There really was only one option: the path of least resistance. Logan was there to rescue Pinilla, not kill him, but the woman in bed with the undercover agent had no way of knowing that.
Before she even had a chance to scream, Logan took aim and fired. The dart gun had a silencer but the noise was still stark in the otherwise quiet house. Logan could only hope it wouldn’t alert anyone else. He rushed forward and grabbed the woman, placing his hand firmly over her mouth to muffle the scream he knew was coming. Her smothered cries were quiet, probably not enough to be heard outside the room they were in.
Within seconds, the tranquilliser started to take effect and her resistance and cries died down. Logan let her go and she flopped onto the bed as she battled through her last seconds of consciousness.
But her wails had been enough to rouse Pinilla from his sleep.
He murmured and groggily opened his eyes. Logan quickly loaded another dart into the gun and pointed it at Pinilla, who was slowly coming to. After a few seconds, he must have finally got it because he suddenly sprang up in the bed.
Logan put a finger to his lips.
‘Pinilla, Mackie sent me. Don’t be alarmed.’
‘What the–’
Pinilla looked down at the woman next to him. His expression turned to one of horror.
‘It’s okay,’ Logan whispered. ‘She’s just unconscious. She’ll wake up with nothing more than a headache.’
‘Why are you here?’ Pinilla hissed. His anger was unmistakable.
‘I’m here to get you out. It’s over. Time to go home.’
‘You’re fucking kidding me, right?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know what this place is?’
‘Yes,’ Logan said.
‘Three of the cartel’s most senior soldiers are in the rooms next to us. They’ll kill us all. They’ll skin us alive, for fuck’s sake. I’m really not kidding about that. I’ve seen it done!’
‘Not today they won’t.’
‘Are you serious? Do you know what they do to their enemies around here? They’ll cut our fucking heads off and piss down our necks!’
‘Then I suggest we go.’
Logan reached out and grabbed hold of Pinilla’s arm. Pinilla quickly snapped his arm away.
‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m not throwing away three years of my life at the drop of a hat.’
Logan sighed. But then, he could understand Pinilla’s point. He certainly wouldn’t be happy if someone turned up out of the blue to tell him a half-run mission was getting canned.
‘I’m sorry. But it’s over,’ Logan said. ‘Those are Mackie’s orders. It’s too dangerous.’
‘Damn fucking right it’s dangerous.’
‘You’re coming with me one way or another,’ Logan said, pointing the gun at Pinilla.
Pinilla stared at the dart gun. Logan could see the man mulling over his position.
‘I’m not going anywhere without her,’ Pinilla said, looking over at his woman.
‘That’s not the deal.’
‘I don’t give a fuck what your deal is. She comes with me. I’m not leaving her to the wolves. Just what do you think they’d do to her when they find out I’ve scarpered?’
‘It’s not my problem,’ Logan said.
‘It is now.’
Logan let out another long sigh. The fact was, he really didn’t want to have to use a tranquilliser dart on Pinilla. If he did that, he’d have to drag the man out of there. He wanted to escape with Pinilla back over the wall, under cover. The cartel wouldn’t know Pinilla was missing until morning, by which point they would be long gone.
But it looked like Pinilla wasn’t going to give Logan that option.
‘If you hadn’t shot her, it would have been easier,’ Pinilla snapped, as if catching on to Logan’s thoughts.
‘Who else is in the house?’ Logan said. ‘How many men?’
Pinilla rattled off three names. Logan tried to hide his reaction. He recognised them all. They were notorious, kingpins of the cartel. And Pinilla was right there, living among them. The intelligence Logan had seen had suggested that senior soldiers and their families came to this place, but to have so many of them there at the same time was a huge surprise.
And, potentially, a huge opportunity.
‘I’ve been doing this for three years,’ Pinilla said. ‘I’m not just some errand boy. I’m part of the inner circle. Now do you realise why it would be foolish to run?’
