Page 81 of Darcy
I tune out Miguel’s careful reply and focus on setting up Drone 3. I’ll have to get it higher than the others to avoid being seen. It’s also more powerful, which makes it noisier, so I’ll have to cut the power and let gravity drop it straight into their little meetup before I push the trigger.
Thankfully, most people never think to look up.
Carefully, I attach the payload to the underside of the drone, linking it to the detonator with a satisfying beep. The rotors whirr as they come online, but I don’t send it out after the others just yet. I’ll wait until everything else is in place.
As a backup, I start guiding my little bot between cars, carefully using his little robot arms to attach magnetic trackers beneath the wheel arches as a precaution. While explosions are fun, they’re also a little unpredictable. I don’t want anyone getting away without me noticing.
That done, I turn my attention back to the meeting, my thumb hovering over Drone 3’s switch.
Only to stop dead as the door to Joaquin’s car opens, and the band files out.
“Shit!” I curse, slapping my hand over my mouth before I remember there’s no way they can hear me.
They’re right in the middle of my hot zone, though none of them looks happy to be there.
To make things infinitely worse, Sully is pushed out of the car the elder brothers arrived in. He tumbles to the ground, already bruised, and all four of the guys wrestle with the security in an attempt to get to him.
Prophet almost manages it, ducking through his captor’s hold in a calculated move that might’ve made Man proud.
But he’s outnumbered, and he swiftly gets a kick to the ribs for his trouble.
“Your little project was halfway to busted, and you had no idea,”Roberto remarks, drawing my attention to the furious expression on both his and Miguel’s faces.“While you were busy enjoying parties and making trades, your pet mules were using their loyal old dog to gather all the evidence they needed to have you strung up in another American prison.”
I watch as Miguel’s expression goes from angry, to baffled, to downright furious.
“Sully had nothing to do with it,”Slate growls.“It was all us—fuck”
He’s cut off as the beefy man restraining him drives an elbow into his stomach, winding him.
“You were told to keep your mouths shut,”he hisses.
“Let the boy speak,”Roberto replies, taking a drag of his cigarette.
Slate’s lips thin as he cradles his abdomen.“He’s just an old man. You’ve made your point. Let him go.”
Joaquin shakes his head, finally looking away from his youngest brother.“A rat is a rat, no matter its age. Betrayal will never be tolerated, not while I am head of thisfamilia.”He turns back to Miguel.“You’re still too young. Too rash. You want us to give you a seat at the table? Rid yourself of your delusions of immortality and learn to be more mindful of your enemies.Abuelowould be turning in his grave over how close you were to putting us all behind bars with your arrogance. You take too many risks,mijo.”
He jerks his head at one of his goons, who grabs Sully by the scruff of his neck while two others open the boot of the car opposite. The older man is barely conscious as they start dousing him in petrol, and I’m grateful for it.
The band starts cursing and fighting up a storm, but they’re forced to their knees, powerless to do anything but watch as tyres are forced over Sully’s head to pin his arms to his sides. I’ve seen this before. I know what will happen if I don’t intervene. I scramble for my drones, mind racing, as I try to figure out a way to stop this. My bot is forgotten, the feed still playing as Roberto strides up and slaps Sully around the cheeks until he comes around.
“You should never have gotten involved.”
Sully’s lips twitch up in a bloody half-smile.“I’d do worse for my boys.”
The band is still there, still fighting and cursing while I try my hardest to think.
I can’t use my explosives. Not without taking my guys out. The shit has hit the fan so fast I’ve got whiplash. What else have I got? Trackers? No use. The drones have speakers. If I couple those with some light and some smoke…
I disconnect the explosive in a rush, swapping it out for a smoke bomb. The white phosphorous payload should ensure no one can see more than a few feet in any direction. I need them disoriented if I’m going to get Sully out of this.
My carefully planned assassination has turned into a damn rescue mission.
I practically throw Drone 3 from the car in my haste. We might not have the minute or so it’s going to take to reach them. My eyes flick back to the feed from my little hexapod bot. Miguel is still on the receiving end of a lecture from Joaquin, but I can’t see Sully.
Drone 1 solves the mystery of his whereabouts. They’ve hauled him to the top of the hill overlooking the light of the city. The heavy rubber tyres wrapped around his body stop him from struggling as Roberto takes a final drag of his cigarette, then flicks it at Sully’s wobbling form.
No.
