[Chapter 352: The Hungry Wolf]
In southern xico, in the city of Tapachula, Hawke with a beard, wearing a golden wig, and Erica, who had dyed her hair and eyebrows black and added two beauty spots to her face, entered a courtyard enclosed by high walls.
A burly man in his thirties with brown hair approached them.
Erica introduced him, "This is Angulo, leader of the team."
Hawke shook his hand, saying, "Thanks for your hard work."
"The pay is generous, so it's not really hard work," Angulo replied with a smile. "This is just my job."
The three of them entered the villa.
...
Inside, there was another person responsible for communication coordination.
Hawke took the initiative and asked, "What's the situation with Buddy Ackerman right now?"
Angulo spread a map of Tapachula on the table, pointing to an area near the south side of the city. "This is the Golden Tequila Hotel, the only three-star hotel in the area. Buddy Ackerman and a party of twelve are currently staying at the hotel. The hotel doesn't have an underground parking lot, making it easier to monitor. As of now, we can confirm he hasn't left since checking in, as if he is waiting for soone."
He pointed to another area on the map, "There's a military base stationed here, the largest camp in xico near Guatemala, with more than 2,000 troops, just a ten-minute drive from the hotel."
Erica asked, "Does Buddy have ties with the local military?"
Angulo replied, "Two colonels ca to the hotel from the xican military."
Hawke rubbed his faux beard and remarked, "It's not a good idea to make a move here."
Erica agreed, "If we attack the hotel, even if we succeed, it would be hard to escape the military's pursuit."
Even though the xican military tended to be less effective, they were certainly better than the average police force. The border patrol likely had armored vehicles or helicopters at their disposal, not to ntion an overwhelming number of pickup trucks ard with machine guns.
Hawke directed, "Let's keep a close watch on them and see what they do next."
"Understood," Angulo replied.
...
Within a few minutes, Campos and Garcia arrived.
"The rest of the crew and equipnt are settled to the south," Campos said quickly. "Juan verified through a contact in Rosario that during the ti Buddy's plane crossed the U.S.-xico border, several elite security personnel from a dical center left their posts. They still haven't returned."
Erica traced a line with her finger on the map towards Tapachula, saying, "That distance is too long for them to drive over; it's very likely they took a plane around. It should be close now."
Hawke continued looking at the map, "That business jet, not counting the crew, can only hold a dozen people. Buddy's target should be heading south; this area is too close to the Guatemala border."
Everyone's gaze fell upon Guatemala marked on the map.
---
At the Golden Tequila Hotel, in the best suite on the top floor, Buddy Ackerman sat in front of his computer, checking the news from California online.
The dia was nearly drowning California's Democratic leaders; nas like Nunez, Myers, and Willie Brown were being tarnished as the California legislature initiated an investigation.
Kerry's partner Edwards had announced his withdrawal from the election.
Avalon Club on Santa Catalina Island, Ackerman Manor in Beverly Hills, a beach house in Malibu, the Ackerman dical Center in Orange County and Maryland, as well as the temporary headquarters of the Ackerman Charity Foundation, which was leased after the fire in Los Angeles, were all sealed by the FBI.
Assets worth over two billion dollars had vanished.
Under dia provocation, Los Angeles saw thousands of claimants erge against the Ackerman family, many of whom had already announced lawsuits.
The FBI held a press conference on the case yesterday afternoon, where Jennifer Huey, the lead investigator, disclosed so parts of the Ackerman family case. Besides the cris exposed by the dia, the FBI had also rescued six individuals who had been held captive in Ackerman Manor.
Buddy seed unusually silent. This sudden incident had caused the Ackerman family to lose all their fixed assets in Arica; Buddy had lost his blood bags as well.
Feeling completely defeated and forced to flee in his later years, he was relieved that there were still hundreds of millions in his anonymous accounts at UBS.
As he scrolled through the news, a feeling grew clearer: the severity of this case was nearing that of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
All this chaos truly felt like a cycle. After doing so many terrible things back then, including bribing police officers who abused African Aricans, it was now ti to pay the piper.
...
The butler and head of security, Utson, entered the room.
Buddy closed the webpage and asked the butler, "Is there still no news from Sean?"
"No," the butler replied softly. "There have been no reports regarding Sean."
He added, "Many family mbers have been captured by the FBI. They've locked all news, and we can't reach Los Angeles. Barack, Fernando, Robert Lee, as well as your niece and nephew and two sisters, are all missing."
Buddy sighed, "They're likely being held by the FBI."
Utson reminded him, "Sir, Pandis and his crew will arrive before dark. They're landing in Soloma from the north and will be bringing so vehicles and weapons."
Buddy nodded, "The weapons are not a problem; I've made arrangents with Colonel Cody."
Utson felt relieved. They had rushed out, bringing only so easily concealable handguns and submachine guns.
