Undercovers

Will

“That’s what you’re wearing?” Daniel eyed me carefully as I headed out of the apartment building.

He was waiting at the curb in his cherry-red Chiron Bugatti, with a cocky grin on his face. When he was riding around in that thing, he looked even more arrogant than usual, but I guess that was kind of the point. No one drove around in a three-million-dollar car if you didn’t want to draw attention to yourself. I gave it three weeks before he crashed this one just like the others.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I slid into the car. Damn, this leather was like butter.

“You look like a frat boy.”

I glanced down at my khaki shorts and button-down t-shirt. He wasn’t entirely wrong. “Isn’t that why you hired me?”

I remembered Christian’s words exactly.

That was how I wound up balls deep in one of the most notorious drug empires in the northern hemisphere. Just an errand boy to start, but it was something. And now, all that ass kissing and grunt work was about to pay off.

Daniel grinned, revving the engine and peeling out. The car took off like a rocket, throwing me back into my seat. He turned the stereo on, leaving me alone in my thoughts as he drove.

My stomach was in twisted knots, but it wasn’t because of Daniel’s shitty driving. It had more to do with our destination.

Today was Enzo Morales’ 60th birthday, and somehow, Daniel scored me an invitation to the barbeque. It was a pretty small party, and only family and a few of the high-level soldiers would be there, but somehow he got me in.

For the last two years, I poured my heart and soul into this mission. Abandoning my friends and family and fully immersing myself into the role of Will Hatcher—low level druggie and combat extraordinaire. Today was years in the making, and now that we were finally seeing the progress, I was fucking ecstatic.

When I got back from Afghanistan, I joined the police force, and I got lucky in a few high-profile cases, and rose through the ranks quickly. I was one of the youngest detectives in all of Florida, and even had a Medal of Honor for a case I worked a few years back.

I lived for this job, and when Morales’ file came across my desk, I knew it was my next move. After seeing all the failed investigation attempts on the guy, I pitched the undercover idea to my boss. This wasn’t just any undercover operation, though. Enzo was a mobster, with deep ties to the community and even deeper ties to local law enforcement. It would take a lot of behind-the-scenes work and a lot of buildup before I could work my way in. I knew that going into it, and was prepared for the long haul.

It was over a year of prep—living on my own in a shitty apartment, going to NA meetings, doing odd jobs and making appearances around town with all the local dealers—before I could even contact the family.

That level of commitment made me good at my job, though. My boss liked to call me a chameleon, saying I took on a different persona depending on who I was talking to. It certainly came in handy in this job. I could connect with just about anyone, but it was a little harder than I had expected with the Morales boys.

Christian and Daniel were Enzo’s sons. Polar opposites and but both were key to getting in with Enzo. Daniel was the younger of the two brothers—less experienced and not as high in the organization, so I set my sights on him to begin with.

Daniel was a party boy. He liked the notoriety that came with his father’s name, but didn’t want to put in much of the work. He wrapped his car around a light pole last summer, and that was just one of his many run-ins with the cops. Almost a year ago, I met him at a boxing gym. I had been trying to place myself in situations where I could run into him for weeks, but nothing seemed to work. Then I found out about the gym.

Boxing always intrigued me, and I loved watching it as a kid, but I hadn’t tried it myself until I became a cop. Another guy on my team invited me to the gym and showed me a few moves, and eventually, we started sparring. It was a killer work out, and some healthy competition was good for the soul. Turns out, it was actually good for much more because it was what gave me my in with Daniel.

We bonded over our love for boxing and for whiskey, and eventually, he introduced me to his brother. I jumped right in as a delivery guy where I worked for the last year. It was a slippery slope as a cop, but there was so much riding on this investigation that a lot of illegal things were being overlooked. Since I wasn’t physically dealing the drugs myself, I was in the clear.

I spent hours with Daniel and Christian over the last year, and even though I genuinely liked them, they were just pawns in my greater game. No friendship would get in the way of me taking down Enzo Morales.

