"Is this guy planning to spend the entire night chatting with the girl here?" Jack yawned in boredom as the clock ticked closer to midnight. Even though he knew it was all part of the act, others were enjoying the warmth of fragrant beauties in their arms, while his leg had almost gone numb from the awkward position. The disparity in treatment was glaring.
"Rasso is taking a call," Mandy Ellis retorted irritably, giving him a sharp pinch. She had sacrificed so much for the mission, yet this guy didn't seem to react at all. Could he have some hidden ailment?
"It looks like it's time." Jack, still holding her, shifted positions for the nth time. When he looked up again, the pair across from them had disappeared.
"Damn it." Mandy Ellis got off his lap and looked upward. Sure enough, Rita Alfaro, who had been monitoring from the upper floor, was also gone.
"Don't worry. Since they've set up a trap, they won't let us fail the tracking." Jack's words were meant to be reassuring, though his eyes darted around as if searching for something, his brows deliberately furrowing in feigned anxiety.
The two of them circled the dance floor but still didn't find any trace of Rasso. Jack pulled out his phone and called Jason outside. "Check the location of 'Cinderella' (the code name for the bait). We've lost them."
"Her phone signal is still within the nightclub, in the northwest corner. What happened?" Jason sounded puzzled. Based on their prior assessment, it was unlikely that the target would choose to act in a crowded nightclub with over a thousand people.
"Got it. Nothing to worry about—someone will clue us in." Sure enough, when Jack hung up and looked up again, Rita Alfaro had reappeared on the second floor, nodding subtly in their direction.
Pushing through the crowd, the trio regrouped. Mandy Ellis impatiently said, "We lost them. The HVT (High-Value Target) seems to have left 'Cinderella' behind and left on his own."
Rita Alfaro nodded and leaned in close to whisper in their ears. "She went to the restroom. I just had a brief chat with her. She said Rasso's gone to meet his boss."
"Rasso must be heading to meet Doza." Jack grabbed the two women and started walking briskly toward the exit.
"Shouldn't we confirm this intel first?" Mandy Ellis feigned concern.
"There's no time. This might be our only chance. If we hesitate, we'll miss it, and we can't afford that." Jack's expression was tense as he quickened his pace toward the exit. He turned back to remind them, "I'll meet up with Jason and the others to follow. You two head back to the command center."
Mandy Ellis's concern at that moment was only half an act. The other half was genuine. After all, the enemy had already set up their trap, and though they had prepared for this, a real firefight with live ammunition could lead to unexpected dangers.
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but with the scheming teammate beside her, she decided to stay silent. Instead, she mouthed two words silently: "Be careful." Jack acted as though he hadn't noticed, his face expressionless as he turned and pushed open the door.
An SUV screeched to a halt in front of Jack. The side door slid open, and Sonny reached out to pull him in. Before the door could even close properly, the vehicle roared off again.
"A silver Mercedes, heading east," Jason called from the passenger seat.
With a sharp turn, another SUV carrying Ray Perry and his team appeared ahead of them. "Attention, everyone. This is Bravo 2. We're currently tracking the HVT, moving north on Reforma Avenue."
"Roger. This is Command. We're monitoring you from above. Stick to the plan and stay safe," came the voice of Major Blackburn over the comms.
The two SUVs followed the silver Mercedes at a distance. Clay Spencer, looking puzzled, asked, "Why don't we just make our move here?"
"And then wait for the local cops on Doza's payroll to show up and turn us and the target into Swiss cheese?" Jack replied while strapping on a heavy-duty bulletproof vest and adjusting his steel helmet. He gestured out the window at the congested traffic.
"Fair enough. Forget I said anything," Clay shrugged, focusing on maneuvering the SUV through the packed traffic.
It took nearly an hour of slow-moving through the midnight congestion of downtown Mexico City before the vehicles finally exited onto a bumpy highway. The two SUVs switched positions, with Jack's team now taking the lead and Ray Perry's team following behind.
Clay reclined the driver's seat and climbed into the back of the SUV. Jason, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, slid into the driver's position, taking over the wheel.
"Where are we heading?" Jason asked over the team's comms.
"Likely Iztapaluca, Mexico's largest slum, and possibly the largest slum in the world, with a population of nearly two million," Colonel Martinez replied, his voice grim.
No one could have anticipated that right on the outskirts of Mexico City, the largest city in the Americas and the capital of the country, there existed a slum of such staggering scale.
"Move quickly. This area is already beyond the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) range of 20 minutes," Martinez added.
"Sounds like a perfect spot for an ambush," someone muttered.
Jason glanced at the map and was about to issue orders when Major Blackburn's voice came over the comms again. "Bravo 1, this is Command. Looks like you've got company—watch your rear."
"Shit," Jason muttered, just as the roar of engines filled the air outside. Three heavy-duty pickup trucks were closing in from behind.
"Bravo 6, disable that Mercedes. Bravo 5, take care of the tails. Command, this is Bravo 1—we're engaging the enemy directly!" Jason barked.
Hearing the order, Jack flung the door open. He and Sonny held tightly onto Clay's tactical harness as the latter leaned halfway out of the vehicle. Armed with a full-barrel HK417 designated marksman rifle, Clay aimed at the Mercedes' tires and fired multiple shots in rapid succession.
In the second SUV, driven by Ray Perry, a few well-placed shots shattered the rear window. Two "pirate guns" emerged, their muzzles lifting slightly before emitting two soft pops that sounded like champagne corks popping. The two 40mm high-explosive armor-piercing grenades arced toward the pursuing pickup trucks, deceptively slow yet devastatingly effective.
Command's reply came over the comms simultaneously, "Bravo 1, acknowledged. QRF is en route, ETA 20 minutes."
The explosion that followed was deafening. Back at Command, Major Blackburn slammed down the comms handset and yelled at Lieutenant Lopez, "You've got five minutes to gather your team. Move out immediately!"
Meanwhile, back with Bravo Team, the lead pickup truck was brought to a violent halt, its flaming wreckage causing the second truck to crash straight into it. Caught off guard, the driver of the second pickup veered off course, and the vehicle tumbled off the road, flipping as it burst into flames.
Ironically, the destruction of the second pickup cleared the path for the third. It surged forward, its mounted M249 SAW light machine gun roaring to life, peppering the SUVs with suppressive fire. Trent and Brock, armed with "pirate guns," were forced to duck for cover.
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