Shattered Lies (Web of Lies #3)(73)

“No,” Alex said, wiping his mouth and taking a sip of water. “It’s a good plan.”

He took a deep breath and looked around the boat. It was a confiscated drug smuggling boat the DEA had lent them. The deck of the small million-dollar yacht had an outdoor couch that was actually storage space. Two agents were going to be hiding there in order to surround whoever came for Dan’s phone. The Coast Guard was out of sight, but fully armed and ready to move in to surround the yacht as soon as they were given a signal. Inside in the large saloon on the main level would be Kirby with three agents and the phone. One agent in the empty refrigerator, one in the bathroom, and Kirby sitting at the kitchen table with an agent that freakishly resembled Dan March. Lizzy had helped with supplying the right clothes and haircut from the last time she’d seen him, which no one bothered to fill in Kirby or anyone else about.

Alex and Roxie would be hidden in one of the bedrooms while Knoll would be operating the cameras in the main bedroom. The whole living room was rigged with cameras and bugs. Audio and video of the apprehension would be taken. Knoll, as attorney general, lectured the agents nonstop over the last hour of the flight about what to say and what not to do.

Alex walked on wobbly legs toward the living room. AG Knoll had been handpicked by Birch just two weeks before. He’d been confirmed three days ago, and now he was in on the biggest takedown in history. Birch had told Alex that Knoll was a former JAG lawyer before becoming a prosecutor. He was levelheaded and didn’t scare easily. Alex didn’t know about Knoll, but he was scared shitless. The AG was dressed in a freaking suit, sitting with his legs crossed and flicking a piece of lint off his tie. Alex guessed he really didn’t scare.

Roxie slid her hand into his, and Alex realized he was shaking. God, he was embarrassing himself. Roxie looked nervous, but she wasn’t puking over the rail like he was. Alex took a deep breath and felt his stomach roll. He swallowed hard as everyone turned to look at them.

“Are you ready, son?” Kirby asked him.

Alex nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak when his stomach was pitching a fit.

“One minute,” Roxie said cheerfully as she took out her phone and cranked up some heavy metal. Kirby looked assaulted, Knoll bounced his leather-clad foot to the music, and the agents were a mix of confused and amused.

Alex and Roxie opened their computers side by side in the small built-in booth in the kitchen area. They sat shoulder to shoulder and someone placed a trashcan next to Alex with a smirk. Alex would have been insulted, but the fact is, he would probably need that trashcan.

Alex hooked the phone up to his computer and nodded. Kirby leaned over the table and turned the phone on. No one spoke as the guitar wailed and the bass strummed. The phone’s screen popped up, and Alex went to work breaking into it.

“Got it,” Alex said as he pulled up the phone’s GPS app.

“I see it. I’m inputting the information now,” Roxie said, chomping on a piece of gum. Her entire being was focused on her computer.

“We’ve got action,” Alex said as his fingers flew over the keys of his laptop. His program tore apart the app. Instead of seeing what a normal person saw, he saw numbers, data, and code. Code that gave him the unique signature of the person currently accessing the GPS in Dan’s phone.

“Come on,” Alex muttered as he followed the digital crumbs the intruder left.

“It’s a Mexican IP address,” Roxie said, her eyes never leaving the screen.

“Dude.” The high Alex felt as he outsmarted the person on the other end of the internet rushed through him and pushed the nausea down. “Duuuude . . . come on, come on. Yes!”

“What?” Kirby asked but Alex didn’t answer.

“I’m closing in on it.” Roxie said.

“Verifying.” Alex double checked the location and pulled up a satellite image of the location.

“Got it,” Roxie said. “Are you ready?”

“Go,” Alex ordered, knowing they had found them. Roxie read off the GPS coordinates. “It’s a match. We found them, and it’s right where Lizzy and Dalton thought they would be.”

“Where?” Kirby asked as he and everyone else squeezed in to look at Alex’s laptop. “Is it Manuel’s main compound?”

“No. It’s on the northwest side of Laguna Salada.”

Kirby looked at the map. “Pull up images for within a quarter mile of the border. There has to be some structure we’re missing.”

“There’s a small solar field here that feeds electricity to this cell phone tower.” Roxie pointed to the screen.

“Enlarge it,” Kirby said, moving to stand behind them.

Alex zoomed in and cocked his head. “There are tire marks leading from the main road to the solar field, but no cars can be seen.”

“There,” Roxie said excitedly. “Zoom in closer.”

Alex did so and saw the back end of cars hiding under the solar panels. “There’s a structure under the solar panels.”

Kirby slapped his back and Alex grabbed the trashcan and puked.

“Sorry,” Kirby cringed. “You two did good. Give the coordinates to the drone.”

Roxie sent them off to Grant who was carrying the Raven drone. He would assemble it and fly it from his location. Soon a feed came online as the drone was launched.