When we pulled up to the house, I was underwhelmed. For a guy like Enzo, who threw his wealth around like candy, I expected bigger. Showier. More grandiose. Maybe that was why we’d never been able to find it before. He was hiding here in the suburbs all along.

“This is it?” I asked Daniel, appraising the house. It was a simple two-story with a big wrap-around porch and colorful garden. Big backyard, lots of windows. The only sign of security were a few cameras attached to the porch.

“This is my grandma’s house.” He came around the side of the car and led me towards the backyard. “She’s throwing the party.”

“Ah.” I was hoping to get an address for my team after today, but it was looking like that would still have to wait.

He led me through a back gate and into a crowd of people. Some I recognized, and some I didn’t, but Daniel didn’t waste a second introducing me around. I bit back my laughter at how normal this all seemed. There were kids swimming in the pool, a volleyball game going on, and Enzo Morales stood at the grill with a kiss-the-cook apron on. If I didn’t know the vicious monster he was, I would have totally bought into his act.

There he was in all of his glory.

Enzo Morales. Career Criminal. Notorious drug lord with a monopoly in the Miami area.

Shifty, merciless, and elusive.

Morales was responsible for more cocaine coming into the US than all of his top competitors combined, but so far, no one was able to nail him. Murder raps, kidnapping schemes, overdoses and possession charges by the thousands—he was one sick son of a bitch, but he was damn good at what he did. The trail always ran cold. Evidence disappeared, witnesses backed out, paperwork went missing. It was like the guy was untouchable.

Until now

“Dad!” Daniel called, leading me across the yard. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, son.” Enzo hugged Daniel, keeping his eyes on me the entire time. “Who’s your friend?”

“You know Hatch.” Daniel grinned. “He’s been delivering with us for what? A year?”

I nodded, sticking my hand out. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

Enzo eyed me carefully, making his own assessment. I was hyperaware of the wire I was wearing, even though I knew it was undetectable. “The boxer.”

“Yep.” I said.

“We’ll talk later.” Enzo said to Daniel, ignoring me and getting back to the grill.

“Come on, man.” Daniel nodded towards some coolers. He reached in and grabbed us a few beers. “Don’t take it personally; he doesn’t trust many people.”

“I can understand why.” Daniel and I found some lawn chairs off to the side.

Christian was in the pool with his daughter, but waved when he saw us. He handed the little girl off to his girlfriend and came over to join us.

“Glad you could make it!” He shook my hand. “How did the drops go last night?”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Can you wait two fucking minutes before talking business? We just got here and are trying to have a drink in peace.”

Before the sentence was even out of his mouth, gunshots rang through the air, and chaos ensued. There was screaming and yelling and panic and then more shots. Machine gun shots. Everyone around us hit the ground, and I looked over my shoulder, watching as a van rolled by the fence, two men hanging out of it with guns, firing freely into the backyard full of children.

It wasn’t haphazard; they were targeting Enzo and his men. Daniel included. I grabbed him as the bullets rained down around us, throwing my body in front of him just as a bullet grazed by. I felt it pierce my skin as we hit the ground. First there was searing pain, and then blood poured out of the wound.

“Fuck!” I hissed, grabbing my shoulder. The van passed by and it was over as quickly as it began. Everyone was hiding behind patio furniture and trying to take cover. Bullets littered the ground and Enzo and his men were furiously assessing the damage.

“Hatch!” Daniel was completely out of breath, hovering over me in panic. “Where are you hit?”

“It’s just a flesh wound.” I gritted my teeth. “I’m alright.”

“You saved my fucking life.” Daniel said, overcome with emotion. His voice was loud, drawing the attention of everyone.

The bullet meant for Daniel sliced into my arm, and if I hadn’t pulled him down when I did, it would have hit him squarely in the back of the head.

I had saved Enzo Morales’ son.