Rodriguez was so agitated that the hand gripping his phone trembled slightly. Only after two attempts did he finally muster the resolve to dial the number.
Calling internationally took a little time, and after waiting around half a minute, Rodriguez's call connected.
“Hello, Rodriguez. Do you have good news for me?”
“No, no, no! Mike, the news I have isn’t good. My operation failed, and now I’ve become a hostage. They demand Thorne’s son be released in exchange for my freedom!”
Mike was stunned momentarily, and the cigar in his hand fell into the ashtray.
“Did I hear you wrong? Is this some kind of hallucination? Rodriguez, I need you to repeat it once more clearly. What exactly happened? How could you possibly fail?”
Mike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Rodriguez had triumphed
