The car passed the TACO Restaurant, with everyone inside closely monitoring the surroundings of the establishment.
The traffic conditions in Tijuana differed significantly between day and night; the day was busy with vehicles, but at night they were scarce. Thus, there were many cars on the road, and the driving speed wasn't fast, making it not unusual to drive slowly.
There were too many suspicious people. A car was parked at the entrance of the restaurant, with three or four people who clearly were up to no good, scanning the area back and forth. A little further ahead, next to the restaurant, two cars were parked outside a repair shop, with people chatting by the cars.
These were the visible ones; the invisible were surely even more numerous.
"There are a lot of people, but they probably don't have long guns. There are people in the cars, look over there, those two standing are on guard,"
Frank, from the passenger seat, had the best view and pointed out several of the most suspicious individuals. As the car passed the repair shop, he immediately said, "Park the car at the hotel's entrance. Heading to the hotel won't look too suspicious."
It was obvious that Frank and his companions were foreigners, but Tijuana was frequented by pleasure-seeking tourists during the day, making the appearance of groups of foreigners at hotels quite normal.
The hotel was about two hundred meters from the repair shop, close enough to observe the situations at the restaurant and repair shop. However, providing support would take some time.
So, for the person going alone to check out the restaurant, it would be particularly risky.
If this were a trap, anyone going to check it out was as good as dead.
Suddenly, John handed Gao Guang a pistol and said in a low voice, "Hide it well."
A Glock 19; Gao Guang took the pistol, lifted his shirt, and tucked the gun into his waistband, saying in a low voice, "Give me a few spare magazines."
"If you need to shoot, you probably won't have the chance to reload anyway."
"No, having an extra two magazines feels more reassuring."
John shrugged, took out two magazines from his pocket, and said softly, "Don't keep them in your jacket pocket, it's too conspicuous."
Gao Guang had to stuff the two magazines into his waistband as well. The belt was already tight, and with a pistol and two magazines added, it was quite uncomfortable pressing against his stomach.
At that moment, John said quietly, "I'll go with him. It's normal for two people to go eat tacos. You guys keep a close watch and provide support quickly if something happens."
Approaching the site for reconnaissance, they definitely couldn't wear bulletproof vests; at best, they could only hide a pistol on them. If discovered, it would lead to a close-quarters battle, and with so many drug traffickers, it would likely be a one-way ticket.
At this moment, Gao Guang was truly grateful for John's company. After all, two going together was safer than going alone.
Frank didn't say much, just quietly instructed, "Be careful, and if it's not feasible, retreat and we'll figure something else out."
The car stopped, and the hotel valet had already opened the door. Gao Guang tightened his jacket and was the first to get out, followed by John, who then asked, "How about going for some tacos?"
"Sure, hey, aren't you guys going to eat?"
Frank and the others declined, so Gao Guang and John turned and walked toward the restaurant.
Even if the drug traffickers were brazen, they wouldn't dare to take up guns and cordon off a large area in broad daylight, allowing Gao Guang and his team an opportunity.
"Don't get tense, it's alright. The traffickers are doing their thing; as long as we don't interfere, they won't go too far. It's not like it was five years ago, when traffickers could shut down streets during shootouts,"
Gao Guang looked up and then said quietly, "Those people are watching us, they definitely saw Captain and the others enter the hotel. This should help our reconnaissance, right?"
"You call this reconnaissance? This hardly counts... Alright, honestly, we seldom do this kind of work; we're more about storming in guns blazing. Reconnaissance is someone else's job."
Gao Guang felt he should be scared, but faced with the prospect of approaching the drug traffickers, he didn't feel even a trace of nervousness.
In fact, there was even a slight thrill.
At that moment, John repeated, "Don't get tense, seem natural."
Gao Guang turned to John and then said with a smile, "You're the nervous one, huh? Hey, relax your face. You look like you're about to get into a fight."
John rubbed his face with his hand, turned to look at Gao Guang, and noticed that he indeed had a debauched grin on his face, showing no sign of being nervous.
