Jared’s smirk was derisive. “If you believe that you don’t know your father at all. Don’t be surprised if he leaves you to rot.”
“Fuck you.” Rocco straightened. “Let us fucking go!”
Jared studied him at length. He slapped his hands on his thighs as he got up and walked to the door.
“He’s right. I’m tired of his whining little brother. Take them to the middle of Golden Gate Bridge, in the dead of night, and throw them off. The two-hundred-and-fifty-foot drop will be like hitting concrete. They’ll be human chum for the great whites that venture in from the Farallon.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Marco Boneiro will hunt you down if you kill us, you bastard!”
Jared ignored him as he walked out and joined Cruz in the observation room next door. His expression was grim as he watched Brock continue to taunt Rocco.
“Care to tell us what’s going on in your head, Commander?” Brock grumbled as he walked into the room moments later with Tanner on his heels.
“I’m curious myself,” Cruz interjected. “We’re not torturers, Jared. No more enhanced interrogations. Those days are long gone and as you are well aware, those techniques never yielded actionable intel.”
“That’s not what he intends,” Brock surmised as he studied Jared intensely. “But letting them go feels somewhat counter-productive, Commander.”
“But strategic.” Tanner tapped a finger against his lips. As a specialist in Psyops, he quickly caught onto Jared’s intention.
“Right. Persuade, change, influence. The two of you are in sync. How about letting the slowpokes of the group in as well?” Cruz slouched in the chair. He crossed his arms as he looked between the two men.
“You’ve had no luck finding the escaped men,” Jared said. “These two aren’t going to tell us where Boneiro is. Even if they do, we have nothing concrete to charge him with or to link him to the kidnapping. My gut tells me Marco and Luca Boneiro don’t even know about it.”
“I agree. These two are going to stick to their guns that they were acting of their own accord,” Tanner interjected. “The only association Marco Boneiro has to them is that he’s their father and at a stretch, whatever we can add, will be circumstantial. Locking him up is counterproductive. He’s going to walk.”
“Marco Boneiro will find out about his sons’ capture— if he hasn’t already. That means he’ll be in a defensive posture.” Cruz frowned. “I’m not sure I get it.”
“We’ve run out of time. It’s been forty-eight hours. We either need to let them go or hand them over to the Feds. I would’ve preferred otherwise. Hoping Boneiro doesn’t know about it yet is dangerously naive.” Jared watched the man pacing in the interrogation room through the mirrored glass. “Letting them go will send a message that’s going to confuse Boneiro.”
“Which means he’ll go into hiding. How does that benefit us?” Brock said.
“If there’s one thing about Boneiro we’ve learned over the years, it’s that he hates not knowing.” Tanner stared at Jared. “The Commander is baiting the hook in the hope that Boneiro makes a mistake in an attempt to figure out our strategy.”
“Boneiro isn’t going to expose himself, Jared. He’s too clever for that. It’s how he stayed out of jail for all these years.” Brock confirmed what they already knew.
“It’s the only play we have at the moment.” Jared’s gaze remained glued on Rocco.
“But letting them go? Wouldn’t it be better to lock them up, thereby weakening their hierarchy by taking out two of their consiglieres?” Cruz sat forward as he looked between the men.
“Boneiro runs a well-oiled operation. He’ll have someone fill their positions immediately. No, we have to throw a wrench in the works. Boneiro won’t know if he can trust his sons once he finds out they’ve been interrogated. He’ll wonder whether they made a deal with us to stay out of jail,” Jared said as he straightened with a grim smile when Cruz and Brock snapped their fingers.
“Fuck yes! You’re right. It’s the perfect way to sow discord in the family. Wondering and questioning every move or decision they make.” Cruz jumped up and rubbed his hands together. “So, can we throw them off the bridge for real?”
Everyone laughed at his eagerness.
“Why not. Blindfold them and make them believe you’re on the way to the Golden Gate bridge. Fuck with their minds. Let them have a taste of feeling helpless and vulnerable like they made little Courtney feel.” Jared smirked. “Then dump them from the low bridge at Lake Merced Park.” Jared pulled out his phone as it vibrated in his pocket.
“Adam? Did you manage to extract any intel?”
“Nothing further, Commander.”
“We’re letting them go. You’ve got four in lockup, right?”
“Yeah. I think it’s a waste of time to keep them any longer. They don’t know anything of value.”
“Hand them over to the FBI as suspects for the kidnapping of Senator Wilson’s daughter. Let them deal with it. They’ll be too scared of Marco Boneiro to point fingers at his sons so be sure to keep the involvement of Rocco and Stefano Boneiro quiet.”
“Will do.” Adam hesitated briefly. “There’s a little matter of Mrs. Lee and her team, Boss.”