Chapter 17 Brave Up_1

Traveling from the United States to Mexico was truly convenient; cars could drive straight through the border checkpoint without anyone inspecting them, and there was no need to even slow down or stop.

But how to get back into the United States from Mexico was Gao Guang's problem.

Last time he got across the border from Mexico effortlessly because he had sought help from his former boss, Frank, who, after paying a bribe, took Gao Guang with him on his way across.

This time, however, Frank and the others never mentioned how Gao Guang would return, and neither did Gao Guang bring it up, because he had decided that if he couldn't go to the United States with Frank and his team, he would immediately buy a plane ticket and return to his country as fast as possible.

His destination was originally Mexico; just that he encountered many events along the way and took a tour through the United States. If he couldn't stay, it didn't matter. Not being able to become a PMC was no big deal either. Gao Guang could treat it as the end of his trip, and there would be other opportunities in the future—no need to rush this one.

Frank and his team had a very clear target; it was to find the middleman, Peter. No matter how much money he could offer, they planned to eliminate him to prevent any future threats.

But the problem now was that they couldn't reach the middleman by phone anymore.

Using almost five hours, they rushed from Los Angeles to Tijuana—this speed was indeed very fast. They had contact en route, with the last call an hour ago, but upon arriving in Tijuana, the middleman suddenly dropped out of contact.

Without contact with the middleman, there was no way to proceed with any plan.

The atmosphere inside the vehicle was already heavy, and now it seemed as if the air had solidified.

"The line is not reachable," Frank put away his phone and said with a gloomy face, "Tijuana is too big; it's impossible for us to find him. If he doesn't reach out to us, we can only leave."

John spoke softly, "Is it possible that the Zeta Group has already taken him out first? If that's the case, it can save us some trouble."

Frank pondered for a long time before he helplessly said, "Peter isn't the kind of person who would rather die than be caught. He doesn't have the courage to hurt himself. If the Zeta Group found him, it's more likely that they captured him alive rather than killed or let him commit suicide."

Gao Guang wanted to contribute his own strength, but after a long time of thinking, he still found that without any information, there was simply no way to break the current situation.

Finally, Gao Guang still voiced his concerns.

"Is it possible that the middleman has already fallen into the hands of the Zeta Group, and he called us just to lure us over? After all, it is much easier to take us out in Mexico than in the United States."

Everyone fell silent, and after a long period of contemplation, Frank finally said, "That's possible, but judging from the past actions of the Zeta Group, if they already knew our identities, they should have gone to Los Angeles to take us out."

John whispered, "But the Zeta Group is different now. Before, the Zeta Group was powerful. Now, they have splintered, their territory has significantly shrunk, and they have much fewer people. So, what if they feel they don't have the capability to act in Los Angeles?"

George said softly, "If the middleman really has fallen into their hands, then his phone shouldn't be switched off. Instead, he should tell us where he is and then simply wait for us to take the bait."

"Exactly, that's the logic!"

George's words got Frank excited, and he said loudly, "You're right, the middleman's phone being off actually proves that it's not he who deliberately led us here."

This conversation allowed Gao Guang to confirm something—that Frank was not particularly clever, or rather, he wasn't the kind of wise leader who plans thoroughly before acting.

And Gao Guang himself didn't have the ability to plan three steps ahead either, so even if he wanted to prove himself, he couldn't come up with any solution.

So the excitement was indeed short-lived, and the group quickly returned to their helpless stalemate, staring at each other once again.

"We can only wait for the middleman's call now."

In the end, it was Frank, resigned, who stated the reality. Then he looked at his watch and said softly, "I'm very hungry. Let's eat something first. It's two-thirty now; after we finish eating, if the middleman still hasn't contacted us, then we'll withdraw."

Frank wasn't one for elaborate strategies, but he was at least decisive.

"What are we eating?"

"Tacos, they're quick and simple."

"Alright, then let's have tacos."

The conversation swiftly shifted from crisis management to what to eat, which came as a surprise to Gao Guang. But considering there weren't any other options, refueling was certainly not wrong.

Tacos could be considered Mexico's national fast food, and you could find taco stands everywhere. Once they decided what to eat, they almost immediately spotted a taco stand.

Rubber parked the car right beside the stand, and Gao Guang, as the only one who could speak Spanish, naturally was the one who got out to buy tacos.

The mealtime rush was over, so the stall owner was rather idle at the time. Gao Guang walked up to the stand, and before he could even place his order, the others in the car started calling out their orders.

