Author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.
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Friday June 8th, 8:46 p.m., Avondale, Arizona
"Wait, you are working with my government?"

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 about 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, 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 from 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. He will be replaced by others, but they will be too busy recovering his business to look for us. I just hope your government can be trusted."

Oh crap! What was a story, a sick story, about Trans Women being abducted and abused, just got blown to hell with the revelations Gabriella had spilled. A weapons / drug cartel torn down by an operation being 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 my going down a rabbit hole without a bottom.

"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 my access, but I must try..."

I watched her empty another crypto account, but on the third she could not 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 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.

In crypto transfers alone she had moved nearly two-hundred and fifty-two million US dollars. Totally untraceable... 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.

That made the final total she’d stolen 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 and 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…

Friday June 8th, 9:29 p.m., 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. It did not lack a flood of unresolved emotions I had kept buried deep for a long time, from a previous life.

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 a IWB (In Waist Band) holster. I took two extended round magazines from the vault and put them in a back pocket. That gave me 51 rounds, plus one that was already in the barrel. I would need to pay attention to my round count if there was a gunfight – I hoped that wasn’t going to be the case. I adjusted a black baggy shirt over my holstered weapon - am I ready for this, right?

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. I had a concealed carry permit, so legally I wouldn’t be violating any laws – being legal, on the side of right – while a justification for violence was not a pleasant thought. Fuck it! 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 I. We agreed, after much discussion, we would contact him once we were through searching the property. This excursion was probably a huge mistake alone and especially without backup. Not to mention we were likely impeding a police investigation and possibly contaminating any evidence at the scene.

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. She had insisted that we check out the building tonight, why? 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. 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 p.m., 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.

"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 a little exasperated, but agreed after flirty looks from both us women. His shift was nearly over 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 p.m., 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 rang. I pulled it out and could see it wasn't a number I recognized, a 619-area code number. I didn't know if it was Kovachev's phone number, so answered it on the fourth ring, 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, no thick 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 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, "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," 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.

"We're not playing this game," I stated angrily after I answered it. No one had this number, so I was sure they'd figured out I'd called her number and could see we the phones were pinging off the same cell tower.

"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..."

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..."

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

"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 and we could make contingent plans, maybe even get some help. I felt distant glimpses of my military training kicking in and shuddered.

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

I didn't trust what he said, I was sure someone was heading our way. Were they CIA or a sister organization like FBI, US Marshal? Play along, 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! Lena's last name, her maiden name was Cantor, they knew about my connection to her! 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," and I hung up on him.

Friday June 8th, 10:49 p.m., 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?"

That wasn't a good idea, not 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're heading home. Misdirection, then control the meeting venue, and make sure we've got backup this time.

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..."

"Are we going to see if the other woman is in the building," Gabriella asked, nervous concern in her voice.

"Yes...," I said 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 check – what was I walking in to?

Friday June 8th, 11:11 p.m., 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. Time to turn off Gabriella's phone and kill their tracking of us.

I spun the Mustang around and headed south, eventually turning onto the dirt road the building Gabriella had said she was taken too was located 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. 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. We were probably two hundred yards from the house Gabriella said she remembered, it's lights were all off, except for one on the porch. The building the dog was protecting was also dark, no vehicles appeared to be parked on the road or within the gated area that I could see in the darkness. I could feel my hands were slippery on the steering wheel, nerves. 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 do not like this Cass..."

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

Friday June 8th, 11:16 p.m., Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona
It took a little over three minutes to carefully walk up to the fenced property and with every step the Pit-bull's barking became fiercer. I tried to mitigate the sounds of my footsteps by walking in the ruts on the dirt road, half-crouched, and half trying to keep Kara in check.

At the corner of the property, the barking monster of a Pitbull 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.

Kara was in heat. I knew this from working at the shelter the day before yesterday when she was brought in. We were keeping her separated from the other dogs until she could be spayed this coming weekend. Colonel Flagg had told me a story while in Afghanistan of how he had defeated the security perimeter of a Taliban compound by using a dog in heat to distract the dogs that protected it - hence Kara being here. It appeared to be working and I walked around the corner of the fence without the dog following me. The only sounds were my footsteps and the big Pit-bull whimpering. Thank goodness Kara wasn't a barker.

