I cleared my throat and looked back down at the picture. “Where’s everyone else gonna be? In the hallway?”
“That’s what I’d planned,” Candy said. He lifted an eyebrow. “Thoughts on that?”
“Well, the way I remember it, our target nearly got away before Patsy put an end to him. You plannin’ on havin’ someone other than Mars outside the buildin’ just to make sure their egress is covered?”
Candy nodded. “We’ll have Tac Team Two guarding the exterior egresses of the building. There are three ways to exit. One is right through the lobby, there’s one out the back, and the final one is in the basement where a subterranean parking lot is located. And we have a second sniper from Snow’s team. All in all, we should have everything covered but I’m hopeful that we can round everyone up in one fell swoop.”
I nodded and passed the picture back to him. “This looks good, boss.” I sighed. “Now will you elaborate on the players you mentioned? Should I assume we’re to catch this new leader of the Lima distribution network. What’s his name again?”
“Oscar Aguilar,” Alain replied. “He’s the one we’ve been waiting for. Actually, he arrived last night. He’s staying at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.”
I smirked. “You’ve had him under surveillance?”
Candy nodded. “Us and Lincoln Snow’s team. They’ll be the ones making the arrests after we’ve secured the scene. Aguilar somehow slipped past the Policia Nacional del Peru yesterday morning and hopped a private plane headed to LAX. They weren’t able to catch up to him there, because the Peruvian police didn’t contact us until he’d already been on the ground in Los Angeles for twelve hours.”
I shook my head. “And that ain’t fishy at all. I have a feelin’ losin’ him made one of them policias a lotta dough.”
“Entirely possible,” Candy replied.
“But, actually, it’s not such a bad thing,” Raven said. “At least this way, we can round up all these scumbags at once.”
“I really hope you’re successful and again, thanks for includin’ me.”
“Rex, you’re an integral member of my team,” Candy replied, waving at the wheelchair. “You always will be…chair or not.”
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t have spoken around the lump in my throat if I’d tried.
“Candy’s right. It doesn’t work without you,” Raven added. “And I have selfish reasons for wanting you up and walking as soon as possible.”
I stared at him. “What are those?”
He frowned, shaking his head. “I’m sick to death of Miguel telling me how dangerous field work is. I’m pretty sure he’d wrap me up in bubble plastic if he could.”
I chuckled. “Well, you are a new husband and all. Of course, he’d rather have you behind computer screens where things are safer than field work.”
“I miss Raven too,” Judy said, looking fondly at the man in question. “Working without him at my side just isn’t the same.”
It was so nice to be sitting here feeling like a small part of the team again and I really hoped Candy was right. If he and the team could actually put this case to bed, at least being hurt the way I had would somehow feel just a bit like all the pain and paralysis really was worth it.
Nothing could be worth losing Cachi, but for the moment, I forced myself to put him out of my mind. Thinking about him was way too painful. I really hoped Tennyson was right when he said, “tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” because right now, losing the love of my life was all I could think of.
“Hopefully, you’ll be coming back to work really soon, Rex,” Candy said, pushing away from the table and standing. The others also got to their feet.
I wheeled around the table and stopped in front of him, holding out a hand. “Thanks so much for all of this, boss.”
He smiled. “Of course, it’s no problem. I wanted you to know we’re all thinking of you just like we have been every day since it happened.” He shook my hand.
“I put you on the prayer sheet at work, Rex,” Judy said, bending to hug me. “Everyone at Our Lady of the Valley is praying for you.”
I hugged her hard, patting her on the back as she straightened. “Thanks, Judy. I really appreciate that.”
Raven stepped up and held out a hand which I took. “We’re all ready to have you back at the office, so keep up with your physical therapy exercises.”
I hooked a thumb at Alain who stood there looking smug. “Trust me when I say, this guy ain’t gonna let me rest on my laurels.”
“And you’ll no doubt continue to behave in an utterly beastly fashion, old boy.” Alain blew on his manicure.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Anyway, please tell the others I really want to thank them for all their hard work.” I waved at the front door. “You know, buildin’ the ramps and whatnot.”