The Diablo was one of the most famous clubs in Los Angeles, boasting numerous musical guests of international caliber, with all Latin music and numerous South American themed nights. The Diablo was owned by Kenny Sanchez, son of big-time drug lord Pablo Sanchez and an old friend of Lucas and Alex.

The two officers drove to the club in Lucas' car, stopped in front of a large crowd that was entering and leaving the club. They also called Salters on his cell phone, but he did not answer. Entering the beautiful club, they noticed the palm trees at the entrance, it was all wood and black marble, with the unmistakable Latin style. The drug business was more active than ever, in short, it was a club worthy of its name.

"Are you sure it's here?" Alex asked his colleague.

"I'm sure" Lucas replied, noticing a private room upstairs where the host was sure to be. They climbed the stairs to the private room, but were stopped by security

"You can't be in here" the bouncer ordered.

"Look man, we need to talk to the owner, we are in a hurry" Lucas admitted

"None of my business, you can't be here," he insisted

"Maybe it's best to stay out of the way," McClaine said, flashing his FBI badge, and suddenly the security officers' expressions changed and they let the two agents through. As soon as they reached the balcony, they were surrounded by armed men and immediately knocked unconscious.

The two agents woke up strapped to wooden chairs with severe headaches. They were in a room with three armed men and a man sitting on a leather couch across from them. The man had a goatee and gelled hair, wore a white short-sleeved shirt with black vertical stripes, and was smoking a Cuban: it was Kenny.

"What are two FBI agents doing in my club in esta ora?" the man in front of them asked

"We came to save you," Lucas admitted, still stunned, Kenny chuckled, then said, "What are two gringos like you saving me from?" then continued 

"Now tell me, por qué, I shouldn't kill you"

"Because you know us," Alex said.

Kenny took a closer look at the two men tied to the chairs and suddenly burst out laughing then said: "I can't believe it, Lucas Jackson and Alex McClaine"

"What's up Kenny," Lucas greeted, "you've moved up," he added. 

As Kenny spoke to the two officers, several gunshots rang out downstairs and the happy atmosphere of the evening turned into a terrifying atmosphere accompanied by a mix of screams and gunshots. Three men dressed in black and wearing motorcycle helmets had entered the club and were firing assault rifles with which they had killed the security officers. The three climbed the stairs and began shooting at Kenny's men, who returned fire.    Meanwhile, Lucas and Alex tried to free themselves from the chair they were tied to. Lucas found a pocket knife that had fallen to the floor from one of the owner's henchmen and used it to free himself, then freed McClaine as well. The two took cover in the next room and found Kenny there.

"What have you done?" the Mexican said, pointing a gun at the two officers

"Do you really think we did it?" Alex asked ironically as he ducked for cover from the gunfire

"We're here to help you, Kenny" Lucas admitted.

"And I'm supposed to trust two cops" he said with a chuckle

"You have a choice, either us or those guys out there who want to kill you," Jackson said, leaving his old friend no choice. 

Kenny's men were killed one by one, and when the three men in black burst into the room, they found no one. Lucas called Salters to come get him, but unfortunately he did not answer. The three had hidden in a van depot near the club.

"So is your friend coming to get us or not?" asked Kenny nervously as he waved his gun

"I think you should put that away," Alex advised the nervous Mexican.

"Nobody tells me what to do, spy" Kenny threatened.

"Stop it" Lucas shouted, "we need to get to our car" he added

"All right" Kenny said, putting his gun away and pointing the way to the parking lot.               Kenny, Lucas and Alex walked to Lucas' car, the one they had used to get to Kenny's club. Once on the street, Lucas called the station to warn them about the Diablo shooting, they arrived at the car and went to Salters' house and then to the station.

Salters lived near Pasadena in a mansion he inherited when his father died. He lived there alone and Lucas often went to his house to attend the many parties Salters threw on his days off.    They arrived near the mansion but the lights were all off, Lucas began to worry so they got out of the car and walked into the garden of the complex. Jack's car had the door open, which was strange to Lucas, and the closer he got to the house, the more he sensed that something was wrong. The door was also ajar and Lucas thought the worst and broke into the house at gunpoint, but what he found behind the door did not please him at all. Lucas found Salters lying on the floor with two bullet holes in him and his girlfriend next to him, also dead.

"I'm sorry, man," Kenny said worriedly"

"I should have gotten here sooner" Lucas blamed himself.

"You couldn't help it" McClaine comforted him, suddenly Jackson grabbed Kenny's shirt and said: "Now you tell us all about these mercenaries"

"You think you're the first one to threaten me, pendejo," Kenny said smiling

"Jack died tonight because of what we were investigating and if you value your life you better speak up or I'll leave you in the hands of these guys and they won't treat you very well" Lucas said firmly.

"You haven't changed, Jackson, still a great leader," Kenny said "All right, I'll help you, but only because it's in my best interest," he added

"You haven't changed either" Lucas concluded.