As I moved along the fence, hyper aware of my surroundings, cooled by how much I was perspiring – I realized that never happened while I was in the Army - sweating while on patrol. Focus!

I couldn't see any cameras on the build in the darkness, but that didn't mean they weren't there. The fence didn't have any obvious easy entry points, so when I was about even with the building, I began to climb it gingerly to keep the noise down, but quickly to reduce the time I was exposed. I was over it within a couple seconds. I crouched, focused on the Pit-bull, but he hadn't noticed I was over the fence. If he came at me, I would likely have to put him down – that wasn’t going to be good on a number of levels.

Friday June 8th, 11:21 p.m., Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona
I pulled my weapon; it was warm now from my resting against my body. My hands being cold probably made it feel warmer than it was. Concentrate!

I snicked the safety off, looked around once more, and slowly made my way to the side of the building. The building almost looked like it was a storage unit, but lacked any garage type roller doors. Flat roof, only a ground floor level, concrete block construction, and certainly appeared abandoned and run down.

Along the front were eight doors, no windows. Gabriella had said the door she had been behind had red and blue graffiti on it. I couldn't see it from the corner, but figured I'd run into it eventually. First though, a peek around the rear of the building to check for access points, threats, or signs anyone might be here. Nothing…

Back to the front of the building, a look over towards the dog – still dry humping whatever fantasy he thought he was having. Time to go…

I made my way towards the first door. It was painted a dull gray and a check of the handle - locked. I would need to pay close attention to each door I passed in case someone behind one of them appeared while I was deeper into exploring the building.

Memories of my time in the Army came flooding back and I wished I had an over-watch team member watching my back right now. I looked toward the fence corner again to make sure the dog was still preoccupied by Kara, yup. I had no idea how long it would be before he got frustrated about not getting his rocks off and came looking for me. Flagg hadn't said how long his Taliban incursion had been or how long the dogs were distracted by the bitch in heat.

The second door was dull gray with some kind of black graffiti on it. It was also locked. Third door, red and blue graffiti adorned the front of it - and it was ajar. I raised my pistol, checked my surroundings, and listened. I tried peeking in cautiously, but it was too dark to see anything. I hadn't brought a flashlight and didn't have one I could have put on my pistol's rail - tactical mistake. Too late to worry about that now.

No sounds except the thumping of my heart pounding in my ears. I pushed the door open slowly until I could get a better look inside.

Nothing moved, no sounds, so I moved to where I could see inside a little better after I checked my surroundings. A faint glow was coming in through the window at the back of the room – moonlight, I’d seen that it was about three-quarter full tonight while checking out the rear of the building.

The window was half covered by a sheet of fabric or plastic though, so not much to see. There looked to be a mattress on the floor and something black looked to be covering part of it. There was possibly graffiti on the wall behind the mattress. The rest of the room, as best I could tell in the dark, looked to be dust or dirt covered. It smelled stale, musty – Gabriella had said that about this place – could I trust I wasn’t being set up?

I felt the wall with the back of my hand, and found a light switch. If I flipped it on my night vision would be shot, but without the light I couldn't see anything. I could use my phone’s flashlight, but it was a paperweight in the car with Gabriella.

I entered the room fully, closed the door behind me using my shirt to twist the knob and engage the lock. I waited a few seconds and clicked the light on with the back of my hand. The bulb in the center of the rooms ceiling shot out a creamy hue of light – nothing blinding.

My stomach dropped... The mattress was covered in what was likely dried blood and the wall graffiti I had seen in the dark was blood splatter from a gun shot. A couple small divots in the wall confirmed that thought. Shit...

Friday June 8th, 11:53 p.m., Arlington Wildlife Area, Arizona
"What did you find?"

I finished putting Kara in the back seat and climbed into the driver's seat after Gabriella had shimmied over the center counsel to the passenger seat. I rested my hands on the steering wheel and bowed my head.

