I wouldn’t be able to get the signal again if I turned them off. Around oh-one-hundred, Nova lost the signal for a few hours in the early hours of the morning. Both are now transmitting again.”
TB added his own question. “Why is that a problem?”
A second light, this one white, lit up on the map.
“Because his secondary tracker is broadcasting from Mendoza.”
Everyone sat and stared at the two blinking lights.
“Well,” Demon said, “that is definitely a problem.”
“Ya think?” TB replied sarcastically. “They’re around three hundred miles apart.”
“We have several possibilities for this anomaly,” God interjected. “One, Waters is in Córdoba, and they found his secondary tracker, dug it out, and took it to Mendoza as a distraction.”
Flashing a look at Demon, Nemo asked, “Aren’t our secondary trackers buried deep? You actually had to put us under sedation to implant them, and mine still hurt like a sonofabitch when you injected it. I remember that.”
The medic nodded. “They’re attached to the spinal column around the L4. It would be statistically ridiculous to pull that tracker if all you wanted to do was distract someone following him.”
“So it’s more likely that they dug out his primary tracker, and he’s in Mendoza,” TB surmised.
Pursing his lips, Demon looked at God. “Or…” His voice trailed off.
God crunched down on the sucker in his mouth and pulled the stick clear of his teeth. Tossing it in the garbage, he proceeded to unwrap another one immediately, even as he pulverized the one that remained in his mouth. “Just say it,” he growled.
“They could have pulled both trackers and sent them in different directions.”
“Or…” the redhead drawled, a knowing look in his direction over the screen.
“Or, as my lovely better half darkly suggests, he could be in pieces in both of those directions.”
There was silence as they pondered that gruesome thought.
“Has anyone talked to Kubrick?” Ildefanso asked.
“I’m not going to tell her anything until I bring him home.”
Her gaze flicked to Ildefanso’s face. His eyes bored into the map on the telescreen, his jaw clenched tight, and she noticed that all his muscles were locked in place. He was upset. Instinctively, her hand reached out for the fist clenched on his thigh.
His skin was ice cold, and even though it didn’t appear to be shaking, she swore she felt him vibrating beneath her touch.
Ildefanso had a natural violent streak. She’d always known that. Part of it was out of necessity. He’d been a Navy SEAL and had spent portions of his life under his cartel-leading father’s thumb. Bothwere very familiar with violence as a means of obtaining what was needed.
But this type of rage he controlled was something he only felt when something he loved was under threat. Right now, she knew he was upset because his family was holding his friend, but his words suggested he was more concerned about his friend’s partner. Did she mean something to Ildefanso? Did he have feelings for her? Then again, when the woman’s name came up in conversation regarding Waters’ mission, all the men practically growled. What was so special about the woman?
A third light, this one blue, pinged up on the board.
“As if those aren’t cheerful enough thoughts and big enough problems,” Midas continued, “a third tracker has been activated.”
Ildefanso exhaled the man’s name. “Ka-Bar.”
“Give that man a prize,” Midas confirmed. “Bonus question—where is he located?”
“The Darién Gap. Again. But we were there, and there was no sign of him.”
