“So what’s our timing?” Harv asked.
“We sever the phone line right after I force Antonia to call Raven. Raven’ll try to call the lumber mill for an update and be concerned when he can’t get through.”
“If our goal’s to get him to come up here, we need him more than concerned.”
“I have no idea if he’ll get an out-of-service message or if the line will just ring indefinitely. Either way, he’ll feel compelled to come up here and deal with Estefan. If we play things right with Antonia’s call, I’m ninety-nine percent convinced Raven will show up quickly. The wild card is, how he does it: fly or drive?”
Harv said, “He could do both. He could send some of his men in on the ground and fly himself in.”
“He knows he’s facing a former sniper. I doubt he’ll land at the helipad wearing a fluorescent-orange shirt and yell, ‘Here I am.’”
“He definitely won’t do that. What would you do?”
Nathan thought for a moment. “I’d time the arrivals simultaneously. There are plenty of places to land a helicopter around here. Raven knows Estefan can’t possibly cover the entire valley from a single location.”
Harv went silent.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Nate, we talked about this. We agreed we couldn’t go to war with Macanas’s cartel. We could be facing a small army of mercenaries.”
“I can’t deny that’s a possibility, but I don’t think Raven will be thinking that way. See, I think Raven needs to end this as much as we do. His boss would not want him getting into this kind of private war over something personal when it could jeopardize his business here. Chances are, Raven will be doing everything he can to keep this secret from Macanas.”
“Then he’ll only bring a handful of his best men.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Okay, but are we going to bail if Raven shows up with a small army?”
“Absolutely, Harv. We aren’t equipped for that kind of fight, and I have no desire to kill a bunch of men. I hate to say this, but one way or the other, we’re calling for our ride home later today.”
“I guess I needed to hear you say that.”
“Our mission hasn’t changed. We fight Raven on our terms in a limited engagement or not at all. We talked about this with Estefan. He knows the score.”
“Something just hit me,” Harv said.
“What is it?”
“We need to look for Internet satellite dishes at the lumber mill and ore-processing plant before you have Antonia make the call. There are ways other than landlines and cell phones for Raven to communicate with his men.”
“Good point. Let’s do this. You and Estefan split up. You’ll head over to the ore-processing plant and lumber mill and check for satellite dishes. All you’ll have to do is cut their coaxial lines or torque the dishes out of alignment. If they’re out of reach, just shoot their feed horns. That should disable them. Estefan will head to the south end of town and stand by to cut the phone line. I’ll wait here with Antonia until you guys are all set.”
“Sounds good.”
“Harv, if we can avoid killing anyone else tonight, we should do it. If it turns ugly over there, I know you won’t kill unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“What about the girl? We can’t keep her with us after the call. She can’t be hanging around during the fight, and we don’t want her loose to talk about us being here. We’ll have to confine her.”
“We’ll take care of that at the lumber mill. There’s got to be a good place somewhere. A storeroom or janitor’s closet. Something.”
Nathan nodded toward the motel, and they began walking back.
“Then we’re planning to neutralize the men over there?”
“Yes,” said Nate. “With nonlethal force, if possible.”
CHAPTER 27
Nathan and Harv reentered the motel room, planning to keep it brief. With all of them in here, they lacked eyes outside.
Antonia kept her head down. Her unmoving, stiff posture told all. Nathan knew the anguish and fear she felt. He’d experienced it firsthand no more than thirty miles from here. His initial captors had beaten him nearly unconscious, but that paled in comparison to what came later. He forced the corrosive memory aside.
Using English, he quickly updated Estefan on the plan to ensure Raven’s arrival, then cut communications to Santavilla. Estefan took it in without questions and pronounced it a good strategy.
“I have a question for you,” Nathan told Antonia.
She looked up at him, uncertainty in her eyes.
He asked what their chances would be of finding wire cutters at the general store.
They were in luck. Last year, after the hardware store had closed, Mrs. Perez bought its inventory. There would be plenty of wire cutters and pliers in the general store. Surprisingly, Antonia offered additional info Nathan had planned to ask for. Though the store was locked, a spare key was hidden near the cargo containers.
Nathan told Estefan to cover Antonia while Harv secured her ankles. The two-foot-long bond would allow her to shuffle along like a chain-gang prisoner, but she wouldn’t be able to run. Antonia started to object, promising she wouldn’t try to escape, but Harv silenced her with a look while he worked.
Outside the motel room, Nathan pivoted his goggles down to his eyes and activated the NV’s infrared flashlight feature. He’d likely need it to locate the spare key. At the corner of the motel, he paused and scanned the area before hustling over to the cargo containers. He was considering what to do with Antonia if she’d lied about the key when he found its tarnished form exactly where she’d said it would be. Nathan had no trouble entering the store and finding two pairs of wire cutters. He grabbed a couple more items from the same aisle, left one thousand córdobas next to the register, and relocked the store. Outside, he returned the key to its hiding place and ran back to the motel room.
Harv had Antonia fully bound, hands tied behind her back.
“Where’s Estefan?”
“I’ve got him on the north side of the motel watching the lumber mill area.”
“How far away is the lumber mill from here?”
“As I recall from the aerials, around five hundred yards, give or take. The ore-processing plant is about a hundred yards closer.”
“Okay, let’s get you two moving.” He handed Harv both pairs of wire cutters, shook the pillow out of its case, and looked at Antonia. “Hold still. I’m going to gag you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said quickly. “I’m not going to scream.”
“We’re a little short on trust.” Nathan didn’t make the gag overly tight. There was no point in being cruel, and she’d earned the extra slack by volunteering the location of the hidden key.
“Tell Estefan I want three-minute updates, even if there’s nothing to report.” Nathan turned off the light and sent Harv on his way. “Well, Antonia, I guess it’s just you and me for a while.”
Harv pivoted his NVGs down and powered them on. He’d elected to take his backpack rather than fill his thigh pockets to their bulging points. Although he didn’t intend to use them, he had plenty of spare magazines for his Sig. His pack also held the TI and NV binoculars.
The best way to approach the lumber mill was via the river. Because of his size, Harv couldn’t pretend to be one of Raven’s men and just walk into the enemy’s camp. Estefan could’ve done it, but Harv understood Nate’s desire to avoid killing any more men.
He pressed the transmit button. “Estefan, I’m on my way to your position. Ten seconds.”
“Copy. I’ve got you.”
Harv saw Estefan peer around the corner of the motel. He too wore NV goggles now.