“Hey,” Nathan said. “I’ve got you on speaker. Harv’s with me.”

“How’s your head?”

“Okay. How’s the arm?”

Holly sounded excited. “No complaints. We have a hit, maybe the break we’ve been hoping for. We weren’t able to ID any of the dead mercenaries at the scene, but we got a positive hit on the severed finger through Interpol’s fingerprint database. Do you remember telling me to take it?”

“Honestly, no.”

“Well, the finger’s owner is Julio Domingo Ramirez. Eight years ago he was arrested in Chile on drug smuggling charges. He only served four years in exchange for his testimony. Given he was our only hit, I had Henning dig deeper. Ramirez has a brother who owns a small business specializing in exotic textiles from Africa. He leases a small warehouse in Long Beach.”

“Sounds promising. Good work, Holly.” He looked at Harv. “We’re going up there. Tonight.”

“I’d feel a whole lot better if you didn’t go alone. I can get you SWAT support from our L.A. field office.”

“I appreciate it, Holly, but we have to be sure this operation doesn’t leak, especially to the press. There’s no way to do that if an FBI SWAT team gets involved. Reporters can sniff that stuff out. Plus, we don’t know if this will even pan out. It could be an empty building. It’s not worth Lansing finding out that you’re feeding us this information.”

“He already knows. We had a chat on the flight up to Sacramento. He’s okay with my helping you guys as long as it doesn’t involve direct physical support, but I have a feeling he’d make an exception if I pushed.”

“We appreciate the offer, but we have Grangeland. The three of us can handle it. And if we determine otherwise, I’ll call.”

“Nathan.” She lowered her voice. “If Montez captures you…”

“He won’t. Harv and I have an understanding.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“We won’t take any unnecessary risks. We’ve got years of experience and dozens of ops under our belts.”

“Be careful tonight, and call me afterward.”

“I will.”

“Montez isn’t worth your life.”

“I’ll call you.”

***

Nathan and Harv rendezvoused with Grangeland, then stopped by their security company garage to pick up the supplies, tactical gear, and equipment they’d need for tonight’s operation, including tools for splicing into video lines. If they encountered anything other than standard coaxial, they’d have to improvise.

“I know we’re in a time sensitive situation, but let’s go over some things,” Nathan said. He handed Grangeland a spare ballistic vest and black sweatshirt. “We’re not going to get too detailed because everything could change depending on what we actually find up there. But if anything comes to mind, we want your input, okay?”

She nodded.

“What’ve you got, Harv?”