"Why are you laughing like that?"
"I just see people who have done something bad always laugh this way, with a sneaky look on their faces."
"You really are... you really are a natural at this!"
John was somewhat speechless, he waved his hand, and at this moment they were very close to the people standing guard at the entrance of the repair shop.
A person with a blue bandana watched Gao Guang and John with an undisguised, predatory gaze, not out of hostility, but with an air of superiority that suggested life and death were in his hands.
Gao Guang didn't make eye contact with the drug dealer, turning to John, he said, "I'm starving, I need to eat three tacos."
John nodded repeatedly, and under the watchful eyes of several drug dealers, turned with Gao Guang into the taco shop.
A taco is a Mexican wrap and also a type of fast food, so the TACO Restaurant was a fast-food eatery with a cashier nervously standing at the checkout counter by the door. Upon seeing Gao Guang and the others enter, he said tremblingly, "Sorry, but we are... we are... closed now."
There were no customers in the shop, just two drug dealers sitting inside drinking their beverages, staring intently at Gao Guang and John. There were two waiters, but they just stood there, looking idle.
The cashier spoke in Spanish, but Gao Guang and John pretended not to understand, ignoring the waiter's hints. John looked up at the images on the wall and pointed, saying, "I want this one, this one, give me two of these, hello, hello, extra hot sauce, you understand?"
Gao Guang also pointed at a picture, saying, "I want two, two, you got that?"
Both of them spoke English, and even if they realized something was off with the waiter's behavior, they pretended not to notice. At this moment, the waiter turned a pleading gaze to the two seated drug dealers, one of whom waved dismissively and said openly, "If the customers want to eat, then make it. Is this how you serve people?"
The waiter took their order and payment, trembling, after which Gao Guang and John sat down directly.
Choosing a seat required attention; Gao Guang deliberately sat with his back to the drug dealers, while John sat opposite him. This way, one of them could always keep an eye on the drug dealers' movements without being too obvious.
If both of them faced the drug dealers while sitting down, they would indeed be able to observe every move the drug dealers made, but that would also draw attention to themselves.
At that moment, Gao Guang heard the two drug dealers behind him talking openly, "Do you think they're here for that asshole?"
"Probably not, otherwise they'd be too bold, I think they're just a couple of American idiots."
"Should we ask and maybe search them? It's clear what's going on here, and they still dare to sit down and eat?"
"Have you ever seen an East Asian stirring up trouble on our turf?"
"Hmm, you're right, Asians are all mathematicians, and they are timid too."
What is a stereotype? This is the epitome of a stereotype, but at this moment, Gao Guang welcomed it.
However, John couldn't understand what the two were saying, but seeing Gao Guang's unusual expression, he also casually took out his phone and started fiddling with it.
A moment later, the tacos and drinks were served. John put down his phone, picked up a taco, and took a big bite, filling his mouth and mumbled, "The taste is good, I'm starving."
Gao Guang was also very hungry, so he ate quickly too. Watching the two wolf down their meal, one of the drug dealers behind chuckled, "Alright, looking at how they're eating, it's clear they're starving. They'll leave on their own once they're done."
Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the back of the restaurant, followed by someone shouting, "We found the tunnel entrance! He's inside!"
Gao Guang raised his eyebrows slightly, tilted his head, and gave John a meaningful look.
But John was too absorbed in stuffing tacos into his mouth and didn't see it, so Gao Guang could only put down one hand and grab the drink from John's plate.
After catching John's attention, Gao Guang gave him another meaningful look, and after a brief pause, John finally gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Gao Guang said in English, "What shall we do after we finish eating? Go back to the hotel for a rest, or go out and have fun?"
John mumbled unclearly, "Rest? No way! Of course, we're going to have fun. After eating, we need to go out and play, just the two of us, without calling them."
Gao Guang got the message; John was ready for action. If Peter was brought out, they would find an excuse to kill him first before discussing anything else.
That's quite a rough way of doing things.