Ask the Right Questions Ch. 04

Author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

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Friday June 8th, 8:46 PM, Avondale, Arizona

"Wait, you are working with my government?" I'm sure my face betrayed as much shock as was contained in my voice. What the hell!?

She nodded. "My father is the accountant for Louis de la Vega Corbino or as is he is better known Lupe. That name means something of a wolf and a river," she said as if it was a ridiculous nickname.

I figured Lupe was short for Guadelupe, but was pretty sure it was generally a name given to girls. Maybe the 'wolf' was part of this guy's mystic or fear campaign over his territory and assets?

"When I was thirteen, I could not hold longer my feeling of my gender being in conflict. My parents tried many things, quietly of course, to understand this and that is when the fear of Corbino began to grow for them. If Corbino were to know of my being Trans or his enemies, my family would be killed because of the shame, the weakness this presents to his organization. It is just their way; you know our culture. I do not know the government people who made the agreements with my father, but they will get my parents to freedom in exchange for Corbino's money."

"Your father agreed to bring Corbino down for thirteen-million dollars? Then what? Where are you going to hide to be safe?"

She looked to be confused, "My father never wanted this life. He is expendable in Corbino's eyes. He is only doing this to protect his family. It is planned, your government will know at first where we are going to hide, but we will try to hide from them eventually also. What I took, which was the agreed upon amount, should help keep us hidden."

"Don't be too sure of that Gabriella. I cannot imagine a place on earth where you won't have to be looking over your shoulders for the rest of your life for Corbino or even my government," I replied exasperated.

She tried to smile, "In any place we are, people would want to kill you and I. For Corbino, it is better to give him a little pain first and hide after he is beaten by your government. I do not think Corbino will be alive for too much longer, his obligations too many will speed up his ending if he does not have money to control the people who fear of him. He will be replaced by another, but they will be too busy recovering his business to look for us. I just hope your government can be trusted."

Jesus! What was a story, a sick story about Trans Women being abducted and abused just got blown to hell with the revelations Gabriella had just laid out. A drug cartel was being torn down by an operation sanctioned by the US government? We were using citizens of a foreign country to screw with a cartel? Not that that wasn't in the typical playbook for our government, but Holy Fuck!

Was this some kind of clean-up from the Obama era 'Fast and Furious' gun running? Had their pet Corbino out lived his usefulness or had he threatened to bite the hand that fed him? This was insanity.

Gabriella beginning to type again snapped me out of going down that rabbit hole without a bottom. I gave her a question look.

"What are you doing now?"

"I have six other accounts to transfer. Your government and Corbino are surely aware now. My father said that they will try to block the access, but I must try."

I watched her empty another crypto account, but on the third she couldn't gain access. She moved on to the fourth, same result - the credentials had likely been changed on these two accounts. Whoever was monitoring the money for Corbino as her father's backup was trying to stop the leaks. They knew now they were under attack.

It didn't slow Gabriella down. She methodically went to the next account if she couldn't get logged in. She was using the copy / paste method, so any error message trying to login meant she was too late at this point. Onto the fifth, sixth, and seventh crypto accounts - same results - no access. They were awful quick to react; likely a failsafe notification process was put in place and once tripped there was a plan in place to safeguard all the accounts. How I would have set it up.

In the crypto account transfers alone she had moved nearly two-hundred and fifty-two million US dollars. It would be totally untraceable and impossible to get reversed. Her list of crypto accounts completed, she switched to a list of three standard banking institutions - the first two she had no luck gaining access. The third she was able to transfer the balance of nearly sixty-three million dollars to the il Banco Espana el Intercambio crypto account as cash. too

That made the final total she'd pilfered on behalf of the US government a little over three-hundred and two million US dollars. I didn't know how big of an operation Corbino ran or how much was in those accounts she didn't get access too, but losing this money was going to hurt. Heads of innocents were going to roll, maybe even Corbino' at some point if her family or our government was lucky. It was going to be a bloody night in Mexico.

"We can go to the building, yes," Gabriella asked after she had logged out of each remotely connected computer and was back on the Google satellite image of the building where she said she'd been taken.

