“I’m sure he won’t object, sir,” said Jack, “as long as there is no chance of it being detected.”

“Good. You better get started. I’ll notify Drug Section myself. I’ll have them send a team and contact our LO in Bogota to meet you in Cali.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Jack.

Isaac looked pensive, then said, “You will both have to tread carefully. Heed the advice from the LO. Colombia averages over a hundred kidnappings a month, mostly Colombians, but some foreigners as well. Safety comes first. If something doesn’t seem right, I want everyone back here, pronto.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied.

On the way out of Isaac’s office, Jack leaned over to Laura and whispered, “I hope Elvis likes redheads!”

Isaac waited until Jack and Laura left his office before placing a call to Drug Section. They would send a team of four.

Isaac then called Staff Sergeant Legg in the Anti-Corruption Unit. They would be sending representatives as well, in advance and on a separate flight. Elvis would not be one of them.

Isaac also informed Legg that waiver forms giving permission for electronic monitoring would be signed, with Jack believing that he was in control of whether to use it. Legg smiled. Dirty pool, perhaps ... but legal. In view of this, it was decided that they would also send two men from a more technical unit. Men whose training and reputation indicated they could plant a bug up your butt without you knowing it.

chapter thirty-five

It was eleven o’clock at night when Jack, Laura, and Damien checked into their rooms at the Intercontinental Cali Hotel under fake names. Their flight from Vancouver had taken ten and a half hours. It took another hour to clear customs and then half an hour to rent a car. Despite this, with the two-hour time difference and an added boost of adrenalin, none of them felt like sleeping.

They adjourned to the hotel bar and all ordered a local beer called Aguila. Jack noticed that four members from the Vancouver RCMP Drug Section were already seated in the bar, but they pretended not to know each other. Jack and Laura were scheduled to meet with them the following morning upon the arrival of the RCMP liaison officer stationed in Bogota.

“Narcs?” asked Damien, with a nod of his head toward the other table.

Jack nodded silently.

“They get to pack pieces?”

“Not allowed,” said Laura. “None of us have any authority to pack heat.”

“Trust me,” said Jack, “the local authorities covering us will be armed to the teeth.”

“You, I sort of trust,” said Damien. “The local authorities, I don’t!”

“Tomorrow, when we meet Ramirez ... how much do you trust him?” asked Laura.

“Diego? Well, he sounded okay when I called him last week. A little surprised but seemed friendly enough.”

“We’ve got to do this fast,” said Jack. “In and out quick.”

“Just like a boy losing his virginity,” said Damien. “You don’t have to tell me. Can you imagine what Carlos would do if he knew I was here? Fuck!” He glanced at Laura and said, “Sorry about that ... but think about it. Carlos is less than an hour’s drive away. I’d be happy if we could fly back tonight!”

“Any chance of us meeting Ramirez someplace public?” asked Jack.

“I doubt it,” said Damien. “His place is probably safer. Lots of bodyguards and less chance of some rival trying to take him out. If he did agree to a restaurant, his guards would kick everyone else out and the whole place would be jittery.”

Jack looked into Laura’s eyes and knew they were both thinking the same thing. If anything went wrong tomorrow, there would be no hope of a cover team being able to extract them — at least, not alive.

“Down here, you also got to really watch for bikes,” warned Damien. “Small ones, like Yamahas or Suzukis, with two riders. One guy drives and the other one shoots. They can disappear in traffic before the victim hits the ground. Real pros.”

Jack took a sip of beer and thought about the men who killed Holly’s husband. He knew the sound of motorcycles would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“I’m going to call it a night,” said Laura. “I want to give Elvis a call before I turn in.”

Jack nodded. He would call Natasha as well. Tell her how much I love her ... but try not to have her worry...

It was nine o’clock the following morning when Jack and Laura went to a room two floors above where they were staying to meet with the other RCMP investigators.

Jack shook hands with the RCMP liaison officer, who introduced himself as Jean-Louie. He knew Jean-Louie by reputation as being a top-notch undercover operator before taking on the job of foreign liaison officer. He was also fluent in French, English, and Spanish.

Jack felt the firm handshake and saw the flash of a smile as Jean-Louie’s eyes met with his.

“I know you by reputation,” said Jean-Louie. “Old-school operator. Not too many of us around. I’m glad our paths have finally crossed.”

“Likewise,” replied Jack.

Jack watched as Jean-Louie shook hands with Laura. He admired him for the work he was doing. His own paranoia of working narcotics in Colombia for only a day or two was bad enough. It was hard to imagine how Jean-Louie could handle the pressure on a full-time basis.

Jean-Louie then gave a thumbnail sketch of Diego Ramirez and the local area. Ramirez controlled an army of men in Cali, which was located in the Valle de Cauca, the heart of Colombia’s cocaine business.

A short distance away to the north, a place the locals called Norte del Cauca was home to several militant factions who protected the cocaine labs in return for an infusion of cash to support their war with the Colombian government. Over a thousand people in this vicinity had been murdered in six months because of rivalry in the cocaine trade.

Ramirez owned a chain of stores selling leather goods, including shoes and jackets. He was also known to be heavily invested in the petroleum industry in Costa Rica, where he laundered his money. In short, he was one of the top drug lords around and had been targeted unsuccessfully by the DEA for years.

Jean-Louie said he basically trusted the special police unit that came with him to provide protection in Cali, but even they would be kept in the dark about the real identity of Jack and Laura.

“And our friend, obviously,” said Laura.

Jean-Louie nodded, then pointed his finger at Jack and Laura and said, “Under no circumstances are you to leave Cali! It will be difficult to provide cover here, but the city is big enough that they are used to strangers. Nearby cities, like Buga and Palmira, are infested with spies. People who are the eyes and ears of various drug lords. Any cover team put in these areas would be quickly identified and you would be executed ... quickly, if you were lucky.”

“Our friend says Ramirez lives on the northwest edge of the city,” said Jack. “That is where we intend to meet with him. From what I understand, Ramirez is not anxious to leave his own place. Travel elsewhere should not be a problem.”

Jean-Louie reached for his briefcase and said, “I’ll show you some aerial photographs of his estate. He’s situated on forty acres with the best security money can buy. He has a tennis court, a couple of pools, and it is even reported that he has a bowling alley in his home.”

“Sounds like he is managing to eke out a living,” said Laura, before smiling.

“This guy is big,” replied Jean-Louie. His voice was serious and there was little doubt that he was worried. “I’ll get guys in the vicinity to try and follow in the event you drive someplace, like to a restaurant or something. Just remember they can’t get too close. You’d be dead if they’re spotted. As far as being at his place ... nobody could ever get to you in time if something did go wrong. So understand that you’ll all be on your own when you’re there.”