She looked at her computer clock. “No. He refused, said he didn’t need them. He thought involving us would compromise the operation. For what it’s worth, I agreed with him. He used his own men and assured me they were up to the task, but I haven’t heard from him in more than thirty-six hours. McBride and Fontana are on their way to your son’s house, but I doubt Dalton would go there. Especially if Nichole knew its location, which is likely. Montez would extract that from her easily.”

“If Montez has Dalton, it’s already too late. Dalton’s tough and smart, but he’ll never hold out very long against Montez, especially with his daughters at risk. It’s a good bet Montez knows everything.”

“Will he blow the whistle?”

“He kept Nicaragua a secret. At this point, I don’t know, but it’s a safe bet he’ll want more money. A lot more.”

“I’m not onboard with that.”

“We may have no choice.”

She waited.

“Our best hope of containment is already on the move.”

“They’re rusty at best, sloppy at worst. They’ve already made some serious mistakes. It was their screw-up that led Montez to McBride’s house.”

Kallstrom said nothing.

“Your boys have six more hours, but I’m putting my San Diego team on standby. That’s the best I can do.”

“You won’t regret it.”

“Make a pot of coffee, Sam.” She ended the call and leaned back in her chair.

***

Nathan and Harvey arrived on the outskirts of Lomas Santa Fe thirty minutes after leaving the safe house. At this hour, the streets of the neighborhood were deserted.

“There might be security guards watching the house, probably are. We could be facing a friendly fire situation.”

“I don’t consider anyone who shoots at us as friendly.”

“You know what I mean.…”

They rode in silence for a few seconds.

“Let’s think about our plan,” Harv said. “Once again, we don’t have any intel on this house, or the surrounding area. Given the neighborhood, it’s a good bet it’ll have a state-of-the-art security system. Cameras. Infrared beams. Motion sensors. You name it.”

“Good thing we know how to beat them.”

“There could be tactical dogs.”

“If there are, let’s try not to kill them.”

“Last I looked, we’re fresh out of tranquilizer guns.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Nathan paused, thinking. “I wish Cantrell had told me what Duane Dalton’s role is.”

He turned left onto El Camino Real. “All we can be sure of is that Dalton’s a fairly major player, and he’s working in some way with the CIA.”