‘You’re right. It would be foolish to run,’ Logan said.
Pinilla raised an eyebrow. ‘What does that mean?’
‘What’s her name?’ Logan asked.
‘Erika.’
‘Okay, you take Erika. Get her to one of the vehicles. I’m presuming you know where the keys are?’
‘Of course. What are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to make sure the coast is clear.’
‘You can’t kill them all!’ Pinilla protested. ‘Do you know what that would do? You’ll start a goddamn war.’
But Logan was barely listening. Mackie had sent him to prove himself. This was his chance.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Both men jumped and spun around.
‘Is everything okay in there?’ said a man in Spanish.
Pinilla began to respond but the man wasn’t waiting. He stuck his head around the door.
It was the last thing he ever did.
Logan grabbed hold of the rifle at his side, brought the barrel up and fired a quick double-tap. Even with the suppressor, the noise of the rifle was piercing in the quiet house.
‘I guess there’s only one choice now,’ Logan said. ‘You need to get Erika out of here. Use your cover for as long as you can.’
‘Fuck!’ Pinilla hissed in frustration.
Logan was already moving quickly toward the bedroom door. He stared down at the man he had just killed as he walked over the threshold. It wasn’t one of the three men Pinilla had named.
‘How many guards are there?’ Logan said.
‘Seven. Well, no, six now.’
The four on the gate plus two others, Logan thought. Together with the three senior soldiers Pinilla had named, there were still nine men to get past.
Logan looked out of the room, scanning the corridor left and right. There was still no noise, no alarms or shouting coming from outside. But he had to assume that anyone else in the house would by now be on the alert.
He crept along the corridor to the next bedroom. As he reached the door, he stopped and listened for just a second before swinging the door open quickly and rushing into the room, his speed making him a more difficult target.
The room had much the same layout as Pinilla’s. Logan spotted two figures in the bed at the far side. He quickly lifted his gun and fired. The two bullets hit the man in the chest. He never even got the chance to open his eyes. The woman he had been sleeping with jumped up, screaming. Logan reached for the dart gun and fired at her. Then he turned and left, her wailing cries filling the room.
Any hope of a silent escape was now well and truly void.
As Logan edged back into the corridor, he heard quick footsteps approaching from his right, where the staircase was. He pointed the rifle and waited. At the first sight of the bobbing heads coming up the stairs, he fired again. Three shots in total, two more kills.
Logan was about to turn when he was grabbed suddenly from behind by thick, strong arms. Logan winced as the man squeezed on his neck. He reached down for the hunting knife on his belt and slashed it across the man’s arm. The man screamed in pain and let go.
Logan spun around, taking only a second to adjust himself. He plunged the knife into the man’s chest and pushed the blade as far as it would go. The man grimaced and spluttered as the knife tore into flesh and pierced his lung. Logan twisted the knife before pulling it out. A spatter of blood hit him in the face. The man slumped to the floor gasping and wheezing. Logan looked down at him.
Only one target left. Plus four more guards.
Logan was about to move toward the next bedroom when the door suddenly sprang open. A man jumped out, firing a handgun. Logan threw himself to the floor. Bullets ricocheted off the walls nearby. White paint and plaster dust filled the air. Logan fired a shot. The bullet caught the man in the ankle and he tumbled to the ground, screaming. The next bullet hit him in the face and he went silent.
For a few moments, there wasn’t a sound to be heard. Three of the cartel’s most senior soldiers had been eliminated in about sixty seconds.
Logan knew the fight wasn’t over yet, though. He jumped up, turned around and headed back toward the staircase. As he reached Pinilla’s room, he saw the undercover agent was still in there. He was dressed, trying his best to rouse his naked girlfriend.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Logan said.
‘I’m not taking her out there like this,’ Pinilla said.
‘There’s no time. Grab her and go.’
