“Both. She was an undercover agent, working with the DEA and we have become friends.”
“Well, I have done quite a few of these operations and I have to say, she certainly looks the part better than many other of my patients. I hope she manages to find some happiness now.”
“I’ll make it my business to make sure she does,” Ryan said.
“Her recovery will take longer because of the gunshot wound. But she is young and in good shape, so I reckon that in a few weeks she will be as good as new.”
“That’s good,” said Ryan.
“How long has she been living as a female?”
“She’d say all her life, but I think she has been like this for about six or seven years. To be honest I’m not sure, but she has felt that she was a girl ever since she could remember.”
“Do you know much about gender dysphoria?”
“Nothing at all.”
“It is very common for a true transsexual to sincerely believe that they are trapped in the body of the wrong gender, often as early as three or four years of age. For some it decreases into nothing, for others it just becomes ever pervasive and consuming. I would guess that she is one of the latter, and looking at her I should say it is wholly appropriate. She is certainly about as feminine as you could ever get.”
Ryan couldn’t disagree
Both men stared at her. She had this beautiful smile fixed on her face.
“Did you tell her about the SRS?”
“Yes, she wanted to know why she had such extensive bandaging.”
“So, was she pleased?”
“You need to ask?”
The doctor laughed and looked at the sleeping girl.
“I guess not, particularly with a smile like that.”
He glanced at the agent and saw an expression of such tenderness that he now knew that her smile was also due to his presence.
“I’ll leave you; it’s been a heck of a long day. I’ll pop back tomorrow and I suggest you go get some rest, she’s going to be fine now.”
Ryan nodded.
The doctor left and Ryan couldn’t bring himself to leave yet. He sat down and took her hand again. In her sleep, she grasped his hand tightly and he smiled.
It was midnight when the nurse woke him up and suggested he go get some sleep. He was a long way from his apartment and he asked if there were any motels nearby.
“Look this is a military hospital, just contact the duty officer and see if there is some accommodation we can provide for you,” she suggested.
Ryan found the duty officer, a young naval lieutenant. Within twenty minutes of showing his DEA badge he had been provided a single room in one of the accommodation blocks. He had a shower and collapsed gratefully onto the bed. He was asleep in seconds.
Chapter 10.
Juan Carlos Mendoza put the telephone down.
He had gone very pale, and his hand shook.
Rhia, his wife, was worried, as she had never seen him quiet so upset.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Luis, he’s dead. The Yanqui bastardos. The DEA have taken him out. The whole fucking island is gone, blown up, in a million pieces and all the merchandise and cash with it.”
He stared out of his window across the lush green valley. His home was in the mountains, not far from Nelva, deep in the Columbian hinterlands. He had not been very close to his brother, mainly due to Luis’s choice in bed partners, but he was in business with him and he was his older brother after all.
“I thought you said the island was a fortress that the Americans could never take?” she asked.
“It was. The only way in is with someone on the inside, and those bastards played Luis like a sucker. They found his weakness and took him out.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, yet,” he said, and picked up the phone and dialled a number in Florida.
“They’ve taken all the men to Florida, and I have a lawyer who will get me the information I want,” he said, as he waited for the call to be answered.
“Ricardo, it’s me. Look, my friend, here’s what I want you to do.”
* * *
Sean arrived at the hospital early. It was only eight fifteen, so as he walked from his car he tried ringing Ryan’s cell phone. It was still switched off.
When he arrived at Michelle’s room, he realised why. Ryan was sitting by the bed laughing with the girl. It was obvious that something had happened between them and he smiled.
“Hello Sean, I understand your operation was a success?” she said as he appeared at the door.
Ryan glanced up and looked faintly embarrassed.
“It sure was, but more to the point, I understand that yours was too,” Sean said.
She smiled prettily and nodded. She looked drawn and pale, but she was not unhappy.
“Ryan told me that you asked them to do it. Thanks.”
“It was part of the contract. Now you just have to get better. How do you feel?”
She glanced at Ryan and Sean saw the love in her eyes.
“I’m much better already,” she said, and Ryan smiled at her.
Sean grinned and shook his head.
“You two. How the fuck do I explain this?” he asked.
Ryan flushed and looked uncomfortable, but Michelle just looked happy and relaxed, despite the obvious discomfort she was experiencing.
Sean stayed for a while and was pleasantly surprised at how perky the wounded girl was. He sensed that the pair of them would rather be alone, so he made his excuses, handed over his bunch of flowers and a small stuffed dog and left. He was more interested in bringing in Mendoza’s mole in any case. He also had to arrange full payment for Michelle, in the form of US naturalization.
Then there was the interrogation of those captured on the island and a decision had to be made for each one as to how best to deal with them. Already a fancy Hispanic lawyer, Ricardo Candarez was banging on the door demanding to see the prisoners. He was linked with the cartel in any case, but there was no evidence to arrest him at this time.
Gabriella turned up for work as usual. However, as she opened her office door, there was a man and a woman waiting for her. Her heart sank, as she immediately could read from their expressions their task.
“Gabriella Sanchez? We are DEA agents, you are under arrest for conspiracy to traffic in narcotics and of supplying restricted information to known criminals,” the male said. Now she knew that the reason she could not get a reply from the island last night was due to the fact that there were probably no phones left working.
She didn’t even try to deny it, she simply waited for them to approach her, and she was led from the building under escort. Several of her erstwhile colleagues watched in bemused interest, but not a word was spoken after the female agent read her rights.
As with all persons detained by federal officers, local PD facilities were used. In the case of the small army from the island the military police helped and they were detained on military premises. Gabriella was taken to the local police station, so her one phone call was to Ricardo’s office.
Ricardo was a tall man; very good looking, and he knew it. He was forty now, and was just beginning to become overweight. He was spending too much time in business lunches and in court to burn off the fat in the gym as he was used to. He had lived in the USA for twenty years now, having come here to law school when he was nineteen.
He had a sharp mind, and could think on his feet. The ironic thing was he had been approached by the DA’s office after law school, as they had seen his potential as a prosecutor. He had declined, and had gone on to make his first million by the time he was thirty.
There was always money to be made defending, even if he avoided the public defender’s office like the plague. The Hispanic community, particularly those involved in the drug business all knew him, trusted him, and paid him a lot of money to keep them out of jail.