Buddy looked at the butler. "Make sure everything is ready for the plane. Have it fly to Russia."
While the business jet was pricey, in tis like these, sacrifices had to be made. "We are going according to plan, heading south to the mining company in Honduras."
The butler, who had worked for him for decades, advised, "Honduras is still too close to North Arica; Russia..."
Buddy raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Arica knows how to find an excuse when doing things, but Russia is a hungry wolf that pounces on us; if we go there, we will be devoured to the bone."
Arica had its issues, but the Russians were no walk in the park either.
---
Outside the hotel was Tapachula's busiest comrcial district, bustling with people and vehicles.
A team sent by Erica, which arrived almost simultaneously with them, set up a monitoring periter around the hotel.
Most of these people hailed from Southern California and many spoke fluent Spanish.
In addition to them, five observers from the Hurricane rcenary Company, who were dispatched, also positioned themselves around the hotel.
Two of them disguised as a couple were staying at the hotel, keeping an eye on Buddy's pilot.
...
Everyone, including Buddy Ackerman, believed that the series of storms erging in California ultimately aid for those 55 electoral votes, driven by political interests to secure the presidency.
From resource allocation to tangible benefits, the election was of utmost importance.
But the true aim behind Hawke's plans was the dismantling of the Ackerman family.
---
Several SUVs approached from a distance, with the lead Land Cruiser stopping at the hotel entrance. Pandis stepped out of the vehicle, accompanied by his assistant Monterey, and entered the hotel.
Utson awaited them in the lobby, waving to the two as they entered the elevator together to head upstairs.
Upon exiting the elevator, Utson noticed sothing moving in Pandis' bag and remarked cautiously, "What's going on?"
Pandis opened the bag, revealing a large lizard. "It's my pet; since it's hard to co back this ti, I had to bring her along."
Utson kept quiet, ntally cursing this fellow for his eccentricity.
Once inside the suite, Pandis stepped forward, saying, "Boss, I'm here."
Buddy nodded at him, "Everyone is here now."
Pandis continued, "So people have gotten too comfortable; they married and had children in Rosario, and don't want to leave. I only brought thirty people."
Buddy felt a wave of relief and told Utson, "Contact Colonel Cody; we will receive the weapons after dark. Money is not a problem."
Utson replied, "Understood."
"Have we received approval for the flight plan?" Seeing the butler nod, Buddy instructed, "Make sure to set up disguises, report under my false identity, and have the plane leave Tapachula before dark, heading to Russia."
The butler confird, "I have everything arranged."
Buddy gestured, "Go back and rest. We leave tomorrow morning."
Before darkness fell, the crew and two vehicles departed the hotel, arriving at Tapachula Airport.
Soon, the business jet took off, with its ultimate destination being Europe.
---
At nine o'clock in the evening, the villa surrounded by high walls was brightly lit.
The three parties involved in this operation, except for a few personnel monitoring, gathered here.
The Ferguson family's security company action team, elite mbers from Butterfly Company, and the Hurricane rcenaries were present.
The latter had collaborated with Hawke several tis before.
Counting the previous life together, they had partnered over ten tis without a hitch.
The Butterfly team arrived the latest. They transported weapons into xico through Campos's channels and chartered a small propeller cargo plane at a high price to arrive on ti.
...
In a room on the second floor of the villa, Hawke, Erica, Campos, Bosque, and Angulo were exchanging the latest information to finalize their action plans.
Bosque stroked the stubble on his lip and said, "Regarding the hotel, although the target has checked out, there are others wearing his clothes and similar equipnt that have gone to the airport, but I can assure you, the target is still inside the hotel."
He explained his reasoning: "Earlier, a group ca to et with the target; they didn't leave but headed to the military base nearby to pick up so vehicles and arms."
Campos agreed, "That aligns with what Juan observed."
Angulo added, "My people followed them, but the deal was near the military camp, where cover was lacking; they didn't dare get too close."
Hawke looked at the map hanging on the wall and remarked, "If the target were boarding a plane, he wouldn't need to make all this noise; he would undoubtedly choose to head south, crossing the xico-Guatemala border."
Bosque warned, "Man, don't underestimate any regular military within xico. The distance from Tapachula to the border is too short; if we attract their attention, escaping would be extrely difficult."
Hawke pointed south of the border line, saying, "We should act in Guatemala. Before coming here, I did so research, and Northern Guatemala is quite chaotic, filled with gangs and ard groups, with a societal order in disarray. The xico border only has a token presence, which they can nearly ignore."
Bosque leaned in a bit closer, stating, "That's right; thus, we should make our move in Guatemala."
Hawke contemplated for a mont and instructed Angulo and Bosque, "Keep watching the target and see if you can install trackers on their vehicles."
Bosque replied, "Leave that to ."
Hawke added, "We'll cross the border now and prepare in Guatemala."
*****
/Sayonara816.
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