When he reached his vehicle he stoped and got out. Stretching he got out of the boarder patrol vehicle and walked to the back of his own. Inside was a toolkit and civilian model radios similar to the ones the Border patrol used. Working with practiced efficiecy he swapped out the radios. With the radios switched he then took out a five gallon can of gasoline. With care not to splash himself Villamore enshured that the radio would be badly damaged by the fire. He set the vehicle ablaze and was driving away when his phone rang.
"Buenos Dias." Villamore answered.
"Mi Amigo." a Familiar voice responded. "I have need of your survaces again. This time it's for a personal problem."
"I'll be at the usual place in two days." Villamore answered. The caller was Juan Tomasa, a well paying client even if he was a hot headed little punk.
***
Ranger Michael Chandler walked up to the two story house at the end of the culdesack. The lawn was freshly mowed and the shrubbery was neatly trimmed. In the drive was a Mustang from the early 2000s and parked in the street was a tan collored GMC Suburban. he pulled into the driveway, parked his Dodge Charger and put a Rattlesnake hide cowboy boot onto the concrete. The boots were a gift from his nephew who had collected the hides himself. Unfortunatly that nephew had gotten himself into trouble and now he was going to deliver a message.
Pete hear the doorbell ring and got up off the couch to open the door. Standing there was a western man from his snakeskin boots, jeans, wester shirt and stetson. The man also had a badge and a gun on his belt making him a cop. The man was also Johnny's uncle and Pete hoped that the visit was social. "Good afternoon Ranger Chandler, Johnny's in the kitchen. Come right in and make yourself at home."
Chandler looked around the high ceilinged main room and noticed a small teenage girl sitting on a couch reading some graphic novel called "The Couriers" that had a swarthy male and a caucasian female with a revolver on the cover. He noted that the girl wasn't one of Pete's employees and turned and walked past the office, the stairs up and the wetbar before turning left into the kitchen. Johnny was mixing up a Whiskey Habanero marinade for some steaks. "Johnathan we need to talk about those bikers you got into trouble with."
"Uncle Mike!" Johnny exclaimed as he put down a mixer and bowl. "I didn't hear you come in but if it's about 'Los Diablos', then it's going to be business and probably bad."
"For you it's going to be great news." Chandler replies. "Someone hit the Diablos while they were having Church at their clubhouse. Used about a half dozen IRA style homemade mortars and leveled the place."
Johnny stopped and thought for a second about what Uncle Mike had said. Someone had found out when all of the Diablos were meeting at their headquarters and had then blown them all up. While there were other groups who used Homemade Mortars the IRA had a style and a way of making the devices. If it did have their style to it he knew who to ask about such things. "Maria, we need to talk to you about a bombing!"
Maria looked up from reading about Moustafa and Special shoot up an airport getting away from Triad Hitters. She had discovered Brian Wood's "Couriers" series in a bargan bin and was instantly hooked on it. It was funny how people in various illegal occupations liked reading or watching stories about their line of work. Just look at Scarface or the Mexican ballads about the cartel kingpins. Having a cop just walk into Johnny's place had made her nervous but since pete seemed to know him she had relaxed. Which was why when Johnny yelled for her to come talk to him about a bombing she jumped about a foot off the couch and came running. "I didn't do it! I know nothing about it! Why are you blaiming me for something I didn't do?"
"Maria, calm down I know you didn't mortar the Diablos." Johnny said trying to calm down Maria. He knew for a fact that she hadn't blown up the bikers but from her reaction he just knew that she had been planning something eminantly fatal for them. "Uncle Mike here, just told me that someone wiped them out with an IRA style improvised mortar. Since you dad was an active member and you picked up some things...I was wondering if your dad had any friends or students who could do something like that?"
"Johnny, you said he's your uncle and he's obviously important to you but I just can't help the cops period." Maria states. "Dad has made a mortar once but it's not his style. He's more bullets and placed bombs."
"Maria, is it?" Chandler asks. "How deep into the cartels are you?"
"Was." Maria answers. "Too deep to be at my age. I'm trying to get out and go legitimate. I mean there's a big difference between making $100 a day and making $100,000 a day. Hell, I shouldn't even bee seen in the same area code as Texas Ranger Michael Chandler."
"You know of me?" Chandler asks.
"I knew the guy who was going to try and collect the standing $100,000 bounty on your head." Maria explains looking right into Chandler's eyes. "He messed with the wrong person and got turned into a quadraplegic."
"And now you are hanging out with my nephew." Chandler says. He was familiar with the standing bounty on his head. It had started out as the usual cartel bounty on Law enforcement officers but had grown a he had made arrests and seasures of cartel assets. "Should I be worried about him?"
"He is my friend and I don't want to bring my problems down on his head as he collects his own problems."
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