Page 21 of Jacqueline's Quest

“We’re just going through new images Hank sent.” He pointed to the screen.

“Double checking them again?”

He clenched his teeth, fully aware of her teasing tone. “What? No. These are new. They came in while you were playing Matador with your cattle.”

Jaqueline snorted. “Cabrón.”

“We should have probably waited for Thomas,” AJ said. “No point in going over these four times without him being present.”

Jaqueline laughed. “She has a point.”

They were ganging up on him. He couldn’t be mad at them though. The sound of Jaqueline’s laughter hit him in the gut. His dick twitched, hardening at the thought of her husky laugh while they played together.

“Agreed,” Murray replied, with a cough. “No point going over this shit without the whole team present.”

"He was in the kitchen, getting a cup of coffee. He should be down any second." Jaqueline's focus had been on the images flashing across the monitor as they downloaded into Murray's cache file.

A creak from the stairs drew his gaze as the man in question, Thomas, made his way down the stairs. Thomas most definitely dressed the part of the older, wealthy gentlemen if he went by the expensive as fuck jeans and shoes the guy was sporting. The air of superiority he gave off as he meandered down the rest of the stairs would have normally pissed him off, but by the blank look on Thomas’ face, it was as though the man didn’t realize what he was doing or the vibe he threw off.

"Hope to hell you don't mind getting your fancy suites dirty. The dirt and dust clings to everything, clean or dirty." Murray had found some of the fine granule silt on his beloved laptop. He'd damn near had a coronary trying to clean the machine before it could get inside. The last thing he needed on this mission was to rip apart his computer and clean out the particles. Dust and dirt, specifically the specks of sand would fuck his top of the line machine up. He didn't think Asher would appreciate another bill for another piece of equipment of his.

Thomas’ gaze flickered to AJ’s then to Murray and back to AJ as if trying to figure out what had happened in the room before he and Jaqueline arrived. “I’m fine.” He stepped toward the monitor. “When did these come through?”

“This morning,” Murray said. “R.O.O.T techs have been working to render a 3D image of the inside of the house on all the information we’ve gathered and what they were able to gather from past resources. Hank sent it over and it’ll help. But and I can’t stress this enough, use it as a guide only as some areas could’ve been changed up or re-arranged.” Murray hit a key on his keyboard. The image from his computer flashed up on the larger screen. “Most of the block is cartel run or owned businesses except for here—” he pointed to them “—and here.”

Jaqueline stepped forward and picked out the back of the building. “Alldeliveries are made here and those who wish to partake of the activities within the building, enter through a parking garage at the museum.”

“It’s pretty fuckin’ easy to know when they have auctions or parties since their cars are left at the parking structure.”

"Guess they don't have to hide what they're about since the Federales won't do anything." AJ shrugged. "Kind of weird though, they do everything so secretively."

Thomas rubbed his chin before remarking. "Safest street in the city. Plus, who'd want to expose what they're doing? Sure Raul might pay off the right people, but all it'd take is one person seeing the condition of those inside and it might cause an international incident."

“No doubt,” Murray said before continuing with his run down. “Bedrooms of the residents are on the top floor.”

“Smart fuckers,” Thomas muttered. “Asher mentioned something about preparations back on base. He never gave a clear understanding of what they were planning for.”

“Los Muertos,”Jaqueline said softly.

“The dead,” Murray translated before hitting his keyboard to show them the picture of the graves. He suspected Thomas spoke Spanish because most of his case files had been cartel based.

“How many?” Thomas asked before stepping closer to take in the images.

“Too many,” Murray replied, not willing to upset AJ more than she already was.

Sometimes new agents were more of a hindrance than a help. If he had to take a guess, AJ fell in the latter category, though with Scotty involved, shit could go sideways. Although Murray knew, Asher would never put her on a mission he didn't think she couldn't handle.

From what he had read AJ was green, not stupid.

“What are we waiting for?”

Maybe she was stupid.

“For everything to be in place. This isn’t the first time R.O.O.T has gone up against a cartel, nor will it be the last. Asher wants to make sure all of his ducks are in a row.”

“Meanwhile, they’re still taking people!” AJ spat.

Murray sighed. He’d had this same conversation with Jaqueline. Both wanted to be the bulls in a china shop, instead of using grace to help them through the mission. “Eyes in the sky are currently recording everyone who is coming and going. So far, the only new arrival has been Scotty.” AJ muttered something under her breath and Murray ignored her. “When we get into the Emporium and take it and the cartel down, we’ll rescue those people and bring our loved one’s home.”

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