Next Step

Maria tried several more times to get information out of Juan, but he remained silent, so we thanked the officers and left.

The moment we got back, Maria started shouting commands to MJ about locating everything he can get on Juan Herrera.

Badger and I took the opportunity to run to the gas station and fill up the SUVs' tanks. Mundane, yes, but it felt good to do something simple and easy to control. While I was {if husband==true}married{else}dating The Asshole{endif}, routine had been a comforting friend that allowed me to unwind from what could be a very uncertain job. As I realized how much I missed a simple routine, my admiration for people like Mira, who could live a life of continuous spontaneity, struck me with heartache, one again.

When we returned, Maria called a team meeting.

Firstly, David reported that he had eliminated twelve of the seventeen possible criminal contracts in Miguel's phone.

I was forced to admit that Carter and I hadn't identified our suspect. Though Carter couldn't help but mention that some guy named Christian hit on me during the surveillance.

Which brought us to the part about Juan Herrera. Maria explained how they had followed him and he shot at them before being apprehended by San José police. Then, she moved on to the part about the interrogation.

"Mister Herrera's responses changed from obstructive to gloating when he saw Agent Douglas," Maria explained. "He said that she was specifically targeted for abduction after it was discovered that she and her sister were the 'Chosen of Satan', whatever the little shit meant by that.

"Anyway, because she is a 'Chosen', she is more valuable, though he did slip up and mention that being a 'Chosen' wasn't enough to equal the value of 'the rich bitch', which is probably a reference to Miss Parker, though Miss Covington could also match that definition.

"Despite this, she was considered valuable enough that they contacted a special tracker, El Sabueso, to find her. And, Mister Herrera seemed confident that 'The Hound' would succeed."

Carter responded immediately, "Ma'am, you said the tracker was called 'El Sabueso' and the contact Miss Douglas and I were looking for at the cantina was also listed as 'Sabueso'. Isn't it likely that they're the same?"

"Very," Maria confirmed.

"I can't say whether he's the hound they were referring to or not," MJ finally chipped in, "but I can tell you, by the photos Carter took, that some guy used an alias when he approached Alex."

MJ put a photo of a foreign passport on the screen hanging from the nearby wall and said, "This is Constantino Rojas of Columbia. There's not much on him except that he was listed as a person of interest in a kidnapping in Puerto Rico eight months ago, but hasn't been in the US since."

"So what are the odds that Constantino is 'The Hound' and he's already on Alexandra's trail?" David asked.

"Too high to ignore," Badger assessed.

"Well, do we catch the hound or let it lead us back to its pack?" Katja asked, surprising us, given how little she typically said during group discussions.

"I don't think we have a choice," Badger answered. "The only way to follow him would be to hang Alex on a hook like bait and hope she doesn't get bitten," which was an unintentionally ironic statement on his part.

MJ spun the conversation in an unpleasant direction when he interjected, "What I don't get is this: why Alex? Supposedly it had something to do with her sister also being 'chosen' for something, but what does that mean?"

"It means that we're dealing with a bunch of superstitious fools who are less likely to ransom her than they are to either sacrifice her in some dark ritual or worship her as their demonic queen," Maria added unhelpfully.

At this point, David quirked an eyebrow at me and it was obvious what he was asking.