A party was underway in Brownsville. Back at Luca’s house, the men celebrated a successful crossing into Mexico and back to the United States. Their passports had been stamped, and not a single border agent raised a suspicious brow. It helped that Luca and both border patrol officers had been paid well and the documents were top quality.
John glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Staring back at him was a man with black hair and a fake mustache. He carefully eased the mustache from his upper lip and carried it into the bedroom he shared with Curt, then he placed it in a tin box. Rubbing away the remaining glue that stuck to his face, he returned to the living room and joined the other two.
“Check it out, Luca. John is clean-shaven again.” The men laughed as Curt twisted the cap off another beer and handed it to his brother. “Maybe I should do the same. This damn mustache makes me sneeze.”
John addressed Luca. “Can you go to a store and pick up a burner phone for me later?”
“Of course. No problem at all.”
“Good. Maybe after dinner.”
Luca excused himself to answer his buzzing phone. The screen door’s broken spring caused it to slam behind Luca as he stepped out to the porch.
John waited until he saw Luca cross the driveway then began talking to Curt. “I’m putting the order in place to have both guards from the arsenal killed. Trent Harvey is already dead, and now it’s the guards turn to meet up with foul play.” John looked up and to his left as he thought. “So that leaves—”
Curt leaned closer to his brother and whispered. “It leaves Conway, Cruz, Luca, his two cousins, and the two border patrol officers.”
John let out a low whistle. “Wow, that’s a lot of people, but it needs to be done. Conway and Cruz will go last. They can take care of Mauricio and Antonio up north, and we’ll take care of Luca and the border patrol officers here.”
“Then who’ll kill Cruz and Conway?”
“We will when we return to Chicago to take out McCord.”
Luca crossed the porch and entered the house. “That was Antonio.”
John eyed him suspiciously. “Is your cousin going rogue? He deals with Conway and Cruz, and they’re supposed to pass along information. There’s never supposed to be direct communication with the hired guns.”
Luca shrugged. “I’m sorry, John, and I don’t know why he called. Maybe he was proud of what they did today and wanted to boast.”
“Yeah, and I’ll discuss that with Cruz. Calling here directly isn’t allowed. It leaves a communications trail from his phone to yours. You are related, damn it!” John raked his hair, and a red flush climbed up his neck. “So what did he say?”
“That he and Mauricio laid a good beating on McCord at his house. Apparently, two security company men pulled up in a work van just as he and Mauricio arrived. They put a beatdown on them first, impersonated them, and when McCord showed up, they worked him over.”
The image of McCord being beaten made John smile. “Were they wearing their masks?”
“Antonio said they were.”
“Good. Very good, but nobody that’s related to you ever calls you directly. Understand?”
“I do, sir, and again, I apologize for my cousin.”
John chugged his beer. “I’ll make sure Cruz takes their phones away. He can pick up burners for them to use when necessary. Your cousins were allowed one pass, and they just used it.”