Stealth by Michael Brandman

Author:Michael Brandman [Brandman, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

I informed Special Agent DeSavino of Chanho’s enigmatic information and asked if he might fire up one of the HRT units in an effort to locate Reynaldo Corso.

I heard back from him a few hours later.

He confirmed the younger Corso was indeed living in a tiny studio apartment above the flower shop in Boyle Heights. He had been spotted entering the building. His photo matched the one the LAPD had on file.

An HRT unit was preparing to trail him twenty-four/seven in the hope he would lead them to his father. Or, short of that, to the whereabouts of the missing threesome.

“The team should be in place shortly,” DeSavino said. “If Corso’s involved, and the captives are all still alive, we’ll suss them out.”

“And Corso’s old man?”

“Let’s assume he’s here. If so, he’s bound to show his face. If he isn’t, and young Corso makes no contact with the captives, then it’s a dead end.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Sit tight and let our guys keep watch. If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen soon.”

* * *

The Hostage Rescue Team set up the surveillance of Reynaldo Corso within hours and it wasn’t long before DeSavino phoned me.

“He’s on the move,” he announced. “Our guys spotted him getting into an ancient Chevy Suburban that was parked near his building. They followed him to a local Ralphs market and when he went inside, they attached a tracking device to the underside of the Suburban.”

“And?”

“Our boy came out of the Ralphs brandishing two oversized shopping bags and placed them in the back seat. Now he’s on the I 15 heading north.”

“Toward?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I know.”

* * *

The drive from Boyle Heights on the I 15 usually takes about an hour and a half. Paul DeSavino phoned back in less than an hour to announce Reynaldo Corso had exited at Victorville.

He went on to say his team had decided to lay back because Corso was cruising the outer reaches of the city and were they to follow, he would surely notice. The tracking device would keep them abreast of his whereabouts.

Victorville is located at the southernmost edge of the Mojave Desert, a high-point way station adjacent to the freeway, approximately a third of the distance from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

By the time I arrived, the HRT had made contact with Victorville Police Department Chief Danny Exum, who had been sworn to secrecy regarding their operation.

After all proper introductions, we settled into Exum’s office to study a series of comprehensive maps of the northeastern corner of the city, the region wherein Reynaldo Corso was currently ensconced.

Unlike downtown Victorville, the area was largely undeveloped. There were very few houses. The streets were unpaved and riddled with debris and tumbleweeds, victims of the blustery winds that regularly swept through the surrounding mountain ranges.

Mid-twentieth century land speculation was at the root of the construction of the few houses that existed there. But the unforgiving high-land weather hindered developers and frightened potential residents, so in time, most of the hearty few who settled there had fled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.