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off taking Salazar down, trying to see where it led. It just keeps getting bigger. If the stars align correctly on this one, Captain, for the first time on US soil, we’ll have a wholesaler who is almost as wealthy as the main Colombian manufacturer. All of the drug enforcement and law enforcement agencies have a lot at stake here on this one, Captain—no disrespect to DELTA Force.”
    Anthony nodded. “Understood, sir. We’ll do what we can to not flush your traps, but we also have a job to do. We cannot allow a weapons deal to go down that will endanger our troops or harm American and ally citizens.”
    Sage lifted her chin, telegraphing a nonverbal thanks toward Hank for his support, but still clearly wary of the new variable in the game.
    “Fine, Captain,” she said, glaring at him. “Here’s where the trip wires are. I want you to know, so you guys don’t accidentally blow anything we’re working on. Salazar has gone behind Guzman’s back for a silent power grab. If Salazar gets pure product in from Assad at half the cost he has to pay Guzman for it, he’s pulled a quiet, bloodless, financial coup—eliminating the middleman.”
    “And Assad needs cash fast to keep his terror cells in weapons all around the globe, so he’s willing to sell cheap,” Anthony said with a nod. “We’ve been trying to broker a buy as Colombians to get one of us in close to Assad, hence my alias—Juan Morales. But we never got in close enough to make the deal click. Then we found out about the connection between Assad and Salazar, and pursued it here. And you guys decided to bum-rush your way into Salazar’s compound rather than finesse it.” Sage shook her head and folded her arms again. “You could have blown the entire operation. Just like Intelligence does, we have a lot invested in this, Captain. A helluva lot.”
    “Then get me in your way so we can get a drop on when the shipment is going to go down—and so we can hit them before they even know what’s happening,” Anthony said, folding his arms. This woman disturbed him, down to the marrow of his bones. She was gorgeous, deadly, talented, and patriotic … an odd combination he’d never seen before now.
    She shook her head, challenging him. “Not possible. Just—”
    “We’ve got a man on the inside up in the Bronx, who’s currently one of Salazar’s top distributors,” Dan Jennings offered. “Our guy, Agent Alvarez, has been working undercover doing the buys from Salazar. Maybe we can have him vouch for Captain Davis?” Dan glanced at Sage and then Hank before hurriedly pressing his point when her eyes narrowed. “Salazar is going to have to do a quick, surgical strike to turn over his new product and to get cash in for it so he can make his moves before Guzman catches on. Salazar’s got a strong connection in New York who can get it through Canada. But if we take his guy out, he’ll need help. Then all we’d have to do is get our embedded guy to say that Captain Davis, aka Juan Morales, is his new righthand man, and he’s got the ties to get it up and out. It’ll be one of our strongest plants yet.”
    If looks could kill, the glare Sage Wagner shot in Special Agent Dan Jennings’s direction would have left him DOA. Anthony suppressed a smile.
    “Whaduya say, Wagner?” Hank hedged. “If Salazar is making a huge buy from Assad, he’s definitely gotta move the weight fast and get it shuffled into his pipeline before Guzman gets wise to it—especially if the cut quality goes up substantially. That means he’s got to rally the distributors and get them to push it through their networks to flip it quick. We could use the extra boots on the ground to take out the distributors at the same time we bring down Salazar and his men.”
    “The only extraction we want is Assad and his men for future intel, and we have no problem doing what is necessary.” Anthony said, staring at Sage.
    “Do you really want to put these bastards behind bars?” Dan