Luis stopped about fifty feet from the brothel, and about thirty feet from the closest parked car. Brodie swapped Glocks with Luis and gave Luis’ Glock to Taylor. “Okay,” Brodie said, “Luis will walk me to the door to make the intro. If we’re turned away, we’ll be right back and we’ll hang here and do a stakeout. If we get inside, Luis and I go to the baño, where I get my gun, and he leaves. You’ll both wait for me, engine running and ready to roll.”
“Scott, you have no commo and no backup, and this breaks with every CID procedure—”
“This is infantry procedure. A recon in hostile territory. End of discussion.”
“All right. And what if you’re not out in an hour?”
“Call Worley, report me missing in action, and get out of here.” He added, “Look, Maggie, this is standard undercover work. Let’s not get paranoid. I’m just a dumb gringo looking for action. The worst that can happen is that I get robbed and thrown out in my underwear. They know I’m not going to the police, so they don’t need to put me through the wood chipper.” He looked at Luis, who was sitting quietly behind the wheel. “Right, Luis?”
Luis did not reply immediately, then said, “True, the brothels sometimes rob, but do not kill.”
“Right. That’s bad for return business.” Brodie had a final thought and said, “If you feel threatened by anyone approaching this car, get out of here.”
“Scott, we’re not leaving you—”
“Or if you see our suspect entering the Hen House, do not attempt to take him down. I’ll deal with him inside.”
Taylor replied, “If I see him, I’ll take him.”
He looked at her sitting on the floor. “No, you will follow orders.”
Taylor didn’t respond to that, but said, “This is what happens when you have no commo.”
“As they told us in Iraq, you go into battle with the equipment you have, not the equipment you’d like to have.” Brodie concluded, “Also, if you see him exit, I’ll be right behind him.”
Taylor looked at him. “Unless you’re going through the wood chipper.”
“Don’t be negative.” He looked out the window at the Hen House. “Okay, Luis, let’s take a walk.”
Luis got out of the car.
Taylor reminded Brodie, “Kyle Mercer may be waiting for you.”
“If he is, he’ll have more questions than I have. He may want to talk, maybe make a deal, maybe give me a message to carry back to the States.” He added, “I’d rather take my chances with a fellow officer and combat vet than with the management of the Hen House.”
Taylor nodded, evidently remembering that Captain Mercer had not killed Sergeant Simpson when he could have, and probably should have. She cautioned, however, “We don’t know where his head is at now.”
“I know who he was. That’s the man I’m going to talk to if he’s waiting for me.”
Again she nodded. “Good luck.”
Brodie got out of the car, and he and Luis started down the hill toward the Hen House.
CHAPTER 29
Brodie and Luis walked past the parked cars and SUVs. A few of the drivers looked them over, and a few called out to Luis, who replied, and they all got a laugh about something—probably about the gringo with a wad of cash bigger than his pene.
Brodie had played many parts in undercover assignments, and he had a sense of how to look, walk, and act for every role. Tonight, he was Clark Bowman, an insurance salesman from East Wheatfield, Kansas. Clark was nervous but excited, following his dick to a real brothel that his driver had recommended. Clark would try to dress the part of a cool guy going to a whorehouse, but he was still recognizable as a dork.
Deeper inside Clark Bowman was Scott Brodie, a man who had killed other men and would do so again if he had to.
They approached the black steel door of the Hen House and Brodie glanced up at the red eye of the security camera, which stared back at him.
Luis pushed the button on the doorjamb, which Brodie knew would cause a light to flash inside. They waited.
Brodie reminded Luis, “You need to use the baño.”
“Sí. I do.” He added, “But most drivers use the street.”
“You want to wash your hands.”
Luis nodded.
“And don’t forget—Pepe from the Club of the Damned sent us here.”
“Sí.”
Brodie also reminded him, “Soon you’ll be in the U.S. with your family.”
Luis didn’t reply.
Finally the door opened, and a big man in a tight black T-shirt and