Inside the interrogation room, Sam took out his phone. "You've got a house in the suburbs, right? It's registered under your subordinate's name, but your wife and daughter live there. I heard you love them very much—never let them anywhere near your dirty business. But the real question is, do you love them more... or your father?"
"I'll kill you—!"
Mario's expression changed the moment he heard the mention of the suburban house. By the end of Sam's sentence, he exploded, lunging forward as if he wanted to tear Sam apart. But Bryan pulled him back with an arm around his neck, slamming him back down into the chair.
After a flurry of punches, Mario quieted down. His wide, bloodshot eyes were fixed on the shaky footage playing on Sam's phone screen.
…
On the highway, Owen had jumped out of the helicopter and immediately shot the driver of the SUV dead. Swaggart, Fred, Ghost, and Meathead split into two teams and advanced cautiously toward the vehicles.
The small-time leader in the SUV hesitated. In Juárez, anyone who could mobilize helicopters usually had military ties. So at first, the Lofta men didn't react—figuring it was the army. And the army didn't usually shoot on sight.
But Owen's group had already taken the upper hand. Any sudden move would be met with bullets—either from the men on the ground or the ones in the air.
"...()&￥#…"
One man tried to get out and explain in Spanish. The moment he stepped out, he was shot dead. A burst of short, rapid gunfire followed, and the men in the lead SUV were massacred.
What the hell was going on?
The Lofta soldiers didn't expect the people from the helicopter to start killing without a word. By the time they tried to react, it was too late. Bullets pierced the windows and their bodies alike. Everyone inside was dead—except for the mother and daughter curled up in the backseat.
The team's muzzles swept through the SUV, and upon confirming only the two females remained, they turned their weapons to the pickup behind.
The men in the pickup were frozen. They weren't elite soldiers—just young guys fed up with working hard for nothing, basically civilians with guns. They could intimidate regular people, sure, but facing trained professionals like Owen's team, they were immediately paralyzed with fear.
The two teams quickly approached the truck. The men inside stared at them in panic.
"Drop your weapons!" Ghost shouted, advancing with his weapon raised. He never let the barrel stray from the targets—any sign of resistance, and he would shoot without hesitation.
The pickup was surrounded. Now that they had Mario's wife and daughter, the rest were worthless—liabilities at best.
"Stand up!" Owen commanded, raising his hand. They might not understand English, but the gesture was universal. Some trembled, some looked lost, but all stood up.
"RATATATATA—!"
Owen opened fire. The others followed. The moment the Lofta men stood up, they were gunned down and fell back into the truck bed. Owen turned and walked toward the SUV, leaving his team to finish the job.
Behind him, Meathead and Ghost fired over the truck's sides, delivering a second round of shots to ensure no one survived.
Mario's wife and daughter were dragged out of the vehicle. The gags over their mouths had already been removed. Owen said nothing—just pressed his gun to the girl's head. The child shut her eyes in terror, trembling and too scared to cry out.
…
"No! No, they have nothing to do with this!"
Back in the interrogation room, Mario watched the scene unfold on the phone screen. His teeth clenched until they nearly cracked. Bryan held him down tightly, and he couldn't move.
"Tell me where Laita Sánchez is," Sam demanded.
"No, no—I won't talk!"
Mario shouted. Internally, he was breaking. On one side was his idolized father, on the other, his wife and daughter. He was willing to die for his father, but he couldn't bear watching his family be killed because of it.
"Tell me. I don't have time for your stalling. Those people you saw? They were Lofta men. We just rescued your family from them. Right now, their lives belong to me. You don't want us to finish what they started, do you? Tell me."
Sam's voice grew louder, becoming a roar by the end.
"No! I can't—"
"Fire."
BANG BANG—"AHHHHH!"
Sam gave no time for deliberation. Owen didn't actually shoot the mother and daughter—both bullets landed at the girl's feet. But it was enough to send her screaming in terror.
That scream was the final straw.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Stop!"
"Three-second countdown. Next shot goes through her skull. Tell me. Where is he?"
Sam didn't let up, pushing harder.
The muzzle was now aimed at the girl's head. Mario's eyes went wide with horror.
"Three…"
"No, no—I'll give you money! All of it!"
"Two…"
"You can't do this! They're innocent—!"
"One…"
"FUCK YOU! You bastards! I'll kill you! I'll kill your whole fucking families! I—"
"Fire."
"NOOOOO—! I'll talk! I'll talk! He's at the Maryland Estate! He's hiding at the Maryland Estate! I told you! Let them go! Please—let them go!"
Mario was sobbing now, completely broken.
Becky, who had been listening in, had already begun pinpointing the Maryland Estate's location. And once Mario had cracked, he couldn't stop. No more torture was necessary—Sam and Bryan asked, and he answered everything.
…
"He talked."
On the other end, Owen heard Bryan's update and finally lowered his weapon. He led the team back to the chopper. The Little Birds lifted off and vanished into the sky.
At the same time, Becky's voice came through on the comms. "I found it. It checks out. There's visible armed security around the estate."
With Laita Sánchez's exact location confirmed, the rest would be straightforward.
Mario, watching from his monitor as Owen's team released his wife and daughter, collapsed to the ground, completely spent. In this line of work, this was always how it ended. He knew he wouldn't survive in these people's hands—but at least his family would.
Sunrise, sunset—
The next day, another body appeared beneath the overpass beside the government building. This time, the janitors were no longer surprised—but the stir it caused was even greater.
The corpse was Mario Sánchez, a core figure of the Sánchez cartel, the highest-ranking casualty so far in the war between the two groups.
Just like that, the fierce firefight between the two factions suddenly ceased. But everyone could feel the oppressive tension beneath this eerie calm—like the still air before a hurricane. And when the storm came, it would tear everything apart.
______
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