“Since it happened two days ago, chances are it won’t be newsworthy anymore,” Luca muttered. He switched on the television and scrolled to the correct channel. They watched for five minutes but no mention was made of the Senator or his daughter.
“Who are you calling?” Marco was quickly losing his temper. If Rocco and Stefano cost him the Chairmanship, there would be hell to pay.
“I dated a CNN investigative political reporter, Sheena Muller, a couple of years ago. We’ve been keeping in touch. If Wilson’s daughter was found, she’d know.”
Marco kept pacing as he listened to the conversation. He slashed his hand through the air to indicate that Luca must cut short the chit chat. He was itching to get back home, especially since he’d been able to clinch the deal with the corrupt bank manager of Freebank in Sierra Leone. The thirteenth largest diamond ever to be found had been in safekeeping there since its discovery in 2017 by a Christian pastor in the Kono district.
The government had been holding onto it ever since with the hope to sell it at the top of the market. Their greed would become the Boneiro family’s good fortune once he supplied a fake diamond to replace the real one.
“No reports on the return of the senator’s daughter anywhere. He’s keeping a low profile since she was kidnapped.”
“It can’t be a coincidence. Rocco and Stefano must be involved.” Marco’s gaze drifted out to the horizon. “Maybe I’m being overcautious but the fact that you can’t get hold of anyone is very concerning.”
“I agree, but my hands are tied for as long as we’re here. I should go back home so I can check all their popular hangouts.” Luca noticed the way his father’s shoulders tensed. It had taken hard work to get the mighty boss of the Boneiro Mafia to acknowledge that he was a competent underboss— a bigger effort at the time to be appointed as such. It infuriated him that Marco still mistrusted his capabilities.
“We’ll both leave.” Having made his decision, Marco strode toward the staircase. “Make sure the pilot is ready to take off in an hour. I want to be home by tomorrow.” He hesitated as he looked at Luca over his shoulder. “On second thought, have him file a flight plan to include Acapulco. I’ll join your mother there until you find out what the fuck those imbeciles have done. I can do with a short vacation and spoil Isabella while I’m at it.”
Jared watched Brock and Tanner interrogating Rocco Boneiro through the one-way mirror. It had been two days since they’d taken in the two brothers for questioning. Jared didn’t like the drawn-out process. Although they were given extra judicial powers in extracting information, the Cobras attempted to keep within the boundaries of the law so that the FBI would have an airtight case with which to bring relevant charges. As it happened, they weren’t any closer to finding out where Marco Boneiro was hiding.
Gone was the quirky smile that readily flashed across the thirty-five-year old’s face the first time Jared had stepped through the steel door. He was more resilient than he looked at first glance but once in the hot seat, every man had his breaking point. A couple of cuffs against his chin hadn’t done the trick, he’d continued to taunt the much larger man with a dry chuckle.
“They’re stronger than I thought.”
“Yeah, I suppose it’s the family name that gives them the extra courage.” Cruz joined him in front of the mirror. “At least Adam managed to crack one of the soldiers.”
“He did?” Jared asked without taking his eyes from the scene in front of him. Brock had shifted tactics. From personal experience, Jared knew that playing good cop bad cop elicited better results.
“Antonio Garcia gave up the names of the two soldiers who escaped. I’ve got the team doing background checks on them.”
“What about facial recognition? I don’t want Boneiro alerted of his sons’ detainment.” Jared leaned his shoulder against the wall. “I don’t think they’d take the chance of going to any of the known hideouts. They know they’re being watched.”
“They left their cell phones behind in the rush to escape but that doesn't mean they can’t find a way to contact them.”
“Yeah, but on the other hand, if Boneiro had been alerted to their capture, the Mob’s high-powered attorney would already have been breaking down the FBI’s doors.”
“We checked the cell phones. There’s nothing of note we can use since we have to be careful to not trigger suspicion. I’m already running their pictures I could find through traffic cams as well as the available public CCTV footage out there. If they make one wrong move, I’ll find them.”
“Good. Keep at it.” Jared straightened and headed to the door. “I think it’s time for another friendly chat with our hardheaded guests.”
“Don’t forget this.” Cruz flung a balaclava at him. To ever be recognized would jeopardize future operations and put their families in harm’s way.
To bring dangerous criminals to justice sometimes felt like shoveling shit against the tide. One had to be either crazy or an indefatigable crusader to stay in the fight. An America devoid of organized crime would always be a pipe dream.
“You look like shit, Boneiro,” Jared said as he walked into the interrogation room. He studied the younger man with an amused grin. His left eye was swollen, and he bore a couple of bruises. All in all he didn’t look worse for the wear. He slumped in the steel chair under a blinding fluorescent light.
“I fucking told you I’m not Boneiro.” Rocco blinked furiously as he cautiously kept watch of the large man circling him.
“You’re wasting our time.” Jared sat down in the steel chair next to Brock. Tanner had left upon his arrival. “Besides, your continued denial of your birthright hardly matters. It’s not you I want.”
“So let me the fuck go!”
“Tell me what I want to know and you can walk away” Jared laughed at the deflated expression on Rocco’s face. “It’s the way of the world, Boneiro. You, of all people, know that nothing in life is free.”
“I’m not an idiot. You already know something.” Rocco growled as he stared at Jared. “You’re the kind of man that would scare the piss out of the average Joe. Stefano must’ve squealed the moment you walked into the room. What did my idiot brother tell you?”
“That your parents are on vacation.” Jared crossed his legs. “What I want to know is where they are. I want a signed affidavit that confirms Marco Boneiro ordered the kidnapping. While you’re at it, where’s your big brother Luca?”
“You’re delusional if you think I’m gonna tell you anything.” Rocco squared his shoulders. “You’re not getting shit out of me, so why waste more time? We both know you’re not gonna kill us. You got us on kidnapping, so do your fucking job and hand us over to the authorities.” His eyes narrowed as Jared remained impassive. He smirked. “Ah, you don’t intend to do that, do you? I see. You’ve got nothing on my father. You think if one of us rats him out, you’ll get your grubby hands on him. Good luck trying to pin the kidnapping on anyone else but Stefano and me. It was our operation, our masterplan... wait a minute.” He leaned forward. “That’s not it either. Locking him up for kidnapping isn’t going to keep him behind bars for long, if at all.” He cracked out a laugh. It bounced off the steel walls to mock Jared. “Yeah, you bastard. Most people underestimate my intelligence. I’m not stupid. You shouldn’t have shown your hand because no matter what you do to us, Marco Boneiro will be onto you now. One thing about him is that family means everything to him. When he finds out we’ve been caught, he’ll move heaven and hell to free us.”