“Shit. A high rise?” Ventura Boulevard was full of commercial buildings and not all of them were restaurants, car washes, and laundromats. A lot of them were multi-story, high rise office buildings.
He nodded. “Yes. That’s what took so long. The building has subterranean parking and sixteen stories with nearly one-hundred offices. Fortunately, a lot of them are unoccupied, probably as a result of folks working remotely. A lot of companies had people working remotely during the pandemic and afterward, decided they could give up expensive office space. In any case, it took Raven and Judy all this time, just to weed through the rest of the companies.”
I nodded. “What’d they find?”
“There’s a company which has corporate offices in Lima, Peru. Our techies had to dig through several shell companies just to learn that much.”
“And I’m guessin’ they’re tied to either Luca Hernandez or Mario Castillion?” I asked.
Candy nodded, tapping one of the six photos. “This guy is Castillion’s brother-in-law. We’re almost 100 percent sure he was in one of those vehicles which bolted from the scene. Fortunately, they went straight to the building which houses the offices of Tawantinsuyu Imports.”
I shook my head. “And that’s the company?”
Candy smiled. “Tawantinsuyu is the ancient name of the territory that occupies much of what is now modern-day Peru. The name originated in the Incan empire.”
“Huh. And Raven and Judy figured that out?”
Mickey nodded. “Yup. Those two are a force to be reckoned with.”
I glanced at him. “I agree.” I balled my empty burger paper up and tossed it in the box before wiping my hands. “So, now that we know the name of the company and where these maggots probably went after the Op in Bel Air, I’m guessin’ you have a plan to put an end to ‘em, Candy?”
He nodded. “Well, we want to round them up. The problem lies in making sure we’ll be able to scoop up the right bad guy once we drop the net on them.”
“True. So, what’s the plan? I assume you have one.”
“I do.” Candy glanced at Mickey and sighed before looking back at me. “As soon as Judy and Raven located the right office, they started digging into Tawantinsuyu Imports. They found out that this man—Oscar Aguilar—is next in line to take over the Peruvian cartel now that Mario Castillion’s brains are splattered all over Roscomare Road.”
“So, you’re plannin’ on havin’ the team take Aguilar out?”
“Yeah, but we have to make sure we put an end to their distribution network in Peru as a whole. If we don’t, and we take out Aguilar, another snake is just going to rise up and take control.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. Can I assume the Peruvian cops…what’re they called?”
“The Policia Nacional del Peru,” Mickey said.
“Yeah, them guys. Can I assume they’re gonna take out the cartel down there in Lima?”
Candy nodded. “Fortunately, they want to put an end to the cartel as much as we do, but we can’t make a move until they’re ready. We have to run a coordinated operation with the Peruvian police or word will get back to Aguilar, here in the States.”
“Okay, so when do we anticipate they’ll be ready?” I couldn’t stifle a yawn; the pain pill was starting to work. “Sorry.”
Candy started picking up the photos, sliding them back into the folder. “That’s okay, buddy. To answer your question, I really hope we’ll hear something in the next day or so. Fortunately for us, we believe these guys are all lying low in the building which has been under surveillance ever since Judy and Raven identified it.”
“How do you know they’re still in there?” I asked. “It makes more sense that they would’ve scattered like bugs.”
Candy grinned and exchanged a glance with Mickey. “Miguel Huerta has become the building’s newest maintenance man and has spent a hell of a lot of time on the third floor where Tawantinsuyu Imports is located.”
I smirked. “Changin’ a lot of lightbulbs, is he?”
Candy nodded. “And painting all the walls on that floor along with Raven. They’ve seen all these maggots coming andgoing to the restroom, and Miguel has been eavesdropping on their conversations in Spanish, and though, some of them have left the building to go elsewhere, they always come back.” He tapped the folder with the pictures. “They always return to Tawantinsuyu’s office.”
“So, it’s a hideout?”
“It’s most likely just that.”
“And what happens when we’re ready to take them out?”
“Every last one of them has a federal warrant out for their arrest,” Candy replied. “If they decide to leave as one large group, we’ll move in and arrest them.”
