Page 39 of Engaging his Enemy
“No.”
“Good, ’cause he’s a mole.”
“Anyway, you were right, Razorback. There was definitely a methamphetamine operation in addition to the opium being shipped in. But the Savannah warehouse wasn’t where they cooked it, it was just a storage facility for the components. So even though the feds raided it twice, there was nothing they could do. They had two guys undercover for over a year before they could nail down an opium shipment from the Middle East. Even then, they weren’t able to get DeRegina himself. A handful of underlings went down for the crime, but it was enough to cut off access to his distribution network and force him to find a new port to import his drugs.”
Moto shook his head. “If his name wasn’t on shit in Savannah, how much you want to bet it’s not on the operation here in Houston, either? How are we going to pin this motherfucker down and actually put him behind bars?”
“Good question,” said Logan. “Nothing I’ve learned here points to a way to do that. He was very careful to keep his hands clean.”
Razorback leaned forward in his chair. “Thanks for all your hard work on this one, Logan.”
“Any luck on Ben’s computer files?” asked Moto.
“Nothing,” said Logan.
“What’s the problem?” asked Razorback.
It was Moto who answered him. “We’re trying to find a way to prove who tampered with the file dates on Ben’s computer and planted the evidence against him. It’s easy as hell to fake a creation date, but proving it was done and who did it is a much harder task.” He eyed the men around the table. This was what he was good at, and it pained him to admit he could fail. “It might even be impossible.”
Logan signed off just as Moto’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out to find a text from Ben:The Realtor for the seller said she’d call me back at seven p.m. with a counteroffer.
“Ben texted me.” He read it out loud.
Razorback crossed to him, taking the phone out of his hands and looking at it himself. “Does that mean the boat’s coming tonight at seven?”
“I think so.” He typed a response, reading it aloud as he went. “Did you hear back from the inspector on the condition of the dock?”
A minute later, he had a response. “He said it’s good to go.”
“So the ship’s coming in tonight,” said Razorback. He turned to Sloan and Champion. “You two better get going. I want you in Kevlar. Suit up and take every precaution.”
When they were gone, Moto turned to Razorback. “Are you calling in the feds on this one?”
Razorback’s eyes were dark and determined. “No. We do this one alone. See if you can get your brother out of there before the shit hits the fan.”
23
Davina sat in the backseat of Spaulding’s sedan, speeding through town. A thick metal grate separated her from the front, like a police car. He’d told her Ben had a severe head injury, but was resistant to giving her details.
“Please, tell me what happened.”
He met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
She nodded.
“He was down at the port. One of the men offered him a tour of a containership, one of the real big ones they use to import goods from Asia. I’m not sure exactly what happened, if he lost his footing or tripped or what, but he fell from the ladder getting down from the ship.”
She gasped and covered her mouth. “How high up was it?”
“I don’t know exactly, ma’am.”
“But he’s alive?”
“He was when I came to get you.”
She felt physically sick with worry and was grateful Wyatt wasn’t there to hear this. She woke up her cell phone and checked the number of bars. “I need to call his brother, but I don’t have service. That’s weird, because I can usually call from anywhere in town.”
“Strange.”
