Read Locked and Loaded for Free Online Page B

said, his voice straining with emotion. “Or do you want to have done what we can’t really do under law enforcement … if DELTA Force is handling a terrorist threat, it’s an act of war, right?”
    Hank smoothed a palm over his bald spot as he looked between Sage, Dan, and Anthony. “Dan’s got a point, Sage. How many times have you seen these kinds of guys wiggle out of sentencing or run their empires from behind bars? Besides, I wouldn’t mind having an extra pair of eyes backing up my star agent while all this crap goes down … especially some guy from DELTA Force. I want you walking outta there in one piece, Wagner. It was bad enough that we were dealing with cutthroat Colombians. Now that we’ve got the Taliban and possibly Al Qaeda in the mix … sheesh.”
    Sage released a huff of frustration and kept a penetrating gaze on Anthony. “Fine. Whatever. But when this all goes down, I don’t want to hear about a State Department deal or some other crap that allows Salazar and his brother to walk. I want the whole thing toppled and those two rat bastards either in prison or on a slab with tags on their toes—we clear?”
    “Affirmative.” Anthony lifted his chin, understanding her indignation about his involvement, even if he didn’t particularly like it. “I think you saw that I was prepared to do the latter before the former.”
    Sage paused. “I’ll give you that, Captain. Gotta admit that I like your style. C4 … not bad for a day’s work; just make sure I’m not around when you detonate.”
    Her wry comment made him smile a slight half-smile, despite his resolve not to.
    “Roger that, ma’am. But an extra guy to watch your six and to lock and load on a target is never viewed as a bad thing in my unit. I suspect the same would be true in yours, if we’d met under better circumstances.”
    “All right. Fine,” Sage said in a tight, resigned tone. “We have a plan … you’ll work your way in as a distributor via Special Agent Michael Alvarez’s recommendation—you’re his cousin. Maybe you’ll be positioned to buy the lion’s share of the product or something, so we can keep tabs on all that product, which we don’t want out on the open market once this sting goes down. That will let you know when phase two is about to happen—phase one is the shipment; phase two is when Roberto has to flip it. Tell your commander, or whatever your reporting structure is, that you’re going to have to have cash to flash. Suitcases of it in the millions. Not to mention some expensive clothes and a decent car, not too over the top since you’re lower level, but enough to say you’re doing all right.”
    Now he had a problem. He’d have to get word back, work through channels fast, and be ready. This was way beyond their standard operating protocols and fell more under the purview of law enforcement agencies or Intelligence. But as he stared at Special Agent Wagner, somehow going outside the dotted lines seemed worth it.
    “We can do that for him,” Dan said in a hesitant tone. “Alvarez can hook him up—we’ve got a lot of stash up in New York.”
    “Whatever.” Just like that she abruptly turned away from him and looked at Dan hard. “Meanwhile, can a girl get a lift to South Beach? I’ve been gone long enough already.”
    Dan hesitated. “Sure.”
    Again, nervous glances passed between the two male DEA agents and Sage. It was clear that her boss didn’t want to discuss the matter of DELTA Force involvement on their case any further; it was a done deal, which he’d no doubt have to argue about on a solo drive with Sage Wagner all the way to South Beach. Special Agent Jennings obviously didn’t want to be alone in a vehicle with Special Agent Wagner to catch a ration of shit behind his helpful recommendations.
    “I can do the drop-off,” Anthony finally said, breaking the strained silence in the room. Keeping his focus on Sage, he spoke to the group. “I want to get inside