“We’ve got to roll.”
With his gun well hidden beneath his sport jacket, Mauricio grabbed his cell phone off the table in the room of the two-bit motel and waited for his brother to finish in the bathroom.
“What’s up?” Antonio adjusted his pants and followed Mauricio out the door.
“Cruz just called. We’re checking out of this shithole and staying with him for a while. He wants us to drive by the detective’s house and see if he’s home. Maybe he’s nursing his dog back to health.”
Antonio snickered. “Or digging a hole in the backyard for it. Then what?”
“Wing it, I guess. Cruz said to wait for a good opportunity to pounce on McCord and give him a taste of our Vasquez medicine. Of course, we’ll have our faces covered.”
“Sounds like the perfect day to me. Let’s hit it.”
Less than ten minutes later, Mauricio pulled to the curb two houses away from Jesse’s. Within seconds, a van with the name Windy City Security on the side panel rolled to a stop just beyond the McCord driveway.
“Check it out,” Antonio said. “Looks like the detective is getting worried about his well-being. He’s having a security system installed.”
“And we can work with that.” Mauricio stepped out and closed the car door quietly.
“What are you doing?”
“Being Detective McCord. I’ll distract the driver while you sneak up on the passenger side. We’ll catch them off guard and knock them out, then we’ll take their place and be ready when the detective shows up.”
Antonio slipped out the passenger door without making a sound then jerked his chin toward the van. “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
As Mauricio approached the van, Antonio sprang into action. Scurrying to the back of the vehicle, he waited, and as soon as Mauricio began talking to the driver, Antonio grabbed the passenger door handle and yanked it open. A fast swing with the butt of his gun was all it took. The installer on the passenger side was out cold. Mauricio did the same, and the driver slumped over the steering wheel.
“Climb in, Antonio, and let’s toss them in the back. They were obviously expecting McCord to show up.”
The men moved quickly, pulled the polo shirts over the heads of the unconscious men, and replaced their own shirts with the Windy City ones.
“We have to jam something into their mouths.” Mauricio pointed at a wheel of speaker wire. “Tie their hands behind their backs with that.”
“Here’s a box of shop rags,” Antonio said. “That’ll work to keep them quiet.” He pushed a rag into each man’s mouth and made sure their hands and feet were tied.
“Shit! A yellow Camaro just turned this way two blocks back. Run to the car and get the masks. We need them now!”
Antonio bolted from the van, ran to the car, and grabbed the masks from the footwell of the passenger seat. He was back within seconds. Mauricio handed him a shop rag.
“Wipe yourself off. You’re sweating like a pig. Be sure to look down when McCord passes by, and we’ll make our move as soon as he pulls into the garage.”
“Ready and raring to go, brother.”
With the clipboard in hand as if he were studying the work order, Mauricio watched discreetly through the driver’s-side mirror. The Camaro put on its blinker and slowed down. “He’s turning in.”
Antonio dropped his head lower but watched when the car passed the van. The overhead lifted, and the car pulled into the garage.
Mauricio pushed open the door handle. “Put on your mask and grab your gun. We have to take him by surprise now before he has a chance to step out of the garage.”
With their masks lowered, the men jumped from the van just as Jesse opened his driver’s-side door. As he looked up, confusion covered his face while Mauricio cocked his fist and drove it into Jesse’s chin. Stunned and staggering backward against his car, Jesse took another blow that buckled his knees and sent him to the garage floor. He swatted his hip for his gun, but a second man kicked it away and sent it spinning across the concrete floor. Then a boot to the back of his head knocked Jesse senseless.
Mauricio pointed at the disabled detective. “Grab his cell phone and let’s go.”
Antonio dropped Jesse’s phone into his pocket as the men pulled off the masks, ducked under the closing garage door, and retrieved their shirts from the van. They casually walked to their car and drove away as if nothing had happened.
“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about. That was awesome!” Antonio said. “That prick had no clue what was about to happen, and I would have enjoyed beating his ass a little longer.”
Mauricio laughed. “Me too, but we were instructed to send a message, not to kill the bastard. John wants that privilege himself.”
“Where to now?”
Mauricio lifted his hip and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s Cruz’s address. Program it into your phone and have the GPS lead the way. He’s expecting us.”