"I'll have one with chicken, one with beef, hold the onions, extra pickles."

"I want three with beef, extra hot sauce."

"Ask the owner what his special taco is, see if they have shredded meat tacos."

Gao Guang was amazed that these people, in such a tense moment, still had the leisure to think about what to eat, but since they had made requests, he might as well fulfill his role as a qualified translator and errand runner.

The stall owner began to make them, and Gao Guang stood aside waiting. After the first taco was done, he picked it up and brought it to the car window, saying, "Beef without onions."

Frank took it and passed it to Rubber, who was driving, and it was at that moment Frank's cell phone rang.

After a glance at the incoming number, Frank answered the phone in a flustered rush, immediately swearing angrily, "What the hell, why couldn't I get through to you?"

Frank didn't know what was said on the other end, but after cursing loudly, he shouted to Gao Guang outside the vehicle, "Get in the car, let's go! Hurry up!"

Gao Guang had just picked up the second taco when he heard Frank's urgent call and hurried into the car, while the taco vendor yelled, "You haven't paid yet! You can't leave, you haven't paid!"

Gao Guang quickly reached for his pocket, but Rubber had already thrown a twenty US dollar bill out of the window. At the same time, he snatched the taco from Gao Guang's hand.

"I paid, so I eat."

Gao Guang was astonished that in such a moment, someone could still care about claiming food.

Still on the phone, Frank gestured for silence, then put the call on speakerphone.

"I was hiding in the tunnel, they searched for a long time, I don't know if they have left, but I must have been betrayed by my Mexican partner, otherwise, they wouldn't have found this place so quickly. You have to save me, I'll pay five hundred thousand dollars, I have property in the United States, I'll sell my house to pay you, you have to save me!"

"Then give me your address fast! Idiot, tell me where you are!"

"South of the Acuvario Hotel is a Pakuio Auto Repair Shop, and south of the repair shop, there's a taco restaurant. I escaped from the repair shop's tunnel to the backyard of the restaurant, but people are outside, I'm trapped here, if they find the tunnel and follow it here, I'll be... Damn, I have to hang up now, you better hurry."

The voice grew lower and lower until the call was disconnected. After the call ended, only John's chewing could be heard in the car.

Frank scratched his head, his face filled with irritation, "Navigate to that Acuvario Hotel, fast!"

George was already on it, "Eight kilometers away, we need twenty minutes."

As the navigation began to speak, Rubber did a U-turn and started to follow the directions given at a faster pace.

John finally finished his taco, licking his lips with unfulfilled craving, he opened the window, threw out the wrapper, and with a calm expression said, "Still not full. So, how do we proceed once we get there? Rescue him from the Zeta Group's clutches then put a bullet in his head?"

Frank shook his head, sighing, "That's too risky, we'll have to stop at a distance, observe the situation, and then decide how to proceed."

Gao Guang was puzzled and felt his life was at stake too, so it was better to ask for clarity.

"Are we really going to exchange fire with drug traffickers on the streets of Tijuana in broad daylight? Even if we can take all the traffickers down... are the Mexican police really going to just overlook everything?"

In truth, Gao Guang wasn't too afraid of the gunfire; he was more concerned about what would come after.

This question stumped Frank and the others once again; after a while, Frank finally spoke with great reluctance, "That's the biggest trouble, but for now we can only take it one step at a time and see how things go."

John then said to Gao Guang, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Now wasn't the time to be modest; dealing with these foreigners meant he had to be direct and proactive. So, without hesitation, Gao Guang said, "Our goal is to take down the middleman anyway, so we can watch from a distance. If the middleman gets killed by the drug traffickers, then we don't have to do anything, that would be the best outcome. If the middleman is captured alive, then we just kill the middleman. Although we still need to play it by ear, it's much safer than rushing in and trying to rescue him."

Gao Guang didn't think his idea was particularly clever, but after he finished speaking, Frank immediately said, "Great plan! Let's do that! We need someone to get close to that taco restaurant to scout out the situation, who would be suitable to go?"

All eyes turned towards Gao Guang, and he immediately realized his suggestion might have backfired on himself.

Given that not speaking the language could result in missed danger signals, Gao Guang's ability to speak Spanish made him the only choice to go and gather information.

As expected, Frank said with a stern face, "You're the only one who can get close and gather intel. Don't worry, you won't be risking your life for nothing, if you do well, I will take care of your passport issue."

John patted Gao Guang on the shoulder, his face encouraging, "Go for it! Don't worry, I'll protect you."