"What?" Gabriella pressed.

"Nothing... No one was there and I only stayed long enough to confirm that. All the other doors were locked, so unless she was in another room, the place is abandoned." my voice trailed off.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure..."

I wasn't going to tell her about the blood. It's likely the woman she was with had been killed in that room a few days ago. Kovachev needed to get out here, I needed to call him but also not have a run in with Mitchell Allen or some other government agency representative. I had Kovachev's business card, so I could call him if I just had access to a phone.

"We need to get to a phone. I need to call the detective and my lawyer friend," I finally said.

Saturday June 9th, 12:29 a.m., Buckeye, Arizona
We stopped at the first gas station we came across in Buckeye as we made our way back towards Phoenix. Luckily, they sold prepaid cell phones. It wasn't the same brand as Gabriella's phone and getting it activated at this early hour took longer than I expected. Once activated I got out of the car and walked a few feet away to call Kovachev.

"Yes," the voice asked sleepily.

"Detective Kovachev, this is Cassidy Ruiz..."

"Is there a problem," he asked, instantly more coherent.

"We were able to find the building Gabriella was taken," I began.

He interrupted me, "I'm not going to be happy to hear you went to check this place out Ms. Ruiz..."

"That's a long story detective for another time," I replied using the line he'd used on me about his immigration to the US.

"Please tell me you did not enter the hotel."

"I can't tell you that, but I can tell you I did not disturb the crime scene."

"Crime scene?"

"I'm going to send you an image from Google satellite maps of where this building is. It's near the Arlington Wildlife Area on old Highway 80. You're going to need animal control for the dog and a full crime scene team. I think the other Trans woman who was with Gabriella may have been shot."

There was a short pause and I could hear Kovachev exhale slowly, "Where are you now?"

"That's another long story, but we need to be off the grid for the next couple of days. There's another government agency involved that you and I weren't aware of," I said trying to not sound cryptic.

"That might explain a call from the US Marshal Service earlier tonight asking about where Gabriella was," he said as if trying to figure out a missing word in a crossword puzzle, “I meant to call you.”

"Did you get a name?"

"Allen Mitchell, why?"

"We were contacted by a Mitchell Allen while on our way to the site. Could he have mixed the name up on you, like in the military we were always addressed by our last names?"

"I'm not sure, but now I'm going to get to the bottom of that. I have his phone number," he said, annoyance dripping from his tone. "What are you going to do now?"

"First, get a hold of my lawyer. Next, find someplace to lay low and get some sleep," I said realizing I was certainly tired after the adrenaline dump from exploring the building they had taken Gabriella to.

"I spoke with Ms. Cantor; it would be good to speak with her. She chewed on me fairly hard," he commented as if impressed. "Am I to understand that you're not going home. How do I contact you?"

"Lena chewed on me also, I'm sure you got it worse than I did though," I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, we're not going to my townhouse... They wanted me to bring Gabriella there, but that isn't going to happen. I need to get some answers and I need to keep her safe. After this call, I'm turning this cellphone off. I'll call you at noon."

The pause before he began speaking almost had me asking if he was still there, "Let me make some calls, find someplace to lay low. Would you consider meeting me at the police station," he asked.

"Don't think Gabriella's opinion or trust level concerning you has changed much in the past nine hours..."

"Understood. I'll be waiting for your call. You both be careful," he said, the worry in his voice evident.

"Thank you, we will," I said before killing the connection and powered off the phone.

Saturday June 9th, 1:09 a.m., El Oso Park, Maryvale, Arizona
I'd driven around the block three times before pulling into the El Oso Park parking lot. No one was following us, no one was sitting in a parked car looking out for us on any of the streets we’d cruised. We were fifteen minutes from my townhouse and maybe twice that from Lena's place at this hour of the morning.