I could only stare at her, still in disbelief of what she'd just done. Did she get what she'd just done or was this just part of the Gen Z 'Whatever' attitude about life's complexities as we Millennial's saw it?

Friday June 8th, 9:29 PM, Avondale, Arizona

I opened my bedside gun vault and pulled the Smith and Wesson 9C it contained. It felt cool to the touch, weighted in my hand as though it was something foreign I was holding. The feel of it my hand brought on a twinge of the unresolved emotions I had kept buried deep, in check, regarding the killing of another human being.

As I stared at it for a moment I realized I could have to use this thing tonight and that realization made me anxious. It had been months since I last held this thing, and it had easily been a year since I'd squeezed off any rounds. Augh! Don't over think the use of this tool!

I changed into a pair of dark black jeans, with a belt, and secured the pistol in an IWB (In Waist Band) holster. I took two extended round magazines from the vault and put them in a pouch on the opposite hip. In total I had 51 rounds, plus one that was already in the chamber. I would need to pay attention to my round count if there was a gunfight. I really hoped that wasn't going to be the case. I adjusted a black baggy shirt over my holstered weapon, caught my reflection in my dressers mirror and wondered if I ready for this?

No way I would be going anywhere near this abduction sight without an equalizer. If confronted I could either throw nasty words or hot nasty hollow-point bullets - the choice was easy, but implementing should I have to gave me doubts. I had a concealed carry permit, so legally I wouldn't be violating any laws. But being legal, maybe on the side of right was a justification for violence, it was not a pleasant thought. Fuck it! STOP! Don't over think it...

Before I left Gabriella at the table to get ready, we discussed Kovachev's involvement - it was a point of contention between her and me. We agreed, after much discussion, we would contact him once we were through searching the property. This excursion was probably a huge mistake going alone and without backup. Not to mention we were likely impeding a police investigation and possibly contaminating any evidence on scene if we weren't careful. Then there was the idea of needlessly endangering Gabriella's life. Augh... More doubts, just what I needed!

Decided, I did not like the plan or the lack of backup, but Gabriella was insistent we needed to go and said that she cared about bringing this part of her journey to some kind of conclusion. She seemed different after the money transfer; I wasn't sure why. Then I remembered Kovachev asking whether I had thought Gabriella was involved with these abductions. At the time it seemed like a stupid question, but now I was wondering about her motives.

Why had she insisted that we check out the building tonight? To say I wasn't concerned would be a lie. Could I trust her?

I left my room and found Gabriella at the table closing up the laptop. I nodded; she knew we needed to get going and stood. I mentioned as we walked down the stairs to the garage that I planned a quick stop along the way and hoped it wouldn't take too long.

Friday June 8th, 9:52 PM, Avondale, Arizona

"You want to keep Kara over night?"

"My friend is considering adopting her," I nodded towards Gabriella, she smiled, "And she just wants to see how Kara fairs in her townhouse," I replied trying to sound like it wasn't a big deal or an odd request near the end of a volunteer's closing shift at the shelter I volunteered at also.

"Kind of an odd request Cass."

"I know, but Gabriella works from home now and after her breakup with her boyfriend she'd just feel more secure having a dog around. She has the cutest little fenced backyard, patio area -- plenty of room to run and play. I promise I'll bring her back tomorrow, fill out all the paperwork if this is going to work, vouch for Gabriella, and even pay the fees. What do you say?"

Marty shook his head maybe a little confused still, but agreed after flirty looks from both us women. His shift was nearly over, on a Friday night, and he just wanted to be out of there. Plus, he knew me and there may have been interest in getting to know me outside of working at the shelter - though I might be all wet on that thought.

We were back on the road twenty minutes later - Kara would make a difference and it was dumb luck that I'd remembered a story I'd heard long ago in another life. Gabriella was confused by the reason for the side trip, but understood once I explained it to her in detail.

Friday June 8th, 10:41 PM, Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona

I missed the turn onto the dirt road that led to the building Gabriella had said she was taken too. I doubled back and as I approached the turn my phone began ringing. I fished it out of my jeans pocket and could see it wasn't a number I recognized. The area code was 619; I had no clue where that was.

