Chapter 485: A Little Money and Peace of Mind

A champagne-colored RAM 2500 Dodge truck roared out of the estate gates, shattering the silence that had just returned to the luxurious villa. The Mercedes-Benz that had belonged to Manuel Diaz was too gruesome to use after Alessandro had fired that last shot to the head, so Jack had rummaged through the garage and picked out a new ride.

The RAM 2500 was probably the most low-key option among the luxury vehicles. These Mexicans seemed to have a surprising similarity in taste to Middle Eastern oil tycoons in some ways.

The drone that had been circling overhead followed them as they left, ensuring a safe trip back. Meanwhile, several kilometers away, a battered Toyota pickup was speeding toward the villa.

By the time Jack and Alessandro made it back to the border tunnel, the Toyota had arrived at the estate, and Chris and Braxton, clad in black and armed to the teeth, entered the villa.

---

"Good job, my friend," Matt said warmly, opening his arms for a hug as he saw Jack and Alessandro emerge from the tunnel.

Alessandro, clearly uncomfortable, leaned back, his expression one of disgust, though it was obvious that avenging his family had lifted his spirits somewhat.

There's a saying: "If you haven't walked in someone's shoes, don't advise them to be kind." Jack might have been horrified by Alessandro's extreme methods of not sparing even women and children if he hadn't known about his past.

But over time, through the pile of information Rossi had given him and what he had gathered himself, Jack saw through the history of drug cartels, only to find layer upon layer of bones and the stench of decaying flesh beneath it all.

As one foolish actress from his previous life had said, the land where evil flowers bloom is America. The northern part may look like the blossoming flower, while the southern part has roots that dig deep into the bones of every Latin American.

There's another part of that saying: "If you had suffered like me, you might not be as kind as I am." Jack put himself in Alessandro's shoes and figured that, if it had been him, he might have used every brutal tactic imaginable from all the novels he'd read.

Meanwhile, Jane was hugging Jack like a returning hero. Michael, who had been overseeing the mission from the command center, had been babbling non-stop, replaying every detail of their infiltration for them on the drive back.

Even the Delta Force operatives, normally so aloof, looked at Jack with newfound respect. In a country where personal heroism is so highly valued, their daring mission deep behind enemy lines had been impressive.

"Okay, guys, let's save the celebrations for later," Matt clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"We've got one last thing to do." With a sense of ceremony, he handed Jane a remote control, raising an eyebrow.

Seeing the device, everyone instinctively took a few steps back, distancing themselves from the tunnel entrance.

Jane pressed the button, and a series of muffled explosions followed. The ground trembled slightly, as if a small earthquake had just hit. Dust billowed from the tunnel entrance, as though a great beast buried underground had just let out a satisfied belch after a feast, and once again, silence returned.

---

Three days later, Jack drove his bulletproof Suburban back to Los Angeles. Temporarily homeless, he didn't go to Hannah, JJ, or Zoe and Maureen. Instead, he headed straight to the Wolf brothers' farm.

"What's this about?" Jack asked in disbelief, staring at two cheerful Mexican maids speaking Spanish as they bustled around the farm.

"What do you mean? You told us to save them, didn't you?" Braxton looked puzzled, and while Chris said nothing, his expression mirrored the confusion.

"I mean," Jack paused, realizing he had been overly simplistic in his thinking.

This was the real world, not a movie or TV show where the camera only follows the main characters. After the story ends, no audience cares about the fates of the minor characters who briefly appear.

Jack had left a message with Justin for the Wolf brothers, asking them to rescue the two innocent maids from the villa to prevent them from being slaughtered by the drug cartel in retaliation. After all, Fausto Alarcón was only the third in command of the Sonora Cartel. Killing him might cause some internal strife or spark a war with a rival gang, but it wasn't going to take down the entire operation.

Looking back, Jack realized he had handed the Wolf brothers a ticking time bomb.

His casual request to save the maids had left two ordinary women alive after a drug kingpin's family had been mysteriously wiped out. It would be hard to explain why they had survived.

"My bad, I made things too simple," Jack admitted, slapping his forehead. He wasn't cut out for this kind of underworld work. A "simple" infiltration and assassination mission had turned into a situation with two unexpected liabilities.

"It's not a big deal. We actually needed some extra hands around the farm to help take care of Ellie. Sonia's a meticulous girl, and Maria's great at cooking Mexican food," Braxton shrugged, as if smuggling two live people back into the country had been no trouble at all.

Jack's previously gloomy mood suddenly lifted. His collaboration with Matt and the CIA had, in the grand scheme of things, changed nothing. The CIA's agenda was political, while Jack was just hitching a ride to settle a personal vendetta against Doyle.

But seeing how the lives of two complete strangers had changed for the better because of him gave him an unexpected sense of accomplishment, a sudden peace of mind.

What really brightened his day came next. The Wolf brothers led Jack into a nondescript barn and opened the tailgate of an F150 Raptor parked inside. The sight of gold bars and stacks of green bills nearly made Jack grin from ear to ear.

"It's not much. We've got about $5 million in cash, $6 million in gold bars, and another million dollars' worth of jewelry. Though, when it comes to jewelry, it might only fetch a third of that value when sold," Braxton explained.

That's right. This had been Jack's little side project all along—snatching treasure from the fire. Since the CIA didn't care about the small fortune left behind by the Sonora Cartel's third-in-command, Jack had no qualms about helping himself. There's nothing quite as satisfying as robbing from the criminals.

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