The Phoenix Police station I'd met Kovachev at was between us and Lena's place - close enough if I needed to crash my Mustang through the lobby door to get someone's attention. I knew these streets well enough to be able to escape in pretty much any direction, so I felt comfortable to shut down here for a little bit. The neighborhood was safe and it felt good to finally be sitting still. Kara was curled up in the back seat and didn't seem to mind either of us had cranked our seats back slightly to get more comfortable.

Gabriella had plenty of questions, especially about the contact with Mitchell Allen or as Kovachev knew him, Allen Mitchell. I wasn't ripe with answers, but tried to reassure her that things would work out. Of course, not having found the other Trans woman who was held with her wasn't something I was feeling good about. There wasn't anything we could do about that right now.

She asked what our next move was and I told her I needed to talk to Lena in a couple hours. No sense in waking her up in the middle of the night for a crisis there probably wasn't much she could help with at this hour.

Somewhere in our conversation about Lena, Gabriella figured out that we were dating. That of course lead to all sorts of questions / answers we batted back and forth at each other. Gabriella was attracted to men and I had certainly experimented with both men and women. She told me of an older man she was attracted to in Mexico, but didn't say whether it was something she could have built on. I told her about a few failed relationships – both male and female – and tried to impart some things I'd learned along the way.

"You have been on HRT for how long," she asked.

"Five years, maybe... I've struggled with becoming who I am now, so I started and stopped for a short period, and started back up. So, like four years straight," I answered.

"I have only been allowed the HRT for ten months and I have seen many changes... I am anxious for more, to be complete – but I wish these changes came faster."

"I was wondering about that, how long you'd been on HRT. I worry about 'passing' a couple times a day depending on what I’m doing. I wonder if finally becoming complete, GCS, will make things different. The dysphoria can be crushing with that appendage between my legs still," I tried to chuckle, but it sounded flat.

"I know it is very expensive. I would like to have the surgery soon; I understand the feelings and depressions. I have struggled because I am hiding every day in Mexico..."

"Anyone who thinks we transition and there isn't a lot of pain and struggle for us are fools. I am constantly amazed by the lack of understanding by those in the medical community as to what we're going through or how they can really help us. Throw in the uneducated haters, idiot politicians, and it's certainly not the easiest journey to take. Being Latina adds another layer of cultural stigma and pressures. But, one day, I'll have saved enough for GCS, so it's coming. In the meantime, I try not to get too wrapped up in that part of my body that tends to be my biggest source of self-loathing. It's hard though, a constant reminder that I'm not fully me...," I stopped speaking because I sounded like I was complaining too much. My life certainly could be worse, it could easily be better too.

"Will you have other surgeries," she asked.

"Probably not. I do a few laser hair removal appointments every couple months... Probably a trachea shave at some point," I stopped speaking to watch a black Suburban roll by the parking lot slowly - it didn't stop, but I was instantly on edge.

Gabriella watched the vehicle, "You are worried about that vehicle?"

I tried to play it off, "I'm concerned about any vehicle right now, but they," I stopped speaking as another black Suburban from the opposite direction rounded the corner and pulled into the far end of the parking lot. Shit!

"Okay, we might have a problem," I said quickly cranking my seat back up and starting the car.

Gabriella looked over at me, "They are here for me..."

"No, that's not happening..."

Saturday June 9th, 1:42 a.m., El Oso Park, Maryvale, Arizona
The back passenger door opened on the parked Suburban and a lone male exited. He raised his hands and spoke loudly, "Ruiz... Let's not do anything stupid... Just want to talk, I just need my assets kid."

Fuck! How did they find us? And as soon as I thought that I saw the On-Star button on my mirror... Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Stay here," I said and opened my door, drawing my weapon, holding it to my side just out of sight. There wasn't anyone I could see behind me, but there had been two Suburban's, so they certainly had the numbers and someone was likely behind me somewhere. "What do you want Allen, or is it, Mitchell?"

"It's Allen, last name Mitchell. I've been talking to a friend of yours from Afghanistan, said you Rangers called him Colonel Flagg. He had nothing but good things to say about you, you were a hell of a tech savvy soldier he said..."

"Yeah, well not smart enough to know my On-Star system was going to screw me."