I didn't know if it was Kovachev's phone number, so answered it on the fourth ring, as I pulled to the side of an empty and dark Highway 80.

"Yes..."

"Ruiz," the caller asked.

"Yes, who is this," I asked not recognizing the voice. The caller wasn't Kovachev, he didn't have a thick east bloc accent.

"You are not in an operational area you should be," the caller stated.

Huh? This guy knows where I am? Operational? Was this guy ex-military or something?

"Excuse me? Who is this?"

"Look, you've got our assets son and we need to get him reunited with his parents."

Shit! His words sent a chill through my body and I turned to look at Gabriella, "I think you're mistaken, I have no one's son. Either you tell me who you are or this conversation is over."

I could feel the rush of adrenaline hitting and my anxiety would be spiking like being hit with a baseball bat. Breathe...

There was a long pause, "This isn't a game Ruiz and I'm not going to argue biology with you. Go back to Avondale, we'll meet you at your townhouse around midnight."

I shuddered; this was an unexpected twist and only added to this crazy day, night.

"Good, I'm glad I don't need to school you on the latest studies regarding biology. Maybe one about the legality of the CIA operating on US soil would be more appropriate?" I could feel my chest tightening, I wasn't comfortable hitting back at this asshole, but I wasn't about to be steamrolled either. I was purely guessing he was CIA.

"You're mistaken Ruiz."

"About what, the CIA not being able to operate on US soil legally? Pretty sure I've got my facts straight on that one buddy," I offered tentatively.

"We just want the kid," he said, the exasperation in his voice evident because I wasn't complying.

I killed the connection and powered off my phone. Gabriella was looking at me concerned.

"That was the CIA," she asked nervously.

"I don't..."

Before I could finish my answer Gabriella's phone began to ring.

She looked at it, and gave it over to me when I reached for it. The area code was 765 and said that it was an unknown caller.

"We're not playing this game," I stated angrily after I answered it.

"Good! It's not a fucking game Ruiz. Just bring the 'kid'," he said with some inflection like it hurt, "Back to your townhouse, midnight. Don't make this harder than it needs to be God damn it!"

It was the same guy, but his misgendering Gabriella had temporarily been squashed, so we were making some progress.

"Who are you, who do you work for, and where are you right now," I asked in a series of run-on on questions without taking a breath.

"Mitchell Allen, I work for the government, and I'm on a plane headed to Phoenix, I'll be there shortly and at your townhouse at midnight. I expect you to be there with our assets kid."

Okay, he was sharing but was it only to keep me on the line. Why? He knew where I was.

"Is someone coming to intercept us?"

Tactically that made sense, but if we knew they were coming they wouldn't have the element of surprise, we could make contingent plans, maybe even get some help. He'd be a fool to share that, I wasn't sure why I asked. Nerves? No, I felt a distant glimpse of my military training kicking in and got a chill.

"No, but that could be arranged easy enough. We'd much prefer working together than make this any more difficult."

I wasn't going to trust what he said either way. Best to assume someone was heading our way. Were they CIA or a sister organization like FBI, US Marshal? New plan, play along to buy us some time.

"We will head back, but I'm going to have a lawyer present."

"We would prefer not involving Ms. Cantor, the reason for that is the less people involved the safer our assets family will be," he said trying to sound reasonable.

Damn it! He knew about Lena, her maiden name was Cantor! Fuck! Think!

"I get that, but I think we're going to need legal representation to keep your organization in check. Whether you want to admit it or not, Gabriella has some rights, as do her parents given the operation you're running. I don't want to know what your deal with her parents is, but I do want to make sure you're holding up your end of the bargain," I replied trying to sound confident, but probably failing.

"The family will be protected and the money promised appears to have been acquired already, including that which was to be held by us. So far, we're holding up our end of the bargain Ruiz. Head home, let's not bother Ms. Cantor, and we'll meet you at your townhouse, alright?"

Something wasn't adding up.

"Okay," I hung up on him, not giving him a chance to say anything more.

