First Agent
Chapter 1
Sofia Castillo stood on the balcony of her condo in South Padre Island watching divorced fathers play with their children on the beach. Some collected seashells while others built sandcastles.
A breeze brushed against her face and toyed with strands of her black hair and a rich smell of salty water filled her lungs. Rolling waves crashed on the white sands with faint voices of innocent children echoing in the background. This was Sofia’s escape, an escape from her dark, undercover world.
A desperate knock on the door shook her from her trance.
Wearing an over-sized t-shirt over her two-piece swimsuit, Sofia made her way to the door, stretched her five-foot six inch frame and stared at a woman through the peephole. Feeling safe, she opened the door.
“How can I help you?” Sofia asked in perfect Spanish.
“They took Maria. This morning.” The woman had been crying and struggled to get her words out.
“Maria? My housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
“Who took her?”
“La migra. They were raiding homes early this morning. You have to help her.”
“That’s horrible. I am so sorry. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll ..…” The woman turned and made her way down the hall before Sofia could finish her sentence.
Like many families along the border, Sofia chose to have a housekeeper. A Latina. She heard of their immaculate house-cleaning skills, but more important they were loyal. Being an undercover agent for the NSA, Sofia needed someone loyal. Maria Molina turned out to be that person.
“La migra? Give me a break! Those bastards! Why don’t they go after drug dealers?” Sofia talked to herself, something she often did when she was alone and frustrated.
She rifled through a government directory looking for the immigration office. She jotted down the address, threw some clothes on and then grabbed the keys to her car. Her cell rang before she could get to the door. It was the NSA.
“Code 1447,” Sofia said, something that the NSA required. There were no hospitalities just their assigned code. Otherwise, the person on the other line would immediately know that it was not one of their NSA agents answering the phone.
“You okay?” Charlie asked, noticing Sofia’s stern voice. Charlie Walker was the director of the NSA Special Operations Unit known as ECI, a unit referred to by other agents as the crown jewels. While the NSA was better known for collecting information and monitoring emails and phone conversations, the ECI Special Operations Unit handled covert operations.
“Immigration picked up my housekeeper. I’ve got to go get her back.” Sofia said.
“Your housekeeper? You’ve got an illegal working for you?” Charlie let out a laugh.
“She’s legal. But you know how immigration gets with Hispanics along the border. You’re brown, you must be one of those illegals.” Sofia replied. “So what’s up?”
“Got an assignment for you. Your partner, Steve will be coming in from California to help you out.”
Sofia took a deep breath and changed focus. “It’s about time. I’ve been getting bored,” she said. “And it’s going to be good to see Steve again, but I thought he retired. Took a teaching job.”
Steve Armstrong was a former CIA agent. NSA used him on special cases with Sofia. They had impressed the NSA a couple of years ago that any big case along the border now went to them.
“He’s changed his mind. A little persuasion took care of that.”
“So what’s the assignment?” Sofia asked.
“Mexico’s leading presidential candidate, Miguel Olivares will be speaking in Brownsville. There’s a hit on him.” Charlie explained.
“An assassination? Here? On this side of the border?”
“You and Steve have to stop it without the world finding out about it. Olivares has to leave this country alive. Am I clear?”
“Yes, I get it. But I’ve got to to get my housekeeper first.”
“Oh, hell!” Charlie’s frustration showed. “Just go get another one.”
A breeze brushed against her face and toyed with strands of her black hair and a rich smell of salty water filled her lungs. Rolling waves crashed on the white sands with faint voices of innocent children echoing in the background. This was Sofia’s escape, an escape from her dark, undercover world.
A desperate knock on the door shook her from her trance.
Wearing an over-sized t-shirt over her two-piece swimsuit, Sofia made her way to the door, stretched her five-foot six inch frame and stared at a woman through the peephole. Feeling safe, she opened the door.
“How can I help you?” Sofia asked in perfect Spanish.
“They took Maria. This morning.” The woman had been crying and struggled to get her words out.
“Maria? My housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
“Who took her?”
“La migra. They were raiding homes early this morning. You have to help her.”
“That’s horrible. I am so sorry. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll ..…” The woman turned and made her way down the hall before Sofia could finish her sentence.
Like many families along the border, Sofia chose to have a housekeeper. A Latina. She heard of their immaculate house-cleaning skills, but more important they were loyal. Being an undercover agent for the NSA, Sofia needed someone loyal. Maria Molina turned out to be that person.
“La migra? Give me a break! Those bastards! Why don’t they go after drug dealers?” Sofia talked to herself, something she often did when she was alone and frustrated.
She rifled through a government directory looking for the immigration office. She jotted down the address, threw some clothes on and then grabbed the keys to her car. Her cell rang before she could get to the door. It was the NSA.
“Code 1447,” Sofia said, something that the NSA required. There were no hospitalities just their assigned code. Otherwise, the person on the other line would immediately know that it was not one of their NSA agents answering the phone.
“You okay?” Charlie asked, noticing Sofia’s stern voice. Charlie Walker was the director of the NSA Special Operations Unit known as ECI, a unit referred to by other agents as the crown jewels. While the NSA was better known for collecting information and monitoring emails and phone conversations, the ECI Special Operations Unit handled covert operations.
“Immigration picked up my housekeeper. I’ve got to go get her back.” Sofia said.
“Your housekeeper? You’ve got an illegal working for you?” Charlie let out a laugh.
“She’s legal. But you know how immigration gets with Hispanics along the border. You’re brown, you must be one of those illegals.” Sofia replied. “So what’s up?”
“Got an assignment for you. Your partner, Steve will be coming in from California to help you out.”
Sofia took a deep breath and changed focus. “It’s about time. I’ve been getting bored,” she said. “And it’s going to be good to see Steve again, but I thought he retired. Took a teaching job.”
Steve Armstrong was a former CIA agent. NSA used him on special cases with Sofia. They had impressed the NSA a couple of years ago that any big case along the border now went to them.
“He’s changed his mind. A little persuasion took care of that.”
“So what’s the assignment?” Sofia asked.
“Mexico’s leading presidential candidate, Miguel Olivares will be speaking in Brownsville. There’s a hit on him.” Charlie explained.
“An assassination? Here? On this side of the border?”
“You and Steve have to stop it without the world finding out about it. Olivares has to leave this country alive. Am I clear?”
“Yes, I get it. But I’ve got to to get my housekeeper first.”
“Oh, hell!” Charlie’s frustration showed. “Just go get another one.”