"Easy item to overlook. If it's any consolation it took my team twenty minutes to get the trace on you after you shut down your phones. Even the one you picked up and called Kovechev on and hour and a half ago."

These guys weren’t playing. To have that kind of free rein to track us – they were connected and whoever was sitting on the top of this shit pile had juice to make things happen and happen quickly. He mentioned Flagg, that was unexpected.

"Yeah, sorry, not much consolation. What do you want?"

"Let's start by putting your weapon away."

"What makes you think I'm armed," I asked.

"The guy in my ear says he can see you're holding a nine-mil or maybe forty-cal, probably a Smith and Wesson, extended magazine... Plus, it’s unlikely you checked out that building without some form of equalizer."

Fuck... There was no getting out of this, and a gun fight wasn't something I wanted to be in. Would they give a shit if the lead started flying and Gabriella was somehow eliminated? They had their money, they didn’t need her, right? I pulled my shirt up, holstered my pistol, and walked around the front of my car.

"Okay, let's talk, but let's agree to not do anything stupid," I said.

Allen made his way over to me and stopped about twelve feet from me, lowered his hands, "We're not the bad guys here Ruiz... Just trying to help my assets family out here. You've got their kid, we need to reunite them, get them hidden in their new lives."

"Where are her parents now," I asked.

"Safe..."

"Not what I asked," I said annoyed that he seemed to be playing with me.

"Bolder Colorado in a safe house," he replied after a moment.

If true it wasn't their final destination, so it was safe to tell me that.

"What guarantees do I get that she'll be safe and reunited with her family?"

"My word for one, I guess. Not sure why we'd go through all this trouble and not just take her from you if we really wanted to do anyone any harm. I'm trying to be reasonable here," he chided.

So, you do need her? Why?

"Yeah, well I got involved with Gabriella due to her abduction and then it turned into a story of our government taking down some drug kingpin in Mexico for a price, her family’s freedom, a bunch of cash," and as soon as I said that I regretted it. I didn't want to appear to know more about this operation than I did. Damn it - mistake...

"That's the story, but you realize that story can't be told," he said calmly.

"Who says it can't?"

He chuckled, "Be reasonable Ruiz, you can't tell that story, but I've got one you can."

"Really? One that's as big as this mess you're involved in?"

"Depends on your loyalties I guess."

"Don't fucking wave the flag at me asshole,” I barked, “I gave this country my all, my blood, they discarded me six years ago!"

He'd pushed the wrong tact at me and I could feel the anger within me boiling over. Another mistake I’d just made – losing control of my emotions.

"I'm aware of that, but where do you stand with the Transgender community and these recent assaults, the ones that were happening in Texas?"

"What do you know about that," I snapped.

"What if I can give you the whole story on that in exchange for dropping any interest in our assets story."

"What can you give me that I already don't know," I ask sarcastically.

"I don't know, maybe the warning I gave you about being somewhere you shouldn't have been?"

"In Arlington," then it hit me, "You knew what I was there for?"

"Possibly..."

"You knew what I would find?"

"Possibly, but I'm going to assume you think the wrong person died in that building. I'll lay it all out for you; you get the inside story, which leads to some international shit, maybe, you look like a rock star for your Transgender community, there's some justice delivered, and a focus on this kind of senseless violence. Are you interested in that story in trade?" he asked.

"The other Trans Woman wasn't shot?"

He shrugged, "We have a deal?"

Fucker! That means they were trying to find Gabriella, didn't know she'd been dumped and hospitalized until they stormed that remote building. They were slow to figure out her whereabouts, but they figured them out in the end. If I read between the lines, the other Trans woman had been in the building as Gabriella had said, Mitchell's people got there, and maybe eliminated one or more of her assailants, and hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up their mess. Fuck!

"And if I agree, what happens next?"

"We run to the airport, fly to Boulder, you get to see the family reunited, we talk abduction story, you write an amazing story that maybe becomes a mini-series for your newspaper, it gets pickup up by affiliates, and sheds light on this kind of issue within your community..."

I could feel the honey being poured into my ears... Mother fucker!

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