The three of them drove to the police station where they would tell Sergeant Hodkins everything that had happened. Kenny sat in the back seat, where criminals usually sat, silently thinking about the incident, while Alex and Lucas, also silently, worried about how the whole thing would end, but one thing was for sure, the case was getting thicker and thicker.                                       Lucas parked his car in the station parking lot, but McClaine noticed something was wrong.

 "Hey Jackson, look at those cars" he said, pointing to the two metallic cars on the other side of the parking lot.

"These are CIA cars" Kenny said

"How do you know?" asked Lucas

"Believe me, I know them well, they almost got me once" the Mexican admitted

"What's the CIA doing here?" asked Lucas

"What now?" asked McClaine

"I'm certainly not going down" Kenny revealed, "if those guys catch me, but they'll make me disappear to some secret location," he added worriedly

"All right, I'll go see what's going on" Lucas suggested, everyone nodded, and Jackson hurried off as planned to talk to Sergeant Hodkins.

Entering the imposing police headquarters with its retro design and fine wooden furniture, Lucas headed for the offices. These, however, had a more modern design with glass windows in each office. In front of the sergeant's office, however, were several men in suits and sunglasses. Hodkins was having a heated discussion with one man who was quite elderly and wearing an army uniform. The heated discussion ended a few minutes later, and the general came out of the office, confronted Lucas, and left with his CIA officers.                                                                           Jackson knocked on the sergeant's door.

"It is permitted," Jackson said politely.

"You may come in" Hodkins said nervously

 "Who were those men?" the detective asked

"You don't have to worry about them" the sergeant dismissed him, "To what do I owe your presence at this hour, Jackson?" she added

"It's about the murder of the two cartel men" Lucas announced

"It's become a huge case, it's led us all the way to Kenny Sanchez" he added

"Wait, did you say Kenny Sanchez?" the sergeant asked in confirmation

"Yes, but there's something more important, Salters...he's dead" Lucas revealed

"Damn, it wasn't supposed to be like this" Hodkins said disappointed

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked confused

"I'm sorry, Jackson" the sergeant said, darkening his face and suddenly pointing his gun at the detective. Lucas raised his hands but was confused; he had no idea what was going on

"What the hell is he doing?" asked Lucas in astonishment.

"Where's Sanchez?" asked Hodkins insistently

"She's involved in this, isn't she?" said Lucas disappointedly

"This is bigger than you, I didn't want you to get involved" she admitted

"I'm asking you for the last time, where is Sanchez?" said Hodkins that was about to shoot Lucas when a gunshot shattered and pierced Hodkins'office window. McClain, seeing his colleague in distress, had wounded the sergeant with a gunshot

"We have to go," Alex suggested to his friend, he nodded and the two headed for the car.        They went out the back to get out of the station, but were suddenly confronted by CIA men intent on shooting them. In no time, the station became the scene of a major firefight between CIA agents and the two old friends.                                                                                                                        Alex and Lucas were trapped. They were surrounded, hiding in the second-floor offices that were being renovated.

"We're trapped," McClain said dejectedly

"I can't believe Hodkins was corrupt, she was so careful about the rules" Lucas said angrily

 "We have to find a way out of here" Alex suggested, "If they find us, we're dead," he added

"You think I don't know this, but we're on the second floor, the only solution is to jump" the detective admitted

"From here?" McClain asked ironically

"We'd break our legs" he added

"Maybe you're right," Lucas admitted.

"Wait" said McClaine, "I had an idea" he continued.

"No, please, your ideas are terrible" Jackson said worriedly, "remember what happened last time?"

"We don't have much of a choice, I guess you'll just have to trust" Alex suggested, Lucas nodded and reluctantly decided to trust his old friend.                                                                                                      The two went out a window and walked through the ledge to an outside recess between two offices.

"Now what?" asked Lucas, who was suffering from vertigo

 "Now we jump" Alex replied, pointing to the canopy below them, this canopy was positioned towards the entrance of the factory that passed through the parking lot. It would lower the height from which the two men would have to jump, and then once there they would only have to make one more jump to find themselves in the parking lot, albeit from a reduced height.     The two jumped and found themselves in the parking lot, but something went wrong, McClaine sprained his ankle jumping.                                                                                                                                        Lucas had to help him to the car where Kenny was waiting for them

"What the hell happened in there?" asked Kenny 

"It's a long story" said Lucas annoyed as he helped Alex into the car. The CIA agents realized that the two men had made it to the parking lot, they headed to the police station parking lot but found no one when they arrived.

The three were on the road, they didn't know where to go, they were disoriented, they had lost everything in one night. McClaine had shot an LAPD sergeant and Jackson was his accomplice, plus they were escorting a man wanted by the world's most dangerous mercenaries and who knows what government conspiracy they had gotten themselves into.

"Where are we going?" asked McClaine in pain from his fall

"I have no idea" said Lucas, visibly upset

"I know where we can go" Kenny said, "There's an old warehouse where my men used to make deliveries, it's abandoned now" he added

"Where is it?" asked Jackson.

It's in Seattle," Kenny concluded.