Perilous by E. H. Reinhard Page B

Alexander and Alejandro were in the trunk. He dialed Rodrigo.
    “Hello,” Rodrigo answered.
    “Where do you have them?”
    “In their cabin.”
    “How did it go?”
    “We came in while they were asleep. The woman went easy. The man gave us a little trouble, but we have them both secured now.”
    “Define a little trouble .”
    “He busted up Daniel pretty good.”
    “How?”
    “I was dealing with the wife when the guy made a move for the gun cabinet. Daniel went after him, and they got into it. I had to put the old guy down with the butt of my rifle.”
    “How bad is he?”
    “Daniel or the old man?”
    “Daniel. I don’t care about the guy.”
    “A few missing teeth, broken nose, busted-up eye.” Rodrigo said. “The old man was no joke.”
    “Is Daniel still able to be effective in helping us complete our job?” Ramon asked.
    “Probably. Like I said, he’s just a little banged up.”
    “Did you disable their cell phones?”
    “Yes. What are we doing with these two? Are you guys done?”
    Ramon rested the cell phone on his shoulder and reached for the coffee he’d just picked up from a gas station. “It didn’t go as planned. I’m on my way up there.”
    “What happened?”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you when I get there.” Ramon set his coffee back in the cup holder and looked at his GPS. “I’ll be there in three hours.”
    “Okay.” Rodrigo clicked off.
    Ramon dialed Yury. He answered within a couple rings.
    “Is it done?” Yury asked.
    “No. What’s the secondary plan?”
    “What happened?”
    “Does it matter? The guys didn’t complete the mission down here. We’re moving on to the secondary plan.”
    “It matters. Tell me how it went down.”
    Ramon let out a puff of air in frustration. “We got to the house before dawn. I left our vehicle on the side of a back road about a quarter mile away. We took positions at the north, east, and west sides of the property. At about seven a.m., a man and young boy left. I had the scope on him and confirmed that it was not the target. An hour later, Alexander confirmed a visual on the cop in the kitchen. We waited until the woman target was present as well. She came into view around eight fifteen. When Alexander confirmed both targets, I gave him the go ahead to take the shot while I went to retrieve the car.”
    “He missed?”
    “Yes. I got a call on my radio that he missed the target. I only received two updates after that. The first was that they were getting return fire. The second was one of my men had been shot. By the time I got back with the car, both of my guys were down.”
    “And what did you do?”
    Ramon turned right onto the freeway entrance heading north. “I blocked the driveway and tried to get a shot myself as the targets were fleeing. All I had was a pistol. I never had a clean look.”
    “They saw you?”
    “Yes, but wearing a mask. They won’t be able to identify me.”
    “The bodies?”
    The cruise control was set. Ramon’s destination was one hundred sixty-eight miles away, or so his navigation said. “I retrieved them prior to leaving the scene.”
    “Good.”
    “What do you want us to do with the parents?”
    “You have them as instructed?”
    “Yes.”
    “Where are they being kept?”
    “Their residence.”
    “Find another place close by. I don’t want them there.”
    “And then?”
    “Wait.”
    “Wait? You don’t want us to call him and try to lure him in? A ransom attempt or something?”
    “No. Do nothing of the sort.”
    “So, sit and wait?” Ramon’s voice rang with annoyance.
    “You wouldn’t have to if your guys could have got it done right in the first place. I thought you said these guys were capable of completing this?”
    “They are, and they will.”
    “They better. I’ll be in touch.” Yury hung up.
    Ramon dialed Rodrigo back.
    “Yes?” Rodrigo answered.
    “You should find an alternate location to keep them.”
    “Okay. There was a place that looked empty