Moth(6)

It’s a struggle to see the look on his face and know he’s right. “Fuck if I know? Shit!”

All of a sudden the radio comes on. It’s one of the agents from the crew waiting to do the bust on the compound. I pull it up so I’m able to speak directly into it. “Go ahead.”

The person’s voice is static-filled. “It’s on fire. Can you hear me? The whole place is up in flames. There was an explosion. We’ve got a mess over here. There are people running around injured. People are still in the buildings. We need air support now! How long until ground assistance can get here?”

The rest of the team comes to stand around me. They’re listening, and as alert as I am. Rather than us seizing the property and confiscating his drugs, Alizar took matters into his own hands to ensure we’d hit a dead end once again. He’d killed more people and I felt directly responsible. I’d made the final decision to take down the operation. I’d brought Maria into this mess. She’d still be alive if it wasn’t for me. I’d bribed her to help us in exchange that she wouldn’t be prosecuted. Now the only person suffering prosecution was me. Guilt riddled, staring down at her dead corpse, I wished I would have went with my gut. I knew something was wrong, but I’d ignored it. Now I’d live with this forever.

“We’re on our way!” I announce.

With our situation contained to a small area, we call for assistance to manage the scene so we can head over and help the other location. If there’s a mole in my group I need to know who it could be. If it’s higher up within the agency all hell is about to break loose. My job is on the line. My team is on the line.

This isn’t going to go over well.

Before climbing back into the vehicle to head out, I turn to my team and address them. “This f*cker is going down. I don’t care how long it takes us. He’s always a step ahead. It’s time we stop playing into his hands. Too many people have died. We’re better than this.” I kick the truck. “Fuck!” Needless to say I’m pissed. I’ve spent countless hours making sure this ended with little loss and now I’m left devastated. We all are.

Malone puts her hand on my arm. “We’ll get this guy, Moth. I didn’t request to go out into the field because I thought we’d fail. You did everything by the book.”

She means well, but I’m too stubborn to calm down. “Go take your seat, Malone. The day ain’t over yet.”





Chapter 3


“God Damnit! Of all the times for you to f*ck up, Moth. This is a f*cking problem you need to fix. I won’t go down for this bullshit. You told me you had everything under control. People are dead. How many f*cking times are we going to screw this up? Now you want to ask for time off? Are you out of your f*cking mind? We have a mess here. You can’t up and walk away. We’ve been infiltrated. Government officials could be in danger at this very moment. The FBI is breathing down my neck for an explanation. I’ve got two illegal children sitting in an office with no one to claim them. You’ve made promises you can’t keep, because everything is screwed to shit. Do you have any idea how many tactical teams I’ve considered for your position in the past twenty four hours?” I’ve been in my director’s office back in Miami for the past two hours. We are on a first name basis, although I don’t think he wants to be called John today. If I had to bet, I’d say he’d like to be in a foreign country where no one was able to find him.”

We lost thirteen people during the failed raid on the compound. Four were agents. Upon returning to the surveillance platform house we discovered it had been burned to the ground – all of our collected intel either destroyed or in the hands of the enemy. This was a catastrophe. We’ve taken safeguards to protect most of our files, but they could have gotten enough to learn who we were and how to track us down. This is the worst possible scenario. We’re getting backlash from the president on this matter, and if it isn’t cleaned up soon I’m afraid of the consequences. Since I’m in charge this falls on me. What really blows is that I was responsible for backing up the files the night before, but had been out getting my dick wet instead of managing my duties, because I’d gotten too comfortable. I wanted this to be over. I truly believed we’d capture Alizar and seize all his property, including any pending shipments.

I’m used to being yelled at. A marine father isn’t the most gentle kind of parent. That’s why I joined the military as soon as I was of age. I needed to get the f*ck away from my overbearing, verbally abusive dad. I expect this kind of treatment. In some ways I deserved it for letting my guard down.

People were dead. I could have prevented it.

Now I’m hearing shit because I’ve asked for time off to tend to a matter with my family. I’d never been close to Jamie. We were thirteen years apart in age. My father was only married to his mother for a couple of years before she left him, and I couldn’t blame her for it. I knew she couldn’t deal with him any longer. When she left I was a teen. I rarely saw my brother, and in the past ten years, I’ve probably talked to him twice. It still bothered me to know he was gone. I didn’t have the details yet. I suspect it was a car accident. According to our good ole dad, Jamie was in grad school with a perfect GPA, and intent on being a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineer. He was in his last year, and with our dad’s contacts I knew he could land a kickass job. He had everything going for him, and no reason to get into trouble. At the time I heard the news, I was still too riled up to ask more questions. It had been a long day and night, and now all I wanted to do was take a flight back to Virginia and help my father bury my brother.