"Paul. Hayes," Cole shouted through the earpiece. "The handoff is happening. Look at Penhaligan."
Jonathan and Sam turned their eyes to the cafe. The heavyset cartel contact had sat down. He was sliding a manila envelope across the table.
"Let me see some ID," Jenkins demanded, pulling out his notepad.
"Both of you, right now. Legal names."
Jonathan and Sam were carrying alias identification. Jonathan was currently Marcus Johnson and Sam was Terrence Wright. But handing over the IDs meant breaking eye contact with the target, digging into their pockets and engaging in a prolonged traffic-stop-style interrogation with a cop who was clearly looking to make an arrest. If they broke cover and pulled their federal badges, Penhaligan would see the commotion, realize the park was hot, and run.
"We don't have our IDs on us, man," Sam lied smoothly, trying to buy time. "Left our wallets in the truck. It's parked over by the CNN Center."
"Is that right?" Jenkins smirked, stepping within arm's reach. He loved this part. The part where he felt total control.
"No ID. Refusing a lawful order. Suspicious behavior. You two are about ten seconds away from eating concrete. Stand up and put your hands behind your back."
"Officer Jenkins," Jonathan said, reading the man's name tag.
He locked eyes with the cop, dropping all pretense of the street persona. His gaze was cold, piercing, and carried the weight of the federal government.
"You are interfering with something much larger than you can understand right now. Walk back to your cruiser. Now."
Jenkins froze for a fraction of a second, unsettled by the sudden shift in Jonathan's demeanor. This wasn't the fearful or angry reaction he was used to getting. This was a command. But Jenkins's arrogance quickly overrode his instincts.
"Are you threatening a police officer, boy?" Jenkins hissed, his hand dropping away from his pepper spray and moving directly to his taser.
"Target is making the exchange. Paul, you have to move in. Go, go, go!" Cole yelled in their ears.
Jonathan and Sam had no choice. They had to execute the arrest on Penhaligan before he left the park with the cartel funds.
"We're moving," Jonathan said to Sam.