Ambush

Chapter 43

I stopped by the administrative office at Holy Name. For the first time ever, I wasn’t there to talk to my grandfather. I wasn’t even there to check on my kids. I was there to speak with Alonzo Garcia, former captain in the Colombian national police, recipient of countless commendations for bravery and hard work.

I led Alonzo out into the courtyard between the church and the school, knowing we would get some privacy there. He wore his clerical collar with a whistle dangling from his neck.

Once we sat on the hard cement bench, I said, “I did some checking and know your history and what you did before the priesthood.”

Alonzo said, “I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I’m just trying to move on with my life. I’m glad I was in a position to help when it mattered.”

“It mattered, and you helped. And I appreciate it. All I’m looking for now is some insight into who I’m dealing with. How can I stop these killings?”

“I wish I could help you, Michael. It’s not that I’m purposely trying to ignore the issue. But I’ve seen this so many times before. I know that the killings will stop whenever the contracts are fulfilled. I may even know who the killer is. If they came from Bogotá and they were active when I was working, I might know who they are. But the fact is there are just too many possibilities. The cartels train kids to become killers. They hire contract killers who have a talent. They just have too many people willing to kill for money.”

I let out a heavy sigh. I was hoping he might have some detail that could help me.

Alonzo said, “I do know who likely trained this killer.”

“How?”

“Many of the sophisticated killers, the ones who went to college and were bored with their former profession or just liked the challenge and the money, trained with a martial-arts instructor in the Chapinero section of Bogotá. He was a legitimate, hardworking karate instructor, and everyone who wanted to make a career as an assassin trained with him. He was known simply as Sensei Don.

“He taught the use of the blade. He advocated only two strikes. One to the brain and one to the heart. I’ve seen it over and over.

“I never trained with him, but other police have. This killer you face today has trained with him.”

“If we went to this karate instructor, do you think he’d talk to us?”

“He died some years ago. But there are many of his students still working today.”

I thought about it and said, “That still doesn’t explain the ambush and the three men who tried to shoot us on the street. That wasn’t a single assassin. They weren’t using some kind of stiletto.”

“But that falls in line with their profession. Many of the hit men from Colombia use local thugs on some of their hits. It makes sense. They’re just subcontracting out the job for a fraction of their pay.”

“So now I have an idea of what I’m up against. I just don’t know who it is, how they’ll try again, or how to stop them.”

Alonzo chuckled. “Just like police work everywhere in the world.”