Capítulo 18: Two million dollars
"Fuuucccckkkkk...." Jaxon let out a long yawn cursing his maker as he continued to drive endlessly.
His journey from North Carolina to L.A. had been grueling, a never-ending stretch of highway punctuated by fleeting moments of rest. The landscape blurred past him, a mix of forests, mountains, and deserts, each mile bringing him closer to his destination but wearing down his resolve.
The Mustang's engine roared steadily, a comforting, reliable sound that kept him grounded as fatigue clawed at his consciousness. He checked the clock on the dashboard; he'd been driving for nearly thirty hours straight. His eyelids felt heavy, and his mind wandered through a fog of memories and thoughts.
As the miles ticked by, he reflected on his conversation with Sam. The man had been Henry's friend, someone Jaxon could trust—hopefully. The job itself was risky, considering the fact that someone out there was robbing truckers in broad daylight, but that was nothing new. It was the unknowns that bothered him. Who was behind the robberies? What kind of people would he be dealing with?
Jaxon shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He turned up the radio, hoping some music would help keep him awake. A classic rock station crackled to life, the familiar tunes of Led Zeppelin filling the car. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, finding a rhythm to keep his focus.
Hours later, as the sun began to rise, the outskirts of Los Angeles came into view. The city's vast sprawl stretched out before him, a maze of highways, buildings, and endless activity. He followed the directions Sam had given him, navigating through the morning traffic until he reached the industrial district.
The trucking business was located in a busy area, with trucks and workers moving about with purpose. Jaxon parked his Mustang and took a moment to stretch, his muscles aching from the long drive. He grabbed his duffel bag and headed inside.
"Hey! I am here to see Sam," Jaxon said to the receptionist who glared at him for a moment before blushing as she quickly said, "I am sorry, let me check with him right away,"
"What is your name?"
"Jaxon, Jaxon Cross,"
The receptionist quickly dialed Sam's extension, her fingers dancing over the buttons as she tried to maintain her composure. "Mr. Samuels, Jaxon Cross is here to see you."
A moment later, she nodded and smiled at Jaxon. "He'll see you now. His office is down the hall, third door on the right."
"Thanks," Jaxon said, flashing a quick grin before heading down the hall. He found the door and knocked, hearing a gruff voice call out, "Come in."
Jaxon opened the door to find Sam sitting behind a large desk, papers, and files strewn about. The man looked up, a smile breaking across his rugged face. "Jaxon! Good to finally meet you in person."
"Likewise, Sam," Jaxon replied, stepping into the office and shaking Sam's hand. The grip was firm, the kind that conveyed both strength and trust.
Jaxon analyzed the man, who looked much older than he sounded but it seemed years of hard work had kept him fit to the point where he was still energetic and loud.
"Have a seat," Sam said, gesturing to a chair opposite his desk. "It seems the drive here was rough,"
"I didn't want to waste money on a motel, so I just slept in the car whenever I got the chance which wasn't much but hey I made it in one piece," Jaxon said honestly as he stretched a little thinking to himself, 'All that driving did increase my driving proficiency points by 3 points so can't call that a waste,'
"Anyway I am good to go, so tell me about the robberies,"
Sam nodded, his expression turning serious. "Good. I've pulled together all the information we've got on the robberies." He handed Jaxon a thick folder. "Take a look. I want to hear your thoughts."
Jaxon opened the folder and began flipping through the reports, maps, and photos. The pattern of the robberies became clearer with each page. The trucks were being hit in a specific part of the city, always during late night hours and always when they were carrying valuable cargo and they never seemed to stray far from a certain radius point.
As he delved into the details, Sam leaned back in his chair, watching him. "Henry always spoke highly of you, kid. Said you had a knack for this kind of work so I really hope you won't disappoint."
Jaxon looked up, meeting Sam's gaze. "I'll do my best. Let's get to the bottom of this."
For the next hour, Jaxon immersed himself in the reports. He cross-referenced dates, locations, and descriptions, slowly building a picture of the operations behind the robberies.
"They're organized," Jaxon said after a while. "Street racers, huh? With all the evidence gathered so far it seems fair to point them as the suspect, but it's surprising nonetheless that a couple of outlaws would be so organized."
"That's all the info police have gathered on them but they won't tell me anything more than that, I've done a little digging myself but I can't pinpoint who they're exactly."
"This isn't random. They know your routes and your schedules. Someone on the inside could be feeding them information."
Sam nodded, a grim look on his face. "That's what I was afraid of. We've already started changing our routes and times, but it's only a matter of time before they catch on again. I need you to find out who's behind this and stop them."
"My people are getting extremely agitated over these robberies and I don't blame them, but I don't want to see them getting thrown in a jail cell because of these criminals." Sam said, "Not to mention, as you could see from the report, around two million dollars worth of goods have been stolen, currently the insurance is paying for the losses but if this goes on..."
"That's understandable," Jaxon nodded looking back up at Sam, "Do you mind if I smoke?"
Sam didn't reply but instead just pushed out an ashtray in front of him, Jaxon took out his cigarette and lit it up, taking a drag from the cigarette he slowly let it out filling the small office with smoke, as he settled in his chair relaxing a little.
"I've got a couple of ideas about how I can go about this. Hmm... let me go with the easier one first," Jaxon said as he closed the documents, "I'll need you to make a fake shipment as soon as possible. High-value electronics will be preferable as they seem to be the prime target of these robbers."
"Then, I'll need you to make a big deal about the shipment, making sure everyone in the company knows about the valuables but don't make it sound too suspicious," Jaxon continued, "I'll go undercover, ride along with one of your trucks as a rookie. See if I can draw them out."
"If I can, I will try my best to stop them there and then but I can't promise you much," Jaxon said, "So just think of this as me trying to know these robbers, and if things go well we can hit two birds with one stone."
"How's that?" Sam asked crossing his arms but his years of experience shone into light as he smirked, "Oh! you want to draw out the insider as well?"
Jaxon shrugged with a lazy smile hanging on his face, "That's the idea, so it would be helpful if you only involved suspicious people for this shipment."
Sam leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "Alright, Jaxon. I see where you're going with this. I'll set it up. I'll schedule a shipment for tomorrow night. I'll make sure the right people know about it. But how certain are you that those thieves will show up this time."
"90%, although I can't rule out the fact that they might ignore this shipment since I don't have a profile on them, anyone greedy enough to take the risks they have taken shouldn't logically ignore such a jackpot of a target," Jaxon said, taking another drag from his cigarette. "Now, let's talk specifics. Who are the people you suspect might be feeding information to the robbers?"
Sam tapped his fingers on the desk, his eyes narrowing in thought. "I've got a few names. There's Billy, one of our newer drivers. He always seems to know a bit too much about the shipments. Then there's Carla, who handles the scheduling and has access to all the route information. And finally, Mark, one of the warehouse managers. He's been acting strange lately, too jumpy for my liking."
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