Friday June 8th, 10:49 PM, Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona

"That was the CIA?"

"I'm not sure, but likely. He knew too much to not be involved," I replied trying to organize the herd of cats racing around in my mind like they'd been rolling in catnip the past however many minutes.

"We are going back to your townhouse," Gabriella asked.

Every fiber of my being said that wasn't a good idea. It wasn't public enough to keep them from hauling us away and making us disappear for a little bit. Think! I looked at Gabriella's phone in my hand, they know where we are - we needed to make them think we were heading home. Misdirection, then control the meeting venue and make sure we've got backup.

I put the car in gear and began heading north on Highway 80.

"We're going to make them think we're heading that way and then we'll turn your phone off. We'll turn around and check out the building, get a hold of my lawyer friend somehow, call the detective also, and figure out how to navigate these people. I don't trust the guy who called. He said his name was Mitchell Allen do you recognize that name?" She shook her head in answer. "I might be able to check him out, but not without turning my phone back on. I know someone who did this kind of work..."

"So we are going to see if the other woman is in the building still," Gabriella asked.

There was nervous concern in her voice.

"Yes," I replied trying to squelch my own nerves.

Was I supposed to check that building out? One camp said return home, Gabriella was saying we needed to continue with our plan, and all I could wonder was what I might be walking in to? I should really call Lena...

Friday June 8th, 11:11 PM, Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona

We traveled north for ten minutes on Highway 80, far enough I guessed to be picked up by a second cell tower - I hoped. We hadn't seen any other cars on the highway since the one that passed us while we were on the side of the road talking to Mitchell Allen. It was time to turn off Gabriella's phone and kill their ability to track us.

I spun the Mustang around on the dark empty highway and headed south, eventually turning onto the dirt road the building Gabriella had said she was taken too was on. We drove slowly over potholes a quarter of a mile until the building was faintly lit up by the car's headlights ahead. I couldn't see a dog, but I could certainly hear it - even over the popping of stray rocks under the tires. I killed the lights, used my parking brake to slow us to a stop, no brake lights that way, and killed the engine.

Besides the occasional tick or click from the cooling engine the only other sound was the barking dog, so much for the element of surprise with the dog announcing our arrival. We were probably two hundred yards from the house Gabriella said she remembered, its lights were all off, except a lone dim porch light.

The building the dog was protecting was dark; no vehicles appeared to be parked on the road or within the gated area that I could see from our position. I could feel my hands slippery on the steering wheel, nerves. Time to recon and get the fuck out of here.

"I'm going to take Kara with me and see if I can get a look inside the building. You stay here. I'll leave my keys, push this button to start her up. If something spooks you or you see someone, drive up to the fence and I'll come running. Flash the lights or honk and I'll know we need to get out of here."

"Can I not come with you?"

"Best that you stay here. You're my safety valve. If you hear gun shots get out of here, turn my phone on, check my contacts, and call Lena. She's my lawyer friend and she'll get you help."

Of course, that wasn't going to work -- her turning my phone on and getting access to it -- but I didn't have the heart or time to come up with a better sounding plan. What we were doing here was a mistake, a big one. I reached up and turned the dome light switch off so that when the door opened it wouldn't come on.

"I do not like this Cass," she complained.

"I'm not a fan of this plan either, but we need to check that building out, then figure out our next steps."

Friday June 8th, 11:16 PM, Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona

It took a little over three minutes too carefully walk up to the fenced property and with every step the Pit-bull's barking became fiercer and his attempts to jump through the fence noisier. I tried to mitigate my footsteps by walking in the ruts on the dirt road, half-crotched, half trying to keep Kara in check, but I could have been singing at the top of my lungs and not been heard over the Pit-bulls antics.

At the corner of the property, the barking monster of a Pit-bull figured out that Kara was with me and the barking all but stopped. I watched it pace back and forth sniffing, panting, and occasionally jumping up against the fence. I tied Kara to a small scrap of brush near the fence and stepped away. The Pit-bull stayed focused on Kara, but would look towards me as if begging me to bring her a little closer. Sorry buddy, not tonight.