Chapter 4 - The Burner Phone
The deafening roar of automatic gunfire filled the back of the swaying delivery truck.
The lead rescuer returned fire, his brass casings raining down on Marisol’s back.
Julian shielded her body with his own, ignoring the fresh blood soaking through his bandages.
The driver of the truck slammed on the brakes, causing the closest SUV to smash violently into their rear bumper.
The rescuer took advantage of the collision and fired a precise burst into the SUV’s engine block.
The enemy vehicle caught fire instantly and spun wildly out of control, crashing into a concrete barrier.
The second SUV swerved to avoid the wreckage and abandoned the pursuit.
The delivery truck sped onto the highway, leaving the burning chaos far behind them.
Marisol pushed herself out from under Julian, her breathing ragged and her ears ringing.
She stared at the mafia boss, refusing to let the adrenaline distract her from the truth.
"You are going to tell me exactly why a cartel leader has been stalking my family for five years," she demanded.
Julian leaned against the metal wall, his face pale from severe blood loss.
"I am not a cartel leader, Marisol," he said quietly.
"I am the head of the M.V.C., an underground syndicate dedicated to hunting people like Navarro."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cheap plastic burner phone.
"This is the phone Navarro used to coordinate the ambush at the abandoned house," Julian explained.
He handed the device to his medic, who immediately plugged it into a decryption tablet.
"If we can trace the last incoming call, we can find out exactly where Navarro is hiding Mateo," Julian told her.
The tablet beeped loudly after thirty seconds of rapid processing.
The medic looked at the screen, his expression twisting in absolute confusion.
"Boss, the last call didn't come from a cartel safehouse," the medic reported.
"Where did it come from?" Julian asked, wiping blood from his forehead.
"It pinged a landline registered to a commercial cleaning company in downtown Baltimore," the medic answered.
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Marisol felt her blood run cold as she recognized the address.
It was the exact location of her boss's office, meaning her employer was the one who had sold her brother to the cartel.