Logan headed off to the stairs, his rifle held out. He retraced his steps down to the ground floor, then back to the side door. When he reached it, he peered out into the courtyard. There was still an eerie silence outside. Logan had thought the guards would have gone into red alert – sirens blazing, spotlights searching, men shouting as they rampaged through the property. But there was nothing of the kind.
Logan took a step out. Just as he moved his head to get a look at the gates, there was a snapping noise as a bullet smacked into the wall an inch from Logan’s ear. He quickly retreated, realising the shot must have come from one of the two snipers in the watchtower. There was no way he was getting out of the house that way.
Crouching low, he headed back and moved into the first room he came to – a lounge. He crept up to the window, across which thin drapes were drawn. He pulled himself up against the wall. Using the tip of the rifle’s barrel, he lifted the corner of a curtain just an inch. He had to assume the two guards would be busily scoping the entire building, but he seemed to get away with the twitching curtain. Without further disturbing the drape, Logan moved into position behind the rifle and peered out through his scope. He only needed a slight adjustment to spot the guard tower some thirty yards away.
With his target fixed, he pulled on the trigger twice, then quickly moved the barrel half an inch to the right. Two more shots. Only two men left.
Just then, Logan heard a car engine starting.
Pinilla.
Logan jumped to his feet and rushed back toward the side exit. He only quickly glanced about this time as he ran outside. He had no idea where the remaining guards were. He just hoped they weren’t in sniper positions. The watchtower was clear. He was certain of that. Most likely if he contended with them at all, it would be a melee attack, so moving with speed was as good an option as any. And Pinilla was ready to go, so moving fast was definitely Logan’s preferred option.
When Logan reached the courtyard, he turned and sprinted toward the waiting Jeep. Pinilla was in the driver’s seat. He turned just as Logan approached and leaned over and pushed open the passenger door. Logan jumped in and Pinilla pressed on the accelerator. The car jerked forward, Logan’s legs dangling out of the still-open door.
Logan adjusted himself, sitting properly on the seat, and reached out to shut the door. He looked up at Pinilla. The undercover agent had a sour scowl covering his face. He was fuming.
‘What happened?’ Logan said.
Pinilla didn’t say anything. He just indicated behind him. Logan looked. He saw Erika sprawled on the back seat. She was still unconscious. Pinilla had managed to cover her naked body with a thin nightgown but it was covered in thick, wet blood.
She’d been shot.
‘Shit,’ Logan said.
Pinilla snarled as he pressed his foot further onto the accelerator, pushing Logan right back in his seat. The two men braced themselves as they crashed through the wooden gates. The impact sent a painful jolt through Logan’s body but the Jeep was barely damaged.
Logan looked behind as they sped away, but then winced when the back window of the Jeep suddenly shattered and glass shards filled the air. The car swerved this way and that. Logan rocked in his seat. They were being fired upon. The two remaining guards. At first Logan thought a tyre had blown, the way the car had violently swerved. But as he looked over at Pinilla, he realised the situation was much worse than that. Pinilla had a gushing wound in his neck.
‘Just keep going!’ Logan screamed at him. ‘You’re going to be fine. Just keep going!’
Pinilla had one hand up against his neck, trying to stem the tidal flow of blood. Logan looked at the man’s groggy eyes. Pinilla was already losing consciousness. The hand he had on the wheel was clumsily steering this way and that. His eyes were glazed and closing.
Logan sat back in his seat and braced himself for the inevitable. And in the few seconds that remained before the car ploughed into the jungle, Logan couldn’t help but think one thing: he’d failed.
Mackie had given him the chance. It had been there for the taking. For the first time, the opportunity had been there to really prove his worth. But he’d got greedy. He’d seen a means to take more from the mission than Mackie had asked for; he’d killed three of the cartel’s high-ranking soldiers just like that!
In the end, it was all for nothing.
Because Logan knew, even before the oncoming collision with a thick tree, that Leo Pinilla was dead.