boldly.
Alexandra sipped on her iced tea for a moment. “There’s a lot I don’t understand, and I know we’re far from finished, but something is nagging at me.”
“What is it?”
“Well, you said Santiago is a paid assassin, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“And I’m guessing you have proof.”
The muscles in Kevin’s neck tightened. “We do.”
“Then why can’t you arrest him? I know we don’t have jurisdiction in Mexico, but can’t you work with their government?”
“That one question pretty much sums up our entire problem. Just recently we thought Santiago’s freedom was finally coming to an end. One of our agents,” Kevin lowered his voice almost to a whisper, “Jon Dawkins went to Guadalajara in order to meet a top official of the Mexican government.”
Alexandra must have recognized the difficulty he was having relating the story. She sat unmoving and simply listened as he explained.
“Jon was a great agent,” he continued, looking blindly ahead. “He was also a brand-new father.” Kevin shook his head in order to focus. “He went to meet with the official and to orchestrate a plan to finally have Santiago deported.”
When Kevin quit speaking for several uncomfortable minutes, Alexandra finally asked, “What happened at the meeting?”
Kevin’s throat bulged as he swallowed hard. “Jon never made it that far. Santiago murdered him.”
“He what?” she asked, her tone unbelieving, then shook her head sadly. “But how did Santiago even know about Agent Dawkins?”
“It’s simple, but not any easier to comprehend. Someone inside got greedy, and for a few lousy bucks was bought off.”
“You mean someone inside the DEA or inside the Mexican government?”
“We don’t know.”
“So who do you trust? What can you do?”
“Try and be more careful, that’s all we can do. There is definitely a leak, but we don’t know where. We don’t think it’s coming from our end, especially because of how close we all were with Jon. But we also can’t take any chances. So only a tight, close-knit group is working on the Santiago case, and information is provided to them on a limited, need-to-know basis.”
“What does the official in Guadalajara plan to do?”
“Also lay low for a while. What else can he do? He can’t take any more chances either.”
Alexandra grimaced. “Hearing all this makes me feel so very selfish. There’s an entire world out there I’ve never given a second thought to. The things that concern me all seem so trivial.”
“You shouldn’t feel that way. We all have a place in this world.”
“I don’t feel like I have a place.”
“Maybe you are about to find one. We may never know for sure, but perhaps we were meant to find you so you can find yourself.”
“That’s a lot to digest.”
“I agree,” Kevin said. “What do you think at this point?”
Alexandra appeared hesitant. “Frankly, I don’t know what to think. This is all so weird, it seems surreal. How can two people look so much alike?”
Kevin shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe somewhere, somehow we all have a twin.”
“But you already have Daniela under complete surveillance. How can I be of any help?”
“Because we can’t control Daniela’s moves, but we can control yours,” Kevin explained.
“I would like to be of some help, but what could I possibly do? I have no training.”
“You wouldn’t have to be trained in the way you might think. We would simply be using you as bait. Just as a way to lure Santiago. You see, Miguel Santiago is an American citizen. We can’t touch him in Mexico, and the Mexican authorities are keeping their distance.”
“I don’t understand why. The Mexican government can’t possibly condone his killing!”
“It’s not everyone in the government, but at this point, we can’t be sure who to trust, with the exception of our contact in Guadalajara, of course. He’s one of the finest men you
Alexandra sipped on her iced tea for a moment. “There’s a lot I don’t understand, and I know we’re far from finished, but something is nagging at me.”
“What is it?”
“Well, you said Santiago is a paid assassin, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“And I’m guessing you have proof.”
The muscles in Kevin’s neck tightened. “We do.”
“Then why can’t you arrest him? I know we don’t have jurisdiction in Mexico, but can’t you work with their government?”
“That one question pretty much sums up our entire problem. Just recently we thought Santiago’s freedom was finally coming to an end. One of our agents,” Kevin lowered his voice almost to a whisper, “Jon Dawkins went to Guadalajara in order to meet a top official of the Mexican government.”
Alexandra must have recognized the difficulty he was having relating the story. She sat unmoving and simply listened as he explained.
“Jon was a great agent,” he continued, looking blindly ahead. “He was also a brand-new father.” Kevin shook his head in order to focus. “He went to meet with the official and to orchestrate a plan to finally have Santiago deported.”
When Kevin quit speaking for several uncomfortable minutes, Alexandra finally asked, “What happened at the meeting?”
Kevin’s throat bulged as he swallowed hard. “Jon never made it that far. Santiago murdered him.”
“He what?” she asked, her tone unbelieving, then shook her head sadly. “But how did Santiago even know about Agent Dawkins?”
“It’s simple, but not any easier to comprehend. Someone inside got greedy, and for a few lousy bucks was bought off.”
“You mean someone inside the DEA or inside the Mexican government?”
“We don’t know.”
“So who do you trust? What can you do?”
“Try and be more careful, that’s all we can do. There is definitely a leak, but we don’t know where. We don’t think it’s coming from our end, especially because of how close we all were with Jon. But we also can’t take any chances. So only a tight, close-knit group is working on the Santiago case, and information is provided to them on a limited, need-to-know basis.”
“What does the official in Guadalajara plan to do?”
“Also lay low for a while. What else can he do? He can’t take any more chances either.”
Alexandra grimaced. “Hearing all this makes me feel so very selfish. There’s an entire world out there I’ve never given a second thought to. The things that concern me all seem so trivial.”
“You shouldn’t feel that way. We all have a place in this world.”
“I don’t feel like I have a place.”
“Maybe you are about to find one. We may never know for sure, but perhaps we were meant to find you so you can find yourself.”
“That’s a lot to digest.”
“I agree,” Kevin said. “What do you think at this point?”
Alexandra appeared hesitant. “Frankly, I don’t know what to think. This is all so weird, it seems surreal. How can two people look so much alike?”
Kevin shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe somewhere, somehow we all have a twin.”
“But you already have Daniela under complete surveillance. How can I be of any help?”
“Because we can’t control Daniela’s moves, but we can control yours,” Kevin explained.
“I would like to be of some help, but what could I possibly do? I have no training.”
“You wouldn’t have to be trained in the way you might think. We would simply be using you as bait. Just as a way to lure Santiago. You see, Miguel Santiago is an American citizen. We can’t touch him in Mexico, and the Mexican authorities are keeping their distance.”
“I don’t understand why. The Mexican government can’t possibly condone his killing!”
“It’s not everyone in the government, but at this point, we can’t be sure who to trust, with the exception of our contact in Guadalajara, of course. He’s one of the finest men you
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