Ripple Effect

-23-

The alarm sounds out the next morning and Anthony turns over on his cot, feeling and looking a little worse for wear after having barely been able to sleep during the night. Something that's unfortunately become the norm for him after years of being undercover, both, behind bars and now outside, after making the right connections during his first stint of undercover work. 

"Yo, Tony; you getting up or gonna keep staring off into space?" 

"Getting up; usual for breakfast? Or, am I finally being allowed off leash to find the closest Waffle House?" 

"Boss says stick to the plan, it'll all be over in a couple days and I for one will be extremely thankful for a real meal rather than just the greasy shit we've been eating; I've never had such bad indigestion and been shitting up a storm." 

Anthony laughs, "Makes two of us man." He sits up and collects his boots, putting them on and tying the laces, before heading to the desk and pulling out the drawer where the cash for incidentals is stashed. "Dude, we're gonna need a couple more bills, the stash is low." 

"I'll send a message and get them to bring some when the shift changes."  

"Cool. I'm gonna hit the head and then I'll be on my way to get some grub." 

He proceeds to use the facilities and splash some water on his face, not liking who he sees looking back at him in the mirror before popping a stick of gum in his mouth and making the walk towards the area where the car is parked and driving to the McDonalds. 

Pulling into the parking lot, he looks around, the lot is empty with the exception of a few employees vehicles and those who are lined in for the drive thru. A car pulls in the lot and parks a few spots away from him, seeing the familiar face, he gets out of his vehicle and heads towards the restaurant, dipping into the men's room and waiting. 

A few minutes later, the door opens and he's joined by one of his colleagues and handler. 

"What do you have for me Ant? 

"As far as I can tell Jiménez is camped out in an old farmhouse along the highway in Hancock County, along with about 20 of his closest friends working on the next shipment." 

"Any sign of the others?" 

Ant shakes his head, "No. They seem to keep the drugs and workers in separate locations so that they aren't able to say anything if caught will transporting the goods. Some of the girls at the club mentioned cleaning and or housekeeping work at a hotel; my instincts are telling me that it'll be the location of the auction." 

"Any idea of where the hotel is?" 

"No. Other than being allowed to leave the warehouse to pick up food, the only other spot I've been is the club to have a couple of drinks and watch the girls dance. The guys are all pretty tight lipped when it comes to talking about stuff other than sports or sex, they know saying the wrong thing to the wrong person could be a death sentence. It's taken me almost two years of uc work to even break the outer circle and that only happened because I saved Spider from being shanked on the inside." 

"Say the world and I'll pull you out." 

"No. These bastards took my sister and even if it means blowing my cover and sacrificing myself, I'm not letting anything happen to the two girls at the warehouse."  

"Ant, don't get attached to them." 

"That's not the way I work and you know it, Lewis." 

"Fine. I know you're time is limited. Based on the description you provided, we now believe the older girl is in fact, Gabriela Ortiz. She was taken by her Uncle, who's a known member of the cartel and it sounds as if he gave her to Jiménez to clear his debt.