Chapter 496: A Dramatic Plot and a Cold-Blooded Plan

"What the fck?" Both Jack and Jane, who had just closed the door, were stunned, doubting if they had heard correctly.

"Yes, he wants to marry me off to Juan 'Machete,' the boss of the Matamoros gang," Isabel lifted her head, taking a deep breath as she tried to stop her tears.

Okay, Jack completely understood now why Isabel wanted to join the Witness Protection Program. If it were him, he'd also be looking for a way to escape.

Jack had seen Juan 'Machete's' photo in the files before. He couldn't say the man looked exactly like Danny Trejo, the Hollywood bad guy, but Juan was even worse.

A face full of scars resembling the surface of the moon, combined with his ruthless position as the head of a drug cartel, wasn't even the worst part. The real problem was his age.

If Jack remembered correctly, Juan 'Machete' was a few years older than Isabel's father, Old Carlos, making him around 60 this year.

A 60-year-old man marrying a 16-year-old girl—disgusting. Jack thought of Michael, who had once admired Isabel's seemingly perfect life. Maybe he should dress him up and send him to 'Machete' instead.

"So, your father came to pick you up today, not to celebrate your birthday, but to take you to meet the boss of the Matamoros gang?" After hearing her story, Jane hugged Isabel tightly, her heart aching for her.

Strictly speaking, Isabel was a victim too. According to her, she and Carlos Jr. were half-siblings and had no real relationship. As for Old Carlos, there was only hatred.

Isabel's mother had been a local beauty queen, and before she rose to fame, she became Old Carlos' possession. When Isabel was ten, her mother had an affair with one of Old Carlos' bodyguards and planned to flee Mexico with her daughter.

Of course, they failed. In the end, both Isabel's mother and the bodyguard were shot dead by Old Carlos, right in front of young Isabel. This scene planted the seeds of hatred in her heart.

Well, this plot was a bit too dramatic. Jack was skeptical, wondering if the girl had been watching too many soap operas. 

But if her story was true, then Matt's plan could proceed as planned. They would just need to swap the bait, replacing Isabel with Old Carlos.

Given the current situation, Old Carlos' disappearance would be a huge boon for Carlos Jr. Jack could imagine how furious Carlos Jr. would be when he realized his days of comfort were about to end.

— 

Matt hadn't expected that after torturing Old Carlos with waterboarding, he and Alessandro still hadn't extracted much useful information. Surprisingly, Jack was the one making progress.

It wasn't that waterboarding didn't work, but they didn't even know what specific questions to ask. They found plenty of drug-related evidence, but since they were already doing "dirty work," evidence wasn't the most important thing.

They could just throw Old Carlos in Guantanamo Bay, where he'd rot forever. Or worse, there were always those overseas "black sites" or floating prisons in international waters.

But Matt turned out to be even more ruthless than Jack had imagined.

"Releasing Old Carlos back alone isn't enough. We need to send the girl with him."

"Why?" Jack maintained a neutral expression, trying to hide his emotions.

"We don't know much about Juan 'Machete,' the boss of the Matamoros gang. If Old Carlos can't convince him to help suppress the rebellion, the girl becomes a valuable bargaining chip."

Matt's analysis was cold and calculated.

"She's only sixteen," Alessandro, who had never joined the discussions before, spoke up, his face dark.

"We're just sending her back. Her fate isn't up to us, is it?" Matt waved dismissively.

Before Alessandro could argue, Jack jumped in, "You can leave a drone overhead. I'll stay behind. Ian Doyle is likely to show up."

Matt squinted, surprised. "You're just an FBI agent. You know what staying behind in a place like that means, right?"

Jack wasn't acting out of sentimentality. It wasn't because he felt attached to the daughter of a drug lord. He had shown Isabel a photo of Ian Doyle, and she confirmed that Doyle often appeared around Carlos Jr.

Whether Carlos Jr. planned to kill his father directly or frame the Matamoros gang, he'd need someone powerful to help, and Doyle was a likely candidate.

For Matt, he needed someone willing to stay behind anyway. As Jack pointed out, "You were going to leave someone behind just in case, right? Even if Carlos Jr. doesn't act, Old Carlos has to die on Matamoros territory."

Matt thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Okay. I'll set up a few extraction points nearby and send you the coordinates. Good luck."

Not wanting to delay any further, Matt set the operation for the third morning after verifying Isabel's information.

Early that day, Jack and Jane took the girl to Corpus Christi Air Force Base. The convoy consisted of three military Humvees and a bulletproof Suburban. Once they crossed into Mexico, a convoy of Mexican federal police would join them.

The handoff was to take place at a federal police station in the small Mexican town of Mendez, deep in Matamoros territory.

Carlos Jr. might send elite operatives to infiltrate, but getting out after they made their move wouldn't be easy.

Isabel, already unhappy about being sent back to Mexico, erupted in fury like a wildcat when she saw her father, Old Carlos, hooded. Jack had no choice but to handcuff her with plastic restraints.

"We'd better split them up into different vehicles," Matt sighed, uncharacteristically agreeable, shoving Old Carlos into the front Humvee.

"Behave," Jack muttered, securing Isabel in a bulletproof vest and loading her into the Suburban's front seat. To his surprise, Alessandro silently got into the backseat, cradling a UMP45.

Jack checked the supplies in the back. He had brought everything he could, including two extra sets of clothes and water bottles. Even though he was physically enhanced, dehydration could still kill him.

As the convoy rolled out of the base, Jack's Suburban was second to last, looking out of place compared to the low-slung Humvees.

An hour later, they crossed the border. At the crossing point, the Mexican federal police, driving a mix of armored pickups with mounted machine guns and regular police cars, joined the escort in a formation of three in front and four behind.

The road was smoother this time, though still narrow—just a single lane in each direction. At least it wasn't as bumpy as before.

"Nice weather today, perfect for a road trip," Matt joked over the radio.

Jack looked around at the endless desert, yellow sand swirling everywhere. "Nice weather, my ass."

"You're a liar! You're not even a real cop!" Isabel shouted suddenly.

"No, FBI are cops. I'm a federal agent," Jack replied calmly.

"Tell her we saved her, and she should just sit tight and be grateful," Matt's voice blared through the earpiece.

Jack rolled his eyes and said nothing. Sure, without their intervention, the girl's fate might have been even worse, but giving someone hope only to snatch it away was cruel.

"Attention, Oscar 1. Asphalt ends half a mile ahead," came a sudden report from the operations center. A surveillance team was watching the convoy through a drone.

"Repeat that?" Matt asked loudly, as if he hadn't heard.

"Asphalt ends half a mile ahead," the voice repeated.

"Fck, nothing's ever easy," Michael, Matt's driver, grumbled loudly.

Meanwhile, Jack quickly switched his air conditioning to internal circulation. The next moment, dust clouds billowed outside, and visibility dropped dramatically.

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